Alterations

We so often will find ourselves changing what we do or who we are in order to accommodate a person in our lives, or our cultural or societal expectations.  What we really need to do is maintain our own inner altar.  We need to stick to our paths and progress along them as we are meant to.  Instead of altering our paths to accommodate others, we need to make alterations to our paths that will help us to enrich the paths we are on. 

For example, we can decide that it is in our best interest to eat healthier (whatever that may mean for the individual) and make alterations to our path that includes healthier eating.  We really don’t want to alter what we eat just because someone else is expecting us to eat a certain way, even if they have the best of intentions in suggesting it.  “You need to lose weight to be healthier” is a typical thing that most women and some men have experienced.  Unless that is coming from a physician who is worried about your heart, scrap the thought.  If you are fit and limber and feeling good, then it really doesn’t matter what body “type” anyone else expects you to accomplish or maintain.

We also do not need to quit our jobs and go running off with the new hottie to their city of choice.  The hottie can move here if he or she is interested in having a relationship with us.  I have known for a long time that the city in which I live is the one I was meant to live in.  Nothing will make me move from here unless it is something that will further enrich my path.  I just hope that my kids, should they move away, choose locations that are really nice to visit!  And I would never want them to stay here for the sake of making me more comfortable.  That would be altering their paths to accommodate my expectations.  No way!  Fly, little black bird, fly!

Blessed Be

Trent

http://www.youtube.com/trentdeerhorn

www.deerhornshamanic.com

Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Anyone?

“Remember that your mama is a worrier and your papa is a warrior...”  Sarah Kay. 

I have often wondered how many times my mama worried about me.  I know that when I was ill and almost died, she worried.  I know that when I was in a car accident that could have killed me, she worried.  I know that every time I brought home another girlfriend to meet her, she worried.  But how many times did she worry when I was not aware of it?  I will likely never know.

My papa was, in his own way, a warrior.  But he was the type of warrior who would go to war to fight for a cause.  He was not the type of warrior with stamina for life’s journey.  You see, a true warrior to me is one that will not just protect you but will also do whatever it takes on a daily basis.  A true warrior is the guy who will make 10,000 peanut butter sandwiches over the course of a lifetime for his kids’ lunch boxes, every day, for school, before going off to his job, like it or not, every single day because that is what it takes to keep a roof over his family’s heads and clothes on their backs and food on their table.  He is not the type to complain about how much food his 10 year old son is eating because it costs so much to buy groceries these days.  Instead he will marvel at how much his son is eating and the fact that he is a growing boy who will grow big and strong and be a warrior like himself on day.

There are not a lot of warriors I know these days.  I am very grateful for the ones that I do know.  These are the guys who don’t encourage their daughters to play hockey just so that they will have something in common with them when they get older, but who will attend ballet classes with their daughters because that is what interests them.  These guys will encourage their daughters to be intelligent and strong and will encourage their sons to be loving and attentive.  These are the guys that are my friends.

Blessed Be

Trent

http://www.youtube.com/trentdeerhorn

www.deerhornshamanic.com

I'm Pickin' Up Good Vibrations....

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to pick up on someone else's stress? They don't even have to say a word and we are feeling the tension that they are burying. Like when we are in a group and everyone knows we are going to miss our connector flight because the plane we are on is running so behind. The reason this can affect us so much is because the group tension/stress is of a lower vibration than the one we started out with. So our vibration gets pulled down by the anger and stress and frustration of those around us. It may feel like things are escalating, but in reality they are dropping in vibration.

Then we feel the excitement of what is going on around us. The thing about excitement is that it causes us to exit our own selves. Whether the excitement is due to a plane being late, or crush hour traffic, or when we are making love to someone for the first time, we are exiting ourselves. What we need to do is allow ourselves to stay grounded and centred. That way we can feel the good vibrations and not be drawn down into the lower vibrations. We remain intact within ourselves and can therefore respond more appropriately to the situation at hand.

Meditate on growing roots down into the earth and having Her nourishing energy draw up into yourself with every inhale, and with every exhale you grow the roots deeper into Her fertile body. Inhale and exhale through the nose, for this is Earth Breath and it is very grounding. Softly beat on a drum and feel the vibrations of Mother Earth move through you while you do. Take a walk in nature and connect with the earth beneath your feet. Whatever the avenue is that works best for you, incorporate it not just in the good times, but in the low vibrational times as well. You will get through the lower vibrational times much easier if you do.

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

Frogs Return Moon

As promised, here I am blogging about the moons of the Medicine Wheel once again. We have just entered the Frogs Return Moon (April 20-May 20). This is the moon that carries with it the medicine of total emergence. It is a time when our inner capabilities shine through and pull us out of the rut we have been in over the last few months.

The power animal that adopts those born during this time is the Beaver. This power animal brings with it the medicine of industry. The busy beaver is always actively doing things to feed and shelter the family. Family is the most important thing to beaver people. It is also important that the beaver dam have many entrances and exits. This is a safety issue in nature, but it is also a security issue in a beaver person. The last thing a beaver person wants to feel in a relationship or in a job is "trapped". These are also people who are meticulous in everything they undertake. Just as a beaver will carefully measure the length of the log it is shaping for the dam so that the log is exactly the length from the beaver's nose to its tail, a beaver person will pay infinite attention to the details of what they are doing. These are the types of people you want to hire to build your house or do a renovation or plan a wedding! Those born during the Frogs Return Moon are also members of the Turtle Clan, so they are Earth elementals. This means that things will develop slowly but surely and with thorough attention to details.

The plant totem for those born in this moon is the Blue Camas, which is a wild onion. If one is out in nature and sees an onion growing it is important to know what color the blossom of that onion is, so that you know if it is edible or poisonous. The White Camas is a white blossomed onion that is deadly, thus earning it the nickname "Death Camas". The Blue Camas has the blue blossoms. Here is the confusing thing though...they grow side by side! Aha! Nature's little trickery! Well, find the patch in spring and watch for the blossoms. Tag the blue ones so that you can come back when the blossoms have fallen off (thus the nutrients are in the onion) and pick at that time. When in doubt, leave it in the ground. The Blue Camas is wonderful for feeding the endocrine system and is excellent in soups and stews.

The Chrysocolla is the mineral totem for this moon. It is a cousin of the turquoise and its energy is excellent for feminine reproductive system imbalances and for inter dimensional travel/consciousness. It can help you to attune to the Earth consciousness and communicate with the spiritual forces of the Earth.  It can help heal things such as the pancreas and blood disorders.  It can help to ameliorate disorders of the lungs and bronchial tubes.  It also is a positive energy force for the home, releasing from the environment negative energies and inviting in the positive energies.

So there you have it. Explore and enjoy!

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

Elightenment Traps

Personally, I love fruits and vegetables. My thing is to eat as much good food as I can while I have time left on this earth. But the fact that I love fruits and vegetables does not mean that I don't like to consume meat (charred flesh, as a good friend of mine calls it). A number of years ago I went vegetarian. I was very careful to make sure that I was getting all the iron rich foods so that I would not have low iron levels. I was consuming copious quantities of these foods. I still ended up anemic and needed to go back to having meat in my diet. Here is the thing. Once I got away from consuming meat I thought that I was going to feel so much energy and vibrance. Quite the contrary. I was sluggish and low on energy and ambition and felt somewhat depressed. After 2 years of wondering what was wrong with me, I re-introduced meat into my diet and BAM! I felt so much better!

The truth is that back then I fell into what is called an Enlightenment Trap. An Enlightenment Trap is any belief that has an undercurrent of "I know what is best for me....and for you." I had everyone around me raving about how vegetarianism and veganism were the only way to go. I completely bought in. And I almost killed myself in the process. So why is it so much easier for people to believe someone when they say, "I stopped eating meat and wow do I feel so much better" than it is for them to believe someone when they say, "I started eating meat and wow do I feel so much better"? It is the Enlightenment Trap syndrome. It may as well be something like "I chose Jesus and wow do I feel so much better!" Radicals are radicals no matter what form they come in. We don't become enlightened by embracing a particular religion or diet or even philosophy. We become enlightened when we do our personal work and get over our personal issues in life. A diet or religion or philosophy is not going to do that for you. Dogma is dogma, no matter what the form. I get really frustrated with people who think that I am not enlightened and therefore could not possibly be a good healer just because I eat meat. That is just a bunch of bull. How would they feel if I said similar stuff about them because they were one of those "wacky vegans"? I don't say stuff like that, but they think that they have the right to say stuff like that about me or anyone else who eats meat. It really is quite ridiculous. It is very much like reverse racism. I am white so I can't say anything negative regarding anyone else's race (not that I do) but oh boy! Try to tell anyone of another race that they can't say anything negative about me based on my color! Them's fighting words!

I would really like it if people would leave others alone and not threaten them with "You're gonna die of cancer if you continue to eat meat" kind of ridiculous statements. To each their own. And I love having 2/3 of a plate of salad or vegetables and 1/3 meat. So there. Deal with it. No matter how you look at it, we are gonna kill an animal or a plant in order to live. It is called the circle of life. Deal with that too. And get you head outa your a.... and grow up!

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

Rights and Freedoms

It seems that the Albany airport has some issues. I just learned from a friend's face book entry that they fired a woman for being a witch. There was apparently a long history of harassment over this. Management suggested that she go into mediation with the offending party to help settle the issues. She refused because, being Wiccan, she did not see any reason that she should have to "explain" her religion to anyone anymore than someone who was, say, Jewish should have to. EHHHEM! Is this the 1950's? Is this the 4th century AD? We do have religious rights and freedoms here in North America! It doesn't matter if you live in the states or in Canada, those freedoms are supposed to be protected. In this case, the bullying was escalated to the point of no return, mostly because management was idiotic in their handling of the situation. You see, I know that there are definitely laws in place preventing people from freely arriving at your door in the middle of the night with torches in hand and burning you at the stake. Unfortunately, these laws come into effect  after the fact. It is high time that there be laws that will actually do some good before a witch is burned. Anti-bullying, Anti-discriminatory, Anti-bullshit laws would be excellent.

 It is amazing how the word "witch" brings into ignorant people's minds fears and paranoias about having hexes placed on their car heaters and such. For the love of God, MAINTAIN YOUR STUPID VEHICLE SO THAT IT DOESN'T BREAK DOWN AND STOP BLAMING OTHERS FOR YOUR OWN IGNORANCE!! The word "witch" has many meanings.  Mostly it means "wise one".  It also has connotations of bending like a willow in the wind, meaning to "go with the flow".  Pagans and witches are simply nature observing folks who mind their own business and do most of their "worship" in the outdoors instead of in a church or temple.  My mother used to tell me that she got more Godliness out of weeding her garden on a beautiful Sunday morning than she ever did sitting in a stale church.  I had to agree.  The church picnic is something that became popular as a social event that would incorporate such philosophies without actually saying, "Better to worship in the Garden than in the House of the Lord".  It is amazing how absolutely everything Pagan has been adopted by the church in one form or another and then claimed as their own idea!  Talk about hypocrisy!  Mostly it was adopted to make the church more appealing to those who were Pagan, in hopes of converting them/us.  But it really didn't work.  What they got was a lot of fearful folks who quiver and shake in their ignorant boots at the mere mention of the word "witch".  It is not very wise of them, now is it?

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

The Budding Trees Moon

According to the Medicine Wheel, we have entered the Budding Trees Moon (March 21-April 19). The medicine of this moon is that of potential. Those born during the Budding Trees Moon are optimists who tend to see the full potential in everything and everyone around them. They serve to inspire the best out of everyone they meet, not by lecturing but by being and example. They are the ones you want on your side when you are forging ahead with a difficult task or a new venture. They see the potential in the endeavor and are willing to say so when you doubt yourself.

Those born during the Budding Trees Moon are adopted by the spirit of the Red Tailed Hawk. This one brings forth messages from Great Spirit and brings the ability to see ahead of where one is now to where one is headed. Sometimes those who are around this type of person will find the person to be a "know it all", but that is only when they are out of balance in their energies. When well-grounded the Red Tailed Hawk individual will be knowledgeable but not arrogant about it.

The plant totem for those born in this moon is the Dandelion. Those born during this time of year are more likely to have slight to large dysfunctions in the liver, and Dandelion Root Tea is what will feed that liver the nutrients it needs. It will also help the liver to detoxify and should be consumed as a weak tea as opposed to a strong tea. That way it does not shock the liver as it does its work.

The mineral totem for those born during the Budding Trees Moon is the Fire Opal. This mineral helps the energy field to remain steady. It helps to reignite the flame of one's existence so that a second wind is felt when one is feeling exhausted.

The Clan that Red Hawk people belong to is the Thunder Bird Clan. This is a clan of seers who are able to tell what is coming down the pike way before anyone else is even remotely aware of it. The first challenge is to not over react to what one sees for risk of being called "crazy" just because no one else sees it. The second challenge is to not say "I told you so" in a way that makes others feel stupid for not being aware enough. Thunder Bird Clan people are of the Fire Element, which is spontaneous and all consuming. There are many forms of fire in our world: The fire of the Sun, which warms our planet and makes life upon it possible; the fire of the Lightning, which energizes the earth's body; the fire of the Volcano, which creates the Stone People; the fire at the Core of the Earth, which keeps the earth's heart beat going; the fire of the Hearth, which warms our bodies and our food; and the fire Within, which keeps us eternally connected to the Creative Source.

With this moon, we have now gone 1/4 of the way around the Medicine Wheel. Only 3/4 of the way to go!

Blessed Be

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