The Book of Ceremony: Shamanic Wisdom for Invoking the Sacred in Everyday Life - Sandra Ingerman MA 2018

Transforming Your Dreams into Reality
Life as a Ceremony

When we make decisions to move forward with our lives, change jobs, move to a new location or home, or start a new project, we can join with the forces of the universe to ask for a positive outcome.

The Prayer Tree ceremony is a powerful way to ask for blessings as you begin a new adventure in life. You can also use the elements earth, air, water, and fire. Write a letter to God, the goddess, or the power of the universe and burn your letter or dissolve it in water while your prayers are carried to the divine forces. Groups could meet in the virtual realms at the altar, fire, or Prayer Tree and perform a blessing ceremony.

SHEREE’S CEREMONY TO ENSURE A GOOD MOVE

Sheree was leaving a job she loved and a community of close friends so that she could move closer to her aging parents to be present for their ongoing care. She found a new job near her parents and rented an apartment.

Sheree was guided to design a ceremony to draw scenes of who she was leaving, her road trip, meeting new coworkers and friends, and seeing the smiling faces of her parents.

In a ceremonial fashion, Sheree gave thanks to the spirit of the land where she lived and to the ancestors for holding her in so much love over the years. She asked her helping spirits to provide a safe trip as she drove across the country. She then journeyed to the spirit of the land where she would be living and asked the helping ancestors to welcome her to her new home, creating a graceful transition.

While in a quiet and sacred space, she created a vibrant drawing of her friends and coworkers blowing her kisses as she drove away. She drew images of landscapes she would drive through, adding clear blue skies, stunning trees and greenery, and shimmering bodies of water she would pass on her way to her new home. Next, she drew an image of herself in her new workplace, working with a smile on her face and chatting with her new coworkers. She drew her apartment with bright colors and charming decorations, including the smiling and loving faces of her parents.

Though her sketches were a bit rough, the detail or skill of her drawing did not matter. The important factor was the focus and energy she put into each image. Sheree used all her senses to experience the details of leaving her home, her road trip, and her arrival in full, vivid detail as if everything were happening now. Through her drawing, she was living her manifested dream.

Once done with her drawings, she offered each to the fire, representing that the dream was now manifested, and the work was complete.

Over the days to come, Sheree created collages with images of her new life. She began by calling in her helping spirits and letting go of the anxious thoughts that arose as she imagined starting a new life.

Sheree did manifest a good dream, and the time she got to spend with her parents at the end of their life provided some of her most precious memories.

PLANTING A NEW GARDEN

We all know how healthy plants grow that are fed with love. All of life is nurtured by love and care. In planting a new garden, start with your preparation work. Leave your everyday thoughts and life behind you, and move into a spiritual state of consciousness while you create sacred space. Call in the spirit of the garden. Place special rocks, statues, or crystals in your garden that hold the energy of love.

Feel the texture of the soil and smell its fragrance as you spread it and prepare it for planting. While planting your seeds or new plants, sing to them. All of nature sings and loves to be sung to. If you fully open your invisible senses, you can see your plants glow after singing to them and hear them singing back to you.

When you water, perceive the water as filled with light and love that will nurture growth.

In all spiritual cultures, “weed” is not considered a proper term to use, for these plants embrace high vibrational medicine. But if there is a plant you wish to remove from your garden, do it with love and care. Thank it for growing in your garden, even though you might struggle physically to pull it out to be composted.

Imagine the foods you cook and create from what grows in your garden. You want to ingest food that has grown filled with love. There is an entire process that occurs, from planting in healthy soil, nurturing your garden over time, and picking your plants with intention.

Incorporating the elements of ceremony allows you to honor your garden as a sacred space.

In most shamanic cultures, there is a belief in what I call the Hidden Folk. They can be talked about as devas, fairies, elves, angels, forest guardians, sprites, and other terms. These beings can be quite tall or so small that they’re barely visible.

These nature beings live in cities as well as in the country. They are caretakers of the Earth and are quite protective of the environments we live in. They have little trust for humans, as they have watched humans destroy their environments and nature.

But they will still respond if you call them with invocations, songs, and offerings. Once they are called in, they will join you in your ceremonial work of tending your garden. There are many famous stories about healthy and exquisite gardens that grow with the help of the Hidden Folk.

I have also collected a wealth of stories from students who have journeyed to the Hidden Folk. Once home from a workshop, they actively engage with the Hidden Folk in growing and tending their gardens. I receive stellar reports on the size and vitality of the fruits, vegetables, and flowers that are grown in partnership with the Hidden Folk. But you will need to earn their trust by showing that you are committed to being a caretaker of the Earth.

You might join with others where you live to plant a community garden. Everyone who engages can benefit from practicing love, respect, and honor for the spirit of the garden. Imagine the quality of food the children and families will eat. What we ingest affects both our emotional and physical health, since we also ingest the energy we shared while tending our plants.

You can learn to see all land as a garden. After a catastrophic event, to call back the soul of land or to simply honor the land, you can scatter seeds imbued with the love and light in your breath. In this way, you cultivate our home, the Earth.

Damini, a brilliant shamanic teacher, created a remarkable ceremony of placing prayers for the Earth in clay pods and planting them in different locations. She calls her clay containers PrayerPods, and they dissolve over time into the earth. To learn more about this project, you can visit the website listed in the resource section at the end of this book. This ceremony has caught on with some of my students, who are planting clay prayer pods all over the world. All materials used are environmentally safe.

REQUESTING PROTECTION AND SUPPORT

There are times when we feel vulnerable and want spiritual support. By performing solo or group ceremonies, we can request the protection of the compassionate spirits and the divine.

You can use ribbons or yarn tied on a Prayer Tree to ask for protection and support. You can also adapt such a ceremony and use prayer bowls in which you, your loved ones, coworkers, or community members can place prayers for protection, blessing, support, and healing. Blowing bubbles or prayers into the wind while requesting protection is a wonderful way to work because the wind is such a powerful ally.

FRANK PREPARES FOR HEART SURGERY

Frank was preparing for heart surgery. His health was compromised, and his family and friends were worried about him. His family lived in multiple cities, and it was not possible for them to physically gather for a ceremony.

Frank’s daughter Amy led a ceremony on his behalf. She sent an invitation for his family to tune in via videoconferencing. Amy asked everyone assembled to imagine themselves walking to the altar room where they were spiritually cleansed and invited to gather in a circle.

Amy asked Frank’s family and friends to state a blessing or prayer for him as well as to imagine the surgeon and all the staff in their divine light and strength. They all imagined Frank coming through the surgery with grace and ease.

In the guided meditation, Amy instructed everyone to put their prayers for Frank into bowls on the altar. Amy also called in Frank’s helping spirits to care for him during the surgery.

Frank was not well enough to attend, but he was touched to hear the stories from his family about the work performed on his behalf. He went into the surgery feeling completely supported, and this helped alleviate his fears and instill hope. By going into surgery with such a positive attitude, he found he brightened up his medical team. The surgery went very well, and he even had an unexpectedly rapid recovery afterward.

A PROTECTION CEREMONY FOR DERRICK AS HE LEAVES FOR WAR

Dakota’s brother Derrick was about to go into the army. Nobody knew where he would be deployed. Derrick’s friends and family were anxious about how he’d cope in the military.

Dakota created a ceremony, bringing in brightly colored candles. She created a sacred space in the family home, and everyone who attended performed their preparation in ways that felt right to them. After their preparation work, some of their anxiety melted away, and a sense of trust permeated the energy in the room. They now felt that Derrick would be in the hands of loving spirits and the divine.

Each person lit a candle while stating decrees and prayers, such as, “Derrick is held in the loving arms of the universe” and “Thank you for bringing Derrick back home safely.”

Derrick absorbed the words of blessings, prayers, and decrees. He felt supported by his loved ones and his community. This made a huge difference, as he knew how much he was loved and knew there would be people praying for him throughout his service.

The light of the candles represented how Derrick’s path would be lit and the love of his community. Everyone made a commitment to keep candles burning until Derrick no longer needed support and could be welcomed home by his friends and family.

This is a lovely ceremony to do for anyone who is about to have surgery, leaving for war, or facing a life transition.

ANGELA PROTECTS HERSELF FROM TOXIC ENERGIES

Angela was greatly impacted by the toxic energy of some of her coworkers. Angela had learned to call in her helping spirits before work each day and to surround herself in protective blue light. Even so, she dreaded sitting in the collective field of toxic energy during many office meetings.

When she knew there was a meeting on her agenda, Angela performed a ceremony at her home altar. She lit a candle, whistled, and rattled to greet and honor her helping spirits. She asked for special protection during any upcoming meeting that she felt would be unpleasant.

She normally felt drained and ill after she left her meetings. Yet she found that when she performed a ceremony to ask for protection beforehand, she felt held in a protective bubble, and the negative energies had no impact on her. She even began to hear telepathic messages from her helping spirits to speak certain words or present ideas during the meeting to transform the negative energy. She learned how to perform a simplified version of her ceremony spontaneously at the office whenever she needed protection.

This same type of ceremony is useful when you feel a need for protection while driving or flying, and while doing other activities where you are in a collective energetic space or field that feels toxic. If you don’t have time for preparation, you can easily perform a spontaneous ceremony by simply asking for help and offering your prayers in a sacred way.

ALIGNING OURSELVES WITH THE CYCLES OF NATURE

We are nature. We often perceive ourselves as separate, but we are part of the web of life that connects us all. And all of life is impacted by the changing cycles and phases in nature. Nature is our best teacher about birth and rebirth, dismemberment, dissolution, rememberment, and illumination. For all of life dies, leading to the rebirth of new life. A grove of trees might die, but new trees, plants, and grasses grow in its place.

It saddens us to watch death, and we certainly grieve over losing loved ones, friends, and beings in nature that we love. But birth and death are part of life. Creating sacred ceremonies during seasonal and lunar changes helps us navigate the changes within and without.

It is important to celebrate the sunrise, sunset, new and full moon, and seasonal changes as connected rather than separate. When we observe the changes in the quality of light between the sunrise and sunset, changing phases of the moon, and seasons, we reconnect to a sense of organic flow and how all life experiences are woven together.

Exercise to Connect with Nature’s Flow

Stand in nature. Close your eyes and notice in your body how everything in nature is moving and flowing. When I was growing up, I used to watch cartoons showing the sun, trees, and plants singing and dancing gracefully. This is actually what occurs in nature. Every season, lunar cycle, and transition is part of a great flow. Feel this flow of nature as you rock back and forth and from side to side.

Once you enter this state, you can feel the need to enter the flow of life instead of trying to control it. Nature’s flow cannot be controlled. Once you learn how to surrender and move with the flow, health returns on all levels as you walk with the flow of life instead of against it.

In shamanic cultures, songs would be sung daily to greet and give gratitude to the rising sun and honor the setting sun. As you honor the changing light, you honor your own internal changes.

No matter where you live, you experience the four phases of the changing seasons. You can observe changes in the landscape, migration patterns of birds, and the appearance of certain animals. You witness the death of older life-forms in autumn and winter, giving rise to new plants, trees, flowers, and baby nature beings in the spring and summer.

Become attuned to times of the year when nature is more expansive and expressive, and to times when growth around us slows down, lets go of the old, and turns within for regeneration. Discover how the light changes at different times of the year. Notice how the texture and the quality of the air feels different as the seasons flow into each other. This helps you reflect on your personal cycles, so you can align with the seasonal changes within and without.

The moon cycles from newness to fullness. Become aware of how this cycle deeply impacts you physically and emotionally. Our bodies are mostly water. Just as the lunar phases change the tides, you can feel these changes happening inside of you.

The new moon is seen as a time of new beginnings. It is a time to experience rebirth and begin working on new endeavors, such as welcoming in a new relationship, starting a new project or job, or moving into a new home. Imagine yourself looking up at the night sky and seeing the sliver of the new moon. You can feel the strength of rebirth.

As the moon waxes, nurture what you began during the new moon.

For many, the full moon is a powerful time to perform ceremonies and healing work. This is a time when the energy of the moon is strongest. During the full moon, people’s moods change; hospitals and police stations get busier. People do not know what to do with their energy. A wonderful way to channel this energy is to perform a ceremony on the full moon, to honor the moon and to perform healing and blessing work. The abundance of power makes the full moon a potent time to gather groups through virtual ceremonies and work together in service to the Earth.

Once we move into the phase of the waning moon, we can take a breath and relax before a new cycle begins.

When you tune in to the phases of the moon, you may notice that your creativity and activities are supported during certain phases. We are all unique beings, and your cycles might be different from anyone else’s. Be open to discovery as you explore how the phases of the moon support your needs.

Most of us live fast-paced lives, and we are not aware of how our physical energy and our mood changes with the seasons and lunar cycles. When we slow down and perform ceremonies to honor the flow of life within and without, we learn how to follow the cycles of nature. When we reconnect to the lunar cycles and changes in the seasons, we feel more embodied and attuned with our connection to the Earth.

There are many ceremonies you can perform to honor the changes in nature and your inner cycles. They can be as simple as taking a ceremonial walk. Find a tree, body of water, or sacred place where you would like to leave some offerings while giving thanks to earth, air, water, sun, and moon for providing all you need to thrive physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

SPIRIT BOAT CEREMONY TO HONOR NATURE’S CYCLES

You can perform the Spirit Boat journey for yourself or with a group to travel into the unseen realms and learn from a celestial body like the moon or sun. Refer to “A Spirit Boat Journey or Meditation” in chapter 11 to make your preparations.

As a group of travelers wishing to honor the moon or sun, travel to these great sources and speak to them. Share messages that are not only personal for the journeyer, but for the entire group about how to align with the changing phases of the cycles of nature. Sing songs of appreciation along the way to honor the moon and sun. Singing is an inherent part of shamanic practice and ceremony. Allow your own songs and chants to flow through you, or sing songs you have learned from others as you honor all of nature.

You can also do this ceremony in a virtual format to bring friends and peers together during the changing phases. This creates a way to share spiritual knowledge while giving you a container to perform spiritual work and ceremonies while living in different locations.

SPENDING TIME IN NATURE

Bringing a ceremonial frame of mind to your time in nature infuses the simplest acts with sacredness. As the seasons change and the moon progresses through her phases, take time to stand outside. Let the sun bathe you during the day and take a moon bath at night. Feel the radiance of these life-giving forces bathing and healing you. This is such a powerful and simple ceremony you can perform alone or with a group.

CINDY HONORS THE CHANGE IN SEASONS

Cindy felt her body was out of balance, and she could not find a natural rhythm in her life. She felt sure this imbalance was the source of many of her health challenges, so she made a commitment to restore her inner harmony by honoring the change in seasons.

On the equinoxes and solstices, Cindy spent time in nature. When she could manage it, she would spend an entire day enjoying nature. When her work schedule only allowed her an hour or two, she still took the time to set aside her everyday worries and spend sacred time in her favorite park.

Cindy wrote poems about the exquisite healing quality of nature. Before leaving her house, she always put on her special ceremonial scarf and brought the small sacred rattle she’d made. These sacred objects were unobtrusive and could be taken anywhere. Cindy would sit with her favorite tree and read her poem in a soft voice filled with loving words and acceptance of the new qualities the equinox or solstice would bring into her life. She left offerings at the tree while giving thanks to the compassionate ancestors of the land; earth, air, water, and fire; the sun, the moon, her helping spirits, and the Earth itself for guiding her during the changing times so that she could harmonize with the changes within.

Cindy walked ceremoniously while gazing at the changing leaves of the trees and plants. She would notice how the texture, feel, and smell in the air seemed different with each season. She listened to the new birdsong that emerged at different times of the year. She loved to watch the activity of the small animals in the park, especially in fall as they busily prepared for winter. She enjoyed walking in nature in the spring when she might catch glimpses of newborn squirrels and chipmunks. When alone, she danced to feel the inherent flow of nature and the heartbeat of the Earth. She was inspired by the spiritual messages the wind carried to her.

Cindy sang to the moon as it changed phases, waiting for the moon to sing back to her. She received messages of how to change her level of activity, placing her in sync with the moon’s changing rhythms. She received a wealth of omens.

Through her ongoing ceremonial work, Cindy regained her health. She felt in a harmonious flow instead of always feeling out of step.

INTEGRATING CEREMONY INTO YOUR LIFE

Many shamanic and spiritual practitioners choose to perform their releasing and blessing ceremonies during the new moon and full moon, and on the equinoxes and solstices. Spiritual energies are abundant to support ceremonies as we release challenges, ask for blessings in starting a new project, or face a life transition. As we ask for assistance, we also celebrate the phase of the moon, equinox, or solstice through our invocations, songs, and dances.

Bring your ceremonial work during changing seasons to your favorite place and sing, write letters to the Earth, and receive messages of deep wisdom. For example, if you live near an ocean, try performing a ceremony on the shore. The ocean is a powerful source of love and wisdom. There is so much to learn by watching the ocean, listening to the sound of the waves, smelling the salt in the air, and feeling the humidity. Standing with bare feet on the sand while performing a ceremony in which people sing to the ocean, talk to it, and listen for messages is heartwarming and inspiring.

We experience earth, air, water, and fire outside of our body, but our organs are also earth, air, water, and fire. When honoring the changes in nature through our ceremonial work, we honor the changes within each of us. We return to honoring nature in ways that shamans have worked with for thousands of years to establish harmony between nature and the community.

DAILY CEREMONIES

Just as you honor the land and all of life during seasonal changes and lunar phases, realize that every day is a natural cycle. Each day, you can integrate simple ceremonies to express gratitude and respect for the land where you live; the nature beings; the elements of earth, air, water, and fire; and your life.

Life is a ceremony. I put my attention into my daily activities and how I work with my consciousness throughout the day to bring the sacred into everything that I do.

Upon awakening, I give gratitude—even if I’m not feeling well or not looking forward to what’s on my schedule. I start with giving gratitude for my life and to earth, air, water, and sun, which provide life. I give thanks for what I do have in my life instead of focusing on what is not working. I perform a ceremonial prayer: I sit at my altar, light a candle, set my intention for the day, and ask that any challenging event goes well.

Create simple ceremonies by leaving offerings at a small outside altar. Walk the land and sing, drum, or rattle while expressing your gratitude. Or find a spot to sit and do the same.

I created a Prayer Tree to leave prayers for those in need and for the Earth. I also like to leave offerings at a tree that I call my “ritual tree,” where I can express gratitude to the ancestors of the land; the Spirit of Santa Fe; earth, air, water, and fire (as the sun); the Hidden Folk; the spirit of the forest; my helping spirits; and my own ancestors. I might not always do this outside ritual daily, but I always wake up and express gratitude for my life and all in the web of life.

I cook in a ceremonial fashion. As I chop vegetables and prepare food, I focus on who I am cooking for and the power of love I want to infuse into the food. Cooking is a ceremony. It is not a time for me to think about who or what is making me angry or about what is not working in my life and in the world. Cooking is a healing ceremony because as we eat food, we absorb the love of life. As I wash dishes, I give thanks to water and all the nourishment that water brings to me and all of life.

Singing while you cook brings in sacred ceremony to preparing your food. Blessing your food as you eat is a way to absorb the goodness that the Earth and the elements provide.

Reflect on ways that you can bring the elements of ceremony into your daily activities. You will find your life becoming enriched as you bring the sacred into all parts of your day.

Blessing ceremonies can be adapted and improvised to honor birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. This is a beautiful way to honor transitions and holy times, and to turn them into sacred events.

BLESSING CEREMONY FOR THE WEB OF LIGHT AND THE EARTH

Most readers of this book likely have a concern for the environmental, political, and terrorist challenges we face during these turbulent times. We want to find ways in which we can be in service to all of life and the Earth.

We want to protect the exquisite life-forms in the web of life—the animals and birds, sea creatures, invertebrates, reptiles, insects, trees, plants, moss, plankton, rocks, crystals, microorganisms, and the elements.

Since 2000, I have been teaching a practice and a ceremony called transfiguration. The understanding behind this ceremony is that our authentic Self is spiritual light. We are beings of divine light, clothed by our body and mind.

When we travel within to our inner landscape and experience our inner starlight, sunlight, or flame, we can allow that light to flow into our cells, creating emotional and physical healing.

As we let that divine light radiate through us like a star in the night sky or like the shining sun, we stimulate the light in our loved ones, others around us, all in the web of the life, and the Earth itself.

This process came to me in a dream in which the Egyptian god Anubis shared with me that the missing element of my spiritual work to reverse environmental pollution is transfiguration. After processing this message, I started to teach transfiguration to groups around the world. I’ve written about this in some of my books, including Medicine for the Earth and Walking in Light.

At my workshops, we’ve scientifically measured the effects of transfiguration work. We placed toxic substances on our altar and placed people who were ill in the middle of our circle. We used a GDV (gas discharge visualization) camera, which captures images and measures changes in the field of energy. We also tracked pH changes in ammonium hydroxide, a solution of ammonia dissolved in water.

It was clear that the work of transfiguration produced powerful and positive results in both working with environmental toxins and with people who were facing physical challenges.

The process of transfiguration is a feminine process of creating positive changes by “being” instead of “doing.” It’s a common spiritual teaching that to experience peace in the world, you must be peaceful within. Our outer world reflects our inner state of consciousness.

With the process of transfiguration, you do not try to heal the environment, a community, loved ones, clients, nature beings, the Earth, and so on. Rather, you experience your own spiritual and divine light and let that radiate like a star or the sun. The stars and sun do not labor to generate light or choose where that light goes. They simply radiate and brighten up all of life.

Our perception creates our reality. We can perceive others and the planet as sick and toxic, or we can perceive all of life in its strength and as spiritual light. Focusing on the spiritual light and strength in others empowers their own process of healing. When we radiate our light and perceive all of life and the Earth as light, healing happens. It is quite an extraordinary process.

In many parts of the world, shamans work with radiating light as their way of healing. I personally have found that this way of working helps us evolve our consciousness and create a higher vibration and frequency in ourselves and in our outer world.

You can develop a transfiguration practice for yourself. This is not a shamanic journey, so you don’t need to have any experience with shamanism. Start with your ceremonial preparation work and create sacred space. Listen to some spiritual or uplifting music.

When you are ready, imagine yourself traveling within into your inner landscape and experience yourself as a star, the sun, or a flame. Imagine your body and mind dissolving, so you are in unity and one with all of life and with the divine forces of the universe.

Let that light flow through you and be absorbed by all your cells, like a flower absorbs the light of the sun to be healthy, vital, and vibrant. If you do this on a regular basis for even fifteen to twenty minutes at a time, you will notice a shift in your health on all levels.

You can add a step and imagine that light radiating within and throughout the Earth. This shifts the perception of toxicity to one of health, love, and light. Radiate your light, holding the focus on where you feel concern.

Do not send this light—just let it radiate. You are not actively trying to heal another or a place, so you do not need permission from others to see them in their light. You simply perceive all in their divine light instead of perceiving suffering and toxicity. This shift in perception makes a difference.

Some people, including myself, can have a different experience of transfiguring. We may experience ourselves as the darkness of the void instead of the light of a star or the sun. This is just as powerful in its own way. In shamanism and many spiritual traditions, the void is recognized as the place before creation. It is seen as empty, yet full. It is rich and fertile. All that is created in the invisible realms through our thoughts, words, and daydreams originates in the void. It is a deep and potent place to work with if your transfiguration practice leads you there.

The transfiguration ceremony is so powerful and easy to perform that many of my students and readers of my monthly column and my books have brought this work into their communities and groups. Some bring the practice into their family lives. Children love to transfigure. Give them the instruction to dance like a star, and they move right into radiating their light. They get it!

There are numerous groups who meet in their local communities to perform monthly transfiguration ceremonies. Some groups have fifty to sixty people who show up each month. Some groups regularly meet in a virtual space to practice transfiguration for places on the Earth in need. Names of places and people can be placed in bowls on the altar in ordinary reality or in the virtual realms. During the transfiguration work, each person radiates light to a person or place in need. You can place a globe or crystal sculpture of the Earth in the virtual altar room as a focus.

Below is a ceremony I have led in workshops and conferences. I have led this ceremony at many events, some with more than eight hundred people with diverse backgrounds and beliefs in attendance. I use the same ceremony in smaller groups. Perform this transfiguration ceremony indoors or outside.

Please feel free to use this ceremony among your friends, loved ones, and in your local community. You can use it as it is or make changes as you are guided to keep the ceremony relevant to the group you are working with.

I added toning to the ceremony, as I find it helps most people to stay focused on radiating their light. Otherwise, when people move into the ecstatic state of the shaman, their experience of being divine light and in unity with the power of the universe can get disrupted by the rational mind. Toning works well to keep hearts open and minds focused on the ceremony.

TRANSFIGURATION CEREMONY

We are spirit. If we allow our spiritual light to shine through, we become a healing presence. Take a few deep breaths. We do this for every living being and the Earth itself.

I whistle and rattle to begin before drumming.

Take a few deep breaths and let your thoughts drift away. As you breathe, place your hands on your heart. Feel and get in touch with your heartbeat. With our heartbeat, let’s connect with the heartbeat of everyone present in the room who has gathered together on behalf of all of life and the Earth.

Let’s connect our heartbeat to the heartbeat of the spirit of the land where we are gathered and the helping ancestors who have loved this land so much and who join in our work. Connect with the heartbeat of Mother Earth.

You are body, mind, and spirit. When you let go of the body and your daily thoughts, your mind, who you are beyond your skin, is spiritual light. Before you were born, you were just a tiny being of spiritual light looking down on this great Earth, and you were excited about this incredible adventure of being born into a body that can manifest spirit into form, just like the Creator and the creative forces of the universe.

I invite you to travel inside to your Inner World. Imagine traveling within and experience your light. Our light is like the beauty of the night sky. Our light is like starlight. Stars don’t try to shine. They radiate effortlessly. They don’t say, “I think I am only going to shine on this one place on the Earth.” They don’t send their light—they shine.

Our light is like the sun. Our spirit is like the sun that shines above us, feeding all of life with the energy to thrive, unconditionally, never asking for anything in return. Experience your own inner sunlight. Our light is like a flame.

Travel within your Inner World and experience yourself merging with a star or the sun. Or experiencing a flame and absorb the light into your cells like a flower that absorbs sunlight or like a plant or tree that soaks in the rain. Let that light flow through you.

Without effort, let that light radiate while connecting our lights together. Experience that light radiating within and throughout this entire Earth, touching all of life.

I invite you to stand with your hands and palms facing our Earth.

I use a photo of the Earth for the group to focus on.

As you stand, allow that light to effortlessly radiate through you while we tone together the sound of creation.

I give examples of “om” or just singing a vowel, letting it flow into other vowels: “o ah eee ooh.”

When it is time to end, I fade out the drumming. I use chimes, a Tibetan bowl, or bells to signal it is time to stop toning.

Take a few deep breaths. While it is important to feel grounded, do not disconnect from your light, because you are light. As you still feel that light radiating through you, experience your body and the preciousness of being in a body. It is a gift to have a body and to live on this Earth.

Imagine deep roots going down into the earth, grounding you. Feel your heartbeat still connected to the heartbeat of all life. We do this work for ourselves, and we do it on behalf of the web of life and the Earth itself. We can all be a presence of healing and create positive change for all of life and the planet.

End the ceremony, and thank everyone for coming.

In the practice of shamanism, life is seen as a ceremony. When we bring the sacred into all our activities—into how we think about ourselves, others, and the world—and create sacred space, we improve the quality of our own lives and bless all of life at the same time. Performing ceremonies creates beautiful healing and changes, and brings to us the goodness of life. You will feel empowered in your work to help yourself, others, and the Earth. Performing ceremonies is good medicine!

As humans are evolving so quickly, I am excited for the future generations who will carry on ceremonial work to help their community and all of life thrive.