Greetings all,
A week back from my sojourn and I can hardly believe where I was. It all seems like a dream. I've been playing catch up since my last post. However I've had some time to reflect a bit on some of the lessons I learned on the road.
Sometimes it is very hard to see ourselves apart from our lives. This is one reason why travel and new experiences are so important for our growth. We constantly have familiar people reflecting back to us who they think we are. We can forget that others cannot possibly see all of us. Just like a globe in a dark room where one side is lit, we remain a mystery often even from ourselves. New people see us without the filters of familiarity so we have new reflections to ponder.
I generally prefer to travel with friends but some of my most transformative journeys have been ones undertaken alone. Years ago my first trip to Penland was the longest car trip I'd ever undertaken. I worried about it, worried that I'd drive myself crazy (literally get it, ah well I can't resist a pun). I didn't, and it was on this trip I finally felt like an artist. My first post graduate work-study trip made me realize how capable (and likable) I can be. There are some places we must go alone every now and then. We must go alone to see ourselves rather than the reflection that our loved ones (and less loved ones) mirror back to us. For highly empathic people this goes double. We have to disentangle our image from the images others hold of us.
So on this particular trip I realized something. I'm not very nice to myself. I'm horribly judgmental of my actions and my achievements (or perceived lack thereof). It was during one of the exercises that were conducted in silence where I came to this conclusion. No one was interacting or reflecting back to me so it was just myself and my emotions. It didn't feel so good. I was harshing my own mellow. I couldn't pinpoint the source of my unease at first until I thought about how I normally let people treat me. I have trained those around me poorly. As one of my mentors often says, "We teach people how to treat us." I was cow towing to their judgments of me and my life. I was on a level agreeing with them that I was "less than". The thing about judgment is that when you are judging yourself you are not in the present moment. You are living in the past. I have held past mistakes from years ago against myself. Which is crazy because those mistakes have kept me from making similar errors. (The Mooneagle prefers to make all new mistakes rather than repeat old ones).
So Judgy Mcjudge had come to a conclusion. Okay I came to a conclusion. I had to realize that the judgments of others were wrong without making them "wrong". Do you get the distinction? I needed to fully disengage from judgment without taking offense from the perspectives of others. Now I've come a long way in the category of not caring what random people think of me, but when it comes to those close to me I have a ways to go yet. The longest journey begins with a single step though and the first step should be a decision. Basically I must decide that I am a good person deserving of good in my life. I do things differently that doesn't make me wrong it makes me different.
You maybe wondering how all of this applies to you. Well how often are you letting someone else hold the paintbrush on your self portrait? Who do you let define you? Whose judgment do you implicitly accept about yourself? What judgments do you hold against yourself? What would happen if you decided you were simply good enough? Take some time this week to conjure your image out of the depths of your heart and let all the mirrors shatter.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
Musings
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
There and Back Again
Greetings al,
At long last I have returned home. My two week sojourn saw me through the states of West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The Magic and Mystery tour of the Mooneagle has ended for the time being. It was to my mind only a start. For a while I had a dream of traveling and being hosted by people where I would do despacho ceremony and see clients. I do love to travel and this trip was the first step into financing that sort of existence.
All told I have done 2 full despacho ceremonies in the past week and one mini offering. I feel like it brought in blessings everywhere I went. Now back in my day to day existence I am feeling the contrast of where I used to belong and where I currently resonate. I am feeling people around me in a different way. Something in me has changed and so I am being called to step up my game. I am pushing forward to more consistently manifest the place where I belong.
While it feels like I've not been gone long, it also feels like I have been gone for over a month. This is in part because for the first half of my trip I unplugged. I had almost a whole week devoid of electronic distractions. I strived to maintain a very low level of technological intrusion for the remainder of my trip. I did my best to be present with my hosts. Now that I am home it shall be interesting to see how much of that presence and detachment from screen time I can hold onto. It shall be a practice of discipline, but one I think well worth the effort. I want my connectivity to serve me not enslave me. As I watch others tantalized by their phones, tweeting and face booking I come to realize that perhaps we have lost the distinction between our tools and ourselves.
So here I am feeling a little out of place where I am, and yet not wanting to regress into what I used to be. That was the point of my journey after all, to return as a different person. The hero's journey is not complete until he (or she) returns home with all that they have learned. Sometimes this homecoming is celebrated, other times it is not. As we return people expect us to be as we always have been. In getting out of my routine and normal environment I made time to sing songs of power into my daily life. I asked empowering questions. I played in the field of possibilities.
On my trip I was visited several times by fox. The place in the mountains where I attended a workshop had a lounge called the Fox Den. It was a sunken room that had pictures of foxes all around. Then when I stayed at a friend's house on my final night I got to see her domesticated fox run around. On my drive home a fox crossed the road in front of me. He made it safely to the other side, but a few moments before I had seen the remains of one of his kin that had not been so lucky. Fox medicine is something I am familiar with because it is one of the medicines(or powers if you like) that I carry. Fox is a trickster, a master of camouflage, a guide to Faery. This perhaps for me is a sign to move deeper into the faery tale that is my life. It may also be a sign to move carefully and quietly in the time ahead. I find it interesting that it appears at a time when I am endeavoring to spread my network. Perhaps it means I should do so quietly and steadily behind the scenes maybe not letting on what my true goals or destinations are. Well mums the word then.
So how about you? Have you gone out into the great beyond or big world and come back another person? Do you find yourself no longer in sync with those around you? Do you feel it is time to recreate your life to more accurately reflect your image? Find your center and dwell in your intentions. Set them out quietly into the world at large. Know your goals but maybe speak softly if at all of them. Let me know where you land.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
At long last I have returned home. My two week sojourn saw me through the states of West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The Magic and Mystery tour of the Mooneagle has ended for the time being. It was to my mind only a start. For a while I had a dream of traveling and being hosted by people where I would do despacho ceremony and see clients. I do love to travel and this trip was the first step into financing that sort of existence.
All told I have done 2 full despacho ceremonies in the past week and one mini offering. I feel like it brought in blessings everywhere I went. Now back in my day to day existence I am feeling the contrast of where I used to belong and where I currently resonate. I am feeling people around me in a different way. Something in me has changed and so I am being called to step up my game. I am pushing forward to more consistently manifest the place where I belong.
While it feels like I've not been gone long, it also feels like I have been gone for over a month. This is in part because for the first half of my trip I unplugged. I had almost a whole week devoid of electronic distractions. I strived to maintain a very low level of technological intrusion for the remainder of my trip. I did my best to be present with my hosts. Now that I am home it shall be interesting to see how much of that presence and detachment from screen time I can hold onto. It shall be a practice of discipline, but one I think well worth the effort. I want my connectivity to serve me not enslave me. As I watch others tantalized by their phones, tweeting and face booking I come to realize that perhaps we have lost the distinction between our tools and ourselves.
So here I am feeling a little out of place where I am, and yet not wanting to regress into what I used to be. That was the point of my journey after all, to return as a different person. The hero's journey is not complete until he (or she) returns home with all that they have learned. Sometimes this homecoming is celebrated, other times it is not. As we return people expect us to be as we always have been. In getting out of my routine and normal environment I made time to sing songs of power into my daily life. I asked empowering questions. I played in the field of possibilities.
On my trip I was visited several times by fox. The place in the mountains where I attended a workshop had a lounge called the Fox Den. It was a sunken room that had pictures of foxes all around. Then when I stayed at a friend's house on my final night I got to see her domesticated fox run around. On my drive home a fox crossed the road in front of me. He made it safely to the other side, but a few moments before I had seen the remains of one of his kin that had not been so lucky. Fox medicine is something I am familiar with because it is one of the medicines(or powers if you like) that I carry. Fox is a trickster, a master of camouflage, a guide to Faery. This perhaps for me is a sign to move deeper into the faery tale that is my life. It may also be a sign to move carefully and quietly in the time ahead. I find it interesting that it appears at a time when I am endeavoring to spread my network. Perhaps it means I should do so quietly and steadily behind the scenes maybe not letting on what my true goals or destinations are. Well mums the word then.
So how about you? Have you gone out into the great beyond or big world and come back another person? Do you find yourself no longer in sync with those around you? Do you feel it is time to recreate your life to more accurately reflect your image? Find your center and dwell in your intentions. Set them out quietly into the world at large. Know your goals but maybe speak softly if at all of them. Let me know where you land.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Culmination
Greetings all,
I hope you had as blessed a week as I have had. It has been full of surprising connections and so much information it will be months at the least for me to integrate it all. What amazes me is that I was able for the most part to stay present in the midst of the biggest trip of my life so far. I was among people of all walks of life, ages, family dynamics, and geographical origins. We came from vastly different paradigms and yet we all got along. Mostly because we were all there to grow and learn and support each other. If only the world would do that.
I have gone far beyond what I thought is possible and now I am once more thinking, "What else can I do, experience, learn?" I am considering going places I never have been drawn to before. So as I start to catch myself thinking back into my previous limitations I try and pause and think if I really want to believe that. It is so easy to go back into familiar patterns. They are like old jeans we have worn a long time. Now it seems there are some holes in the jeans though, maybe it is time to replace them with something that fits the current me better.
This week I have reached a tipping point. A good one I think. I received many messages and confirmations. I had a vision from years ago come to life before my eyes. I reached a place of no space and no time, I walked into the void and came out wearing something different in my skin. I feel like my training has just about reached a culmination. Not to say that I won't be learning anything more or won't take more classes and learn more skills, but rather a synthesis has begun of all the different paths I have walked. I have created out of unlikely prospects something wonderful. I intend to so again.
Where have I been? The mountains is all I will say for now. I have been everywhere and nowhere. I have merged dream, journey, and vision into the physical world. I have become that which is in me to be come and shall continue to become even more of what and who I am. I am not trying to be obscure just to be mysterious. I have just not yet fully processed my experience. How can I write about what moves inside me out of conscious awareness? I have faith that what lies beneath shall propel me forward into more joy and awareness. I also have a commitment to write every week so these are my rambling half grasping of the trip so far.
So what about you? Have you come to a point where your past lessons have culminated into something more than the sum of their parts? Have you struggled to encapsulate the mysteries you have experienced. What would happen if you tried only to integrate them rather than explain them? Can you remain in wonder about where you are now and what comes next? Try to see yourself as an epic hero having completed the prologue of your journey. See what arises in you.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
I hope you had as blessed a week as I have had. It has been full of surprising connections and so much information it will be months at the least for me to integrate it all. What amazes me is that I was able for the most part to stay present in the midst of the biggest trip of my life so far. I was among people of all walks of life, ages, family dynamics, and geographical origins. We came from vastly different paradigms and yet we all got along. Mostly because we were all there to grow and learn and support each other. If only the world would do that.
I have gone far beyond what I thought is possible and now I am once more thinking, "What else can I do, experience, learn?" I am considering going places I never have been drawn to before. So as I start to catch myself thinking back into my previous limitations I try and pause and think if I really want to believe that. It is so easy to go back into familiar patterns. They are like old jeans we have worn a long time. Now it seems there are some holes in the jeans though, maybe it is time to replace them with something that fits the current me better.
This week I have reached a tipping point. A good one I think. I received many messages and confirmations. I had a vision from years ago come to life before my eyes. I reached a place of no space and no time, I walked into the void and came out wearing something different in my skin. I feel like my training has just about reached a culmination. Not to say that I won't be learning anything more or won't take more classes and learn more skills, but rather a synthesis has begun of all the different paths I have walked. I have created out of unlikely prospects something wonderful. I intend to so again.
Where have I been? The mountains is all I will say for now. I have been everywhere and nowhere. I have merged dream, journey, and vision into the physical world. I have become that which is in me to be come and shall continue to become even more of what and who I am. I am not trying to be obscure just to be mysterious. I have just not yet fully processed my experience. How can I write about what moves inside me out of conscious awareness? I have faith that what lies beneath shall propel me forward into more joy and awareness. I also have a commitment to write every week so these are my rambling half grasping of the trip so far.
So what about you? Have you come to a point where your past lessons have culminated into something more than the sum of their parts? Have you struggled to encapsulate the mysteries you have experienced. What would happen if you tried only to integrate them rather than explain them? Can you remain in wonder about where you are now and what comes next? Try to see yourself as an epic hero having completed the prologue of your journey. See what arises in you.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
Friday, July 4, 2014
In the Wind
Greetings all,
Happy 4th of July to my fellow citizens. In celebration of Independence day I've gone off onto the open road. I am in the wind. This is the first day of what I'm referring to as the Mooneagle Magic and Mystery tour. I have quite the road trip in the works. In fact I'm typing this from my hotel room.
I've been running around like a mad man trying to get things done leading up to this trip. I was so nervous and excited. I was just realizing today that this is the first time I have booked a room for myself. I've either ever shared or someone else has done the booking for me(which is a great way to get the Mooneagle to come to your town by the way). This is by far the longest road trip I have ever undertaken alone. I've got so much to look forward to I'm exhausted (or maybe that is the drive and all the trip prepping I did, rotating tires takes it out of you).
I was talking with my friend Jenny the Bear the other night and I mentioned that this trip kept me thinking about the past. She told me that long trips will do that to you. Perhaps it is because I can't quite imagine what will come next, and being by myself has me looking backwards for comfort. Perhaps it is because I don't want to bring too many expectations of what I am about to encounter. Perhaps it is due to the sometimes scary prospect of being alone in the world amidst strangers in strange places. It could also be the season. I tend to wax nostalgic in the summer. All the summers of the past seem to run together in my head. Seasons are like separate worlds once you stray into one you can't seem to escape it. Summer and winter both seem to have immense gravity. When you are in them they seem endless, whereas autumn and spring seem to always be ephemeral, fading into something else. They are like the borderlands, soon past.
Travel for me happens from spring to fall. I tend to avoid traveling in the winter at least by car. I've always been a child of the wind though. I had family in the airline business growing up and so we always were going someplace new. By the time I was ten I had been to more places than many people get to see in their life. The west particularly left its mark on me. The echoes of the people who walked the sacred roads in times past followed me. So now that I am in charge of my own journeys I make it a point to go to someplace I've never been to each year. I have done this for about 13 years. It works out well travel is good for the soul.
So you may be asking where is it I am off to next? To which I'd say, "Spoilers." I'd hate to sully the journey with vague expectations. Perhaps you'll hear from me in a few weeks or maybe I'll keep it a mystery for a bit longer. What comes next is the adventure, the open road, the wind in my hair.
What about you? Does the kingdom of summer hold some new adventure for you? Do the weight of seasons past have you stuck? What would happen if you slipped off the path into a bit of the unknown? Would you be willing to follow a pixie's trail? What about just hearing a pixie's tale? Find a direction that calls your spirit and get out your maps. Chart a course and let the wind sing you there. Let me know what you find and I may share my tale too.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
Happy 4th of July to my fellow citizens. In celebration of Independence day I've gone off onto the open road. I am in the wind. This is the first day of what I'm referring to as the Mooneagle Magic and Mystery tour. I have quite the road trip in the works. In fact I'm typing this from my hotel room.
I've been running around like a mad man trying to get things done leading up to this trip. I was so nervous and excited. I was just realizing today that this is the first time I have booked a room for myself. I've either ever shared or someone else has done the booking for me(which is a great way to get the Mooneagle to come to your town by the way). This is by far the longest road trip I have ever undertaken alone. I've got so much to look forward to I'm exhausted (or maybe that is the drive and all the trip prepping I did, rotating tires takes it out of you).
I was talking with my friend Jenny the Bear the other night and I mentioned that this trip kept me thinking about the past. She told me that long trips will do that to you. Perhaps it is because I can't quite imagine what will come next, and being by myself has me looking backwards for comfort. Perhaps it is because I don't want to bring too many expectations of what I am about to encounter. Perhaps it is due to the sometimes scary prospect of being alone in the world amidst strangers in strange places. It could also be the season. I tend to wax nostalgic in the summer. All the summers of the past seem to run together in my head. Seasons are like separate worlds once you stray into one you can't seem to escape it. Summer and winter both seem to have immense gravity. When you are in them they seem endless, whereas autumn and spring seem to always be ephemeral, fading into something else. They are like the borderlands, soon past.
Travel for me happens from spring to fall. I tend to avoid traveling in the winter at least by car. I've always been a child of the wind though. I had family in the airline business growing up and so we always were going someplace new. By the time I was ten I had been to more places than many people get to see in their life. The west particularly left its mark on me. The echoes of the people who walked the sacred roads in times past followed me. So now that I am in charge of my own journeys I make it a point to go to someplace I've never been to each year. I have done this for about 13 years. It works out well travel is good for the soul.
So you may be asking where is it I am off to next? To which I'd say, "Spoilers." I'd hate to sully the journey with vague expectations. Perhaps you'll hear from me in a few weeks or maybe I'll keep it a mystery for a bit longer. What comes next is the adventure, the open road, the wind in my hair.
What about you? Does the kingdom of summer hold some new adventure for you? Do the weight of seasons past have you stuck? What would happen if you slipped off the path into a bit of the unknown? Would you be willing to follow a pixie's trail? What about just hearing a pixie's tale? Find a direction that calls your spirit and get out your maps. Chart a course and let the wind sing you there. Let me know what you find and I may share my tale too.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Meditative Groove
Greetings all,
I hope you are enjoying the heat this week. We've had a good mix of rain and sun and my garden is beginning to perk up. I seem to have fallen behind in my posts of late. I still get one out each week, but it is more of a press to get it all done. I stay busy, between artwork, clients, teaching, working on my book, and working a part time job there is no day of rest.
I used to be very regimental about having a meditative practice. The past few years I have been more sporadic about setting aside time. (See above for reasons why). I would always say, "When I get all my tasks done I can meditate." The only problem with this approach is that there is no end to tasks, and even when I do get it all done I am generally all wound up and can't sit still. So more often than not there wasn't time devoted to silence. I also tend to be a night owl so getting it done early in the day was a challenge since I got up later.
Lately I have been feeling the need for more calm. As I have taken on more responsibilities I am needing to center more, otherwise I get pulled into everyone else's story. I have gone back to doing longer seated meditations in the morning. Now I am not waking up at 5 AM or anything, nor am I meditating first thing. I have breakfast first, because nothing interrupts meditation quite like having your stomach growling at you. After breakfast I practice a little tai chi, and then get cleaned up. Meditation comes next before any other tasks.
This has been challenging to keep up. There are always messages to check. Facebook beckons with its promise of social connectivity (and possible art sales too). Text messages come in day and night at all hours that chime luring my attention away from the moment. There are voicemails, emails, and youtube comments to reply to. For this reason screen time is severely limited until after meditation.
I like to use brainwave entrainment to help me meditate. It's a quick way to get your state of mind to change. I flit between different frequencies changing it up each day so I don't get too bored. So some days I am chilling in hyper gamma, other days I will be in deep theta, or even epsilon. Each of these tracks are a half hour and of course part of my brain is screaming at me how much stuff I have to get done. The trick is you have to let it scream and tell it that you have time. I have plenty of time with my weird flexible schedule; the problem has been since I have that time I don't seem to use it well. Part of working for yourself is taking yourself seriously and that means scheduling things and then following that schedule.
So after about two weeks of doing meditation first here is what I notice. I get what I need done and I get it done faster. I had a lot of back logged emotion that was being suppressed. (Hence the crying every time I got deep into meditation). I enjoy turning my phone off at night and I sleep better. I am not missing out on anything by taking this half hour for myself.
So what about you? Is there some self care that you put off till everything is done for the day? Do you makes lists of tasks for yourself all day long? Do you let your electronic screens dictate your attention rather than the other way around? If so maybe you should take a few minutes to get centered each day. Now I know many of you have more rigid schedules than I do, but cheer up recent studies show that as little as seven to ten minutes of meditation a day is enough to rewire neural networks. Maybe your meditation time won't be in the morning,. Maybe it will be on your lunch break, on your commute (if you aren't driving), or in the evening before bed.. Just try carving out a little space for your mental well being. Trust me you have time.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
I hope you are enjoying the heat this week. We've had a good mix of rain and sun and my garden is beginning to perk up. I seem to have fallen behind in my posts of late. I still get one out each week, but it is more of a press to get it all done. I stay busy, between artwork, clients, teaching, working on my book, and working a part time job there is no day of rest.
I used to be very regimental about having a meditative practice. The past few years I have been more sporadic about setting aside time. (See above for reasons why). I would always say, "When I get all my tasks done I can meditate." The only problem with this approach is that there is no end to tasks, and even when I do get it all done I am generally all wound up and can't sit still. So more often than not there wasn't time devoted to silence. I also tend to be a night owl so getting it done early in the day was a challenge since I got up later.
Lately I have been feeling the need for more calm. As I have taken on more responsibilities I am needing to center more, otherwise I get pulled into everyone else's story. I have gone back to doing longer seated meditations in the morning. Now I am not waking up at 5 AM or anything, nor am I meditating first thing. I have breakfast first, because nothing interrupts meditation quite like having your stomach growling at you. After breakfast I practice a little tai chi, and then get cleaned up. Meditation comes next before any other tasks.
This has been challenging to keep up. There are always messages to check. Facebook beckons with its promise of social connectivity (and possible art sales too). Text messages come in day and night at all hours that chime luring my attention away from the moment. There are voicemails, emails, and youtube comments to reply to. For this reason screen time is severely limited until after meditation.
I like to use brainwave entrainment to help me meditate. It's a quick way to get your state of mind to change. I flit between different frequencies changing it up each day so I don't get too bored. So some days I am chilling in hyper gamma, other days I will be in deep theta, or even epsilon. Each of these tracks are a half hour and of course part of my brain is screaming at me how much stuff I have to get done. The trick is you have to let it scream and tell it that you have time. I have plenty of time with my weird flexible schedule; the problem has been since I have that time I don't seem to use it well. Part of working for yourself is taking yourself seriously and that means scheduling things and then following that schedule.
So after about two weeks of doing meditation first here is what I notice. I get what I need done and I get it done faster. I had a lot of back logged emotion that was being suppressed. (Hence the crying every time I got deep into meditation). I enjoy turning my phone off at night and I sleep better. I am not missing out on anything by taking this half hour for myself.
So what about you? Is there some self care that you put off till everything is done for the day? Do you makes lists of tasks for yourself all day long? Do you let your electronic screens dictate your attention rather than the other way around? If so maybe you should take a few minutes to get centered each day. Now I know many of you have more rigid schedules than I do, but cheer up recent studies show that as little as seven to ten minutes of meditation a day is enough to rewire neural networks. Maybe your meditation time won't be in the morning,. Maybe it will be on your lunch break, on your commute (if you aren't driving), or in the evening before bed.. Just try carving out a little space for your mental well being. Trust me you have time.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Drumming Down the Sky Singing Up the Earth
Greetings all,
I hope you all had a blessed summer solstice. Mine was packed full of good people and the sound of drums. The weather was perfect for an early evening ceremony, and that is just what we had. I've said in the past that on the equinoxes I drum alone and on the solstices I drum in community. This year I had a hard time pulling together a space and a group, it was smaller but a very powerful experience.
The focus this solstice was transmuting our burdens into blessings. I and many of the people I interact with have had a challenging year. For some there has been an equal number of rewards, but there has been a lot of effort expended to deal with difficult circumstances. At times it feels like we are carrying a lot of dead weight. So I thought why not use the energy of the solstice to help us transmute that into something useful.
There were only three of us this time that were physically present, but three is a powerful number. The trinity appears in many cultures as a potent numerical figure. There were also drummers that were separated by vast distances that came together at the same time (well we were just a few minutes late but basically the same time). Right before we opened sacred space, I felt a sensation, a hum in the center of my chest. I said out loud, "They've started." I knew it without a doubt. I could feel it in my body that our distant drum friends had begun. I've drummed with others around the globe before, but this was the first time I actually could feel them.
The second amazing thing that happened once we got started is that I started to hear a hum. It sounded like a very repetitive voice singing along with the drums. Chording sometimes happens with drums but this was different. It felt like it was coming from the ground beneath our feet. I felt the earth singing up to merge with the song of our drums. I joined my voice to the sound and soon it was if I had merged with the song the earth was singing.
I had journeyed the day prior to the upper world and was taught a prayer by one of the Ancestors. This is something I sang during the ceremony. I find it makes a good set of affirmations or mantra. It goes like this, "We come to receive the blessings of the earth. We come to give the blessings of the earth. We come to be the blessings." I love the progression of receiving to giving and finally becoming. We are one with the blessings themselves. We are not separate.
We drummed for probably a half hour. It felt like we would never stop, but all of the sudden it came to a halt. We all three felt it, and I could feel that our distant drum friends had ceased as well. It was as inexplicable a feeling as when I had sensed they had begun. I just knew. So we closed the space and visited for a bit. When I had first started I had been tired from an early morning and a day out at the fair. I was unsure I could muster the power to drum, but afterwards I felt invigorated and recharged. It is often that way with drumming, it revitalizes us connecting us to the strength of the earth herself.
Some would say it was all in my head. Feeling other people at a distance, hearing the earth sing, and receiving prayers from a spirit are all regarded as fantasy in our western culture. Maybe it was in my head, but I did feel better after ceremony, I did feel more connected, and I did feel more grateful for all the people who made the ceremony possible. So whatever happened it is simply more useful for me to believe in this unseen connection. Now past the longest day of the year I always feel a bit sad as the darkness will be growing again, but that is the way of it. Nothing is static it is always growing or decreasing. There is no stopping only flowing or resisting. The ceremonies I do help me to connect with the currents of life. They help me make sacred my world.
How about you? Do you celebrate or mark the turning points in the seasons? Do you regularly honor the forces of life within and around you? Do you allow yourself to feel the inexplicable? Are the mysteries welcome in your life? Personal ritual no matter how simple can be a powerful tool to bring order and meaning to our lives try some ceremony on for size and see where it takes you. Have a beautiful summer!
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
I hope you all had a blessed summer solstice. Mine was packed full of good people and the sound of drums. The weather was perfect for an early evening ceremony, and that is just what we had. I've said in the past that on the equinoxes I drum alone and on the solstices I drum in community. This year I had a hard time pulling together a space and a group, it was smaller but a very powerful experience.
The focus this solstice was transmuting our burdens into blessings. I and many of the people I interact with have had a challenging year. For some there has been an equal number of rewards, but there has been a lot of effort expended to deal with difficult circumstances. At times it feels like we are carrying a lot of dead weight. So I thought why not use the energy of the solstice to help us transmute that into something useful.
There were only three of us this time that were physically present, but three is a powerful number. The trinity appears in many cultures as a potent numerical figure. There were also drummers that were separated by vast distances that came together at the same time (well we were just a few minutes late but basically the same time). Right before we opened sacred space, I felt a sensation, a hum in the center of my chest. I said out loud, "They've started." I knew it without a doubt. I could feel it in my body that our distant drum friends had begun. I've drummed with others around the globe before, but this was the first time I actually could feel them.
The second amazing thing that happened once we got started is that I started to hear a hum. It sounded like a very repetitive voice singing along with the drums. Chording sometimes happens with drums but this was different. It felt like it was coming from the ground beneath our feet. I felt the earth singing up to merge with the song of our drums. I joined my voice to the sound and soon it was if I had merged with the song the earth was singing.
I had journeyed the day prior to the upper world and was taught a prayer by one of the Ancestors. This is something I sang during the ceremony. I find it makes a good set of affirmations or mantra. It goes like this, "We come to receive the blessings of the earth. We come to give the blessings of the earth. We come to be the blessings." I love the progression of receiving to giving and finally becoming. We are one with the blessings themselves. We are not separate.
We drummed for probably a half hour. It felt like we would never stop, but all of the sudden it came to a halt. We all three felt it, and I could feel that our distant drum friends had ceased as well. It was as inexplicable a feeling as when I had sensed they had begun. I just knew. So we closed the space and visited for a bit. When I had first started I had been tired from an early morning and a day out at the fair. I was unsure I could muster the power to drum, but afterwards I felt invigorated and recharged. It is often that way with drumming, it revitalizes us connecting us to the strength of the earth herself.
Some would say it was all in my head. Feeling other people at a distance, hearing the earth sing, and receiving prayers from a spirit are all regarded as fantasy in our western culture. Maybe it was in my head, but I did feel better after ceremony, I did feel more connected, and I did feel more grateful for all the people who made the ceremony possible. So whatever happened it is simply more useful for me to believe in this unseen connection. Now past the longest day of the year I always feel a bit sad as the darkness will be growing again, but that is the way of it. Nothing is static it is always growing or decreasing. There is no stopping only flowing or resisting. The ceremonies I do help me to connect with the currents of life. They help me make sacred my world.
How about you? Do you celebrate or mark the turning points in the seasons? Do you regularly honor the forces of life within and around you? Do you allow yourself to feel the inexplicable? Are the mysteries welcome in your life? Personal ritual no matter how simple can be a powerful tool to bring order and meaning to our lives try some ceremony on for size and see where it takes you. Have a beautiful summer!
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
Friday, June 13, 2014
Visceral
Greetings all,
I have had a busy but very productive and joyful week. My laughter has returned. I missed being silly. I am only serious when I absolutely have to be. That said I do try and conduct myself professionally.
One of my favorite words is visceral. According to the dictionary it means: of or relating to the viscera; relating to deep inward feelings rather than the intellect. When something is visceral you feel it in your body, an emotion can visceral too. I clearly remember after having to defend my work for my graduation thesis feeling like I had been sucker punched in the gut. (I do believe I gave as much as I got in that instance though if not more so). The body with all its systems is a miraculous accomplishment. Integrating motion, senses, and thought in a seamless whole it is our vehicle, our home, and in great part our identity in this life.
We tend to isolate thinking into the space right above our neck. Having taught people tai chi for years I can clearly attest that people seem to try and move from there. They are like head balloons with strings tying them back to their necks. In tai chi we practice moving from tan tien which is about an inch or two below your naval in the sacral region. Here is the center of gravity for our body, where it moves so do we. However a lot of times I've noticed that people are completely unaware of their body. They feed it when it gets hungry, take it to the bathroom, and sleep (well they try) but they do it from a detached giant head space. They only become aware of their body when it hurts.
The body has its own intelligence apart from cognitive thinking. You see this mostly with athletes. Their muscle memory is superb. They put a lot of effort into training their movements off the courts and fields so that they don't' have to "think" about their movements when they play they just do it. This is also how martial artists train, spending hours practicing and refining a move so that when danger strikes their moves bypass conscious thought and become reflexes.
I have a little story to tell you about muscle memory. When I was in my senior year of high school I had come back from winter break and forgotten the combination to my locker. The more I stressed about trying to remember the combination the farther it got from my conscious mind. I tried something in desperation to avoid being late to first period. I let my hand just spin the dial around pretending to open it. Miraculously it worked the locker opened I got my books, put up my coat, and headed to class. There was just one problem I still didn't remember the combination. Whenever I tried to think about it my hand would lock up and I couldn't get my locker open. After a few days I gave up trying to remember and just let my hand do its thing. As long as my hand remembered it wasn't a problem. They say you never forget how to swim or ride a bike and apparently your hand can remember a combination better than you can.
Locker combinations aside there is a reason I am telling you about body memory. Emotions and trauma can get stored in the body's memory, right down to the cellular level. Genetic memory or rather epi-genetics has become a focus of study recently showing that if our grandparents had very stressful lives it turned on some genes while switching off others. About a year and a half ago I offered a group shifting download. The aim was to remove religious programming from our deep minds. Within a half hour of doing the download I felt nauseous and very ill. That continued for about three days, someone turned me onto activated charcoal and I improved rapidly. I'd had emotional reactions from energetic downloads before but never anything so physical. My cells had been holding onto old programs that were literally toxic, the download released the pattern, and my system was flooded with all the toxins. (This was the download that prompted me to put warning labels on all my downloads). As I work on the next download I am trying to find a way to gentle the process so the release is smoother.
So how about you? What are you holding onto in your body? Are you working with your body keeping it moving so it can work through old patterns? Are you using your body as a storehouse for stuff you don't want to deal with? Are you ignoring your body's intelligence? Maybe it is time to dust off your dancing shoes, get out that yoga mat, or dive in to the waters. Try being in your body rather than your head for an evening see how it feels. Let me know what your visceral reaction is.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
I have had a busy but very productive and joyful week. My laughter has returned. I missed being silly. I am only serious when I absolutely have to be. That said I do try and conduct myself professionally.
One of my favorite words is visceral. According to the dictionary it means: of or relating to the viscera; relating to deep inward feelings rather than the intellect. When something is visceral you feel it in your body, an emotion can visceral too. I clearly remember after having to defend my work for my graduation thesis feeling like I had been sucker punched in the gut. (I do believe I gave as much as I got in that instance though if not more so). The body with all its systems is a miraculous accomplishment. Integrating motion, senses, and thought in a seamless whole it is our vehicle, our home, and in great part our identity in this life.
We tend to isolate thinking into the space right above our neck. Having taught people tai chi for years I can clearly attest that people seem to try and move from there. They are like head balloons with strings tying them back to their necks. In tai chi we practice moving from tan tien which is about an inch or two below your naval in the sacral region. Here is the center of gravity for our body, where it moves so do we. However a lot of times I've noticed that people are completely unaware of their body. They feed it when it gets hungry, take it to the bathroom, and sleep (well they try) but they do it from a detached giant head space. They only become aware of their body when it hurts.
The body has its own intelligence apart from cognitive thinking. You see this mostly with athletes. Their muscle memory is superb. They put a lot of effort into training their movements off the courts and fields so that they don't' have to "think" about their movements when they play they just do it. This is also how martial artists train, spending hours practicing and refining a move so that when danger strikes their moves bypass conscious thought and become reflexes.
I have a little story to tell you about muscle memory. When I was in my senior year of high school I had come back from winter break and forgotten the combination to my locker. The more I stressed about trying to remember the combination the farther it got from my conscious mind. I tried something in desperation to avoid being late to first period. I let my hand just spin the dial around pretending to open it. Miraculously it worked the locker opened I got my books, put up my coat, and headed to class. There was just one problem I still didn't remember the combination. Whenever I tried to think about it my hand would lock up and I couldn't get my locker open. After a few days I gave up trying to remember and just let my hand do its thing. As long as my hand remembered it wasn't a problem. They say you never forget how to swim or ride a bike and apparently your hand can remember a combination better than you can.
Locker combinations aside there is a reason I am telling you about body memory. Emotions and trauma can get stored in the body's memory, right down to the cellular level. Genetic memory or rather epi-genetics has become a focus of study recently showing that if our grandparents had very stressful lives it turned on some genes while switching off others. About a year and a half ago I offered a group shifting download. The aim was to remove religious programming from our deep minds. Within a half hour of doing the download I felt nauseous and very ill. That continued for about three days, someone turned me onto activated charcoal and I improved rapidly. I'd had emotional reactions from energetic downloads before but never anything so physical. My cells had been holding onto old programs that were literally toxic, the download released the pattern, and my system was flooded with all the toxins. (This was the download that prompted me to put warning labels on all my downloads). As I work on the next download I am trying to find a way to gentle the process so the release is smoother.
So how about you? What are you holding onto in your body? Are you working with your body keeping it moving so it can work through old patterns? Are you using your body as a storehouse for stuff you don't want to deal with? Are you ignoring your body's intelligence? Maybe it is time to dust off your dancing shoes, get out that yoga mat, or dive in to the waters. Try being in your body rather than your head for an evening see how it feels. Let me know what your visceral reaction is.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
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