How do we co-create change in a world where so many have forgotten their connection and accountability to the web of life? Can you envision all of us swimming in a sea that contains everything? The water connects each of us, in all shapes and forms. Every action, word and deed affects the whole. Every time you move or speak you send out a vibration that moves throughout the whole sea, affecting everything along the way.

We live in a vibrational universe of consciousness in constant creative motion; it’s speeding up, and at the same time nudging us to slow down and feel. Every moment, we are instruments in participation with the Great Mystery, co-creating with Source through conscious or unconscious means. We turn to indigenous teachings to remember our connection to the web of life and the cosmos in the return to wholeness by way of the heart. From a shamanic point of view, awareness and intention set the stage for our life. The path of the heart is not a concept of the mind, it’s not something you learn by reading enough books—it must be felt and experienced in our surrender to the unknown. In this exchange through dreaming, soul retrieval, journeying, ceremony and ritual, there is a peeling away of the layers that reveal truth and open us to the universe within.

Shamanism is a path that reveals itself to each individual with no set of rules, only guidelines. Every moment is not only a gift but an opportunity to choose how you wish to perceive and proceed through awareness and feeling. School taught us much about history, math, science, etc., yet something fundamental was missing from our western education—we were not taught to feel. If we look outside the western box toward indigenous teachings, we can find the bridge that leads us back to balance with all life.

So many souls have become fragmented through trauma, unhealed generations and lifetimes of experience of not speaking and living their truth. There is a need to retrieve the soul where it has separated from itself, to directly experience the truth of oneness beyond the illusion of separation. The parts that lead to wholeness, joy and inspiration live within us and are communicating to us in a myriad of ways echoed in Nature and the Elements.

How do we access those parts that were lost along the way? Let’s first set the stage to discover where awareness has been hiding: You, as a radio with many stations, every moment you are tuned into a station that is broadcasting a vibrational frequency we will call Love or Fear. What channel are you plugged into: are you consciously choosing Love or unconsciously choosing (autopilot) Fear? Truth is, most of us run on unconscious autopilot and are making critical choices from that frequency (mental/logical). Yet, it is only from our feeling heart we can express truth and alignment with our life’s unique purpose.

Now, let’s set another stage that leads us back to conscious awareness with the web of life, the large sea. A circle divided into four equal parts (four Elements) with you standing in the center of what we will call a Medicine Wheel, connected to every timeline and potential. You are standing in the fifth element, Ether, from which all of life streams. As you read the items below, allow yourself to engage in self inquiry to become aware of your blind spots and your strengths. You don’t need to own or agree with this cosmology; it is just one of many paths that lead to integration to wholeness.

A)  Earth, Body, Creative, Vitality, Grounded, Nurture, Trust, Dreamtime, Unconditional Love, Animal and Insect Kingdom, Nature. Your feet rooted in Mother Earth. From ages one to five, we develop core foundations and now, as an adult, you get to choose to let go of limited stories you were taught and create a new story that supports you in expressing your Joy. What’s your story...is it limited or is it grateful for all the lessons that made you who you are? What is Green, Fertile & Growing from your Uniqueness? What are you passionate about...what are your Dreams? When was the last time you allowed space to create and play?

B)  Water, Moon, Emotions, Feeling, Unconscious, Shadow, Cycles of Time, Endings & Beginnings, Release, Forgiveness, Yin, Ancestors & Healing, the Life that lives in the Waters. Your left side is closest to the Heart—we will call this your Feminine side, the part that receives, feels and flows. Perhaps you may inquire within as to whether you feel stuck in life or do you feel and acknowledge all of life as a flow? Is the flow gentle, turbulent or stagnant? Have you learned the art of Surrender? Are there parts of yourself you have pushed under the rug and dismissed that were not comfortable or convenient to feel? Mother Moon teaches us of the cyclical nature of life in all its forms. This is also the place where we, out of love, blindly carry repeated cycles through generations from the unhealed parts of our ancestors. Because we are so interconnected, we can change that story too, by bringing it to light (full moon/full vision).

C)  Wind, Spirit, Eternal Self, Essence, Your Head Points to Sky, Winds, Higher Communication, Awareness, Intuition, Stars, Winged Ones, Spirit Guidance & Connection to the Cosmos. Wind teaches us to ride the storms of our lives with gratitude, without which we would not know contrast. All of our lessons point us to the direction of our soul’s most sacred Contracts, if we choose to tune in. Every breath we take affirms Life; many of us are unconsciously in fight or flight (short, shallow) breath throughout the day. How can we be connected to higher Awareness if we don’t do the simple act of breathing deep, long Heart-connected Breaths? What is your Cosmology? Do you connect to something bigger from beyond what you see with your human eyes? Do you remember you came from the Stars and that you are no less than the Stars? Do you understand the magnificence of who and what you are as an Eternal Being?

D)  Sun, Fire, Vision, Knowledge beyond Intellect, Transmutation, Transformation, Beginnings, Purification, Harmony with all Creation. Our right side can be referred to as our Masculine side, the part of us that steps out in the world—through fear and self-imposed limits. The Sun reminds us of the Inner Fire that Births Life to Our Dreamseeds. The Sun that lives within us is connected to the Central Sun; like the Phoenix that rises from the ashes to be born again, every day is an opportunity of New Beginnings, a chance to perceive things differently. What do you need to turn over to the fires of Purification?

E)  Ether is where the Magic happens, when we engage in all of Life as a Journey and learn that if we don’t like the script we can create another one, from awareness of our part in it. There is work in being conscious and accountable for the co-creations of our emotions. Awakening is not for the chosen few, it is for those who choose to do the work. Shamanism is a method, not a religion; it’s a Path of the Heart removed from victimhood that empowers us to change our story. When we look through the lens of Cosmology, it’s easier to see where we have room to grow. Listen to your heart: it will never steer you wrong if you learn to tune into that intelligence. There are no rules in this as we are all co-creators of our reality. Well, maybe one rule: let LOVE be your compass.

There are as many cures as there are ailments: Dreaming, Vision Quest, Sweat Lodge, Sacred Bodywork, Vibrational & Crystal Therapy, Essential Oils, Physical Exercise, Play, Creative Projects, Dance, Despacho, Family Constellations, Swimming, Art Therapy, Trance Dance, Drumming, Journeying, Learning to Give & Receive, Soul Retrieval, Breathwork, Chanting, Expression of Truth through Word and Song, Fasting, Smudging with Feathers.

Debra Kelly, LMT, Shamanic Practitioner at Thermae Retreat and facilitator of Sacred Circles of Transformation, can be reached at 954-604-7930 or InSacredWays.com. See ad page 7.