It Makes Scents!

No matter how "natural" a product can be, there is still the possibility that someone's senses will be overly sensitive to it. Take the average Peony for example. I love those flowers. They are like the most humongous rose on the planet. I love seeing them and enjoying them in the back yard. But I have to be extremely careful about bringing any into the house. That is not just because of the ants that come in with them.  It is because the scent that is on them permeates the rest of the house and I end up with allergic reactions.

I have had situations happen with clients who, for example, do not use perfume of any kind, yet the scent of the "natural" products that they use for washing and for styling their hair etc is so overwhelming that it closes my throat very quickly.  I usually ask people to not wear that sort of thing when they are coming to see me, but then if that is the only soap that they own, it also becomes an inconvenience for them.  I don't want to be inconveniencing them.  Yet I have to think that if it affects me so much, perhaps it also affects the next client as well.  What to do....what to do.

I guess the thing that we all have to consider is what sorts of irritants we utilize that will create problems for other people.  I have not used after shave for about 25 years because I found that people would have strong allergic reactions to the scents.  I use unscented lotion for my face and body so that I am not creating issues for anyone, least of all myself.  I am also finding it more difficult as I go to find lotions with no scent.  It seems that the hypoallergenic aspect to products is becoming less popular than it was 5 years ago.  At the same time, I don't think I should have to pay three times the price to get something at a "natural foods store".  So the search continues at times, and sometimes I luck in.  Oh well.  I know that one day it will all make scents!

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

Boxed In

Every once in a while we find that we have become a little imprisoned by someone else's viewpoint of who or what we are. This is always uncomfortable and never healthy. Too often, though, we succumb to the other person's view of us and then can go years with that as a weight upon our shoulders. Being an Air elemental, I do not at all enjoy being boxed in.

So you can imagine my disappointment when I discovered that someone whom I have thought of as a dear friend has a view of me that is untrue, or at the very least way out-dated, and is not hearing me when I am trying to tell her that this may have been true 15 or 20 years ago, but is no longer the case. The thing is that I think that she just does not want to hear me. In confining me in her wee little box of an idea, she thinks that she has some form of grasp on me or control over me. I think that it is because my personal power threatens her in some way. It is never easy to have our viewpoints of how things work in the world or in the universe challenged. As you know, I challenge dogma all the time, no matter where it may show up. So I must be an extreme challenge for her because I am relentless when it comes to boxing things in for the sake of ignorant comfortability. That is not to say that I am rude or aggressive about it, just relentless. Relentlessness can be accomplished in kind and gentle ways as well.

So now I am left with what to do with this sort of thing. If it were someone I did not care that much about, then the solution would be simple. Cut her loose. This is, however, someone for whom I care a great deal. So the solution will be a wee bit more difficult than that and will perhaps take much longer than I would hope. What complicates things is that she has a view of me that can actually be spun in a positive manner, but even though it can be it is still not truth. So I have decided that I will gradually allow the process to unfold and hopefully she will see that I am not in the box that she holds so dear to her heart. If she can handle that bit of information and process it, perhaps she will be able to adjust her point of view. If not, then she will have to move on and find someone else to box in, because I am a very patient person, but will lose patience if something goes on for too long a period of time. After a certain amount of unproductive lapses of time, it becomes obvious that allowing it to continue is simply enabling that person to do this to me. That will not be acceptable. So here is to hoping that she will one day actually hear me!

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

Impulses

We all have impulses. If we didn't we would not experience things such as impulse purchases or road rage. What we do with our impulses is what counts the most. Jung divided the personality into three categories. The Ego, he said, was the sense of self, the knowing about who we are in the world and within ourselves. A lot of people bash the ego because they only want to see it as rampant and self-serving. That is actually something else. The Ego is the sense of self that defines us from the rest of those around us, which is actually a very good thing, even though we are all one as well.

The Super Ego is like our conscience. It is the part of ourselves that says, "You know, you might be angry with that driver but it is really not a good idea at all to pull your gun out and blow his head off as you drive past him." We need the Super Ego to keep us in check because if we didn't have it there would be nothing but chaos all around us all the time.

The Id is that part of us that is most impulsive. I equate the Id as the "Inner Desires", which is also a part of our ID. The Id is the one that will say to us, "You know, it's only chocolate cake. What would it really hurt if you had a fourth piece?" Sometimes our inner desires are not healthy for us. We have to be able to control some of them in order to not sabotage ourselves along the way. To keep our heads in the sand and think that our bodies will simply process that fourth piece of chocolate cake with ease is simply a heart attack waiting to happen.

So when we look at our inner desires, we do have to look at what is best kept as a fantasy and what can actually be incorporated into our lives as an expression of desire. I might fantasise about rolling naked in millions of dollars of Canadian 20 dollar bills, but to I really want to experience the paper cuts on places that should never be sliced? Indulgence is something that needs moderation. When we don't moderate our indulgences we tend to overdo it and end up with deep regrets. Every year at Christmas time we indulge in Christmas dinner. Sometimes, after say the third helping, we complain about being too full and thus being in pain. Well, we could always stop after the first or second helping. Yes, Christmas is a time of indulgence, but we don't have to over do it even for a special time of year.

I invite everyone to look at what you view as indulgence vs necessity. See what you come up with and see how many antics the Id will take you through to convince you that an indulgence is a necessity. At the same time, I invite you to allow some of your deeper inner desires to come forth and allow yourself to play with them. It won't kill you or anyone else for you to allow yourself to address one or two inner desires. After all, even the Id needs some attention now and then!

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

Fun and Festivities

It has been so long since I have had hair that I was not sure this was actually me! But it was. This is me in my costume for the Halloween Drum Circle held on October 30th. I was in the persona of Trentulla! Can you see all the spider webs and spiders all over me? Look closely. There is a spider pendant, a spider on my arm, 2 hanging from my ears and so on. The best part of it was that for the drumming rounds I was able to, for the first time since I was, like, 18 or so, incorporate Hairology. You know what that is don't you? Flicking your hair around to the rhythm and making yourself look like a rock star! The only issue I had with it all was that I kept getting the darn stuff in my mouth! I hate hair in my mouth, acrylic or natural. Ick!

There were 26 people that showed up for the circle which made the event amazing. There was even a Belly Dancer who danced around the flaming cauldron. Very dramatic and beautiful and so completely spiritually connected was this event that people are still emailing and phoning me with gratitude for hosting this. Of course, I would not have been able to do this if it were not for the assistance of my co-host, my Love of my lives. So all the gratitude is also extended and transferred to her as well.

I already have the next event for Halloween in my day planner for next year. This is one I never like to miss.

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

Purple Shirt Day

This is Wednesday, October 20th, and it is Purple Shirt Day. I am wearing my purple shirt in support of young boys and men who have been harassed because they were either gay or just accused of being gay because they were different. Red neck bullying has cost the lives of way too many boys and men in our culture. Most often the bullying is so severe that the victims end up taking their own lives to put an end to it all. I think that this is as tragic as it is prolific.  One really should consider homicide before suicide.

It absolutely disgusts me that in this day and age anyone can be harassed just because they are not what others consider to be the norm. After all, Norm is not that great a guy! No offence to those who have that name. It is just that Norm narrows the possibilities that abound in our world. With Norm continually in our faces, we aren't allowed to sing or dance or be creative. Without creative thought we would still be in the dark ages.

I have both relatives and friends who are gay or lesbian. That has never been an issue for me when relating to them. They are people. They have hearts (most often bigger than the ones inside the red neck relatives...I don't have red neck friends because those I can choose), they bleed red blood and they all have souls. Also, they are all loved both by me and by God. So those who think that being gay or lesbian is not of God can just chuck the hell off!

I decided that to wear my purple shirt I would have to also honour my Gypsy roots and put it with a tie on belt. I have always loved that Gypsy flare. If that sounds gay, I just don't care.

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

Best Witches!

Halloween is my favorite time of year! I have mentioned this before. But this time I wanted to say a little more about it. You see, I come from a line of mystics. Some of them have been shamans. Some of them have been healers. Some of them have been witches. Not just on one side of the family, but on both. So this gave me a little boost into the mystical realm of consciousness. I have had the best of teachers through family members as well as friends of family and, you guessed it, the dearly departed. Mwahahaha!

One of my gifts is that the dead communicate with me. It is much easier when it is connected through bloodlines, but often those who are not related by blood also connect. In any case, I have had opportunity to get "training" from some of my ancestors whom I have not had opportunity to meet in this life because they crossed over before I came into being here in this realm. Sometimes I have not known that they were related until I spoke of them with my mother or grandmother and they pointed out that the person I was referring to was my great such and such. Cool.

So on one side of the family I have Celtic witches and shamans and on the other side I have Gypsy witches and shamans. Some have been healers and most have been have been helpers of mankind through the practice of the Craft. I like to embrace it all. There is no reason why someone has to limit themselves to just one thing or just one way. We can be eclectic in our practices. That is what life is all about, after all, the spice and flavours that are blended into magnificent creations.

So this Halloween, I invite you all to take a moment and connect to the spirits of your family lines. You never know who you might find along the way and what wisdoms and gifts they may open up for you. Have a sense of adventure and also have some common sense. Don't just let yourself be open to whomever comes along. That leaves too much room for trickster spirits to play with you. Be more specific and then let the good times roll! Also do not do this through the Ouiji Board.  That thing is nutso! Oh, and remember to howl at the moon. It does the soul great good!

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

Back to the Drawing Board

Life goes in circles. We sometimes think that it is linear, but really it is not. Linear reality is only an illusion. It is actually circular. We are born, we live, we die and we are born again. Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter cycle along all the time. Our planet circles around a star that is incredibly hot and continues to do so for as long as our small cosmos will live.

For example. I can't tell you how many times I have bought and sold property. Each and every time I have done so I have said that the next move will only be made when I am hauled out of this house in a pine box. This is because I dislike moving house. Yet a couple of years later circumstances change and, yet again, I am finding myself selling and buying property. I have become comfortable with the fact that I will put my heart and soul into a place and turn it over in a few years as life changes occur. Sometimes that also happens with relationships.

As humans we want everything to last forever. Really, this is stupid. It is less than childish. Change happens. That is the only thing that we can really count on. So as the changes occur we need to flow with them instead of resist them and hold ourselves back from growth. That growth is an essential part of our makeup. So why resist it? Well, the only reason really is fear. We are afraid of change. Yet without change we would never have crawled into the caves for shelter, let alone crawled out of them to become hunters, gatherers and farmers. Without change the industrial period would never have happened. Technology would never have been discovered. Okay, so maybe some change could have waited a wee while.

As you are walking through your life, and you find yourself "back at the drawing board" so to speak, just remember this. It is actually a good sign. You have come full circle and can now embark on a similar yet different adventure and this time learn new things as you go. This will make you a well rounded individual and will keep you mentally sharp. Accept it and move on. Resist it and a part of you will certainly die. Once accepted, the new situation will allow you to blossom, just like the flowers that bloom in the spring.

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