Spirituality Without Fuss or Mess

VIII C. Leaving a Group Gracefully p> Let's say you have decided that it's time to move on and leave the group. Let's also assume that the group has not become intensely political (leaving any heavily politized group is always most difficult).

Let's say rather, that things are nice and peaceful, and you have just plain decided it is time to go elsewhere. How do you leave gracefully?

1. Don't just stop coming, period. If you do, the person heading the group will wonder if he or she has done something wrong. Some of the group members may think that they have offended you in some way-so don't just break all contact.

2. Have your reason(s) for leaving clear to you. You can't really explain why you are leaving to someone else, and have them understand it, if you are fuzzy on the reasons yourself.

3. Talk to the head(s) of the group. Be polite and cheerful. Explain your reasons for leaving the group. Tell them you have enjoyed your experience in the group, and that you just feel it is really time to have new experiences. You might even want to say that you may very well return to the group in the future.

If you keep everything on a positive level; make sure the leader(s) don't feel they have done anything wrong; and that you have nothing against the group or the people in it, you will be able to have a clear, positive break with the group.

For example, I had been attending the Healing Circle and enjoyed it immensely. I had even done a couple of sessions myself, showing how to do aura cleansing and some basic moves in Tai Chi. Yet I was beginning to tire of the process of going to the group and coming back. Since I chose not to drive a car, it was taking me roughly three hours of travel time on buses in order to attend a meeting for an hour and a half. There was no one in my part of town that attended the meetings regularly, so a ride was not possible.

I finally decided that the travel time was just too much, especially once school had started and I became quickly physically drained from that. I explained to the head of the group that I had enjoyed it, but simply couldn't keep coming. I thanked him for his efforts in the group, and said I would continue studying the things they had been doing. Thus, he felt good, I felt good, the break was clean, and it was positive.

A lot of this is really nothing but general rules of etiquette, something which many, many people have stopped adhering to. Being polite to others has become passe; yet being polite and positive can really help our relationships with other people. So, if you do decide to leave a group, think about your reasons, and present them to the leader(s) in a positive manner. You will be able to move on with no feelings of guilt, and with no hard feelings.

To smudge, you will need the following:

1. Some sage

2. Something to burn it in (a shell or a small pot of some kind which will not crack under heat)

3. A feather

4. What you want to smudge (you, a gift, etc.)

Light the sage and offer it to the directions. Offer the sage to the West (Yanu, the Bear), to the North (Yunsu, the Buffalo), to the East (Awaheli, the Eagle), and to the South (Tsistu, the Rabbit.) Then raise the sage up and offer it to Galunlati, the Skyfather. Lower the sage and offer it to Agisegwa, the Earth mother. Then move the sage from one shoulder to the next, letting the smoke drift behind you. Offer the sage to your spirit guides, totems, etc.

As you offer the sage to each direction you may want to state some sort of personal prayer. For example, for the West I might say, I offer this sage to Yanu, the Bear. I ask for your strength and guidance. Do this with each direction, personalizing the prayer.

Once you have offered the sage to the directions, use the feather to move the smoke over your body, moving it down into Mother Earth and then up over your body. As I do this I like to add something along the lines of, Let my heart be pure at the heart chakra; Let my words speak true at the throat chakra; and Let my thoughts be pure and let me walk in your ways at my crown chakra. Run your hands through the smoke, and move the smoke over you again. Again, personalize the prayers for your own use.

Then, if you wish to smudge an object, use the feather to move the sage smoke over the object (s) and ask that they be cleansed of any negativity, and that they be able to fulfill their purposes for existence.

When done, put the container of sage in a safe place until it has entirely gone out and cooled. Take the cooled sage outside and offer it to Mother Earth, placing it on the ground near where you live.

One of the best things about Native American spirituality is its personal nature. Rather than follow a particular book or books with a set of principles carved in stone, much of Native American spirituality is really up to the individual on how he or she wishes to express his or her connection with the sacred.

IX B. Equipping Your Medicine Bag

First, what does 'medicine' mean? To the white race the term implies doctors, drugs, hospitals, and the like. To the Native American, 'medicine' was a reference to all that was mysterious, spiritual, supernatural, and the like in their lives. The medicine man (or woman) functioned on two levels: he/she aided the tribe's spiritual life, and she/he also aided the physical life; thus he/she performed both kinds of medicine.

Your medicine bag has many uses, of course. You can use it when going on a vision quest. You can carry it with you on a day-to-day basis to draw on its power. You can update the bag to mark any changes in your being and/or your interests. Following is a suggested listing of materials for your first medicine bag. You may want to change these as you go along, or even have more than one medicine bag, each geared to a particular purpose.

1. Get one or more representatives of the plant kingdom. The traditional 'Three Sisters' of corn, bean, and squash seeds would be a good place to start. You can get these at any nursery that sells seeds. Some things can even be obtained at a feed store that sells bird food.

2. Get one or more representatives of the mineral kingdom. These are easily obtainable from New Age stores and through the mail. There is a listing of stones and their particular uses in Appendix C; for starters I would suggest a piece of obsidian for grounding, and a piece of amethyst for calming.

3. Get one or more representatives of the animal kingdom. Feathers are quite appropriate for this. You might find a piece of claw, fur, a skull, or some other like material. This involves keeping your eyes open. The animal kingdom will generally give to you what you need. Also add anything of special significance related to any animals you are closely tied to.

4. Get one or more representatives of the technology kingdom. In the world at present we are surrounded by Technology and its products. These have become an integral part of our lives, whether or not we care for their effects.

Let's look at a rough breakdown of the Technology Kingdom. We shall use a classification system similar to that used in science. Kingdom is the largest level, including the most organisms. Phylum is the next smallest level, then Class, Order, Family, Genus, and species. All are capitalized except the term "species". For example, humans are in the Animal Kingdom, Phylum Vertebrata (having a backbone), and Class Mammalia (having hair or fur). Our Genus name is Homo, and our species name is sapiens. For our purposes we will use the Kingdom and Phylum levels.

KINGDOM: TECHNOLOGY

Phylum : Architectural

Buildings of all purposes and uses; decorative displays. Note that these are often made of the minerals from the mineral kingdom, and may have similar effects and uses. Some of the material is made of totally new materials; although composed of members of the mineral kingdom, they may be in unique compositions and arrangements. The uses and effects of such materials are not known at this time, and bear future study.

Phylum : Communications

This includes all the means we use to communicate with each other, including phones, faxes, televisions, radios, record players, computers, CDs, and all associated instruments.

Phylum : Household

This includes all the devices we have now in our houses as products of the technological process. They include washers, driers, microwaves, stoves, air conditioning, central heating; all the various small appliances such as electronic screwdrivers on through blenders and mixers, and any other items and devices that we use supposedly to make our lives easier and work less of a chore to perform.

Phylum : Transportation

This includes all the means of transportation, including but not confined to cars, trains, planes, boats, and rocketships.

Other Phyla could also be added, such as one dealing with all the technological items used in medicine, and one dealing with all the technological items used in killing people.

How many of us could survive very long without the technological "wonders" of our world? If you lived in a city and the power went permanently out, where would you get your water? How would you keep your food cold? How would you wash your clothes? How would you keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter?

So, the Technology Kingdom is important to us, and you should have one or more representatives of it in your medicine bag.

Unless you are an incredibly powerful person (and huge!) you are not going to be putting big representatives in your medicine bag; no washers or stereos, for example. Then what can go in?

Computer chips, for one thing. Almost any computer repair store will have chips that are no good (to them) and that they will probably give to you. You can also get miniatures of many devices in a toy section. The miniature can represent the full-size version. You can also visit sewing "notions" stores and craft stores to find miniature representatives.

5. Once you have your medicine bag items gathered together, go ahead and smudge all them. Then place them in your bag.

6. Then sit with your bag for a while in a quiet room. Think about each being you put into the bag, and what it means to your life. Express thanks for the aid that you have been given by the members of that kingdom. See some of your energy going into the medicine bag, to be joined by a white beam of energy coming down from above. Let the energy of the bag flow into you, and establish a joint flow of energies. When the time feels right to you, end your meditation and keep the bag on you (in a purse, knapsack or briefcase, for example) for the next day or longer. Sleep with the bag under your pillow if at all possible.

IX C. Wapani

Before the Europeans came, and even for a time after their arrival, Native Americans would give away horses, pipes, leggings, moccasins, tepees, and like objects to others. In this more "modern" world, very few of us have these kinds of things to give away. So what can we give away to others?

There are two broad categories of Wapani; physical items, and non-physical items. Physical items can include money, books, records, clothes, food items and like material. Non-physical Wapani can be just as important: you might 'give away' your anger you have held against someone for a long time, or you might give away your intolerance of some particular group of people.

Following is a Wapani you can do on your own. Remember- exact dogma is not important in the Medicine Path. It is doing what your heart leads you to do, drawing on your own inner resources and your higher self that is important.

I. Choose the giveaway object

Spend some time thinking on what you wish to give away. Perhaps you may even wish to meditate on this a few times. You may also need to meditate on who to give the item(s) to.

If it is something physical that you choose to give away, then get the object or objects together. If you have chosen a non-physical giveaway, then write what you desire to use for Wapani on a piece of paper- preferably a clean, white sheet. Better still, some kind of fancy paper that you personally like would be appropriate.

By the way, what do we mean by meditate? Meditation can include sitting still, (controlling your breathing), listening to a meditation tape, or just being still and listening for that "inner voice" that speaks to us so often (and which we usually ignore).

II. Do the giveaway

Give the object away. If it is a physical object, you might want to donate it to a food bank or to a store that collects food for the poor (food); to Salvation Army (furniture, clothes); to a library (old books in good shape); to a Children's Hospital (toys), or to some other similar place that would have a special need for your giveaway object.

On the other hand, if you have chosen to give away a non-physical item, then take your piece of paper outside in a park if you possibly can, or somewhere around your own home where you can have some privacy. If neither is available, you can still do Wapani from your own apartment. You may wish to bury the paper ritually, thus burying your own hate, etc, so that it can be transformed by Mother Earth.

You may wish to burn the paper (carefully, of course), and let the wind carry your giveaway to its object. You can even buy a small tree for example, and wrap your giveaway around its base. Then plant the tree in your yard or a park.

III. Record the Results

If you were doing Wapani as part of a system of Medicine Path lessons, then you would want to record what you decided to give away, to whom, and what (if anything), special happened when you actually did the Wapani.

On the other hand, if you are not involved in a specific series of lessons, you would best simply forget about the Wapani. It has been done, turned over to the Great Spirit. To give something away and remember it often causes us, at least subconsciously, to set up a ledger, noting what we gave away and what, if anything, we received back, as if we expected to receive something.

That is not the purpose of Wapani. You do not do the giveaway to expect to get something back. This is a spiritual activity, not some kind of calculated action. Do the Wapani because is it what your heart and your inner self tell you to do. Do without expectation of return. Do all in a sacred manner.

IX D. Hokschichankiya

The term hokshichankiya means 'spiritual influence or seed' in Oglala Sioux. In involves the passing of power from one person to another. As practiced by the Shadowlight Medicine Clan, this involves the passage of members of the three kingdoms (plant, animal, and mineral) to new homes.

There are spirits that live in all things, and in today's world where mass destruction of the environment takes place daily, these spirits are often thrown out of their homes. By transferring plants, animals, and minerals to new homes, we create new places for these Nunahee to live in, and we set up an inter-connected spiritual network throughout the country.

This also allows us to save these plants, animals, and minerals from destruction while, at the same time, we preserve their power and pass it on to other areas of the world. This is a very noble practice that benefits everyone and everything.

HOKSCHICHANKIYA CEREMONY

1. Gather your materials. Someone in another part of the country should have supplied you with hokschichankiya packets. These could consist of seeds, tobacco, and feathers, for example. They could include small animals, with offerings of tobacco and feathers. They might include various crystals-all this should be arranged ahead of time by you and your friend.

2. Have at least three of these packets ready. It is a good idea if possible to plant/place one of these packets near your own home; another packet should go near where you work; the third packet can go where spirit tells you. For example, when I did hokschichankiya as part of my Shadowlight Medicine Path lessons, I planted one packet near my apartment building; one packet in a small park across from the school where I teach, and the third packet in a forest surrounding Miami University-Middletown campus, since Miami University holds very great meaning for me.

3. Planting procedures (if using plants): Bring with you your smudging materials. Once at the planting site, smudge yourself and the area. Offer tobacco to the four directions, then plant your seeds. Cover them carefully, place a little more tobacco on top of them, and leave. Make sure you notice any unusual things that happen as you do the planting: in one case for me the wind increased from the west the very moment I lit the sage for smudging.

4. If you are using crystals you can likewise place them within the ground or on top of it. Animals should be let loose into a hopefully safe place.

INFORMATIONAL HOKSCHICHANKIYA

There is another kind of hokschichankiya available now in this age of electronics, and that is informational hokschichankiya. Although the general purpose is different from traditional hokschichankiya (information generally doesn't really need to be preserved-with notable exceptions like the Library of Alexandria), information is to be shared, and can help others in their work on Turtle Island.

You may be writing to a friend, or you may be communicating with him or her via telecommunications on computers. In either case, if your friend is studying the Medicine Path and has need of information, maybe you can supply it. That information can be explanations of terms, ceremonies, meditations, even physical objects, or places where you can buy Medicine Path supplies. Useful information would also include the names of various books on the subject, along with the names of magazines, Native American newspapers, and the like, that the person, alone might never be aware of. Sharing information can be a great gift to others, and can help others on their spiritual paths. Thus, this can also be a form of hokschichankiya. the vibrations of love.

IX E. Meditations on the Directions

Let's start off by considering some of the basics of the medicine wheel.

The four primary directions are West, North, East, and South. Combined with the center stone these form four paths: West, North, East, and South. The Spirit Keeper stones refer to the beings that are basically in charge of the four directions. These include Yanu, the Bear, who is the Spirit Keeper for West. Yunsu, the Buffalo, is the Spirit Keeper for the North. Awahili, the Eagle, is the Spirit Keeper for the East, and Tsistu, the Rabbit, is the Spirit Keeper for the South. The West represents power, the North, wisdom and purification, the East, enlightenment, and the South, life and growth.

The main animal associated with the West is Yanu, the Bear. This is a source of strength for the seeker. The West is also where the sun-goes-down, and is thus the gateway into the eternal, the doorway to our afterlife. This is the place of introspection, where we can turn to see our life's meaning. From the west come the Thunderers, bringing the storms of the seasons. Since the color of the West is black, stones that are black, such as obsidian, would be of use to us here. Such is the West.

The West Path, from the center stone to the West stone, is the Force of Lessons pathway.

The main animal of the North is the Buffalo, specifically the White Buffalo Calf Woman. The North is a place of wisdom. Its color is white, and as such it represents purity and purification. Clear colored stones, such as quartz, would be of use here.

The North Path is that of physical and spiritual purification.

The main animal of the East is the Eagle. The Eagle flies high, and carries our messages to the Great Spirit. The East is also the source of illumination, and yellow is its color. Crystals associated with the East would include opal and yellow fluorite.

The East Path is that of enlightenment, and the substance of lessons.

The main animal associated with the South is the rabbit, although the mouse is also associated with that direction. Red and green seem to be colors often associated with the South. Due to that, stones such as agates and garnets are linked to the South.

The South Path is that of life and growth.

Spring can also be associated with East, summer with the South, fall with the West, and winter with the North.

The stone path going North/South is The Good Red Road, the happiest portion of your Spirit path. The West/East path is The Black Road and represents painful lessons in life.

The stones connected the cardinal direction stones represent various moons in the wheel of the year.

The months used on the Shadowlight Medicine Wheel are as follows: (1st name from Creek, middle name from Plains tribes, last name from Cherokee)

January: Little Winter Moon/Snow Moon/Icicle Moon
February: Wind Moon/Hunger Moon/Frost Moon
March: Little Spring Moon/Crow Moon/Thawing Moon
April: Big Spring Moon/Grass Moon/Flower Moon
May: Mulberry Moon/Planting Moon/Mockingbird Moon
June: Blackberry Moon/Rose Moon/Dogwood Moon
July: Little Heat Moon/Heat Moon/Hawk Moon
August: Much Heat Moon/Thunder Moon/Sassafras Moon
September: Little Chestnut Moon/Hunting Moon/Squirrel Moon
October: Big Chestnut Moon/Falling Leaf Moon/Birds Fly Moon
November: Frost Moon/Beaver Moon/Woodchuck Moon
December: Big Winter Moon/Long Night Moon/Long Sleep Moon

The placement of the moons is as follows: Cardinal direction North; three stones going from that to the East stone. In order, these are Icicle moon, Frost Moon, and Thawing Moon stones. From the East stone to the South stone the moon stones are Flower Moon, Mockingbird Moon and Dogwood Moon. From the South stone to the West stone the three moon stones are Hawk Moon, Sassafras Moon and Squirrel moon. Finally, from the West stone to the North stone the moon stones are Birds Fly Moon, Woodchuck Moon and Long Sleep Moon stones.

MEDITATION FOR THE PRIMARY DIRECTIONS

Be in a still and tranquil place where you will not be dis turbed. Have the lighting dim, with pleasant music in the background if you so desire. Smudge before you do this meditation. Smudge yourself, the chair you will sit in, and the area you will work in. Have writing materials nearby in case they are needed, and don't forget to smudge those, too.

Have four crystals there to use (and smudge): one that is yellow in color, one red, one black, and one white.

Hold the yellow crystal in your hand, and envision yourself standing outside on an open field facing east. No signs of modern humanity are around; there is only you, the plants, the sky, the sun, and the mineral kingdom. As you stand looking east, say a prayer to the Great Spirit, asking for illumination and guidance. Call upon your brother the Eagle to come and take your prayer to the abode of the Great Spirit. Stand and watch as the wind gently moves across your body, and see an Eagle come in from the east. Watch as the eagle passes above you, looking directly down at you as it gives forth its powerful call.

Watch the Eagle begin to climb higher in the sky, higher and higher until you can no longer feel its presence. Let the energy of the sun and of the Eagle flow through the yellow crystal into your body.

Now see yourself turning towards the south, and picking up a red crystal. Call upon the spirits of the south to help you receive the illumination from the east in a state of innocence and grace. Respect that which you receive, and express your desire to return to the ancient ways of respecting the earth and all our relations. Feel the energy coming to you from the earth itself, filling the crystal, and then flowing out into your body. Receive the energy of the south.

Turn toward the west, and pick up the black stone. Call upon Yanu, the Bear, to give you strength so that you can take the illumination and lessons you have learned in humility, and have the courage to apply them to your daily life. Ask that Yanu be with you throughout each day to help you call upon your own courage to face the problems of the world. Accept the energy coming from the west into your crystal, filling it and then flowing out of the crystal and into your body.

Turn now and face the north, picking up the white stone. Call upon Yunsu, the Buffalo, and the Buffalo Calf Woman to give you the wisdom to apply your learning with strength and innocence for the purpose of helping your people. Let the energy of the north fill your crystal, then spill out and flow into your body. Receive the energy respectfully and gratefully.

Look down at the ground around you. See the path laid out in the color red, running from south to north. This is the Good Red Road, the spiritual path where you will be happiest.

See also a road running from the east to the west, and colored black. Know that this is the Black Road, a road of difficulty and painful lessons, but one that you sometimes must walk.

See the stone in the center of this circle. This is the Great Spirit stone. Kneel down near the stone, and gently reach out to touch the stone with your hands. As you touch the stone you can feel your spirit expanding, see the colors and animal spirits of the four directions watching you, offering their help and protection. Feel the power that is the Great Spirit. Know that the Great Spirit, Wakan Tanka, wishes for you to have a good life, and a life where you can help others.

Release your touch of the center stone, and stand once again. Face the four directions and thank the spirits of each for the help and guidance you have received. If you so wish, you can pledge yourself to follow the Medicine Path, respecting Mother Earth and all our relations upon it, and offering to help your people as much as you can.

Return then to your room and your chair. Place the stones gently down, relax, then allow yourself time to sit and think about what you have seen and heard.

IX F. Sweat Lodges

You may have seen a movie that showed the use of a sweat lodge, and thus have at least a general idea of what they look like. In Sweat Lodges done outdoors stones are heated until they are red-hot and then moved into a pit within the sweat lodge. Water is then poured on the stones, and sacred herbs added, creating an intense bath of steam. This steam serves to purify the persons within the lodge. Various rounds of prayers and chanting will be done, at the end of which the flap of the lodge is opened and the people exit.

The term 'all my relatives' may be used during the ceremony; it points out that we are really one with all the other members of the various kingdoms: plant, animal, mineral, etc.

Tobacco ties are small pieces of cloth enclosing an offering of tobacco. Frequently there are 50 black and 50 red tobacco ties hung in the lodge, although colors and number can differ according to the particular purpose of the sweat being done.

There is variation as to the physical state of dress of the participants. Some lodges are held only for men; some only for women. People may be clothed, naked, or with absolutely minimal clothing. This again depends on the purpose of the lodge and the inclinations of the lodge leader. The sacred Pipe may also be smoked during the ceremony.

People can leave the lodge during the ceremony if it becomes necessary due to the intense heat, although this again depends upon the leader.

The importance of the hoop/circle to Native Americans is shown by the physical structure of the lodge, being a dome shape with a circular bottom.

There was even a Native American prophecy that there would come a time when whites would come to Native Americans, asking to be instructed in the Native American spiritual ways. It seems that time is now.

DOING A SWEAT LODGE CEREMONY IN YOUR OWN HOME

First, we need to be quite blunt and realistic here. If you have a home with a yard, and you go building a full scale sweat lodge out in it, your neighbors may start to think you are kind of strange. A sweat lodge probably violates half a dozen building codes (everyone seems to be able to tell you what to do with your land but you), and finding the materials is not really easy. How many buffalo or cattle hides do you have lying around your house? How about saplings? Any big rocks for heating?

And going nude into a sweat lodge, (and out), within the city limits probably violates another half dozen laws (here in Cincinnati it probably violates a couple hundred). So, let's be real.

Doing a full sweat lodge ceremony out in your back yard (if you live in one of the urban areas) is probably going to be incredibly difficult, if not downright impossible.

What is left to do? You need to be able to simulate the conditions of the sweat lodge but in a way that is legal and doesn't arouse a whole lot of curiosity on the part of your neighbors.

Where can you do that?

In your bathroom, or in your basement (as long as it is concrete, and does not have a rug on it). If you are an apartment dweller, you are left to your bathroom. The point is that holding a sweat lodge is not impossible, even in the midst of the most heavily populated urban areas.

First, your supplies:

1. For the walls of buffalo hide and saplings, there are the bathroom walls. No trouble there.

2. Next is the firepit with the glowing rocks. If you have a house with an entrance even with the ground, and if you have the kind of outdoor barbecue grill that has wheels, then you will be able to duplicate the fire pit quite closely. Otherwise you will have to use the hot water on the shower to generate the steam.

3. You should also have smudging supplies, sage, sweetgrass, tobacco ties, and whatever other materials you feel will be necessary.

DOING THE CEREMONY

A sweat lodge is a ceremony of purification. IT IS NOT AN ENDURANCE TEST! Do only as much as you feel comfortable with. Don't push your body and suffer some kind of collapse.

Get your materials together. If you are using a grill, then heat the rocks in the grill outside the bathroom. Enter the bathroom. As you enter, bow and say "For all my relatives", "We are one family", or something to that effect. Sit where you can. Then turn off the lights. Sit still for a while, contemplating what you are about to do.

Have the barbecue grill of stones brought into the bathroom. If you are not using a grill, then the leader can turn the hot water in the shower on. The leader can then began with his or her prayers to the Great Spirit. The typical sweat lodge is divided into four sections (called quarters). At each quarter the outside entrance is opened (in this case the bathroom door), and if you are feeling unwell or overheated, this is a good time to leave. Say "all my relations" and exit the room quietly.

Also, during these interruptions, a person could get a drink of water from the sink, or have someone outside can pass water to those inside the lodge.

The leader will put water on the stones to get the moisture going; sage and sweetgrass may also be added. You may also decide that you want to smoke the pipe during the sweat lodge; this should be doing at the beginning.

The four quarters can be divided into the following activities:

1. General opening prayers, calling of spirit keepers, guardians, etc.

2. Convey group and/or individual needs to the spirit keepers. Make your requests for help.

3. This is to allow the individuals to state their own prayers, requests, etc. Each person should make some kind of prayer, chant, etc.

4. The last quarter should be for giving thanks. Although we all have problems in our lives, we all have many things that we should be thankful for. This is a good time for each person to express those thanks. The thanks can be for material or physical items, and they can also be for spiritual help and guidance.

When you have finished the four quarters, it is time to leave the sweat lodge. The leader will indicate that the ceremony has been concluded. Leave the room quietly. The helper outside should have smudging materials ready and smudge each person as they exit the sweatlodge. Once outside, go into the kitchen and douse yourself with cold water (as much as is practical), or return to the bathroom and step under cold a cold shower. Again, if you have any problematic physical conditions, avoid this last step.

You may decide to have a feast after the ceremony, or this ceremony may be the introduction to another. Whatever the case is, enjoy the fellowship of the others who have shared the sweatlodge with you.

Addendum

There is a controversy at present in many prisons about whether or not Native American inmates should be allowed to build and use a sweat lodge or not. Some prisons allow it, some ban the activity. Technically this is an abridgment of the right of an individual to freely practice their religion; however, in prison many of those rights are suspended by the authorities. A strong case can be made, of course, if Christians, Jews and Muslims are allowed to practice their religions in prisons, that Native Americans should also be allowed to practice their religion.

Another controversy at present is who shall be allowed to participate in a sweat lodge and other Native American ceremonies: Native Americans only, or Native Americans and whites/blacks/orientals included? Some people feel quite strongly that all Medicine Path ceremonies and materials should be for Native Americans only, and that whites and others should never be taught the spiritual traditions of the Indians. These people feel that the white man has stolen the Indians land and, to a great degree, their culture, so they should not be allowed to also steal their spirituality. Another argument offered is that whites who practice Native American ceremonies and the like are demeaning the real value of the spirituality since they may be doing this for a fad rather than as a true, deeply-felt spiritual call.

Others feel that those traditions should be taught to anyone who wishes to learn them. Some say that there are no longer enough young people on the reservations who even wish to follow the old traditions, and that in order for the traditions to survive, whites and others will have to be taught them.

It is the belief of the authors that this basically is a matter of intent. If the person is really sincere about his or her interest in Native American spirituality, and if that person is willing to put forth the time and effort to learn about the spiritual system and to practice it as much as is possible in their lives, then we feel the person should be allowed to learn the Native American ways, even including the use of the sacred pipe, if all is done with honor and with respect.

IX G. Asking for an Ally

You may well already be familiar with the term Ally. This is one of the terms that became popular with the works of Carlos Castaneda. An ally is someone or something that will come to your aid. The "some thing" can include an animal, a plant, a mineral, or something from our more modern world. Such allies represent the Animal Kingdom, the Plant Kingdom, the Mineral Kingdom, and our "modern world" Communications Kingdom and Transportation Kingdom. Any of these, or more than one, can come to your aid when needed.

An ally is essentially some one, or some thing, that can become a friend and a helper. They don't come automatically, though. You need to desire one, and ask for one.

HOW TO ASK FOR AN ALLY

Sit quietly. Calm your thoughts. Center your body and focus your awareness. Send out a mental message asking for an ally to appear. Be prepared for visual images, sound images, smells, even tactile feelings to occur.

Perhaps your ally won't come immediately. Be observant. Your ally may appear to you while you are out walking (a crow paying very close attention to you, for example.) It might appear anywhere, at any time. Be open, and be observant.

When an ally does appear to you, talk to the ally. Talk physically if the ally appears in a physical form; spiritually or mentally if in a non-physical form. Greet and welcome the ally. Tell it you appreciate its appearing. Ask for its help. Be prepared to receive any messages from the ally, including messages that may say you need to do specific things to help yourself at the same time.

When the ally is ready to leave, thank the ally for appearing. Be appreciative.

TALKING TO ANIMALS

Don't worry about someone seeing you talking to an animal, for example, and thinking you are nuts. It's actually quite fun to talk to wild animals. I have talked to many squirrels, and usually they will stop and pay attention to what I'm saying. They'll move around on the limb so they can look me straight in the eye. One squirrel one time even played hide-and-seek, going around a tree trunk, pausing here and there to see if I was still talking to it.

Animals may not necessarily understand our words, but they do understand the feelings behind the words. Take cats, for example. Let's say you can't stand cats, and you go to a friend's house who has a cat. There are seven people there, all of them cat-lovers but you. Who does the cat go to and rub against, and whose lap does the cat try to get in?

Yours, of course.

While you are at it, don't forget to talk to flowers. Some preliminary studies have shown flowers and other plants that are talked to in a warm and loving manner grow better than those who aren't. (They also like classical music better than heavy metal).

Even rocks can be talked to. All things are filled with spirit, just as you. Maybe spirit in a slightly different form, but spirit nevertheless.

IX H. The Sundance

One of the sacred ceremonies of many Native American tribes was the Sun Dance. This would be done for a variety of reasons, one of which was to obtain a vision that could guide a person in their life. Another was as payment for some help that person received earlier.

The Sun Dance was not an easy task by any means. It was a punishing and painful ordeal that challenged the physical and spiritual stamina of the dancer. One of the activities engaged in was to make slits in a persons skin on their chest and then insert a piece of bone. This was attached by a thong to a center pole around which the dancer would continue to dance and pull on the thong. Eventually the pulling would result in the piece of bone being ripped out of the chest, taking flesh and blood with it.

It would seem at first that the piercings involved in this Hurricane Dance, and in the related Sun Dance, are basically quite violent, primitive activities. Even more so when we consider that offerings of flesh were sometimes made in the past. People would cut off small pieces of their skin flesh (sometimes fifty or more) and offer it to the Great Spirit.

Yet there is a spiritual basis for this activity. What does a human being have to offer the Great Spirit that is truly his or hers? Surely not physical objects such as money, dead animals, etc, for the Great Spirit is responsible for the making of all those objects. They are other; not truly of the individual. When an individual offers pieces of flesh, or allows his/her flesh to be pierced, and then dances in the Hurricane Dance or the Sun Dance, he/she is offering what is truly hers/his; his/her flesh, her/his pain, his/her respect. No other person can thus offer what is uniquely yours. This you give of your own free will to the Creator.

Such dances, of course, were often feared by the white man and military might was used to stop some of them (particularly the Ghost Dance which whites feared was going to lead to a general Indian uprising). Freedom of religion most definitely did not apply to Native Americans. Their children were forcibly taken from them and placed in government schools; not permitted to speak their own language or practice their own religion. Ceremonial activities could be totally outlawed, driving traditional Native Americans underground in their practices. Christians made fun of the spiritual beliefs, attacking them as a form of animism.

Animism is the belief that natural phenomena such as storms, rain, etc., and objects living and nonliving have an innate soul. Thus, all things are truly alive. Christianity of course, held that only human beings had a soul, and a corrupt one, at that.

Interestingly enough, both Plato and Pythagoras held an animistic view. They believed that an immaterial force was behind the entire universe, much as the concept of 'the Force' in the Star Wars mythos.

When considered on a logical basis, one can see how this belief would increase respect for all things. If all plants, animals, minerals, etc, have a form of soul, then all such things are deserving of respect and should not be abused. This does not mean of course, that humans should not eat animals or plants, or should not use minerals. It is using these things with respect that is important. Native Americans believed in the pre-invasion past that the buffalo was sacrificing itself to them. This was a spiritual concept.

In our own world, we have totally disassociated ourselves from the procurement of our food. We do not kill cows, etc, and thus, no longer think about their deaths. We have separated ourselves from how our food and other items are obtained. This makes them into things that are to be used. We become the controllers of the earth, rather than beings who are an integral part of the earth and are no better and no worse than other animal-beings, plant-beings, and mineral-beings.

The Native American approach places us within Nature, not opposed to it. Such an approach of respect would not allow the development of massive nuclear dumps, toxic waste dumps, and the huge amount of trash dumped into pits throughout the United States. Perhaps all people should consider adapting that approach to their own lives.

For ages many have believed that we possess other abilities, extra-sensory ones, where we can receive information from our environments in ways not involving the use of our physical senses. Such reception is more spiritual in nature than physical.

The term 'Extra Sensory Perception' was coined by Dr. J.B.Rhine of Duke University. It includes the following areas, among others (exact terms may differ slightly from author to author):

1. Clairaudience: this is the hearing of sounds, music, and voices that are not perceptible by normal human hearing.

2. Clairsentience: this is the perception of smell, taste, emotions, touch or some other form of physical sensation contributing to some general psychic impression.

3. Clairvoyance: the obtaining of information about objects or events without the use of the normal senses, nor with the use of telepathy. This can result in mental images, general feelings, etc, and overlaps considerably with other psychic abilities.

4. Dowsing: This involves the use of some form of dowsing rods to obtain information about the location of something such as water or treasure.

5. Pendulum work: The use of a pendulum in order to find out information.

6. Precognition: perceiving a future event.

7. Psychokinesis: the ability to move objects with the use of the mind.

8. Psychometry: the ability to sense information from a physical object.

9. Remote viewing: the perception of a distant object.

10. Retrocognition: perception of a past event.

11. Telepathy: the transference of thought or feelings between two individuals.

Mediumship and channeling are two other abilities some people have, but they are different in various ways from the above abilities. Both mediumship and channeling involve contacting other people but not really with an effort on your part. You are, in essence, being used by others. The above psychic abilities are natural, inherent abilities for you to use as you see fit, when you want, and where you want.

Let's take a look at these abilities and run through some simple experiments you can do on your own. Numerous books are available offering detailed programs of study for those who wish to develop their psychic abilities further.

CLAIRAUDIENCE

One of the most difficult things to do is to shut down the constant chatter in our minds. Thoughts, ideas, feelings, sounds, etc. seem to constantly run through our minds, and until we can learn to focus and to silence them, working on psychic abilities will be somewhat more difficult.

So first of all, you should practice calming your thoughts. Focus on an external object, such as a candle or on something internal, such as a particular phrase. Do this until your mind has quieted. Then you will be prepared to proceed.

Use a book you have gotten from the library, showing pictures taken of areas far away. The pictures should be of some very ancient structure, or the ruins of that structure. Concentrate on the picture, and notice any perceptions that may come into your mind while you do so. Listen carefully for the sounds of music: all ages of humans and all places have had forms of music. That music still exists on the spiritual level, and you can plug into that level and listen to the sounds of the past.

CLAIRSENTIENCE

Get several different kinds of plants, none of which have very strong smells. Have someone else bring you these plants one at a time while you remain sitting and quietly focused, with eyes closed. Open yourself up to any impressions of a smell from the plant. Don't bring it up to your nose- you're not interested in physical sensations. Rather, be open to any spiritual level sensations of smell. State what you smell, and have your friend record what you see.

Do these for all the plants, and then try the same experiment at a later date. See if you can begin to identify correctly the plants just by their spiritual odor. You can also experiment with non-plant items, too. See if certain crystals have a particular odor. Practice with this, but remember, you are doing this to learn, but also to have fun. You will not be given a multiple-choice test over the information!

You can also work with color-sensing here. Take some colored paper and tape it to one side of a file card. Use four different colors, such as red, yellow, blue, and green. Place the cards face down on a flat surface and first allow your hand to pass over the cards. Then pick up one card and place it in your sensing hand (usually your left hand if you are right-handed) and try to open yourself to any impressions of the color of the paper. By pure chance you should be correct 25% of the time if you use four colors. If you start perceiving the correct color more often, then you are definitely developing your abilities.

Once you have achieved a success rate of 30% or more, try placing the cards in envelopes that you cannot see through, and repeat the experiment. Work with this again until your success ratio is higher than the chance percentage.

CLAIRVOYANCE

This is concerned with the perception of things, events, or people in the present time, as opposed to precognition (future) or retrocognition (past) sensations. There is, of course, a lot of overlap between clairvoyance and other psychic areas. The psychic abilities do not fall into neat little boxes like our physical abilities.

Again you will need the help of a friend. For experiment one, have your friend place an object in another room of your apartment or house. Calm your mind, focus, and try to sense what that object is. Be open to visual impressions, sounds, smells, etc. You will not always perceive in a straight physical manner.

For the second experiment, light a candle. Concentrate on it, and attempt to send a message through that candle to your friend to have them do something, such as turn over a particular card from a deck of cards.

Number a piece of paper from 1 to 52. With an ordinary deck of playing cards, try to sense the card while looking at its back. Write down your impressions, and record the results. NOTE! You are NOT interested just in being absolutely correct about the card. Note any general patterns you are developing. You might not be guessing the specific card frequently, but you might be getting the color right quite often, or perhaps a general shape. This again is not like a standard physical test of something, where you answer the question True or False and those are the only possibilities. The spiritual level is much more complex than our physical level, and things are not so limited to physical sensations and black/white possibilities.

DOWSING

For this you will need some kind of dowsing device. This can be an ordinary pendulum, such as a small stone on the end of a chain, or it can be the traditional forked sticks. What you are trying to do is to detect the "vibrations" given off by the object. Here are a few activities to start out with:

1. Pick out five playing cards. Four should be black, and one red. turn the cards face side down. After mixing the cards, hold the dowsing device over the cards one at a time. Ask your device, while holding it over the card, if that card is the red one. When you feel you are getting some kind of vibratory movement from your dowsing device, check and record your results. Continue with this until you get to be fairly accurate. Then add two red cards to make a group of seven, and finally a third to make a group of eight. Try to get to the point where you can find the three red cards in the eight-card group.

2. Have a friend fill a styrofoam cup with water, and leave one empty. Have him or her put a file card over both cups. Then use your dowsing device to try and find the one with the water.

3. Have your friend then fill one cup with soil, one with water, and leave one empty. Put file cards over all three, and then try to determine with your device which is water, which soil, and which is empty. Pay special attention to any feelings you get while doing the dowsing: these would include vibrations, colors, smells, tastes, etc. (Remember- psychic abilities overlap).

4. Have your friend now take four cups. Into one, put a copper penny; into another, a gold ring or other piece of jewelry; into the third, a piece of silver jewelry; and into the fourth, a piece of iron or some other object. Cover with file cards and use your dowsing device to try to determine which is which. Note again any patterns you develop in your experiments. Are you for example, consistently getting good results with finding water, but not with finding solid objects? No problem. When considering the use of psychic abilities, remember, just as with physical talents, people have different psychic talents. You may do fine with water, while your friend does fine with solid objects. That's just the way it is.

Take a map of your city. Close your eyes and use your dowsing device to try and locate water on the map. Once you feel you have found the spot, put the point of the device onto the map, circle the area, and see what you have found. If necessary, drive out there and try to locate any lake, water tower, swimming pool, etc. that would match the location you picked.

PENDULUM WORK

The use of pendulums is a great aid in allowing you to reach not only your subconscious, but your superconscious. The whole trick in the use of a pendulum is properly programming its use. Pendulums have been used in finding lost persons, lost valuables, locating caves, etc.

A pendulum can be fancy or simple. It can be anything from a paper clip on a string to a fancy, store-bought crystal on an expensive chain. It seems the best object for a pendulum is a crystal. You can obtain crystals at quite reasonable prices in any crystal shop and put them on a chain of your own choosing. Any object will work though, if it is properly programmed.

The pendulum is capable of five motions:

1. clockwise circular motion
2. counter-clockwise circular motion
3. side-to-side swinging motion
4. to-and-fro motion (up and down)
5. a dead stop with no motion at all

These motions are the ones you need to program your pendulum with. Choose one answer that would indicate yes, and one answer that would indicate no.

The best way to hold a pendulum at first is to place your left hand on a table or some other steady surface and create a fist. Take the pendulum in your right hand and hold the string or necklace between your forefinger and your thumb, then make a fist of your right hand and place it over your left hand. This will allow you to hold the pendulum quite still. (Make sure your right hand doesn't interfere with the movement of the pendulum).

Holding the pendulum in this manner, think of the pendulum rotating in a clockwise circle. Imagine that it is doing so. Keep imagining this until you see it begin to move. When it is moving in large circles, command it to stop. Command it to rotate again, slow down, stop, and reverse direction.

In the beginning, ask your pendulum questions to which you already know the answer. Once you begin getting the proper response, then start to ask questions to which you do not know the answer. A simple example would be 'will it rain here in this city tomorrow?' Write down the question and the answer, then check and see what happens. Record the results.

If you are still not having a good success rate, start over and reprogram your pendulum. Sometimes your subconscious, or even your conscious, can get in the way of the programming.

PRECOGNITION

Precognition is the ability to foretell the future.

1. Using a die, predict that number that will come on when you roll it. Make your predictions and roll the die 24 times. By chance you should be right 1/6th of the time (about 17%). Try to get better results than that.

2. Using an ordinary deck of cards, have your friend hold the cards. Predict which card he or she will turn up next, and keep track of the results

3. Predict the headline in the next day's newspaper. Remembering perfectly is not required; if you predict a plane crash, and there is a major train accident, then you are pretty close.

4. Try to predict who is calling when your phone rings. Keep track of the results.

PSYCHOKINESIS

This is the ability to control the movement of something else. When rolling the die in precognition, for example, you made no effort to control the die, but rather simply to predict what would turn up. Here are some tests you can use that are quite simple to do:

1. Take a die and try to control which number will come up when you roll it.

2. Take the die and try on purpose to roll a specific number. Do this ten times for each number and record your results. See if you are fairly accurate with certain number(s).

3. Take a candle and enclose it on three sides by some form of shielding, like a piece of cardboard. Light the candle, quiet your mind, and focus on the flame. Try to make the flame go to the left, and then try to make it go to the right.

4. Suspend a pendulum from a frame of some sort. Quiet your mind, focus, and try to move the pendulum.

PSYCHOMETRY

As noted above, this is the ability to perceive impressions from an object. Here are some simple experiments you can do:

1. Take two bowls. Into one bowl put sugar and into the other bowl put salt. Label the bowls if necessary. Then close your eyes and mix up the position of the bowls. Using just your fingertips, try to determine what the substance is in each bowl. Note any taste sensations that come to you while you are doing this. Record your results, clean your fingertips, and try again.

2. Take a regular deck of playing cards and remove one heart, one spade, one diamond, and one club. Put these face up. Close your eyes, mix the cards up and try to feel with your fingertips, the back of the cards and determine which one is which suit. Note any general pattern of success you might have. For example, you might predict clubs, but it is spades. You may have a stronger ability to detect black than red, in this instance.

3. Have a friend cut some pictures out of a magazine and place one picture in each of three envelopes. Hold the envelopes (sealed) in your hand, and try to determine what the picture is about. Write down any impressions you receive (visual, sound, smell, taste, etc), then open the envelope and see how you did.

4. Have your friend bring some object that belonged to a relative or friend of theirs, and hold the object in your sensing hand. Open yourself to any impressions you receive. State them, then later check them for accuracy with your friend.

5. Go to a flea market and handle some old objects like watches. See what impressions you receive. Note- if you get a strong negative impression, let go of the object! I did this once with a piece of lapis lazuli that belonged to someone going through major troubles at the time, and I got a very negative feeling from the crystal. I wanted to throw it away from me as far as I could.

REMOTE VIEWING

Again, you will need a friend to help you with this. Have your friend go to some specific location at a certain prearranged time.

At that time, take out a piece of paper and draw any images you see. Again, note colors, general shapes, smells, tastes, textures, etc. Have your friend take a photo of the place, then return. Compare what you drew and perceived with what the photo shows (use a photo, as this will help supplement human memory).

You can do the same type of experiment with a friend who lives quite far away. It seems that remote viewing is not limited by distance.

RETROCOGNITION

This is similar to psychometry, but you don't have to physically hold an object in your hand. Visit some old structure some time and open yourself to perceptions of events, people, etc. associated with that object in the past. Record your results, and then try to do some research on the place and find out how close your perceptions were to the known history of the structure.

TELEPATHY

This involves two people. The best thing you can do is get a set of Rhine (ESP) cards, and use those to test the ability to transmit images between you and a friend.

Another thing you can do is to have your friend concentrate on a photograph and try sending the image to you. As always, record the results.

X B. Astral Travel

Many books are appearing these days on the subject of "out-of-body experience". Humans are, of course, more than just their physical bodies. There is also an astral self to the human being, and that astral self can be sent away from the physical body and still maintain its intelligence and independent activity. There have been numerous cases of people having near-death experiences who report they "floated" above their bodies, and were able to see the readings on banks of instruments facing away from their physical bodies.

This is the astral self. The general concept is that it is connected to the human physical self by the "silver cord", although not all people accept this as a given. You can learn to separate the astral from the physical body. Following is a meditation to help you get started in doing just that.

Note: you may want to tape this meditation in your own voice so you can play it back any time you choose.

MEDITATION FOR ASTRAL TRAVEL

1. Find a comfortable place to do your meditation in. In this case it would be better if you could lie down while doing the meditation.

2. Still your mind, and focus your attention. Mentally visualize a beam of white light coming down from above, and encircling your body. This is a protective field for your body and completely encloses it. Nothing can enter that field without your permission. See this field as strong and glowing, completely surrounding you, before you continue.

3. Now go through a physical relaxation. First relax your toes. Allow your toes to go limp. Then begin to relax the center part of your feet. Feel the muscles relaxing, all strain and stress draining out of them. Gradually let the relaxation spread up through your ankles. Now your feet and ankles are relaxed.

Feel the wave of relaxation spreading up through your lower legs. Feel all the muscles relax and go limp. Let the relaxation now move up to your thighs. Feel all the muscles of your legs now relax completely, all stress and strain draining from them. Let the wave of warmth and relaxation now move up through your abdomen. Feel your muscles relax. Feel your internal organs calm down and relax.

Let the relaxation now move up through your chest. Feel those muscles relax, letting all stress and strain drain out. Let the wave of warmth and relaxation now move through your arms, down to your hands and your fingers. Let your arms go totally limp and relaxed.

Let the wave of relaxation move through your neck. Feel your neck muscles loosen and relax. Let the wave of relaxation now move up over your head. Feel the muscles of your face relax. Feel your forehead relax. Feel the muscles of your scalp relax and go limp.

Let yourself enjoy the relaxation before going further.

When you are ready, center yourself and your attention. See your astral self glowing within your physical body. Imagine now your astral self beginning to slowly separate from your body. Let your astral feet separate first from your physical feet. Feel the astral self start to rise up from your body. Now let your astral legs begin to separate from your physical legs.

Relax, and let the astral self separate now from your abdomen. Let the wave of separation move on up through your chest; your arms; your neck and finally your head.

Relax for a few moments. Let your astral self float just above your physical body.

Now imagine your astral self re-entering your body. Let your astral head merge with your physical head; now your neck merges; your arms merge; your chest merges; your abdomen merges; your upper legs merge; your lower legs merge; now your feet merge.

Relax. Know that you can repeat this exercise anytime you wish. In the future, once you have separated your astral self from your physical body you may wish to move away from your physical self, rising up through your roof and viewing the neighborhood around you. As you get more and more comfortable with the process you may wish to journey even further.

Know that you can recall your astral self back into your physical self at any time you wish. Decide in advance some code word for your mind; perhaps the word "now", or the number "1". When you say that word or that number to yourself, your astral self will immediately merge with your physical self.

It is not impossible that, in such a case, it may take a little time for you to physically adjust to the sudden merging. This is normal.

X C. Defending Yourself Against Psychic Attack

Psychic attack is a reality. It can be done, and the consequences can be quite severe. It is, basically, the use of the dark side of the Force, which George Lucas so well established in his Star Wars movies. There is a power you can use for negativity, and which is very seductive. It is basically easier to use the dark side than the light side, for it is easier to destroy than to build. But, as Luke was warned, once you start on the path of the dark side it is very hard to avoid going ever deeper into its ways.

So, the question is, how do you defend yourself if you think you are being psychically attacked, without at the same time using the dark side of the force and becoming just as bad, or worse, than your attacker?

The basic idea is to remember that (1) you just want to defend yourself; not to attack, and (2) the person doing the attacking is going to be expending more energy on attacking: and if you defend adequately, you will either wear him/her down, or cause their own negativity to be bounced right back to them threefold or so.

So, here are some suggestions for defending yourself without becoming an aggressor at the same time:

1. Visualize a bubble of white light surrounding your body in the form of a sphere. This bubble is to be with you at all times of day and night, and can be re-energized anytime you want by visualizing more white light coming down from above. The sphere serves to reflect negativity away from you.

2. Visualize the same kind of white light surrounding your home, car, etc. Visualize this as a very strong force field that will automatically bounce back negative energies, but admit positive energies.

3. Visualize yourself surrounded with mirrors; the mirrors will reflect any negativity right away from you and back to the person sending it. But the mirrors are special, as they will still allow positive and good things to pass through.

4. Use your medicine wheel and see a massive wall of light rising up from the stones, surrounding you in a sphere and giving you its protection.

5. Although this will sound somewhat strange, it works. If you are into science fiction, you can visualize yourself setting up force fields like on STAR TREK, or using weapons like in the movie FORBIDDEN PLANET to defend yourself against incoming negativity. For additional energy, you can visualize yourself tapping into the Krell laboratory devices for virtually unlimited strength. (Just don't try the headgear!)

6. There are certain Tarot spells that are usable for protection. Check your bookstore for a book called TAROT SPELLS by Janina Renee and refer to the chapters on Enemies and Quarrels.

7. If you can visualize strongly, then find something that represents the person symbolically. Take that object and place it in the toilet when you need to both urinate and defecate. Somewhat gross, but it helps. (Make sure the object doesn't clog the plumbing!)

8. You can also write the person's name on a piece of paper and burn the paper up, asking that all negativity from that person be destroyed as the paper is destroyed.

9. You can always call upon your Totem Animals, Spirit Guides, and other helpers to help defend you. I would suggest smudging first, then doing a meditation/visualization where you see your Totem Animals and Spirit Guides joining you. Talk to them, explain the situation, and ask for their protection and guidance.

10. A Pipe Ceremony can also be used for calling upon the spirits for help in defending yourself.

Note that you are still not asking for anything bad to be done to the person. You just want to defend yourself.

There is an additional safety measure you should consider when taking defensive action. Add something in your prayer/meditation to this effect: if the person you believe is attacking you is not actually attacking you, then you ask that no harm come to them from your defensive actions, and that they have a long, happy, and healthy life. Thus, you keep from even accidentally hurting someone.

X D. Channeling

If one element can stereotype the New Age Movement, it is that of channeling. Channeling is when a person opens himself or herself to a "higher" entity, who takes over that person's speaking apparatus and delivers some sort of message. The channeler may or may not know what is being said at the time.

Channelers can also end up being people who pull in the big bucks. There are many such examples in today's New Age world. Channeled messages spawn numerous books and magazine articles. People sometimes uproot their entire lives based on a particular channeled message.

Yet even within the New Age community the actual source of the channeled messages is hotly debated. It could be the person's own higher self, connected to the cosmic, that is delivering a message. It could be actual entities such as extraterrestrial beings.

On the other hand, it could be the activities of a fanciful mind.

Channeling is not the same as mediumship. Mediumship concerns itself with contacting the spirits of the known dead. As with channeling, this is subject to a great deal of controversy.

As pointed out before, the channeled messages are generally very similar, very bland. Specific facts which can be researched are few and far between, as are successful prophecies. One technique of channeling-writers is to write a book with particular prophetic channeled messages, then write a follow-up pointing out with great wonder where the messages were correct; and totally glossing over the more voluminous number of totally inaccurate messages.

One problem is that many people have somehow formed the opinion that the "other entities" are necessarily brighter and more evolved spiritually than are we. Even in mediumship there is a tendency to assume that once a person has died they immediately work out their human problems and become incredibly knowledgeable.

The most likely case is that once a person dies, they die, and are no more or no less intelligent then they were in their physical form. It seems most probable that people end up working on the "other side", continuing to try to improve themselves spiritually, and will take a very, very, very, very long time before they would become so evolved that they would be able to deliver the mystical messages found in channeling.

There is equally no reason to assume that the other entities, even those who never had a physical body, are any more or less intelligent than any of us. Although channeled messages, (at least some of them), may actually be true, it is always best to take this phenomenon with a very large grain of salt.

X E. The Occult

The term occult is one that really stirs up the Fundamentalists. To many of them, 'occult' means 'devil-worship', 'human sacrifice', 'disgusting behaviors', etc. Occult really means secret, hidden, or involving the... supernatural, mystical, or magical. It does not mean that a person involved in the occult automatically is involved in negative activities.

A more value-neutral term is paranormal. The term paranormal has become an umbrella term which includes extra-sensory perception, ghosts, unidentified flying objects, crop circles, alien abductions, poltergeists, Atlantis, Lemuria, reincarnation, and various other studies. None of these are necessarily either positive or negative; they just are. People who study the paranormal, the magical, and the mystical are in the vast majority of instances simply trying to help their own spiritual development, and are trying to learn how to help others through processes like aura cleanings, tarot readings, etc.

The term occult has become as heavily weighted with negativity as the term homosexual. It tends to remind one of the same kind of mentality that has come up with negatively-weighted and prejudiced terms to describe people of different color, national origins or religion. Small minds fear that which is different, and assume that which is different is evil. What is evil they decide must be either completely controlled or, preferably, destroyed, all of which has led to some of the darkest episodes in human history.

X F. How To Chose the Right Reader

First of all, we do not judge - one person's legitimacy is another person's scam. Regardless of how ridiculous or absurd a 'reader' may look and sound to us, we are merely concerned with whether or not they are right for us.

The following rules are not hard and fast, nor written in stone, but are applicable to most situations:

1. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true .

2. Whether a reader or counselor seems to be genuinely concerned with you and your problem(s) is probably inconsequential. Many unconcerned readers are charismatic by nature. Many concerned readers are abrasive by nature.

3. If your motives are truly selfish (be honest), some readers will play upon them, becoming masters of manipulation. Examine your motives before seeking advice.

4. Ask yourself, Am I really avoiding doing this myself? The old husband's tale that readers should not read for themselves is nonsense. If you haven't reached the point where you can back off and do it yourself, you are not a true reader, anyway. Some argue that we always read what we want when reading for ourselves. We pick up on our wants and desires. A reading can verify them for us, albeit erroneously. If you adhere to the popular belief in positive imagery and manifestation, are these readers who pick up on your desires really misrepresenting the truth?

5. There are probably a lot of hucksters out there. When you give up the authority as primary counselor for yourself (seeking another counselor's opinion) you also imbibe that individual with a token degree of trust. We have shifted responsibility - a form of escapism. We have placed our own fates in the hands of another. The best reader/counselor for you is yourself.

6. The finest rules for choosing a psychic counselor are:

a) First, discern the answer to your problem, yourself.

b) Use the session with the psychic to verify your own conclusions (or give you new ideas, insights, directions for answering your questions).

When doing a reading for yourself, you also have to be open to what answer does appear. For example, one person did a reading for himself and a girlfriend after the end of his first marriage. As much as he wanted the cards to say that they would be married, the answer was no. That turned out to be the way it was. So we do need to be open to what the reading says, even if it is not something we want to hear.

Another factor to remember is this: the future is not fixed. It consists of a multitude of possibilities, all of which are reality in some way or another. For example, you may wonder if you should take a job offer far away from where you currently live. In the future universes there are existing possibilities where you did take the job, and where you didn't take the job. Sometimes a reader will pick up the wrong universe possibility. No reader is 100% accurate.

Also, you need to remember that you will ultimately determine what your future will be. If the reader says you will take the distant job, but you are really rebelling inwardly over taking it, then you may very well end up not taking it, despite the strong "universe possibility" that you did. Ultimately, your fate is in your hands, even though a lot of what happens to you can and probably will be determined by others.

7. Avoid the readers who have showy advertisements. You will find such ads on television and in various occult/New Age magazines, from scads of people who will do a reading for you. Probably some of these people who are honest, but there are also a lot of them who have already-prepared readings, and you get the first one off the stack.

If you do get a reading from an advertising reader, then you will need to examine the reading carefully to see if it really addresses your question. Ultimately, whether or not the reading "feels right" to you will be the most important question.

8. You don't have to be famous to be good. Some of the best readers around are those who are very humble, take their talents seriously but without a need for ego-building. If you find such a person you will be quite lucky.

9. You may wish to associate with people who do readings. For example, on the Genie telecommunications network, there are people in groups who do tarot readings. They are usually honest people trying to help each other out. Such a group can come up with remarkably accurate and complete readings.

Take all these into consideration when you go to a psychic fair or respond to an ad for a reading. Know that there are many possible universes, but the one that will ultimately happen will be dictated by your actions, not the reader's.

X G. Verifying Psychic Reading Information

One difficulty with many psychic readings is verification of the information. If you are told you were 'Such-and-Such' in a past life, how do you prove it? Even if specific names and dates are provided, there is no assurance that the reader hasn't researched all this ahead of time and is telling people already- prepared stories.

When a reader tells you about something that will happen in your future, you eventually will know if they are right or wrong by whether or not the predicted event happens. If a reader tells you various traits about yourself in the present you will know whether those are true or not, so this form of reading is quite verifiable. When discussing past lives, however, we are on quite shaky ground. Reincarnation is a belief; as a belief it is beyond the pall of scientific methodology to either prove or disprove its existence.

One thing to consider is whether the information seems to resonate within you as true. In other words, does your intuition tell you that the information seems right? Also, if you are told you were a very famous person in a past life, you probably weren't. There haven't been that many famous people; most of us (if past lives are true) were basically average working folks who lived our span and died unnoticed by history.

A form of psychological therapy involving reincarnation, however, has proven quite useful. The psychologist works with a person, determining his or her past lives (or some of them, at least), and tries to find what event or events in those lives is still influencing them in this life. For example, a person may have a tremendous fear of heights, although at no time in this lifetime have they ever been dropped from a high place, been forced to look down from a high place, etc. Therapy might reveal that, in a past life, the person was someone who was thrown off a tall cliff and sacrificed to the gods, and now still carries the terror of that event, manifesting itself as a fear of heights. Whether or not reincarnation is true, therapy involving past lives seems to be experiencing some success.

Shape-shifting is the belief that it is possible to alter one's body shape into that of some other form of being. Castaneda allegedly turned into a crow. Werewolves would be another example of shape-shifters. The concept makes a lot of sense in that we are all (animals, plants, etc.) beings of energy. Although energy can neither be created nor destroyed, according to Einstein, energy can be changed from one form into another. (Rub your palms together: mechanical energy is converted into heat energy). Since energy can change forms, and all beings are energy, it is quite logical that beings can take on the appearance of other beings.

In addition to werewolves, vampires are noted for their shape-shifting abilities, being able to change into a bat shape, into myst, into wolves, or into some other form of animal. Much of the origin of vampire folklore, by the way, comes from the process of decomposition of the human body. Hundreds of years ago no one knew the process in any detail. Bodies were also buried often without coffins or with plain wood coffins. These tended to decay, causing the ground to slump in. Sometimes in the process of body decay part of the body, such as an arm, would then manage to work its way above the surface of the ground, usually due to ground slippage or bloating of the body caused by gases produced by bacteria that were busily eating away the human flesh.

Obviously, if a hand was found it indicated that someone was trying to escape their grave, probably the victim of a vampire that was turning into a vampire himself or herself.

The human abdomen can also swell to such an extent during decomposition that it can actually explode, hence the tales of strange noises heard in the past in cemeteries.

In some cases blood can remain liquid, so a body that was dug up and staked (not real long after burial) could still spout some blood when the stake was driven through the heart. Gases produced by decomposition at the same time would be forced up through the throat's vocal cords; hence, the scream of the staked vampire.

The historical Vlad Tepes, with his habit of impaling anyone he didn't happen to approve of, contributed his fair share to the legends, thanks mainly to Bram Stoker and his quite well researched book on Transylvania. There are a number of books on the historical Vlad Tepes and they make for absolutely fascinating, albeit gruesome, reading.

And herein lies another problem in dealing with spirituality. There are logical explanations of many of the "strange" occurrences that are witnessed. Most UFO reports are really quite common objects that are either mistaken or seen under unusual circumstances. Vampire legends, as noted above, had their origins in what is now the well-understood process of human decay. Some ghosts and other spirits are actually the result of some form of hallucination induced perhaps by drugs, alcohol, or some other process.

Yet me must keep in mind that because some alleged supernatural events have quite logical and scientific explanations does not then automatically mean that all such events can be explained. For example, anywhere from seven percent to maybe twenty percent or so of the UFO sightings are not explained, despite solid scientific studies of the events. Some major work is now being done on ghost sightings, involving the use of extremely expensive and sensitive scientific equipment. If this ends up producing some noticeable result, then it will be interesting to see how the skeptics will come up with yet another rationalization of their position that, "it does not exist because it is impossible and cannot exist."

One major lesson we need to learn in spiritual work is to keep an open mind about all things. Don't close ourselves off to possibilities, no matter how odd and unlikely they may appear at first. Base your judgment on good knowledge, application of logic, careful thought, and a willingness to accept what the experts deem is impossible.

That is of course, quite vague. What seems likely is that as people proceed to higher spiritual levels they take on jobs of helping others in the physical world, and perhaps others on the spiritual plane. Thus, many of our guardian angels may be more spiritually developed people. Lives can be lived on other planets as well as earth.

This is not the idea of people coming back in animal bodies, (particularly as punishment for wrongdoings in a previous life). That is the concept of transmigration, and is a minority view within the reincarnation field.

People recall past lives spontaneously, through hypnosis, and sometimes are told of past lives during psychic "readings."

There are of course, many arguments that have been made against any possibility of reincarnation existing. We will briefly examine some of these arguments and a possible response to each.

A. People don't remember their past lives. If they had any, they would remember them, period.

There are actually several responses to this charge. First, many people do remember past lives spontaneously. Many more recall past lives through past life hypnosis and meditation.

A lot of people never bother trying to remember past lives. Many don't believe in reincarnation, and hence would also not try to remember anything from a past life.

It seems likely that what we carry over from one lifetime to another is not a bundle of specific memories, but rather a system of generalized behaviors and attitudes. In your own life for example, how much do you specifically remember about your elementary school days? Yet during that time you developed certain generalized behaviors such as getting along (or not) with others, study habits, etc. The specific details may very well not be that important. General behaviors and attitudes are, though.

Further, a good hypothesis in science is one that can explain what is observed. We all have known people we instantly dislike upon meeting. Why? Perhaps we have known them from a past life. Not necessarily in every single case of course, but in some, this is quite possible.

Another example of remembering some things is in the not-infrequent experience of a person visiting somewhere they had never been before in this lifetime, yet being able to describe to others what will be over the next hill with accuracy.

B. There is no Biblical support for reincarnation.

Reincarnationists are convinced that the Bible originally held many passages dealing with the subject, but that these passages were removed by various Church Councils over the years, including the Council of Nicea.

In this case, it seems the reincarnationists are wrong. Christianity developed from Judaism, and Judaism does not hold any belief in reincarnation. Jesus, the "founder" of Christianity, was a Jew and hence, by education and culture, not a reincarnationist. Granted, there are those who hold Jesus spent time in India, Japan, and other nations, learning from various gurus who might have taught him about reincarnation. Yet there is no good evidence whatever for such a belief.

So, reincarnation is not really Biblical in nature. The overlooked point however, is who cares? Our society is so steeped in Judeo-Christian views, and we are generally indoctrinated in those views when young, that it seems likely many reincarnationists are trying to justify their belief with their upbringing, no matter how much they may decry Christianity as such. There is no need for Biblical justification of belief in Christianity. It is quite basically, totally irrelevant.

(As an aside, there are other Christian works that do have references to reincarnation, including the Book of Origen, but none of these works are actually part of the Bible).

C. Seeming memories of past lives are nothing other than examples of cryptomnesia or fantasies of the mind.

Cryptomnesia is The unconscious memory of information learned through normal channels. (Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical and Paranormal Experience). The basic concept of cryptomnesia is this:we remember, albeit on a subconscious level, one heck of a lot more that we see and read than we believe possible. Hence, a person who may describe events of a past life may actually simply be recalling some story or account they read years ago that they have consciously totally forgotten, but that has stayed on a subconscious level just waiting to be recalled. Thus, cryptomnesia could explain many past life memories.

It cannot explain instances where people can recount details that have not been published nor put into any other mass media form, however, and it cannot explain instances where children recall detail various instances and have never really had time to be exposed to sources of printed/etc. information about the past.

To support this, skeptics point out that most people's recall of past lives does not really contain a whole lot of detail. Yet how many details of our own current lives do we recall? What were you doing for example, seventeen years ago on this very day? How many details of that day do you remember?

Probably not very many, so criticizing belief in reincarnation on the basis of not recalling details is not very realistic.

How about mind fantasies? Could past lives be nothing other than stories made up by active imaginations? Perhaps some of them are, yet many of the past lives are recalled in various sessions over a period of time and with considerable consistency. If such lives were totally fantasies, the stories would most likely be much less consistent. Also, we are humans after all, and not machines. No one's memory of this life or any other is absolutely perfect. It is quite possible that many would-be dreams of past lives are reinterpreted by the brain to bring them up to date with our present circumstances and environments, rather than dreamt as if actually in the past.

E. There is no scientific proof whatever for reincarnation. Since the world is run under scientific, physical principles, reincarnation must therefore, not be true.

This is comparing apples to oranges. There is no scientific proof for the existence of God, either, for that matter. Reincarnation, religion, and spirituality are all metaphysical beliefs. They are not subject to the scientific method. How do you prove a belief?

You can't, period. You may eventually be able to obtain evidence that part of the belief is true, but the evidence will still be attacked by those who follow strict, scientific criteria of proof.

For example: Do mediums who transmit messages from loved ones actually give 'proof' of people surviving death? Scientifically, they do not. Metaphysically in some instances, they do.

Religion, spirituality, and reincarnation are not physical principles. They are not things that can be precisely measured, weighed, taken apart and put back together, etc. The scientific method, while very valid for science, is not applicable at all to metaphysics. Neither are metaphysical standards applicable to science. They are different critters entirely.

F. There are too many people on the earth today for reincarnation to be true. If people die and their souls are reborn, the number of people on earth would remain constant and not grow. There would be no souls available for new bodies.

This argument is based on a number of fallacies: The first is that souls were created at one time, period, and no new souls have been created since. If souls came into being at some time in the past there seems no reason whatsoever to assume they are not still coming into being. The Creator/Great Spirit/God is all-powerful. This is something many Christians do not seem to totally grasp: "all powerful" (Vast beyond any hope of human comprehension). The Creator/etc. is not limited to having just spent 7 days making the Earth and then laying back, feet propped up, just watching things go by for the rest of eternity. To assume so is to be terribly earth-chauvinistic, which humanity strongly seems to be.

The earth is not the center of the universe. It is 1 planet of 9 (or more) circling a very average star in a very average galaxy in a universe of perhaps 100,000,000,000 galaxies or more, in what may very well be a 'multi-verse' of universes. We are not the be-all and end-all of existence, and to assume that is to put a lot more importance on human existence than it really has.

Another fallacy is related to earth-chauvinism, and that is assuming past lives are always be based on earth lives. It seems that when one examines reincarnation in depth, one finds that it is not uncommon at all to have had lifetimes on other planets. If it is possible to have lifetimes on other planets, then the number of souls available for physical bodies could be far more than adequate for new human bodies.

G. Reincarnation is a cop-out belief, allowing people to attribute their current troubles to events in mythical past lives. Worse yet, it encourages people to commit suicide just to get born into a new life.

Then there is the matter of suicide. Anyone who has made any kind of a metaphysical study at all realizes that suicide is one of the worst things a person can do. It is one of the few areas where Christianity and the New Age thought agree. Things will not automatically be better if one commits suicide. In fact, the next life will very probably be much harsher than the previous one.

Is belief in reincarnation a cop-out? There is no doubt that some people may use reincarnation as an excuse for their current problems. It is equally likely that the same people would use anything else they could as an excuse for their current troubles. So belief in past lives can be a cop-out, but again, not in very many instances.

H. Related to the Biblical argument, Christians argue that the 'fact' that Jesus came to 'save' humanity shows there is no need for reincarnation, at least in the present time.

Responses to this argument are also numerous. Many people, indeed the majority in the world, are not Christians, and do not accept Jesus as any form of God. Thus, what Jesus did or did not say or did or did not do is of no relevance to them.

Further, there is argument within Christianity, itself over just precisely what the mission of Jesus was. To 'save' humanity doesn't really say very much, for humanity hasn't exactly proceeded on a very positive trend since the time of Jesus. There are also a number of people who have grave doubts about the nature of Jesus, as witnessed by his alleged comments about coming to divide families, and that those who do not hate their mothers, etc, cannot be true followers of him.

I. God does the punishing and rewarding. There is no need for reincarnation.

There is a Christian verse that says: "Whatsoever a man shall sow, that shall he also reap". Yet how many demonstrably evil people in this world never seem to be punished for their misdeeds? How many murderers are never caught? How many crooked politicians retire with no one the wiser? How many times have we been lied to by governmental officials, and become none the wiser? The bad do not always get punished, the good often die young. This is not really fair, to say the least. Thus, Christianity has a scapegoat. Even if you get away with things in this life, you will be eternally punished in a hell afterwards.

Reincarnation however, does not follow this one chance only approach. Reincarnation works over a period of time; perhaps thousands of years. Within that period of time things balance out; not necessarily within one single life. You also have more than one chance to try and get your act together, unlike Christianity where you have just this one chance.

How about people born into considerable poverty or other bad conditions? They start life with major disadvantages. Should they be expected to achieve the same level of spiritual improvement that someone born into better circumstances can attain; someone who doesn't have to spend most of her/his lifetime just trying to survive and find food and shelter? In this matter reincarnation is a much more "humane" approach than Christianity.

J. If reincarnation is true, and souls work toward getting better on a progressive basis, then why is the present-day world so messed up, even though the souls have supposedly been reincarnated over and over?

This makes the assumption that earth souls are static: that is, that no new souls are coming to earth, and that all souls are confined to earth.

It cannot be denied that humanity has not made a whole lot of progress. There are still wars, mass starvation, and millions (if not billions) of people in need of the very basics of food, shelter, clothing, love, etc. The disintegration of the Soviet Union and the lessening of the threat of nuclear war do seem to be two very positive developments, of course. But even though the threat of international violence has decreased, we see the rising of violence on a more personal level in this country and in other countries in the increase of crimes, riots, and smaller-scale wars.

So, that's basically a very good point if all souls are old and if all souls are confined to the earth plane.

Yet metaphysical thought does tend to hold that souls do not always remain on the earth plane. Here is where we get to some very speculative metaphysical ground. People often make the assumption that there is a here (a physical plane), and a there (a spiritual plane), and that both planes have one single level. We move from this plane to the spiritual plane, and then live there happily forever after.

When one examines the various metaphysical evidence, including some matters such as channeling, mediumship, etc, and adds some of the frontier physics thoughts, a very different picture emerges.

Let's consider the physical, first: We do have this physical earth plane, no doubt about that. Yet thanks to frontier physics, it has become reasonable to think about various dimensions and/or alternate, or parallel universes with their own earth planes. This does not account for life on other planets, either. So in effect, we have this one earth plane and very probably a number of alternative earth planes, plus planes of other physical planets. In effect, there are a lot of physical planes for a life to incarnate on.

Granted the correctness of this assumption, it follows that souls are not confined just to this earth. A soul might very well incarnate on this earth plane, then on an alternative-dimension, alternative-universe earth plane; then on another planetary body; etc. Hence, there is not a stable pool of souls bound to this earth. This greatly increases the probability that souls incarnating at any particular time on this physical earth plane are not all advanced, nor have they been at spiritual progression on a steady basis for a long time. They may be, basically, relatively new to this life game, and even relatively new to this planetary plane.

Further, we need to consider spiritual planes of existence. It seems highly unlikely that we die, then go to another spiritual plane and spend the rest of eternity playing harps and singing the praises of the Creator. What seems more likely, again from channelings, mediumships, etc., is that the other side consists of a variety of planes, itself. When we die, we go to the other side and in effect, return to school, trying to learn more lessons so we can improve further, spiritually. We may end up incarnating again on the physical plane. On the other hand, we may end up incarnating on another spiritual plane, in effect removing ourselves from the soul-pool of earth. This, in effect, leaves the physical earth plane as the repository for new and less-advanced souls. The souls, themselves will change over time, with souls advancing to other levels as they grow spiritually, but they will be replaced by other, not-so-advanced souls. This leaves the earth inhabited by people who do tend to be less-than-perfect, spiritually (and thus, less-than-perfect in their physical actions, also).

(And if you really want to boggle your mind for a while, think about this: what if the other spiritual planes have their own attendant physical planes also, these physical planes co-existing with ours but not on the same "vibrational" frequency. There could be an incredible number of earths in this manner.)

Also, it seems that some of the more developed souls end up getting jobs as guardian angels, etc, and are also removed from the soul-pool of earth.

K. Xenoglossy is just another form of cryptomnesia.

Xenoglossy is the ability of people under hypnosis to speak in a foreign language that they have never learned in this lifetime. Such instances are not overly common, but they do happen.

Skeptics hold that such people have read the language some time in their past and just forgotten it on a conscious level. Yet when xenoglossy happens, it seems that the people have a very good knowledge of the language; more so than they would pick up from just reading about it. The speaking would require fluency, not just mild familiarity with the language spoken.

7. Walk-ins are souls that enter the adult physical body when the soul occupying it decides he/she wants to move on. Such arrangements are voluntary. The concept has become quite popular in the media within recent years, yet it remains one of the more shadowy areas of metaphysical thought.

A PAST-LIFE MEDITATION

Because a past-life meditation can bring up unpleasant memories and unsettling events, along with positive memories and events, it is a good idea to protect yourself first. Get in a comfortable position where you will not be interrupted. Calm your mind and focus your thoughts. Visualize a white sphere of light totally surrounding your body. Visualize this forming a protective barrier against all negativity from outside, and as a link to you internally, so that any negativity will be quickly shunted outside of your body and away from you.

It is also a good idea to have a code word or action that will bring you immediately out of the meditation. For example, you might program your mind to bring you automatically out of any meditation if you mentally say the word enough. End of meditation, period.

It is also a good idea to have some writing materials available, so after the meditation you can write down any impressions.

Begin the meditation: Picture yourself in a meadow on a clear, bright, comfortable day. See the flowers around you. Hear the sounds of the birds and insects. Mentally arise, and notice that there is a path before you that leads into the forest. Follow that path without fear. It will enter the forest and you will soon be surrounded by tall, stately trees. Squirrels hop from branch to branch, and you can see other small animals darting through the undergrowth.

In the distance a deer stands quietly watching you, its large eyes following your movements as you continue down the path. Soon you come to an opening in the forest. In the center of the opening is a large Greek-style temple, in gleaming white marble. Columns hold up the enormous roof. The temple seems to be in pristine condition.

As you approach the doorway to the temple someone comes out to meet you. This may be your guardian angel or a spirit guide, or even a totem animal. They will guide you into the temple, to the place where you will begin your journey.

The center of the temple has an open roof, and on all sides of you stand portals. Each portal is filled with a white light, glistening with various sparkles throughout. Your guide explains that each portal is a doorway into another time in your life. All you have to do is walk through the doorway to return to some time in your past. Your guide will remain to greet you upon your return.

Go now to one of the portals. Choose the one that feels right for you. Walk through the portal.

Once on the other side, look around you. Notice everything you can. See what kind of people are there, and what kind of clothes they are wearing. Observe any room you are in. If you are in a street, look at the surrounding buildings. Pay as close attention as you can, but at the same time, try to relax.

Listen to what is being said. Try to determine accents. Watch for calendars or newspapers to give you a specific date. Basically, you need to pretend for a bit that you are like Sherlock Holmes, master (or mistress) of detail.

Whenever you are ready you just turn around and command the portal to appear to you. Walk through the portal, and you will be met by your guide. You can then leave the temple, walk back through the forest, into the field, and to your resting place.

Breathe deeply, and then come fully awake. Immediately write down all the impressions you can about what you saw, heard, smelled, touched, tasted, or felt.

Later, if you desire, and if you received any specific names and/or dates, you can carry out some research to try and track down what, who, and when you saw.

Also, you can take the above meditation, modify it to suit your own personal tastes, and tape-record it. Then play the tape back while you meditate.

XI B. Karma

One term often referred to is that of karma. There is quite a bit of difficulty in getting a firm, clear definition of the term. Some believe that karma is a sort of cosmic, metaphysical accounting system, keeping tally of all the good and bad things you do during your life. If your negative tally is bothersome, your next life will be arranged in a manner to help you try and earn positive points to neutralize the negative points you earned previously. Thus, if you are cruel to a particular race in one life, you will be born a member of that race in the next, and people will be cruel to you.

Eventually you get enough positive points so that you no longer have to return to earthly lives to earn them, and you move on to another level (and perhaps more positive and negative points).

Others hold it to be a more general concept, falling under the Golden Rule category of behaviors, with no astral accountant sitting somewhere keeping careful tally of all you do. The basic concept is the same however: that is, you need to do good in order to avoid coming back and suffering as a pay-back for what you did previously.

Still others hold that karma exists within an individual lifetime: what you do in this life, you pay for in this life. In some cases this seems likely, but it also seems that many crooks and dishonest politicians get away with murder (figuratively and at times, literally), and are neither caught nor punished in this lifetime.

It seems to me that the exact definition of karma is not really very relevant. The basic metaphysical principle of life should be simply to live in harmony with earth, to help others when possible, not to hurt others, and to do this without thought of a tally somewhere being kept of your actions. In other words, to give from the heart without concern for what you will someday receive in return.

Shamanism/Paganism/Wicca there are a variety of uses for a computer:

The basic use of word processing, enabling you to write letters, do newsletters with desktop-publishing software, etc.

2. The basic use of a database, allowing you to keep lists of all your Pagan/Shamanism/Wiccan-related books, records, and videotapes.

3. If you run any kind of Pagan/Wiccan organization, you may want to use a spreadsheet to keep track of expenses.

Now these are basic uses that anyone, Pagan or non-Pagan alike can make use of. There are specific Pagan/Wiccan/Shamanistic uses, however.

1. Astrology programs: There are a variety of such programs available. Some of them simply do math and print out charts of houses, planets, and like matters, but do absolutely no interpreting at all. Other programs are more complete and include their own interpretations of the chart.

2. Tarot programs: Again, these range from the extremely simple to the very advanced and graphic-oriented program.

3. Numerology programs: There are not as many of these around, but there are some.

4. ESP-testing programs. I've only seen one or two of these, but they are still fairly decent.

In addition to programs geared towards specific activities, the computer can be one of the greatest sources of information possible. As noted in another chapter there are various bulletin-board services, both on local levels and on national levels (such as Internet) that can put you in contact with other Pagans or other people following specifically the Medicine Path. In addition, there are many sources of textual information on these services.

For example, one time I picked up a document listing by name various people accused of witchcraft and then executed. You can find people offering various rituals, meditations, ceremonies, leads to other groups and sources of information, etc. Basically, the computer as a source of basic information is virtually unlimited; the amount of material that is available is growing daily.

And, of course, you can share your ideas, meditations, ceremonies and rituals with other people.

=====Science vs. Religion vs. Spirituality=====

One of the lessons I learned from Sociology class college was the absolute necessity of having proper definitions set for controversial terms in particular. Whenever people are arguing about controversial terms, you will find that they often are not speaking of the same things at all.

There's a major problem in today's world with definitions of Science, Religion, and Spirituality.

Spirituality is people's way of dealing with things that are spiritual in nature. This can be done as an individual or in a group. It's not tightly structured or ordered. It is often based on what works for that individual at that time. Spirituality does not seek followers. Spirituality is on personal scale.

Religion is a method of ordering spiritual beliefs and channeling them in some manner that someone else has decided should be a method other people should follow. Religion seeks followers. Also, there is often a strong element of money involved in religion, and with money comes power. Religion seeks to have large numbers of followers who will, on occasion, go to war with those who have chosen to follow a different religion path. Both spirituality and religion are based on the concept of faith.

Science deals with that which can be proven and has results that can be replicated. It starts out with the level of Hypothesis, or educated guess. When a fair amount of evidence is gathered to support the hypothesis, then it becomes a theory. If even more evidence is gathered and it is found that the theory is true in every circumstance, then it becomes a scientific law.

Science is also supposed to be open to new information, and scientists need to sometimes change the way they think about something, for example changing the nature of a theory. In any case, faith has nothing to do with science. It is basically cold, hard, objective observation, usually involving mathematics. It deals with things that can be observed by any people anywhere on the earth and produce the same results each and every single time.

Both those involved in religion and those involved in science like to think that their way is the only correct way of thinking. Both sides can display considerable arrogance, and both sides are reluctant to change.

Both followers of religion and science like to snipe at each other, and say the other's way of approaching our existence is wrong.

This work, though, has been about spirituality. I do not attempt to claim that this work is the only correct way to approach life. It is not science. It is not religion. It is dealing with what works for the individual as they seek to establish and understanding and relationship to matters of a spiritual nature.

=====Glossary=====

Agisegwa: Native American term representing the spirit of the Earth, similar to the concept Gaia. If you believe the Earth is a living spirit, then you will naturally behave in a more caring manner, thus leading to the Native American saying of "Walk in balance on Mother Earth."

Ally: A spirit in the form of an animal, plant or mineral that you can get to aid you.

Animism: The belief that natural phenomena have spirits within them. Using this hypothesis, then it becomes possible to pray to the natural spirits to get them to do what you want. It also helps to explain seemingly random and purposeless natural events such as those related to weather.

Astral Level: The idea that there is a plane of existence involving another "energy level" or "spiritual level". One hypothesis is that within the astral level all thoughts and deeds are recorded, and the records can be read by psychically sensitive people.

Aura: A form of energy that surrounds the bodies of all living things and even non-living things. This energy can be observed and can indicate developing physical problems in the body. Auras can even be observed on parts of bodies that are missing, such as in a leaf that has been cut in half.

Awaheli: The Spirit of the Eagle, located at the east point of the Medicine Wheel. The Eagle flies very high and thus, in Native American mythology, it is believed that the Eagle carries prayers up to the Great Spirit.

Beltane: Wiccan festival, celebrated on April 30th or May 1st, depending on which Wiccan tradition you follow. Represents the coming of summer and the great fertility of the plants.

Berdasche: Also referred to as Wintke, this is a Native American term for men that preferred to dress and live as women. They assumed the roles and duties of women but were not discriminated against as such people are in white society. Rather, berdasches were considered to be very holy, referred to as "two-spirited" people.

Chakra: This refers to a sort of energy vortex in the body. There are seven primary chakras. If a chakra becomes misaligned our out of tune it can cause certain physical problems to manifest in the body. Chakras, however, can be worked with and balanced.

Channeling: This is the practice of opening oneself up so that some form of spirit can speak through you. The spirit might be a discarnate human, a being that has never manifested on the physical plane, or even a space alien.

Clairaudience: The hearing of sounds, music, and/or voices that are not perceptible to normal human hearing.

Clairsentience: The psychic perception of sensations such as taste, smell and touch. Emotions can also be sensed, although this tends to fall more with the realm of Empathy.

Clairvoyance: The obtaining of information about objects and events without the use of the normal senses or without the use of telepathy. An example would be the use of psychics by police departments to try to get clues to what happened during a particular crime.

Color Healing: The concept that each color has a specific effect on the human body and that by working with colors we can clear up physical problems and blockages.

Cone of Power: A mass of energy raised by the actions of a coven (or another other group of people focusing and directing their energy.) This energy can then be sent out to wherever it is needed, usually for healing or protection.

Coven: A group of witches that work together, the number being variable. The principle of group work is that the efforts of the individuals become synergistic, the resultant power being raised being more than the power that could be raised by the individuals acting as individuals. The opposite term is "solitary practitioner", meaning that the person has nothing to do with any group of witches but works entirely on his or her own.

Cryptomnesia: The idea that virtually everything we hear or see is recorded somewhere in our memories and can be recalled under the right conditions. This is used as an argument against reincarnation, saying that past-live recalls are really recalls of such buried information.

Crystal Therapy: The idea that crystals can be used in healing. Particular crystals are noted for particular effects; the colors of the crystals can also become important in healing. For example, amethyst, which is often a pretty shade of blue, is good for relaxing.

Dowsing: The principle of using a wood or metal forked structure to detect something, often water, hidden in the ground.

Dryads: Spirits that inhabit trees.

Elemental: Another term for nature spirits.

Elves: Spirits of woods and seashores. In common usage means any small being with strange powers.

ESP: Stands for ExtraSensory Perception, the idea that people can pick up information, impressions, sounds, etc. without the use of the normal five senses.

Fairies: The "wee folk" of legend, fairies refer to diminutive beings with unusual powers. Legends exist of fairy hills and abduction by fairies of children or even full-grown adults. Such tales bear strong resemblance to the present-day UFO abduction phenomena. Fairies could be good, evil, or totally indifferent to humans.

Galunlati: Native American term for "Sky-Father".

Ghosts: Are either discarnate spirits that have not yet crossed over, or some form of etheric/astral recording. Ghosts are usually associated with scenes of violence and/or very strong emotional content.

Gnomes: Elemental spirits of Earth.

Hokschichankiya: Meaning "spiritual seed", it involves the passing of power from one person to another by the exchange of seeds or other physical items. This can also benefit Mother Earth as a person helps re-seed the land with new plants.

IDIC: The concept from the television Star Trek, standing for Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. This is interpreted as meaning that we should delight in the differences between people, for the actions of this diversity of people will be greater in total than the efforts of all the individuals put together (the synergistic effect). Believing this, there would be no room for racism, sexism, or any other discriminatory-ism.

Imbolc: Wiccan festival celebrated on February 2 welcoming the coming of Spring and the return of increasing daylight.

Kabbalah: Also spelled Cabala, Kabala and Qabalah referring to a mystical system revolving around the "Tree of Life", various pillars and foci and their associated meanings.

Kachina: Supernatural entities of the Hopi, responsible for bringing rain and performing a variety of other activities. These are represented in physical form by Kachina dolls and by various Native Americans masked and representing Kachinas in certain ceremonies.

Karma: Generally interpreted as referring to some kind of accounting system that keeps track of the bad and good things we do during our lives (reincarnation) and how this can affect what happens to us when we are reborn. The idea is we are supposed to do good deeds in this life to pay off negative karma from another life.

Kobolds: Household spirits.

Kundalini: An extremely powerful spiritual energy residing in the human body, coiled at the base of the spine. This energy can be channeled through the body if the chakras are all properly aligned. Life-After-Death: This primarily refers to whether or not we have an existence after our physical body dies; sometimes the term is equated with Near-Death experiences.

Lucid Dreaming: The practice of learning to actually control your actions in a dream.

Lughnasadh: Wiccan festival on August 1st, celebrating the first harvest.

Magic: Stage magic, such as pulling a rabbit out of a hat or sawing someone in half and then putting them back together.

Magick: Refers to "real" magic, the kind involving rituals, ceremonies, and/or spells.

Malleus Malificarum: The Hammer of Witches, a book that was used in the persecution of witches.

Medicine Bag: A bag usually carried on the person which may hold examples of the various plant/animal/mineral kingdoms. Bags can be constructed for very specific purposes such as communicating with a particular animal spirit, or they can be more general in application.

Medicine Path: The practice of following, in general, Native American spiritual teachings involving the medicine wheel, "medicine" as a personal power, and an altered and much more positive relationship to the earth and all life and non-life on it.

Medicine Wheel: Native American construction usually using stones. The stones are placed at the cardinal and other specific points. The circle represents the "hoop" of life. Each stone represents a particular moons, spirits and qualities in Native American beliefs.

Meditation: The practice of taking some time to shut out the various distractions of what is going on around you physically and trying to relax and get in touch with your "higher self" or other spiritual entities. This can involved the cross-legged eyes-closed hands-folded-across-lap variety of meditation or just sitting quietly and clearing your mind, or even sitting quietly and listening to a tape recording of relaxing nature sounds.

Medium: A person who claims to be in contact with discarnate spirits. A lot of negativity has been heaped on this term due to hoaxes and quacks earlier in this century.

Metaphysics: Virtually any kind of study involving spiritual issues in the broadest sense of the word.

Naiad: Spirits inhabiting bodies of water.

Native American: Indigenous North American native. Native Americans are believed to originally have come from Siberia, crossed a land-bride and then dispersed through the western hemisphere, forming the Aztec, Mayan and Incan kingdoms and the numerous North American tribal units.

Near-Death Experiences: The idea that a person who "temporarily" dies experiences after-life scenes involving people and, usually, a white light, a re-playing of the events of your life, a being "of great love" and a very gentle analysis of what you did during your life.

Numerology: The belief that numbers and names expressed as numbers have particular meanings and significance for our lives.

Occult: Really just means "hidden knowledge". The word has been abused by Christian fundamentalists who assume anything occult has to do with devil-worship, whereas in reality occult can refer to a very wide variety of activities including witchcraft, various secret societies, the Kabalah, etc.

Out-of-Body Experiences: A practice in which your "astral duplicate" is sent out from your physical body to explore other places in this dimension, or to explore places in other dimensions and realities.

Oversoul: The idea that your soul is only part of a much larger soul; in other words, various people can share one common soul.

Oya: Goddess of the wind.

Pagan: A term originally referring to people following more rural spiritual practices. The term was defined by Christians as a heathen, carrying many negative connotations with it.

Paranormal: That which is beyond the "normal" activities of everyday life. This includes such phenomena as ESP, UFOs, near-death experiences, out-of-body experiences, ghosts, fairies, etc.

Patriarchal: Refers to a male-dominated and controlled society, dating from around 3500 BCE when nomadic groups overran the more peaceful matriarchal/goddess worshipping societies in the Near East.

Pendulum Work: The idea of using some form of pendulum (a paper clip on the end of a string even) to find out information, such as where you misplaced the book you were meaning to read today.

Petroglyph: Refers to drawings made on stones and rock walls in the American southwest. It has been found that Native American very likely took notice of the supernova of 1054 due to one of the drawings. Many of the drawings are now being lost due to pollution and vandalism.

Poltergeist: The actions of a poltergeist are agreed upon; throwing things all around the place without anyone actually physically touching the objects. The problem lies in determining whether or not the actions are caused by an actual spirit or, as appears to be more likely, uncontrolled energy sent out by just-turned-pubescent adolescents, particularly girls. The energy would be the result of some kind of pent-up emotions, perhaps not even recognized by the person but active nevertheless.

Pornography: A word that has basically as many definitions as there are people. The primary definitions fall into these categories: (1) material that is sexual in nature that is evil because it is sexual in nature; (2) material that is sexual in nature that is evil because it assumes the oppression of women; or (3) material that is sexual and/or erotic (another difficult definition) in nature that doesn't really harm anyone and could actually help some people. I prefer a definition (4) the fact that, in this supposedly civilized world, there is widespread poverty, hatred, starvation, discrimination, racism, sexism, other -isms, abuse of political power, low-quality educational systems and the like.

Potlatch: A huge feast thrown by a Native American family in which they give away nearly all of their possessions. The more things that are given away the higher the person's standing in the community. This also builds a strong sense of community and helps to insure that the very poor, the very weak, and the very old do not starve.

Precognition: Knowledge of the future obtained through extra-sensory means. Since the latest theory holds, however, that there are numerous "possible" futures all existing at one moment and that one particular future becomes predominant due to a certain set of actions, then precognition becomes somewhat less reliable as it picks up on a variety of possible futures.

Psychic Attack: When someone uses extra-sensory means and/or spells to mentally attack someone else. The implied meaning of the word is that this is an offensive action, not one taken in defense after someone has already attacked you. As such, it is an abuse of power and can easily backfire on the person directing the attack.

Psychic Surgery: This can range from certain individuals who claim to be able to remove sickness from a person by inserting their hand into the person's body without making any kind of incision first; on down to using power rods to mentally envision healing taking place within a person's body.

Psychokinesis: The ability to move objects without touching them. This is done with conscious effort unlike the poltergeist which is a random, uncontrolled movement of objects.

Psychometry: The ability to pick up an object and "read" that object, and then being able to describe the person the object belonged to or an event associated with the object.

Reincarnation: The belief that one is born over and over onto the physical plane in order to learn various lessons and improve oneself. Eventually there is no need to be reborn on the physical earth plane. What happens after that is a matter of speculation.

Remote Viewing: The idea that a person located at position A can determine what is happening at position B by paranormal means.

Retrocognition: Being able to psychically "read" the events that occurred in a particular place in the past. This is particular useful in the analysis of a crime scene or in archeology.

Runes: Ancient Norse and Teutonic symbols representing various magickal properties.

Sabbat: One of the major "holy days" of Wiccans.

Sacred Pipe: The idea that the pipe is a holy object, the bowl representing the female and the stem the male. It is smoked with tobacco, which is also considered holy, and the smoke carries the prayers up to the Great Spirit.

Salamanders: Elemental spirits of Fire.

Samhain: The Wiccan festival of October 31st which was altered by Christianity into Halloween. This is a time when communication with departed spirits is easier to accomplish.

Shaman: A Native American "holy" man or woman. The particular types of activities they perform can vary from actual physical healings on people to determine where food is available. There is no such thing as an "instant shaman"; the process takes years of hard study. There is some controversy over whether or not it is possible for a non-Native American to become a shaman no matter the amount of work he or she does in preparation.

Slyph: Elemental spirits of the air.

Smudging: The process of burning sage or some other substance in order to purify an object or a person.

Sun Dance: A particularly rugged event that some Native Americans participated in involving the insertion of sharp objects under the skin, allowing thongs to be tied to those objects and connected to a pole. The participant then danced for hours, perhaps even days, and pulled on the thong until the object it was tied to under his skin is actually pulled out. Visions could occur during the dancing, bring some form of spiritual message to the dancer.

Sweat Lodge: A particular Native American ritual involving, usually, a round structure within which is a group of heated stones and a place for people to sit. Water and sacred plants are put onto the stones and the structure becomes, in effect, a sauna. Prayers are said during this ritual and it is considered to be one of the most holy of all Native American rituals. Tarot: A deck of 78 cards divided into 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. The cards can be used to divine the future, but are more commonly used to obtain information about a particular situation you are in.

Telepathy: The ability to communicate mentally with someone else over a distance using extra-sensory means.

Tsistu: The Rabbit spirit of the South in Native American spirituality.

Turtle Island: The North American continent.

Undine: Elemental spirits of water.

Vision Quest: Another particularly trying Native American ritual in which an individual goes out into the wilderness alone with minimal or no supplies at all. The person goes to a particular spot and stays there, perhaps for days at a time. The idea is that during this time a vision will come to the individual helping him or her determine their future; an animal could also come to the person indicating that that particular animal is going to become the person's "power animal", at least for a while. Sometimes no vision at all is received and the person goes on another vision quest at a later time.

Wapani: The "give-away", where you give something of yours away to someone else in a spiritual manner without the thought of getting something back in return.

Wicca: A religious system generally centered around goddess worship, involving the use of spells and "cones of power". Both women and men are referred to as "witches" in this system. Some form of Wicca existed centuries ago, but modern-day Wicca generally is not considered to be a direct descendant of this earlier form. There is more emphasis on groups of people interacting together today, whereas in the past most work done was by individuals.

Wiccan Crede: "An ye harm none, do what ye will." The idea that, as long as you don't actually harm anyone, you can do anything you want and the government and religious fundamentalists have no business sticking their noses into what you are doing.

Wintke: (see Berdache)

Witchcraft: (see Wicca)

Xenoglossy: An ability, usually during hypnosis, to speak in a foreign language that the person has never studied. This supposedly relates to past lives; scientists explain it away by saying you somehow subconsciously picked up the language, maybe from television?

Yanu: The Bear spirit, known for healing abilities.