You Make Me Feel Like Dancin'

I always knew that I could find a place to work where I could be myself. Today is October 31st, also known as Samhain, and all the staff at the Aquamarine Healing Centre dressed up for the occaision. That's me on the right, wearing white. I went as my true magical self. The Dumbledore hat is courtesy of our office manager, Penny, who also took this photo. My coworker, Darlene, the Reiki Master at the Centre, went as a contestant on Dancing With The Stars. We decided that she should not be voted off the show, so we did a little tango, complete with a dip. Penny was the most amazing witch one could find, and she truly looked like a wise old witch indeed. James was the lucky number 7 in a jersey. Somehow, I think that I might have a stiff competition with Penny for the drama queen role. But I will not be booted of the show no matter who I have to dip in order to stay!

This is a time when the Veils are very thin between this world and the other worlds. It is a time when we can commune with the Ancestral Spirits very easily. So if there is a loved one that has crossed over to the other side of the Veils, this is an ideal time to gather with them for a chat and a wee spot of tea.

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

Original Thoughts

Albert Einstein once said, "If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it." Many of the most forward thinkers in our world have been ridiculed for their ideas and for having the audacity to express them. Many, through their forward thinking, have actually contributed to the goodness in our world. It does not matter how famous we become, because not all of us are destined to become a Buddha. What matters is that we say what we think and know what we feel. Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain, and they usually do. We can't let the ignorant masses stop the enlightened few.

If we are to become enlightened as a species, then we need to honour the enlightened teachers who have walked this earth before us. We all know now that the sun does not revolve around the earth, but oh, what a kerfuffle that caused in the world when it was first spoken! I thank my lucky stars for people like Galileo. Without folks like that in the world, we would still be quite primitive in our understandings of how the Universe operates. As it is, most of us still are quite primitive. The Quantum realities that are out there in the Universe and, yes, in our world, are still just beginning to be discovered. When we are able to look at these realities not so much with fear and suspicion as with excitement and curiosity, then we will be able to make gigantic leaps in our understandings.

Yes, some days I throw up my hands to the Universe and say, "Hey! Wait a minute! I'm just a little baby shaman here! Cut me some slack!", but those are only the days when I am feeling desperately human. When the desperation dies down, so does the feeling of being completely overwhelmed. Many, in their desperate human modality, use the old trick of skepticism and cynicism. That's just smoke and mirrors for the sole purpose of making the rest of us, hopefully, see their superiority, thus helping them to mask even further their own humongous fears. They try to belittle our original thoughts, our absurd thoughts, and thus make themselves more secure within. That security is an illusion. And when the reality cracks through, they are the ones left reeling from the sudden understanding that, if this absurd idea is actually true, then we now all have a responsibility to live by it. How inconvenient is that?!

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

War and Peace

I watch Eli Stone. I rather enjoy the shamanic aspects of it. Tonight there was a wonderful statement,"War does not determine who is right, only who is left." In these times of international warfare, I think that it is important to remember the concept of Peace. Now in doing so, speaking in quantum terms, we also manifest war. We cannot actually manifest one thing without in some way manifesting its polar opposite. Sometimes Universal Law really sucks.

So how do we manifest Peace without also manifesting War? Well, to begin with, we need to remember that when we are manifesting we cannot manifest something out in the world because 1) None of us are actually that powerful and Almighty and 2) Actually trying to project our will on others falls into the category of Dark Magic, and we all know what kind of recoil effect that will produce energetically.

So we are left with having to manifest only for our individual inner state of being. If we focus on Inner Peace, then there becomes a positive ripple effect that does indeed go out into the world around us. This ripple effect then influences the inner selves of others who become inspired by our own state of inner peace. When we change the microcosm, the macrocosm will also change.

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

Remember Me?

So before I went to watch TV I decided to try something new with my beautiful laptop computer! I decided that I would try to put this picture of me into a blog entry so that folks can see what I look like. This photo was taken at a Handfasting Ceremony that I was conducting for some dear freinds of ours. I was feeling much better that day than I do today, so I thought that I would use it as an inspiration!

Blessed Be

Trent

Life is like that......sometimes

Today I am working on getting better. I have been fighting off a bit of an infection (flu) for a couple of days and have not been very successful. So now I am at the cracking point. Today is now a recuperation day. Lots of rest, lots of fluids, lots of rest and lots of fluids. I will be administering my herbal therapies, receiving lots of healing energies, and, with any amount of luck, by tomorrow I will be back to normal....well, back to normal for me!

What does normal look like for a shaman? Well, for one thing, I will be much more aware of energies that are around me. When I get sick, especially with a sinus infection, my third eye becomes dim. It is much like suddenly having a blindfold on, but knowing that when it comes off everything will be intensely bright once again. Today I have had to put off Daddy day with my kids, so I will look forward to seeing them another time when I am better and not contagious. And I will also look forward to being able to talk with my cat again. When my third eye is dim, the translation of her language is more difficult. I am left with body language and facial expressions. That is not always completely reliable.

As I look out over the panoramic view of the city, I am bathed in sunlight that is very healing, no matter how cold it is on the other side of the balcony window. I see snippets of frost on the tops of some of the trees, ushering in a change of season that most people don't enjoy. I do enjoy this change. I think that autumn is my favorite season because of all the vibrant colors, but winter is also a favorite because of the crispness of the air. It all becomes fresh and clean again. I don't enjoy the 40 degrees below zero, but the fresh air, for this air elemental, cannot be beat.

So now I am going to go and do something that most people don't associate with shamanism....I am going to watch some TV and just chill.

Blessings

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

Technology is Grand!

I just got my new laptop computer. This is going to make my work day so much more efficient! It does take some getting used to, but for the most part I am looking forward to developing a working relationship with this handy dandy little device of unlimited connections and consciousness!

So now I must find a name for my little critter. There are a lot of possibilities that go through my mind as I think about it, but for the most part I am going to have to see what sort of energy it holds and how best to respond to that with a label that we all know of as a "name".

It is important to name technology. A car runs better and communicates better when it has a name, as does a computer, a stereo, a tv or anything else that we use on a daily basis. I used to enjoy when people in Star Trek: The Next Generation would give a command to the computer and they would say things like, "Computer, dim the lights please." Such wonderful manners and always addressing the computer so that she (it had a female voice) knew that they were addressing her! That is the sort of relationship that I want to have with my laptop.

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

A Smile Travels Far

I have noticed while walking to work that in the morning I usually get a smile out of passers by when I smile and say good morning to them. Now, granted, there are some introverts who, as they approach, look the other way to avoid eye contact. Tempting as it is to put myself in their faces with a smile and a "GOOD MORNING!", I avoid making people uncomfortable with no good reason, so I just say "Good morning" as I go by and don't care if they respond. But those who are willing to engage, no matter what age or race or gender, respond with delight! A huge smile comes across their faces, making them appear like the morning sun, and a "good morning" bursts from their lips. On the way home at the end of the day I am still smiling, but unfortunately most who are walking home at that time are not. By the end of the day they are obviously beaten down by their jobs or whatever and keep their eyes to the ground and ignore my "hello" and my smile. I keep doing it anyway just in case they will notice that there is a choice that they have and an opportunity to experience something positive at the end of the day. Those walking their dogs at that time are very into the greeting thing. Some stop and chat and I get to admire their beautiful four legged friends.

This is my ritual as I walk to work. I listen mostly to Dido and Globus on the ipod, say "good morning" to passers by, and thoroughly enjoy the exercise and the fresh air and the birds who seem to follow me along my walk from the moment I leave the apartment building until I get to work. There are also smokers who sit along the walk beside the hospital along the way. I decided to not judge them, even though we all know that they are slowly killing themselves, and just be me, and try to not inhale the second hand junk they push out of their lungs. At first they bothered me in terms of their decisions to smoke (something I have no control over whatsoever, so decided to not let it bother me), and then by their second hand junk. Then I decided to simply energetically radiate massive amounts of positive vibes. The number of smokers out there has decreased! Whether they found an alternate place to smoke or are just not smoking I do not know, but the number decrease fascinates me. Those who are still there are now, instead of hiding behind their smoke screens, smiling at me as I go by and responding with a "good morning" as well.

Nine blocks one way each day, that's eighteen blocks a day, 72 blocks a week if I walk to work every day....in a month that comes to.....WOW! A smile really does travel far!

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

We Could Tell You What's Coming....

But where's the fun in that? This was what the sign said on the window of a store in the mall that my friend and I were at this afternoon. I laughed, as did he, at the irony of it all. This, to us, was a Universal message for all. The Universe could tell us what's coming, but that would indeed ruin all the fun that we have along the road of life, and the element of surprise about what ends up around the next bend. Let's face it, we can look at the unknown as a terrifying thing, or we could look at it as a Christmas or Birthday present that we have not yet had the opportunity to open.

I prefer the latter over the former. I have always enjoyed the element of surprise in my life. Although not much escapes this shaman dude, there are some things that I just don't want to know about before they happen. That way I have the fun of enjoying the rush of excitement as the event unfolds. If I were to have known ahead of time what was about to happen to me all the time, I would not have become who I am today. In fact, I would not have even become a shaman. This is a rewarding job to have, but not without a LOT of work and a LOT of strife along the way. The rewards are deeply felt, so I am glad that Spirit chose me. But had I known in the first place what I was getting myself into, I would have run like crazy. I am so glad that I had not known. That way I was able to live more in the moment and less in the fear of the future. I still don't want to know. Yes, I get glimpses of possibilities. But I don't hold the Universe to those possibilities. I hold myself to them if they are something I would like. I only hold myself to them, however, as long as they remain something I like. Other than that, I am completely open to the many abundant possibilities that the Universe has for me. This makes me a much happier person.

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

She Sparkles As She Moves

Last night my partner and I went to the first ballroom dance of the year, the Harvest Swing. This is the first time in over 20 years that I have attended a ballroom dance, so I was quite nervous. And then, as we begin to Rumba, I completely forgot most of what I had been taught. Doesn't that just bug you when that happens? It used to happen when I would get nervous about a final exam in University. I would sit down to write the exam and the exam paper would go blank right before my eyes! It was as though I really didn't want to be there, so I blanked out the paper itself instead of not having the answers in my head. This time though, I was really wanting to be there and to have some fun on the dance floor. Then suddenly all I could remember of the Rumba was the box step. Pretty remedial. And the more I watched the other dancers to pick up on what they were doing, the more my body just wanted to stand there and watch. So I focused on doing a really great box step!

The good thing about this dance thing is that they only have about 2 of the same kind of dance in a row and then they have 2 of something else. So if you are really struggling there is plenty of opportunity to do something else. Cha cha was great. A couple of times I sat one out and watched as my Love danced with someone else. She absolutely sparkles when she dances. This is not just the sparkles on the sequins on her skirt, this is the sparkles in her eyes and in the energy all around her. It tickled me to watch her dance. It also inspired me to become a much better dancer. Oh, and this morning as I woke up I remembered how to do the open break in the Rumba! There is progress, delayed as it is!

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

Just a Thought

Sometimes I wonder what people mean when they say, "It's just a thought." I know that sometimes it is in relation to a suggestion that may be helpful. But other times, it is used as though it is a disqualification of what the thought was. When this happens I think that people are not realizing the power or energy ripple that happens with every thought that goes through our heads. Thoughts in and of themselves are an energy form that creates a reality on some level.

The Ancients would acknowledge that everything we think, say and do will ripple forth for the next seven generations. The importance of attitude became tantamount. If someone had a lousy attitude this could affect the rest of the people for a very long time to come. So the attitudes got adjusted very quickly in order to create peace and harmony for the people and the children and the grandchildren. So when we had a bad attitude we could certainly expect grandmother or grandfather to slap us upside the back of the head (just to get our attention) and then share with us the details of why we need to adjust our attitude. The attitude would indeed get adjusted quickly....or else! And we would not want to know what exactly the "or else" would mean.

So when we are having a bad day and have a morbid fantasy about offing our least favorite person, we need to remember the ripple effect.

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

Open House

Today we had the Open House at the Aquamarine Healing Centre. It was so much fun! To be able to meet new people and old friends and celebrate the new space and the fact that we have an incredible staff to work with was a treat. For some, it was the very first encounter that they have had with the space, and we got some very positive feedback from many. We could not have accomplished so much in the line of preparation without the excellent teamwork of all the staff. Also, I must say that Prairie Meats prepared some excellent platters for the occasion.

It is really fun at things like this when, for example, a young couple walks into my office to see the space and the one says to the other, "Ooooh, I want our home to look like this." Also to demonstrate the energy coding of rhythmic patterns on a drum and have people feel it for the first time.

Yes, I had fun and I think that this was one of the more successful Open Houses that has been put on for people. Thank you to all who helped make it happen.

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

More Damage than Good

In the "comments" section from the last blog entry you will find an interesting situation described. My response is short and sweet. Now here is a longer version.

If anyone tells you that your healing is not working because you don't believe enough in what the practitioner is believing....run like the wind! Practitioners who do this sort of stuff to people are either ignorant or malicious. Having worked with energy systems for over 40 years, I can tell you that Universal Healing energy is, tatataDah!, UNIVERSAL!! The Universe doesn't care what belief system one has. It is there for all to access and will provide whatever is necessary for each and every one of us. It is indeed as simple as that.

Universal Healing energy does not concern itself with petty stuff like if we are Atheist, Catholic, Protestant, Islam, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Pagan or the many thousands of alternatives that there are to Christianity. Universal Healing energy is there no matter what our beliefs, cultures, creeds, races, genders, ages and so on. For someone to say that if it doesn't work then you don't believe the right things is actually quite abusive and the kind of cult mentality that screws up the world in which we live. Since when does any healing modality that isn't working not get refined so that it will work? If it can't be refined so that it does work, then it gets scrapped for one that does work. The modality that was mentioned by my reader in the comments section has actually taken smatterings of ancient energy technologies, bastardized them, and called them their own. No wonder it doesn't work well! No wonder the only thing that they can think of is that it must be the "fault" of the one being healed if it doesn't work. This sort of idiocy infuriates me on personal and professional levels. Stuff like this breezes through town and leaves in its wake so many screwed up individuals who then need to seek other modalities to put them back together again that the rest of the local therapists end up feeling like all the work these people did for so long had a semi truck run right through it. Then it ends up being months before Humpty gets put back together again. In the meantime, these poor people have had to spend not just the amount of the tuition for the course, but then hundreds of dollars in repairs after the instructors have long since written them off as "non-believers". In my personal opinion, people should actually consider suing those who abuse them in such a way.

On this Thanksgiving Monday, I am grateful for all the therapists and actual Light workers who are out there to help those in the community who are ailing. I am also thankful for the sanity that is brought into the equation with the simple acceptance of Love in our lives.

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

Belief vs Understanding

People often ask me if they need to believe in anything in particular (such as a particular version of God, for example) in order for the healing work that I do for them to work. My answer is always "No."

I find it much more important to have experiences that lead us to understandings. This is always a much more thorough way to learn than is accepting beliefs that are just fed to us from childhood onward. Yes, I do believe in a Higher Being. Most often I relate to a Divine Feminine, but also a Divine Masculine. I don't, however, expect others to simply adopts these beliefs as their own. In fact I would worry if they did. What I believe is a result of experiences that have led me to understanding things in a particular set of ways. This then has become a way of my life.

Others need to find their own ways of life. We all like to belong, but what we understand in life is ultimately important in that it shapes who we become down the road. We can't adopt the beliefs of others just because they want us to. I remember someone asking me if I believed in Jesus. My answer was, "Having never met the man, I am not sure what I believe about him." A blank look of confusion came across the person's face. I then said, "I believe that someone by that name is reputed to have done some pretty spectacular things, but that is only here say for me until I see some evidence of such things." Another blank look. Then I said, "I don't, however, have any problem with what you chose to believe for yourself." Suddenly there was comprehension. But then the person began trying to make me believe in the same stuff. I had to put a stop to that quickly. I figured that if they were not wanting me to stuff my beliefs down their throats, then they had no right to try to do the same thing to me.

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

All's Good

Last night a friend of mine described a similar event in the dream time that I had the other night, which had resulted in the wounded back. We came to realize that the little boy in the dream realm is actually a dark entity, in allegiance with other dark entities. So when another friend removed the arrow from me, I was able to have clarity and track from where (or actually whom) the arrow had come. Now those ones have been vanquished and harmony continues to grow. All in a day's (or night's ) work. All is good.

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

Sometimes it is a Pain!

Last night I went on a journey to help a little boy who was being harassed by an entity. I got the entity into the light and was comforting the boy when suddenly I had an arrow in my back. I left when the boy ran off and I came back into my body, only to discover that this morning my back is hurting something miserable where the arrow went in. I never did see where the arrow came from. I imagine I might have missed a second entity, and all will reveal itself in time. But I find that there are sometimes physical consequences to helping folks through the dream weave. Sometimes we don't just bring back the good stuff with us. We also experience some of the after effects of the negative things we encounter.

I always look at it as opportunity to heal something further, that is after the initial, "Holy crap! My back is hurting!" response. So with the opportunity to heal, I understand that the arrow went in at a weak point in my aura. This weak point can now be healed seeing as how it has made itself evident to me. And once it is healed, I can go on and continue doing the ethereal healing work that I do at night. Until then, I will take the well needed break and work on myself. From the book of Trent, it is "easy schmeezy"!

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

Waxing Moon

The Waxing Moon holds with it the energy of potential. It is at this time of the month that we feel building within ourselves those things that we have been desiring for some time. As the moon grows in the sky, so our own energies grow within. This is why at the drumming circle last night we performed a very powerful ceremony, welcoming into our lives those things that we would like to build and accentuate within ourselves. Once the energy was given over to the universe, there was a huge white dome that radiated out and encompassed the city, then rippled forth and blasted into the stars. Totally cool, and even more so that a friend from outside the city happened to see the dome!

The next drumming circle happens to fall on a Waning Moon, which calls us to do yet another ceremony, this time releasing those things that hold us back in life. I can't wait to see what will happen with that one!

In the meantime, there is such a warm and loving community of drummers building in our fair city. Those who gather at a drumming circle, mine or anyone else's, find that there is a synergy that builds between kindred spirits and that, near or far, we always feel the loving energy that comes from each member of the circle.

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

Slow,slow,quick,quick,slow

It does indeed take two.....to Tango, that is! This week I learned the basic steps of the Tango and I discovered it to be one of my favorite dances! Now, understand that the Cha Cha and the Salsa are extremely cool, and that the Rhumba is pretty much the vertical expression of the horizontal desire, but none seem to hold a candle to the Tango. I get to be sensual and stuck up all at the same time. When we do the "promenade" and are walking through the steps, it looks a bit like a stallion is strutting his stuff. You know the type, preening his long gorgeous mane and all as he canters over, sticks his nose up in the air, and then kicks sand in your face as he gallops away, only to stop, turn and look back at you as if to say, "Am I not the most amazingly beautiful stud you have ever seen?"

Or perhaps this is too much information. Anyway, I had a blast last night and am very much looking forward to the first dance of the year and further classes.

In the meantime, I have discovered something else....the art of Chinese torture in the form of a buzzing sound that comes out of our return air vent in the bathroom every 2 minutes and 45 seconds. I believe my words to the caretakers where something to the effect of, "It is driving me frickin' mental, so please, for the love of God,could you find out what is making that noise and make it stop!!" After laughing at my dramatics, I was told that the folks who were working on the roof probably did something with the vent and that they would be back today to finish the job, so she would let them know about it and have them change whatever they had done so that the noise would stop. I am looking forward to some peace and quiet...eventually.

I am also looking forward to the drumming circle this evening. I am leading a Waxing Moon Cerremony,where we will be able to activate within ourselves the many things that we want to accomplish over the next month. And on top of that, we get to jam!

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

The Rhythm is Gonna Get You!

We just got back from the Community Drumming Circle led by Cathy Chicoine at the Oshun Centre in Saskatoon. This is a beautiful location for the circle to be held. The hexagon shaped environment with a vaulted ceiling is ideal for acoustics and energy flow. We had an excellent time.

I always find it amazing how the rhythm in a circle is so organic. The sound itself is very healing but the tempo will change and the subrhythms will flow in and out like ocean waves. It is quite beautiful.

I am looking forward to the next drumming cirlce that I will be leading as well. This will be on Tuesday the7th at the Aquamarine Healing Centre. This is going to be a Waxing Moon ceremony, with a Waning Moon ceremony to follow on the 14th.

I find the moons this month to be particularly powerful. The last 2 weeks have also had the "Disturbance in the Force" feel to them. Interesting and powerful shifts energetically, coupled with Mercury in retrograde, has made for a roller coaster ride for many. The good news is that we are now on the other side of it all.

May the Force be with you!

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com