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rabid1stEvery day I’m shuffling. Like it or not. Sore feet or not. Shamans dance. We shuffle. We sway. We face right. We face left. North. South. East. West. Never mind my twisted joints, my muscle spasms…my lack of rhythm…I just keep moving. To live is to suffer. Or so the Buddhists tell us. Life doesn’t wait for you; it is like the city bus in that respect, and in many others. Life. Death. Sick. Well. Happy. Sad. The wheel of life turns on and on. A shaman turns in imitation of that wheel, around her group, her tribe, measuring out the circumference of the sacred circle. We bless endeavors and spaces. We pray. The circle was the first church, according to those who’ve studied these things.
It was a shaman who designed Prehistory’s medicine wheels. Like Bighorn, above, they were drawn in the sand, often outlined with small stones. Or majestic ones, in fact, because Stonehenge might well be such a sacred circle.
But a circle is, also, by its very nature, exclusive. One day you’re in and the next day you’re out. Who likes them odds? What if you feel unworthy at your core? What if you are not the same as everyone else? What about those who exist outside the blessed space? Are they unprotected? If we are us, then they are them. But the universe is a whole thing, one thing, though it has many parts. Shamanism teaches us there is nothing outside or beyond creation. No us. No them. No space that isn’t blessed and safe and sacred. The Great Everywhere Spirit is everywhere.
So why circle at all?
We circle to remind ourselves that life is about wheels not walls. There are no corners. We cannot hide. There is no way to get lost and forgotten forever. When you move in a circle, whichever direction you take leads you back to your starting place, back to yourself. We have met the enemy and they are us, according to Pogo. But then, we quite like us, right? We always have the best ideas. If only everyone else could be part of us. It has always been the job of a Shaman to define the tribe, to set the parameters of the circle, but it is not coincidence that a medicine wheel in sand is easily erased and recreated. I move my feet as I pray, because I know someone is out there waiting to have a circle drawn around them.
This has been an entry for Real LJ Idol: Topic 1 To Find All The Entries For This Topic CLICK HERE!
It was a shaman who designed Prehistory’s medicine wheels. Like Bighorn, above, they were drawn in the sand, often outlined with small stones. Or majestic ones, in fact, because Stonehenge might well be such a sacred circle.
But a circle is, also, by its very nature, exclusive. One day you’re in and the next day you’re out. Who likes them odds? What if you feel unworthy at your core? What if you are not the same as everyone else? What about those who exist outside the blessed space? Are they unprotected? If we are us, then they are them. But the universe is a whole thing, one thing, though it has many parts. Shamanism teaches us there is nothing outside or beyond creation. No us. No them. No space that isn’t blessed and safe and sacred. The Great Everywhere Spirit is everywhere.
So why circle at all?
We circle to remind ourselves that life is about wheels not walls. There are no corners. We cannot hide. There is no way to get lost and forgotten forever. When you move in a circle, whichever direction you take leads you back to your starting place, back to yourself. We have met the enemy and they are us, according to Pogo. But then, we quite like us, right? We always have the best ideas. If only everyone else could be part of us. It has always been the job of a Shaman to define the tribe, to set the parameters of the circle, but it is not coincidence that a medicine wheel in sand is easily erased and recreated. I move my feet as I pray, because I know someone is out there waiting to have a circle drawn around them.
This has been an entry for Real LJ Idol: Topic 1 To Find All The Entries For This Topic CLICK HERE!
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(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-19 05:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-19 05:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-19 05:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-19 05:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-19 05:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-20 02:33 am (UTC):grin:
I am clearly not certain about this direction as yet, but so far it seemed to go well with this topic. I told my SO what the first topic was and he asked me to repeat it. Then, he laughed and said, "Well, that one is practically made for you." I am thinking they will want me to write about turnips next and I will be completely blocked.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-19 08:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-20 02:33 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-19 08:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-20 02:34 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-20 12:32 am (UTC)I especially liked and resonated with this line.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-20 02:35 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-20 12:48 am (UTC)I like your thoughts on the circle. If a circle is big enough, it can include everyone. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-20 02:37 am (UTC)And you are right, we can include everyone. Thank you for leaving me some feedback. It does help build my confidence.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-20 11:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-21 03:37 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-21 03:08 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-21 03:38 am (UTC)(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-22 05:48 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-22 09:06 am (UTC)Thank you so much for your insightful comment.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-22 06:07 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-22 09:09 am (UTC)Glad to hear the concept struck you as well.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-22 07:31 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-22 09:11 am (UTC)Of course, I am not sure I will stick to this tone. I saw that can put off some voters, but I tend to be flippant most of the time. Still, this is a part of my life that I felt I could share on this topic.
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:I quite enjoyed that
Date: 2011-10-22 05:22 pm (UTC)Re: I quite enjoyed that
Date: 2011-10-24 03:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-23 12:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-24 03:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-23 04:08 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-24 03:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-23 06:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-24 03:56 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-24 02:53 pm (UTC)Very beautiful perspective.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-24 03:58 pm (UTC)Thank you for the lovely feedback.
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-24 11:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-25 05:03 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-25 05:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-26 12:37 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-25 06:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-26 12:38 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-27 12:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-27 07:04 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-27 03:04 am (UTC)Very nice.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-27 06:56 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-27 06:23 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-27 06:54 am (UTC):wink:
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-27 08:24 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-28 02:50 am (UTC)I was sort of grandfathered in to Shamanism, literally, my stepfather's father Little Bird was a medicine man and my brother's wife was a seer. So I had some early training in spirit contact and once my mind was open to the ideas, there they were. :grin: But I didn't even realize that I was practicing Shamanism until I took a class on prehistoric religions in college. That was were I discovered that my only peculiar brand of spirituality wasn't as oddball as I'd previous believed. It simply wasn't addressed often in the modern world.
If you want to learn more about Shamanism you can go to http://www.shamansociety.org/about.html
Though I am not a member of that society, nor do I have a public practice, they are dedicated to moving Shamanism forward with modern culture.
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-27 06:18 pm (UTC)~*::Meow::*~
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-28 02:51 am (UTC)