Years ago while working in a hospital's pain management facility as a massage therapist, a woman came to see me whom I'll refer to as PJ.
The moment I began to work with PJ I knew there was something amiss, due to the presence of tears and unusually high anxiety. Not easy to miss.
So began an unusual relationship. Within a few minutes it was obvious that PJ was very disturbed and unhappy. Relationships. What else? She considered herself too old to do anything about her situation (late 60's, early 70's). Doomed and Scrooged.
I reminded her of Scrooge who thought he was too old to change. She didn't get the anology. I could tell she was borderline indifferent, a state of mind one may move into at any time that is the opposite of love, letting nothing in that is positive and closing the heart forever, thereby entering into a state of mind that is extremely difficult to get out of. I knew I had to do something.
I remembered words of wisdom from Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha during my time with her. She always said, "As a medicine person you will have to do anything it takes to bring balance to a situation. If you don't know what to do, call on me and just get out of the way."
I called out to Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha and all the Grandmothers and Grandfathers to help this woman. Then I just got out of the way.
I found myself saying something shocking to PJ. I couldn't believe that I'd said it, but I did. I only know it was way dirty and it even shocked me but I can't remember what it was. Anyway, PJ's reaction, being totally shocked, was to laugh. So I said something even more shocking. Honestly, now, I don't even remember what I had said to her. The whole conversation was a blur and I couldn't tell you later what it was that I'd said to her, not even minutes after I'd said it. That is how spirit works when you get out of the way.
I was on a roll. Shocking epithets issuing forth as though someone had turned on a faucet. Within moments, PJ was transformed. She was roaring with laughter! For the next 45 minutes, PJ rocked and rolled on my table with laughter. It never occurred to me that people may be in the outer office wondering what was going on inside my room. PJ and I were having a ball. She was now crying tears of joy whereas she came in all miserable and sad.
Laughter heals the soul. It had been a long while since PJ had laughed. The sadness and the weight of the world, she carried. The joy and the longing for love, she missed. Her heart was heavy with dread because she kept looking back at what life had been. Instead of looking forward to what life can be. Many people look backward and it never is a benefit to do so. You can drive yourself crazy looking back. It is always better to look ahead.
I gave PJ the name of a counselor and her card to make sure she wouldn't forget. PJ said she'd definitely go to see her and she made another appointment with me because she loved the whole session and also the massage. She said she felt better than she had in years but she knew she had a long way to go. Each time PJ came in she would laugh and laugh. She came back for awhile and then I didn't see her again.
Later, I spoke to her counselor, there at the hospital. I asked how PJ was doing and the counselor said she was coming along but she always cried. "Hard Case". I told her of my time with PJ and how I could get her laughing. She just looked at me, incredulous. "YOU GET HER LAUGHING??? How do you do that?"
All I could say was, "I don't know.....I just call on spirit and get out of the way."
Friday, January 28, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
On Being Intuitive
I've been in the company of very intuitive people for over 25 years now. It always made me feel like there must be something wrong with me because I wasn't as intuitive as they were. When I say 'intuitive' I mean that the people I kept company with could just look at you and 'see' you. Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha is one of those people. There have been a few others but Grandmother was the one with whom I kept the most company.
Whenever anything would happen that would be considered an 'intuitive' moment for me, I would push it back or put it in the background thinking that it wasn't enough, that I had to be able to 'see'. To me, nothing would ever be as intuitive as 'seeing' energy. When I finally did 'see' something, however, I realized I didn't know what I was looking at. So being intuitive is all relative.
My intuitive moments always came in an instant and left the same way. Intuition doesn't hang around when it strikes....it moves in and slaps you upside the head (as hard as a whisper) and moves on before you can form a question mark like the ones you see over the heads in cartoon characters.
Intuition strikes when you least expect it. Like the time I took that teaching job when my intuition told me not to and it turned into a disaster. I was surprised that it was disastrous because my intuition didn't shout at me not to take it, it just said, 'no'. I would think that if something was going to be a disaster, my intution would be waving red flags and canons would be going off in the background and I would be seeing little dead bodies everywhere.
Over the years I've had to get the sense that intuition is extremely subtle and in order to feel the subtlety of intuition you have to be open and ready all the time when it comes calling. And make your decisions based on how quickly it comes through your space and touches you with its essence.
There are times when I'm not that quick.
I may not always be that open.
I'm not that ready.
Life is interesting, all the time.
I've had to develop a very subtle way to check what I'm intuiting. It works quite well and connects me instantly with what it is that I'm intuiting. No one can see the process. It can be used virtually anywhere, at any time, and in all situations. Look for it on my website as an e-book, coming soon.
But, I'm still learning and each day is a new and eye-opening experience for me because I'm actually the one teaching intuitive development classes so I know that there are others like me who are also not that quick, open, or ready. As a matter of fact, I've met some people who don't appear to understand that they're human and capable of being intuitive.
That has made me feel a whole lot better about myself.
Whenever anything would happen that would be considered an 'intuitive' moment for me, I would push it back or put it in the background thinking that it wasn't enough, that I had to be able to 'see'. To me, nothing would ever be as intuitive as 'seeing' energy. When I finally did 'see' something, however, I realized I didn't know what I was looking at. So being intuitive is all relative.
My intuitive moments always came in an instant and left the same way. Intuition doesn't hang around when it strikes....it moves in and slaps you upside the head (as hard as a whisper) and moves on before you can form a question mark like the ones you see over the heads in cartoon characters.
Intuition strikes when you least expect it. Like the time I took that teaching job when my intuition told me not to and it turned into a disaster. I was surprised that it was disastrous because my intuition didn't shout at me not to take it, it just said, 'no'. I would think that if something was going to be a disaster, my intution would be waving red flags and canons would be going off in the background and I would be seeing little dead bodies everywhere.
Over the years I've had to get the sense that intuition is extremely subtle and in order to feel the subtlety of intuition you have to be open and ready all the time when it comes calling. And make your decisions based on how quickly it comes through your space and touches you with its essence.
There are times when I'm not that quick.
I may not always be that open.
I'm not that ready.
Life is interesting, all the time.
I've had to develop a very subtle way to check what I'm intuiting. It works quite well and connects me instantly with what it is that I'm intuiting. No one can see the process. It can be used virtually anywhere, at any time, and in all situations. Look for it on my website as an e-book, coming soon.
But, I'm still learning and each day is a new and eye-opening experience for me because I'm actually the one teaching intuitive development classes so I know that there are others like me who are also not that quick, open, or ready. As a matter of fact, I've met some people who don't appear to understand that they're human and capable of being intuitive.
That has made me feel a whole lot better about myself.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The Mayan Calendar
Way back in 1994 or maybe it was 1996, Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha introduced a group of us to the Tzolkin, a 260 day Mayan Calendar. I was enthralled. I immediately began to use the symbols and glyphs associated with the calendar. The glyphs, of which there are 20, are what Grandmother called 'mantuas'. The glyphs work with us as we work with them and draw us into the 4th dimension when we meditate with them and use them daily.
The Tzolkin calendar is alive and dimensional, as I would soon discover.
While looking through a newspaper I ran across a two-page advertisement about a holistic fair in Cleveland. I immediately began scanning the faces that appeared on the page to find out who the speakers and presenters of workshops were. One face literally jumped off the page at me, one I didn't recognize. I looked closer at him and read his name - Christopher Emmer. He was from Hawaii and he was doing a presentation and readings using (of all things!!!) the Mayan Calendar. I just knew I was supposed to go talk with him. I was so excited!
At the fair I found Christopher sitting at a desk waiting for his next appointment. I booked my appointment with him and returned later. I sat down and he immediately looked at something in front of him and said, "you're supposed to be here". I said, "I know" very nonchalantly. He said, with emphasis, "no, I said you're SUPPOSED to be here." I got up real close to his face, looked deep into his eyes and said, "I KNOW".
He put all his regular books away and brought out some other books and said, "well, you need a whole different set of books!" He then gave me a very in-depth reading using the Mayan calendar symbols and glyphs. It was wonderful and I felt a very pleasant connection with Christopher. I later found that he had something of mine before we even knew each other. After speaking to him, I told him my Akbal glyph was missing and he said, "how odd, I have two Akbals in my deck! One of them must be yours!"
Christopher later went on to give a presentation on the dimensional quality of the Mayan glyphs, which I attended. While meditating as a group on one of the glyphs I found myself in a wormhole that dropped me smack dab in the center of the Universe, hanging out among the stars. The Calendar presented me with this wonderful gift and for my trust and for showing up and I was ecstatic! I love the Mayan Calendar!
In his book, The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness, Carl Johan Calleman gives in-depth information on the waves of Consciousness that have opened us to knowledge of the evolutionary wave of the Galactic Underworld. Each of the evolutionary waves that have changed our spiritual consciousness came to do just that....evolve us spiritually. I found this wonderful, thought provoking book through reading Barbara Hand Clow's book, The Mayan Code - Time Acceleration and Awakening the World Mind.
Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha gave us wonderful teachings on the Mayan Calendar, of which she has such an in-depth understanding I just want to take her head off and dump what she knows into my own head to make it easier and faster for me to take in all the implications of the calendar......Grandmother says to get off the Gregorian calendar because it is a calendar of hoplessness...it is a linear calendar and we are not a linear society. Everything on this planet spirals, as does the Mayan Calendar. If you look at a flower or a bird's nest or the rings of a tree trunk or a bee's nest, even our DNA!....everything in Nature spirals. Portal days - spiral. When we move through a portal it is much like moving through a wormhole where we meet ourselves coming and going. Everything in Nature is circular and cyclical.
Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha also said something which stuck with me....I may not remember her exact words, but I know I have them written down somewhere in my 25 plus years of notes from her teachings, she said that, if we want to heal the rift between male and female that keeps us from understanding the (opposite) sexes, then get off the Gregorian Calendar and use the Mayan Calendar which will teach the men how to understand their feminine or spiritual qualities as it will teach the women about their male qualities.
Somehow, I find great peace in that prospect.
The Tzolkin calendar is alive and dimensional, as I would soon discover.
While looking through a newspaper I ran across a two-page advertisement about a holistic fair in Cleveland. I immediately began scanning the faces that appeared on the page to find out who the speakers and presenters of workshops were. One face literally jumped off the page at me, one I didn't recognize. I looked closer at him and read his name - Christopher Emmer. He was from Hawaii and he was doing a presentation and readings using (of all things!!!) the Mayan Calendar. I just knew I was supposed to go talk with him. I was so excited!
At the fair I found Christopher sitting at a desk waiting for his next appointment. I booked my appointment with him and returned later. I sat down and he immediately looked at something in front of him and said, "you're supposed to be here". I said, "I know" very nonchalantly. He said, with emphasis, "no, I said you're SUPPOSED to be here." I got up real close to his face, looked deep into his eyes and said, "I KNOW".
He put all his regular books away and brought out some other books and said, "well, you need a whole different set of books!" He then gave me a very in-depth reading using the Mayan calendar symbols and glyphs. It was wonderful and I felt a very pleasant connection with Christopher. I later found that he had something of mine before we even knew each other. After speaking to him, I told him my Akbal glyph was missing and he said, "how odd, I have two Akbals in my deck! One of them must be yours!"
Christopher later went on to give a presentation on the dimensional quality of the Mayan glyphs, which I attended. While meditating as a group on one of the glyphs I found myself in a wormhole that dropped me smack dab in the center of the Universe, hanging out among the stars. The Calendar presented me with this wonderful gift and for my trust and for showing up and I was ecstatic! I love the Mayan Calendar!
In his book, The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness, Carl Johan Calleman gives in-depth information on the waves of Consciousness that have opened us to knowledge of the evolutionary wave of the Galactic Underworld. Each of the evolutionary waves that have changed our spiritual consciousness came to do just that....evolve us spiritually. I found this wonderful, thought provoking book through reading Barbara Hand Clow's book, The Mayan Code - Time Acceleration and Awakening the World Mind.
Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha gave us wonderful teachings on the Mayan Calendar, of which she has such an in-depth understanding I just want to take her head off and dump what she knows into my own head to make it easier and faster for me to take in all the implications of the calendar......Grandmother says to get off the Gregorian calendar because it is a calendar of hoplessness...it is a linear calendar and we are not a linear society. Everything on this planet spirals, as does the Mayan Calendar. If you look at a flower or a bird's nest or the rings of a tree trunk or a bee's nest, even our DNA!....everything in Nature spirals. Portal days - spiral. When we move through a portal it is much like moving through a wormhole where we meet ourselves coming and going. Everything in Nature is circular and cyclical.
Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha also said something which stuck with me....I may not remember her exact words, but I know I have them written down somewhere in my 25 plus years of notes from her teachings, she said that, if we want to heal the rift between male and female that keeps us from understanding the (opposite) sexes, then get off the Gregorian Calendar and use the Mayan Calendar which will teach the men how to understand their feminine or spiritual qualities as it will teach the women about their male qualities.
Somehow, I find great peace in that prospect.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Natural Health Options
Waking up to sunshine in Ohio is a rare event. So when we get sunshine we are energized and thankful, we smile and want to take in as much of the glorious rays as we can get. Seriously, there are times when we can go for weeks without sun. It just makes us more appreciative when it shines!
What I love about my day is that every hour is a surprise. I never really know what will happen from moment to moment. I take it as it comes and sometimes just bask in the way spirit moves in and out of the journey through space/time continuum.
I find that when I plan my day with exuberant optimism things get very interesting. I just never know how things will happen or how my plans will be fulfilled.
The people who come here are delightful, interesting, talented, generally stressed, always looking for ways to become....more relaxed, healthy. I have truly wonderful people and relationships with them.
On Tuesday evenings here a few of us gather to share natural health information and ways to prevent disease with natural health options. There are a whole lot of ways to do that. We deal with energy therapy which may include everything from Quantum Touch, QiGong, Reiki, Touch For Health meridian therapy, Meditation, Nuwati, Theta healing, and others. Then we talk about things like sound vibration therapy using crystal bowls and tuning forks and rattles and drums. Have to be careful because the dogs are around!
We also talk about crystal healing and massage and reflexology. The medical devices I work with are also discussed and everyone has a turn trying out the tools used to balance pH and oxygenate the body.
If it's herbs and supplements you want to learn about, there are hand-outs on what to do for all kinds of acute and chronic conditions so you can read about herbs and teas and essential oils for healthy living.
We also talk about the Bach Flower emotional remedies and how to use them for yourself and your children and pets. Safe for all members of the family.
There's a lot of information that comes from other sources, such has Hydrogen Peroxide therapy which was sent by Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha and the liver flush which was a Hulda Clark remedy. I know since I've begun using the Hydrogen peroxide on my gums that the diverticulitis issues I had have all gone away. It's been over a year now since I've had any pain. I am way grateful for that information! Goes to show, it's all connected! And it was the liver flushes from Hulda Clark that I began using way back in 1998 to help me get rid of the Lupus along with vitamins and minerals and other supplements.
Considering the health care options we're being offered by the established medical community, as many of us have discovered, it pays to have a working knowledge of natural health options to draw upon.
What I love about my day is that every hour is a surprise. I never really know what will happen from moment to moment. I take it as it comes and sometimes just bask in the way spirit moves in and out of the journey through space/time continuum.
I find that when I plan my day with exuberant optimism things get very interesting. I just never know how things will happen or how my plans will be fulfilled.
The people who come here are delightful, interesting, talented, generally stressed, always looking for ways to become....more relaxed, healthy. I have truly wonderful people and relationships with them.
On Tuesday evenings here a few of us gather to share natural health information and ways to prevent disease with natural health options. There are a whole lot of ways to do that. We deal with energy therapy which may include everything from Quantum Touch, QiGong, Reiki, Touch For Health meridian therapy, Meditation, Nuwati, Theta healing, and others. Then we talk about things like sound vibration therapy using crystal bowls and tuning forks and rattles and drums. Have to be careful because the dogs are around!
We also talk about crystal healing and massage and reflexology. The medical devices I work with are also discussed and everyone has a turn trying out the tools used to balance pH and oxygenate the body.
If it's herbs and supplements you want to learn about, there are hand-outs on what to do for all kinds of acute and chronic conditions so you can read about herbs and teas and essential oils for healthy living.
We also talk about the Bach Flower emotional remedies and how to use them for yourself and your children and pets. Safe for all members of the family.
There's a lot of information that comes from other sources, such has Hydrogen Peroxide therapy which was sent by Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha and the liver flush which was a Hulda Clark remedy. I know since I've begun using the Hydrogen peroxide on my gums that the diverticulitis issues I had have all gone away. It's been over a year now since I've had any pain. I am way grateful for that information! Goes to show, it's all connected! And it was the liver flushes from Hulda Clark that I began using way back in 1998 to help me get rid of the Lupus along with vitamins and minerals and other supplements.
Considering the health care options we're being offered by the established medical community, as many of us have discovered, it pays to have a working knowledge of natural health options to draw upon.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Give and Take of Relationship
Over 20 years ago, a group of us gathered in a suburb of Cleveland on a weekly basis. We always had a sacred pipe ceremony on Thursday evenings, what Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha would call "holding the gate".
After pipe, we would also have teachings there, as it was in this setting that I first began to study as a medicine apprentice with Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha.
At the time, I was married to a control freak who thought I could be controlled. It turned out that I couldn't because I would always listen first to what my spirit would tell me to do. As a result of following my heart, my relationship suffered. How could anyone consider that they can come between a person and what their heart is telling them? Yet, he would persist with threats of break-up and at times, violence, which he never carried out. It never mattered to me...I always did what was in my heart.
I have always tried to maintain a relationship while working with a spiritual elder and mentor but it has not always been easy for anyone living with me to understand what I was doing, or learning for that matter. How do you explain some of the things I'm writing in this blog to someone who is a born-again Christian? It simply did not compute with him. This would make me very sad because he would just push me further and further away, never trying to understand the dynamics of the give and take of relationships or the 'allowing' that goes with the word 'love', or the growth that comes with learning. It never occurred to him to join me in learning the ways of spirit. It simply was not his nature to think outside the box in our relationship.
One day while Grandmother Parisha was teaching at The Center in Cleveland she looked at me and said, "Merida, you could fill this room with your tears. I've seen many women break under the pressure that you hold for yourself." The sadness that I felt and held onto was making me ill. Holding onto emotion has never made the situation better but perhaps it is the way I try to make up for the guilt that I have always felt while learning and doing this healing walk and taking my time away from my family. Working and traveling and learning with Grandmother for the last 25 years was a passion that consumed me and fed my spirit, which nothing else seemed to be able to do. After studying with Grandmother and her teachings everything else seemed weak and watered down.
Now, years later, the fires I have walked through in relationship have hardened coal into diamonds and it seems that the experiences with the men whom I have chosen as relationship 'mirrors' have brought me to where I am now. I've lived with men who were either the children of alcoholics or alcoholics themselves. Not growing up with chemical dependency-related issues - I never recognized patterns that are well-documented in people with chemical dependency. I do now, though. So it was with the knowledge gleaned from living the life that I am able to recognize what others are going through.
NJ came in for a consultation. "I don't know exactly what it is that you do, but from reading your articles in the paper I just knew I had to come in and find out. My stress is making me hurt, especially through my arms and chest. I have relationship troubles with my husband and daughter and am at wits end!"
Well, that sounded familiar to me. NJ had no idea how to communicate her feelings so I encouraged her to read Dr. James Dobson's books. Dr. Dobson is a parenting and relationship expert whom I turned to when my daughter was very young. I found his books in the local library and they worked wonders for me and I've passed his name on to others.
I encouraged NJ to talk only about her own feelings and never place blame or judgement on her family. "Talking about how you 'feel' let's them know you're not attacking them and no one can deny you your own feelings. So say something like "I feel that you're moving further and further away from me because I don't know how to communicate with you." This was an entirely different concept for NJ who then told me I should give classes on all of this. I told her that people wouldn't come because I don't have PhD after my name and that I was in divorce court (again!) and didn't need to be giving anyone any classes.
She said the counselors she's gone to don't give you anything to work with. They just let you drone on and on about your problems without giving you anything of use to make the situation better. I told her about Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha and 'becoming the mirror' and how to mirror back what is happening in relationship. She kinda-sorta got the message but it does take some training.
Years ago, someone told me to go to counseling. I said, "By myself? Why? There are two of us involved. How can one person in a relationship go to counseling? If you're in a relationship and the other half won't go to counseling with you to figure out your problems in the relationship, then it must be time to end the relationship and the only counselor you need is a counselor at law."
Although it was a difficult decision to end this marriage I felt great relief when I finally initiated the process. I feel I've grown through both marriages and no longer need what is being reflected back at me from outdated mirrors. I'm off to bigger and broader horizons and looking forward to it!
After pipe, we would also have teachings there, as it was in this setting that I first began to study as a medicine apprentice with Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha.
At the time, I was married to a control freak who thought I could be controlled. It turned out that I couldn't because I would always listen first to what my spirit would tell me to do. As a result of following my heart, my relationship suffered. How could anyone consider that they can come between a person and what their heart is telling them? Yet, he would persist with threats of break-up and at times, violence, which he never carried out. It never mattered to me...I always did what was in my heart.
I have always tried to maintain a relationship while working with a spiritual elder and mentor but it has not always been easy for anyone living with me to understand what I was doing, or learning for that matter. How do you explain some of the things I'm writing in this blog to someone who is a born-again Christian? It simply did not compute with him. This would make me very sad because he would just push me further and further away, never trying to understand the dynamics of the give and take of relationships or the 'allowing' that goes with the word 'love', or the growth that comes with learning. It never occurred to him to join me in learning the ways of spirit. It simply was not his nature to think outside the box in our relationship.
One day while Grandmother Parisha was teaching at The Center in Cleveland she looked at me and said, "Merida, you could fill this room with your tears. I've seen many women break under the pressure that you hold for yourself." The sadness that I felt and held onto was making me ill. Holding onto emotion has never made the situation better but perhaps it is the way I try to make up for the guilt that I have always felt while learning and doing this healing walk and taking my time away from my family. Working and traveling and learning with Grandmother for the last 25 years was a passion that consumed me and fed my spirit, which nothing else seemed to be able to do. After studying with Grandmother and her teachings everything else seemed weak and watered down.
Now, years later, the fires I have walked through in relationship have hardened coal into diamonds and it seems that the experiences with the men whom I have chosen as relationship 'mirrors' have brought me to where I am now. I've lived with men who were either the children of alcoholics or alcoholics themselves. Not growing up with chemical dependency-related issues - I never recognized patterns that are well-documented in people with chemical dependency. I do now, though. So it was with the knowledge gleaned from living the life that I am able to recognize what others are going through.
NJ came in for a consultation. "I don't know exactly what it is that you do, but from reading your articles in the paper I just knew I had to come in and find out. My stress is making me hurt, especially through my arms and chest. I have relationship troubles with my husband and daughter and am at wits end!"
Well, that sounded familiar to me. NJ had no idea how to communicate her feelings so I encouraged her to read Dr. James Dobson's books. Dr. Dobson is a parenting and relationship expert whom I turned to when my daughter was very young. I found his books in the local library and they worked wonders for me and I've passed his name on to others.
I encouraged NJ to talk only about her own feelings and never place blame or judgement on her family. "Talking about how you 'feel' let's them know you're not attacking them and no one can deny you your own feelings. So say something like "I feel that you're moving further and further away from me because I don't know how to communicate with you." This was an entirely different concept for NJ who then told me I should give classes on all of this. I told her that people wouldn't come because I don't have PhD after my name and that I was in divorce court (again!) and didn't need to be giving anyone any classes.
She said the counselors she's gone to don't give you anything to work with. They just let you drone on and on about your problems without giving you anything of use to make the situation better. I told her about Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha and 'becoming the mirror' and how to mirror back what is happening in relationship. She kinda-sorta got the message but it does take some training.
Years ago, someone told me to go to counseling. I said, "By myself? Why? There are two of us involved. How can one person in a relationship go to counseling? If you're in a relationship and the other half won't go to counseling with you to figure out your problems in the relationship, then it must be time to end the relationship and the only counselor you need is a counselor at law."
Although it was a difficult decision to end this marriage I felt great relief when I finally initiated the process. I feel I've grown through both marriages and no longer need what is being reflected back at me from outdated mirrors. I'm off to bigger and broader horizons and looking forward to it!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Journey To Old Oraibi
I remember traveling out to the Land of the Hopi with Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha back in the late '80's. We went with her to study shamanism, never imagining what would transpire because we were all so innocent. Just our innocence was protection from evils, which we learned were only imbalances that could be balanced. In those days I was very spiritual but had little earthly materials so I listened when Grandmother said, "Never become so spiritual that you're no earthly good".
Grandmother knew the people in the Hopi community. "Hopi" are the Native Americans known as "the little people of peace". When we arrived on the mesa known as Old Oraibi a young Native woman met us. She was the one that would guide us and show us the village. We went into the sacred place known as a Kiva which is built into the ground. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiva. This room is built for ritual and sacred ceremony. Grandmother Parisha explained to us that the floor of the Kiva is sprinkled with cornmeal but at the end of the ritual, no footprints can be seen in the corn pollen on the floor.
While we were traveling through the village we went to the edge of the mesa which is protected by a 4 foot wall so you don't just go wandering around at night and fall off the edge. I was one in a group surrounding Grandmother, and we stood and marvelled at the scene far below and out beyond. It was certainly a long way down! There was a very small, sickly looking bush up against the wall. I noticed a group of Hopi men about 40 yards away, standing by a dwelling. They were looking in our direction and just milling around.
Grandmother was talking to us and teaching when we all saw a brilliant red and black coral snake appear by the sickly looking bush on the wall. We all stepped back to allow room for the snake knowing there was no place for it to go. At that moment a Raven began calling from the opposite side of the mesa and it caught Grandmother Parisha's attention. She turned to look at the Raven and in that instant she doubled over, as if in pain. The Raven had been calling a warning.
Also in that moment, the snake disappeared. No one could see where it went, and we all knew that there was no place for it to go but over the edge. No holes in the ground either. Grandmother was definitely in pain and, taken by surprise, she still stood but looked as though she could use something to sit down on and get off her feet. There was nothing. I saw the look on the Native woman's face who was acting as our guide. She was in a state of panic. She turned and ran as fast as she could back to one of the dwellings. Long braids flying.
Grandmother explained that she had been hit in her abdomen by the snake. This was a form of sorcery, most likely attributed to the men we had seen standing by the dwelling. She felt movement in her body and knew she had to take care of the situation. We completely surrounded her and walked back to our vehicles to go back to the hotel. My emotions fluctuated between fear and anger, which Grandmother recognized. She smiled and said the damage could be fixed and would become a teaching for all of us. I marvelled once again at her wisdom and her courage.
When we returned to the hotel it was dark. We were in our rooms when the lights in the complex went out. All of them. The whole place had shut down because there was no power. It stayed that way for about an hour.
Later, we all gathered with Grandmother who appeared to be herself again. She held a large crystal in her hand and gave a teaching on sorcery. The spirit of an old sorcerer had been called forth to do ill to her and she'd had to pull it from her body which pulled power from the circuits, causing the black-out. The spirit of the sorcerer was caught in the large crystal she held in her hand. She said that if one of us had been between her and the snake, she would have taught us about extraction. Just for a moment, I was crazy enough to be sad that it wasn't me who had been hit by the snake! I wanted to learn everything she could teach.
She taught that there was nothing but love and compassion and, resting in that, she sent the spirit of the old one back to the grandmothers and grandfathers who stood waiting to take the errant sorcerer back to themselves. At that, she released the spirit of the old one from the crystal, from which arose a puff of smoke.
Grandmother knew the people in the Hopi community. "Hopi" are the Native Americans known as "the little people of peace". When we arrived on the mesa known as Old Oraibi a young Native woman met us. She was the one that would guide us and show us the village. We went into the sacred place known as a Kiva which is built into the ground. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiva. This room is built for ritual and sacred ceremony. Grandmother Parisha explained to us that the floor of the Kiva is sprinkled with cornmeal but at the end of the ritual, no footprints can be seen in the corn pollen on the floor.
While we were traveling through the village we went to the edge of the mesa which is protected by a 4 foot wall so you don't just go wandering around at night and fall off the edge. I was one in a group surrounding Grandmother, and we stood and marvelled at the scene far below and out beyond. It was certainly a long way down! There was a very small, sickly looking bush up against the wall. I noticed a group of Hopi men about 40 yards away, standing by a dwelling. They were looking in our direction and just milling around.
Grandmother was talking to us and teaching when we all saw a brilliant red and black coral snake appear by the sickly looking bush on the wall. We all stepped back to allow room for the snake knowing there was no place for it to go. At that moment a Raven began calling from the opposite side of the mesa and it caught Grandmother Parisha's attention. She turned to look at the Raven and in that instant she doubled over, as if in pain. The Raven had been calling a warning.
Also in that moment, the snake disappeared. No one could see where it went, and we all knew that there was no place for it to go but over the edge. No holes in the ground either. Grandmother was definitely in pain and, taken by surprise, she still stood but looked as though she could use something to sit down on and get off her feet. There was nothing. I saw the look on the Native woman's face who was acting as our guide. She was in a state of panic. She turned and ran as fast as she could back to one of the dwellings. Long braids flying.
Grandmother explained that she had been hit in her abdomen by the snake. This was a form of sorcery, most likely attributed to the men we had seen standing by the dwelling. She felt movement in her body and knew she had to take care of the situation. We completely surrounded her and walked back to our vehicles to go back to the hotel. My emotions fluctuated between fear and anger, which Grandmother recognized. She smiled and said the damage could be fixed and would become a teaching for all of us. I marvelled once again at her wisdom and her courage.
When we returned to the hotel it was dark. We were in our rooms when the lights in the complex went out. All of them. The whole place had shut down because there was no power. It stayed that way for about an hour.
Later, we all gathered with Grandmother who appeared to be herself again. She held a large crystal in her hand and gave a teaching on sorcery. The spirit of an old sorcerer had been called forth to do ill to her and she'd had to pull it from her body which pulled power from the circuits, causing the black-out. The spirit of the sorcerer was caught in the large crystal she held in her hand. She said that if one of us had been between her and the snake, she would have taught us about extraction. Just for a moment, I was crazy enough to be sad that it wasn't me who had been hit by the snake! I wanted to learn everything she could teach.
She taught that there was nothing but love and compassion and, resting in that, she sent the spirit of the old one back to the grandmothers and grandfathers who stood waiting to take the errant sorcerer back to themselves. At that, she released the spirit of the old one from the crystal, from which arose a puff of smoke.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Journey to Mojave Desert (Part 4)
While in Death Valley National Park, Grandmother PaRisHa wanted to take us to Scotty's Castle to sort of round out the trip. We got there and parked in the lot and we all got out of our vehicles.
I just stood in the parking lot and for some reason, didn't want to leave the lot or the car. I wasn't at all sure why I was feeling this way so I just stood there. Grandmother looked at me and made an encouraging remark to catch up with the others. I just looked at her, still not wanting to move.
I finally did, however, and caught up with one in our party. All the other members of our small group were already walking the grounds. For me, Scotty's Castle was just eerie and gave me an all over bad feeling, as though there were many ghosts there that weren't happy. Even the people walking around didn't act happy or cheerful but were sober and very quiet. There were outdoor stairs taking you up to verandas that overlooked the grounds and I didn't even want to go near those. Everything had an eerie feeling to it. It didn't even feel right to walk up to the doors with windows and look in at the rooms. Someone asked me if I wanted to see into the main house and I didn't want to go near the door! Spooky to the max!
Finally, I went to the restroom, had my picture taken under a tree, then went to the gift shop and stayed there for the rest of the trip.
Later, Grandmother PaRisHa told us that there were many souls that were wandering the place. She did a whole teaching around those spirits and ended by saying how she wanted to teach us how to release the spirits of those people. When we cleared Scotty's of spirits many of us saw that, along with the spirits of many people, there were also the spirits of animals.
No wonder I didn't want to leave the parking lot!
I just stood in the parking lot and for some reason, didn't want to leave the lot or the car. I wasn't at all sure why I was feeling this way so I just stood there. Grandmother looked at me and made an encouraging remark to catch up with the others. I just looked at her, still not wanting to move.
I finally did, however, and caught up with one in our party. All the other members of our small group were already walking the grounds. For me, Scotty's Castle was just eerie and gave me an all over bad feeling, as though there were many ghosts there that weren't happy. Even the people walking around didn't act happy or cheerful but were sober and very quiet. There were outdoor stairs taking you up to verandas that overlooked the grounds and I didn't even want to go near those. Everything had an eerie feeling to it. It didn't even feel right to walk up to the doors with windows and look in at the rooms. Someone asked me if I wanted to see into the main house and I didn't want to go near the door! Spooky to the max!
Finally, I went to the restroom, had my picture taken under a tree, then went to the gift shop and stayed there for the rest of the trip.
Later, Grandmother PaRisHa told us that there were many souls that were wandering the place. She did a whole teaching around those spirits and ended by saying how she wanted to teach us how to release the spirits of those people. When we cleared Scotty's of spirits many of us saw that, along with the spirits of many people, there were also the spirits of animals.
No wonder I didn't want to leave the parking lot!
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