Resourcing
I grew up in rural Minnesota in the 1960s and ‘70s where it was common practice to visit neighbors. Before I started elementary school and then over summers, Mom and I would occasionally have coffee with great aunt Florence. I would play by myself while they talked and eventually make my way over to Florence and sit next to her at the kitchen table. She would gently stroke my forearm, and I would feel a deep sense of peace. This is one of my favorite memories from childhood. I felt safe, seen, and unconditionally loved. Fifty years later, I...
When the ancestors “lean in”
We are affected far more by our ancestors than we realize. Their pain and unresolved wounds live in our body, passed down in the genetic code. We feel their suffering and it influences us, often subconsciously. When an ancestral pattern is active, it often signals that the ancestors are “leaning in.” They literally may be nearby in our environment, and we may feel their heavy energy. Their energetic presence may influence us in ways that we are not in agreement with. Sometimes the ancestors who have not yet done their healing or crossed to...
Activation in the central nervous system
Back in high school, a teacher reprimanded me for something trivial. His tone of voice, pointed energy, and air of authority created a reaction within me. Immediately my heart lurched, panic set in, and my stomach sank. Then I had the sensation of standing outside my body. My hands were tingly, and my energy moved up high in my head. I felt off for the rest of the day and walked on eggshells around that teacher for several weeks. Years later, I realized I had disassociated. My training in trauma work explained this experience. If something...
Signs of having a suffering being
Someone recently asked how they would know if they needed a compassionate depossession. A compassionate depossession is indicated when an additional soul is residing in the energy field of a living human. This lost soul is a “suffering being,” because by staying here in the Middle World after their death they remain trapped in the pain and suffering of their lifetime. Compassionate depossession is a gentle technique that lovingly aids the suffering being in opening their heart, letting go of their pain, then releasing and crossing to the...
Surrendering to the unknown
I took myself out to Steinke Basin for a walk yesterday afternoon because I felt crabby and out of sorts. Some discomfort had gotten stirred up in a class I had participated in the prior evening when I recognized I was once again in a place of not knowing. Leaving behind the familiar when you can’t yet see what lies ahead can be unsettling. When I got to the fork I took the path less traveled, a trail I’ve only been on a couple of other times – a meandering loop through hardwood forest. Most of the leaves had already fallen off the trees,...
A successful death
A big part of my shamanic healing practice is doing compassionate depossession. I frequently encounter souls of the dead who have remained in the Middle World and then attached to a living human. Unfortunately, the lost soul remains trapped in the pain and suffering of their lifetime until someone assists them. Betsy Bergstrom, who created a gentle, loving technique for compassionate depossession, defines a successful death as any death in which the soul crosses to the light. In my work, I see the effects of unsuccessful death. If someone...