Welcome to my garden!

I think that every garden needs to have a balance of functionality and whimsy.  After all, what would life be without a wee bit of whimsy here and there?  Boring is what.  My Love and I have designed our garden to include things such as flowers, garden boxes in which vegetables and flowers can grow side by side, a rock gathering space with a fire bowl and citronella torches for evenings when the mosquitoes arrive.  It is where we gather for drum circles, hot dog roasts and generally to entertain by the fire at night, and if  the weather cooperates it will be where I have my Elemental Healing Workshop in July! (check out the website below for details)  I love the calm of the evening fire as much as I enjoy the bright colors of the flowerbeds. 
I find it too confining to limit the garden to just a section of flowers and then a section of vegetables etc.  That is why you will find on the other side of the flower bed, amongst peonies and delphiniums  some planted potatoes.  Yes, there is a potato plot at the very back that will be bordered with giant sun flowers when they grow, but if there is space to put something, even if we dig it up later for food, then that is where stuff will grow.  The fairies and devas tell me that this is a perfectly natural way to garden.  After all, in nature you won't find just elm trees growing in a perfect row with nothing else amongst them.  You will find a smattering of everything. 
The arbor is crowned with deer antlers to honor the spirit of the Deer, who also guides me.  Then you will find stone plaques of things like "Welcome to my Garden" and a mosaic of the Sun, a conch shell and solar powered lights that glow and change color at night.  It is a magical place and I love caring for it and enjoying the serenity of it.  When we allow ourselves to be limitless in our creations we end up with a perfect blend of functionality and whimsy.  I will take more photos as things grow from seeds to full foliage and share more with you as we go.
Blessed Be
Trent
http://www.youtube.com/trentdeerhorn
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Gang Bang

I am one who is all for individuality. I love the fact that in the face of Corporate North America there are individuals who dress like hippies and read tarot cards. I love the fact that there are some who choose to walk their own path regardless of the opinions of others. Heck, I am one of those people!

When it comes to drum circles, however, I have noticed a bit of a trend that is disturbing. Groups of people gather to create a rhythmic moment of connection with Spirit. That is what a drum circle is about; the group consciousness in connection with Spirit. But over the last 2 years or so I have noticed that there are some who come into a circle and simply create chaos with their frantic and erratic lack of rhythm. This makes things quite difficult for all the other members of the circle. Now, a good drum circle leader, such as myself, will not allow that to go on. This is a group experience, after all, and if someone wants to just go animal and not honor the group, then they can do that in the privacy of their own homes.

If any of you have seen the movie Avatar you will know what I am talking about. The entire community was of utmost importance in the success of the spiritual healing. Any ceremony involved everyone as part of the whole. No one created chaotic ripples and the ceremony would, therefore, be successful. This doesn't mean that the outcome was always predictable, but at least the group banded together and worked together. During the chants there was no one who started erratically screaming or whaling. If there was drumming there would have been no one individual banging in an insane explosion of senseless sound.

I think those who need to disrupt are the pretenders. People who do not actually have authenticity. They are ungrounded and undisciplined. Being telepathic, I sometimes pick up on the thoughts of those who do this. They are all ego based. "Look at me! I am drumming! Look at Me! I am an individual! Look at ME! I am an anarchist who doesn't give a rat's ass about order! Look at ME! LOOK AT ME!" Really, it quickly becomes quite pathetic. That is when the drum circle leader needs to really step up on behalf of the drumming community. This does not necessarily mean to make the individual feel like crap. It does mean to be firm and explanatory in instruction for the next round. I have often begun each circle with drumming instructions. I now have a "sense" about when this is needed. This helps everyone because even the erratic individuals come to understand the beauty and Divine nature of the group consciousness. When this doesn't work, then and only then are more serious measures taken, such as handing them a rattle instead of a drum. Sometimes even talking with them after the circle, or before the next one, is necessary, but I have only had to do that once or twice. Most people are intelligent and get it quite quickly. Those who refuse to don't come back. Simplicity is a wonderful thing.

Blessed Be
Trent
http://www.youtube.com/trentdeerhorn
www.deerhornshamanic.com

One Step At A Time

Being from the Butterfly Clan and thus one who tends to multitask, I often expect myself to always be able to take quantum leaps here and there and everywhere and always land perfectly. Most often this is true. There are many times, however, when I find myself juggling way too many balls and end up dropping one, two or many more. I am a driven shaman. I admit it. I have this thing within myself that is nasty. It is called "perfectionism". It is what often drives me to accomplish more than I have so far, which can be very good for me. It is also, however, what burns me out. When I get burned out I will either become ill as all the emotional stuff physically releases (which doesn't happen all that often because I have an impeccable immune system), or I suddenly find myself with huge amounts of time on my hands and nothing with which to fill it.

I have, over the last few weeks, had many backyard projects on the go and many social engagements and lots of get-togethers with my daughters and many tasks to be done around the house and a business that I run and so on. Suddenly, it has become quiet. I have decided to take advantage of that. I am getting things done that I have not been able to get to for a while. For example, I delivered an order of my Candle Magic candles to a local store today while I had a break from work. I know that this is also "work", but it is a change and a task that has been niggling at me for awhile now. I have also, over the last week, rearranged my counselling room. It is much more functional. Have you ever noticed how you have to be in a space for a little while before you know exactly how it should be arranged to suit your needs? That was me. Now it is much better. You may have also noticed that I have been blogging more of late. I have actually had time to do so!

So instead of feeling stressed about the extra time I have on my hands I am relaxing into it. I am not demanding that I change my life just so that I am busier. I am taking it all one step at a time. Heck, I was even able to create a new workshop today that I will be presenting in July! It also feels like this is a bit of a lull before a storm of events coming up, the likes of which I am currently unaware. I know that I am going to be crazy busy in the next while, so I am appreciating the time I now have to do things like mow the lawn before I need a swather to accomplish that task. I am also taking more me time. I am meditating more, having lunch with friends, enjoying a cup of coffee in my sacred outdoor space, and allowing myself to relax in a tanning bed a couple of times a week. I find this type of nurturing to be extremely beneficial. I think I will now book a massage.

Blessed Be
Trent
http://www.youtube.com/trentdeerhorn
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Happiness

"The degree of happiness you possess depends on the degree of freedom in your heart." Thich Nhat Hanh.

So often we think that our happiness is completely dependent upon other people and circumstances around us. We have the delusion that not only does the universe revolve around us but everything in it affects us and gives us excuses to opt out of life and the ability to respond to life all around us. That seems to be the "perfect" situation. "It is all about me, but none of it is my fault". Thus narcissism reigns!

The more we let down our defences, be better off we are. Yes, we could be wounded and our trust could be broken, but if we keep ourselves walled up inside we have no chance or opportunity to experience the joys and passions of life. We need to allow ourselves to smile and laugh out loud and dance like no one is watching. That way we can also inspire others to do the same and we can possibly even cure the world of its insanity!

Blessed Be
Trent
www.youtube.com/trentdeerhorn
www.deerhornshamanic.com

The Tower of Babylon

I gave some of my empty boxes to a friend of mine the other day. She is planning on moving sometime in the future. This tower is the current application of the boxes as created by her two grandsons. There are many other boxes than what is in this photo, but it is a work in progress.

Since the beginning of time humans have wanted to build things bigger and higher. The Empire State Building is a fine example of this. To reach the sky seems to be the goal. I find it interesting that mankind seems to think that to reach the sky means to build a sky scraper. I don't think that building structures that scrape the sky is bad. I just think that we need to also look at what will make our souls fly!

I think the kids have it right. Take a bunch of old boxes and build a tower fort! This allows the creative juices to flow like crazy, which only leads to broader and more expanded thinking. After all, the mind is supposed to be used to catch ideas and work with them. Once the mind closes, all reality becomes limited.

My invitation to everyone is to find something creative to do with old materials that can be reused. Just the other day we (this very same friend and I) used the bricks from the fire pit that we took out of my yard as the liner for the garden and rocks that houses the new fire pit area that we built. Old materials used in a new way is just a small part of what can save our dear planet.

Blessed Be
Trent
www.youtube.com/trentdeerhorn
www.deerhornshamanic.com

To Lend a Hand

I love babies. They are just such amazing bundles of cuteness! Have you ever noticed that babies have the perfect cheeks for kissing? Their little hands have such amazing grip! Whenever a baby grips my finger I feel the most amazing connection. Not a lot of guys go gaga over babies. This guy does. I don't care if it is thought of as wierd. My heart melts when I see a baby. My spirit just wants to say, "Welcome to the world, little person!"

Babies are our future. They are the future leaders and healers and creative people. They are what will save our pathetic world from itself, hopefully. They have come here to lend a hand and help us clean up whatever messes we have made in the world. The babies that are coming into this world have great insights from the Spirit realm and, if we allow ourselves to listen to these insights, we will be healed. So whenever a baby reaches out to me I respond. That is what responsibility is all about. And what better way to show it than to respond to the innocence and wisdom of babies and small children?

Blessed Be
Trent
www.youtube.com/trentdeerhorn
www.deerhornshamanic.com

The Sound of Music

When in Montreal, I was captivated by the sound of music in the street. I had just left the Hyatt Regency Hotel and was immediately entranced by the style of music that this violinist was playing. I can only describe it as totally funky and haunting at the same time. He had some pop music playing on a sound track and was accompanying it with the violin, giving it a strange, otherworldly feel.

He was set up just outside the Museum of Contemporary Art. I was on my way to view the display there and had to simply stop, stand and listen. Yes, I threw him some moolah and told him how talented he is. I wish I could remember his name, but there was just so much happening that weekend that this is one piece of information that has slipped away. It could be the early onset....but then it might be.....wait a minute....what were we talking about? Oh, ya. Music.

This was in such sharp contrast to the display inside the museum. Now, I have to admit, I should have known by the name of the building "Museum of Contemporary Art" that this was going to be a bit of a trip. There was one display of nice paintings where one could actually tell what it was supposed to be. The rest were over priced pieces that looked like a squiggly line on an otherwise blank canvas. Not my cup of tea. There was a display of glass which looked like a dining table set up with ornate crystal, all lit with bulbs inside the bases of glass lanterns, as well as a chandelier made of every size and shape of crystal glass, starting with the largest of Red Wine Goblets at the top and spiralling down to the smallest of shot glasses. This was all very pretty and stunning with the light reflecting off the glass. It appealed to the parrot in me. Parrots are notorious for liking shiny objects. That is me. I like the sparkly, shiny stuff. The rest of the displays were a vast disappointment of everything from stick figures to BDSM to a film of a poor animal being slaughtered in a slaughtering house. That last one made me sick to the stomach and I left. I have learned that contemporary and art are most often a contradiction in terms, much like the phrase "country music". At least I came away with the experience and with knowing more about what I really enjoy and what I really don't enjoy. It is all affirmations and life lessons indeed!

Blessed Be
Trent
www.youtube.com/trentdeerhorn
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Don't be Koi

Seriously, we need to stop beating around the bush. So often people don't say what they really mean or express what they really want and then they wonder why they never get what they want and why nobody seems to understand them. There was a family I once knew that came from Burundi and the whole family spoke in innuendos and riddles. It took me two years to discover that the three that I knew out of the five were actually related to one another. They were siblings! None of them had the same last name, to my knowledge, and they always referred to one another as "My brother" or "My sister" and never by name. Okay so that could just be a cultural thing. But really.

I sometimes have a difficult time expressing what I need. I am human as well. But over the last number of years I have discovered how important it is to just say it out loud, no matter how insane it might sound. You can always revise the request, but if it is unexpressed then it will inevitably be unfulfilled. So it becomes ultimately important to get down to the bare bones of the matter and just express whatever it is. We don't have to try to make everyone around us telepathic. They can't read our minds, so we have to say what is on our minds. Now understand that this is also coming from someone who doesn't really like the sound of my own voice. I am usually quite reserved and quiet around home, probably because I talk so much at work. But quiet or not, I have found that I have to say it out loud. Yup. I might be telepathic but others are not. I figure that if I turn off the telepathic thing when I am not at work, then it is only fair that I use my indoor voice to compensate.

Oh, and here is a tidbit of a life lesson for those who think that in order to be heard you have to raise your voices. It doesn't work. Whenever someone raises their voice at me I turn them off completely. I've checked around and indeed I am not the only one who does that. So it might be a good idea to use another communication tactic. It might also be good to use one that isn't manipulative. The silent treatment doesn't work. The withholding of sex doesn't work. Rewarding with chocolate (although it has a better chance) doesn't work. Honesty works. Figure it out before you say anything. That way you aren't blathering on while you verbally sort it out in your own head, which only turns into the Charlie Brown teacher's voice. You know the one....."Wha wha wha wha wha wha wha". Think it through, then clearly speak it. Otherwise there is just too much room for confusion and boredom as you search out your own point.

I know, that was more than one tidbit of advice. I'm just on a roll tonight.

Blessed Be
Trent
www.youtube.com/trentdeerhorn
www.deerhornshamanic.com