Day 24: How Much Time Do You Have?

The Yaqui people of Mexico tell us about four things that are enemies of the Shaman and the fourth one is - that by the time we find the knowledge we seek and the empowerment we need, we are too old to do anything with it. And I find that to be true. So how much time do you have? The Yaquis also tell us that death walks by our left side all the time, close enough to reach out and touch us at any moment. Rather than fear what will indeed happen to all of us, the Shaman learns to walk in this knowledge that he may not be here tomorrow. And so he makes all he can out of today. It is called impeccability. Being all you can be, doing all you can do, loving all you can love and walking as far as you can walk each day.

Read more at www.shamanelder.com Want to know the other three things that are enemies of the Shaman? Write me an email! Shaman@shamanelder.com

Aho

Shaman Elder Maggie Wahls

Day 23 Too Busy for Your Spiritual Path In Life?

A call to Traditional Shamanism is a haunting thing. Some people who are called to Traditional Shamanism studies actually suffer physical maladies which are words from Spirit to prod one to the path they belong on. The other side of the picture is a force that tries to prevent one from finding one's path. In everything there are two poles. It is a universal law. So you feel the tug to learn your path and also the tug to be too busy to learn.

I have found that for those students that try to maintain both things there is no peace. Being too busy indicates that you are hiding from your path. And the usual way we hide from our path is to be busy trying to help others on their paths. But living our lives for others does nothing for our own path. We can follow our husbands and children on their paths and we often do. But what of our own path, what of our purpose for being here? Was it really to follow our kids and mates around? Do you know that they will follow their paths with you or without you? Sure they appreciate you making it easier for them, but if it were not you, they could still manage or would find someone else to do it. And following your path is really something you do for yourself and you do alone. It is the path to home, to peace, to fulfillment. Many women seek fulfillment in helping their families but there is only a small amount of fulfillment there and as we get older and see our own path being neglected we become less and less fulfilled.

So you have to decide for yourself if you are ready to walk your own path. And it doesn't mean not being there for your family but rather taking steps to walk your own path. This course will lead you to that path. And as you study and practice, your path will become lit and you will know it. If you are meant to be a healer you will see the the way to do that. If you are meant to practice Traditional Shamanism you will be led to do that. The purpose of your life will become clear and then it will be your decision to walk that path or slink back onto the path of someone else. Some students are not ready to walk their own path. But at least in this ongoing, online course I offer to anyone willing to look, they see their path clearly and can make that decision deliberately. Some students have never seen their path and when they find it they embrace it wholeheartedly and become healers, happy, whole and fulfilled.

Shaman Elder Maggie

For more Information go to www.shamanelder.com

Day 22 – You are Perfect Just the Way You Are.

I have had the honor to sit at the feet of many of the worlds greatest teachers and one time I asked Lama Zopa Rinpoche, “ What is our main problem?” The lama answered, “It is that we think, "I am the worst person in the world. I am full of hatred, desire, and ignorance." These concepts are totally negative, and you have been carrying around this self pitying view all your life. Cry, cry, Fear, Fear, emotion, emotion. Obsessed with your own shortcomings, you put tremendous pressure on yourself. You punish yourself by regarding yourself as ugly and worthless. Other people may think you are beautiful, but still  you project yourself as ugly.”

“Right now just stop whatever you are doing and visualize a beautiful blue light, which is like clear blue sky all around you. See yourself just being in this clear blue sky color with nothing else but the color blue around you. As you just experience this beautiful blue light notice how your dualistic thoughts start to break down. You no longer believe in those self deprecating dualities. They no longer exist, really. This radiant blue light helps us to touch reality, which is the most important thing in the world. This is no longer an fantasy world of projections and self deprecating thoughts and judgments. This place you are experiencing in this sky blue light is inner and outer reality. There is no self judgment in this place. Can you feel it? See yourself as a being of sky blue. You are perfect just as you are. You only need to realize it. “

Lama Zopa knows this truth and we need to know it too so that we can experience our own natural perfection.

Aho
Shaman Elder Maggie

Why not take the correspondence course called Shaman Apprenticeship 101 about the teachings traditional shamanism. Its only $135 and you get 18 weeks of lessons and unlimited mentorship by Shaman Elder Maggie, One on One! You can start today at www.shamanelder.com

Day 21: Some People Do Not Want to Be Healed

 As a Shaman I have learned through my own experience that there are many people who do not choose to heal. It is their free will choice and it is not for me to offer healing to those who do not want healing.

 I heard this story about a lady who had been crippled for many years. She had spent thousands of dollars for medical tests and procedures. Nothing worked. Then she spent many years asking every kind of alternative healer to come to her house and heal her. Hundreds of healers came at her expense to offer their healing skills to her. She would sit with them and talk to them and allow them to ply their skills and none of them could heal her.

The truth was that this woman did not want to be healed. It was her dis-ease itself which provided a handy vehicle for her to meet all these interesting and spiritual people who came to visit her. She enjoyed meeting these people, getting their attention and care and sympathy. Why would she want to give that up? There was no reason for her to accept a healing and lose all this attention. Not everyone wants to be healed.

Sometimes people gain more in their suffering than they think they would have if they were healed, just like this lady. This is important to remember. I will tell you that even Jesus walked away from those that would not hear him. Even Jesus refused to try to heal people that did not want healing.

Shaman Elder Maggie

To read more or take my online course and receive unlimited correspondence with me: www.shamanelder.com

Day 20: Your Beliefs Are Not My Beliefs

I believe what I believe. I believe many things. These beliefs started when I was born. First, my parents gave me beliefs. Don't sleep in your clothes, stay clean, don't crawl out your bedroom window or we will kick your butt. And as I got a bit older they started using fear beliefs so they could control me. If I don't clean my room I will be punished. If I don't do my homework I will not be able to watch TV. So on. And then school gave me beliefs. You must go to school. You must go through 12 grades. And fear beliefs became more prevalent for me. I must get good grades or I will be held back. I must be quiet or I will be sent to the principal's office. I must not pass notes or I will get detention. By the time I finished school almost all my beliefs were given to me by parents, school and religion. Give your money to the church or go to hell. You are a sinful ingrate. But at the same time, we begin to wonder what we really believe. It’s a natural thing to challenge beliefs given to us by others. 

Then I got a job. And more beliefs were given to me, very much based on fear. I can't be late or I will lose my job. And culture and government and society gave me fear beliefs as well. Pay your taxes or you will go to jail. Get a car. Get insurance. Get more bills. Pay your bills or go to jail. Wow! Getting a bit overwhelming here! And now you have the picture of Joe America!A whole bunch of beliefs given by other people that are making Joe feel terrible and he isn't even taking the time to look at what he believes and to see if those beliefs are even working for him! 

Many sages throughout history have told us that what we believe creates our reality. If we believe that elevators are dangerous, we cannot ride in an elevator. If we believe that we are less than wonderful, then we are less than wonderful. If we believe that old religious belief that we are going to hell, then we are going to hell. We create our reality with what we believe. And if you look at how people live you can actually sometimes see what they believe. Take the homeless person on the street. Look at their reality. They may honestly believe they cannot have a home. And so they don't. You can stop here and think of other examples.

Now each person has their own set of beliefs. And they base their judgments on their beliefs. But that has nothing to do with your belief system. 

It is a little microcosm, a person’s beliefs create his or her reality, create his or her judgments, create his or her choices based on beliefs. 

Well, that homeless person may be convinced that he cannot have a home but I am not convinced of that. So his belief system does not work for me. And that's OK. That's called the right to choose, free will choice. Even if it is messed up, it is still his free will choice. But what if he told me that I cannot have a home because he believes he can't have a home so no one should have a home. How valid is that judgment for me? Not very valid at all. I don't believe what he believes. And how valid is any judgment he makes about me? Not very valid at all, as he is judging from his own belief system, not mine. And how valid is my judgment of him? Not very valid at all, because I would be judging him based on my beliefs which may or may not be his. So what is the point of judging someone else? There is none. And what is the point of being affected by someone else's judgment of you? None. It is not based on what you believe so it has little to no bearing on you. So relax! 

Understand that people walk around within their own microcosm; their own belief system, their own reality. We are like a million unique snowflakes. The good thing is that you can change your reality by changing what you believe.

I can help you eliminate negative beliefs and end the struggle in your life if you want.  I have been doing this work for over 40 years. Just email me at shaman@shamanelder.com

Shaman Elder Maggie

www.shamanelder.com to visit my site and read more wonderful articles and take the course I teach online.

Day 19: The Old Horse Doctor

Traditional Shamanism is a way of life, a way of living, a calling, an occupation much like a doctor. Remember the old horse doctor who had nothing more than his little black bag who went from house to house on the back of his horse bringing healing to the community? He was on call 24 hours a day 7 days a week. He was called upon to heal all kinds of things from chicken pox, to difficult childbirth to cancer to broken bones and everything he had to heal with was in that little black bag. This is the life of the Traditional Shaman. The Traditional Shaman is available to everyone everywhere she goes, she is always healing, always counseling, living her life as an example to others to show the way to live in peace and health. She carries her medicine bag with a few leaves and stones and feathers and in that bag she has everything she needs to heal broken hearts, help cancer victims, heal chicken pox, whatever kind of healing she is called upon to bring. The healing is not in the black bag anyway, is it! Those are just the tools. The healing is in the heart and mind of the doctor.

Would you like to learn this kind of traditional Shamanic Medicine? The Shaman Apprenticeship 101 Course teaches 20 tools and skills you can use to heal yourself and others. You can start this course today at www.shamanelder.com

Shaman Elder Maggie

Day 18: How to Use Emotional Energy

Fear is an emotion you know. Emotions are sensory devices to give us input about outside things, just like eyes give us input and ears and noses. We take in all this input and use it to gain knowledge and make good decisions. But we don't necessarily make decisions just based on one kind of sensory input. That would be like: oh, it is dark so I cannot see. But if you wait a moment you can see the stars that you would not have seen if you had just gone with your sensory input that it is dark. We use our sensory input along with our thoughts and memories and knowledge gained.

Our senses do not control us. They are just antennas, feelers. Fear should not control us. it is just a sensation. Weigh it out against other input you have, what you know, and use it as the antenna it is, not the final decision maker in your life!

Emotions do have another purpose. They are the gas behind our intentions. Let’s take an example. Let’s say a man wants to get a job that is being offered to manage a restaurant. He knows he is a good manager and has experience and can do this job. But there is another offer to drive a cab that he has been given. He knows he should manage the restaurant as that is his career. But driving the cab seems so easy.

So he goes to the interview for the restaurant job. Then he goes to the interview for the cab driving job. He fails the restaurant interview and passes the cab driver interview and ends up with something that does not really work for him financially or career wise and that in the end was a poor decision on his part. But what happened?

At the restaurant job he was polite and knowledgeable, answered all their questions and was checking out the restaurant for cleanliness and asking about time off and hours. At the cab driver interview he was animated, excited, interested in this new field  of endeavor, absorbed in learning how to do this job. If he had shown as much enthusiasm at the restaurant interview he would have gotten that job. See how his emotions played for his intent. He had made up his mind that he wanted the cab job. He displayed emotionally his desire with enthusiasm and gusto at the interview and got the job.

It is OK to look at things like this. It is not about judgment but rather introspection, why did I do what I did. What was my motive, what was I intending, what do I want to intend, how do I feel about that intention, how can I express what I feel about my intention. Questions I ask myself all the time. This practice keeps me in tune with what I am trying to do and keeps me doing it the best way I can. Back to being impeccable: If you can't be impeccable with yourself, who can you be impeccable with.

Shaman Elder Maggie

Want more? Visit www.shamanelder.com