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"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

What is Shamanic Healing?

What is a shamanic healing in the 21^st Century? Host and shaman, Christina Pratt, explores this question in three parts. First we will explore the healing that comes from work with a shaman and how that integrates into all the other healing options available to you in the 21^st Century. Being a contemporary consumer of health care in the USA is a challenge. In many ways working with a shaman can help you to orchestrate the rest of the options from the clarity and personal truth of your own core needs. Next we will explore the healing that comes from developing your own relationship with helping spirits. In other words, how does learning the basic shamanic skill set help you to heal your self and your life, which then reenergizes your overall well being. Finally we will explore the healing that comes from engaging in life from a shamanic perspective and the transformations that might get you to that place. Much of what ails us culturally can be healed by rediscovering our core values and deep loves, finding others who share them, and recommitting our lives to living from what has heart and meaning. This week we explore "what is shamanic healing", what could it be for you, and how to weave that into your very contemporary life.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 5

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Jennifer Haley

I've checked the CNN live feed at intervals today and as near as I can tell there's been no courtroom broadcast today. So, it's a good time to back up and look at some elements of last week's proceedings.

In Session finally ran more of the opening statements. Prosecutor Sheila Polk laid out the prosecution's case by underscoring the key elements of case as they are to be revealed in upcoming testimony:

• Participants were being dragged from the tent as early as the fourth round in right front of Ray in obvious distress, displaying nausea, vomiting, and unconsciousness
• Lou Caci will testify to delirium that resulted in his passing out and falling into the heated rocks where he was badly burned even as he was trying to make a run for the exit
• Ray did not stop the ceremony despite the chaos and did not check on people when concerns were raised
• Liz Neuman: Polk points out something on Laura Tucker's testimony that definitely needs to be emphasized -- that it was after Ray had responded to Tucker that Liz knew what she was doing that she said she was fine (implication: she may have been intimidated into refusing help)
• Medical testimony will explain that heat induces confusion and an inability to discern when one is at risk
• There were only a few basic medical supplies on hand, no emergency medical plan, only one person trained in CPR on scene, no portable portable defibrillator
• James Ray endorsed those who had left, including the injured Caci to come back and complete the sweat lodge
• Sidney Spencer will testify that the back area of the tent where she sat near Kirby Brown and James Shore was hotter, was pitch black, and that she remembers little before losing consciousness and being carried to the opening by James Shore
• Several people called out for help for Kirby Brown; that she was passed out and not breathing and that James Ray's response was, "We're closing the door. We'll deal with it when we're done."
• The fire tender's wife looked in the tent at the end and saw three people unconscious, lying on the ground, and she initiated the rescue attempt by tearing open the tent and dragging purple and blue mottled people out -- she also called 911
• James Ray came out of the sweat lodge first and had his own needs attended to but did nothing to assist others; other participants and volunteers took care of those who were unconscious or otherwise in distress

Horoscope for March 7-13

Cross-posted from Aloha Astro

Aries (March 21st - April 20th)
This is your power and action week, Aries. The moon starts the week in your sign, making everything you initiate now flow along more easily because you are working with lunar support. Expect attention from friends, groups, and personal admirers while the planets are making you stand out as special and desirable. Last week, you had a lot going on internally on the spiritual level. That influence continues, but it is running in the background while you are outwardly appearing gregarious, engaged, and aware. Money, sales, and career, while good overall, can feel like a rollercoaster ride this week. Just as you think a sale will go through or you get a new client or contract, things could change abruptly but then swing back to the positive again. The trick of your week is to find your own inner calm that is never affected by the ups and downs of life or the unpredictability of others.

Taurus (April 21st - May 20th)
Old habits are hard to break, Taurus. Despite the new moon of last week and new beginnings in your life, you can still slip into old patterns of thought and behavior that keep you stuck, especially when it comes to success, money, and your self-worth. You've had plenty of positive reinforcement from friends or a group or organization to help you see that you can be more and do more. Instant manifestation will be a teacher for you this week. You may not get everything you wish for exactly, but you will get a situation or energy that reflects your thoughts and moods exactly. If you think things will go smoothly or to your liking, they will, and if you think you will have difficulties, you will. Once you master the basic tone and flow by adjusting your own emotions, you can move on to more specific material manifestations.

Astrological Trends for March 7-13

Cross-posted from Aloha Astro

Have you ever watched two young children at play where one child wants the other to do things their way or surrender a toy? The manipulator can be very creative in his attempt to convince the other child to go along with him. Looking at the lunar aspects on Monday, March 7th, brought that image to my mind. The moon in the cardinal fire sign of "me" Aries opposes Saturn in "me and you" Libra until later this afternoon so that you may feel your own emotional needs or desires oppose those of others. It gets a bit more complex, and the manipulation slips in, as the moon forms a semi-sextile to the sun in Pisces, which activates the quincunx between the Pisces sun and Saturn in Libra. Everyone wants things to be their way and they want everyone else to want it their way, too. In fact, they just don't understand why someone might not want it their way! If you stay polite and sweet, you may wheedle your way into changing other people's minds while Mercury in Pisces is being influenced by Uranus, the planet of change, in Pisces. Another influence encouraging sudden decisions and changes of mind is Venus, the planet of affection and pleasure, in independent Aquarius sextile Jupiter, the planet of expansion, in bold Aries, creating energy that says, "I'm game for anything and I'll try anything once, so let's go!" Everything seems more pressing and intense today due to Pluto in Capricorn exchanging energy with several planets. Pluto makes a difficult square to Jupiter in Aries, which creates resistance to new things or objections to rules and established order. Supportive aspects to Pluto are a sextile to Mars in Pisces until this evening and a semi-sextile to Venus in Aquarius. Both of these flowing aspects indicate that no matter what the rules or threatened consequences may be, people are going to follow dreams and impulses anyway. Several romantic energies are present this evening with the moon contra-parallel Neptune, the sun parallel Chiron, and Venus parallel Pluto. Love can be spiritual, romantic, sexually intense, and grounded all at the same time.

James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 4

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Jennifer Haley

Yesterday I raised the question of who, if anyone, was actually a paid employee. Dream Team volunteer Jennifer Haley, who just started her testimony at the end of the day yesterday, was asked who was actually getting paid by JRI. Josh and Megan Fredrickson and Melinda Martin were actual, paid employees, according to Haley. Beyond that, she couldn't think of anyone who wasn't a volunteer. I'm glad to see that the prosecution is pursuing this issue because it's very troubling. In part because of what it says about how much they could be fairly depended upon to support participants in these admittedly dangerous activities. That, obviously, is the key issue in this trial. But, in terms of Ray's character, it raises other concerns. This is a man who was teaching about wealth and prosperity and who has claimed to have been very successful. Why does someone running a successful business and living in Hollywood need to have a staff made up almost entirely of volunteers?

This has been a criticism of mine regarding new age organizations and events for years. If someone is making a profit, people who work for them need to receive compensation. In some cases, I can understand, where profit margins are small to non-existent, and volunteers receive some form of fair compensation other than money. Most volunteers at new age events are able to go to lectures and other activities for free. In some cases, depending on how hard they have to work, and how many of the activities they can participate in that can be fair compensation. But this is often not the case and what I've seen, in that regard, at a number of new age festivals and the like has turned my stomach. There are people running events, making substantial sums, who simply exploit a free labor force that's willing to do it because "it's spiritual." If you're operating in integrity -- or to use James Ray's terms, being "impeccable" -- there has to be a fair rate of exchange. That doesn't necessarily mean money. But if someone at the top is making a lot of money and there are a lot of people busting their humps for free, that is not an equal exchange of energy.

While Ray was bragging about his many homes and $10 million net worth, he had a whole cadre of people working for him for free. How does that fit with all of his wealth and abundance memes? He's not sharing the wealth. He's not feeding the economy by employing people. All of his "harmonic wealth" isn't  trickling down onto too many people.

James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 3

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Melissa Phillips

A few additional thoughts on yesterday's courtroom footage: I guess I expected more from Ray's legal team. I'm not saying that their overall strategy is poor, but in the opening argument, Li was working for the prosecution.

The Salty Droid has posted graphics of the screen shots Li presented of Ray's words. The defense's argument is that the prosecution has taken excerpts of Ray's speeches out of context and they hope to put these back into context. I had trouble making these statements out on my TV but Salty's graphics make clear that the statements they used here to exonerate him just raise whole other questions.

First quote:

You will assist participants as they enter and leave the sweatlodge. If you are inside the sweatlodge, you must remain alert and ready to help the entire time. If you are outside the sweatlodge, be present and ready to quickly and immediately do what is necessary to assist anyone coming out of the sweatlodge.

James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 2

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Well, if I wanted to write about the Casey Anthony trial, I'd have plenty of fodder. Yes, infanticide makes better television than a killer sweat lodge. That probably goes without saying. Of course it may also be that in day 2 the James Ray trial is bogging down over issues like what is the best and least prejudicial way for the state to mark and display evidence. Pretty dry. I'm just disappointed at how little of yesterday's opening arguments are being shoehorned in during breaks in the Florida trial.

So far, between what I've been able to find in articles and what of the prosecution's opening argument I've been able to see when the Casey Anthony trial has been on breaks, I have grokked that the prosecutors intend to use Ray's own words to hang him. After audio of the 911 calls -- always disturbing -- prosecutor Sheila Polk played long excerpts from Ray's recorded speeches to his "spiritual warriors."

Much of it is repetitive and nonsensical gibberish. But even in these snippets there are some major red flags.

Welcome to spiritual warrior. Time is short. Time is short. If you're not going to die, it is. Some of you went to bed last night. That's okay. Time is short. Tick tok, tick tok, tick tok, tick tok. It's getting shorter. Better clean it up while you can. You don't have a lot of time left. A spiritual warrior. From the time they were born until the time they exited this particular lifetime, they were told and trained and prepared for the ultimate battle. It was their purpose. It's why you're here. So the battle is coming. That's why you're here. You didn't choose it. The choice has already been made. You were born and that's who you are. And between the time of birth to the exit in the final battle, the ultimate battle, you either live an honorable life, you live with impeccability, you devote yourself with 100% of every ounce of energy you have to the perfection of all that you are involved with, or you exit dishonorably. So the question is not whether or not you are going to physically die. You are. The question is how did you live? How did you live?

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Awakenings with Michele Meiche

Dr. Craig Martin: SPIRITUAL COUNSELOR - part II

12pm PST --- One on One with Michele ----MICHELE MEICHE shares her weekly 2012 & beyond update, answers your questions, and does channeled readings--- 12:45pm PST --- Welcome our Awakened Guest: DR. CRAIG MARTIN ---- Dr. Craig is a spiritual counselor, relationship expert, and author of “Elemental Love Styles: Find Compatibility and Create a Lasting Relationship.” “Elemental Love Styles” offers a spiritual method for people to find and understand their deeper needs through the four natural elements which represent the human personality types: Fire (creative and enthusiastic), Air (communicative and social), Water (emotional and intuitive) and Earth (practical and grounded). Dr. Craig also provides counseling based on astrology and his lifetime of studying worldwide spiritual practices like The Kabbalah, Druidic Mysticism, the Norse Ruins, Native American Shamanism and other ritual ceremonies. In his work he focuses on teaching self-awareness, acceptance and love in a simple way. He helps people realize that introspection doesn’t need to be difficult - but it is needed - to build great relationships in all aspects of your life. Dr. Craig developed his unique method of counseling by combining his experience as a homeopathic doctor with his extensive knowledge of astrology. Dr. Craig says, “Everyone has their own personal dilemma to solve and their own healing process to unfold to create the foundation that’s needed to nurture all relationships.” http://www.doctorcraig.com/

3/2/2011 3:00PM ET

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/awakenings

James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Day 1

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

According the New York Times, opening arguments did go forward today in the James Arthur Ray trial. But whatever happened in that regard did so after In Session's trial coverage wrapped for the day. Instead, I watched a lot of the pregame show but an as yet unspecified problem with the jury delayed pretrial hearings and the beginning of the public trial. Here is a brief encapsulation from the Times.

A prosecutor, Sheila Polk, argued that Mr. Ray’s negligence caused the deaths of Kirby Brown, James Shore and Liz Neuman in October 2009. She said Mr. Ray conditioned the victims to put aside their inhibitions and trust him as a way of reaching enlightenment.

Luis Li, Mr. Ray’s lawyer, called the deaths accidental and said the victims had voluntarily entered the sweat lodge.

Mr. Li said that the victims were adults and had made their own decisions and that Mr. Ray held no power over them.

High Weirdness in Peru

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

A massive and thus far unexplained crack in the ground has opened up in Puno, Peru. Seismologists have confirmed that it is not the result of an earthquake but the cause has yet to be determined. A house was destroyed by the earth movement and, tragically, a five year old boy remains missing.

‘The exact cause of the crack in the earth still unknown. Peru’s geophysical institute ruled out the occurrence of an earthquake in the region, but what is clear is that the ground opened up and large blocks of earth can be observed scattered throughout the area.’

Over at the USGS website, the confirmation of the absence of earthquake activity in Peru on February 23, the date the mysterious crack appeared in southern Peru.

The James Arthur Ray Trial Begins

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Opening arguments will be presented today, as James Arthur Ray is finally tried for the deaths of three people in a sweat lodge ceremony gone horribly wrong.

He told them it was a good day to die so they could be born again.

"You're not going to die," self-help author and speaker James Arthur Ray told participants in the sweat lodge that day, they later recalled. "You may think you are, but you're not going to die ... You need to surrender to death to survive it."

The sweat lodge ceremony, the culmination of a five-day retreat in Sedona, Arizona, was meant to be a "rebirthing." But by the end of that day, October 8, 2009, two people had died. A third died nine days later, and -- authorities allege -- at least 15 others fell ill.

Ray, 53, is charged with three counts of reckless manslaughter in the deaths and could face up to 10 years in prison on each if convicted. Opening statements are set to begin in his trial Tuesday.