This is the January new moon, a time of lunar beginnings, of gaining insight from the darkness. I began this year by walking with the goddess, Sophia, Mother Earth, Pachamama, Gaia – she has many names. I took a shamanic journey deep into the womb of the earth, into the womb of my soul, planting what I want to grow in my life, in the world. I never dreamed that I would have to experience this journey physically, digging a hole in the frozen earth and placing a beloved being into it. But I opened this door on my shamanic journey with Sophia, and the energy that I invoked was powerful. On some level, this visceral embodiment was necessary for me to know Sophia, in all her aspects.
Like all beings, Mishka radiated life! He was my spirit dog, loyal companion, co-facilitator, intuitive healer. He chose to teach and heal many women and girls in his 14-year-life, including me, over and over. His thick, soft coat held thousands of tears and offered humans a secure grip on warmth, presence, unconditional love.
He adopted us 13 years ago, arriving on our doorstep Thanksgiving Day. My daughter returned home from her sophomore year in college that day too, shattered by a suicide in her dormitory. She was the Resident Assistant and felt responsible for not having read the warning signs. She was broken inside, suffering as we do when our belief in the good in the world is crushed and we face the reality that darkness accompanies light in full measure.
Mishka playfully sized up the whole family, bounding joyfully around us, playing and barking excitedly. Then he sprang into my daughter’s arms and that’s where he stayed for the next six weeks, licking her tears and loving her into wholeness. He slept with her, read books with her, took long walks with her, and helped her find her smile. She returned to school in January, once again able to feel the power of love and light.
This was the first of many Mishka healings I witnessed. He regularly sensed the person in any group who was suffering and gently settled in her lap. He got a massage and she received love and gratitude simply for being who she was – a worthy human being. And so the healing began.
Sophia is about the entire web of life, the cycles of nature, the earth as an extraordinary living being, full of ecosystems not unlike our own human bodies. Contacting her is easy when we look at nature, feel the rain or snow on our face, smile at another human being, dig our fingers into the warm coat of a dear canine friend, say goodbye to a loved one… when we CONNECT to the Oneness.
As I laid my beloved spirit dog into the bosom of the living body of Gaia Sophia, I felt his spirit next to me, and saw him running on the path along the creek, bounding into the stars. My entire body and spirit felt him telling me, “I am here. I’ve always been here. I’ll always be here. Trust that.” And so it is.
Shamanism is sacred, involved, and potentially very powerful, as in the case with the journey I invoked with Sophia. We call in unseen energies and work with them, which takes training and great care. In our culture, “Shamanism” has become a mainstream ‘pop’ reference to most anything spiritual but it is much deeper, more complicated than that. Join me for a course in Natural Shamanism starting Feb. 4. This 4-month intensive coaching program will be a deep exploration of your inner wisdom. Learn powerful tools to know your authentic self, your shadow and light. Find your guides; begin to understand and harness the power of ceremony and ritual. Use nature, intuition, and energy to open to the intelligence that is within and all around us. This is the art of natural shamanism. Register today for this unique and empowering course!
