Tips for social distancing or shelter in place or self quarantine from your friendly neighborhood introverted shaman.
First, the don’ts. Don’t dwell on what you can’t do right now. That’s a very bad energy place and a recipe for depression and anxiety. Don’t let yourself get bored. There is no reason for boredom - there are plenty of things to do if you just look around your own space. Don’t passively follow the media. This is something I recommend for all the time, not just now. Not only is dwelling on what the news tells you another bad energy place, but it also leads to panic, anxiety and depression. Don’t forget that you are not alone. This is affecting everyone, everywhere. Most of all, don’t panic! Panic is always a recipe for disaster.
Now for things to do.
Spend some energy planning, or re-planning. There isn’t anyone out there who hasn’t had to radically change some plans right now. Whether you were going to travel, take in live sports, spend a night on the town, learn something new at a conference or attend a huge gathering, you’ve had those plans ended for you. Most of you have realized already that it was the right response to a pandemic, you’ve read the research that calls for flattening the curve, and you’ve started finding out what these changes really mean to you. If you haven’t, start adjusting your thinking that way. Now. This is a global crisis. Trying to deny that is not helping anyone, especially not you. Find out what you can get rescheduled or refunded. Think about different ways of doing whatever you planned in a more limited way, or at a later date, since this won’t last forever. Or for goodness sake, go virtual. We live in an age where we can connect with each other better than we ever have, and all without leaving our own homes.
Take this stuff seriously and contingency plan. What will you need if you have to stay home for the next two to three weeks, only going to the store briefly for perishable items? Make that list, do that shopping, and then go home and take pride in the fact that you have not panic shopped and you are really ready to enter quarantine if you need to. Also, if you end up not getting sick you have both a) not added to the panic toilet paper buying craziness and b) done most of your shopping for a month so you can focus on other, more fun things.
Please while you’re making your plans and taking this seriously, be kind to one another. Buy what you need at the store, but leave what you don’t for others. Remember that stores will restock if we give them a chance to. Keep your distance from people. Even if you’re not worried about getting sick, they might have some valid reasons for not even wanting to take a chance of carrying this virus home. If you get in their space, you’re going to increase their anxiety, if nothing else, and that’s no way to treat another person. Cough or sneeze into your elbow, your shoulder, a tissue. Explain that you have allergies, because coughs are scary right now. Wash your hands. Wave, or elbow bump, or air high five. Say please, say thank you, say I love you, say you’re welcome. Say namaste, if you understand and mean it. Say God bless you, if your belief lies there. Smile when you can, and tell jokes when you can. You’ll feel better, and you just might brighten someone else’s day.
Keep healthy habits. Even if you’re not working or working from home, get up when you normally would in the morning, get dressed, eat your meals at normal times, go to bed when you usually do. Our bodies have a schedule and we do better if we keep them. Set alarms if you need them to remind yourself you need to eat. And while you’re at it, remember that you need to get some exercise and sunshine each day. It’s not a bad time to start new healthy habits if you’re not so good at them already. Get a good night’s sleep, whatever that means for you. Eat your veggies. In other words, treat your body kindly. Sleeping and keeping regular mealtimes helps keep us humans healthy. Getting dressed tells your mind that it’s time to do something, which should help you, well, do something.
And that’s the next bit of advice I have for you. Do something. Go for a walk (but keep that CDC recommended six foot distance around you). Call a friend and have a conversation that’s not about the news. Smudge. Do the puzzle in the back of your closet. Read a book. Deep clean that closet, while you’re there. There are games you can play on your phone - pick something that looks interesting, or silly. Do your research. Drink your coffee or your glass of wine or your wind down end of day beer on the porch. Finish that project you’ve been putting off. Binge watch a show. Clean everything. If you’re isolated with someone, play a board game. Start your garden. Pray, or drum, or send your healing energy out into the universe to whoever needs it. Learn something new. Dance to your favorite music. Meditate. Start yoga (there’s a whole lot of good beginner videos on YouTube). Blog, or journal. Cook! There are good videos and instructions on the web for that, too. Check on your family, friends and neighbors. Get active on social media in a positive way. Sit down with a cup of tea. Take pictures of your pets or kids (or both) and share them. Spend time with your hobbies. Order take out from your favorite restaurant (if they’re still open). Go for a drive - don’t get out of your car, don’t have a destination, just explore somewhere you haven’t been. In other words, keep your body and mind active and focused on positive things that you, yourself, can do something about.
Everything really comes down to two simple things.
Take care of yourself.
Love one another.
The whole world rests on those, people. Don’t forget.
Love and light to you all!
dwolf34
Monday, March 23, 2020
Friday, March 9, 2018
Sticks
When spirit wants our attention, sometimes it puts out subtle hints and signs. Other times, it whacks you on the head with a stick. And if that doesn’t work, it just gets a bigger stick.
I’m a shaman. I’ve written about what that means and if you haven’t read that look around on the blog or the site. It’s probably rambled about on both, by now. Mostly being a shaman means that some spirit or spirits have chosen to talk to or through you. Cool, right? I mean, you get a super special insight into things and thoughts not available to most people. Power, knowledge, abilities beyond what ordinary mortals may achieve are all available to the shaman. It also means that you get to do those things that the spirits want you to do. That, by the way, can be everything from talking random strangers through their troubles to facing down creatures of evil intent to creating rituals to heal someone’s spiritual wounds.
Like I’ve said before, you have a choice. You can always ignore the spirits completely. With any luck they’ll leave you alone and you can go right on living your life like most people on earth. Of course, if they really want you, specifically, they won’t leave you alone and that isn’t likely to turn out so well. The subtle hints and signs can be easy to look past. So what if every time you open a browser or a magazine there’s an ad for soap. And the fact that an owl has swooped past your windshield every time you’ve driven at night for the past week only means the birds must be really active now, right? The spirits will surely find someone who can figure out what they’re trying to say if only you don’t react.
But when they want you and nobody else but you, they get more insistent. You get sick over and over and the regular treatments just don’t work. You have vivid dreams that either wake you up every night or haunt you during the day so that you dread sleeping again. Or maybe you lose things - first your lunch out of the refrigerator at work, then your hubcaps when you were sure you were in a safe lot, then your phone or your wallet or your credit card goes missing. Those aren’t hints and they aren’t coincidences, they’re sticks thumping you in the head. Spirits are going to do whatever it takes to get your attention. Do they have it yet? If not, things can get worse, trust me.
Now, I’m not saying that every debilitating illness, streak of absent-minded bad luck or stress driven dreams of falling are spirits trying to tell you something, oh fellow shaman or shaman to be. Some of those things are simply experiences you need in order to be prepared to do your job. But if they are spirit communications and you know what the message means and still chose not to get with the program? Well, there are bigger sticks to hit you with.
Many shamans have lost everything - family, jobs, possessions. Some have been dragged into an alternate state and failed to cope so badly that they were no longer able to function in the regular world for a time. Some suffered a major health crisis or financial loss. If that wasn’t a big enough stick to get their attention, to get them back on the path the spirits chose for them, you can bet there could be worse to come.
I’ve heard some folks talk (or write) about how so many shamans to be don’t make it through their initiation. I can see that. It’s tough being remade. What you don’t hear talked about is what happens when a shaman loses heart and tries to give up. Mostly, I think, it’s because we’ve been remade and we are tougher than the average person, so it takes more to discourage us. But it’s also likely that we’re embarrassed when we backslide, when we lose faith or get tired of the demands. What follows our backsliding, our discouragement and our helplessness is a thump with a stick, and that’s probably mostly why we don’t want to talk about it. After all, who wants to admit that they’re violently sick because they got tired of devoting a half hour a day to meditation? Or that their car stopped running right because they haven’t paid attention to where the spirits want them to be lately.
I admit that I’m writing this to scare you, oh shaman to be. Because if you have been chosen, things can get bad. If you haven’t been remade yet, that’s coming. If you haven’t been tested, that’s coming, too. If you think you can walk away from this and still be fine, you might want to think again. Or at least ask those spirits who guide you about your options. Because you have some.
The same spirits that choose and test and thump recalcitrant shamans with big metaphorical sticks are also the ones who protect, nurture and support us. Some of our illness and loss is necessary for reasons we may never actually understand. But some are reminders that we have a shamanic path to walk and, unlike most folks who can ignore the spirits and their messages if they want to, we have a job to do. Trust your guides and pay attention to them, and you’ll find that lots of your life takes care of itself, and time and energy becomes available for what the spirits want you to do.
It’s your choice, after all.
Love and light!
Rev. Wolfie, shaman
I’m a shaman. I’ve written about what that means and if you haven’t read that look around on the blog or the site. It’s probably rambled about on both, by now. Mostly being a shaman means that some spirit or spirits have chosen to talk to or through you. Cool, right? I mean, you get a super special insight into things and thoughts not available to most people. Power, knowledge, abilities beyond what ordinary mortals may achieve are all available to the shaman. It also means that you get to do those things that the spirits want you to do. That, by the way, can be everything from talking random strangers through their troubles to facing down creatures of evil intent to creating rituals to heal someone’s spiritual wounds.
Like I’ve said before, you have a choice. You can always ignore the spirits completely. With any luck they’ll leave you alone and you can go right on living your life like most people on earth. Of course, if they really want you, specifically, they won’t leave you alone and that isn’t likely to turn out so well. The subtle hints and signs can be easy to look past. So what if every time you open a browser or a magazine there’s an ad for soap. And the fact that an owl has swooped past your windshield every time you’ve driven at night for the past week only means the birds must be really active now, right? The spirits will surely find someone who can figure out what they’re trying to say if only you don’t react.
But when they want you and nobody else but you, they get more insistent. You get sick over and over and the regular treatments just don’t work. You have vivid dreams that either wake you up every night or haunt you during the day so that you dread sleeping again. Or maybe you lose things - first your lunch out of the refrigerator at work, then your hubcaps when you were sure you were in a safe lot, then your phone or your wallet or your credit card goes missing. Those aren’t hints and they aren’t coincidences, they’re sticks thumping you in the head. Spirits are going to do whatever it takes to get your attention. Do they have it yet? If not, things can get worse, trust me.
Now, I’m not saying that every debilitating illness, streak of absent-minded bad luck or stress driven dreams of falling are spirits trying to tell you something, oh fellow shaman or shaman to be. Some of those things are simply experiences you need in order to be prepared to do your job. But if they are spirit communications and you know what the message means and still chose not to get with the program? Well, there are bigger sticks to hit you with.
Many shamans have lost everything - family, jobs, possessions. Some have been dragged into an alternate state and failed to cope so badly that they were no longer able to function in the regular world for a time. Some suffered a major health crisis or financial loss. If that wasn’t a big enough stick to get their attention, to get them back on the path the spirits chose for them, you can bet there could be worse to come.
I’ve heard some folks talk (or write) about how so many shamans to be don’t make it through their initiation. I can see that. It’s tough being remade. What you don’t hear talked about is what happens when a shaman loses heart and tries to give up. Mostly, I think, it’s because we’ve been remade and we are tougher than the average person, so it takes more to discourage us. But it’s also likely that we’re embarrassed when we backslide, when we lose faith or get tired of the demands. What follows our backsliding, our discouragement and our helplessness is a thump with a stick, and that’s probably mostly why we don’t want to talk about it. After all, who wants to admit that they’re violently sick because they got tired of devoting a half hour a day to meditation? Or that their car stopped running right because they haven’t paid attention to where the spirits want them to be lately.
I admit that I’m writing this to scare you, oh shaman to be. Because if you have been chosen, things can get bad. If you haven’t been remade yet, that’s coming. If you haven’t been tested, that’s coming, too. If you think you can walk away from this and still be fine, you might want to think again. Or at least ask those spirits who guide you about your options. Because you have some.
The same spirits that choose and test and thump recalcitrant shamans with big metaphorical sticks are also the ones who protect, nurture and support us. Some of our illness and loss is necessary for reasons we may never actually understand. But some are reminders that we have a shamanic path to walk and, unlike most folks who can ignore the spirits and their messages if they want to, we have a job to do. Trust your guides and pay attention to them, and you’ll find that lots of your life takes care of itself, and time and energy becomes available for what the spirits want you to do.
It’s your choice, after all.
Love and light!
Rev. Wolfie, shaman
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Cultural Appropriation
Our world is filled with people who grumble and gripe about cultural appropriation without really understanding what it means. The Wikipedia article states it simply enough. "Cultural appropriation can involve the use of ideas, symbols and
artifacts, or other aspects of human-made visual or non-visual culture." When people complain, they usually mean that they think someone from a majority culture has stolen ideas or symbols from a minority culture in some unfair, uneducated or demeaning way. Like white Americans using Native American tribal symbols as cool looking tattoos or people flying rainbow flags because they are pretty, sometimes the user really is missing the meaning behind the symbolism. Really, though, a lot of people who adopt things from other cultures are doing so because they've done their research and what they've learned resonates with them. They get it, and they want to share it.
Our world is getting smaller, thanks to the internet's easy communication and thought sharing abilities. Where even language can be translated easily, ideas, symbols and intellectual artifacts can be shared and understood by people from widely varying cultures. Today, when a new symbol is adopted by a group, people around the world can be aware of it in seconds. And when someone goes looking for a symbol to represent what they are trying to project, they can find plenty of material from many different cultures to choose from. When a thinking, learning person consciously chooses a symbol to use, it's usually not so much cultural appropriation as it is an acceptance that others have been where they are now, even if those people are not associated with the culture in which they grew up.
We humans are a plentiful race with a long history. Our history is full of cultures conquering others and imposing their own views on the vanquished. We have not, in the past, always been very nice to each other. But that doesn't mean we have to go on like that. We can begin, with our ease of communication, to understand one another and admit that we all belong to one human race with many good ideas and beautiful customs. We can share ideas, symbols and artifacts or we can keep pushing people from other cultures away by fooling ourselves into thinking they are too different to understand where we're coming from.
I believe that people all over the world have seen some of the universal truths about our world and have found ways to express them. These are often the same ideas told in subtly different ways, shown in stories that utilize regional symbolism, passed around by people who might not even see the deeper truths of the stories. I have found that by looking for those ideas that various cultures have in common, one can locate some of those truths that have been passed around for so long and in so many ways. I think that can happen without outside help, too, but that's not what I'm talking about here.
Here, I'm talking about becoming a global culture, a single human race with a rainbow of origins. I'm talking about a future where people can understand that many different human roles are needed in order for our species to thrive and that suppression of those who are different is tantamount to cultural suicide.
Change is the way of life. Look at the seasons, the climate, the face of the Earth itself and the movements of the planets and stars all around us. We do not stay the same. We do not live the life that our ancestors did. We cannot afford to cling to cultural habits that divide ourselves from other people in a world where we are (finally) beginning to come together. We need to share what we know, look for and learn those basic truths, work on accepting every individual for who they are, not where they came from. Not even what they've done in the past.
I personally use a lot of symbols. Some, like all the pretty colored glass in my life, are full of personal meanings I could probably spend a few thousand words trying to describe to someone else. Some, like my drum and the triskellion pendant, are shared with several cultures. And some are very recognizable to lots of folks, like the yin/yang circle and the peace sign and the funny looking "hearts" I have all over the place. Those resonate with others, giving me a common ground to begin a sharing, loving communication with them. Giving them an opportunity to ask about the symbols they don't understand, or to explain what personal insights they have about them, so that maybe we can learn from each other.
That's what I want to promote with all my talk about rainbows and acceptance and symbols from many different (sometimes clashing) cultures. Learning, growing, understanding, changing - these are good things, healthy behaviors, the most beautiful path a person can take. We're moving from tiny isolated cultures to one human culture, complete with the usual uncomfortable learning experiences. Judging something as "cultural appropriation" is one of those roots in the path we can stumble over if we're not paying attention.
So please, before you say "hey, you can't use that symbol because you're not Native American (or whatever)", open a dialogue with that person. See if they understand the symbol the same way you do. Maybe they really do have it right - or maybe they have seen a deeper meaning that they can help show you.
Namaste. Aloha. Love and Light.
Be gentle to each other.
dwolf
Our world is getting smaller, thanks to the internet's easy communication and thought sharing abilities. Where even language can be translated easily, ideas, symbols and intellectual artifacts can be shared and understood by people from widely varying cultures. Today, when a new symbol is adopted by a group, people around the world can be aware of it in seconds. And when someone goes looking for a symbol to represent what they are trying to project, they can find plenty of material from many different cultures to choose from. When a thinking, learning person consciously chooses a symbol to use, it's usually not so much cultural appropriation as it is an acceptance that others have been where they are now, even if those people are not associated with the culture in which they grew up.
We humans are a plentiful race with a long history. Our history is full of cultures conquering others and imposing their own views on the vanquished. We have not, in the past, always been very nice to each other. But that doesn't mean we have to go on like that. We can begin, with our ease of communication, to understand one another and admit that we all belong to one human race with many good ideas and beautiful customs. We can share ideas, symbols and artifacts or we can keep pushing people from other cultures away by fooling ourselves into thinking they are too different to understand where we're coming from.
I believe that people all over the world have seen some of the universal truths about our world and have found ways to express them. These are often the same ideas told in subtly different ways, shown in stories that utilize regional symbolism, passed around by people who might not even see the deeper truths of the stories. I have found that by looking for those ideas that various cultures have in common, one can locate some of those truths that have been passed around for so long and in so many ways. I think that can happen without outside help, too, but that's not what I'm talking about here.
Here, I'm talking about becoming a global culture, a single human race with a rainbow of origins. I'm talking about a future where people can understand that many different human roles are needed in order for our species to thrive and that suppression of those who are different is tantamount to cultural suicide.
Change is the way of life. Look at the seasons, the climate, the face of the Earth itself and the movements of the planets and stars all around us. We do not stay the same. We do not live the life that our ancestors did. We cannot afford to cling to cultural habits that divide ourselves from other people in a world where we are (finally) beginning to come together. We need to share what we know, look for and learn those basic truths, work on accepting every individual for who they are, not where they came from. Not even what they've done in the past.
I personally use a lot of symbols. Some, like all the pretty colored glass in my life, are full of personal meanings I could probably spend a few thousand words trying to describe to someone else. Some, like my drum and the triskellion pendant, are shared with several cultures. And some are very recognizable to lots of folks, like the yin/yang circle and the peace sign and the funny looking "hearts" I have all over the place. Those resonate with others, giving me a common ground to begin a sharing, loving communication with them. Giving them an opportunity to ask about the symbols they don't understand, or to explain what personal insights they have about them, so that maybe we can learn from each other.
That's what I want to promote with all my talk about rainbows and acceptance and symbols from many different (sometimes clashing) cultures. Learning, growing, understanding, changing - these are good things, healthy behaviors, the most beautiful path a person can take. We're moving from tiny isolated cultures to one human culture, complete with the usual uncomfortable learning experiences. Judging something as "cultural appropriation" is one of those roots in the path we can stumble over if we're not paying attention.
So please, before you say "hey, you can't use that symbol because you're not Native American (or whatever)", open a dialogue with that person. See if they understand the symbol the same way you do. Maybe they really do have it right - or maybe they have seen a deeper meaning that they can help show you.
Namaste. Aloha. Love and Light.
Be gentle to each other.
dwolf
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Monday, February 16, 2015
Tempting Spirits.
Yesterday afternoon I attended a pagan study group down in the city. It was the first time that I’d been able to go since I work lots of Sundays, and for no particular reason at all I was scheduled off for this one. I’d joined the group months before and knew enough of the folks who were going to be comfortable with them. It ended up being a rather interesting discussion of books that I thoroughly enjoyed. But I did something that was pretty out of character for me near the end of the gathering. When we were discussing our plans for dealing with the snowstorm that was headed our way, I opened up my mouth and boasted that I was supposed to get less snow up north where I live than they were down in the city, and I stuck out my tongue. And when I got good naturedly called out for gloating, I owned up to that with none of my typical social anxiety and blushing. I did end up blushing later in the car when I thought about it, but decided I hadn’t really hurt anyone’s feelings including my own and let it go like I’ve been learning to do.
Something interesting happened last night. Up here in the north where I live, we got the six to eight inches of snow that had been predicted for down in the city, and they got the one to three that had been predicted for us. Weird, right? Let me add some details to the story. On the way to this gathering, I’d reminded myself to be open both to my peers and the spirits. At the coffee shop we gathered in there was a bit of worry about the incoming snow, but it wasn’t mine - I’ve driven in Minnesota winters and out in the country where I live we’re ready for a storm with plenty of food on hand and propane for the generator that means we can be off the grid for a while if we need to. When I opened my mouth to speak I intended to ask everyone to be careful on the roads once the snow started falling. What I actually said welled up from that deeper place inside me where intuition lives, as if those words were exactly the ones that needed to be said at that time.
I’d say “don’t tempt the spirits” but sometimes it works out for the best. Today I’m thankful that the bulk of the snow ended up falling where we could handle it best, and that the accidents that did happen down in the city weren’t nearly as bad as they could have been. I measured seven inches on top of our trash can but there were drifts nearly to my knees. We’ve checked on the neighbors that needed to be checked in on, cleaned off vehicles for when the road is finally cleared sometime later today or tomorrow, and tossed out seed for some very grateful birds.
Love, light and beauty to you all!
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