February 12, 2017
Hey there! Welcome to our circle...
Hey there! Welcome to our circle...
This is the Full Moon edition of our Newsletter for "Grandmothers Wolf Medicine"
Tales From the Moon Lodge
"Sometimes I bear the burden of knowing the truth and its not easy."
- Module #3 -
"Weighs the Truth" ~ "Night Stalker"
We moved into the Second half of this Moon Cycle on the full Moon, March 12th.
Module #3 runs from the New moon on February 26 to March 27, 2017
- Module #3 -
"Weighs the Truth" ~ "Night Stalker"
We moved into the Second half of this Moon Cycle on the full Moon, March 12th.
Module #3 runs from the New moon on February 26 to March 27, 2017
"Witnessing both sides"
– My Journey with the Clan Mother, Weighs the Truth
It was the New Moon when I wrote this last night and I realized that the Grandmothers have set it up so that I drum and journey to them on the New Moon. Since I am creating the course, the path to follow, I have to honor the cycles slightly ahead of everyone else and stand in a place of overlapping concepts as I do so. Talks With Relations has taught me how to learn the cycles and Wisdom Keeper is teaching me how to honor the way they work and flow together. The ThunderWolf Spirit Pack teach us about different concepts from the perspective of the wolves and Weighs the Truth, well...
While I was recording the drumming for this module, I felt certain energies approach that didn't belong. As I stood guard at the gate, I knew how and where to redirect them. What I had to do and the images I saw left me wondering WTF? What did that have to do with this drum journey for the course participants? Puzzled, I decided to sleep on it. Maybe like Weighs the Truth, I'd have an answer in the morning... I awoke with the words "Honor Guard" in my head and understanding began to dawn. When we work with our Burden Baskets we'll learn about the "Guardian at the Door".
I've had personal challenges to work out with lessons around leading drumming circles in the past and actually had another conversation about them with a friend recently. She'd invited me to a small gathering for an impromptu drumming with only a few minutes notice. The timing was unrealistic so unfortunately I had to decline. Talking about the comparison of different circles later included the point I came to understand. All the times I've led drumming circles, I never mentioned to the participants that I had to "Stand Guard." I've felt a little resentment sometimes in the past because I couldn't really "go anywhere" unlike the others who were free to go wherever they wanted. I was aware that my job was to hold the container of safe space around them. What they did not understand was that this was the job they were paying me to do and involved the financial exchange they were making in return for my experience to do so. To put it in simple terms, I was taking care of the participants who either had a fair amount of experience or no experience at all.
The small gathering that my friend invited me to recently was loosely based on the concept of everyone "go off and do their own thing in different directions". For the sake of this teaching let's assume there was no direct leadership in this other circle because no one was "following the leader" towards a common goal or with a common intention. I assumed, that their intent was that they were all going in different directions. Now I understand what happened in the past. In the drumming circles that I led, my loosely based temporary pack members were not coming together with a common intention as a cohesive unit. I was also quietly operating in the role of Dog Soldier but we'll learn more about that in another Lunar Module later.
Many years ago, I stood in a supportive and protective role while I drummed for someone else while he was doing soul retrievals for his Clients. I learned to do soul retrievals by observing what the spirits had to show me, paying attention to how the soul parts were retrieved and how the messages and images I received impacted the Clients. My Spirit Helpers were the ones who eventually told me that I could do it for other people because I could do the drumming at the same time for myself. I could operate in the two roles and stand in the two places at once so to speak. I also learned to observe and follow more than one track at a time; mine, the client's and the person or shaman doing the actual soul retrieval. I drummed, I stood guard, I held the container of safe space, I watched their backs, I acted as a sacred witness because images came to me, and I stayed present in the room with the Client while the Shaman went in search of soul parts. By multi-tasking like this I learned to maintain awareness on multiple levels at once.
As the leader of a circle or a ceremony, I have to maintain a cohesive unit with a focused intention. I have to be ready to change direction and my soldiers or my pack or my followers must be willing to follow my lead because they trust my leadership skills based on the information and experience I have made available. I realized that my lack of understanding my own lesson boiled down to the fact that I didn't explain my job properly to people so in turn they didn't seem to value my role or understand the complexity of the energetic exchange. Cultural dissonance and conceptual awareness came into play. You can argue logic but you can't argue with experience. The separation that exists between "Shamans, practitioners and their Clients" operate on these two different principles.
1. Cultural dissonance – Conflicts arise when a person of one culture steps into another and encounters ways of thinking and traditions they are unfamiliar with.
2. Conceptual awareness – Ideas that people are familiar with and the depth of their understanding of them.
In my experience, the reality and the concept of the drumming circles that people are aware of – are so far apart that when they step into that circle, it looks to me as though they've entered into a foreign land where they either know nothing or very little of the attitudes, behaviors and actions that are expected of them. I've never turned away a participant who showed up just because they had zilch experience because I knew I could take care of them. A good leader will take some time to educate the group and act as a cultural guide.
How familiar are you with what goes on behind the scenes in spirit in a drumming circle? How long have you been journeying? These are relevant concepts a leader should be aware of. Asking participants "Have you ever journeyed before?" is a question that does not offer enough relevant information unless the answer is a flat no. People show an obvious lack of awareness of the culture they are stepping into when they have little to no experience. Hopefully they've been briefed or at least asked to be educated.
Looking at things from the participant's perspective, a question from their point of view might be "Wouldn't it be more effective to tell me things rather then assume I know them?" When one refuses to communicate or doesn't know what's expected of them, frustration builds because leadership often involves making the assumption that those who follow already know what's expected of them as a leader. I was the one who usually ended up feeling frustrated when I got home. Some leaders assume that some people are being uncooperative and experienced leaders can learn to recognize the difference between when someone gets the idea, grasps the concept and when someone doesn't. It reflects badly upon them when people fail. It's the leaders job to educate and to insure that followers perform effectively. Resentment breeds discontent and it's the followers job to ask questions of and seek clarification about the things they don't understand from those they follow.
People admire ability and the capability to recognize strength in others, so do wolves. Strong leaders are initiated into higher levels of power and ability because they show an aptitude or awareness for being able to operate at those higher levels. I put an incredible amount of structure into my drumming circles that most people never see. Experience has taught me that I need to always pay attention to what I am learning and the feedback I receive as I teach in order to be a more effective leader the next time.
- Sonara
* This Tales from the Moon Lodge excerpt is from our
Grandmothers Wolf Medicine – Module # 3 – Weighs the Truth / Night Stalker
* This Tales from the Moon Lodge excerpt is from our
Grandmothers Wolf Medicine – Module # 3 – Weighs the Truth / Night Stalker
– My Journey with the Clan Mother, Weighs the Truth
It was the New Moon when I wrote this last night and I realized that the Grandmothers have set it up so that I drum and journey to them on the New Moon. Since I am creating the course, the path to follow, I have to honor the cycles slightly ahead of everyone else and stand in a place of overlapping concepts as I do so. Talks With Relations has taught me how to learn the cycles and Wisdom Keeper is teaching me how to honor the way they work and flow together. The ThunderWolf Spirit Pack teach us about different concepts from the perspective of the wolves and Weighs the Truth, well...
While I was recording the drumming for this module, I felt certain energies approach that didn't belong. As I stood guard at the gate, I knew how and where to redirect them. What I had to do and the images I saw left me wondering WTF? What did that have to do with this drum journey for the course participants? Puzzled, I decided to sleep on it. Maybe like Weighs the Truth, I'd have an answer in the morning... I awoke with the words "Honor Guard" in my head and understanding began to dawn. When we work with our Burden Baskets we'll learn about the "Guardian at the Door".
I've had personal challenges to work out with lessons around leading drumming circles in the past and actually had another conversation about them with a friend recently. She'd invited me to a small gathering for an impromptu drumming with only a few minutes notice. The timing was unrealistic so unfortunately I had to decline. Talking about the comparison of different circles later included the point I came to understand. All the times I've led drumming circles, I never mentioned to the participants that I had to "Stand Guard." I've felt a little resentment sometimes in the past because I couldn't really "go anywhere" unlike the others who were free to go wherever they wanted. I was aware that my job was to hold the container of safe space around them. What they did not understand was that this was the job they were paying me to do and involved the financial exchange they were making in return for my experience to do so. To put it in simple terms, I was taking care of the participants who either had a fair amount of experience or no experience at all.
The small gathering that my friend invited me to recently was loosely based on the concept of everyone "go off and do their own thing in different directions". For the sake of this teaching let's assume there was no direct leadership in this other circle because no one was "following the leader" towards a common goal or with a common intention. I assumed, that their intent was that they were all going in different directions. Now I understand what happened in the past. In the drumming circles that I led, my loosely based temporary pack members were not coming together with a common intention as a cohesive unit. I was also quietly operating in the role of Dog Soldier but we'll learn more about that in another Lunar Module later.
Many years ago, I stood in a supportive and protective role while I drummed for someone else while he was doing soul retrievals for his Clients. I learned to do soul retrievals by observing what the spirits had to show me, paying attention to how the soul parts were retrieved and how the messages and images I received impacted the Clients. My Spirit Helpers were the ones who eventually told me that I could do it for other people because I could do the drumming at the same time for myself. I could operate in the two roles and stand in the two places at once so to speak. I also learned to observe and follow more than one track at a time; mine, the client's and the person or shaman doing the actual soul retrieval. I drummed, I stood guard, I held the container of safe space, I watched their backs, I acted as a sacred witness because images came to me, and I stayed present in the room with the Client while the Shaman went in search of soul parts. By multi-tasking like this I learned to maintain awareness on multiple levels at once.
As the leader of a circle or a ceremony, I have to maintain a cohesive unit with a focused intention. I have to be ready to change direction and my soldiers or my pack or my followers must be willing to follow my lead because they trust my leadership skills based on the information and experience I have made available. I realized that my lack of understanding my own lesson boiled down to the fact that I didn't explain my job properly to people so in turn they didn't seem to value my role or understand the complexity of the energetic exchange. Cultural dissonance and conceptual awareness came into play. You can argue logic but you can't argue with experience. The separation that exists between "Shamans, practitioners and their Clients" operate on these two different principles.
1. Cultural dissonance – Conflicts arise when a person of one culture steps into another and encounters ways of thinking and traditions they are unfamiliar with.
2. Conceptual awareness – Ideas that people are familiar with and the depth of their understanding of them.
In my experience, the reality and the concept of the drumming circles that people are aware of – are so far apart that when they step into that circle, it looks to me as though they've entered into a foreign land where they either know nothing or very little of the attitudes, behaviors and actions that are expected of them. I've never turned away a participant who showed up just because they had zilch experience because I knew I could take care of them. A good leader will take some time to educate the group and act as a cultural guide.
How familiar are you with what goes on behind the scenes in spirit in a drumming circle? How long have you been journeying? These are relevant concepts a leader should be aware of. Asking participants "Have you ever journeyed before?" is a question that does not offer enough relevant information unless the answer is a flat no. People show an obvious lack of awareness of the culture they are stepping into when they have little to no experience. Hopefully they've been briefed or at least asked to be educated.
Looking at things from the participant's perspective, a question from their point of view might be "Wouldn't it be more effective to tell me things rather then assume I know them?" When one refuses to communicate or doesn't know what's expected of them, frustration builds because leadership often involves making the assumption that those who follow already know what's expected of them as a leader. I was the one who usually ended up feeling frustrated when I got home. Some leaders assume that some people are being uncooperative and experienced leaders can learn to recognize the difference between when someone gets the idea, grasps the concept and when someone doesn't. It reflects badly upon them when people fail. It's the leaders job to educate and to insure that followers perform effectively. Resentment breeds discontent and it's the followers job to ask questions of and seek clarification about the things they don't understand from those they follow.
People admire ability and the capability to recognize strength in others, so do wolves. Strong leaders are initiated into higher levels of power and ability because they show an aptitude or awareness for being able to operate at those higher levels. I put an incredible amount of structure into my drumming circles that most people never see. Experience has taught me that I need to always pay attention to what I am learning and the feedback I receive as I teach in order to be a more effective leader the next time.
- Sonara
* This Tales from the Moon Lodge excerpt is from our
Grandmothers Wolf Medicine – Module # 3 – Weighs the Truth / Night Stalker
* This Tales from the Moon Lodge excerpt is from our
Grandmothers Wolf Medicine – Module # 3 – Weighs the Truth / Night Stalker
"Sentinel" ------ "Gatekeepers"
As part of our online course material we journeyed to "Weighs the Truth" for more of her teachings
and we have been making and working with a ritual tool, our own Burden Basket.
I put these two together for working specifically with the Grandmothers and the Wolves.
and we have been making and working with a ritual tool, our own Burden Basket.
I put these two together for working specifically with the Grandmothers and the Wolves.
Module #3 is now available for purchase on our website
http://thunderwolfmedicinelodge.weebly.com/grandmothers-wolf-medicine.html
Email Sonara - [email protected]
Are you just curious? - *I'll send you a 10 min recorded drum journey and an introductory pdf :)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://thunderwolfmedicinelodge.weebly.com/grandmothers-wolf-medicine.html
Email Sonara - [email protected]
Are you just curious? - *I'll send you a 10 min recorded drum journey and an introductory pdf :)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ThunderWolf Medicine Lodge
- Upcoming Events -
email Sonara at [email protected] for more details
Coming up in May...
* A 2-day Drum Making Workshop with Sonara
$275 per person (max 8 spots)
Deposit holds your space.
All materials provided - 14" or 16" hoops, precut drum heads and lacing included.
Please specify: size, color choice and Buffalo or Elk skin.
Make your own beater.
- Upcoming Events -
email Sonara at [email protected] for more details
Coming up in May...
* A 2-day Drum Making Workshop with Sonara
$275 per person (max 8 spots)
Deposit holds your space.
All materials provided - 14" or 16" hoops, precut drum heads and lacing included.
Please specify: size, color choice and Buffalo or Elk skin.
Make your own beater.
Coming up in June...
* A 6-day Buffalo Drum Making Workshop with Sonara
$400 per person (only 4 spots)
Deposit required to hold your space.
We'll start and end each day with ceremony.
Over the course of two - three day weekends we will clean and scrape the Buffalo hide.
Then we'll swim with our drum skins.
We cut, punch holes, lace and string up our drums and make our own beaters.
We'll journey to the spirits of our drums and wake them up.
Most materials are provided but you are encouraged to add personal touches.
* A 6-day Buffalo Drum Making Workshop with Sonara
$400 per person (only 4 spots)
Deposit required to hold your space.
We'll start and end each day with ceremony.
Over the course of two - three day weekends we will clean and scrape the Buffalo hide.
Then we'll swim with our drum skins.
We cut, punch holes, lace and string up our drums and make our own beaters.
We'll journey to the spirits of our drums and wake them up.
Most materials are provided but you are encouraged to add personal touches.
After the Buffalo Hides have been cleaned and the drums have been made we'll have...
*A 2-day Rattle Making Workshop with Sonara
$100 per person (max 8 spots)
We'll be making Buffalo rattles!
*A 2-day Rattle Making Workshop with Sonara
$100 per person (max 8 spots)
We'll be making Buffalo rattles!
Email Sonara at - [email protected]
to reserve your space in any of our workshops :)
to reserve your space in any of our workshops :)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Soul Retrievals
Healing sessions with Sonara All include:
- assisting the Client's soul parts to return safely
- a power animal retrieval
- bloodline cleansing and curse unraveling
- extraction and compassionate depossession
- psychopomp of stuck ancestors, past life spirits and or spirit attachments
- a full color pdf suitable for printing of the written healing account,
the timeline of events, journeys and accompanying photos
I am currently booking appointments for March, 2017
and I have three spaces left for February...
See More...
http://thunderwolfmedicinelodge.weebly.com/what-is-a-soul-retrieval.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- assisting the Client's soul parts to return safely
- a power animal retrieval
- bloodline cleansing and curse unraveling
- extraction and compassionate depossession
- psychopomp of stuck ancestors, past life spirits and or spirit attachments
- a full color pdf suitable for printing of the written healing account,
the timeline of events, journeys and accompanying photos
I am currently booking appointments for March, 2017
and I have three spaces left for February...
See More...
http://thunderwolfmedicinelodge.weebly.com/what-is-a-soul-retrieval.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Discover your ~ Band Members ~ Readings with Sonara
(This image chart is for ThunderWolf Medicine Lodge & Sanctuary)
Third Eye / Crown
Solar Plexus / Heart / Throat
Root / Sacral
(This image chart is for ThunderWolf Medicine Lodge & Sanctuary)
Third Eye / Crown
Solar Plexus / Heart / Throat
Root / Sacral
|
My personal Band Members also came to me during a time of spiritual awakening and prompting from my Native Ancestors. This teaching was inspired and confirmed by a telephone conversation I once had with Grandmother Twylah during that time... She told me that she walked with four white spirit Wolves whom she referred to as her "Band Members" and that they stood, one in each of the four cardinal directions. Her name "Yeh Weh Node" means "She Whose Voice Rides the Four Winds". Names such as this tell much about the person and Grams always attracted people from all over the world to her doorstep. Important seeds took root in my awareness and they grew. This teaching was given to me and refined by my Spirit helpers. It is about the Power Animals and Allies that come to us when we are born and stay with us throughout our entire lifetime. They signify an accurate, symbolic representation of who we are and they do not leave. These Seven Totems and Seven Sacred Directions on the Medicine Wheel correspond to the Seven Chakras; like an inner map of the personality. Nowhere near as complicated as Astrology, this personal map is very easy to understand because we can all relate to and identify with animals and creature teachers. When I know my Band Members, I know myself.
|
See More...
http://thunderwolfmedicinelodge.weebly.com/who-are-my-band-members.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://thunderwolfmedicinelodge.weebly.com/who-are-my-band-members.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Until the new moon...
Happy trails
Happy trails