Sacred Tasks

Within two weeks time I will be working with my teacher's indigenous shamanic teacher who is from Peru. It is his first trip outside Peru and I am excited about the possibility to be able to work with him.

In preparation for his teaching visit, participants in this class have been instructed to do three sacred ceremonies. For each, at dawn I am to collect water, soil, and stone from a sacred spring or lagoon near my home. Fortunately, I live in a place with much water. This morning was my first ceremony.

I rose at 5:15, had coffee and meditated, and headed off. Our instructions are to gather the water before the first rays of sunlight has hit it, so it was rather dark when I set out on my short hike to this spring. When I got there and began my simple ceremony, I found that I had quite a lot of emotion. The Earth Mother weeps her tears at springs, and so did I.

In my meditation with my allies and with the Apus, I asked for a good way to do this impromptu ceremony (no instructions had been given). My answer was, "give of yourself." I gave of my tears, and I also gave of my clinging to 'story'; I let go of things which no longer serve me.

The spring was sweet. I hummed "Wexford Carol" while I was gathering, after I had received permission from the spring to do so. Why "Wexford"? I have no idea. It just seemed like the song that wanted to come.

On my way back to the car, on the trail there was this huge buckeye waiting for me:

Gift from the spirits

I've never seen buckeyes here before, though I know that they do grow here. This one is enormous, as you can see. I have small hands, but not that small! As it was right in the middle of the trail where it had not been mere minutes before, I took it as a thank-you from Spirit, an acknowledgment of gifts given and received.