The Capacity to Doubt

The capacity to doubt is one of the greatest gifts that humanity has been granted. What the heck are you talking about, Shaman?? I can hear it now. Well, let me explain this a little bit.

In shamanic teachings it is very important to recognize the difference between supposed reality and supposed illusion. To be able to discern the difference, one must be able to incorporate doubt. This is not like the self-doubt that comes with a lack of worthiness. It is the ability to look critically at something and then draw conclusions from what is observed. Science uses this method all the time. So do mystics, healers and shamans.

When we get too committed to things being one way or another, we risk losing the perspective that there could be other possibilities. Religions around the world are very caught up in their way being the only way. This leads to Holy wars (as though there ever could be a war that was Holy!). They demand that their followers only allow themselves to think and act a certain way, and no other way. They lack the ability to entertain doubt, thus discernment.

It is completely okay to doubt just about anything but yourself. That way you are able to access clarity on your path and find your way to Spirit with more ease. This will lead to enlightenment and illumination. So go ahead and ask the unasked questions. You will receive many opinions. Trust which one resonates with your core and then know that this is not necessarily something that must resonate with everyone else's core.

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Clarity & Illumination

Today is my birthday. There, everyone now knows that. I am now 45 years old. There, now everyone knows that too. Over the last 45 years I have had moments of great confusion in my life. Not just the kind of confusion where you can't decide "do I choose an apple or an orange?" but real confusion, like do I go to the left or to the right? And whichever one I choose, I know that this means something in my choice will then give me limitations (not having chosen the other path) and something in my choice will bring me great joy and liberty that the other path cannot provide.

These types of decisions are key moments in our lives. And although we can never go back and choose something different, sometimes we can adapt what we've chosen in order to encompass something more than what it originally meant for us. This is the path of Spirit on the Medicine Wheel. The path of Spirit is the path of fire, change, discernment and determination. My mother used to say that there is fog, and then there is FOG. And you have to treat both in the same manner. The fog is a mist that comes in and will hinder your way of viewing the world around you. You can either move forward through the fog and risk stepping off a cliff, or you can find your spot and sit and wait it out until the fog clears and the sun illuminates your terrain. Then you will know which way to go.

The FOG is the kind of confusion that we experience mentally and emotionally in our lives. We lose trust in ourselves and our own decision making capabilities. We walk through our lives unable to be clear as to who we are and what we want out of life. Sometimes this leads us to moments of crisis where we are forced to make a decision, or forced to accept the results of having not made a decision. If we were to allow ourselves to mentally and emotionally "check in" with ourselves on a regular basis, these types of things would be much less likely to happen.

So I have made it a practice on a daily (or at least semi-daily) basis to sit and meditate and receive clarity and illumination on my life. Sometimes it takes a bit of time and a few days running to actually know which path I need to choose. But that clarity does eventually come along, and while I am waiting for the FOG to clear, I am able to focus on my breath and on the feeling of peace and serenity that can flow through me with my breath. That can't be anything but good. I would highly recommend this for everyone.

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com