I believe in all that has never yet been spoken.I want to free what waits within me so that what no one has dared to wish for may for once spring clearwithout my contriving. “I Believe in All That Has Never Yet Been Spoken” by Rainier Maria Rilke is one of my favorite poems. As a writer, a shamanic practitioner …
A Celtic Death Rite: The Lost Art of Keening
Perhaps no other story in Celtic mythology demonstrates more succinctly the unbearable weight of grief than that of the great hero, Cu Cuchlainn at the death of his son, Connla. The young warrior’s death comes tragically and unwittingly at Cu Cuchlainn’s own hand, and as the true identity of his dying opponent becomes realized, so, too, does the treachery of …
Believing in the Love and Affection of Nature: A Conversation with Tom Cowan
“Grace of the love of the skies be thine,” says one prayer from the west isles of Scotland. “Love and affection of the moon be yours,” says another. “You are the pure love of the moon and stars!” declares one Hebridean blessing. What do prayers such as these reveal to us about the consciousness and the conscientiousness of the ancient …
The Shape We’re In
“Save your neck or save your brother Looks like it’s one or the other Oh, you don’t know the shape I’m in.” The Band I have been a practitioner of shamanism for nearly twenty years now and during that time, I have been blessed to work with many lovely people, spiritual seekers who have come looking for a new …
The Wisdom of Surrender
Why is it, during times of great strain, that we find it so difficult to reach out for the help of a higher power? We tend to feel we must endure and tough it out, hanging on for dear life to our original plans and expectations, when surely, we know that surrendering our will, and allowing God to choose for …
“We Are Stardust, We Are Golden”*
It has not escaped my notice during the hundreds of journeys I have undertaken on behalf of others, how much care and time the helping spirits take to elucidate and emphasize how unique and extraordinary each one of us is. Isn’t it ironic that we spend so much of our lives trying to fit in and hide our light under …
What to Remember During a Dismemberment
A great deal has been felt and remarked upon due to recent changes on the political stage of this country. Whether this is a time of hope and celebration for you, or a time of impending doom, it should remain clear to everyone that a turbulent and difficult time lies ahead. For everyone. Almost everyone has an idea about what will …
Keeping My Word
I have been thinking about this phrase: keeping my word. Not so much as an expression that means the adherence to a promise, but in the sense of intentionally holding and conserving one’s speech, as a gesture of respect, service and sacrifice. As part of the practice of my spiritual tradition, I attended a silent retreat last week. What …
Liminal Space—Realm of the Soul
…a unique spiritual position where human beings hate to be but where God is always leading them. It is when you have left the tried and true, but have not yet been able to replace it with anything else. It is when you are finally out of the way. It is when you are between your old comfort zone and …
Belonging to Aloneness
Twenty years ago, (when I was still married), my husband bought me a painting. It is a portrait of a lone woman standing by a wall and looking out to sea. She is a figure cast in shadow, and we can only see her back. Her mood is no clearer than the ocean that stretches out before her—it may be …