posted July 14, 2007 09:32 PM         

“We accept many notions because they seem to be the logical answers to our questions. But have we asked the right questions?”

-- Harold L. Klawans

Sometimes we ask questions for which we really don’t want the answer! Nonetheless, when we ask a question, our subconscious minds will get to work to answer us.

Here are some examples of questions we want to avoid:

- What’s wrong with me?
- How long could this take?
- What could go wrong?
- How much trouble could it be?
- How hard could it be?

Asking questions can be empowering – as long as they’re smart questions!

"The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a very creative mind to spot wrong questions."

-- Anthony Jay

posted July 14, 2007 10:24 PM         

quote:

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Sometimes we ask questions for which we really don’t want the answer! Nonetheless, when we ask a question, our subconscious minds will get to work to answer us.

Here are some examples of questions we want to avoid:

- What’s wrong with me?
- How long could this take?
- What could go wrong?
- How much trouble could it be?
- How hard could it be?

---

posted July 15, 2007 12:16 AM         

I myself have been known to just let these OLD TYPES play over & over in my head & have ended up attaching & attacking more of same stuff in my life!!!! Oh coarse I don't deal with my thoughts this way anymore, because I have learned to reprogram myself & not dwell on it as much!!!LOL!!! This did make me SICK!!!

So I feel This helped me to change, being as Stubborn as a BULL can be sometimes!!!LOL!!

Thanks FAYTE!!!!

Star Sister!!!!!

posted July 15, 2007 01:12 AM         

Visioning - Team members envision what they can create together, see the possibilities for developing breakthrough solutions, and realize that they can accomplish far more collectively than separately.

Claiming - Team members empower themselves by defining the goals, roles, competencies and resources necessary to realize their shared vision.

Celebrating - Teams recognize and affirm both their collective and individual accomplishments and acknowledge what their work as a team has made possible.

Letting Go - Team members acknowledge and accurately communicate their frustrations, disappointments, and withheld thoughts in a manner that is forthright and constructive. This clears the way for future endeavors.

posted July 15, 2007 01:20 AM         

One way to understand the process of change is as an ongoing spiral. Like all models, this is simplified, but the simplification helps us understand a very complex process. On the flat surface of a computer screen, it looks like a closed cycle, a pattern of repetition. In reality, when we go around the cycle, we reach each point changed by all that has happened since we last were there. Also, of course, no one single spiral can describe a human life. Every human being has many facets. We can grow at a different rate (or even regress) in each facet, in different periods of our lives. Remember that a skilled counselor can help you work through each segment of the spiral. Here, in simplified form, are the steps involved in conscious, willed change:
Identify the goal: It's important to describe the change you want in terms of a goal, rather than a problem or a deficiency. Start a sentence with the words "I want ..." and continue it with "so that ..." Be as clear and precise as you can, always in positive terms, about your goal, but not its specific manifestation. Always leave some scope for the Goddess' wonderful surprises. She may know of an even better job, or home, or lover than the one you had in mind.

A well formulated goal is:

positive - describe what you want rather than what you want to fix or change
possible - magic extends the sphere of possibility, but there are still limits.
Alas, one cannot teleport between the coasts!
ethical - your magic is either self directed or directed toward a person who is willing to receive it. It is invasive to work your will on another person without their consent. Such workings are also a lot harder to do and far more likely to backfire.
ecological - your goal is in harmony with your values and with your other needs and desires
observable - you will have a way of knowing when this goal is achieved.

Gather information: Before you act, you need to know as much as possible about the situation and your feasible options within it. For example, if you want a new home, you should have a good idea of your budget, research current mortgage rates and possibilities, check out neighborhoods, learn how to recognize basic structural soundness, look at real estate ads, ask around to see if anyone knows of available places. If you want a career change, look into job market prospects, places where your current skills would be welcomed, available training programs, possibilities for financial aid. This kind of very normal, secular, information gathering comes first.

Another kind of information comes from inside yourself, from your own heart and gut, and perhaps from the "still, small voice" of Sacred contact. It's pivotally important to reach within, to find those perceptions and emotional responses that have not come to consciousness.

Feelings count, because whatever does not ultimately feel good will not be sustainable. Of course, people can work through temporary unpleasantness to advance a long-range goal. For example, learning a new skill can be tedious, even painful (I recall blistered fingertips that eventually turned into a guitar player's callouses). What makes the process worthwhile is a personally satisfying goal, not just something you think you should want or should do. The truth of this, too, lies deep within you.

People know far more than they realize. The amount of sheer sensory data that pours in on us is more than we can consciously notice or integrate, but we store it all. Our unconscious minds notice patterns and relationships that our conscious minds might miss. And, of course, we have emotional responses that we never bring to surface. In short, our conscious minds may be very intelligent, but our unconscious minds are very much wiser. And beyond even that is the wisdom of the Gods.

Seek inner (and Otherworld) wisdom: Our Pagan heritage of magic includes some receptive techniques, ways to reach deep within and beyond ourselves for guidance. Here are the three I consider most important:

Divination: There are a host of divinatory methods, such as Tarot, Runes, the I Ching, scrying. Use whichever you like. There are good books, classes and workshops available for most of them.
Dreamwork: Traditions of dreamwork are as ancient as recorded history and as modern as contemporary psychology.
Meditation: This is the purest, most accessible, and yet most difficult method of all. Just sit and let your mind go where it will. Don't try to structure or follow your thoughts, just watch them.

Finally, does what you are considering harmonize well with your religious values? Is it in keeping with your core ethic? with the specific ethical teachings of your Tradition? with the great myths that you have found inspiring over the years? If you or your Tradition have a particular tutelary deity, is what you are planning congruent with the spirit and energy of that deity?

Decide: When you have gathered all the information you can from all possible sources, put the whole matter on hold. Give your decision as much time as you can to gestate. A day is good, a week is better. When you have the luxury, a full lunar cycle is optimal. By then, you will probably know your desire. For a final check, sit quietly and just ask inside yourself if any part of you has any problem with this decision. Then, place yourself at Center and ask for guidance from the Guardians of the Directions, like this:

East: Do I have all the information I need? Does this make sense?
South: Do I have the energy to carry this through? Do I feel enthusiastic, even passionate, about my plan?
West: Is my plan wise? Is it compassionate and loving to myself and to others it will affect?
North: Do I have the material resources to carry out my plan? Do I have the skill? Do I have a way to obtain whatever I still need?
Below: Am I capable of doing what I plan? Do I have the requisite talents and temperaments?
Above: Is my plan in keeping with my ideals and values?

Empower your decision: Projective magic refers to that set of skills by which we project our will out into the world to empower change.

Raise power: Write or choose a simple chant that is related to your goal. While chanting it, imagine that your goal is already accomplished. Imagine this as actively and as specifically as possible. What do you see from your new living room window? How does it feel to be riding a horse again with your arm fully healed?
Store power: Find a small object that reminds you of your goal, something small enough to fit in your pocket or purse, or even an unobtrusive piece of jewelry. Consecrate it to your goal. Hold it while you chant, while you imagine your accomplished goal. Then keep it with you at all times until your goal is achieved. When you get tired or discouraged -- and we all have those moments -- this talisman will help you keep going. Hold it and repeat the chant that was used when the object was charged. It will bring you back, in memory, to the power you felt at that moment.

Act in accordance: The focus now shifts to everyday, ordinary, secular life. We have many names for the world outside of Circle: the world of form, the plane of manifestation, the Clockworld. Whatever you call it, this is where you hope to see results, and it is also where you need to direct your efforts now. Action in the material world requires that you expend time, energy, and possibly money, which will not then be available for other purposes. By committing your resources, you show the Gods and your own deep mind that you are serious about your goal. Secular follow through also provides your magic with a channel for manifestation.

By Judy Harrow

posted July 15, 2007 06:30 AM         

quote:

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- What’s wrong with me?
- How long could this take?
- What could go wrong?
- How much trouble could it be?
- How hard could it be?

Asking questions can be empowering – as long as they’re smart questions!

---

posted July 15, 2007 09:19 AM         

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Asking questions can be empowering – as long as they’re smart questions!

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When people ask these questions they don't need answers, they need emotional support.

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posted July 16, 2007 08:23 AM         

- What’s wrong with me?
- How long could this take?
- What could go wrong?
- How much trouble could it be?
- How hard could it be?

- What's wrong with me? There's nothing wrong with me!!! It's perfect everything that I have done so far, to this point, moment in time, in MY LIFE!!! I AM who I AM today because of the " JOURNEY " !!! It's made ME A BETTER PERSON!!!!

- How long could this take? Too LONG, if you don't know!!!!

- What could go wrong? Everything could go WRONG, if you don't know!!!

-- How much trouble could it be? Too MUCH TROUBLE!!! Lets go and investigate, just to see HOW MUCH TROUBLE, one can get into!!!!LOL!!!

- How hard could it be? HOW HARD, Oh the possiblities can be endless with these!!!!!

posted July 16, 2007 01:29 PM         

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- What’s wrong with me?

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- How long could this take?

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- What could go wrong?

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- How much trouble could it be?

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- How hard could it be?

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What's wrong with me? There's nothing wrong with me!!! It's perfect everything that I have done so far, to this point, moment in time, in MY LIFE!!! I AM who I AM today because of the " JOURNEY " !!! It's made ME A BETTER PERSON!!!!

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- How long could this take? Too LONG, if you don't know!!!!

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- What could go wrong? Everything could go WRONG, if you don't know!!!

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-- How much trouble could it be? Too MUCH TROUBLE!!! Lets go and investigate, just to see HOW MUCH TROUBLE, one can get into!!!!LOL!!!

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- How hard could it be? HOW HARD, Oh the possiblities can be endless with these!!!!!

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posted July 17, 2007 01:29 AM         

Paid my dues in full & then some!!!

Finished!!! PASSED!!!

Even got locked into two depressions in the past ( Faced My Dark Night of the Soul)Shaman's DEATH!!! And it turned out O.K!!!!

Thats just my opinion & a few others. For what it's worth.

But at least now, I'm not just adding to my pile or anyone else's, sure I have fallen, a many times, but the only sin to me is when one falls & doesn't brush off their knees & get right back up. Now thats a sin to me!!!!

Now it's easier & happier to just be me, without all the extra baggage, without the weight of it all, dragging it along with me on the Journey.

I've already lived 90% of my life with pain & questioning everything????

Got my answers & I'm very happy with them, now when something happens to get me down, I'm glad that I've learned how to reach my core or centre, root, I now come from a much stronger & balanced centre!!!

What I have felt in the last 1 1/2yrs compared to the rest of my life????

No comparisons!!! JOY!!! BLESSED!!!

Why would someone doubt anothers happiness & methods anyway???? Isn't this why one heals in the first place, too feel better???

It's not painted on or fake, when one can stay balanced & centred after doing their lifes homework. I'm not saying that life's lessons are all done for me now, I'm just saying that the past is all healed & I'm just cleaning up the tail end of it now!!!

This way life is alot easier & lighter for me without all the baggage & always needing to fix it!!! Now I just need to maintain what I got & learned so far!!! Very Thankful!!!!

I have an appreciation & joy for my life now that i don't have before, I recongnize it's worth & value!!!!

I'm no longer sad, I'm HAPPY most of the time!!!! Whys that so hard to understand???

I have had to work hard to get to this point in my life and it will still present it challenges, but I feel confident that I am able to meet them head on now without so much fear or pain, because of my past healings & lifes lessons so far!!

posted July 18, 2007 10:57 AM         

Grandfather,

I do ask for death,

That the parts of me,

Or speak the truth,

Which are too blind to see.

Grandmother,

Give me birth again,

With love as my guide,

Truth and beauty as my path,

posted July 18, 2007 11:53 AM         

Death and Rebirth

The teaching

The teachings of Shaman's death have many varied forms in the ceremonies of Native America. The idea of death as a means to eperiencing new life is common belief. Since all life is seen as movement on the Medicine Wheel, nothing is really ending without also being a new beginning. The Wheel of Life contains many spokes that mark the life-lessons and steps that every living creature will have to experience on the trail of physical life. These steps are called the Good Red Road and represent the SPIRAL FLOW of LIFE that comes to humans from Great Mystery. Native Americans have taught that judging the steps another person must take in order to grow is foolish and unproductive.

As the wheel of Life turns, all humans will reach the place where they will have to learn similar lessons. This is where Shaman's Death comes into play. If the lesson of each spoke on the Medicine Wheel is learned, the lesson of the next spoke is made available. The shadow side of self, which inhibits growth, is constantly forced to die. These deaths occur on a daily basis, wether they be our fears, our doubts, our bad habits, our negitive thoughts, or our self-importance. These deaths mark spiritual progress and speack of the ability of humankind to walk in beauty. Every death of a part of the shadow announces the birth of a new talent or gift contained in the self. Each victory over a part of self that does not Walk in Beauty is a rebirth in itself. Every time a person reaches a crossroads and a decision must be made, that change in attitude marks the death of the old and the birth of the new.

A Shaman is a person who is willing to confront the greatest fears and shadows of the physical life. When I was working with Joaquin and the Grandmothers in Mexico, I was taught the difference between a healer and a shaman. Ahealer is a person who is able to use the forces of Good Medicine to effect cure in the body, mind, or spirit of another. The healer, or curandero, does not use the forces of the shadow to effect cures. The shaman on the other hand, is a healer who has gone into the underworld and has unflichingly confronted his or her own shadow as well as the evil of others and can successfully deal with those forces of darkness equally used with those of light. A shaman can do exorisms and can reverse hexes and the results of black arts that have been used on a patient. The shaman is trained in dealing with any type of black arts that may have caused illness. Many people in today's society are calling themselves shaman without any knowledge of exactly what this means. If the world-be shaman does not have the ability to look at his or her own shadows side, this person is not meant to follow the path of the shaman. the person would never be able to confront or handle the results and/or intentions of black shamanism. Among the people of Mexico and Central and south america, the black arts and the use of Good and bad Medicine together is very prevalent. Many shamans have died trying to protect others, thus invoking the warth of those using the black arts. Although this type of bad Medicine among shamans is not as prevalent north of the Mexican border, it does exist. True Medicine People do not have to announce or brag that they are shamans or Medicine People at all. They work quietly and with humility because they know their worth in the eyes of the Great Mystery. The opinions of others do not change the sense of Self held by a true healer or shaman.

A shaman has walked up to the gates of his or her personal hell and then walked in. Then self-created demons of fear, insanity, loneliness, self-importance, and addictions have been confronted and conquered by the shaman who has gone through the gamut of Shaman's Deaths. The quality that always shines in a true shaman is compassion for the paths that others must walk. This comes from the fact that the shaman has also walked through the underworld of the shadow and knows firsthand the pain involved in breacking the stranglehold of inner darkness.

One such death/rebirth ritual is called The Night of Fear.
This Tradition is practiced by many North American Tribes as a way to confront and conquer fear before going to a remote area and digging one's own grave. Then the seeker will lie in that grave alone all night. The opening to the grave is covered by a blanket. The sounds of the night and the nocturnal prowlers act as a catalyst that brings forth all of one's greatest imagined fears so that they may be confronted. Since the person cannot see through the blanket, the sounds, combined with imagination, are his or her worst enemy. the fears created by an active imagination can lead to the retrieval of inner-courage or the total paralyzation of the senses. After a person remains awake all night and confronts the shadowlike fears that stalk the imagination, he or she is eligible to go on a Vision Quest.

Another type of Shaman's Death ritual comes from the highlands of Mexico. In this ceremony, the initiate is stripped of clothing and is painted on the body with Bat symbols by members of his or her own gender. A hole is dug in the centre of the village that will only allow the buried person's head to be above the Earth. Then the seeker is buried, standing up, for twenty-four-hours period. All of the villagers call names, kick dust in the seeker's face, and urinate or defecate near the head of the buried and helpless person. The initiate is not allowed to answer any of the callsor actions verbally. The horror of what is happening destroys many of the notions one has of oneself. The indignites are a total surpise to the initiates and must be dealt with silently and with courage. The initiation is never explained before hand except in the broadest terms.

After the twenty-four-hour ordeal, the initiate is removed from the hole and taken to a stream to be washed and perfumed. The members of the village dress the seeker and return him or her to the village draped in flowers and a new white garment. The final surpise is a feast that is held in the honor of the Bat god who stayed with the seeker and assisted the rebirth. Those who fail are lifted from the earth and washed and then looked after until the shamans illness leaves. This illness ia a borderline insanity that has broken the will of the shaman and can split the persolity. Some villages have one or two initiates who lost touch with reality during the process and are cared for as people " touched by the gods."

The value of these types of Shaman's Deaths is that when a person suceeds in coming through the fire of insanity, the mind is strong and cannot be " though adjusted " by sorcery. Thought adjusting is a telepathic invasion into the minds of the unaware. It is an ancient technique that involves the use of adjusting the attitudes or ideas of others for means of controlling their reasons. Many black shamans seek to drive white shamans to insanity through invading their dreamscapes or using fear tactics to make their victims go crazy. In this way those who oppose the misuse of shamanism are removed from the gamebroad. It is imperative for people studying to be shamans to study with a trained, tried and true Medicine Person. To unwittingly delve into shamanism without guidance, especially in those countries that regularly practice the dark arts, can be life threatening.

Shamanism is also the ablitly to commune with all spirits dwelling on all levels of Creation. When a person has this ability from an early age it can be severely misunderstood. The natural shaman has usually had one or more major traumas between the ages of one and seven. These traumatic events cause a tear in the embryonic ego matrix that destroys the boundaries of the child. The sense of Self and one's Scared Space is torn open and the communication between the Self and other voices begins. A small child is not able to discern which voices are helpful and which are harmful, and therefore may react to the direction of harmful earthbound spirits. In severe cases where the child is constantly abused by adults around him or her, the child may develop schizophrenia or split-personality syndrome.

In modern cultures, the treatment of these symptoms is tragic. In Mexico Tribal cultures, the shildren is taught how to eliminate the bad influences and accept the good voices that will lead to an adulthood as a gifted shaman. The series of Shaman's Deaths that must be conquered in the child's life is a natural path of discernment and strenghening of self. These inner-battles are always fought with the assistance of trained healers and shamans of a Tribe. The finest shamans in our world today are those healed healers who have walked the path of death and rebirth destroying the shadows that have blocked their inner-clarity.

Once a person has experienced the hard-fought road to wellness, it becomes easy to assist others in doing the same. When a shaman can recognize the shadow inside the self, diagnosing similar darkness in others is possible.

Then willingness to confront anything in the Self that is notserving The Scared Path to Wholeness and to go though the cleansing process of Shaman's Death is admirable.

Shaman's Death is not just for shamans. Every time anyone wishes to change old habits and begin life again in a new and more productive way, there is a Shaman's Death. If old Corn stalks were not burned off and plowed under, the soil would not be fertilized and new Corn could not grow the next year.

Bat is the Mayan and Aztec symbol for rebirth. Bat hangs upside down in the cave just as humans make ready for birth, nestled upside down in their mother's wombs. the one must make the dicision as to which of these sides of the Self will allow further growth. The duality of the Universe will evolve into the uniworld when each person is able to see both sides as equally contributing to the process of awareness. The Shaman's Death is one symbol of this growing understanding that leads to wholeness.

The Application
In choosing the Shaman's Death card, you being put on notice that a death cycle or ending is in progress. Before the rebirth can occur, the habit, attitude, relationship, or part of Self that is dying must be looked at. Assist the process by consciously allowing the old to bemoved. Let go and then make way for the new cycle of life to take hold.

Remember that you are creating fertile ground for new adventures when you are willing to let your old identities die. the rebirth cycle is always full of promise and growth when you allow the old patterns to die with dignity.

By Jamie Sams

posted July 18, 2007 11:41 PM         

The Gift!!!! This is part of why I'm blessed with much JOY!!!!!