Transmutation News February 2011
Through the month of January we watched many tragedies. We saw the tragedy of political intolerance and emotional instability in the shootings in Arizona. We watched how the waters are reflecting our state of imbalance as floods devastated parts of Australia and Brazil. We watched the violence in Tunisia as people expressed their dissatisfaction with how the country was being run. These are just a few examples of challenging global events.
And due to these tragedies we also saw the strength of the human spirit shining through as well as communities coming together to help those in need.
We continue to see the best of humans and we are also reminded of the effects of what happens when we do not treat others and the earth with honor and respect.
I checked in with Terri who lives in the part of Australia that was so severely flooded. Terri is a brilliant shamanic practitioner and has been a devoted member of our global community as she is so committed to working with the information written about in each Transmutation News.
I wanted to share part of the email Terri sent to me. For it is an example of the power of community coming together to help each other. It talks about the strength of the human spirit. And it also speaks to how the earth heals herself and has a plan that from an egoic/rational perspective we just don't always understand.
From Terri:
"I have just returned from helping at a Catholic Church delivering lunches to people with washed out homes and no power. The spirit of the human army (10s of thousands of regular neighbourly helpers) that has gone out to help people in their hour of need is quite extraordinary!
The spirit of the people I delivered to today are well and truly shining, with brave and cheery hearts! The pain of loss is there, but they rise above it.
The way people came together to just do what was needed at any given time without asking for any permission from local or federal government authorities worked so well. The people's authority came from within their hearts and minds and they took action to help.
Mother nature is greening up Australia after years of drought. Species of plants popping up, thought to be extinct, not seen in two decades are exciting the biologists!"
This continues to be a time where we are being asked to make changes in how we live our lives and learning about the impact on our behavior of others and the earth itself.
In life I think we all find that the lessons we learn seem to keep spiraling back around to create deeper and deeper levels of change.
One of the issues that keeps spiraling around for me is the issue of protection. And what I mean by protection is the ability of one person or a group of people to protect others from some level of suffering - physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
For there is a part of all of us that wants to protect loved ones from suffering.
Although this is an issue I have looked at throughout my life I feel that during 2010 the universe brought me situations to take me to a deeper level of seeing how it is not possible to control what life brings to and for any of us.
I have been taking care of my 96-year-old parents. They have an amazing strength of spirit and have risen to meet challenges that no one thought they would get through. And at the same time my perception of them is that on a physical level they are quite frail. So in choosing to be around them in the way I am "my mother instinct" comes out and I want to protect them.
Last fall I found the more I tried to protect them the more situations were created that were beyond my control. The lesson for me was how to be there for them, provide comfort, see them as spiritual beings, and let go of trying to control what life brought to them. For truly they are on their own life journey.
As I reflected on all the lessons I learned from my experiences last fall I felt that I was learning some important lessons in my role as a teacher. Again these were lessons I had gotten before. I just felt like my life journey was leading me to a deeper level of knowledge.
There are so many books, lectures, and workshops that are showing people how to shift out of a dense state of consciousness. These teachings help us to embrace ancient spiritual practices that remind us that we are spirit, we are divine, we are light, we are love and we are loved, and that we are connected to the web of life.
The lessons that life is bringing for all of us right now is to help us tap into our spiritual world where our inner wisdom and inner spirit can shine through the darkness and challenges that we are faced with.
For me the continual reminder is that I cannot do the work for another. Every person must find the strength of his/her inner spirit and stand up and do the work needed to heal, transform, and then create a better life.
For those of us already doing the spiritual work we must continue to deepen how we live the work. As we shine our lights then people want to know how they can shine too. So the true teaching comes from "being" rather than trying to do something to change our outer world or by trying to get another person to change. We have to be the energy.
This takes us back to the core inspiration of the Medicine for the Earth work that it is who you become that changes the world and not what you do. For the best way to be a true leader right now is to just "be" the teaching. Then people want to experience the state of joy, peace, kindness, love, and light that they perceive in you. But to try and convince people to do the work or to even think you can do the work for them is a misperception. And for those of us who want to protect others from suffering we end up crippling them in the end. For those who have the greatest transformations and healing are people who go within and find the strength of spirit that can embrace and transform all that life brings for them.
Being human and living here on earth is being in “earth school”. And part of the learning is how to surrender to “Thy Will be Done” and stop trying to control life as an egoic being that wants to feel safe and secure. When I use the term “Thy Will be Done” it refers to surrendering to spirit. We have to find the term and belief system that works for us whether this means our higher self, our divine light, oneness, God, the goddess, the power of the universe, our helping spirits, etc.
The teaching is that we must evolve beyond our controlling egos, surrender to spirit, and know that our divine spirit will rise to all that life brings to us. The stronger we can become on a spiritual level we can be role models for others to do the same.
Another part of being the energy has to do with learning how to hold the space for others and being a light in the midst of change and chaos.
For the chaos created by the dissolution of a way of life that no longer works will continue. We can't say well I will do my spiritual practices once life calms down for me or when a certain situation I am facing resolves itself.
We must continue to transmute/transform the depth of emotions that are triggered by events and people who come into our lives. We must continue to explore the gifts of the teachings given to us so we can transform and evolve to a new way of being in the world.
It is important to take time out from what is happening in our lives and merge into the one pulsation of energy that has great power to heal. In this state we can feed the collective with compassion and kindness.
When we become one pulsation of energy this does add to the breakdown of a reality that no longer works. For the pulsation of energy leads to transformation and healing. This breakdown feels like chaos to our egoic selves that are lost in the illusion of separation. When we feel like we have moved into chaos this is a time to hold a strong intention to "be the energy" of love and light so that energy is part of the recreation and what is being woven into the new fabric of reality.
There are huge waves of change flowing through the planet. There are times when the waves are smooth and fun to play in. And there are times when the waves are turbulent and we feel like we are being tossed around. This is all part of nature. For the cycles of nature include the storms and the times of calm.
Part of riding the waves has to do with "the boat" you have built. The depth of your spiritual practice builds a strong boat to ride the waves. The connection with our global community also has created a strong boat where we can ride the waves together.
Think of the difference of riding the waves in a raft that is filled with holes versus a strong large boat. Our spiritual practices and our spiritual connections create a strong container that holds strong in the midst of the waves of change. You can rely on this boat to hold you through whatever comes.
We are very lucky to have strong spiritual practices to carry us and a strong global community to hold us. And part of strengthening our container is to feel gratitude for how we are being held right now with love and light through the breath and the cycles of the one pulsation of life.
Over the years we have been working together to dream into being the world we wish to live in. We have been using all of our senses of seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting what such a world would be like as if our creation had already manifested. I wrote about this practice in Medicine for the Earth, How to Thrive in Changing Times, and Awakening to the Spirit World.
Here is another way to work with this practice. Work with the personal experience of seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting yourself as being centered, filled with inner joy and inner peace, and shining your light no matter what is happening in the outside world. Deepen the sensations of beauty as you use your imagination to form your creation.
What would you look like in this state of being and how would you see the world around you?
How would the sounds of nature feed your joyful bright state?
What would the feelings be as light flowed through you and throughout every cell of your being? And how would it feel to walk on the earth and touch all that is alive?
How would the smell of fragrances and tastes of food become heightened as you reach such a state of light?
Experience this state as if you are living filled with radiance, love, joy, and peace right now.
You have achieved a heightened state of consciousness now! Experience it fully. And so it is.
Along with this practice continue to go within to your inner garden. Continue to plant small areas of your garden with seeds of good memories and what you are grateful for.
To deepen your work in your inner garden take some time to meditate or journey and merge with the earth in your garden. Observe how healthy the soil is by examining the health and strength of the flowers and plants that are growing out of the earth. This will give you some clues to the care that your inner garden requires.
February 18 is the full moon. We have been using the time of the full moon to strengthen the web of light that all of life is part of. And we have been using the full moon to radiate light into our global community helping to heal those who are struggling.
Let us refocus our energies together as we allow that which keeps us separate to drop away. And feel our light radiating and expanding into one pulsation transmitting love and light within and throughout the web of light.
And let us continue to strengthen our container, our spiritual boat, as a global community by radiating love and light to all connected to our circle so committed to holding strong together as we move into oneness.
For those of you new to reading the Transmutation News you can read the instructions for our monthly full moon ceremonies by clicking on "Creating A Human Web of Light" on this site.
Announcements:
I am thrilled to announce that we finally found a new volunteer to take over the Portuguese translation of the Transmutation News. Sofia Frazoa has generously offered to volunteer her time. Let us send many blessings and heart felt thanks to Sofia so that those in our Portuguese community can continue to read and join in on our work.
My 2011 calendar is complete for now and is posted on both www.sandraingerman.com and on www.shamanicvisions.com/ingerman.html. There is always a possibility that I may add an event to my calendar so you can check the Training and Announcement sections of the websites from time to time.
April 23-24 I am teaching a beginning workshop on shamanic journeying that will be sponsored by Sounds True. This will actually be a live event that will be videotaped for an online course this fall.
As many people cannot travel to workshops I am happy that the teachings can be made available to a larger community who can learn the practices via the internet. The times we live in call for being able to teach spiritual practices to all who want to learn how to tap into spiritual help for guidance, insight, and healing.
I am excited about this weekend event and to find out more information please visit the Training and Announcement section of www.sandraingerman.com as the Sounds True link will not be available until some time in February.
I wanted to let you know about a conference that I will be facilitating in Santa Fe in May. The pieces of this conference really fell into place with ease and there is a real momentum moving. For those of you interested in learning how to work together in community in behalf of places of the earth that have experienced trauma and violence this is a great conference for you to show up to.
THE 2011 Shamanism Without Borders CONFERENCE
May 19-22
Sunrise Springs Resort in Santa Fe, New Mexico
We will gather together Thursday night to arrive and create sacred space.
On Friday Sandra Ingerman and ecstatic dance teacher Michael Stone will lead experiences to help us work with shadow states and heal the old wounds that prevent us from being a healthy member of a community.
On Saturday Jose Lucero, an elder from the Santa Clara pueblo, will meet us on the Rio Grande to share with us how the indigenous people lived in harmony on the Rio Grande and the problems with the river now. Then we will do spiritual work in behalf of the river.
In the afternoon some people will travel to Tsankawi where Sandra Ingerman will lead a journey to the Anasazi Indians to ask them for inspiration for shifting our consciousness to embrace a new and higher way of life.
A second group of people who love to hike will spend the day with Jim Cutropia on a six-mile hike to a mesa deep in Bandelier that has views of the Rio Grande and the area that cannot be matched. There is a medicine wheel at this mesa and it is a perfect place to do spiritual work.
Jim will share his knowledge about the Rio Grande and then he will lead a healing ceremony for the river as well as lead the journey to the Anasazi from this spot.
Those who can't hike easily, will go to the Visitors Center at Bandelier National Park after being with Jose Lucero on the Rio Grande and work from there.
Saturday night will be a time for sharing as well as Carol Proudfoot Edgar will lead some ceremonial work.
Sunday morning we will end by talking about and journeying on how to take what we have learned back to our communities.
Please visit www.shamansociety.org for more information and to register.
We are hoping to gather some scholarship funds to allow a young generation to attend the conference. For more information on how to send in a donation to the Society for Shamanic Practitioners to help make this happen visit www.shamansociety.org.
You can also send a check or your credit card information to:
SSP
2300 Eighth Street
Olivehain, California 92024
Last year I wrote about a conference in March in Sedona, Arizona I will be presenting at. I wanted to remind readers about it if you are still thinking about attending. As of January there were only a few spaces in the conference left. So don?t wait too long if you are interested in attending.
Also as a reminder, as part of the conference, on March 18 I will be leading a one day preconference workshop on shamanic journeying for those of you who would like to be introduced to the practice of meeting your own helping spirits for guidance and healing.
The conference in Sedona, Arizona is March 18-21 2011 and will be led in English and translated into German and Polish.
The emphasis will be on how to work with the Earth to co-create the shift in 2012. There will be activities around the Spring Equinox when we will travel in buses to several of the vortex sites for meditation and where possible to do ceremonies.
The speakers invited include Drunvalo Melchizedek, myself, an Andean shaman, one of the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers, Jonette Crowley, Cecilia Sifontes plus other well-known speakers and authors.
For more information please visit: www.TheGathering2011.com.
I have been encouraging all of you to find ways to put reminders around your work place and house that help you focus on being a light and keeping a good train of thought that leads to a positive outcome.
Working with visual symbols is a great way to guide our unconscious mind to facilitate the necessary change of thoughts we need to make.
Sylvia Edwards who is the webmaster of both www.sandraingerman.com and www.shamanicteachers.com is also a brilliant shamanic teacher and practitioner herself.
For years now she has been guided by angels to paint disks that are symbolic of certain states of consciousness that we might be trying to attain.
She has created many series of disks and she just came out with a new wonderful series to work with symbols you can meditate on to transform your state of consciousness into such states as joy, bliss, rapture, abundance, peace, kindness and more.
I keep some of Sylvia's disks on my desk to meditate on throughout the day.
To learn more about Sylvia's disks please visit her website: www.spirals-of-life.com.
I was interviewed for a second time by Greg Voisen on Inside Personal Growth. This interview was on How to Thrive in Changing Times.
To listen to the interview and learn more about the work of Greg Voisen and Inside Personal Growth the links are listed below. Greg does some fascinating interviews with very inspirational authors and spiritual teachers. He reads the material of the authors he interviews and asks question that draw out material in a way that will help listeners. I really appreciate his dedication and how he is choosing to be in service at this time.
http://www.insidepersonalgrowth.com/2011/01/podcasts/podcast-256-how-to-thrive-in-changing-times-with-sandra-ingerman/
http://www.insidepersonalgrowth.com/2011/01/authors/sandra-ingerman/
I really enjoyed reading *Shaman Stone Soup* by Elizabeth Herrera. It was clearly written from the heart, and facilitates understanding about shamanism and alternative spiritual paths, as well as, helps people to believe in miracles.
I appreciated how Herrera was able to follow the spiritual guidance she was receiving without fighting or questioning it. *Shaman Stone Soup* is a real example of what can be accomplished through the power of trust. And it also shows what is possible when we allow the helping spirits to bring through healing.
Below is the link for ordering the book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1456360361?ie=UTF8&tag=thespitou20&linkCode
=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1456360361<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1456360361?ie=UTF8&tag=thespitou20&linkCode
=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1456360361>
Available in paperback and Kindle formats.
*www.ShamanStoneSoup.com <http://www.shamanelizabeth.com/shamanstonesoup>*
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