2020/08/24. Each week, I draw two cards from the Mystical Shaman Oracle Deck and provide my interpretation of the energy for the week.

The Spiral

Spiral is all around us in the coffee my barista gives me, the spiral a dropped coin makes on the floor, and the beautiful nautilus shell. In Norse mythology, Nidhogg, a cosmic snake is at the base of the tree of life. The Spiral also represents the coiled snake when it is at rest, as well as natural energy moving in ceaseless spirals.

The spiral enters the spirit and give it energy to travel on a new journey, take that new journey. Eventually the spiral dissipates and you are in a new reality. 

To live in the new reality, you must let go of the past. The snake sheds its skin to become new again, so must you. The snake does not rush shedding its skin, it lets nature take its course. You must trust and have the intent shed your skin. The snake is never scared of its new skin, it is strong, confident, and it trusts nature.

You must start your journey and must trust. When you have shed your skin and lay in your new one, feel warmed by the sun that your journey has brought you to a new reality.

Taming the Wind

A feather is one of hundreds on the wings and body of a bird, together they allow it to fly. Air, is the fourth Spiritual Element in Tibetan shamanism. It is the element in which birds exist. To hold a feather is to hold a small part of how a bird experiences the element Air, and in turn worships Spirit.

The Shaman uses a feather when clearing a space, or person of dark and lower energies. Spirit gifts the Shaman with the feather so he/she may use it to waft smudging smoke to all corners of a room, or a person’s spirit. While your physical container exists, you have a commitment to use it well and honor Spirit for your gift.

Now, clear your spirit and your energies and communicate clearly. Start a journal, record your thoughts. Affirm your dreams and desires with clarity and give them intention, and power. When this card appears, it is time to clear up misunderstandings with others, listen to the other persons side of the story. 

To learn more, click this link

2020/08/24. Each week, I draw two cards from the Mystical Shaman Oracle Deck and provide my interpretation of the energy for the week.

The Spiral

Spiral is all around us in the coffee my barista gives me, the spiral a dropped coin makes on the floor, and the beautiful nautilus shell. In Norse mythology, Nidhogg, a cosmic snake is at the base of the tree of life. The Spiral also represents the coiled snake when it is at rest, as well as natural energy moving in ceaseless spirals.

The spiral enters the spirit and give it energy to travel on a new journey, take that new journey. Eventually the spiral dissipates and you are in a new reality. 

To live in the new reality, you must let go of the past. The snake sheds its skin to become new again, so must you. The snake does not rush shedding its skin, it lets nature take its course. You must trust and have the intent shed your skin. The snake is never scared of its new skin, it is strong, confident, and it trusts nature.

You must start your journey and must trust. When you have shed your skin and lay in your new one, feel warmed by the sun that your journey has brought you to a new reality.

Taming the Wind

A feather is one of hundreds on the wings and body of a bird, together they allow it to fly. Air, is the fourth Spiritual Element in Tibetan shamanism. It is the element in which birds exist. To hold a feather is to hold a small part of how a bird experiences the element Air, and in turn worships Spirit.

The Shaman uses a feather when clearing a space, or person of dark and lower energies. Spirit gifts the Shaman with the feather so he/she may use it to waft smudging smoke to all corners of a room, or a person’s spirit. While your physical container exists, you have a commitment to use it well and honor Spirit for your gift.

Now, clear your spirit and your energies and communicate clearly. Start a journal, record your thoughts. Affirm your dreams and desires with clarity and give them intention, and power. When this card appears, it is time to clear up misunderstandings with others, listen to the other persons side of the story. 

To learn more, click this link

https://youtu.be/AAcC93EyHP8

Each week, I draw two cards from the Mystical Shaman Oracle Deck and provide my interpretation of the energy for the week. This week is 2020/08/17.

The Medicine Wheel

The shaman recognizes the four cardinal signs of the compass. The wheel represents the circular pattern of life and it will help you understand your inner self. 

Sit quietly, to the South. You are clinging to, old desires, relationships, friendships, or a job. Release them and make space for the new that is coming.

West and consider toxic relationships. Maybe at work, friends, a lover, look at the negative feelings they create in you, and how they drain your energy, they must go. 

North. Pride, not in an arrogant way. Your passions, do you show them? Are you an artist who never paints, a musician that never records? A writer who never writes? Why? Change this. When asked, be proud to say what you are. 

East. Anger. Think of how you want to live life, write it down. Visualize it in your mind with clarity. This is your future that you want to manifest. Anger is fire, use it to add energy, boldness, and drive to your future.

The Hummingbird

Tiny and beautiful, hummingbirds fly enormous distances relative to their size. They migrate between North and Central or South America to feed on the nectar available in the summer flowers. They are fiercely territorial and protect their home vigorously. As the hummingbird drinks its high-octane nectar to fuel itself it shows us how important what we eat is. Only eat what beneficial and nutritious.

The hummingbird bypasses flowers which may be attractive but do not have enough nectar, so must you bypass opportunities that are less than what they seem. Pay attention to the details of offers that come your way.

The buzzing of hummingbird wings is the sound of a hummingbird with a new adventure. Trust that your spiritual guides have brought you to the right place, the right moment, now it is up to you to take bold action and like the hummingbird drink the nectar. Trust that success is assured, even if there are still tests and challenges. Know that all will be well. All is in the small.

To learn more click the link: bit.ly/3h3E6I0

#shamaniccounsel #shaman

Each week, I draw two cards from the Mystical Shaman Oracle Deck and provide my interpretation of the energy for the week. This week is 2020/08/17.

The Medicine Wheel

The shaman recognizes the four cardinal signs of the compass. The wheel represents the circular pattern of life and it will help you understand your inner self. 

Sit quietly, to the South. You are clinging to, old desires, relationships, friendships, or a job. Release them and make space for the new that is coming.

West and consider toxic relationships. Maybe at work, friends, a lover, look at the negative feelings they create in you, and how they drain your energy, they must go. 

North. Pride, not in an arrogant way. Your passions, do you show them? Are you an artist who never paints, a musician that never records? A writer who never writes? Why? Change this. When asked, be proud to say what you are. 

East. Anger. Think of how you want to live life, write it down. Visualize it in your mind with clarity. This is your future that you want to manifest. Anger is fire, use it to add energy, boldness, and drive to your future.

The Hummingbird

Tiny and beautiful, hummingbirds fly enormous distances relative to their size. They migrate between North and Central or South America to feed on the nectar available in the summer flowers. They are fiercely territorial and protect their home vigorously. As the hummingbird drinks its high-octane nectar to fuel itself it shows us how important what we eat is. Only eat what beneficial and nutritious.

The hummingbird bypasses flowers which may be attractive but do not have enough nectar, so must you bypass opportunities that are less than what they seem. Pay attention to the details of offers that come your way.

The buzzing of hummingbird wings is the sound of a hummingbird with a new adventure. Trust that your spiritual guides have brought you to the right place, the right moment, now it is up to you to take bold action and like the hummingbird drink the nectar. Trust that success is assured, even if there are still tests and challenges. Know that all will be well. All is in the small.

To learn more click the link: bit.ly/3h3E6I0

#shamaniccounsel #shaman

What this is – Hello and welcome to the “The Shaman Podcast”

Speaker –        Mark A. Ashford

                        I am a Usui Tibetan Reiki Master and Teacher for IARP

                        I am a Registered Teacher and Practitioner for Canadian Reiki Association

                        Tibetan Shaman

* This Podcast is one of several media available to you to help you understand and develop your awareness of energy healing practices, its history, and traditions. 

Some of the other sources are:

* YouTube videos – “Reiki and Shamanism”* Books – in full color available on Amazon.ca * Online courses* Blogs on Reiki and Shamanism* Click the link at the end for more information on our Social media and more…

So, let’s get to the subject of this Podcast…

Today, we are talking about Five Spiritual Elements in Tibetan Shamanism

The five elements in Tibetan Shamanism are space, air, fire, water and earth. In Tibetan philosophy, these elements are symbols of the fundamental forces that compose all phenomenal appearance. These elements create an organized system and are also central to Tibetan Buddhism.

Tibetan prayer flags are bright and beautiful, but their colours aren't just for show. Each hue signifies an element — and the flags are always arranged in a specific order, from left to right: blue, white, red, green, yellow. Blue represents the sky, white represents the air, red symbolizes fire, green symbolizes water, and yellow symbolizes earth. All five colours together signify balance.[1]

Tibetan Shamanism: ElementsColours Space / SkyBlueAirWhiteFireRedWaterGreenEarthYellow

A person is a blend of these elements, and to be truly healthy, the energies in these elements need to be balanced within the person.

These five elements – space, air, fire, water, and earth – are symbolic of the fundamental forces that are integral to all phenomena. As the body is developing in the womb, earth provides support, water provides cohesion, fire causes maturing, wind and air cause development, and consciousness, the element of space, provides spaciousness to form the body.

In Tibetan Buddhism and in Tibetan culture, life is seen through these five elements, which continually increase and decrease in relation to one another. This view forms the basis of medicine, astrology, the calendar, and psychology, and it underlies Tibetan traditions of shamanism, tantra, and Dzogchen.

Earth

The earth element is the densest expression in form, the most materially present, and is related to qualities of stability, hardness and heaviness. 

To meditate and connect with Earth find a place where you can be quiet and sit. 

For myself. This is a favourite bench close to a large lake. The lake will speak to the element of water which comes later. In the warm weather I will be wearing sandals and I will take them off and allow my feet to rest on the ground.

Speaker –        Mark A. Ashford

                        Usui Tibetan Reiki Master and Teacher and

                        White Shaman

What this is – Hello and welcome to the “The Shaman Podcast”

In this Podcast we talk about – 

* Shamanism* Reiki – Reiki energy healing, especially the lineage I follow originated in Tibet* And everything else that is related

Media – 

* This Podcast is one of several media available to you to help you understand and develop your awareness of energy healing practices, history, and traditions. 

The other sources are:

* YouTube videos – “Reiki with Candice, Mark, and Opame” * Books – eBooks and Paperback books – in full color available on Amazon.ca * Online courses at Teachable.com* A blog at ThePracticalShaman.ca

Today, we are talking about Shamans and how they can help you.

Shamanism, as we have learned before, has existed for many millennia before the current organized religions were formed. A shaman may be male or female, young or old and is part of the community. Being part of their community, they blend in. In dress and behaviour, they are indistinguishable from ordinary people.

In the Shaman’s world view, spirits and demons inhabit everything around us. Every part of the natural environment is alive with sentient forces, in the mountains, trees, rivers, lakes, rocks, fields, the sky and the earth, there exists spiritual energy.

Healing is the principal role of a Shaman. They may also be counsellors, confidents, tribal leaders, diviners of future events and spiritual protectors. Shaman have access to, and influence in the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits.

So how do Shamans journey to meet these spirits and energies?

Using rhythmic drumming, dance, meditation, and experience and familiarity with their Helping Spirits the Shaman triggers a self-induced ecstatic state or Altered State of Consciousness [ASC] where they visit the spirits and souls beneficial to the outcome they seek.

Shaman do not use chemical or psychedelic drugs, or plant-based hallucinogens, or alcohol when initiating and entering an Altered State of Consciousness. To use drugs and stimulants would mean loss of control of the Journey. The Shaman is always free to start and stop the Altered State of Consciousness at their will. Shamans are not possessed.

Illness, pain and suffering frequently have a spiritual component. The Shaman seeks the spiritual connection to these afflictions in order to help bring the person they are working for, back into connection with the wholeness of the universe.

This may involve returning a soul or soul fragment to the person which has become separated due to some malevolent energy or some trauma the person has encountered or endured. They may also extract energies that do not belong. The Shaman is concerned with alleviating pain and suffering as well as reconnecting the person to their sources of spiritual power, the sun and moon, stones and streams, stars and trees.

The Shaman can help in other ways. Work and work environments, relationships, and the outcomes of new ventures. Untangling problems from past lives, and helping to make decisions.

Speaker –        Mark A. Ashford

                        Usui Tibetan Reiki Master and Teacher and

                        Shaman

What this is – Hello and welcome to the “The Shaman Podcast”

In this Podcast we talk about – 

* Shamanism* Reiki – Reiki energy healing, especially the lineage I follow originated in Tibet* And everything else that is related

Media – 

* This Podcast is one of several media available to you to help you understand and develop your awareness of energy healing practices, history, and traditions. 

The other sources are:

* YouTube videos – “Reiki with Candice, Mark, and Opame” – Candice and Opame are two of my guides.* Books – eBooks and Paperback books – in full color available on Amazon.ca * Online courses at Teachable.com* A blog at ThePracticalShaman.ca

Today we are talking about – Karma

Karma originates from the Indian word Karmen.

It has great significance in very many religions around the world. But in the west, we are used to thinking of it in terms of someone who has done something that deserves the same as what they have done to us in return.

A friend of mine came out of a fitness class to find the driver’s door on her Mercedes had been keyed. Someone had walked past the car in the parking lot, and used a car key to scratch the door as they walked past. The door would have to be repainted, which costs money and she would be without the car for several days. Her reaction was “What goes around, comes around.” Meaning she hoped the same would happen to the person who did this to her.

When we say, “What goes around, comes around,” we unwittingly imply there is something, a force, an entity, or energy that will judge the perpetrator for what has happened and apply something equal to them. We do not know when, or if, and we don’t care to be there when it does. We just hope that it happens.

This means we think of Karma operating by the law of cause and effect, action and reaction, it governs all life and living things. If an individual sows’ goodness, he or she will reap goodness; if one sows evil, he or she will reap evil. Something like an Excel worksheet with one column for Good and one column for Bad. 

In many religions Karma has a much bigger role to play, and there are different forms of Karma.

Let’s dig in!

Karma has suffered a chronic miss-association with the word fate, or destiny. 

Fate is a Western idea, derived largely from the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It means, with wide variation, that one's life has been set by agencies outside oneself, and as a result we are helpless to change anything in it. We simply go from birth to death with a belief that something is supposed to be happening as decided by a power, which is greater than our self. 

We all have free will but what type is it? Is it absolutely free? 

No, there are restraints on our fee will, we cannot do whatever we want. As a scuba diver, I had to wear a lot of gear in order to descend to even modest depths and could stay down for a limited amount of time. The physical limitations were real and had to be respected,

Today we posted a new page to this side for the Third Episode of The Shaman Podcast. The Podcast is introduces a shortened style of Meditation anyone can practice anywhere.

Speaker –        Mark A. Ashford

                        Usui Tibetan Reiki Master and Teacher and

                        Shaman

What this is – Hello and welcome to the “The Shaman Podcast”

In this Podcast we talk about – 

* Shamanism* Reiki – Reiki energy healing, especially the lineage I follow originated in Tibet* And everything else that is related

Media – 

* This Podcast is one of several media available to you to help you understand and develop your awareness of energy healing practices, history, and traditions. 

The other sources are:

* YouTube videos – “Reiki with Candice, Mark, and Opame” – Candice and Opame are two of my guides.* Books – eBooks and Paperback books – in full color available on Amazon.ca * Online courses at Teachable.com* A blog at ThePracticalShaman.ca

Today we are talking about: Meditation

This is the age of the Coronavirus. There is a feeling of uncertainty, about the present as well as future. Simply put, our lives are not as we wanted or planned to be either today, this week, or this month.

Change is a constant in our lives but usually it happens to one thing at a time and we have learned to adapt to these types of events but this affects all parts of our lives, and it has been imposed on us. People I know tell me they have fits of sleeplessness because they cannot see an end to this or what their lives will be like afterwards.

This is where meditation can help, but not in the way it is often described or enacted in videos. 

Meditation is a practice where an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state. Scholars have found meditation difficult to define, as practices vary both between traditions, and within them.[1],[2]

Meditation has been practiced since antiquity in numerous religious traditions, often as part of the path towards enlightenment and self-realization. Some of the earliest written records of meditation come from the Hindu traditions of Vedantism. Since the 19th century, Asian meditative techniques have spread to other cultures where they have also found application in non-spiritual contexts, such as business, sport, and health.[3]

So, lets simplify this so that we can use it at any day or time, in any place, for a few minutes or much longer period of time.

This is how I do it. sit in a straight-backed chair that is comfortable. This can be at home, in my car, on the train, or a park bench. I slow my mind down and stop it from racing. I stop it from trolling over and over about what happened, what didn’t happen and what I feel should have happened – anything over which I have no control.

Speaker –        Mark A. Ashford

                        Usui Tibetan Reiki Master and Teacher

What this is – Hello and welcome to the “The Shaman Podcast”

What we talk about in this Podcast – 

* Shamanism* Reincarnation* Reiki – Reiki energy healing, especially the lineage I follow originated in Tibet, in Shamanistic practices that were recorded in Tibetan Buddhist Texts and practices that from the 8th century onward.

Media – 

* This Podcast is one of several media available to you to help you understand and develop your awareness of energy healing and practices, history, tradition and a little anthropology. 

The others are:

* YouTube videos – “Reiki with Candice, Mark, and Opame” – Candice and Opame are two of my guides.* Books – eBooks and Paperback books – in full colour available on Amazon.ca * Online courses at Teachable.com* A blog at ThePracticalShaman.ca

Today we are talking about: Reincarnation

Reincarnation is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being, its soul or Spirit starts a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. It is also called rebirth, transmigration or metempsychosis.

Reincarnation is a central tenet of the main Indian religions; Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Hinduism. Some Hindu groups that do not believe in reincarnation, instead they believe in an afterlife.

It is found in many streams of orthodox Judaism as well as some North American Natives and some Native Australians. 

Historic Greek figures, such as Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato all believed in and wrote about reincarnation.

The Celts and Druids had a central core belief that the soul does not die. After death it passes from one body into another... the main object for this is education. The soul learns or relearns about existence from one life to another but itself is indestructible. 

Taoist beliefs as far back as the Han Dynasty 206BC – 220AD describe reincarnation as “Birth is not a beginning; death is not an end. There is existence without limitation; there is continuity without a starting-point.”

The majority of the major sects in Christianity and Islam do not believe in reincarnation, but some such as the Cathars, Alawites, Druze, and the Rosicrucian’s do. 

It is the doctrine of salvation in Christianity that prevents belief in reincarnation. Islam believes in a linear life at the end of which a person is judged and sent either to Hell or Heaven. On judgement day all are resurrected. 

Personally, I think of my body as a container, a container in which my soul exists and is able to experience the physical world. Through each life time, my soul learns lessons about existence and balances its Karma, and in so doing, it becomes enlightened. When it achieves enlightenment, it breaks free of this plain of existence and has a choice to move on, or, continue but on its terms. When a particular spirit is so moved by compassion and love for those of us still in the throes of birthing pains again and again, it comes back to teach and heal.

The intermediate or transitional state between death and reincarnation is known as the Bardo in Buddhism. It is in this state that Near-Death Experiences [NDE] are recorded.

It is at this time,

Speaker –        Mark A. Ashford

                        Usui Tibetan Reiki Master and Teacher

What this is – This is the inaugural episode of “The Shaman Podcast”

When will this show appear – Monthly

What will we talk about? – 

* Shamanism* Reiki – Reiki energy healing, especially the lineage I follow originated in Tibet, in Shamanistic practices that were recorded in Tibetan Buddhist Texts and practices that from the 8th century onward.

Media – 

* This Podcast is one of several media available to you to help you understand and develop your awareness of energy healing and practices, history, tradition and a little anthropology. 

The others are:

* YouTube videos – “Reiki with Candice, Mark, and Opame” – Candice and Opame are two of my guides.* Books – eBooks and Paperback books – in full colour available on Amazon.ca Search for Mark A. Ashford* The blog at ThePracticalShaman.ca

 Let’s Look at what was posted today:

* Clearing your Space

Your space can be anywhere you spend time and over which you have control.

* Your home* Your Car* Your Office

Why do we have to clear our space?

The short answer is “Energy Attachment”

Our physical body is a container for our soul our spirit which moves form life to life gathering knowledge and understanding and also merit, merit being the final sum of our good and bad deeds done through this existence.

Not all souls and spirits pass over into the next life completely or sometimes not at all. They remain as non-caporal entities on this plain. They attach themselves to sources of energy, that is you and me, and especially those of us with the clear and bright energy aura.

We may encounter them on a train, the subway, on a bus, walking the streets, in a restaurant, at the mall, anywhere. They come home with us and stay in our homes where it is nice and warm and comfortable and where we provide them with energy.

To detach and clear these souls and spirits out of our life, and our home, we need to clear out space.

The traditional way is to:

* Ask Archangel Michael for protection as we are clearing our space. This is important because some of the souls and spirits may be “dark and lower energies.” If there are pets and other people in the space, these need protection from the Archangel as well.* Light a smudge wand let it start burning and the blow out the flames so it glows, smolder’s, and gives off sage smoke.* In each room of the house, starting from the highest point in the home use the smudge wand to draw the following symbol:* Open a window for spirits and souls to leave your space.* Draw a square. * Start at the lower left corner, draw across to the bottom right corner, draw up to the top right corner, across to the upper left corner. Then back down to the bottom left.* Draw an “X” starting from the top left corner, draw down towards the bottom right, and then from the top right corner, down to the bottom left.* While you are drawing this symbol announce your intention:

“All beings of light and love only.”

“Lower energies do not belong here. You! Must leave.”

* You will need to do this in each corner of the room as well as blowing smoke under the bed, in closets,