Boundaries tell you what you will and will not do. What you are willing to partake in and what you are not willing to partake in for yourself. They are not leashes you can put on other people and make them do things or not do things, at all. They are to protect you and keep you safe. One of my boundaries is that I will not go down a dark alley at night! That boundary I have created for myself is to keep me safe and I don't care who tells me its ok to walk down that dark alley I will not go there because I have already set up this boundary that I refuse to cross.
I have a boundary that I will not let just anyone come and move into my house with me. This is a boundary for me. It keeps me safe and out of trouble. I set this boundary up now ahead of time and so if someone calls me up and says, Hey Shaman Maggie I need to come live with you and get my head on straight, I say no. I have this boundary and I will not go beyond it. I have another boundary that says I will not let someone disrespect me. I set it up beforehand that if someone is being rude or abusive to me I will leave that environment, I will walk way. And that is what I do. It keeps me safe and protected. Boundaries are things we set up for our own selves that delineate what we will and will not do. Then, when that situation comes up that tries to push us beyond our boundaries, we will not go there.
Boundaries are not meant to control other people. You cannot control what other people do or say or think. They have free will and we should respect their free will choice no matter what. ( if we violate the free will of others , we will have our own free will violated too. What goes around comes around)But we have to respect our own free will too and setting up these boundaries that create a safety net for us to stay within is a good thing to do.
So send me a list of your boundaries to shaman@shamanelder.com. We should know what our boundaries are and be very aware of them at all times. By making me a list, you will become area of what boundaries you choose to create for yourself and that is a very good thing to do!
To learn more about traditional shamanism visit www.shamanelder.com
To purchase my new paperback called The Shaman Speaks visit www.shamanspeaks.com
Aho
Shaman Elder Maggie
