When I was a girl, my safe space was a field of soft sand, high grass and a stand of pine trees. Whenever life was overwhelming, I would escape to this haven of nature, which held a huge pine tree with boughs that spread out like arms beckoning me home. Within its embrace I felt like I belonged. I gave that tree my tears, fears, dreams and love. I was never comfortable with the family religion or going to a church. For me, God lived in that field, the one place I could pour my heart out and feel I was being heard. No matter where life took me, that oneness with nature has remained. From the waters of Lake Michigan that would soothingly wrap around me, easing my emotional pain to the winds of the Black Hills that swirled around me and whispered to my soul. When I most needed it, nature would always provide.
Through the years, there have been times when I went into therapy and learned methods to heal my traumas and increase my self-esteem, but something was always missing. Then in 2010 I found a 16-month program based on Andean Shamanism which spoke to me on a deep spiritual level. There I learned to shake a rattle and bang a drum, things I always believed I had no rhythm for. The south, west, north and east became more than directions on a map, instead becoming a way for me to explore myself, the ancestors and my perceptions of the world. I began to remember things I was not even aware I knew and became more connected with the energies that swirled around me. Each rite and ceremony brought me closer to myself, deep traumas and emotional wounds were able to be healed. Through shamanism I began to understand how the lives of my ancestors have impacted my life and that it is never too late to heal, even those who have already passed on. When I was young, I felt so disconnected from God and anything that was associated with religion. Now I see that the divine is the light that shines through every human, animal, element, plant and stone. By using shamanic teachings, I learned how to heal my ancestors, connect with past lives, heal aspects of myself and move past the limitations I unconsciously put on myself. Now I have become a healer and practitioner. I am so grateful to those pine trees that nourished me as a child. Ready to experience a Shamanic session? Learn more here.
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