“Shamanism”, like “Love”, is so hard to define. Most would say that Shamanism is considered the practice of entering a trance state in order to contact spirits and/or travel through spiritual worlds with the intention of accomplishing a specific purpose. It is the feature of countless magical and religious traditions from all over the world. Looking at this definition, I thought, am I a Shaman?
So many things have brought me to the point where I am in my life right now – leaving at 15 to go to school half way across the country (because my parents had the insight to know that in the small town we lived in my growth would have been restrained), thirteen years active military service, the loss of 2 babies, cancer, divorce, and domestic violence (that nearly turned deadly).
From the beginning, I grew up in a Christian home; I learned the bible verses and even went on Mission trips to spread the word…but I knew there had to be more!
As I began to question this faith and what it meant to me, the lack of answers I was receiving only made me run farther and farther from organized religion. I spent much of my 20’s living my life, looking back pretty recklessly at times, and not caring who I hurt or how it made anyone feel…let’s face it, even me! It wasn’t until I had finally filed for divorce after 4 years of marriage to a man that constantly cheated on me and left me during the hardest time in my life, the diagnosis of Stage 3 Breast Cancer at the age of 31, that I realized THIS CAN NOT BE LIFE!
I found meditation and, sitting in silence, I began to find myself. Through my meditation, I began to feel all of the things that made me originally question my “faith” in the first place. Such as…why, when I step on the ground with bare feet, do I feel the pulse from the Earth run through me? Why, when I look into an animal’s eyes, no matter the animal, does it seem they have a message for me?
These feelings led me to a spiritual group, where I found an amazing woman who I felt such an immediate connection with that I just had to find a way to ensure I could learn from her!
I hired her as my coach and have never regretted it for a moment.
I began on a journey of what it means to have faith in the Divine and the Universe and that all will be provided. Through my coaching sessions, I have learned and grown my ability to communicate with ALL consciousness, not just of humankind. Everything has the potential and ability to communicate, whether verbally, through gestures, intuitively or otherwise. I am of the mentality that we would not be ourselves if we were not simultaneously a part of something greater than ourselves.
This is why I am here…I’m here to help others rediscover themselves, the true version of who they are meant to be; just as I have remembered and stepped into my authentic power.
So to me, it doesn’t matter what the name of my practice is called. What I have been through has brought me to this ancient, powerful form of myself – a place where so much of my power and vision comes from Nature and my Ancestral Teachings…this beautifully peaceful place, that I know so many long to be on in their own journeys. And this, Dear Souls is why I am here.