The following article is authored by Trent Deerhorn, of Deerhorn Shamanic Services. He is a shaman and is incredibly knowledgeable in spirituality, combined with the mundane. He shows many times how the mundane (ordinary day to day things we do, what happens to us etc.), can affect your inner spirituality. If you would like to see more of Trent's articles as well as many other contributors, please go to his website www.deerhornshamanic.com. His email address is in the contact section. Send him an email to subscribe (FREE!!!!!) to Flight: A Living, Breathing Document of Consciousness Trent also has a new Youtube channel Trent Deerhorn from the Shaman's Hut.
Holding with Our Bodies
The teachings of the Medicine Wheel are many. Each and every stone, no matter what the tradition, holds within it the individual and group teachings that are the "medicine" of the people. I have studied the teachings of Medicine Wheels from numerous traditions and have found that, although the positions of the stones and the elements assigned to each direction may vary, the teachings are universal.
As an example, the direction that is assigned to represent the Earth element is that whose stone holds within it the teaching of "Holding with our bodies". What does this mean? Well, it speaks on a number of levels. This medicine is about understanding that we all need to be held. Sometimes we need to be held by our mothers. Sometimes we need to be held by our fathers. Sometimes we need to be held by our lovers. Sometimes we need to be held by our friends and family. Sometimes we need to be held by our community. And sometimes we need to be held by Spirit. The fact of the matter is that we all need to be held from the time we are born till the time we die, no matter how much of a time span there is between these two events.
We also need to learn, as we walk through life, how to properly hold our own energies. This is crucial to our well-being. If we live our lives constantly holding the energies of others or for others, we risk losing ourselves. We risk our individual identity. While we do need to be there and supportive for each other, and while we are all one, we are also individual with our own sets of needs. If we lose track of our own needs we become out of balance and end up becoming physically ill. As we recover from our illness, our needs gradually begin to be met again. The trick is to be able to have them met while, at the same time, being able to also meet the needs of those around us.
The way to do that is to be conscious of where our energies are at any given moment. This requires some self-diagnostic skill development (which is not easy but also not un- learnable). As we become more self-aware our own basic needs let us know when they are being met (we feel wonderful) and when they are not (we feel lousy). Sometimes it is a matter of understanding what our own "love language" is...that set of things that we need in order to feel that we are important to someone else and to feel loved by another. If we don't know our own love language then we are toasted for self-care principles. Often people who are caregivers are the ones who need the most care because they are so used to caring for others that they forget to care for themselves.
Part of holding our own energies is understanding that boundaries are healthy. Although we are all one, we all need healthy boundaries in order to have our own space and our own minds. This in no way takes away from the whole. In fact, the stronger we become with healthy boundaries the more functional we become and thus the better we become and helping the family, the community and the world. Being able to discern when something feels right for us or not is an important skill set. Paying attention to the body language of those around us so that we are able to sense if there is danger in the air is something that can get us out of serious jams and often save our lives. We spend way too much time in Western culture convincing ourselves that if that person over there looks creepy then we must be projecting and judging them when we don't even know them. But sometimes the creepy looking person is that way because they are a creep. So it is much healthier to pay attention to your instincts and keep yourself safe than it is to take your guard down before they have earned the right to get into your personal space. Boundaries are important and those who don't observe them need to learn them...quickly. Sometimes there is a cultural difference that we also need to accommodate. But sometimes the boundary is there because a person needs to be safe from a sociopath.
Another aspect is that of understanding what is our struggle and what is another person's struggle. This does not mean that if it is another person's struggle we just leave them to their own devices. We can still assist where assistance is necessary. But in understanding that "this is my struggle, not yours" we become more independent upon others and less burdensome as a result. In understanding that "this is your struggle, not mine" we become less the worrier and more available to clearly see some solutions. Worrying only robs our energy. This depletes our resources and makes us unable to thrive.
Take a moment to physically gather your energies. Make a large hugging motion that draws energy into your heart centre. Hold that energy there. As you do, affirm within or out loud, "I hold with my body." This, practiced daily for even just 30 seconds can make a world of difference to your holding capacity. Also, take some time every day to nourish yourself on a physical level. Exercise, eat nourishing foods, drink water, rest, have a bubble bath, make love....these are just a few of the ways that we can nourish ourselves on a physical level. When we treat ourselves with care we are sending a ripple effect throughout our family, community and world that carries with it the message, "You are loved".
Holding with Our Bodies
As an example, the direction that is assigned to represent the Earth element is that whose stone holds within it the teaching of "Holding with our bodies". What does this mean? Well, it speaks on a number of levels. This medicine is about understanding that we all need to be held. Sometimes we need to be held by our mothers. Sometimes we need to be held by our fathers. Sometimes we need to be held by our lovers. Sometimes we need to be held by our friends and family. Sometimes we need to be held by our community. And sometimes we need to be held by Spirit. The fact of the matter is that we all need to be held from the time we are born till the time we die, no matter how much of a time span there is between these two events.
We also need to learn, as we walk through life, how to properly hold our own energies. This is crucial to our well-being. If we live our lives constantly holding the energies of others or for others, we risk losing ourselves. We risk our individual identity. While we do need to be there and supportive for each other, and while we are all one, we are also individual with our own sets of needs. If we lose track of our own needs we become out of balance and end up becoming physically ill. As we recover from our illness, our needs gradually begin to be met again. The trick is to be able to have them met while, at the same time, being able to also meet the needs of those around us.
The way to do that is to be conscious of where our energies are at any given moment. This requires some self-diagnostic skill development (which is not easy but also not un- learnable). As we become more self-aware our own basic needs let us know when they are being met (we feel wonderful) and when they are not (we feel lousy). Sometimes it is a matter of understanding what our own "love language" is...that set of things that we need in order to feel that we are important to someone else and to feel loved by another. If we don't know our own love language then we are toasted for self-care principles. Often people who are caregivers are the ones who need the most care because they are so used to caring for others that they forget to care for themselves.
Part of holding our own energies is understanding that boundaries are healthy. Although we are all one, we all need healthy boundaries in order to have our own space and our own minds. This in no way takes away from the whole. In fact, the stronger we become with healthy boundaries the more functional we become and thus the better we become and helping the family, the community and the world. Being able to discern when something feels right for us or not is an important skill set. Paying attention to the body language of those around us so that we are able to sense if there is danger in the air is something that can get us out of serious jams and often save our lives. We spend way too much time in Western culture convincing ourselves that if that person over there looks creepy then we must be projecting and judging them when we don't even know them. But sometimes the creepy looking person is that way because they are a creep. So it is much healthier to pay attention to your instincts and keep yourself safe than it is to take your guard down before they have earned the right to get into your personal space. Boundaries are important and those who don't observe them need to learn them...quickly. Sometimes there is a cultural difference that we also need to accommodate. But sometimes the boundary is there because a person needs to be safe from a sociopath.
Another aspect is that of understanding what is our struggle and what is another person's struggle. This does not mean that if it is another person's struggle we just leave them to their own devices. We can still assist where assistance is necessary. But in understanding that "this is my struggle, not yours" we become more independent upon others and less burdensome as a result. In understanding that "this is your struggle, not mine" we become less the worrier and more available to clearly see some solutions. Worrying only robs our energy. This depletes our resources and makes us unable to thrive.
Take a moment to physically gather your energies. Make a large hugging motion that draws energy into your heart centre. Hold that energy there. As you do, affirm within or out loud, "I hold with my body." This, practiced daily for even just 30 seconds can make a world of difference to your holding capacity. Also, take some time every day to nourish yourself on a physical level. Exercise, eat nourishing foods, drink water, rest, have a bubble bath, make love....these are just a few of the ways that we can nourish ourselves on a physical level. When we treat ourselves with care we are sending a ripple effect throughout our family, community and world that carries with it the message, "You are loved".
The above article is authored by Trent Deerhorn, of Deerhorn Shamanic Services. He is a shaman and is incredibly knowledgeable in spirituality, combined with the mundane. He shows many times how the mundane (ordinary day to day things we do, what happens to us etc.), can affect your inner spirituality. If you would like to see more of Trent's articles as well as many other contributors, please go to his website www.deerhornshamanic.com. His email address is in the contact section. Send him an email to subscribe (FREE!!!!!) to Flight: A Living, Breathing Document of Consciousness Trent also has a new Youtube channel Trent Deerhorn from the Shaman's Hut.
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