In This Issue: |
 We continue to see many transitions that can be earth shattering and yet a time of great gratitude. Recently, we lost our dear Wolf companion, Shadow. He was with us nearly 13 years. For those that met him, everyone was a part of his pack.
Though we shed more than a few tears, we recognize how blessed we have been to be with him. He was a great teacher in how to hold space, change behavior in others with a look, a snarl, and a howl. Our greatest teaching is remembering the blessing of his presence and not the loss of our friend. His presence remains in my heart. Herb Stevenson xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Stones A month or so ago, I noted that I was working with Azurite and Black tourmaline.
As it turns out, I ended up making a pendent of azurite on a deer horn and then another today of azurite, black tourmaline, and rose quartz. The deer horn and azurite has provided insights into my need to remember that there is gentleness in strength and strength in gentleness. This has been particularly helpful as I was going through the recent difficult times. Recently, fear has been in abundance as the economy and the election with an ongoing war has destabilized the psychic energies for some people. Being protected with the black tourmaline keeps these energies filtered from overwhelming me, while the azurite enables me to step back and get a larger picture of what I need to do to take care of my business without adding to the collective pool of fear. The rose quartz touches the soul of the heart so that I know no matter what happens or who passes to the other side, I am loved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sacred Spaces Recently, I was asked by several people how to create a sacred space in the home. I suggest that people find common, everyday granite. Landscapers, gravel pits, and water run-offs near highways typically have them. Granite connects heaven to earth. Choose whatever size feels appropriate. I use 5 pounders, however pebbles will work. Wash the granite, then spray it with satin finish polyurethane to reveal the color and to make it look like an old time door stop if you’re nervous about what people might think. In groups of four, place the stones where they are needed. This can be the four corners of a bed, four corners of every room, four corners of the house, and/or the four corners of the land. I have all of these at one time or another. If for some reason you do not have granite, creek and river rocks will work as well. Get your boots and go wading....:] Invoking the four corners is invoking the four directions, the four original nations---black, white, red, and yellow, the four seasons, etc. The placement of the four corners ensures that you are in your center, and therefore grounded in who you are. Recently, a woman called, received the above directions and did her bed, each room, and the house. Her husband came home and said the house felt more comfortable before he knew she had done anything. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I have had several requests for the prayers I use in the medicine wheel. They are now posted on the website and can be downloaded. I have also added other healing prayers that maybe used. Besides the links on the website for leather, healing herbs, etc. , I have come across two that are worthy of your attention. For the last 12 years, I have worn a man in the maze wedding bed as a commitment to living a spiritual life. When my mother passed to the other side, the ring cracked. I realized that repairing it would not do it justice. So, I will be putting it in the fire pit of our sweatlodge to return it to spirit. Meanwhile, I searched for days on the web until I found Frank and Marlene at Bear Claw Jewelry. They create spirit driven rings and jewelry that have the strong spiritual power of a major support for whom you are living up to being. A look through their web site is worth the impact that they can have on your soul...we don't need to wear or own everything we see to receive healing. We can see it and feel the spirit come right through the computer. Bearclaw Jewelry is: Another gem that has been hidden is my best fiend, Jim Kepner. He has been a talented healer throughout the world, doing many workshops in this country and in much of Europe. One of his best kept secrets is his long distance healing. Recently, he has decided to offer it publicly. Much of his work can be found at www.pathwaysforhealing.com and he can be reached directly at JimKepner@aol.com. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Workshops We will be doing at least two workshops at Dodgeville, Wisconsin in 2008. Contact Marie Smith at marie@hawkrdg.org for more details. We will be doing Cougar/Mountain Lion/Panther Medicine as our fourth and final session of the medicine wheel, and a Questing for a Vision August 1-3, 2008. Some details are below. In addition, we are doing Emergence of the Soul, February 29 - March 2, 2008. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
April 25-27, 2008 Indigenous cultures refer to medicine as the essence of the person, place or thing. In our terms it is the essence of being a spiritual, physical, mental and emotional being. Cougar or Panther medicine is about the essence of the deep knowing spirit The cougar/panther is the second largest cat in the western hemisphere. It is also one of the fastest and most powerful animals, but it tires quickly. It is powerful enough to kill with its bite or its claws. It can leap over 40 feet. It is a stealthy hunter, and many of the qualities of the panther hold true for the cougar. If cougar has shown up in your life, it is time to learn about power. Test your own. Most young cougars learn how to use their power through trial and error. It strengthens them and hones their skills. When cougar shows up as totem, much of the trial has been worked through. Now it is time to assert. People may not like your asserting. They may try and keep you in the category they have always kept you. You can choose to remain so, or you can stretch your muscles and show your capabilities. Those with cougar medicine fall easily under attack, especially by those who have grown comfortable with the status quo and do not wish to truly see you grow. Remember that there will always be some who will not wish to see you come into your own power or will ever acknowledge that you have. If cougar has shown up, there is a choice to be made, and it should be made quickly and strongly. A cougar leaps at its opportunities. Cougar/Panther Medicine Workshop The Cougar/Panther Medicine workshop is an initiation-a birthing process to more fully be who you are within the world. The focus is to discover the innate healing presence within yourself that have not been allowed to be seen or heard, let alone to mature as part of who you are. We will nurture those parts so as to begin to create a more centered and balanced life. Our intent is to create the sacred space that will enable you to fully birth who you are, shedding the parts that no longer serve the fullness of your presence. Each person will be given the opportunity to be initiated into the Cougar/Panther medicine. We will do a mix of ceremony and drum journeys. Contact Marie Smith at marie@hawkrdg.org for more details. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Questing fo a Vision August 1-3, 2008 Vision questing was originally known as crying or lamenting for a vision. It involved going into seclusion on a mountain or sacred site without food or water or clothes. Stripped to the nakedness of oneself, the individual sat in total humility waiting for a vision of how the world is different because the individual exists. Questing for a Vision workshop is about learning to listen to who we are more fully as a person. What to Expect: Who Should Come: What to Bring: Contact Marie Smith at marie@hawkrdg.org for more details. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Emergence of
the Soul February 29- March 2, 2008
What to expect: Who Should Come: What to Bring: Start & End: Where will it be: Presenter: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Find out more about workshops, retreats, and resources at www.onewhitehorsestanding.com.
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Prayers to the 
Cougar Medicine