teachings Archives - Owl Medicine: Shamanic Healing

Bald Eagle over the Tohickon – Photo: L. Weikel

Stalked By Spirit

Well, let’s face it. I think if any of us are going to be stealthily pursued by anyone or anything, getting stalked by Spirit is unquestionably the best option.

I wrote the other day, last Tuesday as a matter of fact, that I’d been feeling pretty anxious over, well, lots of things, but in particular the Senate run-off elections in Georgia taking that day. (Is it even possible that not six days have gone by since that election?)

As we know, a great victory for democracy was won that day (at least in my opinion); two victories, actually, although one wasn’t officially ‘called’ until the next – exponentially more momentous – day.

Writing in my journal as I sat beside my beloved Tohickon Creek, I felt an oppressive sense weighing me down. A sense of foreboding. Or perhaps it was a feeling that I – we – were on the brink of being forsaken by our better angels. My outlook dramatically shifted when I caught sight of the bald eagle perched at the surface of the creek. I felt heard. Seen. Acknowledged – somehow reassured that all would be well.

Bald Eagle ‘in’ the Tohickon – Photo: L. Weikel

Two Days Later

Two days later, just this past Thursday, Karl and I took a walk in the middle of the day. Naturally, our conversation was consumed by the events we’d helplessly witnessed unfolding the day before, before our very eyes, as insurgents attempted a coup at our nation’s capitol.

Suddenly, a gorgeous bald eagle appeared from behind a massive pine tree we were approaching. The surprisingly mewling, creaky cry of this raptor, which is so different than the distinct shriek of a red-tailed hawk, registered in the back of my mind as our faces swept up to catch sight of it wheeling and turning right above our heads, not more than 15 feet above us.

We were buzzed by a bald eagle. Only two days after I’d had that magical sighting right on the creek.

Yesterday

I returned to the creek again yesterday (Saturday). I needed a little time to listen to the soothing voice of the Tohickon and write in my journal again. Digesting the details of the events that are unspooling before our very eyes is no easy task. Making sense of the reactions of both our lawmakers and our fellow citizens is growing increasingly difficult. Figuring out our place and what we can do to shape the outcome of these times we’re living in is an essential task.

The day was overcast again and there was precious little animal or bird activity. A ‘V’ of seven Canadian geese flew west, upstream. But that was it. Nor did I expect anything. Everything felt dormant to me. In hiding. Withdrawn.

Eventually, I turned my car around and headed home. Just as I approached the bridge where I caught sight of the hawk four days before, I looked up. Wheeling in wide loops above me was the eagle. I swear, it’s the same one. But who knows? It’s certainly all within its territory.

I was able to pull over and snag a shot of it as it swooped in arcs above my head. Slowly, lazily, it wove its way downstream.

Three sightings in the span of six days. Yes, I can explain it away logically. I live within the territory of this bird. Of course I’m going to see it.

But I choose to believe there’s a bit more consciousness behind these encounters. A little bit more mystery, more intention, more connection.

Medicine Card Message

A couple sentences from the entry about Eagle (whose keyword is Spirit) from Medicine Cards* by Jamie Sams and David Carson:

“In learning to fiercely attack your personal fear of the unknown, the wings of your soul will be supported by the ever-present breezes which are the breath of the Great Spirit.

…

If you have been walking in the shadow of former realities, Eagle brings illumination. Eagle teaches you to look higher and to touch Grandfather Sun with your heart, to love the shadow as well as the light. See the beauty in both, and you will take flight like the Eagle.”

Hmm.

Three’s a charm. Perhaps it’s time to pay attention. Maybe stop walking in the shadow of former realities. Perhaps it’s time to really and truly start paying attention to Spirit’s teachings.

*affiliate link

(T-321)

Don Sebastian blessing my mesa and me in February of 2012

Sacred Responsibility

I’ve cut my writing time short this evening. Indeed, I’m lucky I looked up from my books and notes and laptop to check the clock because I’d become so totally immersed in my work that I’d lost all track of time. The catalyst for my intensity was the need to fulfill my sense of sacred responsibility.

I’ll be speaking to a university class tomorrow about Andean shamanism, and more specifically, the Q’ero tradition, which is the lineage into which I’ve been initiated.

In spite of the fact that I’ve been engaging in and living (to the best of my abilities) the teachings, rituals, and ceremonies of this lineage for 15 years, I nevertheless feel like a neophyte. I never know enough for my own comfort to consider myself a worthy messenger of this tradition.

It’s probably connected to some weird thing I have in my own head about teaching – such as one must not only be an expert on the subject but also impeccable in your execution of what you know.

Hmm. Just writing that belief out (which is akin to saying it out loud) gives me pause.

A Pretty High Bar

Nevertheless, it is my curse. Oh wait – what do I say about being cognizant of our use of words? It is my blessing. Ha ha. OK. That’s over the top. It is my challenge. Yes, that works.

Ever since I was asked to speak, I’ve been alternately pondering and fretting over what I would say. My inclination is to go for the intellectual approach. You know, outline various aspects of Andean cosmology. Get into the facts. Sound like an anthropologist.

Be detached and clinical.

So I pull out all my books and I pore over the notes I took in a myriad of courses and trainings and sitting with paqos (what shamans are called in Peru). And I get myself all caught up in conveying everything I’ve been taught just so. The reason I get so caught up is because of how much I care. Acting as an ambassador of any tradition is a sacred responsibility. But I honestly feel that the responsibility is even greater when I am speaking about a tradition that I was not born into, but rather, welcomed into.

Be Real

My response to inundating myself in all of my notes and rereading passages from books is two fold:

First, I become anxious and overwhelmed with getting everything just right.

But secondly – and perhaps most importantly, I remember the lush deliciousness of this path. Yes, I realize there are many things I’ve forgotten – or at least aspects I don’t consciously think about in my day-to-day life. Immersing myself in what I’ve been taught makes me yearn to absorb it even more.

And the ultimate realization is that I must simply show up and be real.

The Q’ero in particular are astonishingly generous in sharing their teachings. And that is probably the single best aspect of this lineage that I can share: their generosity of spirit. Their astonishingly open and generous hearts.

And so, while I will be armed with lots of intellectually oriented facts tomorrow, my perspective will be embodying what I’ve been shown by the Q’ero themselves: generously sharing what I have personally experienced walking the path of heart that is the Andean Way. That’s my sacred responsibility.