Still Waters 4

Comfort levels are something that a lot of people struggle with. It is often difficult to have a comfort zone honoured when dealing with other people, be it at work or at home. We often need to create skills in declaring our personal space and boundaries in order to be able to function. Too often people end up just clamming up instead of utilizing their interpersonal skills.

The problem with clamming up is that it allows things to fester beneath the surface. Those things that fester end up creating deeper problems for ourselves. We end up having random physical symptoms surface up that annoy us and, over time, can destroy us when they go unattended. What we really need to do is to come out of our shells and say how we really feel. When we speak our truth we allow ourselves to let go of what is bothering us. We also need to speak our truths in kind and respectful ways, otherwise we end up creating more turbulent waters between ourselves and those around us. When we allow kindness and compassion to be expressed through us, even when we are speaking difficult truths, we create a flow of loving energy that honours others as well as ourselves and that flow heals the situation. As kindness and gentleness emerge from our beings we are able to melt the coldest of hearts. That melt down can be something that the other person feels, but it can also be something that we experience through the process. As our hearts melt we are strengthened because what is actually melting down is the level of anger and bitterness that has been carried by us, sometimes for years at a stretch.

Shells, like those of turtles, need to be put to proper use. They are meant to be a safe haven, a protection, and a home that walks with us wherever we journey. That is a state of being. It is a state of confidence that resides in our own hearts and allows others to become inspired to find their own confidence. As that ripple moves out through the world, the world heals, one person at a time.

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Still Waters 3

No matter what we think, say or do in this world, there is a ripple effect that happens as a result. My mother taught me that with water. She had me throw a stone into the pond that had very still water. Then she asked me what I noticed? I said, "It splashed." "What else?" she asked. "Well, it made ripples," I said. "And where are the ripples going?" she asked. "To the shore," was my reply. "Yes," she said, very gently. There was then a time of silence between us. Then she looked at me....and I looked at her.....and then I said, "Fine, I'll go apologize to my brother." Her mission was accomplished.

The thing is that, no matter how deep or how still the waters are, when you drop something into it, such as a rain drop or a stone, it makes a splash. It will always ripple outward, in all directions, as well as back to you, right where you are standing. In life, the same applies to our thoughts, actions and words. It might take a while for it to ripple back to us, but most often it is what I have coined "insta-karma". So if we are going to make a splash at all we might as well make it a good splash instead of a negative one.

Oh, and one more thing. Do you see the "eye" watching you from within the photo? There is always someone watching you. Even if no one is in the room, spirit watches us. I know that freaks some people out because they associate that with a stalker syndrome or something. But really, it is a comfort. Someone has to keep a record of our behaviour and that way we will, when we ask the question, be answered as to what we need to repair in our lives and how to do it. The guidance is always there, gently waiting for us to open up and receive it. At the very least, we can always remember that just at the time when we think that no one is watching, we are setting an example for someone who is there, unbeknownst to us. My mom always used to say, "You can tell the character of a man by what he is doing when he thinks no one is watching." So true.

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Still Waters 2

Have you ever noticed when you look at water that there is so much beneath the surface? In this photo you can find all sorts of plant life and the rain drops almost make it look like there are eyes looking up at you from within the water. An entire ecosystem is functioning beneath the surface!

My mom was right when she would observe the stuff beneath the surface of people. I learned to do that very early on in my childhood. My challenge was to not blab my mouth about what I saw. I remember telling a woman who stopped by for tea that she didn't have to worry because her husband was going to leave that other lady soon. She burst into tears. My mom scooted me out of the room and told her to stay there and she would be right back. I was around 3 perhaps, and that was my first lesson in that thing called "tact". I learned to not spill my guts about everything of which I was aware because not everyone wanted to know, not everyone was ready to know, and I would not know how they would respond.

That is a lot different from how some people, as they are growing up, learn to just block it out because "it isn't real" or "you must be crazy to think that" or "If we don't know that, then there is no way you possibly can know that". These types of messages actually cause people to shut down their intuitive processes. This harms them beginning at a very early age and onward through their lives until they reclaim their own gifts, abilities and powers.

My mother never doubted my abilities. She did, however, do her best to teach me how to use them ethically and tactfully. The other shamanic teachers that I have had along the way have also been rather impressed that I have been able to develop so strongly and not have my ego get in the way of my ethics. Okay, so I admit it, there has been a time or two when I have utilized my abilities to create something of personal gain that would otherwise not have been able to happen. They were few and far between, but each time I also learned yet another reason why not to do that. I have always said that if we cannot learn from our mistakes, then there is really no reason to make them. I am probably not the first one to say that, but I have always said it. So now and then I too make mistakes. But that is another blog entry altogether.

What I am getting at is that sometimes people expect complete transparency and then when they actually get that expectation fulfilled, they are horrified at what they have learned. People sometimes think that it is my job to tell them everything right now. It is not. That would deny them the opportunity to learn at their own pace. It would also, quite frankly, screw them up. Those of you who are gifted out there know that what I am about to say is true. Most people are actually afraid of the truth and the expansive capacity of it. So for people to think that I should tell them absolutely everything I know in, say, a one hour session of talking, is not only unreasonable, it is delusional. I have learned what I have learned in so far 46 years of my life on this planet, plus numerous past lives of which I have recall. It would still take lifetimes to share all that I know. I only hope that I will be able to share enough of it with enough people to make a positive difference on this earth one day. But that won't happen in an hour....or two....or three.

I will share this though. Love is the greatest power of all. And that is why I am inviting all of you to share with me, and all the readers, a true love story. This can be a love story from your personal past, or one that is about a family member or a friend. The theme, though, needs to be "Love". Now, you will not need to just put it in the "comments" section of this blog. If you like, you can email it to me directly at deerhorn@sasktel.net. I do encourage you though, to share your story with the rest of the readers. Love stories inspire us. They motivate us to become better people than we ever thought that we would be. And please only send me stuff that you don't mind having shared with others. I plan to collect the stories and perhaps publish them, either in the blog or in a journal. I want as many stories as you can think of because I will also use them as teaching tools in sessions and workshops. So there it is. The invitation is there for you. Do with it as you will!

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Still Waters;

They do run deep. This is what my mother used to say to me. "Still waters run very deep," she would say as she observed someone. At first I thought that what she was saying was that shy and quiet people have much more going on inside of them than they tend to let on to those around them. I think that this is the version of that saying that most people think it means. My mother, however, would sometimes talk in spiritual code.

I learned that she was not necessarily talking about shy people. She was actually referring to the "dark passenger" that she would observe in others. We all have a dark passenger. This is the hitchhiker that tries to sway us into self-destructive behaviour. It is the one who does not seem to care who else they harm along their path of destruction. For myself, the dark passenger is the one who is thrilled by a morbid sense of humour. Black comedy sometimes absolutely cracks me up. The War of the Roses was a movie that a lot of people didn't like, but I found to be hilarious. And seeing someone slip on ice renders me useless to help them because I can't stop laughing. I can't stop laughing even if it is myself who has slipped on the ice!

As I have walked through this life I have discovered an even darker side to humanity. This is the side of humanity that creates rapists, murderers and child molesters. These ones have a particularly darker passenger. I sometimes cringe when I pick that vibe up off a person. It is not easy being gifted and getting visions of what people actually are capable of or have done. Sometimes it leaves one feeling slimed.

But there are reasons for every gift. Although they can sometimes seem like curses, we also have to experience them to truly come into our power. That way we can still help the innocent as they encounter others' dark passengers. They help us to come into our own power so that we can become of more service to our people.

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

The Castle Keep

All my life I wanted to live in a castle. The one in my vision was much like this one that my friend photographed in Scotland. There had to be hills and a lake and turrets and stuff. A very magical place it was. In my mind there was nothing that could penetrate the walls of the castle other than the power of love itself.

It seems, however, that to date all the past lives that I have remembered where I have actually lived in a castle ended very badly. In a castle I was burned as a witch. In a castle I was slain for having an affair with the queen. In a castle I was smothered before I was even 8 years of age because some idiot wanted the crown and thought that he needed it more than I. Castles, castles, castles! Death, death, death! Sheesh.

One day, when I am king and live in a castle, I am going to make life easier for everybody. I will decree that people must pull into the outside lane on the freeway and allow merging traffic to merge. I will decree that, for fear of instant death, people will no longer be allowed to talk on cell phones or text each other while driving! I will decree that people who generally drive in idiotic ways loose their licenses immediately....or be imprisoned with those of their kind. Can you tell I have had a few close calls lately? I will also decree that stupid people who don't accelerate to the freeway speed limit when merging will have their cars impounded...just because they are stupid and holding up the flow of traffic. Oh, the list goes on! But enough of that. Perhaps there is a reason why I am not king and don't live in a castle this lifetime. Besides, not living in a castle allows me certain liberties that I would otherwise not have.

Liberties you say? Why yeeeeesssss. Liberties! I can, without living in a castle, not worry about the paparazzi. I can also go to the grocery store and not worry about anyone trying to slay me on the way there or back....well...other than the stupid drivers that is. I can come home after a long day at work and remove my socks (which I despise wearing anyway), kick back and watch a movie. I don't have to be saddled down with signing any decrees with the royal seal. I don't have to worry about anyone smothering me in my sleep because they want the crown. They may, of course, try to for other reasons, but not that reason. I can take a quick trip out of town and not worry about my absence being detrimental to the well being of my country. Whew! I am so glad I don't live in a castle!

Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Got my eye on you, baby!

That is what one of my Spirit Guides said to me today. I was doing energy healing work at a health fair at a college in town when it happened. There was a young guy who was having issues of stress and anxiety and I was talking with him about it while streaming energy into his system. The conversation turned to a moment of grief in his past. As this unfolded, the blockage of the energy in his heart chakra also released and fresh energy was able to then get in.

At that point, the Spirit Guide (a cat/human image) showed up and said to me, "I got my eye on you, baby!" I knew that he was quite proud of what I had done to assist this young fellow. But he was also saying that I needed to apply some of my knowledge, wisdom and expertise toward myself in order to move the healing of the passing of my sister along.

The other day I picked up a birthday card for another sister and it hit me that I had always picked up two, because the sister that had just died had a birthday within 2 weeks of the one for whom I was currently getting a card. Ouch.

It is little rituals like this that bring home the loss for a person when a loved one dies. That is why events such as Christmas and Thanksgiving tend to be emotionally charged for people after a death in the family. So part of the healing that I will be doing is that on her birthday I will be lighting a candle for her and asking her spirit to make a wish for itself on her healing journey on the other side. This will be something I may do once, or it may be something that I do each year for a while. That all depends upon what I sense I need to do. And I have the help of my Spirit Guide to assist me in that process.

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

My Sister

You all may have noticed that I have not blogged a lot of late. I have been a wee bit busy with life and with death. My life is always quite busy with family and friends, but recently I have also been very busy with the death of my sister. As a shaman work sometimes just gets going when a person crosses over.

There are a couple of things that I would like to share about her. First off, as you can see, we have sported, for different reasons, the same hair style. Mine was more by choice. Hers, not so much. Secondly, it is pretty obvious by looks that we are so genetically linked that we could not possibly disown each other and hope that no one would know we were related.

Leith had a very tough exterior, but inside she was a marshmallow. I had a way of making her share her marshmallows with me. She spent her life striving for excellence and perfection, which on a professional level she achieved. Let's face it, on a personal level no one is perfect. I think that her drive to achieve came from a little girl within who always wanted to please her dad.

When I was about 2 or 3 years of age, my family took a trip to Ottawa to visit my older sister. During that visit my older sister made bread. When it was in the final stage of rising, I came into the kitchen and saw it sitting there, just waiting to be poked and pinched. No one saw me do it. But when it was discovered, my older sister went crazy (also a perfectionist). I chose to implement the old "Keep your mouth shut until it all blows over" trick that I had learned about a year earlier. Leith, however, upon seeing the bread, burst out laughing! She took the heat for the offense. She swore her innocence, but no one believed her. I figured that my older sister's cat, Sir Henry, had already attacked me, so I would let this one belong to someone else. I was sure that it would blow over. It became, however, the topic of conversation during family gatherings. Every time it came up, Leith professed her innocence. For 20 years this went on! I could not believe that my family could hold onto something like that! I have seen pit bulls let go faster! So finally, I couldn't take the guilt any longer and I confessed. You should have seen the stunned looks on the faces of my family! They were shocked that it was me (being a model child and all!). Finally the truth came out and they let it go. Leith, however, had mixed feelings. She was relieved that the truth was revealed. She was also angry that I had let it go on for so long. But most of all, she was impressed that I could keep a secret for so long!

Leith was also the one in the family who invented "Happy Nothing's Day". This was a result of her not wanting to feel pressure to purchase a gift for anyone just because of some arbitrary date, such as Christmas or a birthday. But throughout the year, she would certainly make up for it. You would suddenly hear her say, "Happy Nothing's Day!" and she would present you with some gift that she picked up just for you because it made her think of you when she saw it. This is a tradition I continue with my own children, although they really cash in because I also gift them on birthdays and Christmas.

Yes, we also had our differences. But the good stuff will certainly be missed. I hope she finds peace on the other side of the Veil.

Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Every Time I See Your Face...

This photo is from this last Halloween. I actually had three costumes for Halloween this year. This is unusual for me. For the day at work I went as a Gypsy fortune teller, expressing my family ties to the Gypsy line. For the drumming circle I went as a cave man, thus expressing my primordial self. For the evening of handing out candy to kids and the Halloween party that my Love and I put on, we went as Cowboy and Indian. I did not include the beautiful Indian on my arm in this photo, because for this entry I needed a close up. But trust me when I say that she was the most beautiful Indian! We had considered switching roles, but we couldn't find me a feather large enough for....uhem....coverage. So I went as the cowboy.

What struck me in the photo was how much my face looks like my dad's. Even the expression on it is like he would have. He never had a moustache, to my knowledge, but even with it I look like him. If our relationship had been better than it was, I would be complimented by the observation. It is weird how we can sometimes look so much like someone in our families with whom we didn't really have anything else in common.

I had an opportunity, however, this Halloween, during a simple ceremony for the dead, to embrace some healing between my dad and I. Initially it was a ceremony to help my sister, who died the next day, to cross over peacefully. As it turns out, the ceremony was not just for her. Rarely is a ceremony with only one purpose! As she was able to see how people change on the other side of the Veil, I was able to see how my dad had also changed in the last few years on the other side. It was good to see. I still don't wish to share any future lives with him, but at least I can find some comfort in the fact that he is finally evolving on a spiritual level.

I see his face every time I look in the mirror. Perhaps that is why he had been so hard on me...because he saw his own wounded inner child every time he looked at me. Instead of nurturing, well, let's just say he chose not to nurture very often. Now I have to show some nurturing for my own adult male. I remind myself of him so much at times that it freaks me out inside. But I have to nurture that part of me, for it is in my blood and I can't get it out. So making it a friend instead of an enemy is my task on a daily basis. Lately this task has been going much better. It would seem that once you pick up a task at any point at all in the process, then the rest can more easily fall into place. That is a good thing, considering every time I see his face!

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com