Finding our way


A client who just completed Gaia Shamanism’s wayfinding offering where she committed to a month of four journeys to help her find her way through a time of transition, noted that thinking about her intention each week was a major part of the spiritual discipline of the wayfinding process.

I agree. The process of forming an intention is a spiritual discipline that challenges us to think as souls instead of personalities.

The best intentions are those which folks carry around in their hearts like a prayer. But we don’t always have those kinds of intentions at the ready, not every week, anyway. Instead, engaging in the regular spiritual discipline of shamanic journeying is to agree to participate in the spiritual struggle of “not knowing.” Groping around in the dark for an intention vitalizes your journeys and counts as prayer, too.

Our journeys suffer when we don’t approach this process with reverence, devotion, and anticipation. The quality of our journeys suffers, also, when we don’t chew on the answers we receive. Journeys are like Zen koans meant to be turned over and reflected upon over time. Herein lies their promise.

So much of our waking life has us engaged with content cooked up for our consumption by corporate interests. The shamanic journey provides us with information that can (re)form us inwardly according to the dictates of Spirit, rather than those of commerce. For a change.

All meditation, however, needs to be balanced by action. The monastic formulation, ora et labora, pray and work, applies to non-monastic spiritual seekers as well. You honor the journey by putting its wisdom into practice. Be sure to ask for a practice or an action you can take in each journey to help make heaven “real” here on earth.

Spirit wants to be made physical in this world; it is our job to make it so.


Offering

What do you wish to offer to Spirit this week? It can be food, beauty, anything tangible. We will share these offerings with each other at the start of the circle.

This week, we will each form an intention of our own on which to journey with the support of the group.

This is a free weekly online journey circle offered by Gaia Shamanism at 4-5:30 pm PDT every Wednesday in 2020. Email your interest in joining us at anna@gaiashamanism.com. All skill levels are welcome.

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