How does shamanic healing work?
The shaman's role has been crucial in most Aboriginal cultures for thousands of years. They serve as spiritual and cultural leaders and teachers. The shaman often has the power to heal and perform spiritual rituals, such as healing people, animals, or objects. The shaman communicates with the spirit world, communes with ancestors of the tribe to help bring positive change into their lives.
Some shamanic practitioners today, who may not be part of indigenous culture, heal using standard tools common to all shamanic cultures. Some refer to this set of tools as core shamanism. Anthropologists studying various cultures, from the tribes of South America to Australian Aborigines in the mid 20th century, found that shamans everywhere were using a lot of the same tools.
What is shamanic healing?
Shamanic healing is the oldest of all spiritual healing modalities. It was practiced by our ancestors for millennia, going back to prehistoric times. It is the power of the mind, spirit, and body working together to restore balance. Shamanic healing uses tools that are common to all shamanic cultures. These include drumming, chanting, dancing, fasting, and other rituals to bring about a sense of wholeness in oneself.
What is core shamanism?
Shamanic practices often include specific tools that are common to all shamanic cultures. Anyone who wants to develop a relationship with the spirit world can use these tools. These tools help you communicate with spirits and understand your role in this universe. A shamanic practitioner who wants to be a competent healer will undergo a significant amount of training over many years.
Shamanic Journeying
The primary shamanic tool is the shamanic journey. When a shamanic practitioner journeys, they enter into a trance state, journeys out of the body to other realms of reality, and works with helping spirits. This is in contrast to most forms of meditation which might include trance states but usually do not include out-of-body travel or direct communication with spirits.
Shamanic Worlds
Shamans recognize three different spiritual worlds. The first spiritual realm is called the middle world, the spiritual aspect of the physical world. The second spiritual world, or lower world, is a place that is very natural and filled with plants and animals. The third is the upper world which is much more ethereal and filled with human, human-like, and mythical beings.
A practitioner will travel in one or more of these worlds during a shamanic journey.
Helping Spirits
Shamans always work in conjunction with helping spirits. Some people use the term spirit guides, but this is misleading. Not all helping spirits act as guides. Some do act as teachers.
Most people are somewhat familiar with the term power animal. A power animal is one type of helping spirit. A power animal is one of many animal spirits that have volunteered to work with a person for healing, power, or learning.
How do the shamans of different cultures heal?
The way that shamans heal varies from culture to culture. In many cultures, the shaman heals through prayer and ceremony. Shamans will sing, pray, chant or dance to bring healing energy into their bodies. They may also use objects such as sacred drums or rattles, which are used in healing ceremonies.
All shamans utilize altered states of consciousness for healing. Most cultures use rhythmic methods to access the state necessary for journeying. Shamans can achieve trance through drumming, chanting, or dancing. Some cultures use psychedelic plants or mushrooms referred to as plant medicine.
There are many different types of plant medicine, including psilocybin mushrooms, peyote, fly agaric mushrooms, and ayahuasca.
What is ayahuasca?
I mention ayahuasca here because it is a topic of great interest. Some people think that shamanism is synonymous with the use of “aya”. I do not use it, nor do I lead ayahuasca. It’s possession and use would be illegal in Maine.
Ayahuasca is a plant medicine used by people indigenous to Peru and other parts of the Amazon Basin. It is comprised of two different plants. One plant contains DMT, a highly hallucinogenic compound. DMT breaks down in the stomach, so the second plant has an MAOI inhibitor to allow DMT to pass through the digestive tract.
Ayahuasca "trips" can last for hours, during which people report hallucinations and purging through diarrhea and vomiting. There is no antidote. Once you buy the ticket, there's no getting off the train.
Recently ayahuasca tourism has become very popular, and many people are illegally importing the plants into other countries. Ayahuasca can be a hazardous drug as it can lead to serotonin syndrome and even death. I respect indigenous medicine entirely, but, from a shamanic perspective, it isn't necessary for journeying. When taken out of context and administered by untrained people, any plant medicine can be dangerous.
What are some of the spiritual rituals that a shamanic practitioner might perform?
There are a wide variety of healing rituals and ceremonies shamanic practitioners might choose from depending on the client's needs. The shamanic practitioner may use drumming, chanting, dancing, and healing practices to help the client feel better. A shamanic practitioner will always do a journey to diagnose or assess the spiritual roots of illness.
Anyone practicing shamanism to heal others has undergone a long period of shamanic training. A few of the ceremonies a shamanic healer might perform rituals include power animal retrieval, extraction, or soul retrieval. These address the client's spirit to aid in their natural healing process. With physical illness, a shaman may undo spiritual blockages to a person's healing ability. A shaman is a spiritual healer and not usually a licensed medical provider (though I know some doctors who practice shamanism).
Power animal retrieval
A power animal retrieval is a type of healing journey to connect the client to their power animal. Power animals are spirits that guide and protect humans in many aspects of life. These are individual spirits with whom a client can develop a relationship. Shamans often perform power animal retrieval to restore a client's power or protect them before surgery or childbirth.
Shamanic extraction ceremony
Shamanic extraction is a healing ceremony in which a shaman removes a blockage from the client's energy system. These blockages are called intrusions. Intrusive energy get's stuck in the client's energy body and should be removed to restore proper function. Shamans perform this ceremony to heal a client by re-establishing balance in their energy system.
Soul retrieval
Soul retrieval is a healing journey in which a shaman journeys into the spirit world to retrieve a lost part of a person's soul body. This part, or essence, is often lost via trauma or shock. The shamanic healer performs this journey to aid in the healing process by helping clients regain lost essence. Soul retrieval requires specialized training and is one of the most common ceremonies performed.
How significant a role does intuition play in shamanic healing?
People who receive a calling to go through initiation and partake in shamanic studies are usually already intuitive. As a practitioner is initiated by spirit and learns to be a good healer, their intuition will increase. Once they are trained and become proficient in their craft, a shaman's intuitive abilities will help them see better what spirit is trying to communicate.
Intuition does play a significant role in shamanic practice, but in an extraordinary way. A primary goal of training is for the person to become what's called the hollow bone. A physical hollow bone allows things to pass through it unimpeded. When a shamanic practitioner becomes the hollow bone, they remove obstacles to a clear spirit channel. The intuition is sharpened by being able to communicate better with helping spirits.
How does shamanic healing help your body heal from physical illness, emotional trauma, or spiritual blockages?
Shamanic healing addresses the spiritual component of physical illness. Just as people have physical bodies, they also have minds and spirits. These different parts of each person interact and affect each other. For example, many studies show the effect of mind and body healing approaches. The mind can heal the body. The human spirit can also affect the body and mind.
Addressing the spiritual components of health allows the body or mind to heal naturally. When combined with allopathic medicine, or traditional mental health therapies, shamanism offers a powerful complementary modality. Shamanism is ideal in caring for conditions that have a spiritual origin.
Shamanic healing is particularly effective in working with trauma. For thousands of years, shamans have been performing soul retrieval to heal the fractured self.
Does shamanic healing work?
In a word, yes. I fully believe in the healing power of shamanism. I lve symptom-free from an "incurable" condition and have for years. Many of my clients get significant relief during and after sessions. I know people who have had miraculous healing as the result of shamanic work. There is also growing scientific evidence about the power of shamanic healing, but more work needs to be done.
We know that, even in studies of allopathic medicine, a person's belief system plays a big part in their healing. If you believe that shamanic healing is valid, then your mind will instruct your body to heal after a shamanic practitioner returns or unblocks the spirit's healing ability. If you believe that it doesn't work, you may suffer from the nocebo effect - where expectations create illness.
If you have a shamanic extraction ceremony done to help with healing from open heart surgery and then go out and eat three double cheeseburgers and walk around in a building full of angry people - you can undo some of the work.
Many people expect sudden and miraculous healing during a healing session. Sometimes that happens, but not most of the time. Again, shamanic healing works by creating spiritual conditions that are conducive to healing. Though most people feel some relief during a session, there is usually an integration period.
If you break your arm and go to the hospital, they will put a cast on you. The cast doesn't fix your arm, but it creates a condition that allows the bone to mend. Shamanic healing is a lot like that, and it returns the power for self-healing to take place. It can bolster your spiritual immune system and help return you to wholeness.
What's going on in the spirit realm during shamanic healing?
While spirit is essentially formless, it can be helpful to think of human beings as having multiple bodies - like Russian nesting dolls. You know you have a physical body. If you're a person who can see auras or know about them, this is part of the etheric or energy body. You also have a soul, or astral body, and a spirit body. The astral and spirit bodies are even more formless than the energy body. There are many more bodies, but these are the essentials.
The etheric or energy body
If you've done reiki, acupuncture, or Tai Chi, you have worked with the energy body. The etheric body is closest to the physical body, so they interact a lot. Acupuncture works on meridians which are energy channels the run through the body. Yoga also works with these subtle channels of energy.
Their etheric body is complex with its meridians and organs, and vessels. It can also be divided into two significant components. The etheric double occupies the same space of the body but extends a couple of inches in every direction. It has roughly the body's shape and appears a little more solid to people who can see auras. Then there is the aura, the field that extends from a few feet to a few dozen feet from the body.
Some shamanic techniques work at the level of the energy body. Extraction is the most common. With extraction, a shamanic practitioner removes unwanted energy stuck in a client's energy field - aura and perhaps etheric double. Removing this blocked energy allows the etheric body to function properly - which is critical for good health.
The astral or soul body
The astral body is more formless than the etheric body, and it exists on a plane a bit farther away from the physical body. Shamanic healers call it the soul body. During a journey, the shamanic practitioner splits off a bit of their soul body, which can travel consciously through nonordinary reality.
One of the ways shamanic healing is different from energy healing is that some techniques work directly to heal the soul body. A very common ceremony is called soul retrieval. When you experience a shocking or traumatic event, a part of your soul may leave your body temporarily to retreat to safety. If this part gets stuck and doesn't return right away, we call this soul loss. Soul retrieval returns the lost essence.
Frequently, shamanic healing can help anxiety, depression, even addiction through astral body work.
Is shamanic healing suitable for me?
I believe all people could benefit from shamanic healing work if they are open to it. Every person I have ever met has some level of soul loss resulting from life's traumas. I have used shamanism to heal my PTSD, which comes from severe soul loss.
First, you must seek out modern conventional medical or therapeutic assistance for any mental or physical illness. Shamanic healing works well in conjunction with modern practices, and you should do everything you can to take care of any issues. Shamanic care is not a replacement for your doctor.
The shamanic worldview is animism - the belief that all things have spirits. If this doesn't work with your religious practices or belief system, you may have difficulty accepting spiritual healing. I do not believe there's anything wrong with witchcraft; some of my closest friends are witches. But some belief systems might mistake shamanism for a forbidden form of witchcraft. If you held that belief, you probably would not be reading this, though.
Anthropologists and religious scholars will point out that the roots of Christianity and other formal systems of spirituality have shamanic roots. I don't believe that shamanism is incompatible with other religions. It isn't religion itself. It has no sacred books, or hierarchy of clergy, or central governing body.
To summarise, first seek medical attention for your illness. Then, think about if shamanic healing plays well with your beliefs. Finally, have a conversation with a practitioner and get all your questions answered. Only you can decide if it is right for you.
I just booked a Shamanic Healing Session; what should I expect?
First, don't expect to heal in one session completely. It can happen, but it usually takes time, depending on the issues worked on. Shamanic healing is more about restoring energy and balance than it is about magic wands that you can wave over someone's head and cure instantly.
Each practitioner will work differently, but a typical healing session will consist of a diagnostic journey followed by more healing ceremonies. The exact rituals will depend on the work the practitioner's helping spirits have directed.
Some clients will feel a sense of instant relief. For others, it may take some time before they realize the full effect of the session. Frequently the healer will suggest some integration work the client should realize the full impact of the session.
Conclusion
To summarise, shamanic healing works on a client's spiritual body to create favorable conditions for healing. The shaman acts as a conduit for helping spirits to do the work. A session might consist of many different types of ceremonies, and all practitioners work in slightly different ways. A client can expect to experience shifts during a session, but the full results of the healing will become evident with time.
If you would like to have a healing session with me - click here to get started.
The modern shaman
In this article, I will distinguish between people who are called modern shamans and those who are traditional. Traditional shamanic cultures cannot also be modern. Nothing here is a value judgment. Words can carry a lot of baggage, and I choose to use terms here that are, hopefully, nonoffensive and well understood.
I use the term modern shaman here, though I do not refer to myself as a shaman. I call myself a shamanic practitioner or teacher. In the teaching tradition I came from, one does not refer to oneself using the term shaman. It can be used or given by others, but many consider it bragging by giving oneself that title. Again, there is no judgment here for people who come from a different tradition. This difference is like the difference between Jewish people celebrating Hannukah and Christians celebrating Christmas. They're just different traditions, and both are great.
What is the modern shaman?
A modern shaman is a person who has gained the abilities of a shaman through the study and practice of traditional shamanism. This person, however, may not live within a shamanic culture or be a hereditary shaman. Most modern shamans practice what is called Core Shamanism (more on that below).
How did modern shamanism come about?
Anthropologists have been studying shamanism for many years. In the 1970s, anthropologist Michael Harner spent time with traditional Amazonian shamans and went through ayahuasca ceremonies. In 1980, Harner published a highly influential book, The Way of the Shaman: a Guide to Power and Healing. A year before that, he had founded the Center for Shamanic Studies, which is now the Foundation for Shamanic Studies.
Michael Harner started teaching what he called Core Shamanism, which is what nearly all modern shamans practice. His students spread his teaching globally. To give you some perspective, Michael Harner is my teacher's teacher's teacher. I guess you might call him my shamanic great-grandparent.
What distinguishes modern shamanism from traditional shamanic practice?
Anyone who practices shamanism has standard methods. The shamanic journey defines shamanic practice everywhere.
All shamans practice within the context of their culture. In shamanic cultures, the shaman is the primary spiritual functionary within a social group. A practitioner may serve as a functionary with modern shamanism, but they're likely many more. For example, I live in a town of 5,000 people. There are seven churches in my town, as well as a religious community.
In every culture, some aspects of spirituality will be different. Each culture has different prayers, rituals, songs, dances, etc. We use the word shaman in English, a loan word, but different cultures have different languages.
So, as far as the practice goes, the journey is the same. Working with helping spirits is the same. Both use altered states of consciousness.
Here are just two of the main differences:
Shamanic selection
Shamanic selection refers to the people who choose shamans and the way they are selected.
Many indigenous cultures select people to undergo shamanic initiation and training based on culturally essential factors. Those factors might be being born with congenital disabilities, hit by lightning, or experiencing a life-threatening illness. The selection might also be hereditary, being passed from parent to child or grandparent to grandchild.
Most traditionally shamanic cultures recognize the shamanic crisis. The shamanic crisis is a life-altering episode related to physical or mental health. The crisis is always traumatic. Healing from the mental and spiritual wounds from trauma is vital to the spiritual makeup of the shaman.
In non-shamanic cultures, people can self-select to become shamans - sort of. While anybody can sign up for courses in shamanic practice, most will not have the desire to continue beyond basic training. Most people who become shamanic practitioners who work on behalf of clients will have gone through a shamanic crisis.
There is no governing body, license, or religious leader in shamanism. Anybody could call themselves a shaman. However, I haven't come across anybody I would consider a charlatan or "plastic shaman" in my years of practice. I think spirit has a way of quickly weeding these folks out.
Use of psychedelic plant medicines
Many indigenous cultures have been using plant medicines for psycho-spiritual purposes for thousands of years. There are healing practices around such substances as ayahuasca, psilocybin, peyote, and fly agaric mushrooms. (yes, technically mushrooms aren’t plants) The use of psychoactive substances for spiritual practice is widespread - from ancient Egypt and Greece to today's Amazon basin.
These powerful psychedelics are sometimes called entheogens. The word entheogen means a substance that creates n experience of god.
While ayahuasca ceremonies have become big business, not without risks and drawbacks, there are still tribes using aya the traditional ways. Most modern practitioners do not use
What does it take to become a modern-day shaman?
Modern shamans are healers, coaches, and advisors. Some may go on to teach.
For me, the path to serving others was quite long. I first came to shamanism to heal from a mental health crisis I now recognize as a shamanic crisis. I got accepted into a year-long apprenticeship. At that point, I had no intention of being a practitioner. But I found II liked working with people.
I went on to complete several more years of training and initiations. I did specialized training in soul retrieval, wound healing, curse unraveling, and other topics. I went on to do a shamanic teacher training program.
Ethically, I think there is a core set of skills and a level of personal development that a person must acquire before hanging up a shingle as a shamanic practitioner. I would treat the training required like a university degree program. It is more intense than that, but the time required is similar.
One thing this does is weed out dabblers. Also, this prevents clients from going to ill-prepared practitioners who don't have some of the many skills required to work one-on-one. I had a lot of fears and insecurities as I went through my training. It's helpful to look back at those times and see that the training prepared me for this work.
I think that some people come to shamanism for the "magic" part of it. I am not a proponent of that and don't think magic is an excellent way to view healing. Some people are motivated by the sense of power they believe the shamanic practice may give them. This viewpoint is all egotism, which initiation will bring to the surface.
To be a good healer, a practitioner works towards becoming a clear channel for spirit to pass through. We refer to this as "becoming the hollow bone."
How to identify and heal from karmic relationships
As a shamanic practitioner, I am always concerned with my cleint’s and students, mental, physical, and spiritual health. Part of that health includes having healthy relationships.
I want to talk to you about unhealthy karmic relationships. I am not immune to his. Not that long ago I ended a karmic relationship with a partner who had turned quite abusive. Healing from the trauma she inflicted took time. But i also realized that i was reenacting abusive episodes from my childhood.
This person entered into my life precisely because she was meant to traumatize me in ways that forced me to heal old wounds. I consider myself a wounded healer, using the healing from my past trauma as medicine.
I do not recommend seeking out karmic relationships as a way to heal yourself, but if you find yourself in a toxic relationship as I did, I hope you can learn something here that helps.
What is a karmic relationship?
A karmic relationship is a kind of relationship that involves a lot of drama and extreme volatility. This is an intense relationship that usually has a lot of passion and a lot of volatility. However painful the relationship might be, there are reasons why people may seek a karmic partner. This type of romantic relationship usually comes to a rapid and dramatic ending.
When two people enter into a karmic relationship, it usually happens very quickly. It may begin with a lot of passion. One or both partners may feel like they are twin flames or a soulmate relationship. Both the power and the drama can be addictive for the couple.
There is usually a karmic lesson for each person to learn. This is the primary purpose of the karmic relationship. The relationship may be very unhealthy, but it might also devolve into a healing crisis that helps the couple become better people.
When they realize they are in this type of relationship, the best thing one can do is to end it. These are not lasting romances. Once a karmic relationship ends, the healing can begin in earnest.
13 common signs of a karmic relationship
There are some tell-tale signs that you may be in a karmic relationship. Some, but not all of these, are red flags.
Karmic relationships can seem like love at first sight, and each partner may think the other is their soul mate.
Karmic relationships involve a lot of drama and volatility.
There are usually numerous red flags during the relationship.
The relationship seems like an emotional roller coaster.
The relationship is consuming.
The relationship usually winds up in codependency.
There is usually a power imbalance.
The couple feels an instant connection when they first meet.
The karmic relationship usually comes to a quick ending.
One or both partners becomes intolerant of the other's flaws.
One or both partners are reliving or re-enacting old traumas.
The relationship may seem great from the outside, but there is a dark side that the couple hides from people they know.
Disagreement and miscommunication characterize the communication style of the karmic relationship.
Why do we enter into karmic relationships?
Karmic relationships provide an excellent opportunity for personal growth. The relationship itself might be painful, but there is always a purpose of karmic relationships.
A few reasons why we might enter into a karmic relationship:
We have a karmic debt.
We want to learn from our past mistakes.
We are attracted to someone who has similar karma as us.
We need to process unresolved issues from our past
We are processing wounds from a previous lifetime
We form a karmic bond with another person
We have to learn self-love the hard way.
We may use the karmic relationship to re-enact and heal from old wounds caused by family members or even a past life.
What are some signs that a karmic relationship is ending?
There are some signs that a karmic relationship is ending.
Some of these signs may include:
The couple begins to fight and argue frequently.
The couple argues every little thing.
The relationship becomes stagnant, and the partners stop getting along.
The relationship becomes abusive.
The couple's physical attraction is waning.
The karmic bond begins to fade, and the two start to fight over silly things.
One or both partners feels resentment about the other's dependency.
The relationship begins to feel like too much effort.
How does one end the cycle of karmic relationships?
If a person finds themself entering one karmic relationship after another, ending the cycle is the way to have a healthy relationship finally.
There are several ways to end the cycle of karmic relationships.
One way is to forgive and forget one's past mistakes.
Another way is for each partner to take responsibility for their actions.
A third way is through visualization or meditation practice, which can help the partners.
One can gain a deeper understanding of their true nature through self-exploration
One can try to recognize the unfinished business the karmic relationship was trying to heal and work through that in therapy or with the help of a spiritual advisor.
Ultimately, one wants to heal completely from a karmic relationship. With that healing, one should look to avoid repeating the
Here are a few examples of karmic relationships that you should try to avoid:
A parent/child dynamic in a relationship where one partner takes charge of the other as a parent might,
Any abusive relationship.
Relationships based on guilt or obligation in which one partner feels they can't leave the other person.
Karmic relationships usually create more suffering than happiness. With this in mind, it is best to avoid them altogether.
The karmic relationship may be a reflection of the consciousness of the people involved. Some people are more prone to develop
karmic relationships while
How does one heal from a karmic relationship?
After ending a karmic relationship, it is up to the individual to find the best way to heal.
There are several ways to heal from a karmic relationship.
One way is through the use of self-love and forgiveness.
Another way is by becoming aware of one's thoughts, words, and actions while in the presence of another person.
A third way is through deep spiritual healing practices.
Very often, a karmic relationship is traumatic enough to cause what shaman's call soul loss. When this happens, this might result in dissociation, depression, even physical illness. Someone experiencing these symptoms should seek a shamanic practitioner experienced in soul retrieval. Therapy can help.
Karmic relationships are difficult to heal because the dynamics of karma are often very subtle. It is easy for one to feel that we have no control over a karmic relationship, but the truth is that we all have complete control over our consciousness and how we experience it.
Karmic relationships are not limited to romantic relationships. Karmic connections can also occur in other types of intimate relationships, such as friendships, family members, or coworkers.
In conclusion, the best way to heal from a karmic relationship is to practice forgiveness and self-love. Learn the lessons. Do the deep work that leads to a higher sense of self-worth to avoid beginning a toxic relationship in the future.
How to smudge yourself and your home
Many people practice smudging today. You can find smudge sticks sold practically everywhere, and the practice seems to be growing in popularity.
As a shamanic practitioner, I often smudge myself and the space I’m working in before a ceremony. When teaching in person, I may smudge students in a shamanic cand the space. I might also use smudging to prepare a client before a healing session.
What is smudging?
Smudging is the practice of using sacred smoke, usually from an herb bundle of fragrant wood. This is done as a purification ritual, to commune with certain spirits, or for healing. The bundle used for smudging is often called a smudge stick.
The use of sacred smoke in this way is no different from incense burning in churches and temples. The idea is that the smoke of certain herbs can clear bad vibrations or spirits.
Some herbs used for smudging have antiseptic properties, so there may be health benefits not yet explored by modern medicine.
A NOTE ON SMUDGING AND CULTURAL APPROPRIATION
Some people will claim that smudging by non-Native American people is cultural appropriation. Many Native American tribes indeed practice it. However, the use of burning herbs or using smoke for spiritual purification is widespread globally.
From the sacred incense used by the ancient Egyptians to the burning of rosemary bundles - purification with smoke is done almost everywhere throughout time.
Cultural appropriation would be unethical to harvest white sage, replicating prayers, songs, or ceremonies you don’t have permission to use or affect the dress or style of a culture to which you are not connected.
Why smudge yourself and your home?
People primarily use smudging to clear away negative energy as a form of spiritual purification. Some believe that it can repel unwanted spirits. In my experience, some substances are better for that than others.
The smell of the burning herbs can also help to bring people into a calmer state of mind. The sense of smell is our most primal sense, and it connects to our emotions and memories readily. You would smudge yourself to help rid yourself of unwanted spiritual energy that we all tend to collect
You can smudge almost anything, but many people use smudging to create a peaceful, clear atmosphere. You can smudge in a home, office, car, etc. Use it to clear your home of negative “vibes” when there seems to be a lot of conflict or illness in the home or when things just start going wrong around the house.
What herbs are used for smudging?
People use many different herbs, woods, and resins for smudging, but a few are the most common.
SAGE
Sage is probably the most common herb used in a smudge stick. White sage, in particular, is used by many Native American tribes. Sage is known for its cleansing and purifying properties.
Burning sage has become popular, leading to unethical and unsustainable harvesting of the wild. Many traditional indigenous sage gathering locations have been over-harvested by people looking to sell sage or use it themselves.
Because of this, I will not buy white sage; I use other ingredients in a bundle. Another option, if you have the space, is to grow your sage.
ROSEMARY
Rosemary smudge sticks are my absolute favorite. I love the smell of rosemary, and the smoke is somewhat antiseptic. I also have Scottish heritage, and there is a Scottish folk practice called saining, which uses the smoke of rosemary bundles for purification.
PALO SANTO
Palo Santo is Spanish for “holy wood.” Palo Santo grows in Ecuador, Peru, and other South American countries. The wood, oil, and resin have been used medicinally for many centuries. People often use small sticks of Palo Santo as smudge bundles.
Where sage removes negative energy, palo santo adds positive energy.
Like white sage, there are ethical issues with using Palo Santo. Due to the increase in demand, people are now harvesting Palo Santo trees unsustainably. This overharvesting includes cutting down immature trees and trees seen as sacred by indigenous people.
For this reason, I have stopped purchasing Palo Santo.
CEDAR
there are many varieties of cedar trees growing throughout the world, and many cultures consider cedar sacred. Cedarwood is used for shingles because it doesn’t degrade, and people use it for clothing chests because it repels moths.
Cedarwood is used in several ways spiritually, but using cedar as a smudge bundle is very powerful. In my experience, cedar is much more effective at chasing away unwanted spirits than any other herb. It smells fantastic when added to sacred fires as well.
LAVENDER
You may burn Lavender bundles to purify a person or space; Lavender is used in many cultures to repel negativity. The scent of Lavender is very calming, and some people use lavender oil for stress reduction.
JUNIPER
People have burned juniper to purify temples and even chase away plagues (I can’t attest to its plague chasing ability). Juniper itself has medicinal qualities and is used as smudge smells lovely.
SWEETGRASS
Sweetgrass is another herb sacred to Native American tribes. Native people who use sweetgrass braid it into a kind of cord or short rope. When burned, it gives off a sweet and fragrant smell.
There is a lot of debate and zero agreement about whether using sweetgrass is considered a “closed practice” and this cultural appropriation. I don’t know how to address this other than to say it is a sacred practice. Some indigenous people don’t mind sharing practices, and others do.
So burning sweetgrass is a bit controversial.
MUGWORT
People burn mugwort all over the world for purifying and medicinal purposes. It is the herb used in moxibustion by acupuncturists. Magically, mugwort is used in blessings, often put in charm bags, and grown beside the home for protection.
I have a strong allergic reaction to mugwort smoke. There are a fair number of people who do. So exercise caution if you decide to try smudging with mugwort.
BAY LEAF
A widespread practice among folk magicians and rootworkers is to burn bundles of bay leaves with holy words. In one example I’ve seen, a root doctor wrote “father” on one leaf, “son” on another, and “holy ghost” on a third. He then kept lighting the bundle to make it smoke as he purified a space.
How to smudge yourself
Whether you are smudging yourself, a building, an outdoor space, or others, observe all proper precautions when working with burning material. Don’t burn yourself or your house. Be careful of smoke detectors - I did have the fire department show up once because if some smudging.
At a minimum, you need the smudge stick and a fire source. In some cultures, the burning herb bundle is held in an abalone shell, and the smoke is waved about with a feather. You can just wave a burning bundle around what you want to smudge, but you have to be careful of burning e, embers, and ash.
Begin by setting an intention. You may set an intention that you are cleansing yourself in order to help a healing process. You may hold the intention that you want to smoke away some stress. In shamanism, intention drives the bus.
You can also say a prayer before, during, and after smudging. If it’s culturally appropriate, you may sing as well.
Then you’ll light the bundle. Different material burns very differently, but you always want a burning ember. This usually means lighting the material until it’s on fire, letting it burn a few seconds, and then blow out the flame. You should see a burning ember and smoke. As the ember burns out, you may have to relight the bundle frequently.
Once the smudge stick starts smoking you then want to deliver the smoke around your body. You can pass the bundle around the body, wave the smoke at yourself with a feather. or use your hands to scoop smoke towards you.
It might be helpful to think about washing your aura with the smoke as you would wash your body with soap. Get the smoke all around you, top to bottom, left and right, and back to front.
When you are complete you can extinguish the bundle if it’s still burning. Usually, I will stub or grind mine out gently into the shell or other fireproof container. Again, use prrecaution with burning stuff.
How to smudge your home or office
The instructions for smudging your home, or other building aren’t much different than smudging yourself. The major differences are the intent, and the space you will have to cover.
When I bless a space, I will walk around it in a logical order, usually clockwise starting in the East if possible. There are ritualistic reasons I do it this way, but feel free to do it your own way.
Covering every nook and cranny of even a small house would take a long time. Think about how much cleansing the space needs. Is it necessary to pass smoke into every cupboard and drawer? Probably not. With a house you can quickly change the energetic atmosphere.
Other things to use your smudge stick for
Many people use smudge to clear the energy from crystals, like quartz. Doing this helps clear away energy from certain crystals, especially those that act as energy filters. Smudging crystals with palo santo is very popular.
Many will clear and sanctify ritual tools with smoke. Smudging candles, athames, and other tools used in ritual can be an important practice.
Lots of people smudge divination tools such as tarot cards and pendulums in between uses. This is important if other people handle your tools, like when cutting a tarot deck. Think of it as hitting the reset button.
Other methods of spiritually cleansing yourself and your home that don’t involve smoke.
I know several people who cannot breathe in smoke due to health conditions such as asthma. For them, spiritual cleansing is just as important, but they can’t use a smudge stick. Here are a few options that work just as well.
SELENITE CRYSTALS
Selenite is a crystal form of gypsum and is found, sometimes in massive formations. Selenite is a crystal that you never need to cleanse as it is a cleanser itself. You can place selenite on windowsills to purify the energy coming through them, and you can use selenite wands in banishing rituals.
Selenite will dissolve in water, so keep it dry.
To “smudge” with selenite, you take a selenite crystal - usually a wand - and pass it around several inches from the body. The selenite clears the aura and “tunes” it to a clear and coherent frequency.
SPIRIT WATER
There are many types of spirit water used by different cultures. Holy water is one example. Another in everyday use among many folk magic practitioners is Florida Water. They did not name Florida Water after the American state, but for the floral essences it contains.
There are many recipes for Florida Water online, and a few companies sell commercial versions as cologne. You can rub spirit water on your body, on objects you want to cleanse or add to liquids used for washing your home.
ESSENTIAL OILS
You can use essential oils in place of smudging with smoke. You must use caution with essential oils as many of them are not safe to apply to the skin. Please research and follow all warnings regarding any essential oils that might contact your skin.
Abramelin oil is not an essential oil but is olive oil infused with many holy herbs. It’s ancient as the bible contains a recipe for Abramelin oil. Ancient people used it for sanctification, purification, and healing. I would use caution as it does have cinnamon in high quantities, which may be an irritant.
Feeling disconnected? How can shamanic healing help?
My clients come to me for many reasons but one of the things I hear most often is, “I feel disconnected.” For many years, before I began to study and practice shamanism, I felt the same way, so I get it. It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe. The best way I can put it is that you feel cut off from your self, the world, even your loved ones.
Often this feeling comes with a flattening of the emotions. I have had clients describe feeling “dead inside.”
So what’s going on here, from a shamanic perspective? Also, is there anything that can help?
As I remind my clients, shamanism is a wonderful tool for addressing the spiritual components of illness or dis-ease. It does not take the place of medical help or psychological counseling.
With that in mind, it bears getting symptoms of any kind checked out by your provider. A shamanic healer can certainly help the healing process. And sometimes there may be no apparent physical or psychological cause a provider can find.
What’s the diagnosis?
In any healing session, I always begin with what’s called a diagnostic journey. This will tell me what work is in my client’s highest interest on that particular day. Many clients come to me asking for specific ceremonies. Sometimes they’re right about what they need, and sometimes they need some preliminary work before that can take place.
This complaint about the feeling of disconnection, more often than not, indicates to me what we call soul loss. Soul loss usually happens as a result of trauma in our lives, although there are a few other causes.
With soul loss, part of the soul breaks away to remain safe from what’s going on. That part can get lost and not come back. If you have ever had a shocking experience where time seemed to slow down, or you felt outside your body, or you felt like things weren’t real - this is what you’re experiencing.
How can shamanic healing help
Since soul loss is something that has occurred throughout human history, shamans all over the world have developed a technique for healing it. That technique is called soul retrieval.
Soul retrieval reunites the parts of the fractured self so that the client can re-integrate them. With re-integration, there can be a much greater sense of connection, joy, and completeness.
Many clients come to me specifically asking for soul retrieval. I still always do a diagnostic journey for them first. It’s quite possible that other work needs to happen for the soul-essence to feel safe enough to return.
I like to think of these soul parts as a fraction of ourselves that is stuck in the time it got lost. If you had soul part lost when you were 8 years old, that part is still 8 years old. It can’t grow and mature on its own, disconnected from the whole.
So we have to make that part feel safe to reintegrate. It might take a few weeks after a session for the part to completely settle in.
Once a part has been returned, however, it can bring significant power back. Imagine if you had lost your sense of smell when you were 12, and then it was suddenly returned. The world would seem richer, food would taste better. A similar thing happens when a soul essence returns.
I’ll never forget a client who, at the end of a session, excitedly told me, “I actually feel joy! I forgot what that was like.”
What About Ayahuasca?
Ayahuasca is a psychedelic drink made by indigenous peoples of the Amazon basin, and now used all over the world. Its active psychedelic component is DMT, an incredibly powerful hallucinogen. Because DMT breaks down in the digestive tract, Aya also includes an MOAI or monoamine oxidase inhibitor. This addition makes it so DMT can be effectively ingested.
Why am I writing about Ayahuasca?
Well, for a couple of reasons. One is that Aya has become incredibly popular recently with people seeking “shamanic” experiences. I also have a number of people coming to this page looking for ayahuasca ceremony in Maine. Most importantly, I have heard and seen some absolute horror stories from people using ayahuasca, and I feel like nobody is mentioning these cautionary tales.
I’m no expert in ayahuasca, I have never done it. I do not lead ayahuasca ceremonies. I know and have met lots of people who have taken it. I know shamanic practitioners who have clients with very bad experiences. So I will speak from second-hand experience, but also from my role as a shamanic teacher.
I will not tell you whether you should or shouldn’t try Aya, but I feel like you should be as informed as possible before you do something that potentially dangerous or life altering.
Each ayahuasca ceremony can last for many hours. During that time, most people purge - with both vomiting and diarrhea. If you are having a “bad trip” there is no antidote. You cannot stop the experience. As someone who has done ayahuasca told me - once you buy the ticket, you’re going for the ride.
Is Ayahuasca Dangerous?
The truth is that some people have died from ayahuasca, and some people have wound up institutionalized at least temporarily from the effects. I would say that it’s dangerous in and of itself. It affects people in relatively unpredictable ways as it works on serotonin and other body chemistry.
There is very little research on the safety of ayahuasca, but there have been some reported deaths and other negative health repercussions. There have been some allergic reactions, interactions with other drugs, effects on undiagnosed health conditions. The potentially fatal risk of serotonin syndrome is something to consider.
People who prepare the brew, may include lots of other plant material, and you may not know how you’re going to react to those.
Caution is definitely in order.
Because ayahuasca became so trendy and profit-making, there are also unscrupulous “shamans” out there. There have been stories of ceremony participants being sexually assaulted.. If you are going to put yourself at the mercy of a practitioner for hours or days, take every precaution and do your research to know who you’re dealing with.
Like most hallucinogens, ayahuasca is not legal in the United States and in many other countries. While I have not hear of anyone getting arrested for participating in a ceremony, iit is something to consider.
From my own spiritual observations of people who have done Aya and other entheogens, they tend to blow you wide open, and not everybody is prepared for tthat. Someone walked into a talk I was giving whose pupils were “off” and etherically, looked like he had very large insects whizzing around his head. He definitely had “hitchhikers.” He was quite ungrounded and a bit dissociated. I talked to him during a break and, as I expected” he had done a lot of ayahuasca and a bunch of other psychedlics.
Will I Have a Spiritual Experience on Ayahuasca
Ayahuasca falls into a group of drugs called “enthogens” which means something that can give you an experience of God. People do have profound spiritual experiences on ayahuasca, and healing can take place. But spiritual doesn’t necessarily mean euphoric or even pleasant. This is something to prepare for.
It’s very common for people to see bugs and snakes and monsters. Sometimes there are auditory and other effects. As with anything, there are no guarantees about what kind of experience you will have - but it will most likely be profound.
Having talked with probably dozens of people who have done different entheogens, including aya, it doesn’t seem to be a shortcut to enlightenment to me. Others certainly might disagree. It seems to be helpful in pulling up some of our shadow - and that could be very useful. It also seems helpful in showing us our connection to everything in the universe, and that can be profound.
I fully support the clinical trials going on now with psychedelics, and many of them look promising for mental health. One mechanism they seem to work on is brain plasticity, allowing the brain to more easily create more desirable pathways. I think this is an area where shamanism and science can play really nicely together.
Do You Recommend Ayahuasca?
I do not make recommendations for or against participating in an ayahuasca ceremony. I believe in body autonomy - that consenting adults can choose for themselves. However, I believe in informed consent - you should know what you’re getting into and the potential risks, I see very few people talking about the risks and drawbacks associated with Aya - and this is worrisome.
When I journey, or teach students to journey, I use rhythm to help generate the altered state - usually by drumming. We do not use chemicals to drive or enhance the experience. When we wish to end the journey, we just come back. Within a few minutes, everybody is back in the room and fully grounded. Personally, I like having that level of control over the experience.
I’m really on the fence about the risk / reward ratio of ayahuasca. Sine I haven’t done it myself, personally I feel the risk isn’t worth the reward. But you choose what’s right for you. Just make sure you are as informed as possible before you choose something potentially lethal.
I believe that almost anybody can safely learn shamanic journeying without the use of psychedelics. Self-healing is a process, and there aren’t to many shortcuts without tradeoffs.
How does a shaman go through initiation?
Initiation is big topic when it comes to shamanism, and there are a lot of misconceptions. Many people want to know if they can just go through an initiation ceremony to become a shaman. A lot of people don’t know what initiation does. I hope to break things down for you so there will be a clearer understanding. I welcome you to contact me with any questions that arise.
Initiation, as the name implies is a beginning. Birth is a type of initiation. I also see death as an initiation. Many life passages can be viewed in a similar way.
Shamans are Initiated By Spirit.
The way that shamans are selected, called, and trained varies in different cultures. There may be years of apprenticeship, mandatory teachings, vision quests, etc. before someone is allowed to serve as a spiritual functionary in a given culture.
Ultimately, a shaman is initiated by spirit itself. This means that the shaman has worked with spiritual forces and has become a clear channel for spirit. We often refer to this as “becoming the hollow bone”
The hollow bone metaphor is a good one. One has to clear out the “junk” in order to become a clear pathway for spirit to act in this world. When I perform a healing ceremony on a client, for example, I am not doing the work. I am stepping out of the way, dropping my ego, and allowing spirit to work through me to do the work. This level of surrender to spirit does not come easily to most people. It did not come easy to me in the beginning.
An Initiation Ceremony Is Not Necessarily an Initiation
A ceremony is a ritualistic event marking something special. A wedding is a ceremony marking a commitment by two people. A ribbon-cutting ceremony may mark the opening of a new business. Ritual, in its case, means a symbolic action. The actual cutting of a ribbon is a ritual symbolizing the opening. Exchanging rings during a wedding is an action symbolizing shared commitment.
In my life, I have participated in a lot of initiatory ceremonies. Going back to childhood, I went through ceremonies in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. There were ceremonies for joining certain organizations.
During my shamanic training, I participated in a two-year initiatory training. There were lots of ceremonies, rituals, and practices. They were all meant to help the participants to become that hollow bone. The ceremonies themselves were intended to create the conditions for spiritual change. It was the spiritual change itself that was the real initiation.
Shamanic Initiation Can Be Dramatic And Unpleasant
During my training, I shared the following analogy with my teacher, who agreed that it was spot on. Initiation, for me, was like putting your life in a snow globe, then putting it in a paint mixer in a hardware store to shake the crap out of it.
Lots of “stuff” happened to me during that time. Lots of things also happened to my peers as well. Relationships ended, started, ended. Jobs changed. There were health crises. During this time, nothing felt like it was on stable ground.
In many shamanic cultures, to practice shamanism, one must have gone through a “shamanic crisis.” This could consist of lots of things, from a near-death experience to being hit by lightning, to a self-induced ordeal. Fortunately, in my classes and mentorships, I don’t recommend my students try to go get hit by lightning.
The dramatic experiences that go with initiation are actually spirit working on the prospective shaman. Going through these ordeals and crises shakes up and reconfigures the spirit. It helps to clear out the junk that has been building up for lifetimes. Think of sifting flour. If you just dump flour into the sifter, some will fall through, but the rest will just stay in the sifter. You have to shake the sifter for the rest of the flour to come through.
Initiation in Modern Shamanism
Though the core practices of shamanism I practice are at least tens of thousands of year old, I might describe my practice as modern shamanism. I live in a modern culture. I do not have the same concerns as our hunter-gatherer ancestors, and I elected to study shamanism.
In many cultures, the title of shaman might be inherited by bloodline. Potential shamans might be chosen due to birth defects, or auspicious events close to their birth. They might be called by spirit by having what we would call a mental health crisis.
This is not say I haven’t been initiated. I went through a lot of crisis. I trained for years. I had to apply and be accepted by my teachers every step of the way. I put in a lot of self work. Shamanism is much more about becoming than it is about doing. If you are initiatiated, it changes everything about you.
What if I Want To Become a Shaman?
First, in my tradition, I never refer to myself as a shaman. This is considered bragging, and bragging is no bueno. Trust me that the spirits will take you down a peg. I use the term shamanic practitioners. If other people refer o me as a shaman, that’s OK, it’s just not a title I use to refer to myself.
But there is also a really important lesson here, You have to approach the spirits with confident humility. Bragging and hubris are indicators that you have work to do. I have a lot of people who approach me with huge egos - “I am ordained by the gods to…etc.” This doesn’t mean they might not be cut out to learn shamanism, but there’s going to be a lot of work to do, and initiation might be very unpleasant. Spirit will take you down to the level where you either learn or walk away from the path.
I believe that you are either called or you are not. It’s like training in martial arts. Maybe one out of every five hundred people who take a first-class lasts long enough to earn a first-degree black belt. Out of the people who make that, maybe one out of five hundred earn a second degree. I won’t get into the schools that water things down and make it fast and easy to earn belts.
Most people who take an intro to shamanism class will go no farther with it. And that’s totally fine. They will learn some great skills that they can use for the rest of their lives. Some may go on to do an apprenticeship, even fewer will continue past that.
The process of self-selection is fine. There is no judgment for people who get a taste of shamanism and decide it’s not for them or feel like they’ve had enough at some point.
If you go through an initiatory crisis, dedicate years to training, and stay very humble and still want to practice shamanism, this may be your path.
The nice thing about modern shamanic practice is that it is easy to begin. From time to time I teach 2-day introduction to shamanism classes. I have even taught online recently. I also offer flexible mentorships for one on one training. Either are easy ways to learn the fundamentals and help decide if the practice is for you.
Note: I plan on offering full apprenticeships starting in 2022 (depending on the pandemic situation).
What are soul retrieval experiences like?
Soul retrieval is one of the main types of ceremonies that shamanic practitioners perform for clients. In fact, it’s probably the most common healing method that I employ with clients.
Some people may have serious questions about experiencing soul retrieval. This is very common if you’ve never experienced this type of healing ceremony before.
What’s it like? Is it frightening or painful? Will it change me? These are valid concerns. The short answer is that I have never performed a soul retrieval in which a client did not have an incredibly positive experience. Let’s look deeper.
What is soul retrieval for?
First, it’s important to understand why a shamanic practitioner’s helping spirits might indicate a soul retrieval ceremony is in order. The reason for soul retrieval is called soul loss, and the main cause of soul loss is trauma - though there are some others like soul-stealing, addictive prolonged drug use, long-term stress.
The symptoms of soul loss are many, but they coincide with symptoms diagnosed by the medical model as PTSD.. One of the biggest indicators is dissociation. Depression, anxiety, hard to diagnose long-term illnesses, can all result from, or made worse by soul loss.
Regardless of symptoms, a shamanic healer will always perform a diagnostic journey to get information from helping spirits about which ceremonies to perform.
What is a soul retrieval ceremony like?
Actual practices will vary from practitioner to practitioner, depending on how they were trained. I will give you what a typical soul-retrieval looks like when I do it.
If you were to see me in person you would get comfortable, sitting or lying down. I would perform a journey, outwardly I close my eyes and play a drum. I then bring back the soul essences and typically blow them into your heart center.
If you were to meet me for remote healing via Zoom, the process is similar, but the essences are delivered long distance.
Both in-person and long-distance ceremonies are equally effective. In the spirit world, time and distance don’t mean the same thing they do in ordinary reality.
What is it like to receive a soul retrieval?
Every person will experience every ceremony a little differently, I will share some of my clients’ experiences so you may have an understanding what it’s like. I do observe strict confidentiality so all of these experiences, while genuine, are anonymized.
One client experienced an overwhelming feeling of being filled with loving joy to the point where it was “almost too much”. She had an extremely healing ceremony that resolved some physical and emotional symptoms.
Another client who had reported dissociation and “feeling dead inside” reported that he felt joy for the first time after a soul-retrieval ceremony.
The number of clients experienced increased confidence and personal power - being able to step into their true selves.
Other clients had breakthroughs in their own spiritual practice following would retrieval ceremonies.
These are just a few results I have seen with my own clients. My own personal healing journey involved both learning soul retrieval and receiving the ceremony on numerous occasions. I can say with confidence that it has saved my life and helped me to live a more fulfilling life serving others.
I have never known or heard of anyone having a negative experience with soul retrieval.
If you have any questions, I would encourage you to reach out and contact me.
How to Write a Manifestation List for Greater abundance
A manifestation list is a powerful tool for creating the kind of life you like. Working with the law of attraction and other spiritual tools for greater abundance in all areas of your life can be very rewarding. Writing is powerful magic and the act of writing in your own hand focuses your mental, spiritual, and emotional energy.
The method I’ve outlined below combines a few manifestation techniques that all work independently on their own:
Present-tense phrasing of intentions
Finding your core motivation
Future-pacing, remembering from the future
Tapping into emotional energy
Before you begin, here are a two tips on phrasing the items on your list:
Be specific, but leave the Universe a place to work and provide you what you want.
You can literally manifest anything you want any time you want, but our unconscious mind has certain blocks regarding what is possible. You want to make things easier for yourself. Instead of, “I own a two-story, eight-bedroom, yellow house on Johnson street,” try, “I live in an eight-bedroom house in a place I love.”
This gives your creative divine power some wriggle room.
State your intentions in the present tense
Spiritually speaking, time very loose, and you may feel disconnected when you state things in the future tense. Also, you want to avoid using words like “want” which is another word for lack. Creating the sense that you already have what you intend to manifest is a real key from the law of attraction.
Instead of, “ I will have a red car,” a better choice is, “I have a red car,” or even, “I now allow myself to have a red car.” This locks you into the idea that you are a creator and that everything you desire is yours just by allowing it.
Steps for writing your own manifestation list
Grab paper and pen
Make a quick list of everything you’d like to show up in your life. Write everything down in free form, write quickly, and don’t censor.
Go back and group the list items into themes - body, mind, spirit - wealth, love, personal development. Whatever makes sense to you.
Look through the items in each group and see what themes emerge. For example, let’s say you are like to manifest a new house, you want to live near the ocean, you’d like to start a family. There is a theme here, perhaps, about nesting, finding a place, etc.
See if you can narrow your freeform list by thinking about each thing and ranking them, eliminate what seems unimportant to you.
Re-write your list in a more organized fashion - perhaps using the grouping from before and make each item clearer. Eliminate any unnecessary words to get to the core of each thing on this list. Make a list on the left-hand side of a sheet of paper and draw two columns to the write.
Spend five to ten minutes with each item on your manifestation list, and in the second column, write “so that I______.” For example: In column one, say that I have the phrase “I live in a beautiful house by the ocean,” in column two, I might write “so that I can experience the beauty and fresh air.” Make sure this is something that really speaks to you; this is the answer to the question of why. You may also discover that you want to re-write the original item.
Spend a few minutes with each item, and in column three, write, “Now that I have that, I fell _______.” Imagine that it’s in the future and you already live in that house by the ocean, and you are enjoying the beauty and the fresh air. Picture it with all your senses as if you remember it already having happened. Now write down the emotions you feel now that you already have the thing you have manifested.
If you want, you can rewrite your manifestation list, combining all three columns into a flowing list.
“I live in a beautiful house by the ocean where I enjoy the beauty and fresh air, and I feel free, happy, and delighted.
You can spend time daily with your manifestation list, or you can choose one item per day to focus on. Read the magic phrase you’ve written and imagine already having the thing you’re manifesting. Imagine you are remembering receiving it and feel how you would feel when that happens.
Morning Manifestation
In a recent podcast, I discussed why manifesting is an important tool in spiritual development. I fully believe this, and it’s something that many teachings about the law of attraction and abundance don’t express. I want to share a morning manifestation ritual for you to try out on a day to day basis to practice this important spiritual tool.
Here’s a short ritual you can do in just a few minutes every day to help you create the kind of day you want.
This is also a great way to start your day out on a great emotional note.
A Short Morning Manifestation Ritual
Upon awakening take a couple of moments to “clear the cobwebs”. Stretch, use the bathroom, grab a drink of water. I suggest doing this before any morning caffeine.
Sit comfortably and close your eyes.
Imagine that it’s the end of the day now, and you are “remembering” the perfect day you just had. Just pretend that you are remembering everything going the way you want it to do. Review your day ahead in your imagination.
Focus on the positive emotions each of these imagined memories brings up for you. Stay with each of them for just a few minutes.
Now, when you’ve gotten to the end of your day, focus on the feeling of gratitude for having such a wonderful day.
There’s no need to dwell upon this exercise, when you are finished, just go up and go about your day.
As a bonus step, at the actual end of the day, make a note in a journal of anything that happened exactly as you imagined. Know that you are constantly manifesting, and this is a way to “tune” your energy in to get more of what you desire.