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My first formal intern/apprentice

Didjeridoo Sound Healer, Friday June 17 in Berkeley

 

Healer Heal Thyself, Part 2

During the end of the December I had a very challenging time due to a health crisis with my father. I spent a lot of time in the hospital visiting my dad, who was in a critical state for over two weeks during the end of December.

As a healer, I am always learning from my personal experience and this time was no different. I have been reflecting on the things that helped support me and my family during this extremely difficult time. First and foremost were the countless prayers from friends and family. Many people of all religious and spiritual persuasions were praying for us and we could all feel the comfort, strength and support that came from these prayers. Thank you to everyone for your prayers, they most definitely did make a positive difference.

Polish Madonna, Our Lady of Czestochowa

Herbs and flower essences also held me through this stressful time. A bottle of Rescue Remedy was always on hand and I used it liberally on myself and my dad. I made a flower essence mister with Rescue Remedy and an essential oil of Jatamansi from Floracopeia that I used to spray in and about the hospital room. I also used a flower essence formula for extra psychic protection created by Dori Midnight, called Boundaries in a Bottle. Flower essence misters are a great way to bring the healing power of nature into sterile and clinical environments like hospitals and the work place.

My trusted herbal allies helped keep me healthy, rested and calm. Each day I took several doses of elderberry cordial and echinacea root tincture to keep my immune system strong. Herbal nervous system tonics like scullcap, california poppy and passionflower helped me to sleep and also helped to restore my overworked and shaky nerves. Medicinal Mushrooms and herbal adaptogens gave me strength, endurance, and the ability to adapt to a very stressful situation in the best way possible. I particularly loved taking the Ayurvedic herb ashwaghanda in warm milk (with a sprinkle of nutmeg) each night to nourish my body and to also insure a good night’s sleep.

I also received several acupressure and Jin Shin Jyutsu® sessions from my beloved colleagues (Thanks Toni and Claudia!) that helped to return my mind/body/spirit to a place of balance. I would arrive at Toni’s office exhausted, overwhelmed and tense and leave calm, relaxed and energized. I realized, once again, how valuable it is to have hands-on healing work to help support the body during a stressful or traumatic time.

Basically, during the month of December I was the recipient of all of the healing systems that I practice. For the past 18 years I have supported many people through crisis using similar tools: herbs, flower essences, bodywork, and spiritual support. In this New Year, I have renewed faith in the power of these ancient systems of healing because they really work! I give thanks to the healers of all eras and all cultures who have dedicated their lives to keeping these sacred and precious arts alive.

Many Blessings,
Atava

A day of limpias

A few weeks ago, I hosted a day of limpias with Mexican curandera Estela Roman. A limpia is a spiritual cleansing that is based in the philosophy and practice of traditional Mexican healing, or curanderismo. To perform a limpia, the curandera uses herbs, flowers, prayers and songs to help purify the client’s mind, body and spirit.

One essential tool of the limpia is the egg, el huevo, which is held and passed over the person’s body to absorb any negative energy. Sometimes the egg picks up so much energy and heat that it will be partially cooked. Some curanderas will, after the limpia, crack open the egg into a glass of water and “read” the egg. This egg reading is a way of both divination and diagnosis to give more insight into what is going on for the person receiving the limpia.

Another essential element of the limpia is the smoke of the copal, which is also used for cleansing and protection. Copal is a tree sap that is used in many different Mexica ceremonies.

During the day of limpias at my house, Estela saw people in a back room of my house. I was in the kitchen preparing food and tea. After their limpias, people were given a hot cup of herbal tea and lots of yummy food to eat. A few women who also practice curanderismo came over to assist. After receiving their limpia, each person was taken care of by other expert healers. While limpias were going on in the back, many of us sat around the table eating, drinking tea and laughing all day long. There was a really good feeling that day.

Later, I realized that this is exactly the kind of HEALTH CARE that I would like to envision. Health care based in ancient healing traditions; health care that is really about CARING for the human being; health care that builds community; health care that honors and works with the healing power of Mother Earth.

I will continue to hold this vision and prayer in my heart.

Spiritual Heritages of Ancient Europe Web Class

A woman I greatly admire and respect, feminist historian Max Dashu is offering a very exciting on line course about the Spiritual Heritage of Ancient Europe. She will be teaching from her upcoming book, The Secret History of the Witches and will include many of the thousands of images she has collected over the past thirty years. Max’s work is an important contribution to all people, but especially women of European descent who are working to remember/recover/heal their indigenous roots.

Max is the founder of the Suppressed History Archives which “aims to uncover the realities of women’s lives, internationally and across time, asking questions about patriarchy and slavery, conquest and aboriginality. About mother-right, female spheres of power, indigenous philosophies of spirit– and the historical chemistry of their repression. Even more important, their role in resisting oppression.” She has created a DVD on Women’s Power in which she presents images and stories of the women who have been omitted from history- the women healers, shamans, leaders and priestesses from around the world.

Healer, Heal Thyself

For almost 20 years now, I have been dedicated to learning the art of healing. I have studied many modalities, learned from master teachers, and have seen hundreds of clients. This year, however, I was reminded again that sometimes the most powerful teaching is learning how to heal myself.

In June of 2007, I hurt my right shoulder gardening. I was reaching overhead to prune a high tree branch, when I felt a pull around my rotator cuff. It was a little sore, but I followed my usual protocol of using arnica internally and externally for acute musculo-skeletal injury. I usually heal quite fast from these minor bumps and bruises, so I wasn’t concerned.

I continued to use my arm as usual…. gardening, dancing, giving massages, and all the other ways in my ordinary active life. It bothered me from time to time, but not enough to catch my serious attention.

By the beginning of September, I began to feel sudden shooting pains down my arm. One part of my shoulder, right on the head of the deltoid muscle, had a funny achy tingling feeling all the time. I began to be more concerned, so I sought professional help. I began regular appointments with my acupuncturist and my chiropractor. I increased my weekly Jin Shin Jyutsu sessions to twice a week. I made myself a kick-ass anti-inflammatory herbal formula.

Despite all this wonderful holistic treatments, my shoulder continued to progress for the worse. I began to slowly loose my range of motion. Doing ordinary things like taking off my shirt, started to be difficult. Worse yet, my beloved activities like hip hop dancing and gardening started to make the pain worse. I tried just about every therapy in the book, including whacking myself with stinging nettles. External application of fresh nettle leaf is an ancient therapy called urtification. The stinging produces an contra-irritant effect to decrease inflammatory conditions like arthritis and rheumatism. The nettles stings helped significantly with the pain, but didn’t seem to stop the progression of losing my range of motion.

Right around Spring Equinox of this year, my shoulder completely froze up. I could no longer lift my arm to my head. I couldn’t part my hair, or put my hair up in a ponytail. I went to my doctor who referred me to an orthopedist. He diagnosed me with adhesive capsulitis, or frozen shoulder. He recommended steroid shot and anti-inflammatory drugs, both of which I refused. Later, I got the drugs for pain, but couldn’t make myself take them. I knew too much about the side effects. I increased my dosages of herbs and employed dozens of different liniments and salves topically to help manage the pain.

I began a course of weekly physical therapy. Physical therapy helped a lot with the referred pain I was experiencing, but didn’t seem to improve my range of motion at all. I was an ideal patient who did all the recommended exercises at home. But still no improvement.

My life changed. I cut back on most of my normal activities. I stopped gardening, dancing, and giving massages. I cried a lot & felt sorry for myself. I learned to adjust to moving around the world with only one good arm.

Coming next time……. surrender, acceptance, and the healing continues.

Global Medicine Review

I want to give a shout out to one of my favorite podcasts, Global Medicine Review, which comes to us from Pacifica station WBAI 99.5 FM in New York City. Global Medicine Review is hosted by Dr. Kamau Kokayi and Faybiene Miranda. Dr. Kokayi is a medical doctor who honors and promotes wholistic and indigenous healing perspectives. Faybien Miranda is a poet, performer and community activist who adds her creative beauty and spiritual perspective to the mix. They explore many topics in health and healing and often from an indigenous perspective. They also share with their listeners important information on health issues, such as diabetes, detoxification, nutrition and HIV/AIDS. They recently interviewed Dr. Malidoma Some for their fundraiser show. You can find their podcast on ITunes or download shows from their website.

Deep Healing Sanctuaries

A vision of mine for many years is this: to work at a healing sanctuary. The sanctuary is on a beautiful piece of land. The sanctuary serves people who need time and space to intensively heal. Herbalists, body workers, therapists, acupuncturists, curanderos, medicine people and wholistic MD’s staff the sanctuary. There is a big organic herb and vegetable garden. Fresh, organic food is cooked with love and served to the clients and staff. There is a sweat lodge for purification ceremonies. People can stay for a week, a month, a year. They stay until they feel balanced and nourished. The sanctuary is open to all people, regardless of financial means.

This vision has come to me over the years as I have witnessed friends, family and clients in my life struggle with being able to create the time and space to heal from illness. Our American culture does not easily allow people to stop, rest and heal. What would our world be like if more of these spaces existed?

Oscar the Cat who Predicts Death

For many years, I have observed the spiritual gifts of cats. My cat Maya loves to come in the room whenever someone is receiving hands-on healing work. She’ll often jump on the massage table, so she can assist in the healing. My other cat, Paco, always shows up when there’s a ceremony occurring. I found out about this amazing cat in Rhode Island, Oscar, who lives in a nursing home and has the ability to know when people are going to die. For 25 times in a row, he has shown up 2-4 hours before a patient is about to die. He often senses death even before the doctors. His ability to predict death is so accurate that the staff at the nursing home now make it a policy to notify the family when Oscar shows up at a patients bedside. An article about Oscar has been written up in the New England Journal of Medicine and he has received an award from a local hospice organization for his outstanding service. I am glad that Oscar found a place where he can use his special gifts to help people cross over to the other side.

Flower Healing Part 2

In March I made a journey to the Anza Borrego Desert, outside of San Diego. The desert wildflowers were in full bloom. I was joyful to be around the plants of my desert dwelling ancestors. Here is one of the important flowering plants that I encountered:

Chaparral is one of the oldest living plants on Mother Earth. Some chaparral plants living in the California desert are over 9,000 years old. Chaparral, which is also called Greasewood, was considered a panacea for the native people that lived around it. As an herb, chaparral is powerfully cleansing to the body and it has been used for many illnesses, including cancer.

As a flower essence, chaparral is a powerful emotional cleanser. It helps us to release old, toxic emotions that we have stored deep in our body. Once, when I was sitting in meditation with a chaparral plant, she showed me how my emotions vibrated in the cells of my body. Later, when I took the flower essence, I went through a healing phase where for many days I released old feelings of sadness and anger. Chaparral also helps to connect us to our own ancestors. In this way, it helps to root ourselves into our own genealogy. Connection to ancestors has always been an integral part of indigenous cultures. Many modern people suffer from disconnection to their ancestors. This creates many other issues, including loneliness and a sense of not belonging. If you wish to connect to your ancestors, begin by making a prayer and offering to let them know your request. Then take the flower essence of chaparral, or take a small piece of the plant and put in on your altar or carry it on your body.

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