Balancing Act

Life can be a balancing act. When we most think that we are going to fall or drop a ball, we have an opportunity to discover an inner stillness that allows us to become at one with everything that we are juggling and balancing in our lives. My daughter decorated me with these beads one day. It may look easy to keep them all on the points upon which they were placed, but it actually takes a lot of concentration. The only way I could do it was to go within and simply become still on an inner level so that the outer level could remain perfectly still. The beads were not just on one side of my face and body, but both. That was total fun. I know, small things amuse small minds. But it is in the experimentation of these little things that we discover basic truths about life. I was unaware, until that moment, how good I am at physically balancing stuff. It is a sensory overload to have so many beads placed in so many locations and to be able to keep perfectly still.

In doing this I also discovered a part of my psyche of which I was unaware. This part of my psyche is the part that completely, and I mean completely relinquishes all control. That may sound strange considering how much control there appears to be needed in order to do this balancing act. But the relinquishing of all desires to not drop a bead was the only way I could do this. I had to allow the beads to decide for themselves what they were going to do. In allowing this process to be what it was going to be, my body relaxed into it and allowed the balance to be achieved.

Cool stuff!

Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

The Serpent Within

I used to be terrified of snakes. For years I would get sick to the stomach and weak every time I even looked at a snake. On a farm where the annual mating migration of the garter snake would take place as they came from western Canada to land in Manitoba where they mate every year, this would become a challenge. The migration would not just have a couple of snakes here or there. They would swarm the place. The grass would rustle and suddenly it would seem like the entire earth was moving. They would not hesitate to crawl over you if you were sitting, standing or lying there. One at a time was bad enough, but en mass was unbearable. Then one of my spiritual teachers asked me one day what it was that any snake had done to frighten me so? I couldn't come up with an answer. Suddenly it occurred to me that it was not the snake I was afraid of. It was the violence that erupted every time a snake was spotted. My mother and my sisters were all avid snake killers. On a farm where mice and rats were abundant as well, one would think that keeping a snake around would come in handy. But no, they were afraid of snakes but learned to kill them as quickly as possible with as much screaming involved as could be created. I was young and very impressionable, so I transferred my reaction to the violence onto the snakes themselves.

So when I was about 16 I bought myself a ceramic cobra and named him "Oliver Twist". My mother freaked out when she saw it, but I explained to her that I was going to get over my fear of snakes. She couldn't argue with that. I placed Oliver at the foot of my bed on a box where he could watch over me all night long. Last thing at night and first thing in the morning he is what I would see. I began petting him in appreciation for helping me with the snake phobia. My mom asked me if I was now going to be able to kill snakes. I told her that this was not the point. How could I kill something that I had befriended? No, I was just going to allow myself to get over my fear of snakes. That was all. Little did I know that snake was soon to become one of my most powerful spiritual allies.

Years later, after many situations where snake medicine had helped me along my sacred path, I was at the petting zoo with my daughters. We were looking at the monkeys when I felt a familiar energy flow calling to me. I turned around and found a zoo worker holding a green python. "Look!" I exclaimed to my daughters, "What a beautiful snake!" Some of the mothers who were at the zoo with their children were quite freaked out by the python. But I went up and asked if I could hold it. And hold it I did! My daughters petted it while I held it and talked with it. A beautiful snake indeed. It's name was Sypher, not the silly name that they had given it at the zoo that was something like "spot". Holding him and communicating with him was an amazing experience. I wish that I had my camera at the time or that someone would have taken my photo so that I could have put that one on the blog for you. So this photo of a hot calendar guy with a snake in his hand will have to do. Just know that, in that moment, I was just as hot! That was before I abandoned my workouts.

What also amazes me is the fact that so many women are so afraid of snakes. The snake is a power animal of the Earth Goddess. One would think that women would have a natural resonance with it. I think that this is a statement of how conditioned women have become to deny themselves the pleasure of their own Divinity. I invite women everywhere to find it in their hearts to re-embrace the magical medicine of the serpent. It really is a phenomenal and powerful spirit.

Many Warm Blessings

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Potential

"Focus on your potential instead of your limitations." Alan Loy McGinnis.

So often we as humans end up limiting ourselves before we even take the opportunity to consider the possibilities. I know someone who has 5 daughters. He has always raised them with a "Yes, I can!" philosophy. Each of them is a university graduate and professional in her own field. When I heard him say that he raised them this way, I thought to myself that I want to be that kind of a father. So I took that on as one of my personal philosophies. That way it would be easier to transfer it to my offspring. I think that, so far, I am doing a good job of it.

I think that it is false humility that causes us to think things like, "Who? Me? No, I couldn't possibly..." Humility comes from the core word "humus" which means "of the earth". It has nothing to do with not being worthy or able. I think that unworthiness and inability are concepts that can be left to the Christian Church. Hopefully not all of the Church's followers will personally adopt it. I know a few who haven't, so there is definitely some potential there. To be humble is to be grounded and centred.

We need to have an adventurous spirit, like that child who is determined to climb that step, even though she has not yet learned to balance well enough to walk a few feet. Who cares if we can walk? We can climb! How else are we to figure out what is on the other side of the room, the other side of the wall, or the other side of the ocean?

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Indulgences

Admit it. Now and then it is completely okay to indulge. This is partly a birthday wish for a family member who, when my Love and I phoned to sing her "Happy Birthday", mentioned that it has been a very loooong time since I have blogged. So, my adorable R, this one is for you! Sorry it took me so very long, folks!

I have a special desert that my daughter and I made yesterday. It is called Pistachio Surprise. We absolutely love this desert. No, it doesn't have chocolate in it, like the birthday cake in the photo, which, by the way, looks just ever so yummy! It has ice cream and pistachio pudding and cinnamon and a graham wafer crust. Right now, as I write, it is waiting for me to dive in. I decided to dish it up and let it warm a little bit before consuming it. Considering that it is after 10:00pm while I am writing it, I also have the benefit of having it not count in terms of calories, because everyone knows that calories only count if it is before 10:00pm.

I seem to have this Pavlov's Dog response. I can feel my mouth watering as I frantically type this so that I can get finished before it all melts away. But then I have this "Spock" theory that even if it turns to a melted mush, it will taste just as good out of a glass as it does in a bowl.

So, you may ask, what is there in this prattling that is in the least bit shamanic?

Well, we shamans are the types who know the true value of indulgence. We tend to eat with the seasons, changing the form of indulgence with each turning of the Wheel of Time. Thus, we have a multitude of indulgences from which to choose. We truly know how to par-tay! Considering how mild mannered we tend to be, this comes as quite a surprise to many who think that they know us. Suddenly this wall flower becomes a party animal and really knows how to have some fun! But that is the purpose of life. To live life fully. This comes as quite a surprise to many. But really, the most fulfilled folks I know are those who are able to kick back and have some fun on a regular basis. Nope. No solemn stick in the mud acts here. Just pure, unadulterated fun!

Okay, that's it. I can wait no longer. The desert is calling....

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Look up! Way up!

This is a photo that has been sitting in my Love's digital camera for months, just waiting for us to get enough time to download it onto the computer. It kind of looks like the beginnings of a nuclear explosion. At sunrise one morning my Love exclaimed, "Wow! Look at what the sun is doing!" I just had to grab a snapshot of it.

Usually when we see things like this and don't get a photo people will write it off as another lunatic saying that he's seen something that no one else in the world has seen and he really needs to be locked up. Well, nana boo boo! I have a picture for you! Next thing is, "Ya, well, digital photos can be doctored!" I say to this, "Prove to me that, without any influence on my part because I wouldn't know how to doctor something if my life depended on it, my camera did something to create this effect!" You want proof, well, be prepared to show me the anti proof as well if you are going to be so skeptical!

Now, I don't know what exactly it is in the atmosphere that creates an effect like this one. The sun shooting straight up in the sky is, however, breath taking. And my Love and I both felt that it was a message to continue to reach higher and keep our visions of what we desire at a very high vibration. The sky is not the limit! Shoot for the stars!

Ah, yes, we will miss that fabulous view that we had from 20 stories up. But now we have a beautiful house with a yard that is manageable and space to live without having to step over stuff and walk around stuff and climb through stuff. We performed a Harry Potter act in that we were able to fill a house with the things that once fit (sort of) into a one bedroom apartment. We truly are magical!

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

The Vertical Expression

Dance is the vertical expression of the horizontal desire. When we allow ourselves to let go and dance we discover a primal force within us. This helps us to connect more intimately with our surroundings...the earth, the animals, the birds, the insects, the trees and flowers, and the people. Is it any wonder that some Western religions have banned it? To quote my Love, "I find organized religion the greatest deterrent to true or authentic connection with God." She is quite an amazing person to have that figured out at such an early age!

In Shamanic practice there is something called Trance Dance. This is utilizing dance as a means to connect with Spirit. Sometimes one dances their power animal, sometimes their fears or joys, sometimes their passions, and sometimes Deity Itself. In the process, all the energetic blockages that have been tightening up our bodies let go and release. It becomes an ecstatic experience. And yes, it can lead one to having the best sex ever. But, for those who are religious beyond belief, just remember that sex can also lead to dance! A very dangerous thing indeed!

When we release the blockages it frees up our energy fields for other, more life giving things. Sex is just one of those life giving things. Once clear, we are able to dedicate our time to those things that fulfill us. We follow our creative flow and discover that we are really good at stuff that we never allowed ourselves to explore, either in terms of time or in terms of believing that we actually could. Suddenly our world changes into a vibrant place that is full of life's potential. And it is not even that the world itself has changed. It is more that we have changed and are now reawakening to what was already there. So go ahead everyone! Shake that bootie!

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

The Best Part

When we lived on an acreage, the best part of spring was the part where the "gently undulating" landscape (a term the assessor used, not me, even though you would think it was me because it sounds so sensual) melted all the snow it had gathered through the winter and became a small lake. The water went through most of the back yard, through the bushes and trees and out into the pasture. This meant, of course, a prime opportunity for rafting!

Now, I must admit that, unfortunately, I was too heavy to actually be supported by any of the rafts that were constructed over the years. I don't think that it was actually that I was overweight (or at least I hope it wasn't!) but that we couldn't build a raft long or wide enough with enough buoyancy to actually keep me afloat. I was tempted to purchase a canoe and say "To heck with it, I'm going boating!" but I never did. Why? Well, because it was just way too much fun to watch my kids and their friends do the rafting. Yes, there were many a time when someone got dumped in the drink. But that is all part of the excitement of the whole experience!

This is what being a kid is supposed to be like. Not a time where you have to pick up one responsibility after another and worry about whether or not your clothes get dirty. Just get into the oldest clothes you have and get on the raft!

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com