Inner Shaman Adventures - The Way of the Shaman

After my cacao ceremony, where I was asked to find a teacher, I found a course that resonated. I had read Michael Harner's, 'Way of the Shaman' a while back and knew that in Shamanic circles he was viewed to have integrity. So I contacted the UK Faculty of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies and went to the basic workshop taught by Marta Niccolai.

I danced and sang, drummed and rattled, swam and retrieved. Under the guidance of the Shaman I was able to journey deeper into the heartlands of the other worlds.

Yet most of all I listened, listened deeply to truth and allowed it all to resonate with me and my growth.

In one session, I was told by the spirit of a stone, 'Follow my heart, it will lead me in the right direction, even when alone I am on the right path. But, see things how they are not how I would like them to be. A tiny action contributes to the greater whole, allow yourself to be cleansed by spirit and consider all the elements as a guide. Every challenge can be overcome, don't take life so seriously.'

After the weekend I felt alive, vibrant and keen to keep exploring. Later on that week, fresh from a cancellation from a Consultant's appointment, I could hear Wimbledon Common's call and I felt bound to respond.

As I walked on her familiar pathways, I felt myself rejoice in this reunion. Her energy entered me and I felt swallowed by her power, strength and teachings. It was like being with a long lost friend whose connection traversed lifetimes.

In the common, I danced my spirit animals and cried their song. And then I watched them run around me as I entered deeper into the Common's womb and felt a song burst forth that I sang over and over again.

'Power comes from within.

Energy is all there is,

Love is all there is,

I am all there is.'

Until different songs that also came from nowhere kept pouring forth.

I found myself singing for nature, her pain and incessant torture, I sang in love for her and for all that is included in her. Words, song, words, song, words and song kept pouring forth as my heart opened in honour of the power within me and my ancestors, the planet and the elements. Rain washed my face and hair clean and as I finally entered Richmond Park. I saw the deer prick their ears in interest, staring at the woman who couldn't stop singing songs so deeply honouring the source.

Until I could sing no more.

It was the best cancellation of a Consultant's appointment I have ever had.

Aho.

The Way of The Shaman basic workshop in core shamanism was taught by Marta Nicolai

You can find more adventures in Shamanism here: Inner Shaman Adventures

Follow me here...

Twitter: Gracie's Twitter Page

Facebook: Gracie's FB page

Inner Shaman Adventure - Hoska Ceremony

As I entered the check-in area at the airport, I saw my accidental Ayahuasca doula and we greeted each other like long lost friends.

  ‘Are you going to Aniwa?’

  ‘Yes, I am!’

Little did I know that this would be a weekend of synchronicities, magic and some deep healing. I was blessed to meet with some of the most powerful Shamans on the planet and was a part of some very different ceremonies, stories, discussions and rituals. To go through all the experiences would be tantamount to a novel but when I came back to London to finally move house, I did so with a renewed sense of wonder at the magic this planet holds and a deep sense of gratitude to my ancestors, the elements and the Grace that weaves my life together.

Whilst there I met a Shaman called Anthar Kharana who led some of us in a hoska ceremony as part of creating and building a labyrinth over the four days we were together. I had been involved in rapé ceremonies and during Aniwa had many opportunities to work with tobacco, but hoska is known to have a softer response and was new to me. I was intrigued to see what the medicine would bring.  

We sat in a circle and Anthar spoke about the labyrinth and the medicine it creates and how we could be a part of the magic it held. We all agreed that we wanted to be a part of creating something loving on the island, a space that would provide others the levels of transformation we all wanted to achieve.

Anthar gave us the gift of song and together we sang about how we are all family, including the animals, wind, stones and the elements, how they are a part of us and we are a part of them. As we sang, I felt my heart open and be closer to the earth and her magic, I felt a sense of aliveness and a deep communion with all beings.

As Anthar delicately, and with great respect, imparted the medicine, it worked immediately and I came into contact with the women from my two ancestral lines. The Scottish on one side, the Italian on the other and between them they formed a great river of tears. In their tears I could feel their strength, pain and hear their stories. I was told that my sisters and I are the bearers of our ancestral pain, their heartbreak, love and wisdom.

I saw those women crying, expressing their deepest pain, trauma and tragedy and my tears joined theirs - I couldn’t stop crying. I was with them, I could feel them. In that moment, I understood that the blood contained in my veins was much more than fluid that delivers nutrients and oxygen – it also holds history and destiny.

In a vision I saw that my sisters and I expressed this suffering and knowledge differently, particularly with the way we approached relationships. We three, different branches of the same river, navigating the connections in our life, were trying to make sense of the inherited knowledge with our own karmic ties.

I was told that part of our mission on the planet today was to heal ourselves as well as our ancestral pain. We were placed here to start the process of healing so that future generations will be born clean of historical trauma and make way for a new way of living.

So let it be so.

Aho.

You can find more adventures in Shamanism here: Inner Shaman Adventures

Hoska Ceremony facilitated by Anthar Kharana 

Follow me here...

Twitter: Gracie's Twitter Page

Facebook: Gracie's FB page

Google +: Gracie's Google + page