March 2014 Transmutation News Download printable version
On a physical level the state of the planet seems dire. Yet on a spiritual level it is ripe for change.
I continue to watch in amazement how decisions are made that contribute to the devastation of our environment. I also watch as many people rely on scientific research to let them know what chemicals are safe to ingest. Environmental impact reports are funded by major corporations that will benefit financially from the projects being researched.
Many people choose to stay in a trance and simply do not make intelligent choices when it comes to taking care of their health. Does anyone need a statement from researchers to tell them that it is safe to drink water contaminated with chemicals or oil and food sprayed with pesticides?
One really has to wonder why people are not relying on their inner wisdom for answers instead of giving their power away to authorities who either are not sharing the truth or don’t know the long term effects of what we are putting into our environment.
I think people know what is happening, but feel paralyzed in knowing how to contribute to making positive changes. And of course so many are overwhelmed by life that it is easier to stay in a trance and remain apathetic. Many think they can hide their head under the covers. We know different.
In West Virginia where water supplies were contaminated with chemicals there was quite the conflict going on. Researchers said the water was safe to drink. Many parents refused to let their children bathe in and drink this water. I say good for the parents for following their common sense!
A government official stated that he was dismayed to hear residents of West Virginia say that they were being used as lab rats. But really no one knows the long term effects on the chemicals that are being put into the earth, our water, and the air.
We have to rely on our inner knowing and intuition. For frankly human beings have been acting against nature. And since we are part of nature and not separate from it there are consequences to the actions of the collective.
I am not sure what it takes for humanity to wake up to the fact that actions taken towards the environment are impacting every living being in the web of life as well as the earth itself.
Sometimes I find my faith in the collective of humanity lessening. At the same time my faith in spirit and in the spiritual community increases. For this is where hope lies. And without hope there is no reason to continue.
Until the collective wakes up to the consequences of human behavior we must strengthen and focus our spiritual work. For spiritual traditions through the ages have shown we can transmute toxins. And this is the foundation of the Medicine for the Earth work.
We must continue to perceive everything that exists as light. We must absorb the light of the sun as well as the light of the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. We have tools to thrive during these times of apathy, greed, and ignorance of the collective choices being made that impact the earth which is our home.
We know that the divine can transmute and heal what needs healing. Through spiritual methods we can regain a sense of harmony and balance which will be reflected back to us.
We will most likely ride a different wave than people who only acknowledge the rational and ordinary realms of consciousness.
As I wrote last year our challenge is to stay focused on our spiritual work no matter what is happening in the outer world. We can no longer afford to straddle the path of ego and the path of spirit. The times we live in are requiring us to make a choice.
Although I am aware of all that is occurring in the environment I refuse to give into a belief in lack and fear. I make a clear choice to continue my spiritual work to honor and respect nature and all in the web of life. I choose to believe in the power of spirit and will not give into the collective consciousness that is moving into fear. Fear creates the desire to control. And it is only spirit that is in control of our fate. I also continue my commitment to help strengthen the spiritual global community. For we do have the ability to create exponential change as we work together in unity.
We cannot operate out of fear and spirit at the same time.
Yes, we need to express our opinions in our communities and be a voice of reason when it comes to political decisions that effect the environment. And at the same time as a global community we must stay focused together on our work. It is with our spiritual practices that the divine can emerge to change the world we live in. We must surrender to spirit and do our work. We must stay strong in our faith in the power of spirit. This is the only way to be a vessel of the divine, light, and love.
I still remember clearly how in the early 1990s I was watching a documentary on TV. The research was showing the level of extreme drought that would occur in many places on the earth. Living in Santa Fe, which is the high desert, I felt myself moving into a place of panic.
The next day I performed a shamanic journey, and I went to visit my spiritual teacher Isis. I talked to her about my fear. She sternly said to me, “If you believe you will not have water then you will not have water.”
Isis shared this with me before I began working on the Medicine for the Earth work. At the time I was still writing my second book Welcome Home.
The message Isis shared with me led me to perform a series of journeys where I learned how our perception creates our reality. And this has been a core teaching of the Medicine for the Earth work.
In all circumstances, even amidst devastation and destruction, we can choose to perceive the light, beauty, and joy of life. It is in this state of heightened perception that the divine within and without can shine through. The divine can only come through when we open our hearts.
And we must remember that new life is born even as death and destruction occur.
In many of my books I have written about the spiritual community that gathered together in the 1960s to live in Findhorn, Scotland. They were intent on growing their own vegetables. But the soil was sand and did not support the growth of vegetables. When the nature spirits, The Hidden Folk, appeared and worked with the community in the spirit of cooperation and collaboration vegetables did grow. And they grew to miraculous sizes. This is a wonderful example of how we can work in partnership with nature spirits.
There are a wealth of stories that are shared in spiritual traditions about how the divine intervenes and helps out when people have done their inner personal work and are ready for change to occur.
I do believe as we strengthen and stay focused on our spiritual practices we open the veils between the visible and invisible so that the divine and the helping spirits can work with us in partnership to sustain life.
One morning in February I woke up with some thoughts swirling around. The changes we are living through are quite intense. There are the climatic changes and the increase in violence and political unrest. Many of my friends and colleagues are either recovering from severe illnesses or have passed over to the transcendent realms.
I woke up feeling and knowing that as a collective humanity is entering into the next phase of an initiation process. An initiation does create a death of an old way of living. And with all the intense change occurring I do not believe that we can sleep through this next phase of initiation.
The strength of our inner spirit will carry us through this next phase of initiation. Our body and mind does not have what it takes to power through the changes we are in. But our inner spirit does have what we need.
We must deeply connect with our inner spirit, our divine light. We cannot create a superficial connection where we only rationally grasp what divine light is.
As I have been encouraging you in the past months please find ways to renew and freshen your transfiguration practice so that you are not working on a superficial level. Dive deep!
This same teaching holds true as we recognize the divine light in others. Often we superficially use the phrase “everyone and all of life is divine light”. We want to go beyond a mental recognition.
Truly look through the eyes of spirit and perceive the bright light of the sun shining through all. This is what the true shamans, mystics, and healers did when they performed their miraculous healings. Truly see and recognize the light in all of life.
For those of you who do work with clients you can integrate the practice of transfiguration into your work. This is what I teach in the Healing with Spiritual Light portion of the Medicine for the Earth Training.
Sitting by your client in a transfigured state while truly perceiving them as a bright radiant light has created miraculous healing results. Dory, who does such powerful healing work, shared with me that with the results she sees she is not sure why more practitioners are not working in this way. When she works in this way she does sit in a transfigured state as long as she can maintain her concentration. For Dory this might end up being 45 minutes. She listens to meditative music such as “Wavepool” (by Robert Rand) that helps her maintain a transfigured state.
A reader of The Transmutation News wrote me and asked me to address the issue of depression. For she shared when she is depressed she cannot experience her divine light.
I have a history of depression. And it has been my depression that led me onto a spiritual path. I did not seek traditional medical treatment. For myself I have found great success in working with my depression by deepening my spiritual practices. My depression has always led me to keep furthering my spiritual explorations and to where I am now in my growth, development and evolution.
My changing emotional states fuels my creativity. When I do sink into a dark state I do not fight it. I have learned just to ride out the wave. My mantra remains, “The only way out is through”.
I just accept what is. I also cannot experience my light during these times. But I do not believe my light is gone. I just cannot make contact with it. I have come to understand that this is a rich fertile time for me where something is gestating in the darkness. My creative fire keeps me moving.
So for those of you who do feel that you go through states of depression I do understand that during these times you cannot access your divine light. But please remember your light is still shining strongly through you. Nurture and take care of yourself as you are guided. As my mom used to say, “This too shall pass.” Stay with what is.
This does not mean you should not explore the root of your depression. And you should seek out medical and psychological treatment if you need it. I am just speaking to the issue of not being able to access one’s light when in the darkness.
My guardian spirit has shared with me some powerful teachings during my thirty years of working with him. He used to tell me, “Do not sit down in the darkness.” He would advise me to keep moving, and I would find myself standing back in the light. He would also say, “Do not to forget in the darkness what you learned in the light.”
Please remember that our spiritual community holds the space for all of us as we cycle in and out of phases of darkness and light. For whether or not you suffer from depression we all are all part of nature’s cycles. And in nature there are times of darkness and times of light.
I am always inspired by the creativity of young adults.
Recently I received an email sharing a link to a video of a palindrome that was written by a 20 year old. A palindrome is something written that reads the exact opposite, backwards and forwards. A video of this palindrome appears on You-Tube. The video is less than two minutes. If you have access to You-Tube you will be amazed at what this young man created.
http://youtu.be/aRG4ySdi_aE
In February I watched a very inspirational story on “60 Minutes” which is a news program in the U.S.
The program was about a group of young adults who created an organization Free The Children: Children Helping Children. This is an international charity and educational partnership working both domestically and internationally to empower and enable youth to be agents of change.
The charity and youth movement was founded in 1995 by human rights advocate Craig Kielburger. Funded to a large extent by youth the motto is “children helping children”. The charity specializes in sustainable development in Ecuador, Ghana, Haiti, Kenya, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, India, and rural China.
The organization runs educational programs and campaigns in developed countries with the aim of empowering youth to become socially engaged.
In a time when the news mostly focuses on the violent behavior of our younger generation, learning about this group filled me with hope for the future. There are so many “children” now helping other children get an education and create a positive life.
To see the youth so dedicated to helping other youth is inspiring. And to see the impact they are having is exciting.
If you would like to learn more about their work please visit:
www.freethechildren.org
The full moon is March 16. Let us continue to deepen our spiritual work to weave a brilliant web of life within and throughout the earth. Let us continue our transfiguration work in behalf of all in our circle.
For a reminder on the healing work we can engage in on the full moon please read “Creating a Human Web of Light”. Many years ago I had added a transfiguration ceremony for all of us to engage in to strengthen our circle.
If you are a new reader of this column please do read “Creating A Human Web of Light” on the homepage of this site.
For those in the Northern Hemisphere this has been a long and challenging winter for so many. In many places around the globe there have been colder than normal temperatures, flooding rains, and paralyzing snow storms. And then for some of us there have been warmer than normal temperatures and extreme drought. The outer reflection of the collective state of disharmony is intensifying.
On March 20 we celebrate the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the fall equinox in the Southern Hemisphere.
Remember our outer world is a reflection of our inner landscape. To celebrate the equinox, reflect on what seeds you would like to plant and nourish. Whether you are celebrating the return of spring or fall these are both potent seasons for seeding our inner garden.
We can get so pulled out of ourselves and distracted by world events. Pull your attention back into yourself, your inner world, and inner landscape. Caretake your inner garden.
On the equinox journey or meditate to connect with The Spirit of the Land where you live. Listen for any messages that you might receive about aligning and harmonizing with the spirit of the land.
The change in seasons is a wonderful time to reflect on the changes we need to make in our lives to move into a state of balance and harmony and align with the one heartbeat of the earth.
Isis has shared with me that it is so important to feel fully nourished by life. Find some time to spend out in nature. Nature is our greatest healer!
I read a beautiful ancient Chinese proverb that someone shared on Facebook. I hope this will inspire you as together we welcome in the change of season.
“When there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person;
When there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house;
When there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation;
When there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.”
Together we send much love to all of you for a joyous equinox celebration!
ON A PERSONAL NOTE:
I wanted to give you an update on some of my projects and workshops that I am planning for 2015.
I did finish and submit my new book to Sounds True. This is the book version of my audio program, “Shamanic Visioning: Connecting with Spirit to Transform Your Inner and Outer Worlds”. I do not know what the title for the book will be yet.
I am delighted with how the book turned out. I added over 100 pages to the transcript of the audio CD and of course polished up my speaking voice to my writing voice. I shared some practices I have been teaching but have not had the opportunity to write about. This book will be published in 2015.
I am currently co-writing a book with Llyn Roberts. The book is tentatively titled Nature is Calling You Home. This is a beautiful and unique book that helps readers to connect with the feminine aspect of nature. This book will be published by Inner Traditions in 2015.
I am recording a new drumming CD with some of the members of a local Santa Fe taiko group. The taiko drums have such a rich and deep sound. The drumming is wonderful to journey to. The title of the CD is “Shamanic Visioning Music: Taiko Drum Journeys”. It is being produced by Sounds True and will also be available in 2015.
And, I am working on designing an app to help people transform and transmute their thoughts. This project has been great fun to work on. I will share with you more information as the project progresses.
The “Medicine for the Earth and Healing with Spiritual Light” training that I am teaching March 12-16 has been full for months with a long waiting list. I am so delighted that there has been such interest in the work. Please visit www.shamanicteachers.com if you are looking for a local training.
In 2015 I am leading two new “Two Year Teacher Trainings in Shamanic Journeying, Healing, and the Medicine for the Earth Work”.
Please visit the homepage of this site and click on “Trainings and Announcements” to read the description for these courses.
One Two Year Teacher Training will take place at Lendrick Lodge in Scotland. The sponsor is Chetna Lawless and you can contact her for more information at: tytt2015scotland@gmail.com.
One Two Year Teacher Training will take place at Westerbeke Ranch in Sonoma, California. Please email Ruth Aber at: aruthabelle@aol.com for more information.
October 7-12 2015 I will co-teach a four day workshop with Betsy Bergstrom titled “Dying to Be Reborn”. The workshop will be taught at Joshua Retreat Center in Joshua Tree, California. Once I have more details on the workshop I will post the information on The Transmutation News and the Trainings and Announcements page of this site.
I have also tentatively scheduled to co-teach a workshop with Llyn Roberts at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California on November 13-15 2015. Again I will post details as I have more information.
Announcements:
Llyn Robert’s partner was filmed for a prime time television program on National Geographic. The program has been a great success and extremely popular! The program is titled: “The Legend of Mick Dodge”.
A new website was created to share about the work:
www.olympicmountainearthwisdomcircle.org
You can view a short clip of Llyn in the Hoh Rain Forest. To view the clip go to the top right side of the homepage.
For our readers in Czechoslovakia I wanted to share with you that Pavla Stepnickova recorded a beautiful meditation CD. As she leads the meditation she uses a shamanic drum to help create a deep state of consciousness. It is titled: “Voices of Intuition”.
To order this powerful CD please visit www.osobniterapeut.cz Copyright 2014 Sandra Ingerman. All rights reserved.
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