Greetings all,
I hope your week went well. It is only the third week of the year and I am very hopeful about how the course will run for 2015. I have been dashing about madly tending to one thing or another. I've also plunged into enjoying myself at one of my typically least favorite times of year.
In winter it is difficult for me to get myself up and out of the house. Now so far we've been pretty lucky about snow and ice (I may regret saying that but remember I said so far). It can be a challenge to get me to break out of my routine even in the summer. However I've started to make little changes here and there. I've made the effort to enjoy this time between the holidays and spring and I think it is paying off.
In times past I would always try and wait for other people to go out and do something with them. I would try to gather everyone together, but what usually happened was I ended up waiting and missing whatever it was I wanted to do. So far this year I've had a game night, I've taken a day trip to visit a friend on her farm, and tonight I went to a community ecstatic dance gathering. I don't know if it is well known but the Mooneagle likes to dance. Truthfully he loves it. The thing is I (thought referring to myself in the third person was getting tiresome) don't like clubs or bars. I don't drink and the energy I sense there is very sexually predacious. When I dance it is about the spirit moving not about grinding my pelvis against a stranger's booty. (Not that there is anything wrong with that if said stranger is amenable, but it is not my thing).
My point is that I've packed a lot of living into these past few weeks. I hope to continue this endeavor as I move through this year and the all the ones that may follow. I've stopped waiting for life to happen, and for companions. I'm making my own entertainment. I'm taking me out for a date, and I am finding that I am a fantastic date. I should have started dating myself years ago. Basically I've stopped waiting for the right people or time and just decided what I wanted to do and then I go do it. A better life isn't waiting on the horizon it's waiting on me to decide to seize it.
So how about you? Are you waiting on someone to spice up your life? Are you missing out on life while you are waiting on others? What if you didn't wait on the right person, season, or to fit into those old jeans again to get out on the town and boogie down? Maybe you've always wanted to take an art class or learn to make sushi. Well what's stopping you? Decide to do it and then make your plans. Those that matter will be there even if it is just you. The only person you really need to show up is yourself in any case. So paint the town red, magenta, or electric blue if it fancies you.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
Musings
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Only Room for Love
Greetings all,
I realize the past few months I have been harder edged than usual. Life sometimes goads a response to treatment and mine has been to be a little less patient with people and their "stuff". In setting boundaries with people it is easy to forget about love.
Some may argue that we should accept everyone unconditionally into our lives and just love them. This sounds pretty and is a beautiful concept. Some people even seem to manage this. I don't generally recommend this as a lifestyle choice. Let me explain. Whenever I have been lax in screening the company I keep I have ended up in very dangerous situations. I have in the past been: confronted and drained of my chi by psychic vampires, threatened with bodily harm at a party (the man had a gun in his truck…he didn't make it to his truck), been physically assaulted in a public restroom by a drunken concert goer, and interacted with magical folk that liked to try out their hexes whenever they disagreed with someone. This list is just a short summary of a few years in my twenties when I didn't realize that I had control over whom I interacted with in my social life.
I am sometimes accused of being cold or stand offish. People mistakenly think I am looking down at them. I am not, what I am doing is hanging back for a while to see if they are the sort that is going to fly off in a rage and attack me. This makes me slow to warm up to people, particularly if they project a hard or aggressive demeanor.
Compassion, acceptance, and inclusion are central concepts to many spiritual paths. They are easy to say and hard to practice. I give myself a little more leeway now considering all that I have experienced. Doing clearing work and depossession on occasion you run across beings that do not provoke a loving response, usually they stir up the opposite feelings of revulsion and terror. My response has been to call in helping spirits that remove them as lovingly as possible. It ends up being a healing for them too though as they are removed from the sphere of worldly influence and are tended to. Recently in doing a little clearing work for a good friend (no entities involved just emotional energy) while we smudged and rattled the space I began to sing various power songs. I find that singing is one of the best ways to focus energy and intent and to move with spirit. As I moved through one of the more charged spaces I began to sing "There's only room for love." This became a chant and then a power song in its own right. It is simple and powerful. It allows beings to retain the choice of what they carry on them, but also enforces good boundaries. If there is only room for love you can choose to bring love or there is no space for you.
So why am I telling you all this? Well think about your life and what you make space for, and what you wish you didn't have space for. If you only have room for love what do you think would happen to your social, work, or family life? What if you made what you loving the focus for your life and pruned away all that isn't in alignment with it? What would vanish from your life if there was truly only room for love? Let me know in the comments below.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
I realize the past few months I have been harder edged than usual. Life sometimes goads a response to treatment and mine has been to be a little less patient with people and their "stuff". In setting boundaries with people it is easy to forget about love.
Some may argue that we should accept everyone unconditionally into our lives and just love them. This sounds pretty and is a beautiful concept. Some people even seem to manage this. I don't generally recommend this as a lifestyle choice. Let me explain. Whenever I have been lax in screening the company I keep I have ended up in very dangerous situations. I have in the past been: confronted and drained of my chi by psychic vampires, threatened with bodily harm at a party (the man had a gun in his truck…he didn't make it to his truck), been physically assaulted in a public restroom by a drunken concert goer, and interacted with magical folk that liked to try out their hexes whenever they disagreed with someone. This list is just a short summary of a few years in my twenties when I didn't realize that I had control over whom I interacted with in my social life.
I am sometimes accused of being cold or stand offish. People mistakenly think I am looking down at them. I am not, what I am doing is hanging back for a while to see if they are the sort that is going to fly off in a rage and attack me. This makes me slow to warm up to people, particularly if they project a hard or aggressive demeanor.
Compassion, acceptance, and inclusion are central concepts to many spiritual paths. They are easy to say and hard to practice. I give myself a little more leeway now considering all that I have experienced. Doing clearing work and depossession on occasion you run across beings that do not provoke a loving response, usually they stir up the opposite feelings of revulsion and terror. My response has been to call in helping spirits that remove them as lovingly as possible. It ends up being a healing for them too though as they are removed from the sphere of worldly influence and are tended to. Recently in doing a little clearing work for a good friend (no entities involved just emotional energy) while we smudged and rattled the space I began to sing various power songs. I find that singing is one of the best ways to focus energy and intent and to move with spirit. As I moved through one of the more charged spaces I began to sing "There's only room for love." This became a chant and then a power song in its own right. It is simple and powerful. It allows beings to retain the choice of what they carry on them, but also enforces good boundaries. If there is only room for love you can choose to bring love or there is no space for you.
So why am I telling you all this? Well think about your life and what you make space for, and what you wish you didn't have space for. If you only have room for love what do you think would happen to your social, work, or family life? What if you made what you loving the focus for your life and pruned away all that isn't in alignment with it? What would vanish from your life if there was truly only room for love? Let me know in the comments below.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Served
Greetings all,
It has been a week of deep cold and deep thought. In this time of cold I find myself looking for ways to conserve my energy. Well every action has a reaction.
My business and my life purpose is one of service. Being of service is something we seem to be very confused about in these times. It is not the same as being a servant. I was recently subject to some very disrespectful and petty treatment while offering assistance to someone while working. What it highlighted in me is how entitled people feel to special treatment. There is an attitude some people carry that anyone who is being paid for a service or a job is somehow beneath you. I've had people act as if they own me while requesting top notch service. This is not the way to the Mooneagle's heart. (Truthfully he doesn't much care for it when he sees you treat your waitress that way either).
So I thought perhaps I should make clear what my service does for you (not you reading this you would never be petty to someone helping you). I help people when they are confused and unsure, I offer them another perspective that steps out of the normal view of time. I help people when they have encountered spiritual energies that are detrimental to their safety and enjoyment in life. I remove obstacles and limits from people. However I do not make people happy. It is not in my job description. Your happiness is your job. This is not to say that I don't want or care about your happiness, but I am not responsible for it.
You may be thinking, "But what am I paying you for Thomas?" Well I'm just there to help on your path I cannot make you enjoy it. That really is your job. If you think that it is consider this, have you ever tried to cheer someone up who just didn't want to be cheered up. You know someone who was upset with their spouse, friend, or boss. What about when someone has just had a major trauma? Did you make them happy within moments of it? I didn't think so. While I am here to help I am not in charge of your emotions just as you are not in charge of other people's feelings. Certainly there are things you and I can do (or not do) that contribute to how they feel, but only to a point. I have worked with people who were in pretty bad situations and then they got everything they asked for. I'd like to report that they lived happily ever after, they did not. They were just as miserable with everything they received as they had been in their prior situation.
So you may be wondering how this applies to you, or if I am talking about you. Well how do you treat those that are there as supporting roles in your life? How are you treated by others that you give service to? How much contortion do you do to try and make people happy? Are you exhausted by it? There comes a time to detach and let people have their experience, and that is being of service. Being of service means we give people what they need which is not always what they want. Ponder that for a while.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
It has been a week of deep cold and deep thought. In this time of cold I find myself looking for ways to conserve my energy. Well every action has a reaction.
My business and my life purpose is one of service. Being of service is something we seem to be very confused about in these times. It is not the same as being a servant. I was recently subject to some very disrespectful and petty treatment while offering assistance to someone while working. What it highlighted in me is how entitled people feel to special treatment. There is an attitude some people carry that anyone who is being paid for a service or a job is somehow beneath you. I've had people act as if they own me while requesting top notch service. This is not the way to the Mooneagle's heart. (Truthfully he doesn't much care for it when he sees you treat your waitress that way either).
So I thought perhaps I should make clear what my service does for you (not you reading this you would never be petty to someone helping you). I help people when they are confused and unsure, I offer them another perspective that steps out of the normal view of time. I help people when they have encountered spiritual energies that are detrimental to their safety and enjoyment in life. I remove obstacles and limits from people. However I do not make people happy. It is not in my job description. Your happiness is your job. This is not to say that I don't want or care about your happiness, but I am not responsible for it.
You may be thinking, "But what am I paying you for Thomas?" Well I'm just there to help on your path I cannot make you enjoy it. That really is your job. If you think that it is consider this, have you ever tried to cheer someone up who just didn't want to be cheered up. You know someone who was upset with their spouse, friend, or boss. What about when someone has just had a major trauma? Did you make them happy within moments of it? I didn't think so. While I am here to help I am not in charge of your emotions just as you are not in charge of other people's feelings. Certainly there are things you and I can do (or not do) that contribute to how they feel, but only to a point. I have worked with people who were in pretty bad situations and then they got everything they asked for. I'd like to report that they lived happily ever after, they did not. They were just as miserable with everything they received as they had been in their prior situation.
So you may be wondering how this applies to you, or if I am talking about you. Well how do you treat those that are there as supporting roles in your life? How are you treated by others that you give service to? How much contortion do you do to try and make people happy? Are you exhausted by it? There comes a time to detach and let people have their experience, and that is being of service. Being of service means we give people what they need which is not always what they want. Ponder that for a while.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
Saturday, January 3, 2015
The Filler Months
Greetings all,
I hope you've had a happy holiday season. We've come to the post holiday season now. Many of us have made resolutions, Many are assessing to see if our pants still fit after all of our feasts with family and friends.
Here in the northern hemisphere we have come to what are generally the coldest and grayest months of the year. We don't have any more big holidays to distract us from the darkness. The cold tends to make us stay in and retreat from the world. Some people like this time if they have personal projects lined up. With less frenetic activity of the other 3 seasons and with no more major holidays until spring it can be an excellent time to limit distractions and make major headway towards personal goals. For others it can be very challenging as the parties are over and in many cases our loved ones have departed to far flung locations. If winter weather events occur we can then feel even more isolated, trips out may be limited to just work and out to get necessities.
I myself am originally from Florida. A real winter wasn't something I experienced until late in my childhood. Every year winter is a struggle for me emotionally. The time between New Years and the spring equinox have often felt like the filler months. I make a lot of plans for the spring and just sort bide my time. This year I have decided not to wait until spring has sprung to get out and see people. While it hasn't been too cold yet I have made an effort to spend at least 20 minutes a day outside walking. This alone has helped me feel better. It isn't just the natural light although that is part of it, but connecting with the world outside my home. Feeling the trees even as they dream of the spring to come helps me to feel a part of something larger than my own life. I hear the crows calling and feel the wind and it makes me feel more alive and less caged in.
Beyond my outside/exercise/spiritual practice I'm also making a commitment to not go full hermit this year. I'm planning movie nights, craft nights and regular game nights. Fun does not have to wait until the world turns green again. Besides all the social plans I also have a ton of planning and work to do for my own business as well putting together my first book. I hope to have that ready by the summer. This year I finally think that I will have no "filler months" in the year, and that every season will be filled with life if a slightly different flavor of it.
So how does this apply to you? Well do you have a season that you see as filler? What if you found a way to get out of your head in that season? What if you used that time to try something different? It couldn't hurt after all the worst that can happen is that it can be a filler of a different sort. What ways can you reach out and connect with something you love no matter the time and circumstances? Ponder it in the time between the holidays and the coming of spring.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
I hope you've had a happy holiday season. We've come to the post holiday season now. Many of us have made resolutions, Many are assessing to see if our pants still fit after all of our feasts with family and friends.
Here in the northern hemisphere we have come to what are generally the coldest and grayest months of the year. We don't have any more big holidays to distract us from the darkness. The cold tends to make us stay in and retreat from the world. Some people like this time if they have personal projects lined up. With less frenetic activity of the other 3 seasons and with no more major holidays until spring it can be an excellent time to limit distractions and make major headway towards personal goals. For others it can be very challenging as the parties are over and in many cases our loved ones have departed to far flung locations. If winter weather events occur we can then feel even more isolated, trips out may be limited to just work and out to get necessities.
I myself am originally from Florida. A real winter wasn't something I experienced until late in my childhood. Every year winter is a struggle for me emotionally. The time between New Years and the spring equinox have often felt like the filler months. I make a lot of plans for the spring and just sort bide my time. This year I have decided not to wait until spring has sprung to get out and see people. While it hasn't been too cold yet I have made an effort to spend at least 20 minutes a day outside walking. This alone has helped me feel better. It isn't just the natural light although that is part of it, but connecting with the world outside my home. Feeling the trees even as they dream of the spring to come helps me to feel a part of something larger than my own life. I hear the crows calling and feel the wind and it makes me feel more alive and less caged in.
Beyond my outside/exercise/spiritual practice I'm also making a commitment to not go full hermit this year. I'm planning movie nights, craft nights and regular game nights. Fun does not have to wait until the world turns green again. Besides all the social plans I also have a ton of planning and work to do for my own business as well putting together my first book. I hope to have that ready by the summer. This year I finally think that I will have no "filler months" in the year, and that every season will be filled with life if a slightly different flavor of it.
So how does this apply to you? Well do you have a season that you see as filler? What if you found a way to get out of your head in that season? What if you used that time to try something different? It couldn't hurt after all the worst that can happen is that it can be a filler of a different sort. What ways can you reach out and connect with something you love no matter the time and circumstances? Ponder it in the time between the holidays and the coming of spring.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
Sunday, December 28, 2014
24 Roads
Greetings all,
This is the last blog of 2014 and it is the first full year of weekly blogs. It hasn't always been easy or even very poetic or deep, but I still believe that by writing weekly there is more chance for magic to happen on the screen here with my words. I also am pretty sure I've found my voice and that is worth all of the effort to stay true and blog. The blog has helped me focus my mind and observe my thoughts a bit more clearly. I know a bit more of my mind. However it hasn't been the only stabilizing force. This has also been the first full year of my weekly rattling ceremonies that I perform for myself, family, friends, and premium clients. That is 52 weeks of ceremonial momentum punctuated on the quarters of the year by drumming.
So the title 24 roads is not very clear is it? Well this blog isn't the only thing I've been busy typing away at this year. In January I began journeying to the runes of the Norse Futhark in preparation to write my first book. I originally planned to do one rune a week, but life has a way of interfering. There are 24 runes in the Futhark. So far I have journeyed to 23 of the 24. When I am complete I will have walked the 24 roads, and I plan to do that before the clock strikes midnight on the 1st of the new year.
I've taken my time with this project. I've let it build over time. Each road I have walked has added to the power. I've said often this year if no one ever reads this book but me it was well worth the time. I feel like I have learned so much from committing to do this. I have really turned what I have learned in my shamanic training into useful tools of investigation. I've deepened relationships with the powers I've worked with, and I've learned secrets. Some I'll share, and some you will have to discover for yourself. I've invested myself with the spirit of discovery and delving and I believe I have found gold in the depths.
This year has been a year of great opportunities, challenges, exultation, and grave disappointments. It has not once been dull though. It has also been a year when I've been powerfully called by the magic in the world. I've made it a year of ceremony and risks. Those two go well together. If we ask the spirits for help we must be brave. We must be willing to take a few risks. I have traveled far in this realm and the realms of spirit. Now we're on the cusp of the new year and a new creation and there is so much more that is coming.
The past two years have been tumultuous (actually more than the last two really more like the last eight), but years ago I got the sense that by 2015 things would begin to settle a bit. There was a light at the end of the transformational period. I don't think everything will be instantly fine, but I believe now we walk towards a road where things can begin to come together and support each other. I have one last road of spirit to walk before the new year is born and I am curious, what now?
So those are the roads I have been walking, but what about you? What avenues of the spirit and the flesh have you walked this year? Did you retread the same neighborhood or venture out into the wilder lands beyond the fields you know? If you stayed close to home did you dig deeper in the clay you are made of? What passions called to you in the night or on the wind? What spirits know your name? Ask yourself which fate am I? Who is to know if you don't ask? What secrets might you learn if you sing out to the trees and spirits in the streams? They have a language you know and it is written in you as much as it is in the land. I challenge you to make yourself a part of the world this year, not just the human world but the larger one outside of words and hands. Stare into natural pools, read the flight of birds, taste the wind, and as always keep walking,
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
This is the last blog of 2014 and it is the first full year of weekly blogs. It hasn't always been easy or even very poetic or deep, but I still believe that by writing weekly there is more chance for magic to happen on the screen here with my words. I also am pretty sure I've found my voice and that is worth all of the effort to stay true and blog. The blog has helped me focus my mind and observe my thoughts a bit more clearly. I know a bit more of my mind. However it hasn't been the only stabilizing force. This has also been the first full year of my weekly rattling ceremonies that I perform for myself, family, friends, and premium clients. That is 52 weeks of ceremonial momentum punctuated on the quarters of the year by drumming.
So the title 24 roads is not very clear is it? Well this blog isn't the only thing I've been busy typing away at this year. In January I began journeying to the runes of the Norse Futhark in preparation to write my first book. I originally planned to do one rune a week, but life has a way of interfering. There are 24 runes in the Futhark. So far I have journeyed to 23 of the 24. When I am complete I will have walked the 24 roads, and I plan to do that before the clock strikes midnight on the 1st of the new year.
I've taken my time with this project. I've let it build over time. Each road I have walked has added to the power. I've said often this year if no one ever reads this book but me it was well worth the time. I feel like I have learned so much from committing to do this. I have really turned what I have learned in my shamanic training into useful tools of investigation. I've deepened relationships with the powers I've worked with, and I've learned secrets. Some I'll share, and some you will have to discover for yourself. I've invested myself with the spirit of discovery and delving and I believe I have found gold in the depths.
This year has been a year of great opportunities, challenges, exultation, and grave disappointments. It has not once been dull though. It has also been a year when I've been powerfully called by the magic in the world. I've made it a year of ceremony and risks. Those two go well together. If we ask the spirits for help we must be brave. We must be willing to take a few risks. I have traveled far in this realm and the realms of spirit. Now we're on the cusp of the new year and a new creation and there is so much more that is coming.
The past two years have been tumultuous (actually more than the last two really more like the last eight), but years ago I got the sense that by 2015 things would begin to settle a bit. There was a light at the end of the transformational period. I don't think everything will be instantly fine, but I believe now we walk towards a road where things can begin to come together and support each other. I have one last road of spirit to walk before the new year is born and I am curious, what now?
So those are the roads I have been walking, but what about you? What avenues of the spirit and the flesh have you walked this year? Did you retread the same neighborhood or venture out into the wilder lands beyond the fields you know? If you stayed close to home did you dig deeper in the clay you are made of? What passions called to you in the night or on the wind? What spirits know your name? Ask yourself which fate am I? Who is to know if you don't ask? What secrets might you learn if you sing out to the trees and spirits in the streams? They have a language you know and it is written in you as much as it is in the land. I challenge you to make yourself a part of the world this year, not just the human world but the larger one outside of words and hands. Stare into natural pools, read the flight of birds, taste the wind, and as always keep walking,
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Presenting Thomas Mooneagle
Greetings all,
Late again I know but the sun hasn't risen yet so I'm getting this post in just under the wire. I've been a busy little bee this week. I've been finishing up my Christmas shopping, baking, writing, and putting on a big drum ceremony.
I never know quite how things will go with my public ceremonies. Every venue is different, and it seems like every solstice I am drumming someplace different. I walk the line between trying to be inclusive and also in integrity with who I am. There are realms of awareness that I visit that seem like fantastic otherworldly kind of places (and they are), but they are part of my normal (or what passes for it for me) experience. This comes out when I teach or lead any kind of public event. I have to figure out what page in the book of worlds my audience has turned to.
Most people in the mainstream would find a lot of what I do or experience frightening. This is not because of anything bad although there are harrowing experiences from time to time, but rather it is so far out of their worldview and point of reference. What I take for granted is high mystery or the twilight zone for much of the western world. What I have found though is that even people in the holistic community have areas where they just don't venture into either through fear of what is there or from fear of looking gullible or silly.
Some people are comfortable with my role as a tai chi instructor, but they balk at me giving readings. Some are okay with readings, but they cringe at practicing Reiki. Some are down for the Reiki, but if I pull out a drum or a rattle they start to squirm. Some are okay with the shamanic practices, but roll their eyes when I start applying quantum physics concepts to healing work. There are those that can come to grip with all of that but if I mention faeries they are convinced I have crossed the threshold into crazy.
It is a rare set of individuals that can groove with all of me. So I do selectively share to meet people at their level of comfort in a way that is comfortable to myself as well. Anyways what brought this up is that I was anointing and blessing candles for people to take home using my Three Mother's Oil blend. Now it is called that because it receives the blessings from the earth mother, the full moon grandmother, and my faery godmother. I was explaining why it as called Three Mother's oil and struggled with finding out how many people were on a page where they'd be alright with it. I probably need not have worried as I was drumming at a metaphysical church, but you'd be surprised how many people in the metaphysics community have no trouble believing in angels but think belief in faeries is for children.
What does this have to do with anything (I know I am rambling it has been a very long day). Well how much do we censor ourselves so that we don't present as someone who is a little touched in the head? This doesn't just apply to metaphysical topics it could be as simple as what music you like or what hobbies you are into.
Well nerves aside the ceremony was a big hit. I had people coming up to me thanking me and complimenting me. I was really blown away by the response. It is my ego I know but I do always worry about how I come off. I know that in the past people have greatly misinterpreted my intent and/or demeanor. There comes a point though where you have to let go of that. Some people are going to project onto whatever you do. You can't control people's responses only your intent and behavior interpretation is up to them.
So how about you? Do you edit yourself for your audience? It's not a bad thing if you do as long as you feel that are still you. Does it create more mental work? Do you feel burdened by your public face? Do you strike a balance between meeting people where they are and standing in your truth? In our world we do have to be mindful about how we present and how our words affect others, but there is that sweet spot the bridging place between us and other. Finding it is a journey, one I am still on, walk with me a bit.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
Late again I know but the sun hasn't risen yet so I'm getting this post in just under the wire. I've been a busy little bee this week. I've been finishing up my Christmas shopping, baking, writing, and putting on a big drum ceremony.
I never know quite how things will go with my public ceremonies. Every venue is different, and it seems like every solstice I am drumming someplace different. I walk the line between trying to be inclusive and also in integrity with who I am. There are realms of awareness that I visit that seem like fantastic otherworldly kind of places (and they are), but they are part of my normal (or what passes for it for me) experience. This comes out when I teach or lead any kind of public event. I have to figure out what page in the book of worlds my audience has turned to.
Most people in the mainstream would find a lot of what I do or experience frightening. This is not because of anything bad although there are harrowing experiences from time to time, but rather it is so far out of their worldview and point of reference. What I take for granted is high mystery or the twilight zone for much of the western world. What I have found though is that even people in the holistic community have areas where they just don't venture into either through fear of what is there or from fear of looking gullible or silly.
Some people are comfortable with my role as a tai chi instructor, but they balk at me giving readings. Some are okay with readings, but they cringe at practicing Reiki. Some are down for the Reiki, but if I pull out a drum or a rattle they start to squirm. Some are okay with the shamanic practices, but roll their eyes when I start applying quantum physics concepts to healing work. There are those that can come to grip with all of that but if I mention faeries they are convinced I have crossed the threshold into crazy.
It is a rare set of individuals that can groove with all of me. So I do selectively share to meet people at their level of comfort in a way that is comfortable to myself as well. Anyways what brought this up is that I was anointing and blessing candles for people to take home using my Three Mother's Oil blend. Now it is called that because it receives the blessings from the earth mother, the full moon grandmother, and my faery godmother. I was explaining why it as called Three Mother's oil and struggled with finding out how many people were on a page where they'd be alright with it. I probably need not have worried as I was drumming at a metaphysical church, but you'd be surprised how many people in the metaphysics community have no trouble believing in angels but think belief in faeries is for children.
What does this have to do with anything (I know I am rambling it has been a very long day). Well how much do we censor ourselves so that we don't present as someone who is a little touched in the head? This doesn't just apply to metaphysical topics it could be as simple as what music you like or what hobbies you are into.
Well nerves aside the ceremony was a big hit. I had people coming up to me thanking me and complimenting me. I was really blown away by the response. It is my ego I know but I do always worry about how I come off. I know that in the past people have greatly misinterpreted my intent and/or demeanor. There comes a point though where you have to let go of that. Some people are going to project onto whatever you do. You can't control people's responses only your intent and behavior interpretation is up to them.
So how about you? Do you edit yourself for your audience? It's not a bad thing if you do as long as you feel that are still you. Does it create more mental work? Do you feel burdened by your public face? Do you strike a balance between meeting people where they are and standing in your truth? In our world we do have to be mindful about how we present and how our words affect others, but there is that sweet spot the bridging place between us and other. Finding it is a journey, one I am still on, walk with me a bit.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
Sunday, December 14, 2014
My side your side
Greetings all,
What a week! I hardly know how to sum it all up. It really ran the gamut from the height of hilarity to the depths of thunderous wrath. Sad to say anger is still one of the best motivators for me to step up my game.
I should set the scene for you. A year ago I sent work off to my first out of state gallery. I was very excited, it was all very official. I had a contract, I wrote out artist statements (something I learned to do while working on my degree) , I had shipping manifests, and I was so very honored to be represented in a gallery. The enthusiasm was not to last. Within the first month or so there seemed to be a problem with prompt payments when work sold. At first I was too shy to bring up the sordid topic of, "Where the hell is my check?" When the first two months turned into the first four I lost some of my decorum. Oh let's just say it like it was, I was pissed. I focused my feelings like a lance and aimed it until I received payment. Mission accomplished but I had never worked so hard for so little.
Fast forward a few more months and my frustration had built again. My attention had been snagged away by not one but two new teaching positions, a family crisis, and my own fantastic voyage this past summer. When I finally turned my inner eye back towards my wayward gallery it was not the eye of compassion. (Think the of the burning eye like Sauron and you'll get the tone of my gaze). The Mooneagle was not a happy camper and used his words of power to express that. (Shameless plug of last week's blog post I know but if you target your words well an email can practically buzz with intent). So I sent my demands and I drove 500 miles roundtrip and retrieved my work because I couldn't trust the gallery to ship it or if they did that it would arrive in anything but shards. I also couldn't wait for the mythical check in the mail any longer. They had checks for me…post dated ones. In hindsight perhaps I should have worn all black and wielded a chicken foot charm when I showed up to reclaim my work. The first check cleared, but this Friday I was informed by my bank that the second one did not.
So here I am. A person who wields magic. Part of me says goto Defcon 1 and launch the devastator warheads (etherically speaking). This part of me is I know heavily influenced by the Ego consortium in my head. Although I suspect there is some Id in that too. My artwork and specifically my pottery are like my babies. The other part of me is saying to hold on wait a minute and see what options present themselves. I who watch these two sides argue know there will be a response, but whichever it is I will not act fully until the anger has cooled. The sad thing is in this world there are people who only respect force. To get by we have to at times be aggressive and sometimes downright destructive for own defense. However as someone who is supposed to be all spiritual whatever that means I am examined under a more harsh lens of criticism (by myself especially) taking "bold" actions.
There are times to let things go. This is not one of those times. I don't like to reward bad behavior. So my challenge is to not let the anger I feel rule me as I take action. There are times when you must feel your anger deeply and let people know about it. Stuffing it down with affirmations or trying to meditate it away is simply lying to yourself and it will come out in other sneaky ways.
How about you? Is there a situation that has been giving you grief? Have you kept quiet about it and tried to be "good about it" while quietly (or not so quietly to your friends) fuming over it? Maybe you are letting your anger run rampant instead of addressing the one thing you need to change? Are you upfront about consequences with people or do you take too much pleasure in letting others know how unwise it is to be on your bad side? The truth is we're going to have an emotional response when people treat us in ways we feel hurt by, this is natural and part of the healing process. What is not natural is to either detach ourselves from those feelings or burn them into our skin like a permanent brand. We must balance the side of us that seeks recompense with the side that wants to move beyond the hurt. I'll try to remember that as I move through legal proceedings this week.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
What a week! I hardly know how to sum it all up. It really ran the gamut from the height of hilarity to the depths of thunderous wrath. Sad to say anger is still one of the best motivators for me to step up my game.
I should set the scene for you. A year ago I sent work off to my first out of state gallery. I was very excited, it was all very official. I had a contract, I wrote out artist statements (something I learned to do while working on my degree) , I had shipping manifests, and I was so very honored to be represented in a gallery. The enthusiasm was not to last. Within the first month or so there seemed to be a problem with prompt payments when work sold. At first I was too shy to bring up the sordid topic of, "Where the hell is my check?" When the first two months turned into the first four I lost some of my decorum. Oh let's just say it like it was, I was pissed. I focused my feelings like a lance and aimed it until I received payment. Mission accomplished but I had never worked so hard for so little.
Fast forward a few more months and my frustration had built again. My attention had been snagged away by not one but two new teaching positions, a family crisis, and my own fantastic voyage this past summer. When I finally turned my inner eye back towards my wayward gallery it was not the eye of compassion. (Think the of the burning eye like Sauron and you'll get the tone of my gaze). The Mooneagle was not a happy camper and used his words of power to express that. (Shameless plug of last week's blog post I know but if you target your words well an email can practically buzz with intent). So I sent my demands and I drove 500 miles roundtrip and retrieved my work because I couldn't trust the gallery to ship it or if they did that it would arrive in anything but shards. I also couldn't wait for the mythical check in the mail any longer. They had checks for me…post dated ones. In hindsight perhaps I should have worn all black and wielded a chicken foot charm when I showed up to reclaim my work. The first check cleared, but this Friday I was informed by my bank that the second one did not.
So here I am. A person who wields magic. Part of me says goto Defcon 1 and launch the devastator warheads (etherically speaking). This part of me is I know heavily influenced by the Ego consortium in my head. Although I suspect there is some Id in that too. My artwork and specifically my pottery are like my babies. The other part of me is saying to hold on wait a minute and see what options present themselves. I who watch these two sides argue know there will be a response, but whichever it is I will not act fully until the anger has cooled. The sad thing is in this world there are people who only respect force. To get by we have to at times be aggressive and sometimes downright destructive for own defense. However as someone who is supposed to be all spiritual whatever that means I am examined under a more harsh lens of criticism (by myself especially) taking "bold" actions.
There are times to let things go. This is not one of those times. I don't like to reward bad behavior. So my challenge is to not let the anger I feel rule me as I take action. There are times when you must feel your anger deeply and let people know about it. Stuffing it down with affirmations or trying to meditate it away is simply lying to yourself and it will come out in other sneaky ways.
How about you? Is there a situation that has been giving you grief? Have you kept quiet about it and tried to be "good about it" while quietly (or not so quietly to your friends) fuming over it? Maybe you are letting your anger run rampant instead of addressing the one thing you need to change? Are you upfront about consequences with people or do you take too much pleasure in letting others know how unwise it is to be on your bad side? The truth is we're going to have an emotional response when people treat us in ways we feel hurt by, this is natural and part of the healing process. What is not natural is to either detach ourselves from those feelings or burn them into our skin like a permanent brand. We must balance the side of us that seeks recompense with the side that wants to move beyond the hurt. I'll try to remember that as I move through legal proceedings this week.
Peace and Blessings,
Thomas Mooneagle
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