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

Joining Together to Bless Our Global Community
Life as a Ceremony

Thousands of people will join you in reading The Book of Ceremony. By performing the ceremonies I have described, or by improvising your own, you will join a beautiful collective field of energy of like-minded people, all working to be in service to all of life and the Earth.

I invite you, in your own time, to perform the following blessing ceremony to hold our collective in support, love, and light. In the practice of shamanism, we work outside of time. It does not matter when you perform this ceremony, as the power of the collective energies builds as each person joins in.

Listen to a favorite drumming or shamanic music track that can support you. Drum, rattle, sing, and dance. After you have read the instructions of the ceremony a few times, continue to work in your own way.

OUR COLLECTIVE BLESSING CEREMONY

Place your hands on your heart. Think about something in life that you are in awe and wonder of. We all have something that is precious to us. Maybe it is your favorite flower or another nature being. What is your favorite fragrance or your favorite taste? What are your favorite sounds? Place what is special to you in your heart.

As you breathe, step away from your ordinary thoughts and concerns. It is a privilege to join together as a dedicated collective in service to life and the Earth. Imagine stepping into a loving circle. Breathe deeply and connect to your heartbeat.

Connect to the heartbeat of the Earth. We are always connected to the Earth’s heartbeat. Connect to the spirit of the land where you live. The more you connect with the land where you live, the more gracefully your life will flow. As you connect with the helping ancestral spirits of the land you live on, your ceremonial work will be more fluid and successful.

Feel the power, love, and the spiritual light of our virtual circle. We can’t see each other, but we can feel the presence of each other with our nonordinary senses. Feel the power, the love, and the spiritual light flowing through you. Welcome each other from the heart. No matter how you are feeling right now, no matter what is going on in your life, you are welcome in our circle.

We welcome and greet our helping compassionate spirits, divine forces, and the spirit of earth, air, water, and fire, as the sun. We greet the spirit that lives in all things, as well as the moon and the stars. We know the creative power of the words we use.

In shamanism, it is well understood that thoughts are things. Our thoughts feed into the dreams that manifest in our physical world.

Close your eyes and focus on your heart.

Imagine yourself standing up from the place where you are journeying or meditating. Step out of your front door. As you do this, imagine yourself lifting a veil between the ordinary world to the power of the unseen realms. As you lift the veil between the worlds, you step out onto a beautiful path in nature.

Walk the path surrounded by trees or through your favorite landscape. Feel the earth beneath you. Reach down and touch the soil, the rock, or the sand, and feel its texture. Gaze upon the surrounding beauty. Observe the greenery, the rocks, the animals, the insects, the flowers, and other nature beings. Feel the wind cleansing you and embracing you in love.

What a gift to live on this amazing planet. What a gift to be in community, working through our personal and planetary challenges together. No matter how dark we feel as we walk the path, there is always light ahead. In nature, there is always the darkness and the light. There is always death and then rebirth. There is the dissolution and then the illumination.

Continue walking. Take a deep breath and smell the fragrances. Listen to the sounds of nature and taste the air. Notice how you are feeling right now as you do this.

Arrive at a meadow where you are greeted by guardian spirits waiting for you. As you are greeted, one of the guardian spirits will spiritually cleanse you. The guardian spirit might use incense to cleanse you or a feather to wipe away anything that needs to be cleared. Before you move into sacred and holy space, you have to let go of your burdens for any ceremony to be successful.

As you are cleansed, notice that there is a powerful fire burning in the middle of this meadow. Enter a circle forming around the fire. Imagine yourself drumming, singing, dancing, or remaining silent.

Smell the fire. Listen to the crackling sounds of the wood burning. As we stand together in the circle, let’s take a moment to look around and gaze into each other’s eyes, see the light, and feel the love of every person in our circle. We have gathered outside of time to bless each other, to stand strong together in unity and in love for ourselves, for all of life, and for the Earth.

Notice bowls filled with sticks that have yarn wrapped around them. Walk up to one of the bowls and pick up a stick that has yarn of your favorite color. Notice the color you have picked, what it means to you, and how it makes you feel on a cellular level. Travel within and imagine a word whose vibration holds beauty, power, and love. The vibration will travel up into the universe and will manifest back on the Earth.

Blow the power of this word into your prayer stick. As you do that, walk up to the fire and put your prayer stick in the flames with the intention of blessing yourself, our community who has gathered together in their own time, all of life, and the Earth.

As you place your prayer stick into the fire, the fire will share this blessing with the creative forces of the universe. The universe will join you in partnership in this blessing ceremony. After placing your prayer stick into the fire, notice that there are sacred herbs to feed the fire with. Place some herbs into the fire in gratitude and return to the circle. Gaze into the eyes of each person, seeing their light shining through. Experience the vibration of unity.

Let the love and light you are feeling flow. As you look around the circle, state out loud the word you chose to bless our circle. I will join you as you do this, as I share the words “exquisite,” “magic,” and “luminescence.” Let’s hold hands and continue to feel the power of love and light flowing through our entire circle.

As humans, we are the bridge between Earth and Sky. We bridge the power of the universe through our hearts. Feel the love flowing. Let us be that bridge of love as we stand strong together in service to the planet. Once again, look at the beauty of the fire and of nature.

It is now time for us to take our leave. Let’s give thanks to our circle and drop hands.

Walk back down the beautiful path in nature into the room that you are journeying or meditating in. Thank the helping spirits and divine forces called in, who have supported your work and who have held you in unconditional love. Step through the veil of the unseen realms into your ordinary space.

Notice how you are feeling. Ground yourself by feeling deep roots connecting you with the earth.

Breathe deeply and open your eyes. Our work is done for now.

When you’ve completed this ceremony, you might choose to put your word of blessing on your altar, continuing to bless our circle and all of life, holding us all in love. Remember, we are in one global Spirit Boat, supporting each other as we ride together through the good weather and the storms that life brings.