We recently had a visitor here at the center, a spiritual economist, social activist, friend, and enlightened being, Dr. Alfredo Sfeir-Younis. He spoke on True Warriorship. This speech came after 108 days of silent retreat in Thailand, and his insights were powerful. One of the lessons he shared was the fact that individuals who have spirituality (no matter what spirituality) recover faster from trauma. Spirituality means having effective ways for self-mastery and inner governance. Exercising choice is a very important aspect of having inner governance and self-mastery, and this is what inner spirituality means. Having a set of tools that allow you to be self-aware, self-governing and self-reflecting, and then choosing the action that is aligned with light and inspiration, rather than fear, doubt, and other lower vibrational emotions.
There was much more to what Dr. Alfredo said than the 3 lessons I share with you here. However, these lessons deeply resonated with me because what he said is so aligned with what I have come to know over my years of practicing Shamanic healing as well:
Sometimes we need conflict or friction in order to realign ourselves with our light. However, our goal is to become so self aware, so energetically attuned, that we can course-align more quickly and effectively than we often otherwise do. Shamanic techniques can help you become much more self aware and attuned, as do many other healing modalities, so that you don’t have to be hit with the proverbial hammer over the head before you take action.
- When you take on a position in the community or a role in society (wife, soldier, son, etc.), the role has the potential of trapping you in a collective mindset.
If you don’t have the tools for inner governance and guidance in place, the collective suffering can play itself out in your individual life. Without self-awareness you won’t know the difference between collective and personal suffering. Much of today’s suffering is collective rather than individual. By healing yourself, you also heal the collective suffering, and the world. This is a powerful tool to have.
- It takes specific kinds of meditative practices to create change in the world. You have to know what spiritual practices are for what goal.
While all spiritual and meditative practices are helpful for wellness, not all are for creating change. Some actually foster inaction, being rather than doing. If your intention is on taking action and changing the world through aligned action, we need spiritual and meditative practices that compel action. Shamanic Journeying, for instance is such a powerful tool. It focuses the mind and makes us active participants in our personal and collective destiny. Transcendental and OM meditation on the other hand, while healthful and beneficial, tend to put us more into an observer role, an inactive role. While they increase health and wellness, they do not compel us to action. Both are fine practices, just know what you are looking for.
In my years of searching self-healing and empowerment, it has been and continues to be Shamanic medicine and Shamanic healing techniques that have made the biggest impact in my life and healing process. After hearing Dr. Alfredo talk, I was reminded again of the power, effectiveness, and potency Shamanic Medicine has to offer the world especially at this time.
In this time of the great ending and beginning of a new 26,000-year cycle, we need people who have the courage to step into their power with integrity, purpose, ethics, and responsibility. If we are to assist the world in making shifts, if we desire hunger and poverty to change, we need a new kind of self-aware and embodied leadership. . Shamanic healing practices are the tools for our future leaders because these practices increase our capacity to choose Right Action in moments of conflict as well as in moments of peace.
To me, it is not just about meditation or keeping your internal practices internal. It is about sharing the light inside with the outside. We often talk about internal alignment. And it is true, we have to align, integrate, and become internally whole before we can share our light with the world. However, there is also an alignment between the inner and outer worlds that need to take place if we are to fulfill out purpose in our lifetime. This was part of the message Alfredo shared with us too.
It has long been my gift to assist those who want to align internally and then take their internal medicine and apply it in their daily lives. Shamanic Healing provides for a very practical way in which we can live and engage internal and external energies in our world. This is why I was called to DC, to help make a shift and to help assist those who want to make a shift, too. Now, many years later, I am finally listening to that voice of the 3-year-old!