Master Taisen Deshimaru said,"If you wish to attain the One, this is only possible within the 'not two'." We do need our individuality and our uniqueness in order to not get caught up in the crowd mentality. But we do also need to see everything and everyone around us as being at one with ourselves. This is like looking in a mirror. When we see ourselves in the mirror (less the criticism, condemnation and weight obsession) we see a beautiful soul looking back at us through our very own eyes. When we look at someone else, the same is possible, even with those whom we don't particularly like or get along with.
But to do that, we have to let go of a wee bit of our ego consciousness. The ego is a very important part of our psyche. It gives us the sense of self that is so needed in order to maintain our personal authenticity and dignity. But we can also be too egocentric. When we get like that we no longer see the connections that all others have with us, nor us with them. We become critical and judgemental and treat others as "less than" instead of equal to ourselves. We see others as "outside" of ourselves instead of interwoven with ourselves. The separation can be immense and the seclusion can be overwhelming. Then we get aggressive because our fears kick in big time.
All this can change simply by consciously reminding ourselves every day that we are a part of the One, the Whole, the Weave. And that as such we can connect, and need to connect with the rest of the Whole. If we don't it is like having a computer to surf the Internet but never really going on line, then wondering why we aren't even receiving our emails. Let go of the "two" and bring in the "One" consciousness. The whole system functions much better that way.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Night Shift
I call it the night shift because I seem to do a lot of work during that time. As many of you know, I am a dream walker. I get messages in my dream state, connect with others through the dream weave to deliver messages and send healing energies, and have a whole other job at an ethereal collage that can be accessed through the dream state. I often joke that 90% of what I do for the world I don't get paid for and few know about.
But that is what makes some of it so special. It is like being an anonymous donor. And that anonymity gives me a feeling of even more authenticity in my work because I don't have to deal with people's feelings of gratitude that sometimes gets mixed up with feelings of obligation. The gratitude part I can accept whole heartedly. But when it becomes obligation then people get a little strange with what they feel they must do for you, whether you want them to or not. Sometimes, because of the abilities I have been born with, people will treat me like I am something from out of this world or like I am a god or something. Please! I pass gas just like everyone else! I am human and, yes, I need to be loved and honored, but not worshiped. I think that it is easy for everyone to get caught up in false humility (Who? Little ol' me?) and also to get caught up in ego trips (But of course you worship me...I'm so above everyone in the world!). I would rather that everyone just be themselves, authentically.
John Mason said "You were born an original. Don't die a copy." I have to agree with this. It is more important to be a first rate version of yourself than it is to be a second rate version of anyone else. After all, that way we can avoid the temptation to buy into mob mentality. We can also then move 50 or more years ahead in consciousness and help to pull the rest along into the 21st century. Sometimes it can be a game of tug of war. But if they pull back too hard, just let go of the rope. After all, they have free will and can make their own decisions. But we also don't need to be tied down to them. We can simply continue to move forward.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
But that is what makes some of it so special. It is like being an anonymous donor. And that anonymity gives me a feeling of even more authenticity in my work because I don't have to deal with people's feelings of gratitude that sometimes gets mixed up with feelings of obligation. The gratitude part I can accept whole heartedly. But when it becomes obligation then people get a little strange with what they feel they must do for you, whether you want them to or not. Sometimes, because of the abilities I have been born with, people will treat me like I am something from out of this world or like I am a god or something. Please! I pass gas just like everyone else! I am human and, yes, I need to be loved and honored, but not worshiped. I think that it is easy for everyone to get caught up in false humility (Who? Little ol' me?) and also to get caught up in ego trips (But of course you worship me...I'm so above everyone in the world!). I would rather that everyone just be themselves, authentically.
John Mason said "You were born an original. Don't die a copy." I have to agree with this. It is more important to be a first rate version of yourself than it is to be a second rate version of anyone else. After all, that way we can avoid the temptation to buy into mob mentality. We can also then move 50 or more years ahead in consciousness and help to pull the rest along into the 21st century. Sometimes it can be a game of tug of war. But if they pull back too hard, just let go of the rope. After all, they have free will and can make their own decisions. But we also don't need to be tied down to them. We can simply continue to move forward.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
Monday, May 26, 2008
The Temple Speaks
I have been away for a while now doing some work in Alberta. I met so many fabulous people on my journey. I am overwhelmed with the hospitality of my hostess and the depth of friendship that is formed not only with her but with her family and friends and members of the community. My gratitude is deep and the honor I feel just knowing these folks is huge.
Every time I meet new people I become so aware of the many different forms that people take in this life. Some are tall and some are not, some are thin and some are not, some have blond hair and some do not, or if you are like me you have no hair at all! We choose such interesting temples in which to house our souls and through which to allow our spirits to express themselves on this physical plane. I think many people in this realm don't even consider the fact that we actually participate in the process of creating our physical temples. We sometimes write this process off as strictly genetic. In doing this we miss out on the opportunity to recognize ourselves as co-creators in the universe. Although we need certain DNA in order to have the right form to live on this earth, we also have the stuff that flows in between the DNA strands. This is the spirit stuff that can't be seen with a microscope. How do I know it is there? Because I have seen it when journeying through my body and the bodies of others while doing healing work. The fact that it can't be seen with the naked eye or with a microscope doesn't mean that it does not exist. After all, no one has actually seen an atom. And look at what we already know about those little critters! The fact that we know they exist allows us the opportunity to communicate with them what we need them to do. Medical science uses this technology all the time. Unfortunately this technology is also used at times to create destructive things such as atomic bombs. The trick is to have responsibility and ethics in what we create.
So when we are creating our physical well being, we have to take responsibility for it. We don't do all that well if we expect someone else to do all the work and we just have to sit there and continue the poor habits that led to our illness in the first place. We live in a culture where popping a pill to remedy a symptom is the norm. The problem with this norm is that it is slowly killing us. The more conscious we become of what is healthy for us, the more co-creative power we can attain. The more co-creative power we attain, the more good health and well being we can manifest.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
Every time I meet new people I become so aware of the many different forms that people take in this life. Some are tall and some are not, some are thin and some are not, some have blond hair and some do not, or if you are like me you have no hair at all! We choose such interesting temples in which to house our souls and through which to allow our spirits to express themselves on this physical plane. I think many people in this realm don't even consider the fact that we actually participate in the process of creating our physical temples. We sometimes write this process off as strictly genetic. In doing this we miss out on the opportunity to recognize ourselves as co-creators in the universe. Although we need certain DNA in order to have the right form to live on this earth, we also have the stuff that flows in between the DNA strands. This is the spirit stuff that can't be seen with a microscope. How do I know it is there? Because I have seen it when journeying through my body and the bodies of others while doing healing work. The fact that it can't be seen with the naked eye or with a microscope doesn't mean that it does not exist. After all, no one has actually seen an atom. And look at what we already know about those little critters! The fact that we know they exist allows us the opportunity to communicate with them what we need them to do. Medical science uses this technology all the time. Unfortunately this technology is also used at times to create destructive things such as atomic bombs. The trick is to have responsibility and ethics in what we create.
So when we are creating our physical well being, we have to take responsibility for it. We don't do all that well if we expect someone else to do all the work and we just have to sit there and continue the poor habits that led to our illness in the first place. We live in a culture where popping a pill to remedy a symptom is the norm. The problem with this norm is that it is slowly killing us. The more conscious we become of what is healthy for us, the more co-creative power we can attain. The more co-creative power we attain, the more good health and well being we can manifest.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Frogs in Mating Season
Master Taisen Deshimaru said that, "Words are as noisy as the song of the frog in the mating season." Have you ever noticed just how much can be communicated with just a look? We often hope that Spirit will communicate to us in words that we can understand. But perhaps these would just be messages. A message is when I phone home and say, "Hey, Honey, I think I left a burner on, could you please turn it off?" whereas a communication is when I arrive home at the end of the day and caress and kiss her neck.
My partner has noticed that I don't talk that much when I'm home. That is how I am. She'll get used to it, just as I have gotten used to her beautiful voice. I enjoy talking with her and laughing with her. But she brings this out in me. It is not my "normal" way of being. Folks who see me at work often think I am a chatter box because I verbally communicate exceptionally well. But they don't see me at home. There I am more silent than anything. I like silence. Sometimes I think that if we all would just stop talking for a moment and feel the silence, we would experience the communication. That is how it has always worked for me. Spirit tells me I am a good listener. Perhaps this is why I was drawn to becoming a shaman. In the meantime, I simply enjoy the silence. No incessant croaking or chirping.
That is not to say that we don't need to verbally communicate. We just need to make sure that it isn't just the sound of our own voices that is turning us on. People often get used to hearing their own "wit" being voiced and forget to listen to others. We need to be able to say, in as minimal a way as possible, what needs to be said. Then we can allow the energies of the words to fill the empty spaces between the words and between those in conversation. That way complete understanding can be achieved.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
My partner has noticed that I don't talk that much when I'm home. That is how I am. She'll get used to it, just as I have gotten used to her beautiful voice. I enjoy talking with her and laughing with her. But she brings this out in me. It is not my "normal" way of being. Folks who see me at work often think I am a chatter box because I verbally communicate exceptionally well. But they don't see me at home. There I am more silent than anything. I like silence. Sometimes I think that if we all would just stop talking for a moment and feel the silence, we would experience the communication. That is how it has always worked for me. Spirit tells me I am a good listener. Perhaps this is why I was drawn to becoming a shaman. In the meantime, I simply enjoy the silence. No incessant croaking or chirping.
That is not to say that we don't need to verbally communicate. We just need to make sure that it isn't just the sound of our own voices that is turning us on. People often get used to hearing their own "wit" being voiced and forget to listen to others. We need to be able to say, in as minimal a way as possible, what needs to be said. Then we can allow the energies of the words to fill the empty spaces between the words and between those in conversation. That way complete understanding can be achieved.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The Rolling Stone
Yes, we know all about it. It gathers no moss. Most of us are also familiar with the song lyrics, "My father was a rolling stone....wherever he hung his hat, he called home." I think that everyone in the world is also familiar with the Rolling Stones....who isn't? But this isn't about any of that.
This is about a wee little phenomenon called INTER DIMENSIONAL TRAVELLING STONES. Could you hear the deep booming voice over the megaphone? I received a wonderful email today from a friend who was telling me about a special stone she has that went missing and then popped up completely somewhere that she wouldn't have placed it. Her conclusion was that it was needing to tell its stories to the other stones that were gathered around it.
I know that it can be a freaky experience. But I remember not being the only one who witnessed a stone vanish from sight from the surface of the table. Right there in front of us there was a strange light that emitted from the stone and poof it was gone. The other person looked at me and asked what the heck just happened? I explained that some stones travel inter dimensionally so that they can do their work for those who need them. A day or three later we were sitting in the same place having tea when swoosh it was back there right in front of us. The lights around it settled into it and it shone with brilliance, quite satisfied with itself. I laughed. The other person shook her head in wonder.
I often have stones appear out of nowhere while working on people's energy systems. They come to us so that I might lay them on the person and let their healing energies help. Once done, they sometimes stay with me, but they also often travel back to their home, wherever that may be. I know that it is not my conjuring that is bringing them. It is the need of the person on whom I am working. There is a different feeling altogether when I conjure a stone, as opposed to when they just show up out of the blue. That is because conjuring takes a certain kind of focus and building and releasing of energy. I compare it to the difference between driving to a friends home for a cup of tea and the energy that expends in concentration and focus, as opposed to being open to your friend dropping by and then the doorbell rings and there they are, no effort on your part whatsoever.
So if stones can do it.....
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
This is about a wee little phenomenon called INTER DIMENSIONAL TRAVELLING STONES. Could you hear the deep booming voice over the megaphone? I received a wonderful email today from a friend who was telling me about a special stone she has that went missing and then popped up completely somewhere that she wouldn't have placed it. Her conclusion was that it was needing to tell its stories to the other stones that were gathered around it.
I know that it can be a freaky experience. But I remember not being the only one who witnessed a stone vanish from sight from the surface of the table. Right there in front of us there was a strange light that emitted from the stone and poof it was gone. The other person looked at me and asked what the heck just happened? I explained that some stones travel inter dimensionally so that they can do their work for those who need them. A day or three later we were sitting in the same place having tea when swoosh it was back there right in front of us. The lights around it settled into it and it shone with brilliance, quite satisfied with itself. I laughed. The other person shook her head in wonder.
I often have stones appear out of nowhere while working on people's energy systems. They come to us so that I might lay them on the person and let their healing energies help. Once done, they sometimes stay with me, but they also often travel back to their home, wherever that may be. I know that it is not my conjuring that is bringing them. It is the need of the person on whom I am working. There is a different feeling altogether when I conjure a stone, as opposed to when they just show up out of the blue. That is because conjuring takes a certain kind of focus and building and releasing of energy. I compare it to the difference between driving to a friends home for a cup of tea and the energy that expends in concentration and focus, as opposed to being open to your friend dropping by and then the doorbell rings and there they are, no effort on your part whatsoever.
So if stones can do it.....
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
Monday, May 12, 2008
Insurance
We have been taught in our culture that it is very important to have insurance. Whether it be life insurance, fire insurance, liability insurance or whatever, we are supposed to have some. If we don't then we are simply irresponsible people. And sure enough, when something goes wrong and we don't have insurance, we are looked down upon with an "I told you so" attitude.
Of course, this has never happened to me. I have always had insurance because that is what one does and I don't like to pay out of pocket what could have been covered. Now, sometimes I have paid out of pocket because to claim it would have meant higher insurance rates. We all do that sort of thing as well.
As I sit here writing this while sipping my morning coffee, I wonder to myself if there really is such a thing in life as insurance? Certainly we can be financially compensated for some things that happen in life, but can we be compensated for life itself? I don't think so. We all make plans and have hopes and dreams that certain things will become reality in our lives. But when they don't.....then what? It is not like we can be compensated for the fact that we have developed a grave illness, or for the fact that we had a parent who wasn't the best parent in the world. We can't be compensated for the fact that we might not be able to be with someone with whom we thought we would be for the rest of our lives. Neither can that person really be compensated. There is really no insurance for the things that make life what it is.
We can't get to the Pearly Gates and say, "Hey! Wait a minute! I was supposed to be able to have this happen and it didn't because everything went south! What about that, eh? Who's gonna compensate me for this? I paid my insurance fees!"
No, certain things in life are not the types of things that any amount of money, even if we could insure it, would make up for. The only reason I have life insurance is so that my family will have a bit of financial support lest anything unforeseen happen to me. If I did not have people in my life who were important to me, I would not have life insurance. But even with it, I know that the money would only ease financial burdens and would not in any way make up for their loss of me in their lives. This is not ego speaking. It is simple truth.
I think a lot of people equate insurance with assurance. This could end up being what makes some arrive at the Pearly Gates with a dumb look on their faces and wonder, "What the heck!?" There really aren't many assurances in life either. What we actually need to do is stop looking to anyone else to help us feel secure and simply open our hearts to love in order to foster security within ourselves. We can't experience the good stuff in life if we are too busy protecting ourselves. That I can assure you!
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
Of course, this has never happened to me. I have always had insurance because that is what one does and I don't like to pay out of pocket what could have been covered. Now, sometimes I have paid out of pocket because to claim it would have meant higher insurance rates. We all do that sort of thing as well.
As I sit here writing this while sipping my morning coffee, I wonder to myself if there really is such a thing in life as insurance? Certainly we can be financially compensated for some things that happen in life, but can we be compensated for life itself? I don't think so. We all make plans and have hopes and dreams that certain things will become reality in our lives. But when they don't.....then what? It is not like we can be compensated for the fact that we have developed a grave illness, or for the fact that we had a parent who wasn't the best parent in the world. We can't be compensated for the fact that we might not be able to be with someone with whom we thought we would be for the rest of our lives. Neither can that person really be compensated. There is really no insurance for the things that make life what it is.
We can't get to the Pearly Gates and say, "Hey! Wait a minute! I was supposed to be able to have this happen and it didn't because everything went south! What about that, eh? Who's gonna compensate me for this? I paid my insurance fees!"
No, certain things in life are not the types of things that any amount of money, even if we could insure it, would make up for. The only reason I have life insurance is so that my family will have a bit of financial support lest anything unforeseen happen to me. If I did not have people in my life who were important to me, I would not have life insurance. But even with it, I know that the money would only ease financial burdens and would not in any way make up for their loss of me in their lives. This is not ego speaking. It is simple truth.
I think a lot of people equate insurance with assurance. This could end up being what makes some arrive at the Pearly Gates with a dumb look on their faces and wonder, "What the heck!?" There really aren't many assurances in life either. What we actually need to do is stop looking to anyone else to help us feel secure and simply open our hearts to love in order to foster security within ourselves. We can't experience the good stuff in life if we are too busy protecting ourselves. That I can assure you!
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The Next 7 Generations
Shamanic teachings tell us that thoughts and feelings are energy. Emotions are energy in motions (E-motion). They are meant to be fluid and constantly moving, not dammed up and stagnant. Thoughts are energy in creation. Everything we think, say and do creates something within us and around us. Also, on the other side of the coin, those things we don't think, say or do create a reality all their own as well. The absence is just as important as the presence when it comes to thoughts.
As energy, thoughts, words and actions have a ripple effect for the next 7 generations. We can see that pretty clearly when we look even at just 3 or 4 generations. Think about toxic behavior, for example. An alcoholic grandparent can have a ripple effect of negativity down through the generations to their great grandchildren. We don't need to study rocket science to see that very clearly.
But it is the more subtle things that go through our minds in the forms of thought energies that trip us up even worse sometimes. A simple thought like "I couldn't possibly do that." is something that disables us for years. And it is something that we unconsciously pass down to our children and they pass down to their children. We need to rework our own thoughts so that the energy they produce can be helpful instead of harmful.
I remember doing a healing body work exercise and hearing my father's voice very clearly say,"You'll never stand on your own two feet." To my knowledge, he never said this to me. But I do know that he had that belief about himself. And I do know that he projected that belief onto others around me. I just didn't realize that I had integrated it into my own personal belief system. Days after this happened, I was in a rock store and the owner showed me a photo of his daughters, all in their late teens and early twenties. Then he said that he had always raised them with a "Yes, you can" statement so that they would grow up to be confident and capable women. I have applied this philosophy to my own daughters, born years after this encounter. I am quite amazed at how easy the negative belief of my father has been erased within two generations. I don't think this would have been possible if I were still unconscious of the fact that the belief was within me.
We need to allow ourselves to become conscious. How do we do this? We pay attention to the voices inside our minds. The tapes that keep running over and over about how wrong, or stupid, or unworthy or weak we are can be erased and replaced with tapes of self-confidence, strength, intelligence and capability. We just need to take a little bit of time and pay attention to ourselves. Also we need to look at what comes out of our mouths. When we really look at some things we say that seem to make sense at the time we can find that they are actually negative programs that can be disabling. I have found a few of those recently in my own words during my life changes. I am so happy that I have friends and family to point them out to me. Shaman...heal thyself! We are all human and we all have stuff. It is how we work with that stuff that counts.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
As energy, thoughts, words and actions have a ripple effect for the next 7 generations. We can see that pretty clearly when we look even at just 3 or 4 generations. Think about toxic behavior, for example. An alcoholic grandparent can have a ripple effect of negativity down through the generations to their great grandchildren. We don't need to study rocket science to see that very clearly.
But it is the more subtle things that go through our minds in the forms of thought energies that trip us up even worse sometimes. A simple thought like "I couldn't possibly do that." is something that disables us for years. And it is something that we unconsciously pass down to our children and they pass down to their children. We need to rework our own thoughts so that the energy they produce can be helpful instead of harmful.
I remember doing a healing body work exercise and hearing my father's voice very clearly say,"You'll never stand on your own two feet." To my knowledge, he never said this to me. But I do know that he had that belief about himself. And I do know that he projected that belief onto others around me. I just didn't realize that I had integrated it into my own personal belief system. Days after this happened, I was in a rock store and the owner showed me a photo of his daughters, all in their late teens and early twenties. Then he said that he had always raised them with a "Yes, you can" statement so that they would grow up to be confident and capable women. I have applied this philosophy to my own daughters, born years after this encounter. I am quite amazed at how easy the negative belief of my father has been erased within two generations. I don't think this would have been possible if I were still unconscious of the fact that the belief was within me.
We need to allow ourselves to become conscious. How do we do this? We pay attention to the voices inside our minds. The tapes that keep running over and over about how wrong, or stupid, or unworthy or weak we are can be erased and replaced with tapes of self-confidence, strength, intelligence and capability. We just need to take a little bit of time and pay attention to ourselves. Also we need to look at what comes out of our mouths. When we really look at some things we say that seem to make sense at the time we can find that they are actually negative programs that can be disabling. I have found a few of those recently in my own words during my life changes. I am so happy that I have friends and family to point them out to me. Shaman...heal thyself! We are all human and we all have stuff. It is how we work with that stuff that counts.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Give it up!
With all of the transitions that I have been experiencing in the last few months, I now find myself in a situation where I am planning the move of my office from the acreage to a space in town at the end of June. So now I am faced with the issue of where to put everything. I have a 24 foot by 26 foot area currently. This does not include the art studio where I create the Spirit Energy Portraits. The new office is, well, shall we say.........teeny tiny.
I find this kind of challenge a good one to have. It forces me to really look long and hard at what matters and what does not. Are things in my life because I utilize them? Or are they there just because I have not known to date what the heck to do with them? Can I sell some and not look back? Can I give some away and not look back? Can I throw out some and not look back?
I went through this a number of months ago in my home. Now the pressure is on because I no longer have the luxury of that home and live in a very small one bedroom apartment. So the excess from the office really has nowhere to go. Did I mention that I also have to find the space to fit the piano from the acreage into the apartment? Ya. heavy sigh.
The great news is that the team I will be working with is a group of absolutely dynamic healers and as a group we are going to make a huge difference in the healing community. The other good news is that we have, just outside my office, a very large training center space that the drumming circles will still be able to be held at. So some of that convenience is really making up for the challenge of fitting stuff into a small office space. Overall, I think that this is, once again, a very healthy challenge to walk through.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
I find this kind of challenge a good one to have. It forces me to really look long and hard at what matters and what does not. Are things in my life because I utilize them? Or are they there just because I have not known to date what the heck to do with them? Can I sell some and not look back? Can I give some away and not look back? Can I throw out some and not look back?
I went through this a number of months ago in my home. Now the pressure is on because I no longer have the luxury of that home and live in a very small one bedroom apartment. So the excess from the office really has nowhere to go. Did I mention that I also have to find the space to fit the piano from the acreage into the apartment? Ya. heavy sigh.
The great news is that the team I will be working with is a group of absolutely dynamic healers and as a group we are going to make a huge difference in the healing community. The other good news is that we have, just outside my office, a very large training center space that the drumming circles will still be able to be held at. So some of that convenience is really making up for the challenge of fitting stuff into a small office space. Overall, I think that this is, once again, a very healthy challenge to walk through.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
Monday, May 5, 2008
You Deserve It!
Why is it that some people, when asked what they would like for their birthday, or for some other special occasion, will say stuff like, "Oh, I don't need anything." or "Nothing special, it really doesn't matter that much to me."? I think that there are perhaps a number of reasons, two of which occur to me immediately. One is that the person's self-worth is in the toilet. Why should it not be something special. YOU ARE SPECIAL! Otherwise we would not even ask the question. And since when does a gift on a special occasion have to include something you NEED? That is just too practical a way of looking at life. Why not live a little and have something totally frivolous? After all, it is your birthday/anniversary/graduation day/mother's day/father's day etc. I know that a lot of people have difficulty with the "hallmark" holidays. Personally, I have never seen the sense in celebrating love only on Valentine's Day. But really, if someone thinks you are special and wants to do something nice for you but doesn't know what would be "appropriate", give the poor sod half a chance and come up with something. So I have designed a list of things that are frivolous and fabulous that anyone can use for answering such questions:
Hot Air Balloon Ride
Chocolate
Day cruise in a Mustang Convertible
Sex
Dinner out
Help to paint any room in your dwelling
A month of maid service
A day at the Spa
Did I mention Chocolate?
Jewelry is always good
A day spent visiting and doing fun stuff (for some it would be watching a movie and for others it would be spending some time at an art gallery etc)
And there is always chocolate.
So I hope that this helps anyone who doesn't know what to get someone and that it helps anyone who has someone ask them what they might like. I am sure that you can add to the list some unique ideas of your own.
Then there is the second reason that occurs to me. That is the one where folks play games just to see if someone will actually put themselves out and come up with something on their own. This is sometimes necessary, but if someone actually takes the time to ask the question of what you might like, then playing that game is just cruel and basically rude. So don't do that.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
Hot Air Balloon Ride
Chocolate
Day cruise in a Mustang Convertible
Sex
Dinner out
Help to paint any room in your dwelling
A month of maid service
A day at the Spa
Did I mention Chocolate?
Jewelry is always good
A day spent visiting and doing fun stuff (for some it would be watching a movie and for others it would be spending some time at an art gallery etc)
And there is always chocolate.
So I hope that this helps anyone who doesn't know what to get someone and that it helps anyone who has someone ask them what they might like. I am sure that you can add to the list some unique ideas of your own.
Then there is the second reason that occurs to me. That is the one where folks play games just to see if someone will actually put themselves out and come up with something on their own. This is sometimes necessary, but if someone actually takes the time to ask the question of what you might like, then playing that game is just cruel and basically rude. So don't do that.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
Sunday, May 4, 2008
The Rose
"Our task must be to free ourselves from our prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." Albert Einstein.
One of my spiritual teachers once used the analogy of the Rose to explain compassion to me. I was having a very difficult time trying to feel loving toward those who were mean to me or to others. I would actually feel satisfaction when they in turn would then feel pain with some later event. When one of the bullies in high school lost his mother to illness, I felt it served him right. No compassion there whatsoever. But I also felt bad that I felt that way.
My teacher said to me that compassion is the highest form of love that exists. It is like a rose that grows in the moist soil. The seed needs to have the right amount of sun and rain in order to gestate and take root. Then it needs opportunity to grow up through the soil without being picked off as a weed. This is why the rose has thorns. It is a matter of self-protection. With the right amount of sun and rain, the leaves grow and the buds form. When the rose blooms it is magnificent to see and attracts all who see it. But the scent of the rose is the fullest expression of love, like compassion. It is not contained. It blows with the wind and is free to all who are in the general area.
At first I completely got the thorn thing. That is what I had to grow just to be able to tolerate the existence of the bully in my life. Then I realized that the sun and rain were about the good days and the bad days. Tears help us to grow, just as the rain helps the rose to grow. Too much sun and it gets scorched. Too much rain and it experiences root rot. I also then realized that through life experience we can realize that there is a difference between something looking beautiful and actually being beautiful. There are many that we encounter in life who look amazingly beautiful, but are severely damaged inside to the point of actually being hideous to be around for any length of time. We can love the physical aspects of someone, but that is just not enough for the duration of a lasting love. Then we experience those around us, like my teacher, who is like the scent of the rose. Love exudes around them and embraces all into its fold. They feed those around them with compassion and understanding. They see beyond the behaviors of people and into the human condition that motivates certain behaviors. With their insights and understandings, they are able to gently love even the most vile of individuals, and those individuals actually shift their consciousness as a result.
I hope that one day I will grow enough to be like my teacher was. In the meantime, I have learned to have compassion, even for that bully who lost his mom, and that there is no way of really comparing pain. Each person has their story and each person has their pain. Pain is pain. One person's pain is no bigger or smaller, more or less traumatic, or more or less important than any other person's. This is something that I have had to teach some whom I work with on healing pain because they think that they should not be feeling the way they do because there are so many others in the world who have so much more pain. Hogwash! Pain is pain. And the method of healing it is the same across the board. Compassion.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
One of my spiritual teachers once used the analogy of the Rose to explain compassion to me. I was having a very difficult time trying to feel loving toward those who were mean to me or to others. I would actually feel satisfaction when they in turn would then feel pain with some later event. When one of the bullies in high school lost his mother to illness, I felt it served him right. No compassion there whatsoever. But I also felt bad that I felt that way.
My teacher said to me that compassion is the highest form of love that exists. It is like a rose that grows in the moist soil. The seed needs to have the right amount of sun and rain in order to gestate and take root. Then it needs opportunity to grow up through the soil without being picked off as a weed. This is why the rose has thorns. It is a matter of self-protection. With the right amount of sun and rain, the leaves grow and the buds form. When the rose blooms it is magnificent to see and attracts all who see it. But the scent of the rose is the fullest expression of love, like compassion. It is not contained. It blows with the wind and is free to all who are in the general area.
At first I completely got the thorn thing. That is what I had to grow just to be able to tolerate the existence of the bully in my life. Then I realized that the sun and rain were about the good days and the bad days. Tears help us to grow, just as the rain helps the rose to grow. Too much sun and it gets scorched. Too much rain and it experiences root rot. I also then realized that through life experience we can realize that there is a difference between something looking beautiful and actually being beautiful. There are many that we encounter in life who look amazingly beautiful, but are severely damaged inside to the point of actually being hideous to be around for any length of time. We can love the physical aspects of someone, but that is just not enough for the duration of a lasting love. Then we experience those around us, like my teacher, who is like the scent of the rose. Love exudes around them and embraces all into its fold. They feed those around them with compassion and understanding. They see beyond the behaviors of people and into the human condition that motivates certain behaviors. With their insights and understandings, they are able to gently love even the most vile of individuals, and those individuals actually shift their consciousness as a result.
I hope that one day I will grow enough to be like my teacher was. In the meantime, I have learned to have compassion, even for that bully who lost his mom, and that there is no way of really comparing pain. Each person has their story and each person has their pain. Pain is pain. One person's pain is no bigger or smaller, more or less traumatic, or more or less important than any other person's. This is something that I have had to teach some whom I work with on healing pain because they think that they should not be feeling the way they do because there are so many others in the world who have so much more pain. Hogwash! Pain is pain. And the method of healing it is the same across the board. Compassion.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
Friday, May 2, 2008
Good Relations
A person should never feel caged in a relationship. Relationships are meant to be learning experiences, but the experiences are better learned in an open and loving environment. When we are in situations where we feel smothered and isolated, we not only have huge rushes of adrenaline that make us feel like bolting for our lives, we also develop respiratory issues on a physical level. This is because of the extremely close connection between the body and the emotions. So it is extremely important to make sure that when we are in relationships we are not being manipulated or controlled by our partners and that we are not manipulating and controlling them.
The most beautiful relationship is one in which both partners accept and love each other and are able to support each others' growth and development. It is one in which just thinking about the other brings a smile to your face and a warm feeling in your heart. It is one in which we become inspired to thank the powers that be, on a daily basis, for bringing us to each other. We may not know what tomorrow brings, but we can be happy and caring today and nurture each other in ways that strengthen each other for whatever may come to us tomorrow.
Spirit would not want anything less for us.
Blessed Be
Trent
The most beautiful relationship is one in which both partners accept and love each other and are able to support each others' growth and development. It is one in which just thinking about the other brings a smile to your face and a warm feeling in your heart. It is one in which we become inspired to thank the powers that be, on a daily basis, for bringing us to each other. We may not know what tomorrow brings, but we can be happy and caring today and nurture each other in ways that strengthen each other for whatever may come to us tomorrow.
Spirit would not want anything less for us.
Blessed Be
Trent
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Expansiveness
"Letting go means accepting life just as it is: elusive, free, spontaneous and without limits." Zen practice.
I drew this wisdom from my Awakenings book of Asian Wisdom for Every Day, by Danielle and Olivier Follmi. The photo beside it is on a vast landscape with mountains in the background. There is a person on horseback (so small one could almost miss it) in the foreground and in the middle ground is a campsite. The photo certainly brings a feeling of wind swept prairie lands at the foothills. It makes me feels as though I can breathe again after a long time of being smothered. I can almost feel the wind in my hair (like I have hair!) as I gallop along on the back of the horse.
When I was young I spent a lot of time hiking and riding my horse. It always made me feel free and without limits. My daughters now experience the same feelings as their passion for horseback riding is developing. A few years ago I took a spill from a horse and severely injured my hip. I decided then that, although I love horseback riding, I cannot afford to be injured at my age when my family relies upon my good health, being self-employed and all. I don't really miss it, although I can certainly access the feeling of it when I see a photo like this one before me now. What I find fun is that the feeling is so easily accessible. It is amazing how, even though our bodies may be limited in some way, our minds are not limited and neither are our spirits.
So I enjoy my life, even though there are some limitations. I make it a point to enjoy as much as I possibly can in life and to laugh out loud and to dance and sing. Life is too short to be continually somber and serious. There are enough moments in life that require that, so as soon as they pass, it is important to celebrate. Live in the moment and enjoy the NOW because when all is said and done at the end of the day, who really knows what is around the corner or if we will still be here in this life? I would not want to ever go into the LIGHT and have to say, "Oh, jeez! I didn't get to (fill in the blank a number of times)!" I would rather take advantage of every experiential moment and slide into the LIGHT and let Spirit know that I am completely on "empty" because I used up everything that Spirit had given me.
Blessed Be
Trent
I drew this wisdom from my Awakenings book of Asian Wisdom for Every Day, by Danielle and Olivier Follmi. The photo beside it is on a vast landscape with mountains in the background. There is a person on horseback (so small one could almost miss it) in the foreground and in the middle ground is a campsite. The photo certainly brings a feeling of wind swept prairie lands at the foothills. It makes me feels as though I can breathe again after a long time of being smothered. I can almost feel the wind in my hair (like I have hair!) as I gallop along on the back of the horse.
When I was young I spent a lot of time hiking and riding my horse. It always made me feel free and without limits. My daughters now experience the same feelings as their passion for horseback riding is developing. A few years ago I took a spill from a horse and severely injured my hip. I decided then that, although I love horseback riding, I cannot afford to be injured at my age when my family relies upon my good health, being self-employed and all. I don't really miss it, although I can certainly access the feeling of it when I see a photo like this one before me now. What I find fun is that the feeling is so easily accessible. It is amazing how, even though our bodies may be limited in some way, our minds are not limited and neither are our spirits.
So I enjoy my life, even though there are some limitations. I make it a point to enjoy as much as I possibly can in life and to laugh out loud and to dance and sing. Life is too short to be continually somber and serious. There are enough moments in life that require that, so as soon as they pass, it is important to celebrate. Live in the moment and enjoy the NOW because when all is said and done at the end of the day, who really knows what is around the corner or if we will still be here in this life? I would not want to ever go into the LIGHT and have to say, "Oh, jeez! I didn't get to (fill in the blank a number of times)!" I would rather take advantage of every experiential moment and slide into the LIGHT and let Spirit know that I am completely on "empty" because I used up everything that Spirit had given me.
Blessed Be
Trent
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