I'd like to introduce this class to all of you. It's something I've been relearning for about ten years. Several people have asked me to teach this, and I'm ready to attempt to do this. I say attempt, because I can only share with you a way...you need the commitment to create it in your life.
Several years ago I went camping for the first time. I had been living in New York City for six years, and at the time I decided to camp, I was living in Austin, Texas. I wanted to connect to something, anything that was more real than my life appeared to be at that time. I was confused, I felt out of synch with everything, and I was constantly depressed. Nothing I did could pull me out of my depression and, at times, violent mood swings. I decided that I needed to go off by myself and figure things out. Why camping, I wasn't too sure at the time.
I bought all of the equipment that I thought I needed, and I packed my backpack. I picked the place, which is called Lost Maples, deep in the heart of Texas' Hill Country. I took off late in the day, and when I arrived, nobody else was at the park except for the officials. They showed me on the map where I could camp. I chose a spot about five miles away that was alongside a creek and at the foot of a steep cliff/hill. Thety told me to be careful, because there were mountain lions around. I headed out, and I immediately became aware of how imbalanced by backpack was. I was swaying all over the place. I couldn't walk straight if I tried. Problem was that the sun was setting, and I couldn't stop to try and redo it. I kept going until I got to my camp site. I put up my tent with not too much of a struggle, and I began cooking. That became a problem, and I spilled my food everywhere after burning it. I sat there in the dark, moonless night, wondering what in the world I had gotten myself into. I turned in for the night exhausted.
A couple of hours later I heard this loud noise amongst the trees. I remembered the park service employee's warning to me about Mountain Lions. I jumped to the wrong conclusion, and I panicked. I couldn't get back to sleep waiting for this ferocious animal to come after my tent. I tried to keep my dog quiet, and he and I just listened. Finally, the sun began to rise, and I found out who the night time intruder was....an Armadillo. Man did I feel stupid. I couldn't stop laughing at myself. I realized then how disconnected I was from Nature, and Nature sure brought me some good lessons to help me realize it. That entire trip became one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. I began questioning everything and seeing how we spend so much of our time isolating ourselves from our environment. When I returned home from my trip, my depression vanished, and I began my healing process...always spending as much time as I could out in the woods.
We put up walls, so we don't have to hear or see what's happening. We use air conditioning and heaters, so we don't have to experience the heat or coolness of the day. We put blinds up so we can't experience the natural rhythms and cylces of the seasons and of the moon and sun. We have thrown ourselves so far out of balance.
I once was talking with an elder who brought up the fact that people within his tribe were doing dances meant for Winter in the Summer time. He said that that will throw Nature completely out of balance within ourselves and with the Earth...that the dances need to be done at certain times. This really got me thinking about how out of balance we truly are. I began wondering how much of our dysfunctional world is caused by the fact that we are so disconnected from the Natural World, it's natural seasons and elements.
This class is for anyone...it doesn't matter what you have studied in the past, and it will only further support and deepen your connection with your work. If you've studied Reiki, SKHM, any type of healing work, this class will take you much further. Everything works in cycles...everything, and you develop and understanding of this, it will support all of your in such a beautiful, balanced way. We will work with meditation, art, dance, song, ritual, storytelling, and whatever else inspires us.
This class will include a lot of field work. The lessons will be sent out by e-mail each week, and each week, at least once, you'll need to venture out into the elements. Even if you live in New York City....it's off to the park you go. There is wildlife everywhere, and as we restablish that connection with the Earth, we will bring healing to our lives...and as we bring healing to our lives, we will bring healing to All of Creation. We will explore this healing through creating personal ritual of transmutation...becoming conscious and aware of all of our thoughts, the energy the create, and how to bring healing to them. We will create our own creation stories...so we can find a way to relate to our uniqueness within the world in a whole new way. We'll explore Tonglen and how to develop compassion for All of Our Relations. We'll begin exploring plants and their healing properties...also how they are affected by the seasons and elements...when to use them and not use them...We'll also explore the animals in our region and how our disconnection from them has brought dysfunction to our community and land. We'll begin exploring our relation to the elements, to the seasons, to the planets, and to the Earth. We'll figure out which element we use too much of...which element we use too little of and how to bring balance to them. We'll explore and identify and element that we wish to focus upon through prayer and ceremony and other healing methods to restore balance to.
For instance, the water on the Pine Ridge Reservation is heavily polluted. One of the problems within our community is alcoholism...the alcoholism pollutes the natural water balance within our body. Since we don't take so care of what's within us, we don't take care of what is outside of us. What could happen if we begin to heal the water outside of us? Could it help bring healing to within us as well? These are some of the things that we will look at.
The class will cost $30 a month and will last for six months. This class is unlike any I've taught so far. It will be an e-mail lecture class. Everyone is invited to participate, but you must have a strong commitment to this class. It is up to you what you receive from it. It will be an adventure, a time of rediscovery for all of us. It can bring healing to those dysfunctional areas of our lives and the Earth. I believe this class may also help us understand how to approach diseases that are caused by environmental toxins. In addition, if you suffer from mood swings or depression, this class may help as well.
This class is not soley about ourselves...this class is about bring healing to All Our Relations and to the Earth. It's time we come together and reconnect with what we are related to. We think of ourselves so separate and alone, which is simply an illusion. We are part of everything, and all of our actions affect everything for the next Seven Generations. This class is about stripping away that illusion and taking responsibility for the next Seven Generations in a beautiful way.
If you're interested, please contact me at shandoka@excite.com.
Shandoka
