A fews days ago I did a little journey work to find a method for 'enlivening' shamanic tools - for helping find its unique Medicine and encourage that Medicine to come and be with the tool.
The answers that I received were very, very interesting. That everything is alive, and that we use things as, well, things instead of engaging them as partners was the message hammered home. The flavor of what my allies showed me was along the lines of, "other than being used specifically for shamanism, how is a shamanic tool any different than, say, a fork or a newspaper?" which really gave me pause.
I had the immediate double-sight of being surrounded by 'people' I didn't even know were people. When I did a cursory journey to the objects which surrounded me, I did get a small sense of sighing and a slight grumbling about being used as slaves, being used without asking. "You wouldn't go into your neighbor's yard and just take his lawnmower, would you?" was what they said. Well, no. I wouldn't. And the pen said, "but you just pick me up and use me without so much as an acknowledgement, huh?"
This puts a whole new, dizzying spin on things.
3 comments:
Oh yes... when you start to acknowledge that *everything* is alive & interactive, it does certainly give you pause. I know from experience that my moods have a definite effect on the electronic gear around me - if I'm pissy, my computer will crash more often, printers will be more obstinate & generally, until I get my center back, I'd be better off just taking a break. Since you passed along this insight of "treating everything around us as slaves", I've tried be more conscious to *ask* things to work with me & thank them when they do :-)
Gratitude is never a bad thing to cultivate!
Love you, my dear & all your wonderful insights! Such a great privilege to have you to share my journey with!
Hugs,
OneTree
The idea of 'Sabbath' is that one day is taken in which we acknowledge we are not the masters of all that is around us; a time to be 'with', not 'over'.
Collaboration, co-creation, partnership. The Spirit of all things. Hmmm.
JohnBear and I both tend to name things, and to relate with/to objects as persons -- apparently mythopoeic attitude comes naturally to me. But that doesn't mean I always remember to thank my surroundings. And it doesn't mean that I refrain from treating persons as objects ;-(
The down side is that it is extremely difficult to part with a loyal, long-suffering friend. Our cluttered home testifies to the danger (GRIN!)
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