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The Spiral Cycle of Healing Ceremonies continues
The Spiral Cycle consists of three distinct workshop-ceremonies. They are the Spirits’ gift to you. I have created a blog site for the three, where you can learn more about them and have a chance to share your experiences using these ceremonies. Visit spiritspiral.wordpress.com There is no need to learn these ceremonies in a particular order. They can stand alone or be done together. When I do all three for a client I use the order below. But I often just use one or another as the Spirits prescribe.
1. Healing in the Spiral of Time addresses our deepest roots of pain and heals them in our past lives, our ancestors lives and our own living histories.
2. Creation’s Womb: Walking the Spiral Labyrinth bring us powerful help from the Spirits who guard and protect all of life on earth. This ceremony brings in multiple layers of power, and has produced incredible healing for participants and their proxies. (This was called Sacred Animal Masks)
3. Spiral Ecosystems brings us into awareness of how we are energetically interwoven with ecosystems that support us, physical and social. It can fundamentally shift our way of understanding the world. In this ceremony we realign ourselves with the harmony of the universe.
The Hawaiian Spirits Speak…Follow the Rules!
Our Workshop in Hawaii
The Journey with the Reef workshop turned into an initiation for me as the Ancient Spirits of Hawai’i gave me precise instructions for proper conduct and warned me of the consequences if we didn’t do things in the way they prescribed. There really are rules! But before we had a night of instructions, we celebrated a wedding in old authentic Hawai’ian style. Read about it in Yes Spirits, We are Listening. http://carlaperson.wordpress.com/yes-spirits-we-are-listening-hi-08/
Case Study: Helping My Beloved Bud Cross Over (As Told by Student Debbie Decker)
Bud
Deb Decker shared this incredible story of love and healing for her kitty as he transitioned. It is so true that our connection to them helps them as they move from this plane to the other. And the blessing of being able to stay connected to them in a healthy way really is the best of the best. Thank you Deb for sharing this wonderful story! Carla
“When Bud–my beloved international-winning Havana Brown show cat that I helped bring into this world–was diagnosed with liver failure, I worked very hard with Carla and my holistic vet to first try and heal him. But the damage to his liver was too great from the tainted food he ate (it was kitten food on the Menu Food recall) despite his young age.
We all knew that he would soon leave us and I had one choice: to help make Bud’s transition as peaceful as possible for him, and with as little guilt on my part for not being able to save his life.
Bud was what I called an “ugly ducking”. I was there with Bud when he was born on September 3, 2006. From day one I started to talk with the babies (six little brown kittens!) and found that each had it’s own “voice”. Bud was the shy one who ended up displaying his “Siamese roots” by eating holes in my wool yoga blanket, toys and other non-cat-food items. While the others went off to either a show home or pet home, I had Bud–who was a roly poly “ugly duckling”. He was short-legged and had a round little belly. Now looking back we know it was the food that bloated out his liver. When the food recall was announced to my horror I had the packets of food with the tainted lot number. This was the type of kitten food I raised his mother on so my litter was raised on it too. He was a picky little cuss – except for his taste in wool, string and hair – so the only thing he would eat was the pouch food. In other words, his poor liver was getting nothing but poisons when I thought he was getting a nourishing diet.
After he got off the food, he slimmed down into a “gorgeous swan” and soon became the youngest of his breed to claim the # 1 alter worldwide! And then while at the large international show, he got sick. And it was down hill from there.
It was through journeying that I learned from Carla at workshops that I was able to help Bud–and myself!–to get through all of this. I always journeyed with Bud before a show, and sometimes during a show if I felt he had a “question” or needed some help with a situation (i.e. a cat at the show, a judge, maybe that new fangled toy he saw!). He was really a funny little boy. A true showman….and a diva! He won the hearts of many judges, breeders and exhibitors. Oh, and spectators too. We’d be at a show and he’d say in his cute little voice “what is up with that cat crying?” So journeying with him as a kitten had allowed us to have an open communication during his (short) life. And that also allowed us to move through his illness, and eventual transition.
When we realized he would not make it, I journeyed to help him with this. He was young, and he loved his mama Gwendolyn so much. He didn’t want to leave me either. But he sure didn’t want to leave his mom. Gwendolyn, Prissy (an old dog that had passed away years ago) and Spatz (my first cat that Carla met!) were there to help out. Bud was not ready, and it took a while for him to realize that his life on earth was really meant to be short, and he had bigger things to do once he crossed over.
Three days before he was to pass away, I heard him clickity clack into the office (I didn’t trim his nails at the end…why?) and then his sweet voice say “I know it’s almost time…” then he jumped into the window and watched the Blue Jays and Cardinals eating suet and seed. He turned his big eyes at me and said “I love you, and I’m ready.”
The morning of December 6, 2007 I woke up. He was in his bed, but I could tell he was not doing well. So I put him on the bed…Gwen crawled up next to him and started to bathe him…and I put my hand on his side and started to journey. We called circle and not only did my power animals come in, but his angels, guardian spirits and power animals came in too. And then my cats and dogs who had passed over, including his three sisters who had died at the ages of 3-7 days. His sisters were crystal keepers and they brought a gorgeous crystal for Bud. Prissy — my old Schipperke who was so fat she had to have a Mallard duck to fly around on in the heavens–brought the mate to her duck for Bud to ride when he was ready to cross over. Spatz was there to help along with my grandmother. And Butch, my old Angora who was a head in the crystal palace, showed Bud that he was to do healing work on animals, and help lost animals get home. He had a wonderful mission ahead of him. And as Butch said with his Cheshire smile “You’ll be the best cat in the biggest cat show ever!”
With that I heard a long sigh….and I opened my eyes to see Bud gone. I wrapped him up, held him, blessed him, and told him to soar on the back of his new winged friend and I would see him. (Spatz also informed me Bud would go through a 14-day transition period so he could adjust to his new role and spiritual body.)
Although I still miss the little diva….by journeying from the first sign of illness through his transition, I know that Bud has a bigger role to play. He has shown me his healing work and it’s funny to hear Prissy (who still works with him) jump his butt because he’s just doing a young brash “kid thing”. I know I now can call on Bud to help out at the shows (he still comes and hangs out and calms his mom down if she’s in the ring) and he has even helped me and the other cats and dogs.
Knowing he is happy, and is playing a role in helping others, has given me a sense of peace. I didn’t carry–nor do I carry–the guilt that I fed him food (that I thought was good for him! who knew it was poison for my baby?) I still cry at times, don’t get me wrong! But the minute I do I think “why?” and then I’ll hear him say “because you like to stroke my chin”.
So you know what I do? I close my eyes, and meet him in our favorite place next to a gorgeous, babbling stream….and I stroke his chin.”
Shared Conditions – Am I making my animal sick?
My right eye itches. There is nothing wrong with it, but my Icelandic horse Jark has something dreadfully wrong with his left eye. Arizona summers are really hard for him. He is susceptible to flies; they invade every moist region given the slightest opportunity. Last year it was his sheath. I have learned to put SWAT repellent on it daily. This year they got his eyes. I put a fancy new fly mask on him, one with pink ears, and it was a little too big. Jark shook it off. I put it back on. He took it off. After a few days of this game I went back to the old mask that was secure, but it was too late. The fly larvae were breeding deep in the pocket of his eye. At the time of this writing he is in surgery getting them removed before they cause permanent damage.
Jark with Kolur
This explains why my eye is blurry and itchy. Jark and I get symbiotic symptoms. When he was a youngster he stepped on a nail. I was at work in town, but my foot cramped up and started stinging. When I got home I found out why – it was nasty. As he healed so did my foot. Fortunately the coincidence isn’t consistent. When the flies got his sheath last summer I personally was fine!
I am not taking on Jark’s troubles. We simply live in the same energetic field. We are connected, and when he hurts my field senses it and sometimes my body mirrors it. I hurt because he hurts, but he is not “doing” anything to me, nor am I trying to help him by taking his suffering from him.
I think this is a really important thing to understand. Many people ask me if their personal problems are making their animals sick. They often feel guilty, which only makes the situation worse. People also ask if their animal is trying to help them when the animal mirrors a person’s pain. “Are they trying to take the pain away from me?”. There is no absolute answer to this, as some animals are martyrs. But most are not. Most animals mirror our pain because we are so close that we share energy, just like intermingling branches of trees.
So how can you help a suffering animal who may be mirroring you?
First: Get the animal to the best Vet you know, and give the animal every bit of allopathic, shamanic and energetic medicinal support you can.
Second: Do whatever you can to avoid “projecting” your own stuff. Ask the helping spirits to put a protective shield between you and the animal, so that any pain you may be experiencing is neutralized before it reaches them. Ask the animal’s spirit allies to protect them as well.
Third: Do whatever you can to heal yourself. The mirror works both ways. Your healing helps the animal heal. His healing helps you heal.
And finally: If the animal is indeed playing martyr, let them know that it isn’t really helping you, and that it is in fact making everything worse because now both of you are unhappy! If they are well it will help you get well too. See step three!
Tarpon! Crocodile! Manatee – well maybe not.
Today we went to Robbie’s, a rustic touristy conglomeration of watery activities and merchandise. We fed the tarpon. Everyone does. It costs $5 to buy a bucket of feeder fish and walk out onto the dock, where all the tarpon for 50 miles gather for free lunch. What a riot! I made friends with a special tarpon in Bonaire at a site called The Cliff. This fish stayed close to me, and when I was photoing jawfish on my last dive (and getting solidly bent) he came over to me and blew a large distinct bubble out of his gill. He said, “You don’t belong here” in a friendly way. So I was especially happy to have the chance to feed a mess of them and say thank you!
After that we rented a kayak and floated through a mangrove water trail. We saw a young female crocodile (the guide man who told us the route to follow said she was a she) sunning on a boat hull. And as promised we saw one young nurse shark in the shallows. We didn’t see the 5 manatees who live in this grove, and we were indeed disappointed. But swarms of snook, snappers, barracuda, snappers, parrotfish and who knows what else made up for it. So did the osprey flying before us through the cut in the trees, and a diving bird who cruised with us for 15 minutes or so. One thing about Florida, it can be blustery. We worked our fannies off paddling – which we promptly replaced with pizza and cinnamon buns at a wonderful Italian coffee house in Ilsamadora.
Tomorrow we go home, via the Everglades and Ft. Lauderdale’s no doubt brutally windy beach.
Key West
What a neat old pirate and navy town Key West is, a small grid of narrow streets with thin wooden buildings with railed balconies. The theme is drinking, bar after bar salted with plenty of old drunks to make them feel alive. In between are the ubiquitous t-shirt and trinket stores, art galleries and ice cream shops that signify tourist traps. Old Spanish wrecks lie off shore, and adventuresome scuba divers with money can become members of the single company that has the salvage rights. This firm has recovered hundreds of millions in gold, silver pieces of eight, emeralds and artifacts and has hopes for even more. Going through their maritime museum is really fun, and I did spend an evening dreaming of diving for treasure. But according to their prospectus my income level doesn’t qualify me to invest, a blessing in disguise to save me from pirates. We did find culinary treasure at the south end of Duval street in a little French restaurant. Their blackened tuna salad is perfection on a plate, just delicious. Also not to miss, the Butterfly Conservatory. We were completely enchanted by the beauty in every detail of this place. Hundreds of butterflies along with assorted small birds flitting through a forest of perfect house plants and small trees accompanied by a babbling brook complete with fish and turtles, all squeezed into a 1500 square feet (maybe) glass conservatory. Splendid!
Thanks for your support!
I want to thank all of you for your loving support and comments. I really appreciate your care and attention. Tomorrow I get tested for PFO – a hole in the heart. That could have been the reason for the bends. We shall see. I have finally recovered and have my brain back in order. That is a relief. It was a slow boat back. I have met people online who got bent and were far more damaged than I, with paralysis and comas and all sorts of nasty things. I feel blessed to have gotten by with minor brain effects, easily healed.
I will be posting soon on these three subjects:
- A report on the mask workshop Sue and I hosted March 1+2 in Phoenix
- Working with the reef and other ecosytems
- Initiations, ready or not! (or what learned Shamanically from getting bent)
Meanwhile, I am setting up a section for people to post their journeys to heal the planet. We need this work, dontcha think!?
A Spiritual Intervention that helped my father
This year (2008) I am offering a new workshop using a spiral as the nexus for entering very strong power. The workshop is called Sacred Animal Masks, and you can read all about it by clicking on its page on the right. It is the next generation of the workshop I did last year called Healing in the Spiral of Time.
Monday I was rehearsing it with my workshop partner, Sue DeLamater, and one of my advanced students, Lois. We are doing the workshop at Sue’s place of employ, Free Arts AZ. http://www.freeartsaz.org/
We had just linked the spiral to many other sacred places on earth, and had called in the 4 directions in this valley and their power. We were located at Central and C-Back, the center of the valley. Perfect! We walked the spiral and build a cairn in the middle with stones connected to the other power spots. Then we took a tea break and the phone rang. It was my father gasping. No blood pressure. Voice so weak all he could say was “I’m really sick”. He is a heart patient. I went into the circle and asked that power to go to him and sit on him. I saw the brilliant white center of the spiral go over him. Took 3-5 seconds. Then I called 911 and that took 3 minutes. Then I called him back to say the ambulance was on the way, and he said, “Oh I feel much better now! The neighbors will be concerned about the emergency trucks.” (as if to say, “do I really need them?”.) He told me later that he felt a wave come over him, and all of a sudden he felt almost well again!
The ambulance did come, and he went into the hospital for many tests. They found nothing significant wrong with him.
The spiral is so incredibly powerful once the power has been called in in a sacred way. Thank you spirits!
Shamanic Exploration
Shamanism is as old as mankind. It is a way of walking, hearing, seeing and being that connects us to the world beneath the world, the spirit that is inside, outside, enmeshed in and parallel to the ordinary world we perceive every day.
We begin a shamanic path by studying the ancient pathways that connect the worlds and teach us to work with spirit. Thanks to Micheal Harner and the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, these old worn paths, overgrown by modern culture, are being steadily cleared. Every day they grow more visible to us and are now fairly easy to follow.
Modern shamanic teachers take people first along the wide and clearly marked paths to teach them to journey. Think of the first few miles of a major trail right after the tail head. It is like a super highway and is populated by people of all types. Further into the forest the trails diverge and become less traveled, more rugged, and more adventuresome. Today’s shamanic teachers have cleared these paths for you into the specific areas of their interest: Celtic Shamanism, Shape Shifting, White Table, Animal Healing, Soul Retrieval, and so many more fascinating arenas.
I have opened paths that are about healing our Animal Partners (dogs, cats, horses etc) using shamanic methods. In my trainings I apply common shamanic techniques to animal clients. But I do so in a way that is unique to the trails I have uncovered. Over the course of 10 years of concentrated journey work and attention I have been taught a way of working shamanically that is very powerful, and is especially beneficial for working with animals and their people. I teach this method through telelclasses with the Animal Spirit Network, and through workshops worldwide and private trainings.
I am not sure exactly what cultural traditions I am following when I do my work. I am not much of a scholar. I am an explorer. I ask the spirits to show me how to achieve big results. I ask them to explain the cosmology of the world to me empirically: through shamanic journey experiences, results in my clients, and parallel experiences in my students. The results are profound for me and for my students. (By the way I enjoy taking workshops and connecting with other shamanic teachers. It is so exciting to learn the paths they have been shown, and to see if and how they overlap with the ones I am following.)
Here are the themes of the shamanic exploration I am embarking on today:
Spirals and the Nexus of Creation: At the center of the spiral is a place of brilliance. The place of creation itself. A client in that spiral can experience a transfiguration that explodes away the old and rebirths in pure divinity. The secret is in the preparation and the ceremony. I have two workshops that explore this : Healing in the Spiral of Time and Sacred Animal Masks. Sacred Animal Masks is offered in Phoenix and Chicago Spring 2008.
The Power of Ecosystems: This started with my desire to communicate with reef life (all the critters, not just whales and dolphins). Communicating with reef life opened up a new revelation for me in the power of using ecosystems as healers for clients and for the earth herself. As a result I see the earth totally differently today than I did even a year ago. I am currently exploring ecosystem work with my advanced private students. I will be birthing it in a week long workshop on private Caribbean sailing boat cruise in 2009. (Yes, we will swim with Dophins!)
Animal Tribes: Domestic Animals are very dependent upon their connection to their spirit tribes. The spirits tribes facilitate the death and dying process. They bring super powerful healing power. They give the animal a point of reference in the world. They hold any soul parts that were not fully committed to the body at birth. The tribal stories are the animal’s mythology, critical to the animal’s self concept. I am forever exploring these tribal connections and teaching about them in my trainings. There is more to this story too (there always is). Our power is a function of our connection to our tribes. Our tribes are our loved ones here on earth, our ancestors, spirit family, power animals and their tribes. We will be connecting to our Power Animal’s tribe in the Mask workshop – see the page links!
Please browse www.spirithealer.com to learn more about me, and www.spiritlearning.com to find out about studying with me.
My trainings are guidances. Your teachers are the spirits. Together we explore paths that are well worn, but over grown, and we rebirth that knowledge for the whole world!
In Spirit and Love – Carla
