- Assignment:
- Reading: Celtic Shaman; review chapter three
- Way of shaman: review chapter four
- Sites to visit:
- a href="http://www.geocities.com/~animalspirits">Animal Spirit Guides Power Animals
The Lesson:
Note: This lesson applies to ALL types of Allies.
What is an Ally? According to Jamie Sams' teachings Allies are ‘medicine' and medicine is defined as "anything that improves one relationship to the Great Mystery and to all life" and "anything which brings personal power, strength, and understanding" to the body, mind, and/or soul.
When speaking of our Animal Allies, Sams says that animals exhibit habit patterns that relay messages of healing to anyone astute enough to observe their lessons on how to live. In other words, Allies are our support system, friends, and teachers and they provide us with information on how to connect with the self, nature, and with spirit.
Many people are familiar with the concept of shamans working with plants, animals, and gemstones as teachers and guides. It was dicussed in an earlier lesson, you might review it. Ally is a good word since it denotes that there is a relationship between the shaman and the ally. This relationship comes f rom practicing increasing our awareness so that it expands to include the vibrational frequencies of other life forms. Native traditions refer to this relationship as Respect. How does one cultivate a relationship with seemingly inanimate objects or with creatures incapable of speech? Willingness, effort, intent, and practice are the keys.
In an earlier lesson we established that all matter is made up of energy forms or patterns which interact within themselves and outside of themselves. (Sort of like the push-pull form a chat rooms.) As you progress though your studies your level of awareness will expand to include things you barely noticed before...thing which suddenly become important teachers in your life.
Learning to work with Allies is simple as long as you make the effort and are willing to do a little work. Some people are blessed with instant understanding of the lessons offered by an Ally, but most of us have to work at it. Fortunately, the work is pretty fun!
Sometimes an Ally will come to you in ways so clear that you KNOW it is a creature that you must work with. (Penny's tree for instance!) And Allies aren't secretive about wanting to work with you. You probably already have things lying around the house which are huge clues about the Allies which want to work with you. Wander around your home and look at some the nic nacs, pictures, statuettes, and items which you've decorated with. Why did you collect them? What do they represent or reflect about life to you? What is your favorite climate? What sorts of animals and plants grow there? What places in nature make you feel deeply connected to the All? Did you have an imaginary friend as a child? What was it? These are all valid clues about the totemic or ally possibilities that you need to further investigate.
Another way of learning about your Allies is through your dreams, synchronistic events, gifts, and feelings.
Once you've identified a possible Ally, immerse yourself in it. Learn everything you can about its history, uses, location, shape, color, texture, habits, etc. Collect pictures, bric-a-brac, posters, or statuettes and place them about your space. Welcome the energies of that animal, plant, or gem stone into your life. Really get to know it and when you've finished the study, prepare to meet it in a meditation.
Set up a time when you will be undisturbed; take a visual representation of the Ally with you. Relax, slow your breathing down, and clear your mind as best you can. Then put up a mental screen in your mind's eye and invite the Ally to come to you.
It will.
Once it appears, notice if there are any feelings coursing through your body. Chills. Goose bumps. Anxiety. Allow yourself to get comfortable with the image on your mental screen. That done, see yourself stepping onto the screen with the creature. Of course, if you're able to astrally project into this place, all the better! Now observe the creature and involve as many of your senses as you can in the process. Notice anything and everything.
For instance, did the blank mental screen suddenly become a place in nature? Are there colors? Sounds? Scents?
Greet the Ally respectfully. Thank it for coming. Then ask it what lessons it has come to help you with and h ow you might best learn them. Then simply be with the creature and wait for the answer.
Don't get frustrated if nothing much happens at first. Stick with it. Any skill takes time to develop and you are actually exercising several issues at once: communication, trust, openness, and sensory expansion, just to name a few! So don't rush it or get flustered.
When you are through, thank the creature or object and see it fade from the mental screen in your mind. Then return to your normal waking consciousness and write down any impressions your had.
After this exercise be sure to pay attention to any dream, feelings, intuitions, etc. You will likely begin receiving information in a variety of ways to confirm whatever impressions you received in the meeting.
Once you've established a connection what do you do?
In your research of the creature or object you will, hopefully, have noticed some aspect about it that relates to your life in some way; perhaps to a particular problem that you've had for ages. Using Bear for an example, the research would reveal a lot about its characteristics, and habits. You would learn that the Bear is related to lessons about introspection and healing and that he stores up fat for its long winter sleep in a cave which it retires to after the hectic fall season of gathering food. The realization might strike you, as you think about this, that you have a habit of working your tail off but never take time for a break in between projects. The lesson might be one of simply learning to take a break. Or it might be one of learning to use your energies more efficiently.
See how it works?
Working with allies is simple work because the energies involved are basic needs and impulses.
After establishing the basic relation with the Ally you can move on to the deeper lessons. There is a trick that nearly all Allies use when working with humans: they move from simple to difficult in respect for human frailty and limitations. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. If your personality type is hard-headed then the Ally that works with you will adjust itself to that system's requirement for effective communication.
Know that after you've recognized and formally accepted an Ally, you have a great friend and teacher. If you have problems in life, you can turn to that Ally for guidance. If an Ally doesn't work well with the energies of that particular problem, it will turn you to another Ally that does. Your first Ally acts as your pass-port into working with all other Allies from all three kingdoms: animal, mineral, plant. And THAT is very important in shamanic work.
- Book to Read:
- When Elephants Weep - Mason and MaCarthy
- anything by Cynthia Moss
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