Digging Deep

"If you are ready to accept all which you find in yourself, you will be able to move through everything with deep sensitivity, awareness, love and understanding." ~Gerd Ziegler Open any self help book, speak to any motivational speaker, listen to any lecture about finding your spiritual path and you will at some point come across the words “Go deep within” to find….life’s lessons, inner gifts, true self…etc. But for many that is a very scary task. Often support is needed.

There is a fear of uncovering old memories, feeling the pain of hidden wounds, revealing negative behaviors, or exposing vulnerabilities. Not easy work. And often if not done with the right intention and with the needed direction…it can be disempowering and create results less than what we hoped for.

When working with a shaman the soul work is done in a way that brings about positive change. It offers healing energies. It sheds light to loss. It reveals ways to nurture, release and embrace in meaningful ways that the soul resonates with. Soul work does not focus on the unattainable perfection that society has created. Soul work is about embracing our wholeness without judgment or story filled drama.

As Julia Cameron so beautifully states, "Wherever you are is always the right place. There is never a need to fix anything, to hitch up the bootstraps of the soul and start at some higher place. Start right where you are." The whole of who you are is what creates your beautiful individuality, adds the wonder to your life and the depth to your soul.

Working with a shaman allows your soul to receive the care and attention it needs. Life is often filled with trauma, loss, pain or suffering, abuse or neglect, even old labels placed upon us that we have owned that are not true. All this imprints a sort of energy within your soul and the shaman uses tools and guides to restore the soul, to heal it and to return its lost parts. This work must be done with great sensitivity, compassion, the greatest of love for the life designed for you and integrity.

Life shines brightly when good soul care is intact. Possibilities appear from realms beyond our recognition. Hope awakens within us. Struggles become manageable and we recognize our potential. A peace and grace fills us as we heal and embrace the whole of who we are. The “deep” work, done on a soul level creates the opportunity for us to be our fullest self.

Blessings ~ Lisa Meade

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

The Gifts of My Tools

As a shaman I use many tools in my services and practices. Recently I purchased a new deck of cards to be used to further my skills as part of a requirement with my work with my mentor and teacher. As I opened the fresh deck and sat with my cup of tea dreamily looking at each new card with wonder I remembered all the different times in the past that I have done this with other decks and even with other tools. My soul resonates with the possibilities. It feels as though every cell in my being is awake to the beauty and the energy unfolding around me. My mind trips away on the upcoming uses and explorations. My spirit sings! My most recent deck is The Anubis Oracle: A Journey into the Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt . The images are magical, the messages and descriptions have me lost in ideas as I enter into my shamanic thoughts and see the lessons unfold in a powerful and inspiring ways. I am learning without even applying. Just feeling the connection to the cards, to the guides on each, and to the images that surround them I am aware that this will prove to be so valuable to my work. As Robert Moss, author, teacher and visionary of shamanic soul care and dreams stated, “Tarot images can be mirrors for the self. They can also be windows to something beyond the present self. We may be able to look through the painted image of a card, into a scene beyond it. The border of the card became a window. When I look through that window, I might find myself glimpsing an event in the future, or the dramas of lovers or rivals, or the play of elemental forces, or the workings of spirits behind the curtain of the world.” What a sacred way of viewing the images on these cards; so widely expansive.

I have experienced similar reactions to other instruments I now have in my sacred tool larder. I remember the very first time I held and beat my drum. I had spent hours, days even, crafting this frame drum from scratch, the beater adorned with colors and decorative charms and feathers that hold strong meaning to me and my connection to my drum. The first time I used my drum in a sacred act, tears sprung from my eyes and my heart raced. To this day, when I hold my drum, it is with the greatest respect and admiration of the bridge it creates for me to spirit and my guides.

What spiritual tools do you have in your life that serve you to connect with source? How do you resonate with them? If you are needing to add some positive energy to your spiritual path and are looking for ways to connect with passion and delight, perhaps a new tool is just what you need. Ask your soul what it longs for, take a quiet walk and see what the Universe suggests, or talk to some of your friends and see what they connect with and how or why. It could be a rattle, a key, a charm, a pendulum, a crystal, a pose…You may be delightfully surprised at what crosses your path and how alive you feel when you utilize it in your spiritual relationship. Imagine the possibilities!

The Power of Dreams

“Dreams won't always take you on a straight path to destiny but they're usually related to what your soul wants for you. They'll force you to ask yourself the hard questions, they'll kick your ass and more importantly, they'll turn you on.”― Kelly Cutrone, If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You

What do your dreams hold for you? Do you wake up in the night wondering the connection in your dream time and your wake time? What is the meaning, what is the message? What is your soul whispering to you? What is it asking you to discover?

Do you carry your dreams into the sunlight, held within your heart waiting for the moment you breathe life into them? Do they get you all juiced up with the possibilities, the choices, the unfolding magic brought into reality?

Dreams offer us the many chances to look deeper into our being, to check in with our soul and visit the lessons unfolding. Asking those tough questions and sitting with the truth in the answers gives us openings to move, transform or release what is not serving us or even is tying us down. Sometimes those truth filled answers mean we must wait for the unfolding lesson, to take pause and let go of the need to control and just BE with our truth and allow our soul to heal, to expand, to connect or whatever else it leads us to do.

But these answers also can inspire us and get us turned on to the life meant for us to live fully. These answers bring us energy to move mountains, to create ripples, to whisper longings, and to discover the mysteries. You soul celebrates these moments as the dream now takes you to places you thought you could only visit in your dreams and now they are your reality! Magic!

I will forever look to my dreams for my questions, my lessons and my inspirations. I will face the hard questions and seek and uncover the inner truth. I will explore the unknown lands of my shadow, face the inner monsters, celebrate my greatness without shame and give of myself as I am called. Without my dreams, life would be very vanilla and I enjoy the abundant flavors I can dig into!

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade

Energies

What is the energy you bring to your day? There are two kinds; negative and positive energies. Acknowledging the difference between them and being conscious of the energies we are bringing to each moment of our day is extremely important. When positive energy is present we are fluid, balanced, engaged, and positive. We feel the forward movement. We are willing to explore possibilities and options. We feel vibrant, healthy and alive.

When negative energy is present we are rigid, unsettled, shut down and unenthusiastic. We feel stuck. We are detached and cannot see the good in things. We feel frozen, cut off and pessimistic.

Sometimes we know why we are holding the energy we are in the moment. Sometimes it escapes us and we feel as though we are a victim of our feelings and our energies. To rise above feels impossible. The challenge is just too daunting for us to face alone.

Lately I have noticed in my work that more and more people contact me carrying negative energies in their beings and not knowing how to release it, to move on, to reconnect with what the value in life. This is the work of a soul care practitioner. Shamanic work is part of the healing that needs to take place. There could be soul loss occurring that no amount of positive thinking is going to heal.

Sometimes this energy is triggered by an event or a relationship. It has been buried down deep and we have carried it around with us unknowingly, but all of a sudden we notice we are not able to shake a mood, ill feelings or negative thoughts. The bubble has risen to the surface. The good news is that this most likely means you have all the qualities you need to begin the healing! A soul care practitioner can help retrieve the part of you that needs support and understanding; helping you to bring the pieces of your story back together so that your wholeness can be achieved and your healthy energies can be restored.

Blessings ~ Lisa

©COPYRIGHT 2012 Lisa Meade