Your Best Friend...

Always looking out for you. Always supporting you. Always there for you. These are qualities of a best friend. Sometimes best friends squabble. Sometimes they argue and fight. But they always make up and get back on track with each other. Best friends don't always have to agree.

I have often said that I know a person is truly my friend if they are willing to give me a kick in the butt when they see me screwing up. That is the type of friend I need on my side. Someone who is honourable and strong enough to not be afraid of losing it all if they confront me on poor behaviour. I don't want to have a friend who is a wimp. That is the sort of person who will chicken out and not have your back when you need them. I remember the first time I experienced that. I was about 9 years old and was being bullied. My best friend, or so I thought, watched and didn't stick up for me. In fact, he laughed along with the bullies. When all was said and done, he expected us to continue to be friends. I told him to get lost. We have never been friends since. The last I saw him was at my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. It was brief, the chit chat of people being polite in public, but certainly not anything meaningful. Near the end of our "conversation" he asked me why we drifted apart. I told him. He said I sure knew how to hold a grudge. I told him to get lost....again. It was grade 3 all over again, but only for the briefest of moments. Sometimes we catch on really quickly when a person is a friend and when they are not. I guess at age 9 I was quite astute. This is a good thing because, after all, the world needs more stutes!

Sometimes my friends don't know what to do with me when I challenge them on their behaviour. They think I am trying to pick a fight. I assure them that this is not the case and that I will always be there for them and help them through anything at all, but that in order for us to be friends we must be honest with each other and right now I am honestly telling them that they are screwing up. Most often they look at me with shock, not ever having had a friend who would be willing to go out on a limb like that. Then it sinks in. We then become much better friends. This type of interaction now and then helps to enrich relationships. I am fortunate that I have very high quality friends in my life these days. I treasure each and every one of them.

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Winter

Don't you just love seeing pictures like this one when it is -30C outside? For those of you who are from locations much further south, -30C is like freakin' cold! Think, "The Arctic with Frost Bite". I knew that colder weather was yet to come (the trees told me so the other day when I arrived at work). So I made sure that the following morning I was able to get to the local art gallery and stroll through the solarium. I took a camera, of course, because at this time of year I find nature in bloom to be completely inspiring. This is just a small part of what I was able to capture.

This morning as I rode down the elevator to the parkade, a young man who also lives in the building got on the elevator and was going down to his level in the parkade as well. He was wearing a hoodie. Blue jeans and a hoodie!!! I smiled at him and said, "It's very cold out today." He laughed and said, "Ya, I guess that it is, after all, still winter." I agreed and said that if it continues into next week I was going to have to report it to the authorities. He laughed, not knowing just how serious I, as a shaman, was being. It made for some good chit chat though. I got off on my level of the parkade and started my car, unplugged it, of course, and began driving the spiralling 1/2 k down the parkade. On my way down I saw him backing his car out of its parking stall, still only wearing a hoodie. Ahh, to be young and blissfully ignorant! I hope that he makes it to his destination alright and doesn't have a break down in his battered up junker.

So now here I am in my warm office and with my favorite computer in the whole wide world, entering this and gazing at the beautiful photo of the tulips in bloom...... I can hardly wait for Spring to finally get here!

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

The 4 Rivers

It is so important to be able to go with the flow of things. That includes when the ride is a little bumpy and rocky. Those are the time, however, when we can both experience the adrenaline rush of the ride and be able to stop and enjoy the beauty of the ride. We so often worry about whether or not we have what it takes to make it safely to the "end", but we need to also remember that it is the ride itself that enriches our lives. I always utilize the "otter" method. What is the "otter" method? It is very simple. We otter have some fun, so let's get on that water slide and go!

The 4 River teachings of the Medicine Wheel teach us about the different aspects of life that we experience, all at once. There is a River of Love, a River of Surprise, a River of Inspiration, and a River of Challenge. How we navigate these rivers determines for us how we are able to grow through life. I have a 4 Rivers workshop that I will be fascillitating on the 7th of March. There are so many teachings with this workshop that it is one of those that people walk away from saying, "Wow! I can't believe you put so much information into such a short space of time!" This is okay with me. I always like to deliver my best. In the meantime, just remember everyone to "Row, row, row the boat...".

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Angels Among Us

People often ask me if angels really exist. I tell them that I believe that they do. Then I get asked about how I know this. Well, often they appear to me while I am working on a healing for a person, or even for an animal. No, they don't usually have wings like the one in this photo, but some do.

A most memorable encounter with an angel was in relation to when I needed one myself. I was stranded on the side of a road at night during a blizzard. I tried to flag down oncoming cars, but no one wanted to pull over to help a man. I am sure that if I was a woman ten of them would have been lined up. But I was not so they would simply drive past and keep on going. This was before the era of the cell phone, so I knew I was in trouble because I would either have to risk freezing to death walking to find a farm along the road, or I would have to risk freezing to death sitting in my broken down car. Slowly falling to sleep in the cold was beginning to look like a definite option. There are worse ways to go, but I also knew that I was not done here and that if this was the end of it, I was going to have to come back and start all over again in order to get my work done. I sat in the car for a couple of hours, hoping that no one would run into me as the flashers were not working anymore.

Then a knock came on my window, which almost made me jump right out of my skin! I could hardly believe that anyone finally stopped. I rolled my window down and this guy who looked a lot like Grizzly Adams asked me if I needed a tow. I looked behind me and saw a tow truck with flashing lights. I immediately accepted the offer. Once my car was on the hoist, he asked me where I wanted him to tow it. The warmth of the cab of the truck was so wonderful that I almost didn't hear his question. Once it registered I realized that I was probably closer to home than to town so asked if he could tow my there. His reply was, "No problem!" and off we went. The strange thing was that I didn't give him directions to the farm where I was living. He just turned on all the correct corners and before I knew it we were dropping my car off in the yard. I didn't have enough money in my wallet, I was sure, so I said I would be right back and that I just had to go inside and get some money for him. "That's okay," he said, "There's no charge for this one." I asked him if he was sure and began to insist that I pay. "Nope," he said, "I'm just glad I finally found ya and that you can now get on with your tasks at hand."

With that he drove down the driveway and the blizzard engulfed his vehicle before he even got to the road. I couldn't even see the flashing lights. Then I realized I couldn't even hear the engine. I was going to walk down the driveway to make sure he made it, but as I started out, I realized that there were no tracks either! No tracks from his truck and none from my car that he was towing. I walked into the house and my mother was glad to see me, having been worried about what was taking me so long to get home. I told her that I was towed home by the tow truck and she said that she didn't ever see his flashing lights in the yard, which she was keeping a close eye on to see if I was driving in. No headlights either. "Well," I said, "I guess that I was just saved by an angel."

That was the first time that I recall having been assisted by an angel, although there were others since and probably many times of which I was not even aware. So yes, I believe in angels. Why not? After all, I also encounter fairies, spirit guides, power animals and the like! And for these many connections, I am eternally grateful.

Blessed Be

Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com

Dreams After Waking

"All things appear or disappear like the sound of an echo: The clouds in the sky, the moon on the water, the lightning, the sea foam, the trail of a bird as it flies, or the visions of dreams after waking." Master Taisen Deshimaru.

Have you ever noticed how, once we wake up, our dreams and visions of what we were dreaming fades? Some would say that this is because we become conscious to reality. I don't believe, however, that all that is in the physical realm is all that there is to "reality". Part of the waking process might actually be a "falling asleep" process. Shamanic teachings tell us that the physical realm is the dream and that all the rest of the inter dimensional consciousness is the reality. I have learned that this is true. But the trick is to walk both realities and not get caught up on just one or the other.

This can apply to phases of one's life as well. In the few years that I have lived, I have woken up from one phase and entered into another many times. Sometimes the dream has been a good one. Sometimes what I have woken up from is a little more like a nightmare. We all have moments when we wake up and say to ourselves, "Thank God that was a dream!". In life we sometimes wake up and say, "Thank God that's over!". The essence of the situation is the same. We have come from one phase and entered into another.

When we enter into the next phase, however, we still must honour the one that we left behind. We need to thank it for all that it has taught us and for all the experiences it has brought our way. If we can't have gratitude, then we hold onto it instead of letting it go. When we hold onto it we draw it back into our lives in another form. Then we have that wonderful deja vu experience and wonder why it has come back like guzzled beer. The gratitude allows us to sip instead of guzzle and thus we are able to taste all the flavours and fully experience the situation, thus assimilating it fully and releasing it properly. This is not something that happens overnight. It does take some time and certainly takes some effort. When done properly, we can allow the fading process to occur without regret or sorrow and know that, like everything else in life, the next phase will also fade away, making way for the one after that. This is the natural and beautiful cycle that happens each and every day, as sure as the rising and setting of the sun.

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

Happy People

I received an email from a friend today, and in it there was a wonderful quote, "The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have." I love this concept.

So often people find themselves striving to get the best home, the best car, the best laptop, the best schools for the education of their children, the best clothes and so on. In striving to constantly have the best, they are creating an undercurrent of deep stress in their lives. This undercurrent doesn't just exist within themselves, it also ripples outward to others around them who can feel the judgement and contempt that comes from these people who are, whether or not they are aware of it, looking down their noses at others. This then makes people around them feel like trash, if only for a moment before they say, "Hey! Chuck off and stop projecting your expectations onto me!" The undercurrent of stress will also, eventually, create illness within them. This could very easily be avoided.

I have found that the happiest people are the ones who live simple lives. They don't have a lot of things, but they have a lot of love for others and for life itself. Furthermore, they don't allow themselves to be seduced by the materialism of the world around them. They are able to appreciate the beauty of that which is in their environment and not worry about making anything something that it is not. These are the people that I trust. I know that they don't and won't judge me for having or for not having anything. We can relate to each other as human beings and on a deep heart level. This allows us to truly connect in meaningful ways.

In a culture that is media possessed and weight obsessed, it is refreshing to connect with people who don't care if I own an ipod or a laptop, who don't care about the size of my bank account, who don't even notice what kind of car I drive (I like it, but simply can't define myself by it). What these people appreciate about me is easy. It is stuff like my smile and the fact that I like to connect with stones and trees and animals. They are the people who see that I am a good father and that I love life.

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in the world used this criteria as a way of seeing people for who they truly are?

Blessed Be

Trent

www.deerhornshamanic.com

Love Day

Valentine's Day. A celebration of Love. I remember being told, "It's just a day like any other, so let's just skip it, shall we?". I was devastated. I had been told the same about an anniversary. It just came across as harsh and uncaring. Any wonder this relationship didn't last?

I know that Valentine's Day is a Hallmark holiday, but really. Why not celebrate Love, no matter who initiated it? And there are so many forms of love that can be celebrated. The love of a parent for a child and vise verse, the love of a husband and wife, or one partner for another, the love of two deeply connected friends, the list can go on.

I find that the highest form of love is that of compassion. It is like the scent of a beautiful flower; available to all, no matter who or where they are. Love really doesn't discern between who "should" have it and who "should not" receive it. It simply is, and it heals all.

Blessed Be

Trent