Air/About
Ancient Spirituality/Original Spiritual Practices
We practice Spirit led Earth based spiritual practices that works directly with spirit to seek guidance and healing to our daily lives. It has many names and is the work done when we are connect to Earth and Spirit and listen to them, in relation to the land we are on and the spirits that surround us. It's the mystical medicine.
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The world surrounding us is alive with entities, energies and spirits; some of them like to work with us. There are a number of ways to practice working with these energies and traditions across the world take both different and similar approaches. The main functions that stand out to me are that a human practitioner steps into an altered state to communicate directly with Spirit (ancestors, helping spirits, spirits of the land). Spirit then provides practical solutions or input with the wisdom of their broader view.
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Our world (and universe) is magic and I am often delighted when science “discovers” one of these mind blowing truths about our reality. These realities that our ancestors knew and worked with regularly. We are all one, plant do sing and our ancestor lines carry traumas and blessings through to our lives and the lives of our descendants.
The services I offer come from my personal experience in both ordinary reality and while working with Spirit.
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I’ve been a mediator since 2014 and believe there are times when the best way to get to to the root of long standing conflict is to ask for help and insight from our Spirit Help. Conflict is an opportunity, a window, to what we are being asked to heal within us. I can support the ordinary reality conversation while also providing a space for spirit to come thorough. We can address the specific ancestral, lost soul part, past life, other needs that are underlying the immediate concern.
I’ve struggled with Substance Abuse Disorder most of my life, it has been an incredibly painful and destructive path for me. Before working Spiritually my sober times still felt incredibly painful as my soul as still not free. Each person’s journey with Substance Abuse Disorder will be different; mine was complex and I needed to pull threads of the jumbled mass of “reasons why I drink”. I find as I continue to work with it spiritually I am getting free-er and free-er. I’d like to support others in doing so- not as a counselor- but as a friend walking next to you and Spirit on this incredibly difficult path.
Similar to the jumbled mass of my Substance Abuse Disorder, I believe we swim in White Dominant culture in a similar way. I think there are ways here the Spirit can help us unravel where we still participate in the destructive behaviors of The System. Similarly to how we cannot understand true equity work without folks of color, I don’t think we can fully pull ourselves out of The System without Spirit. I’ve spent years working with brilliant equity leaders and teachers in the world of conflict resolution. These beautiful souls helped me during the painful process of uncovering my white-ness. I would like to support others in doing so.
Neo-Shamanism and Cultural Appropriation
I don't take doing this work as a white person lightly as dominate culture slips into the work and wreaks havoc on the Earth and actively harm Indigenous Traditions. As someone that looks like me, I consider greatly the concept of Plastic Shamans and White Medicine Men (see below) as I step into this sacred work. Yes, my ancestors also practiced Earth Medicine but not on this land, with these land spirits or traditions (I live in North America).
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I also think there is a responsibility for all of us who have chosen to incarnate at this time to create a world ready for our next generations. There is a lot of work to be done to ensure healthy cohabitation of Earth, Human and Spirit. To me this can only be done through the guidance and co-creation with Spirit and I truly believe Mother Earth is guiding those who are able to do it. All hands on deck!
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Part of the work is recognizing with heart and authenticity the harms that have been (and still are) enacted to Native Peoples across the world. To ignore it is a bypass that will most likely bring us to a place of recreating the same systems of oppression and robbery. I do not think it is possible to do the work without their voices just as much as we cannot do this work without Spirit.
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We don’t need to take or copy how a particular culture connects with Spirit. There are many techniques that work but they need to be authentic to oneself and their direct relationship with Spirit. Spirit gave specific traditions to practices to specific people for a reason. We don’t need to plagiarize. We can co-create with respect and acknowledgement to those who have gone before us or who stand beside us.
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No group is a monolith and as I continue to unpack the concepts of Cultural Appropriation in Shamanism I find that different peoples have different perspectives (obviously). Here are some resources if you are interested.
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The Rise of White Shaman and Plastic Medicine Men: Terry Macy and Daniel Hart
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Society for Shamanic Practice: Forum on Appropriation
Nita Renfrew
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The Mother Earth Delegation of United Original Nations
https://motherearthdelegation.com/
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If you are similarly interested in Neo-Shamanism and Cultural Appropriation and would like to start a dialogue please feel free to reach out to me. I would enjoy and value the connection.
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Places to Donate:
https://nativehope-mmiw-p2p.funraise.org/
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http://www.nativepartnership.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pwna_home
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