There is a wee path, a shortcut I take on my way to town. A brief interlude of semi secret vegetation.
I revel in the grounded earthy feeling of my footsteps on soil, stepping carefully over exposed roots and using jutting rocks as support against the steep slope.
This path opens out to a view high over a well treed neighbourhood and clear on toward layers of an inlet, more land, then the ocean, and still further on to a far away mountainous island faint against the sky where the sun often sets with the most glorious splendor. The sky ~ big, blue & bright, hung close with thick fog, or fast blowing low hanging clouds covering the towering mountain tops that bank this place. It’s always so beautiful. It always feels so good, right here, on this precipice partway down the mountain.

I stand here. At this opening. Compelled to stop & feel. To notice. To connect.

Behind me looms the trees of the hill, close against my back. Before me, this beautiful view. A magical place before I move into the bustle of cars & people.
Here, my eyes take in the gifts. Here my body brings in delight and fills up with it. Here my Soul connects to the Sidhe, the Fae, the Spirit of Earth Light. It’s a tangible & almost visible perception. Like little tingly sparkles rising up and around, rejoicing, laughing, dancing. There always seems to be bird song in the air ~ if you listen. There is much unseen here ~ if you pause to notice.

I leave offerings tucked under the Salal. Offerings to those who hold this space sacred while the odd pedestrian passes through. Blessed to be a part of this dance. Blessed to share the bounty of the elements, the directions, the Spirit of this place.

The intent for this Shamanic Journey was to retrieve a Power Animal for a young lady I had recently met at work. It was late and I was tired so I asked my Power Animal to help the message come quickly and clearly – and it certainly did! Before we even entered the portal to the Lower World a flash of the animal came to mind, dismissing it I descended and again it flashed before my mind’s eye. Other animals were around, but they all seemed to be crawling, slithering, bounding etc away from us. I had been told if you see an animal three times on this type of journey it is the one. Well again it came before me, this time large and clear. It was a Bald Eagle, just to help be sure it wasn’t my own ego insisting on this animal, I asked it if it was indeed her Power Animal. Instead of answering as they sometimes do, it simply cocked it’s head to one side like a bird would and opened it’s wings – larger than a human, this bird was – it enveloped me and up it flew with a “little me” in it’s talons. Off to her house we flew and it perched outside her bedroom window to peck at the glass. There the woman lay sleeping in her bed. The window opened and this bird (now more realistically sized) hopped onto her chest. It was then that I held out the quartz crystal and asked if it would come into it and back with me to Ordinary Reality to help this lady. Zzzzip! Off it flew into the crystal to await transfer. Just like that! So quick. So easy.

I ended up not being able to meet again in person with the woman I had retrieved for, and wouldn’t be able to for another week or more. I ended up going on another journey where I camayed the Spirit of Eagle in the appropriate manner, and performed the rest of the ritual via long distance.

I journeyed on the Sea Bus (hey it’s 12 quiet minutes on my way to and from work! ) to my Power Animal to ask what I can do today to keep me on my life & soul path.

The familiar “Eat and Breathe” message was given to me. “This comes first, you can’t do much effectively if you don’t take care of your basic needs first. Open your eyes and see the seals.”

I opened my eyes and scanned the water, but it felt better to have eyes closed and I hadn’t really left my Power Spot.

Messages of living according to my soul – checking in and making sure I am comfortable. Loosening my grip on the “too sweet” self – Those times when I try hard to be nice and deliver some message while the other person misses my point or importance because of it. There are times I don’t need to be “nice” I need to be honest and clear.

Just as the Sea Bus was closing in, in it’s docking bay – I saw it.
A silver and brown speckled harbour seal in no hurry to leave despite the boat closing in.
I was able to watch for a nice time before it slipped under the water with a flip of it’s tail.

A beautiful feeling of loving support & guidance filled me.
Though I definitely don’t doubt the reality of spiritual presence, messages received, ect ect… I just love it when there is a tangible confirmation – a “coincidence” (I use that term loosely) Like my left brain is satisfied along with my right brain… kinda like my current job I guess

I have a friend who wanted to clean out an old shed to use for drying herbs to make various medicines and natural products like soap. She went in, pulled out boxes, moved tables and then began vacuuming up cob webs. Suddenly she stopped – realising she was sucking up spiders unfairly, she hadn’t given them any warning or time to relocate. Later that day she asked me to do a journey to Grandmother Spider to inquire about what could be done. This is an excerpt from my email telling her the story:

“When I went to bed I did a quick journey to Grandmother Spider for you – let me see if I can remember – you know those before bed journeys!
 
Okay… yep she said there was much noise and her brothers and sisters and children were afraid of this sudden intrusion. I had the merged eye view of a young spider in an upper corner screaming with terror, wide eyed (or was that many eyed?.. grin) at the noise.
 
I explained what you would like to do with the space and that you had realized the sudden vacuuming had to stop and honoured that and wanted to honour them. She liked what you would use this space for. She said to:
 
Walk around the shed (if that is possible?) singing softly,
 
lay some plant offerings at the open door threshold – (I saw them as green with little tiny pale yellow flowers) 
 
Stand back, facing the open door and tone/chant/sing.
 
This gives them offerings as well as time to prepare themselves for moving.
 
Then use something quiet like a broom to remove cobwebs and stuff.
 
The best part is, she said if you make allowances for them to live inside somewhere while you do your spiritual drying & medicine working – they will infuse what elements you have there with Spider Medicine. She also said to come and talk to her for any other communication and processes you have with this place.”

June 24th, 2009

Within the walls of Heart Quest Holistic Wellness Center we smudged the room and ourselves. I rang the singing bowl and put on Sandra Ingerman’s drumming CD. We lay on the reiki table side by side, our sides touching and holding hands.

I began to journey, met my Power animal, Musha – an Elephant, and asked her to take me to the Lower World to retrieve my daughter’s Power Animal.

There was a tiger, and I was in the process of trying to dismiss it (I was having a hard time discerning if this was true or my ego talking as we have had much reference to her being born the year of the tiger and a Chinese man once told us she had many tiger qualities) when she piped up and said, “Mom, I see a totem pole!”

I asked Musha to take me to the pole and part of it came to life as a Bear. This was her Body Protector. Apparently I needed to retrieve this as well as her Power Animal. I confirmed that the tiger was indeed the right animal, ego or not and asked first the Body protector to come back with me so I can bring it to her in Ordinary Reality.

After I camayed the spirit energy of the Bear Body Protector into her chakras and sealed in the energy, I went back to the lower world for her Tiger Power Animal and repeated the ritual process.

Since then, she has been able to connect with these spirit helpers along with many others even without ‘formal’ training on how to journey. She simply intuits and sees their presence and opens dialogue. She has clairsentient ability along with clairvoyant and clairaudient abilities. Sometimes this sensitivity makes life tough as we encounter strong unwanted energy in many places in our daily lives, but she also has much strength and help with which to draw resources from.