Balancing Your To-Do List With Breathing

Our minds race with our to-do lists and things it thinks we should be doing.  We are multi-tasking as fast as we can, no sooner pushing the send buttons on our smart phones than we are updating the status on our Facebook pages and blogs.  Minds racing, hearts racing, always feeling behind, feeling less than enough.  This leaves us vulnerable to negative self-talk, accepting unwarranted criticism of others, and being overly critical of others as well.

To balance this out, and to actually help us be more productive, I suggest taking regular breathing breaks.  Set a gentle hourly timer on your computer or phone, and when the crickets or chimes or the silent pop-up reminder goes off,

• check in with your body – relax any tension in your face – roll your shoulders and straighten your back – unwind yourself from the constricted position you might have gotten yourself into

• take a deep breath, from your belly – now take another one – then, take one more

• if you’re feeling particularly anxious, close your right nostril with a finger on your right hand,  and breath through your left nostril for a few breaths to calm down your nervous system

You can keep it that simple, or you can add a smile to your breathing break, or perhaps a thought or two of gratitude.

Remember to unplug and take a walk outside daily if you can.  Let your eyes focus on something other than an electronic screen that’s a foot in front of you.  See the trees, the sky, the grass.  Put your to-do list in perspective – so much has already been done, and most of it not by you!  We are part of all that is, not in control of all that is.

Take a few deep belly breaths and enjoy your day.

The Spirits Where We Live

My husband and I are getting ready to do some landscaping, to take out the grass and replace it with drought tolerant, native plants.  We’ve been talking about doing it for a long time, and are finally moving forward.

I journeyed this morning to the sprit of our property to let it know of our plans and to see if it needed or wanted anything in particular.  I connected with it after only a few minutes of drumming, and its voice was very clear.  What it wanted was for me to develop a stronger relationship with it.  I acknowledge the spirit of our land every morning, but it wants something deeper than this, especially during this upcoming landscaping project.

I learned when I started gardening that it’s important to connect with the spirit of the plants you are working with to let them know you will be weeding them so they can retract their life force for an easier transition, or so they will feel blessed and welcomed if you are planting seeds.  I have learned to connect to the spirit of our house on a regular basis, smudging after vacuuming to make sure things are cleansed energetically as well as physically.  And I thought I’d paid attention to the sprit of our land as well, but it wants to ramp things up a notch.

I encourage everyone to get to know the spirit of the land where you live.  If you know how to journey, journey to the spirit of your land, introduce yourself, and see if there’s anything your land would like from you.  Develop a ritual, even (or especially) a simple one to honor it on a regular basis.  For instance, our land wanted me to go around its perimeter today and scatter cornmeal, something I’d told it I would do a long time ago but finally did today.

Another thing you can do is set aside an area, even a very small area, that you leave untouched, an area just for nature spirits.

If you don’t know how to journey, you can meditate or center yourself in some other way and set your intention to connect with the spirit of the place where you live.  Focus your energy in your heart and perhaps walk around the boundaries of your land saying hello.  Even if you live in a rental apartment it’s still important to connect – otherwise, it’s like living in someone else’s house without ever acknowledging them, or having roommates your never say hello to.

So, say hello to where you live.  Welcome it into your consciousness and develop a relationship with it.  After all, it was there first.

Sunflowers, © Lynda Skeen

Squash blossoms, © Lynda Skeen

“We’ll See” – A Zen Parable About Staying Open to What Is

There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.

“Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

“Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“Maybe,” said the farmer.

Art made from nails, bones, glass and other scraps I found buried in our yard. © Lynda Skeen

Core Shamanism

Sometimes I think it would have been really nice to have been brought up in a tribal community.  But part of the beauty of what’s become known as “core shamanism” is that it gives access to those of us who weren’t brought up in any specific shamanic lineage to have access to the shamanic way of connecting to Spirit shamanic tools and

As much as I sometimes would love to have a label to describe the lineage of my healing practice, Spirit has made it clear to me that what my ego is actually whining for is twofold:  some kind of “diploma” to hang on my wall, which wouldn’t prove anything about my connection to my helping spirits anyway, and permission to have the relationship with them that I have.

We don’t need to have a label or a lineage to have a connection to Spirit.  We don’t need permission from anyone else.  This is about our soul’s journey, which is between us and Spirit.  No diploma or seal of approval needed.  (And if we go back far enough, we all come from tribal / indigenous lineages anyway.)

I want to give a big thank you to The Foundation for Shamanic Studies (http://shamanism.org/), founded by Michael Harner.  FSS teaches a distillation of shamanic techniques found in common in shamanic cultures all over the world, which is where the term “core shamanism” came from.  Since they don’t belong to any one culture, we don’t have to worry about pillaging another culture, or pretending to belong to a culture we don’t have any relationship to.  I want to thank FSS for all that they’ve offered those of us who don’t belong to any one particular lineage.

Regardless of what tools and techniques we use, if we’re connected to Spirit, our practice will organically evolve, regardless of its roots.  It’s a living relationship with the universe.  Nothing will stay still, and Spirit will be our Teacher.

Have a beautiful, Spirit-filled week.

“My religion is kindness.”

I’ve been thinking about prayer a lot lately, about how we pray and what our expectations are.  I watch “good” people get sick, “bad” people get rich, and of course vice versa.  I watch shamanic healing sometimes result in physical healing, sometimes in my client “just” developing a deeper connection with the non-physical universe.  The variations are endless.

It seems to me that if we embrace whatever is happening with compassion and love, and a big dose of humility before the ultimate Mystery, we’ll be doing the best that we can.  There is plenty we can “do” to be healthy and happy and alleviate suffering in the world, but that doesn’t mean we’re all going to be perfectly healthy and wealthy all the time.  I think it’s about co-creating with the universe, about saying, “Here’s what I think I’d like, and what I think would be best for everyone involved, but I’m open to suggestions,” a la the “Thy will be done” of the Christian “Lord’s Prayer.”

We need to realize, regardless of what is going on, that we’re still connected to All That Is.  In this realization, we can act with compassion and love – the glue of that connection to the rest of All That Is – towards ourselves, towards other people, to our helping spirits, as well as our animal brothers and sisters and all other life forms.

As I was thinking about this, I thought of something the Dalai Lama’s said on 9/11: “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness” (see http://www.wildnesswithin.com/dalai.html for his whole statement).

Stay conscious of our true nature and our connection to all that is.  Treat everything and everyone with kindness, including ourselves.  Set our intentions to do the best we can; act accordingly.  And release the outcome to Spirit.  I’ve got to break it down that simply for myself, especially when things get too complicated and my mind and my ego want to take control and figure it out, which they can’t.

“My religion is kindness.”  I like that.

Petting a possum in our garage; © Lynda Skeen

a possum in our garage; © Lynda Skeen

Developing Your Intuition

I believe we’re all intuitive, because on a deep, basic level, we’re all connected.  It’s basically a matter of clearing out what’s blocking us from knowing what’s us and what’s coming from someone else.  This means getting to know ourselves, not falling prey to our ego’s power tripping when we do connect intuitively with someone else, and learning how to have appropriate boundaries so that we’re not overwhelmed by other people’s energies.

Get reconnected to your soul parts, release energies you’re holding onto that aren’t yours, do whatever psychological work you need to do, start meditating, and pay attention to your dreams.  For starters.

A simple exercise:  intend to go to a restaurant you’ve never been to before and order a meal that your body will enjoy and be nourished by.  Just get in your car and start driving.  Follow your instincts – your intuition.  Play.  Where do you end up?  What feels good to you?  It’s good to start with exercises like this that don’t have much consequences.  Just start listening to your heart, to your gut feelings.

I’d also like to give a shout out to the work of Judith Orloff, who can be found at www.drjudithorloff.com (I especially recommend her book Second Sight) and Ann O’Brien, who can be found at http://floweringsol.com.

A Prayer Stick for the New Year

Making New Year’s Resolutions can be a pretty harsh way to bring in the New Year, so I’d like to suggest making a Prayer Stick as a gentler, more loving way to motivate yourself to make changes in your life as well as to invite the universe to conspire with you.  I am posting this a couple of weeks before the New Year so you’ll have time to make one if you’d like.

(If you do end up doing resolutions, and your resolution is something you don’t want to do, I would suggest also resolving to do something as well so that you’re not leaving a vacuum where the old behavior was.   For instance, if your resolution is to quit smoking, I would suggest also resolving to take up yoga or some other form of exercise that focuses on the breath.)

Spend some time in quiet self reflection to think about what changes would you like to see in your life next year.  Focus your intention on positive, life-affirming changes.  Set yourself up to succeed, not to fail.

To make a prayer stick, you’ll need at least one stick, usually at least a foot or so in length, as well as ribbons, string, feathers, and anything else you’d like to decorate your stick with.*   Then, as you decorate the stick, focus your intention on your prayer for the New Year.  When you’re finished, place the stick somewhere where you can see it on a regular basis, such as in a potted plant near a doorway in your home.  Each time you walk by your prayer stick, take a deep breath and refocus your intention, sending your prayer to Spirit.  At some point, maybe in a few weeks, maybe in a few months, when you feel your prayer has been answered, release your prayer stick to the earth by burying, burning, or in some other way letting it go.

*A prayer stick can be as simple as a stick and a feather, or it can be an elaborate piece of art – just remember that if you plan on burning it, make sure the items you decorate your stick with are burnable.

Have fun!  I wish you a very peaceful, healthy, and blessed New Year.  And I’d love to hear about your prayer stick experiences if you’d like to share them.

Here is a picture of a prayer stick I made a few years ago.   They are a great tool to help focus your intention, any time of the year.

© Lynda Skeen

Spirit Release and the Mystery

The last line in William Baldwin’s 417-page Spirit Releasement Therapy book was this:  “Above and beyond anything else, far more fundamental than any technique or process, the most vital and essential aspect of this clinical paradigm is the infinite and eternal healing power of total, absolute, non-judgmental and unconditional love.”

Techniques are important, but love is what heals.  Love and something profoundly mysterious that is beyond all words and techniques.

© Lynda Skeen

High Winds

We are wrapping up a couple days of strong Santa Ana winds here in Southern California.  The streets looked like a war zone the morning after the first night of them – eight-foot long dead palm fronds lay all over the roads; newly planted camphor trees were snapped in half even in their supports; leaves and plastic bags and pieces of clothing were in places you don’t normally see leaves and plastic bags and pieces of clothing; traffic lights sat dark at their posts.

Personally, I find the Santa Ana’s energizing, but I know they can be destructive.  I know to batten down anything loose in our back yard, including small animals and the lawn chairs.

The wind is neutral though.  It will clean out dead palm trees, which is a good thing, as well as snuff out young camphors, which doesn’t seem so good.  But the wind is neutral.

If you have just had a soul retrieval, or spirit release, or some other form of deep healing, please take care of yourself.   Small trees can’t get out of high winds, but as humans we have volition.  We can take care of ourselves and lay low for awhile if we need to.  Let yourself have as much quiet time as you need after profound healing experiences so that you can integrate the shifts in energies.  Take care of yourself.  Nurture yourself.  Love yourself.   Thank yourself.  Let the changes take root.  Let the healing settle in and deepen.

And then, when you’re feeling stronger, go out and enjoy the winds.

Giving Thanks and Being Nourished

It’s Thanksgiving weekend here in America, when we collectively pause to give thanks for all our blessings, and to officially begin the Christmas season, even though Christmas decorations started appearing in stores at the end of October even before Halloween was over.  I just finished doing some yoga, and realized too late that I hadn’t given my dinner of turkey leftovers enough time to digest.  This is a time to celebrate bounty, which can send us off balance and into excess without much effort.

One of the things I’m very thankful for is the abundance of choices we have for spiritual growth here.  Again, it can feel overwhelming sometimes, like walking into a shopping mall knowing you want to get your best friend something special but feeling frozen at all the colors and textures, the pushing and shoving and sale tags.  It’s easy to lose sight of your heart, of the reason you’re there in the first place.

I want to encourage anyone who is beginning a spiritual journey, or who is perhaps changing directions, to not get discouraged at all the choices.  Take a moment to close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and invite your highest, most true self (even if you have no idea who that is) to lead you to the perfect choice for today.   And on the other end of the spectrum from feeling frozen, you don’t need to overstuff either – there will be more spiritual nourishment tomorrow.  Give what you’ve learned time to digest; honor it by putting it into practice in your life.  You don’t have to do everything in one day.

So, enjoy the Feast.  Let it nourish and sustain you.  Let it baffle, bless, and delight you.    Happy Thanksgiving.

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Along these lines, here’s a prose poem of mine that I hope you’ll enjoy:

Dear Diary

So, so much to do today; so much to do to prepare.  Woke up to the charm of my Zen alarm.  Eyes focused on the wooden Buddha across from my bed.  Got up to meditate.  But first, some flower essences.  No, first, bowed to the four directions.  Then flower essences.  My electrical system now balanced, headed for my meditation cushion.  Lit Nag Champa incense and a gold candle and visualized the rainbow of my chakras all bright and swirling.  Got up two hours later, stiff and sore, my head pounding for coffee.  Went to fix coffee, but realized I was supposed to practice yoga, so unrolled my purple sticky mat instead and began the salute to the sun.  Then got up and looked out the window.  Thanked the grass deva for being so green, and the sun deva for being so bright, and the spirit-who-moves-through-all-things for creating the devas, and myself for being thankful.  Lifted my hand drum from its shelf, closed my eyes, and drummed to my power animal.  Tossed three deer-bone runes from their leather bag and pulled five tarot cards from my Warrior Priestess deck.  (Note to self:  corroborate with the ephemeris.)  Then needed some quiet time.  Lit more incense and another candle, and then – and then the day was gone.  So here I am, relaxing before bed in a hot, lavender-scented bubble bath, with you in one hand and a feng-shui book about clutter clearing in the other.  So, so much to do.

© Lynda Skeen