As life flows in its ups and downs it seems like all we can do is sit down, tired from all the change, sometimes from struggle, and other times from the experience of great heights. In my journey of late, I have had amazing experiences on my shamanic path, feeling so very connected to Spirit and my guidance, with my one foot in the Spirit world, and the other in the physical world. And at times it seems challenging to traverse the physical world that wants to be linear. Yet, the magic of my shamanic path has reminded me all I have to do is "just take one more step..." and to look for the magic in the journey.
Have you ever wondered if you could learn how to dream the future? With the struggles of the 21st century, the bp oil spill, global warming, financial upheaval and an uncertain job and housing market, can you really affect your future in the big picture? Even if you aren’t confident in affecting such large issues, can you dream your own little future? The Secret and other metaphysical concepts have been revealed the past few years with great interest from the masses, yet, how do you really change your course and create a more certain future filled with all the good stuff you really would like to happen?
By Katherine Skaggs
The Egyptian Goddess Isis is the embodiment of the Great Divine Mother of the Universe, bringing fertility and nourishment for all. She brings the power of both Lunar and Solar energies together, to feed and heal her people. Isis is the High Priestess and has complete intuition and knowing, navigating the lunar inner worlds of Spirit with ease. She also brings that inner world to light, merging conscious awareness with inner wisdom. This ancient Egyptian goddess Isis is here to help us reclaim our own inner voice and true wisdom. She encourages us to trust our inner knowing and to have the courage to bring it forth with confidence in our world. Isis, as High Priestess, is here to help us restore sacredness to our lives through ceremony and ritual. Though Isis was recognized and worshiped thousands of years ago, She is here with us today, calling us to work with Her. She beckons us to remember our heritage and her-story. She lives within our very cells and DNA.
I am just home from Peru, the Amazon and the jungle. What an adventure!! Truly, a place of beauty, many creatures large and small... even the small creatures are large though! I had the great fortune to join some dear friends dedicated to personal growth through shamanic practices, and to go on an adventure into the wilds of the jungle at the top of the Amazon river in Peru.
I arrived in Lima, Peru Oct. 16, 2009. The plane flights from Denver to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Lima proved to run several hours late this particular trip. Luckily, we arrived a day early so we could aclimate before the next leg of the journey into Iquitos. After 13 or so hours of travel, delays and all, about half our group gathered at the airport in the early morning hours. After all our luggage was retrieved, we took a van to our hotel in Mira Flores (a district in Lima near the market downtown.
Life is but a dream... yes really. Shamanic traditions from around the world will tell you that we are living a a dream. So, if this is true, are you dreaming a good dream?
In this dream, our world is made up of vibration, and patterns of light expressing as color, form and sound. We are all born within the perfect patterns of Creation. When we struggle, are in pain, illness and suffering, our patterns become tangled and we are disconnected from the perfect patterns of Creation and Source expressing through us.
In the Amazon the shamans vision ceremonially and see and hear the patterns of Creation in beautiful light and sound. To heal people who are ailing from distorted patterns, they sing Icaros (healing songs) into their bodies. These Icaros or songs, will also be painted in visionary art, or woven into clothes and jewelry to be worn or used in the home to bring the healings.
My first soul portrait was actually a creative process that wasn't initially focused on creating a portrait. Yet, it ultimately led to my own soul portrait … an intuitive self-portrait. Through several different sessions I worked on one canvas and laid down a series of patterns, shapes and colors.
Not having a particular vision for what was supposed to unfold on the canvas, I followed my inner voices and promptings. I didn’t even know it was going to be my own soul portrait when I began.
First, I painted the canvas entirely black. Next, as I began to experiment with my new and exciting paints, I painted a series of spirals covering the surface of the canvas… first using one pigment, then taking an entirely different pigment and blending it into the original spiral of pigment directly on the canvas. It was like chanting a mantra over and over, one spiral at a time, different pigments asking me to use them. I reached for each color based on intuition, not intellect. (more…)
