Down to Earth - The Shamans Circle

Last Minute Gift Ideas for the Earth (or: What to get for the Planet that has Everything.)

In the frenzy of last minute shopping, you are likely wracking your brain, trying to find that one perfect gift for the Earth. Surely you are tired of the same old ideas (recycling, using less gas, changing to florescent bulbs, etc...), most of which you have already given.

If you truly want to give something new, something that the Earth will always remember, here are some simple suggestions.

(Remember, it’s the thought that counts...)

1) Go outside, look around. Let the beauty that is around you seep into your heart. Say “thank you”.

2) Create something. Anything. A song, a poem, a picture, something that reflects the beauty that you have experienced in the world. The Earth will then see it’s own beauty amplified by that which is within you.

3) When you feel frustrated, angry, or in need of blaming someone for something, just stop. Wait a moment, take a few deep breaths, then thank them for the great gift of showing you something of yourself that you need to learn more about.

4) When you feel depressed, know that you are giving one of the greatest gifts imaginable – you are helping shoulder the burden of the Sadness of the World, so that others may have a little less weight to carry.

5) When, deep inside, you feel the small flicker of Joy that inevitably arises from giving the above gifts, know that you are sharing another of the greatest gifts imaginable – the re-emergence of the infinite divine light of creation, manifested through the Uniqueness that is You.

Enjoy the Holidays,
David & Nan

Appreciation Day...

The physical Universe, we are told, is approximately 14 billion years old.
The average human being typically lives for somewhat under 100 years.

The odds of being alive on this planet, at this moment,
are less than 1 in 140 million.

Think about that, and appreciate every breath, every sound, every moment,
every joy, even every sorrow,
because life is indeed
a rare gift.

Happy Thanksgiving,

David & Nan

The Beginning of the Change...

Orion appears in the deep night sky - can Fall be far behind?

Cooler air begins to probe, looking to get a foot in the door, stirring things up, rousing us from our summer stupor. 

Dark clouds roll through, the house trembles, trees bend in the Wind.  The dog paces as we feel the slightly nervous excitement of impending Storm.

Thunder wakes us up, shakes out stagnant thoughts, opens our ears.
Lightning brings the jolt of Power, creates Life, destroys old dried up forms, shows flashes of Truth.

Question:
What are you being awakened to?
What can you see in the flash?
What life in you is being sparked?

Even as the awesome power frightens us,
the gentle healing rains begin to fall - nourishing, fertilizing.

Let it soak in.
Let it soothe those places that are inflamed.
Let it nurture all that is you, and prepare for the abundant harvest that is beginning...

Blessings,
David & Nan

Our Day in the Sun...

Here on the coast of Maine, dawn arrives at about 3:30 AM. The dark of Night seems to be just a brief respite from the brilliant and frenetic days of Summer.

Light is everywhere. The Sun is high and hot and insistent. All of life seems to be teeming with growth and creative frenzy. This is the time we are closest to the creative life force—as if we have a direct connection to the source of all life, so abundant that it is hard to contain, so compelling that we must create.

Revel in it. Store up the power, create the seeds that will be next year’s growth.

Know too, that creation happens on many levels. Physically we create to keep the world going, renewing. We also create ideas, thoughts, beliefs. We create the metaphors with which we define our world, indeed, we create the world itself. We all carry the responsibility to create wisely, to learn and grow and understand and act, as if we were truly intelligent beings that can apply the Power of Creation with Wisdom, Compassion, and Love.

We must bring all the power of the Sun to bear on creating ways to live in this world, ways to heal the pain and suffering, ways to ensure many seasons of future growth and abundance.

Bask in the light. Let the brilliance of the Sun light up the truth.
Use it to see what is real,
To create what is beautiful,
Let it illuminate the stagnant shadows of the past
where breeds illusion and delusion...

The high noon Sun casts no shadows,
This is the moment of Enlightenment.

(Fear not, the shadows will return. Even now, the seeds of fertile darkness are there, waiting for their time to shine.)

Happy Solstice,
David & Nan

Hooray, Hooray, the First of May...

There is not much in our world that is more uplifting and energizing than early May, when warm weather sets in, light is strong, plants emerge, and birds and bees are out doing their thing… The air is thick with fertility and sensuality.

(This applies, of course, to the northern temperate zones, where there are distinct seasons. Much of the pagan lore of the cycles of the year are based on the climate of Northern Europe. Our apologies to those in other climates, where although the principles are the same, the metaphors and symbols may vary.)

At this time of fertility, the power of the Earth is moving towards creation and new growth. Everything wants to unfold, life wants to reproduce. This underlines and amplifies the importance of our role in creation, of what we put into motion. Our thoughts, desires, fantasies all have more power behind them at this time. Whether they will firmly take root, and grow into life supporting abundance, or whether they will eventually wither and die, choked by weeds or starved for nutrients, we don’t yet know. Right now is the time for sprouting.

We have the responsibility, to ourselves and to the world, to plant our intentions consciously. We might know what we intend to plant, those seeds of hope and compassion and future abundance. We might not be so aware of the other seeds, those invasive seeds of anger and resentment, envy and insecurity. Those seeds have the power of this fertile time behind them as well.

There is a traditional Beltane ritual of young couples jumping over a fire. That is said to enhance fertility, to ensure abundant offspring. These fires are also cleansing, healing. We need, especially at this time, to carefully look at ourselves, at what is really motivating us, at what we really want. We need to go through those fires of passion to cleanse our seeds, to purify our intensions, to ensure that we are planting seeds of compassion, love, gratitude.

Pay attention. Look around you and see what strife is in the world. Now look at what you are planting, and know, that every thought, every feeling, every wish, becomes our harvest later…

Blessings, Abundance, and Health be yours,
David & Nan

Tipping the Balance

Spring Equinox, a time when day and night are equal. A time of balance, when even an egg can stand on its end. A time when our inner light and shadow are both visible, both awake.

Looking closer, we see that everything is actually moving quickest at this time. The seasons are changing rapidly. We are gaining about 4 minutes of daylight every day. The temperature in colder climates is rising about a degree per day.

Hibernating animals are waking, birds are migrating, some are starting to build nests, all are becoming active.

So what really is balance? Perfect balance can only exist for a fleeting moment. Balance is only in the Now, only if there is no thought of past or future. As you read this, that moment is already gone, whizzing by like a speeding planet.

We speak a lot about bringing things into balance. Our lives, our world, our selves. The Equinox shows us, though, that to have balance you need movement. Balance requires change, constant adjustments.

If we don’t move and change, we quickly lose our balance. If we want a world in Balance, then know that we must always keep moving, changing.

Stillness can wait, the solstice is coming….

Happy Spring
David & Nan

Yes Virginia, There Is a Groundhog!

If Candlemas be fair and bright
Come, winter, have another flight
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go, winter, and come not again.

Another interesting time of year, when the life force, having returned to the ground in fall, to be renewed, and purified in the long sleep of winter, begins once again to stir.

Since ancient times this was honored as a time of renewal and purification. The church adapted this into its holiday of Candlemas, celebrating the renewed purity of Mary, the eternal Mother.

Along with the purity of the newly emerging life force, comes the very practical need of learning how much winter was left. Watching nature was the best way to determine what to expect. Thus, our modern tradition of dragging old Phil out of his hole February 2 is really our culture’s remnant of the ancient art of Weather Divination.

As we know, there are many levels to divination. Yes, we wish to know if there will be an early spring. Yet, the Groundhog, that emissary from the lower world, comes to tell us more than that.

If Groundhog see its shadow, then it will run in fear back into its burrow, as there will then be 6 more weeks of winter.

Are you afraid of your shadow? Then crawl back into your hole, Winter is not yet done with you. Go into the Lowerworld and work on yourself in the cold silence of Winter.

If the winter has done its job, if you are clear and pure and ready to see yourself and the world in the new light, then come forth, and let Spring begin…

Blessings,
David & Nan

You Say You Want a Resolution...

It is time once again for that odd tradition in our culture of the “New Year’s Resolution”, where we all make lists of the things we want to do differently this year, knowing full well that there’s a snowball’s chance in the lowerworld that we will really do them, since most have been on the list for as long as we can remember.

What then is really behind this? Most of our traditions have some ancient pagan or shamanic roots. Perhaps this is no different.

I took a quick look in the dictionary, just out of curiosity, to see just what a “resolution “ was. Here is the first definition in the Shorter Oxford English dictionary:

Resolution: 1) Death, a state of dissolution.

Well then, perhaps there really is more to this.

Along with being resolute, in the sense of steadfast and determined, resolution is about dissolving, or taking apart. The resolution of a telescope is its ability to distinguish separate details. To resolve a problem is to know its parts so well that the answer is clear.

The New Year’s Resolution, then, is in fact, an annual dismemberment. It is about dying and being reborn (solstice, rebirth of the Sun.) It is about taking apart your life, looking at the pieces—understanding yourself so well you can see clearly who you are.

Many cultures have traditions of dying and being reborn each year. It is important for the survival of the community that each member periodically looks closely at themselves, their strengths, weaknesses, and contributions, and makes some honest assessments.

Our culture, now more than ever, needs for all of us to look at ourselves through a high resolution lens, to see how we need to change. For as we know, in order to create real change in the world, we must start by changing ourselves.

So, I guess it really is about making a list of the things we want to change. It just might be the solution to all our problems...

Blessings for a Joyful and Healthy New Year,
David & Nan

Festival of Light!

Take a moment, to remember what this time is really about—the Birth of the Sun...

Solstice is literally the time when the Sun stands still. We are in our darkest time, the weather is settling in for the long Winter, the plants have withdrawn their energy into the earth, many animals are sleeping, and many of us feel the need to pull in. Some even feel the arms of depression pulling them further in, further away from the outside world. It really is a time of Darkness.

We distract ourselves with the holiday frenzy of shopping, partying and eating. We put lights on our trees and our homes, to remind us of the life force that feels so far away. We share gifts and good will, knowing that it is a time of hardship for many.

This is also the most powerful creative moment.
It was in Darkness that it was sung ”Let there be Light”, and there was...
It was in Darkness that the spark we call the “Big Bang” filled our Universe with Form and Life.
It was in the Darkness of the Womb that our souls entered our new bodies.

Use this time well. Go into the Darkness. Be still and quiet. Look closely and you will see, deep within, the spark of light that is at the core. Know that this spark is the seed of all the potential for the coming year.

Honor it.
Nurture it.
Give it a warm safe place, so it can grow, and emerge in its time, with the gifts to the world that only you can bring...

Happy Holidays,
David & Nan

Upcoming Workshops

The Way of the Shaman: The Shamanic Journey, Power and Healing - January 13 - 14, 2007, NYC

The Way of the Shaman: Nature, Power and Healing - Jan 28 - Feb 3, 2007, Big Sur, CA

The Foundation for Shamanic Studies Three year Program in Advanced Shamanism and Shamanic Healing

Not a Blog!

Welcome to our new Newsletter page. We have decided, rather than to waste money and paper on printing and mailing 2000 brochures, many of which come back with bad addresses, we will be using Email to remind you to look at our up to date Workshop Schedule on our website. This also allows us to create a sort of "Dynamic Newsletter", that we can use to keep you updated on our work, and other Stuff of Interest. We will post a new article here about once a month, perhaps more often if things warrant it. In the meantime, please use this to access our Workshop Schedule, and other aspects of our main website. Those of you who are on our mailing list, if we your email address, you will be signed up to receive email notices of updates. Please pass along this site to anyone who might be interested.

Blessings!

David Corbin & Nan Moss