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"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

Suicide and Shamanism

How can we use our shamanic skills to respond to suicide? From a shamanic perspective there is tending needed for the soul of the dead and healing needed for the community left behind. No matter how alone you feel there will always community left behind. How do we clean up the energetic mess than is so often left behind by violent death? Perhaps even more important, how can you use shamanic skills to respond to your own suicidal thoughts and impulses? This week host and shaman, Christina Pratt, explores the shamanic perspective that not all suicides are the same. Some, for example, are the ultimate refusal to participate in the world as it is, while others are the choice to die on one's own terms at the end of a life well lived. Many begin with soul loss and they all end with the loss of a unique genius and its gifts from the world.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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Psychic Pets and Other Proven Things

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

I touched on this experiment in intellectual dishonesty in this post, but Rupert Sheldrake here presents the documentary proof that Richard Wiseman misrepresented his own data to proclaim all evidence of psychic pets so much hugger mugger. What always kills me about things like this is that headlines always win. That's true even when the headlines are at odds with the articles they introduce, let alone when the journalism is equally shoddy. Wiseman's widely covered "debunking" of Sheldrake's meticulously documented pet telepathy experiment was the shot heard round the world. No one from the press bothered, apparently, to note that he was shooting blanks.

In that same post, I quote Wiseman admitting that the only means by which serious scientists can continue to dismiss evidence of remote viewing is by putting a thumb on the scale.

I agree that by the standards of any other area of science that remote viewing is proven, but begs the question: do we need higher standards of evidence when we study the paranormal? I think we do... Because remote viewing is such an outlandish claim that will revolutionise the world, we need overwhelming evidence before we draw any conclusions.

And, yes, he also commits the cardinal error of misusing the phrase "begs the question." I tire of saying this, but while it may raise the question of whether or not to disregard any standard by which science might remain a truthful and dispassionate practice, it does not beg it. To beg the question is to commit the logical fallacy of petitio principii, circular argument. That Wiseman also has little facility with logic and critical thinking should probably come as no great shock.

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"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

The Art of Falling Apart

There are times that we simply need to fall apart. ...not having a bad day, call in sick, fall apart, but losing more than you thought you had to lose falling apart. There are these moments when we realize that the construct of life we have created to survive and to thrive is in and of itself the problem. Sometimes life will conspire with us and take, piece by devastating piece, everything from us. But some have survived such trauma in life and keep it together like a vice because they have no one to fall back. They cannot let it go, even when they need to to get at what they want the most. Join host and shaman, Christina Pratt, as she explores how we can use shamanic skills and the wisdom of the Trickster to crack open the already wounded heart and transform, even when we are sure that is the transformation that will kill us.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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Coraline and the Blue Pearl

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

My dear friend Frog recently created this satire of Coraline called Cameline. His point is that there are some very odd parallels between Cameron Clark's experiences in House Teal and Coraline's in the Pink Palace apartments. It got me thinking about some of the deeper elements of Coraline, things I'd overlooked when I saw it in the theater. So, I've given the film a fresh look and moved Neil Gaiman's award-winning book up on my reading list, which is to say, I've now read it.

It goes pretty well without saying that Gaiman is a genius. Coraline, the novella, is a masterpiece. Like Alice in Wonderland, to which it is often compared, there's a nod to the shamanic ability of children to traverse worlds through the odd doorway. The story has its own version of the Cheshire cat and even a tea party of sorts.

It is also a brilliant depiction of narcissism. The Other Mother lives in her own world, populated by puppets she controls. Those who defy or bore her – who no longer reflect her desires – she throws behind a mirror. She eats up the lives and souls of anyone who crosses her path. Anyone who has ever been taken in by a narcissist for any length of time knows the kind of creeping surreality, the warping of perception, that comes from being caught up in their world view.

Henry Selick expanded on Gaiman's book, which wasn't really long enough for a feature film. Characters were added and storylines were extrapolated. What I now realize about the film, is that a mythic subtext was woven through it and that these themes are revealed in striking visuals.

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"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

What is Shamanic Possession?

Shamanic possession is not actually possession at all, but the intentional embodiment of spirit help with whom the shaman has already developed a working relationship. Unlike possession, or the unintentional intrusion of some type of foreign spirit into a person's energy body, which is considered an energetic illness or unhealthy state in shamanism, embodiment is an effective, working, altered state the shaman is able to begin and end at will. To truly understand shamanic practice we must recognize the equal importance of journeying and embodiment without carrying forward the bias of decades of academic research into shamanism. Join host and shaman, Christina Pratt, as she explores embodiment from the n|om of the African Ju|'hoansi to vitu of Finnish women to the embodiment dances of the helping spirits of shamanic peoples around the world. Simply put, there are gifts embodiment offers us as contemporary practitioners that our journey states cannot. And there is joy and the sacred to be found the intimacy of embodiment.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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Wesolowski to be Tried by Vatican Court

Could Vatican culture finally be changing?

A Vatican prosecutor on Monday ordered the trial of a former Roman Catholic archbishop accused of paying for sex with children while he was a papal ambassador in the Dominican Republic and of possessing child pornographic material.

Jozef Wesolowski, a Pole who had been defrocked by a Vatican tribunal, last year became the first person to be arrested inside the Vatican on paedophilia charges.

A statement said the trial, the first on paedophilia charges to be held inside the Vatican City, would start on July 11.

Wesolowski was the Vatican ambassador to Santo Domingo, when local police found that he was procuring underage male prostitutes. Vatican investigators then found child pornography on his computer.

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"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

Manifesting Your Calling-Summer Solstice

Summer is the season of joy, enthusiasm, purpose, and radiance. Ancient peoples around the world have used the Summer Solstice Fire to focus this innate energy in the summer season into clarifying the actions necessary to fully manifest their soul's calling. This work begins in gratitude and celebration of life itself. For those who were prepared and chose to act skillfully, last winter solstice provided a unique opportunity for sudden realignment with your path. This week we will revisit this arc and explore how to work skillfully with the Summer Solstice, which is a fire of heart and action, to more fully manifest your calling and its power in your life. This week host and shaman, Christina Pratt, will add part five to the four part series in the archives on using shamanic skills to find your calling and-more importantly-to live it.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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Shadows Before Despair

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

A little birdie delivered some screenshots to me last night. Apparently, there was a little dustup on Teal Tribe. It was quelled pretty quickly. The unintentional instigator either quit or was banned in short order. (In the third screenshot, you can see the little grey check that indicates that this former triber has left the building.) So, what was the cause of this well-contained incident? Once again: the shadow work.

Click Image to Expand

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"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

Joyful Manifestation, Summer and Shamanism

Do you find yourself in mid-summer grumpy about the weather, bored, and facing a life empty of joy, purpose, and the radiance of your true calling? If so, the skillful person looks to the heart. Imbalance in the heart is indemic in our contemporary world that rewards arrogance and disdains heartfelt devotion. Through shamanic skills we can engage with the spirit of summer to determine the path necessary for balance and wholeness in the heart. Join host and shaman, Christina Pratt, this week for part four of our five part series about engaging with the seasonal spirits. The seasons draw the unique richness from each stage of the cycle of a year on earth. Summer is the season of joy, enthusiasm, and creativity. This week we explore working with the season openly and skillfully to bring a simple elegance, rich blessings, and a refinement of presence to the core of our lives.

Tuesday, June 2 2015 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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Why Shamanism Now? on Co-Creator Network
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Around the Web, Around the World

"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

Shadow, Sex, and Shamanism with Marsha Scarbrough

Where people gather in community there is Shadow, even in spiritual communities. Where there is unacknowledged Shadow there is sex, often good and exciting, and usually inappropriate. At its worst this Shadow driven sex moves hand in hand with great abuse of trust and misuse of power and it tears spiritual communities apart. Author Marsha Scarbrough shares her passionate, sexual, painful journey in her new book Honey in the River: Shadow, Sex and West African Spirituality. Marsha explores this all too common experience with honesty, vulnerability, and maturity so that we can get past our overly simplified victim/perpetrator stance and see the movement of spirit, shadow, love, and the Trickster in the mix. Join host and shaman, Christina Pratt, and her guest Marsha Scarbrough this week as they discuss shadow, sex and the Trickster and their movement in our lives.

This week's guest:
Marsha Scarbrough

Marsha's new book, Honey in the River: Shadow, Sex and West African Spirituality, takes us on a breath-taking journey of love, passion, sex, betrayal and ultimately, healing in the world of powerful rituals, dance, African drumming, mythological archetypes and sacrifice. She is a freelance journalist, who has had over 75 articles published in national magazines such as TV Guide, Body & Soul, Natural Home & Garden and Millimeter: The Motion Picture and Television Production Magazine.

Her first book, Medicine Dance: One woman's healing journey into the world of Native American sweatlodges, drumming meditations and dance fasts, published in August 2007 by O Books, John Hunt Publishing, was named First Runner Up for the 2009 Zia Award by New Mexico Press Women as well as a finalist in USA Book News National 2007 and 2008 "Best Books" Awards and the 2008 New Mexico Book Awards.

Along the way, Marsha traveled with Buddhist teacher Joan Halifax, danced with movement guru Gabrielle Roth, earned a brown belt in karate from martial arts legend Tak Kubota, participated in indigenous healing ceremonies of dance and sweat lodge and produced workshops for a Nigerian master drummer. Marsha and her book can be found on her website: www.marshascarbrough.com.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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Why Shamanism Now? on Co-Creator Network
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Shadows Before Suicide

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

I've always found the theme song from M*A*S*H to be darkly compelling. Beautiful and melodic, it is an oddly seductive paean to ending it all. Reading the latest from the marvelous Gaby Petris, it occurs to me that for many people, Teal Bosworth Scott Swan's relentless obsession with suicide has a similar allure for many of her followers. She is far more dangerous. When she speaks of suicide as, not only painless, but blissful, she does so without tongue in cheek. Hers is a kind of siren song pulling her many suicidal followers closer and closer to the rocks.

I want to show you a precarious vortex that is massing around the teacher Teal Swan. Within it suffering people seeking an answer are circling. I want to communicate a sense of its dangerous undertow. That pulls people in. And under.

I first became aware of Gaby's writings, when her first post on this topic was recommended to me in a comment on my last post on teal. It is also must reading. When I learned that she was working on a more in-depth piece, my only question was, how can I help? Together, Gaby and I sorted through screenshots we've both collected of Teal Tribe discussions about the suicide option, and about the 22 year-old triber who recently took his own life.

When I really delve into the patterns of teal's communication with her flock, the picture that emerges always proves to be so much worse than I'd thought. I am eavesdropping, I know, as I look at these snapshots of Teal Tribe conversation. I am not a tealer or a triber. I am an observer, a rubbernecker, watching accidents occur in slow motion. And it is an awful thing to see the train coming and be so unable to stop it.

Teal Tribe is brimming over with creative, intelligent, even brilliant, people. Many are also wounded and vulnerable. And, far too many are suicidal.