Dec 25, 2012

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"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

Wisdom of the Visionary in Changing Times

The Visionary asks us, "What does it take to envision a truly new future? How do you open to possibilities that have not yet existed for you?" The Visionary cautions us that our personal past, family of origin past, and our ancestors' unresolved issues can only hinder us. We must take what we have learned from the past and courageously leave the rest behind as we step into the New World. The Visionary councils us to speak the truth, listen closely to the truth of others, human and more-than-human, and never let go of the thread that is the energy of our soul's purpose that goes among changes without changing itself. Join host and shaman, Christina Pratt, as she shares the Visionary's wisdom and encouragement to notice the abuse of the Visionary power in visions without the means to make them real. We must remember the Visionary doesn't manifest anything. It is the warriorship of holding that vision daily that makes things manifest. It is the warriorship of tending what you believe in the face of self-doubt and fear of change that makes things manifest. And always remember that what you believe gains power, so tend your beliefs well.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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Dec 22, 2012

Putting the Hate Back in Christmas

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



Pope Benedict has a heartwarming message this holiday season. Let's put a stop to the gay... or words to that effect. In his annual State of the Church speech before the Curia yesterday, his holiness made clear that the top priority of the Vatican is to stop the march toward modernity that has already displayed itself in numerous countries and a growing number of states in the US.

Gay marriage is a threat to "traditional marriage" says the Celibate in Chief.

Benedict XVI made the comments in his annual Christmas address to the Vatican bureaucracy, one of his most important speeches of the year. He dedicated it this year to promoting traditional family values in the face of gains by same-sex marriage proponents in the U.S. and Europe and efforts to legalize gay marriage in places like France and Britain.

In his remarks, Benedict quoted the chief rabbi of France, Gilles Bernheim, in saying the campaign for granting gays the right to marry and adopt children was an "attack" on the traditional family made up of a father, mother and children.

Well. At least it was ecumenical. But I can't help wondering what these Jewish-Christian allies in leadership are basing their ideas of "tradition" upon. Not their holy books, certainly, wherein those "mothers" are little more than transferred property and often consigned to large harems.

Dec 20, 2012

Drunvalo 2012 Webcast: I Will Be Doing This

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



Just got a little tap from universe reminding me that Drunvalo Melchizedek posted a video recently. I hadn't watched it yet, but I saw it float by on Facebook. So I just watched it. It's an introduction to a webcast he'll be leading over the next three days. You can go here to get the particulars and sign up. This one's free. I don't know what he's on about but, as ever, I feel strongly led to participate in whatever Drunvalo is doing. I do just love that man. And his work has seen me through some of the most transformative experiences of my life. So check it out if you want. Cheers.

Dec 18, 2012

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"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

What must we change in ourselves to birth a New World? With Daniel Foor

How can we focus our spirit work to support the necessary shift during these times of great global transformation? What assumptions about the Sacred must we change? How are we being asked to adapt our selves and our practices to assist in the birth of the New World? How can we repair our Ancestral lines in ways that free the descendants from living the same patterns? How do we make amends that recover our heartfelt working relationship with the spirits of the land on which we live? Join our guest, Daniel Foor, Ph.D., MFT, and host, Christina Pratt, as they explore often overlooked assumptions about life and spirit work that work contrary our awakening. Daniel draws on his experience hosting over 30 indigenous elders in recent years and shares the common threads in their approach to ancestral and earth healing. Daniel, the founder of the Earth Medicine Alliance and shamanic healer in the San Francisco Bay area, is our next guest for the Society of Shamanic Practitioners sponsored interview series, in which we explore how contemporary shamans are meeting the challenge of this profoundly changing time.

This week's guest:
Daniel Foor, Ph.D., MFT

Daniel FoorDaniel Foor, Ph.D., MFT, leads trainings, rituals, and community circles focusing on honoring ancestors, tending our relations with the natural world, and remembering our unique destiny and calling. He also offers individual healing/mentorship sessions and ministerial services (e.g. weddings, funerals, birth rituals, home blessings).

Daniel is the founder of the Earth Medicine Alliance, an interfaith, earth-honoring non-profit (www.earthmedicine.org) and co-founder of a ritual circle working with mountains around S.F. Bay. He is also a priest of Ifa and Obatala in the Ifa/Orisha tradition of Yoruba-speaking West Africa. For more info on his offerings and practice see: www.ancestralmedicine.org.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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Dec 17, 2012

Sandy Hook and the Healing Power of Compassion

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



"Compassion, or the sense of shared humanity, of our kinship with each other: This is what heals." ~ Pema Chodron


The pain, at first, felt strangely personal. Strange because these were not my children. And, yet, any one of them could have been. As a mother, I feel the loss of any child as a momentary, primal terror. It's every parent's greatest fear, lingering always at the periphery of conscious awareness.

Then it expanded outward as I thought of all those parents spending their first night in the cold grip of unutterable grief. And I sobbed. And I sobbed. And I sobbed.

As I surfed the web that afternoon, checked in with friends on Facebook, and read the unfolding coverage, I gradually became aware again that this was a shared experience. Everyone I knew was in shock... naturally. It's always something of a relief -- those moments when you realize you are not alone in your sorrow.

So I thought of Pema Chodron and of her lectures on the constructive use of suffering for personal and global healing. Some time ago, I posted her explanation of the Tibetan Buddhist practice of Tonglen. As we breathe in the sorrows of the world and exhale our love and compassion, we participate in the conscious transformation of the planet.

Dec 12, 2012

Rest in Peace, Ravi Shankar... And Thank-you

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



“It is utter joy, uninhibited, that an artist experiences. The raga, the musician, the listeners, all become one.” ~ Ravi Shankar


I awoke this morning to the very sad news of Ravi Shankar's passing. I grew up listening to Shankar. And to the Beatles whose interest in his music introduced him to a much larger audience than he might otherwise have known. In my mother's massive record collection was the album Live at Monterey. Over the years, I practically wore the grooves off of it. Shankar taught me an entirely new way to experience music -- as deep meditation. I would come home from school, some days, and drift through time and space as I listened to Bhimpalasi, "one of the most beautiful raga of the late afternoon."

This was Shankar's incredible gift. He was able to school the West on the consciousness shifting capacity of music.

With an instrument perplexing to most Westerners, Ravi Shankar helped connect the world through music. The sitar virtuoso hobnobbed with the Beatles, became a hippie musical icon and spearheaded the first rock benefit concert as he introduced traditional Indian ragas to Western audiences over nearly a century.

. . .

Labeled "the godfather of world music" by [George] Harrison, Shankar helped millions of classical, jazz and rock lovers discover the centuries-old traditions of Indian music.

"He was legend of legends," Shivkumar Sharma, a noted santoor player who performed with Shankar, told Indian media. "Indian classical was not at all known in the Western world. He was the musician who had that training … the ability to communicate with the Western audience."

Dec 11, 2012

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"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

The Wisdom of the Teacher in Changing Times

The Teacher asks, "can you be passionately committed to the process without attachment to the outcome?" Can you step through the door and into the New World with precise and passionate commitment to your purpose and an open heart to all that is Unknown and will change- that will have to change if this New World will be different than the one before? Join host and shaman, Christina Pratt, as she continues this four part series sharing wisdom from the Four Great Teachers about the coming New World. The Teacher speaks to us of leadership, sovereignty, and mastery, as these are the places from which we truly teach. Are you willing to lead simply because the moment calls for a leader and you are there? Are you willing to govern your life and shape your choices based on the innate value in each living thing, including yourself? Are you ready and able to bring only your mastery through the gate with you, reconciling all else and then leaving it behind? The Teacher asks what have you learned that enables you to bring your leadership, sovereignty, and mastery to bear in the New World. Whatever that is, now is the time to live it.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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Why Shamanism Now? on Co-Creator Network
Questions? Comments? Call: 1-512-772-1938

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Dec 10, 2012

Largest Egyptian Sarcophagus Found


A box inside a still larger box


I've always found it kind of charming that the mummies of Egyptian royalty were kept like giant Russian nesting dolls. Now they've apparently found the largest yet.

The largest ancient Egyptian sarcophagus has been identified in a tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, say archaeologists who are re-assembling the giant box that was reduced to fragments more than 3,000 years ago.

Made of red granite, the royal sarcophagus was built for Merneptah, an Egyptian pharaoh who lived more than 3,200 years ago. A warrior king, he defeated the Libyans and a group called the "Sea Peoples" in a great battle.

. . .

Archaeologists are re-assembling the outermost of these nested sarcophagi, its size dwarfing the researchers working on it. It is more than 13 feet (4 meters) long, 7 feet (2.3 m) wide and towers more than 8 feet (2.5 m) above the ground. It was originally quite colorful and has a lid that is still intact. [See Photos of Pharaoh's Sarcophagus]

"This as far as I know is about the largest of any of the royal sarcophagi," said project director Edwin Brock, a research associate at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, in an interview with LiveScience.

Dec 9, 2012

O Christmas Tower

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



The Eiffel Tower seems to be trending. Decorative accent sculptures, lamps, candle holders, 3D puzzles and, of course, the traditional art prints -- I've been seeing them in increasing numbers in stores over the past couple of years. But I knew something had really hit critical mass when I noticed a Christmas lawn ornament in front of a neighbor's house.

I've been acutely aware of this particular trend not because I'm so besotted with the idea of Parisian glamor. I don't really have a burning desire to see gay Paris. As with so many things that seize my attention, at this point, my interest is more esoteric.

Many years ago, I went to a shamanic journey workshop. It consisted of live drumming as we all attempted to journey questions suggested by the organizers. One of the questions had to do with finding community. I was a tad disappointed to learn, in my journey, that I have no community and would not have until I accomplished certain spiritual initiations. None of this surprised me, exactly, but it was still a little frustrating. Central in this journey was a kind of mountain... tower... thing. My sense was that I would have to reach the pinnacle of it before I could connect with my community. And my sense was that it would take years. It was a very sharp, elongated triangle, with concave sides. I drew my impression of it when I completed the journey. And I thought, but that's the Eiffel Tower. What on earth could that form have to do with anything? It's not a pyramid. It's not a tetrahedron. It's not any of those cardinal, sacred geometry forms, that I would expect. But there it was. A very rudimentary Eiffel Tower form. For some time, I refused to believe that the shape I'd been shown had anything to do with something that had become, in my mind, a cliche of American Francophilia. But it came up, over the years, in other journeys and meditations. The shape was unmistakable. Nearly ten years later, I gave up on denying that there was some connection to the iconic architecture.

Dec 5, 2012

Putting the Ass Back in Christmas

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.





Speaking of the War on Christmas, here is Jon Stewart's hilarious take. This is not the first time Stewart has gone head to head with Bill O'Reilly on this issue. Notably in his recent debate with the Fox pundit, he delivered this pithy assessment:

If you think Christmas isn’t celebrated in this country, walk a mile in Hanukkah’s shoes.

Dec 4, 2012

No Tree for You!

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.



Remember the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld? This capricious vendor of very delicious soup would refuse service to anyone he didn't like, telling them, "No soup for you!" Well, it seems we have ourselves a Tree Nazi, except that this one discriminates based on religion -- including Jews... So that's a little creepy.

There seems to be some debate as to whether or not the photo could possibly be real. I for one don't doubt that it could be a genuine article. It looks like another battle line has been drawn in the culture wars. Now they're being fought on the commerce front -- like the gun dealer who's refused to sell to Obama voters.

It's hard for me to get worked up about the possible civil rights violation because the whole scenario is just too hilarious. But then, I'm not a Jew in desperate need of a Hanukkah bush in whatever provincial backwater this sign was photographed in.

Why do I find this amusing? For starters, and I'm not alone in noting this, Christmas trees are Pagan -- not Christian. And the Bible specifically condemns the "heathen" custom. Some of your more serious Christians recognize the Pagan nature of Christmas customs and have taken to waging their own version of the "War on Christmas." But I digress.

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"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

Wisdom of the Warrior in Changing Times

The Warrior calls us out to do what must be done for what we love in the world. What would you do today if you knew you would die tomorrow? What would you give the rest of your life for to be sure it was here for our descendants in the New World? In this time of ending and new beginnings, you must be able to discern what you want to bring into the New World and what you must do to make that happen? The Warrior is not so much about battle in the world, but about the battle for authenticity with the False Self. Warriorship is about facing your fears in a way that allows you to see them for what they are, expectations from the past that you project and attachments to a future you imagine. The warriorship is stepping into our personal practice daily and clearing the energies we hold that keep us out of the moment. Warriorship is risking what is safe and known for what could be and needs to be. Warriorship is the countless moments of discernment through which you decide that this actions is worthy of your resources because it has purpose and meaning in your heart and this one is not. Join host and shaman, Christina Pratt, this week as she explores the wisdom of the Warrior in these changing times.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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Why Shamanism Now? on Co-Creator Network
Questions? Comments? Call: 1-512-772-1938

All episodes are now available in the iTunes Podcast Library.

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