Cafe

Buy From Art.com

Around the Web, Around the World

"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

Children and Shamanism: Infants

Sacred space is created for ritual and ceremony, but rarely for conception. For a human there are few actions as sacred as the creation of another human being, yet we rarely consider the creation of sacred space for the miracle of conception. This week host and shaman, Christina Pratt, begins our series on Children and Shamanism at the beginning, exploring the application of shamanic skills during pregnancy and infancy. The principles of shamanism offer countless ways to engage the spirit, power, and being of your child. Shamanic healing can also help you to heal in ways that allow you to stop patterns of abuse handed down to you, freeing you to create a new way of being present, engage, and responsive with your children. There is no better reason than children to sort the unresolved issues out in your ancestral line, open up to singing power songs, and learn to journey yourself.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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

All episodes are now available in the iTunes Podcast Library.

Satanists Fight for First Amendment as SCOTUS Shreds It

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

The Colbert Report
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Colbert Report on Facebook

An excellent column in the Chicago Tribune underscores the pernicious effect of this week's Supreme Court decision allowing prayer in town council meetings. Eric Zorn asks readers to try a thought experiment. Imagine moving into a new town and finding that getting the required variance for a small home construction project means sitting through a homily by an LDS Bishop on the wonders of Joseph Smith and the supremacy of Mormonism. You'd probably get your variance, but if you're anything but Mormon, you'd also feel a lot less comfortable in your new home.

Switch around the variables in my hypothetical if you want. Make the community leaders predominantly Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or adherents of Scientology. Put yourself in the role of The Other.

Such basic empathy is notably lacking in a spate of legal fights over First Amendment protections. Freedom of religion is being redefined as the right of some groups to impose their religious beliefs on "the other" and with state sanction.

This recent SCOTUS decision bodes ill as we await a decision on Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Inc.

Not only do such decisions entitle some religious groups to disenfranchise people who don't want to be bound by religious authority, and don't want their life choices to be dictated by religion-based decisions of any public or private entity, they disenfranchise people of different religious conviction. They actually restrict the religious freedom.

Cafe

Buy From Art.com

Around the Web, Around the World

"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

Visionary Power and Shamanism

The Visionary capacity in shamanism manifests in many forms from the healing visions that come in altered states, to your own capacity for vision in the sense of seeing what is possible, as well as the capacity to see through the impossible and draw out your own uniqueness. Join host and shaman, Christina Pratt, as she explores why we keep reaching incessantly for the next bigger vision abusing this rich resource we could use to transform our lives and the troubles in the world around us. The regular practice of the most basic shamanic skills- like shamanic journeying -allows us to develop not only our vision, but our intuition, or seeing with all of our senses, our perception, or discerning accurately outside of oneself, and our insight, or seeing accurately within oneself. In this we realize how our dreams and vision are already changing the world.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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

All episodes are now available in the iTunes Podcast Library.

Cafe

Buy From Art.com

Around the Web, Around the World

"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

Dancing with Anger and Spirit

The true nature of our emotions can surprise us when they are explored through shamanic skills. They are rarely come from where we think they do, nor are they composed of what they appear to be. One of the richest explorations we can engage in with our helping spirits through journeying is the true nature of our emotional life. "The adult emotional body can be cultivated with the help of spirit," explains host and shaman, Christina Pratt, "but not by spirit for you." Cultivation is most often avoided where strong, painful, or socially unacceptable emotions are concerned, yet our helping spirits can show us how these emotions arise in relation to path of knowing our true purpose. Join us this week and you will understand why throwing your "negative emotions" into the fire again and again isn't working.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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

All episodes are now available in the iTunes Podcast Library.

Cafe

Buy From Art.com

Around the Web, Around the World

"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

Shamanic Ritual and Ceremony with Lenore Norrgard and Kent Dorsey

Shamanic ritual and ceremony are the "power tools" used by shamanic practitioners around the world to create change and transformation in their lives. Humans engage in ritual and ceremony to ask for help from the compassionate forces of the invisible world to accomplish what they cannot do themselves or what they are no longer able to expend enough energy and resources to do themselves. Host and shaman, Christina Pratt, is joined by guests this week to share the use of shamanic ritual and ceremony among contemporary practitioners. This week we delve into the Conjure Dance, a very powerful dance ritual that grew out of the confluence of cultures in 18th century New Orleans. It is performed to bring about social healing, like the end of slavery, which was one of its historical uses. Join us as we explore the use of this ritual to create social healing in our time.

This week's guests:
Lenore Norrgard & Kent Dorsey

Lenore Norrgard was called to the shamanic path in 1987, following 15 years of intensive social activism, during which she worked as a journalist for Reuter News Agency, earned a masters degree in China studies, and lived in China for three years. From the time she was initiated into shamanism through a spontaneous healing from an animal spirit, she wanted to bring that miraculous healing power to bear on social ills. She experienced a life-changing paradigm shift around how to achieve profound social change, and started seeing herself as a social healer rather than as a social revolutionary. From very early on, her work as a shamanic healer, teacher and consultant has included working at the social level, most markedly through rituals for social healing. Lenore offers Shamanism for Activists trainings; leads large, public peacemaking rituals, most recently for the opening rally of The Peace and Justice Studies annual conference; and she is currently involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Read about Lenore's spiritual activism in her article, Ritual and Activism: The Alchemy of Social Transformation in Sacred Hoop magazine, Issue 58.

Kent Dorsey has had a private Shamanic healing practice for thirteen years offering individual and group shamanic and spiritual healing sessions, chaplaincy, and officiating sacred ceremonies. He was one of two American members of the Foundation For Shamanic Studies 2003 field expedition to Tuva, traveling to the Russian Republic to participate in the International Symposium on Shamanism in August 2003. The Tuvan government, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, sponsored this gathering where Kent worked alongside of 80 indigenous shamans from all over the world collectively performing healings for over 500 people. Kent has developed a deep connection to spirit based on his own experiences of direct engagement. In addition he has trained with Michael Harner, Sandra Ingerman, Betsy Bergstrom, Lama Wangdu Rinpoche, Q'ero elders, Master Stephen Co (Pranic Healing) and the Iranian Master Healer, Behrooz Danadoost (Shafaw). His passionate focus is in teaching shamanism in our diverse western culture and bring it into the 21st century.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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

All episodes are now available in the iTunes Podcast Library.

Cafe

Buy From Art.com

Around the Web, Around the World

"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

How Do I Cultivate Emotional Well-being? Part Two

What we are taught about emotions in the "developed, Western world" will make the majority of us sick over time. This is the core teaching from a shamanic point of view. And perhaps more importantly, the second teaching says that emotional well-being is possible for everyone. It simply requires the discipline to break old patterns and the courage to risk trusting new ones. In other words emotional well-being requires warriorship of the heart. It takes great courage to let go of the over extended, empathetic coping mechanism of the child-after all, it saved your life. But the very same orientation in the world leads the adult into chronic poor health, coping addictions, and damaging relationships. Join host and shaman, Christina Pratt and she continues to explore why we are so confused about what emotional well-being is and how we can use shamanic skills to cultivate the emotional health and intelligence needed to live with authenticity and compassion.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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

All episodes are now available in the iTunes Podcast Library.

Into the Darkness

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Buy From Art.com

Late tonight we will be treated to a total lunar eclipse. Slate has a detailed writeup on where and how to view it.

Do you live in North America, South America, Australia, or eastern Asia? Then you get to see a lunar eclipse on the night of April 14/15! And while North America is the best place to watch—we’ll get to see the whole event—the real action doesn’t begin until 05:58 UTC on the 15^th, which is just before 02:00 EDT, so it’s a bit late. You might just want to stay up for it, though.

It will also be broadcast live by the Griffith Observatory.

But this is just the attention getter for a series of celestial alignments that astrologers are claiming is one for the books. This Easter will bring with it a collective crucifixion as a Grand Cross in the Cardinal signs.

I'm not an astrologer, but I wasn't surprised to read any of that. My fear is that it lines up all too perfectly with a sense of nameless dread that I've had for months. As I was discussing with some lovely people on this thread (search page for: earthquake), what I keep getting from my guides is "major global realignment."

"Gospel of Jesus's Wife" Papyrus Authenticated

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

The papyrus fragment that touched off a firestorm because it refers to Jesus's wife appears to be authentic. Tests of the papyrus fibers and ink confirm that both are of ancient origin.

For two years, researchers carried out a number of tests, including two radiocarbon tests, microscopic imaging, and micro-Raman spectroscopy, to examine the fragment.

One of the radiocarbon tests indicated that the piece of papyrus must have originated from some time between 659 and 859 CE. Using micro-Raman spectroscopy, researchers confirmed that the ink's carbon character matched with similar samples of other old papyri fragments. The handwriting was examined, and imaging scientists assessed the damage caused to the document to examine if there was a possibility of the document being forged or doctored.

After weighing the evidence, the scholars and scientists agree that the GJW fragment is old and definitely "a product of early Christians, not a modern forger," according to a press release from Harvard Divinity School.

Dr. Karen King, who announced the discovery in 2012, hopes the findings will change the conversation from debate over its authenticity to its historical relevance. That seems doubtful as it is still meeting with resistance from some academics and the subject matter is so charged.

Homeless Jesus

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

A public art installation in an affluent North Carolina suburb is causing some consternation amongst the locals. One woman even called the police when she noticed what appeared to be a homeless person sleeping on a bench outside St. Alban's Episcopal Church. Another complained in a letter to the editor of the local paper. But the vagrant cast in bronze is artist Timothy Schmalz's conception of Jesus.

Some neighbors felt it was an insulting depiction of the Son of God, and what appears to be a hobo curled up on a bench demeans the neighborhood.

The bronze statue was purchased for $22,000 as a memorial for a parishioner, Kate McIntyre, who had loved public art. The rector of this liberal, inclusive church is Rev. David Buck, a 65-year-old Baptist-turned-Episcopalian who seems not at all averse to the controversy, the double-takes and the discussion the statue has provoked.

"It gives authenticity to our church," he says. "This is a relatively affluent church, to be honest, and we need to be reminded ourselves that our faith expresses itself in active concern for the marginalized of society."


. . .


"We believe that that's the kind of life Jesus had," Buck says. "He was, in essence, a homeless person."

No kidding, huh? Isn't it funny how people forget that. Just as they forget that he told people to sell all they owned and give their money to the poor. (Luke 18:22 and Matthew 19:21)

Cafe

Buy From Art.com

Around the Web, Around the World

"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

How Do I Cultivate Emotional Well-being?

Health in shamanic terms requires the interaction of body and spirit, mind and emotion. There is no physical health in shamanism apart from the dynamic interaction of all four aspects of being a human. A shamanic diagnosis addresses these four aspects of the human simultaneously, while also looking back to past events that could be a cause of dysfunction now. The interaction of the four aspects of being human was understood to be so deeply essential for health that shamanic peoples built the maintenance of all four into the social fabric and ritual structure of their cultures. Nowhere is this more challenging for us to understand accurately than in the realm of our emotions. This week host and shaman, Christina Pratt, explores our twin tendencies to either indulge or deny our emotions and how this distorts our understanding of what it means to be truly sensitive, empathic, or unconditionally accepting. Join us as she shares teachings from the helping spirits for cultivating emotional well-being in support of bringing your gifts to the world.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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

All episodes are now available in the iTunes Podcast Library.

Cafe

Buy From Art.com

Around the Web, Around the World

"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

Ancestral Healing and the Spirits of the Land

Traditionally "the ancestors" are helping spirits that assist the living in creating a world the descendants are honored to inherit. Yet in our immediate past and present are deep ancestral patterns of colonization, slavery, dominance of one group of human over another, and massacre for land and the resources held within the land. Unresolved human patterns repeat again and again until they are reconciled. The presence of this type of unresolved ancestral pattern can cause chronic disease, family patterns of addiction or abuse, or personal issues like chronic depression, hopelessness, and despair. "And these patterns can be held in the land," explains host and shaman, Christina Pratt, "causing those who live on the land to unconsciously avoid the very things they need to do to heal and to release the illness of the past. Ancestral healing is needed to allow people and the land to heal and grow bountiful for those who are coming.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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

All episodes are now available in the iTunes Podcast Library.