SWB Event – February 9th
Shamanism Without Borders Event
Call to Action – Tending Our Communities
In these turbulent times, our communities need our support more than ever. We will gather in a space of non-judgment and compassion to journey together. We will ask for guidance from Spirit regarding how best to support our communities right now.
Tuesday February 9th, 2021 at 12pm MST
Online via Zoom
FREE
Led by Nancy Lankston
How to Prepare:
Create sacred ceremonial space in a quiet place where you will not be disturbed by other people or loud noises. Set up a small altar, light a candle, and have your shamanic tools nearby. You are welcome to rattle or drum along during the shamanic journey process.
To take part in this powerful and beautiful group work,
please go to SWB Event Page and sign up to receive the Event Link.
Tree Magic
‘Every time I meet a tree, if I am truly awake, I stand in awe before it. I listen to its voice, a silent sermon moving me to the depths, touching my heart, and stirring up within my soul a yearning to give my all.’
~ Mary Webb
Image: Live Oak
by Nancy Lankston
What Can A River Teach Us?
“The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.”
~Joseph Campbell
All rivers flow in spirals. I was shocked when I learned this fact, and yet it instantly felt true to me. The reason for the spiraling motion has to do with the resistance to flow at the edges of the river where water meets solid land. Without resistance at its edges, the river would simply flow in a straight line down the “tube” defined by the riverbanks. Instead, the water continuously rolls and spirals over itself, changing in speed and direction depending on how close to the riverbank it finds itself.
The spiral, rolling movement is what makes every river meander from side to side like a snake writhing on the ground. Natural rivers always meander, cutting into one bank and shifting their direction back and forth over time. Only waterways altered by man flow in straight lines – and then only for a little while. Water continues to spiral even in manmade waterways; it continuously fights against the linear path laid out for it.
There are no straight lines in nature. Human bones also grow in spirals, as do tree limbs unfurling out from the trunk. Why? Because tissue is primarily fluid at its growing edge. This is the water planet. All natural growth is fluid — flowing, spiraling fluid.
Break the rule of the spiral and you end up with the mess of hideous canals and failing dykes that now fight against the spiral will of the mighty Mississippi River. Even today, the waters of the river fight to flow and meander their way to the Gulf of Mexico. It is their nature.
What does it say about humans when we keep trying to straighten a river’s flow? What does it say about us when we fight against the innate nature of the river?
Can we learn to listen to the spiraling waters? Can we become more fluid ourselves and stop forcing the waters into a straightened path? Can we relax and flow again? What might we learn if we watched and listened to the wisdom of the river?
~Nancy Lankston
The Song of Amergin
I am Wind on Sea,
I am Ocean-wave,
I am Roar of Sea,
I am Stag of Seven Tines,
I am a Hawk on a Cliff,
I am shining tear of the Sun,
I am Fairest among Herbs,
I am Boar for Boldness,
I am Salmon in Pool,
I am a Lake on a Plain,
I am a Hill of Poetry,
I am a Word of Skill,
I am the Point of a Weapon
(that pours forth combat),
I am God who fashions Fire for a Head.
Who knows the secrets of the
Unhewn Dolmen?
Who (but I) announces the Ages of the Moon?
Who (but I) know the place where falleth
the Sunset?
Who calls the Cattle from the House of Tethra?
On whom do the cattle of Tethra smile?
Who is the troop, the god who fashions edges
in a fortress of gangrene?
(I am) a Song on a Spear,
an Enchantments of Wind.
🌎❤️
We are the Earth.
The Earth are We.
Original;
Am gaeth i m-muir,
Am tond trethan,
Am fuaim mara,
Am dam secht ndirend,
Am séig i n-aill,
Am dér gréne,
Am cain lubai,
Am torc ar gail,
Am he i l-lind,
Am loch i m-maig,
Am brí a ndai,
Am bri danae,
Am bri i fodb fras feochtu,Am dé delbas do chind codnu,
Coiche nod gleith clochur slébe?Cia on co tagair aesa éscai?
Cia du i l-laig fuiniud gréne?
Cia beir buar o thig tethrach?
Cia buar tethrach tibi?
Cia dám, cia dé delbas faebru a ndind ailsiu?
Cáinte im gai, cainte gaithe.
Image: Scottish Highlands
by Nancy Lankston
Begin Living Again
Get out there.
🌎❤️
The Secret From The River
Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time?” That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere and that the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past nor the shadow of the future.
~Hermann Hesse
Think Like A River
We must begin thinking like a river if we are to leave
a legacy of beauty and life for future generations.
~David Brower
Earth Teach Me
Earth teach me quiet ~ as the grasses are still with new light.
Earth teach me suffering ~ as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring ~ as mothers nurture their young.
Earth teach me courage ~ as the tree that stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation ~ as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me acceptance ~ as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself ~ as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness ~ as dry fields weep with rain.
~Ute Prayer