Akasha Shamanka

What is a Shaman & Shamanism?

January 28, 2017January 28, 2017 by Akasha Shamanka, posted in Uncategorized

“Because it is not an organized religion as such, but rather a spiritual practice, shamanism cuts across all faiths and creeds, reaching deep levels of ancestral memory. As a primal belief system, which precedes established religion, it has its own symbolism and cosmology, inhabited by beings, gods, and totems, who display similar characteristics although they appear in various forms, depending upon their places of origin.”

~John Matthews, The Celtic Shaman

What is shamanism?

Shamanism is a spiritual practice found in cultures around the world from ancient times up to the present day. First and foremost, shamans’ practices are practical and adaptable. These practices coexist over millennia with varying cultures, systems of government, and organized religious practices.

Many formalized religions, from Buddhism to Christianity, came from ancient shamanic roots and still bear the shamanic threads of deep connection to the divine in all things. But shamanism itself is not a formalized system of beliefs or an ideology. Rather, it is a group of activities and experiences shared by shamans in cultures around the world. These practices are adaptable and coexist with different cultures, systems of government, and organized religious practices.

Individual practice

Nowadays, in non-indigenous cultures, shamanism is studied and practiced as a life path. Following a shamanistic perspective, individuals seek to be in relationship with the spirit in all things. They seek to use information and guidance from non-ordinary reality to intentionally form their own life experience.

This perspective is not inherently contradictory of any religious practice that allows a person to be in direct relationship with whatever they perceive as a higher power.

Consulting with shamans

Just as in ancient times, contemporary people consult with modern day shamanic practitioners for practical and pragmatic solutions to problems in everyday life-from personal illness, professional challenges, or family discord to ancestral issues.

Shamans work in voluntary, ecstatic trance states, which alter their consciousness to travel to the realms of the invisible worlds. Their ability to gain information and make changes in the invisible realms is dependent upon the working relationships they develop with spirits there. In this sense, shamanism is a relationship-based practice of making changes in invisible realms to impact healing, of individuals or communities, in the realm of ordinary reality.

For some peoples, such shamanic practice is part of their dominant culture, for others it is directly contradictory. Some individuals are intuitively guided to seek help from a contemporary shaman, often when other options have been exhausted, without even understanding what a shaman is or how they work.

What is a shaman?

According to famed American psychologist and consciousness pioneer, Stanley Krippner, shamans are “community-assigned magico-religious professionals who deliberately alter their consciousness in order to obtain information from the ‘spirit world.’ They use this knowledge and power to help and to heal members of their community, as well as the community as a whole.”

Krippner describes shamans as the first physicians, diagnosticians, psychotherapists, religious functionaries, magicians, performing artists, and storytellers.

In shamanistic cultures, all adults are responsible for their relationships with spiritual energies, including those of their home environment (geography, animals, and plant life,) their ancestors, their own personal helping spirits, and Spirit, the creator force.

However, the shaman is unique in that he or she not only has increased facility for traveling in non-ordinary realms, but also uses their spirit relationships to create changes that will manifest in the physical world, for the healing of individuals or the community. This definition differentiates shamans from other types of practitioners. For example, mediums use altered states of consciousness, but they do not take action in those altered states. And sorcerers take action in altered states, but not necessarily to heal.

Abilities of shamans

According to Christina Pratt in The Encyclopedia of Shamanism, a shaman is a practitioner who has gained mastery of:

Altered states of consciousness, possessing the ability to enter alternated states at will, and controlling themselves while moving in and out of those states.
Mediating between the needs of the spirit world and those of the physical world in a way that can be understood and used by the community.
Serving the needs of the community that cannot be met by practitioners of other disciplines, such as physicians, psychiatrists, priests, and leaders.

A shaman is therefore a specific type of healer who uses an alternate state of consciousness to enter the invisible world, which is made up of all unseen aspects of the world that affect us, including the spiritual, emotional, mental, mythical, archetypal, and dream worlds.

Categories of healers

There are three categories of contemporary shamans, including those who:

Come from an unbroken shamanic tradition and continue to practice in that tradition, usually in their native culture.
Come from a shamanic tradition, but serve to bridge between that tradition and the modern Western world, often by adding ceremonies and rituals that were not necessary in their indigenous culture.
Are called by Spirit to serve the needs of their community as shamans, though they may be long separated culturally from their original shamanic roots.

How can shamanism benefit your health and wellbeing?

White datura plant Individuals may seek shamanic healing for many different maladies. If they are living within a shamanic culture, shamanic healing is typically part of a multidisciplinary approach used for any disease or imbalance, in partnership with physical healers, botanical medicines, changes in diet, and other therapies.

In contemporary western society, shamanic healing is unfamiliar to most non-indigenous individuals. Despite that, people are finding their way to contemporary shamans for all types of health challenges, but especially when they are not making satisfactory improvements with conventional approaches.

Shamanistic perspective on disease

The perspective on individual disease is different in shamanism than in the conventional medical view. In a shamanistic view:

Similar symptoms or diseases do not stem from the same underlying root energetic problem.
Community disharmony often manifests in individual illness.
Any illness may have a significant underlying spiritual or energetic issue, regardless of the form in which that illness manifests – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, or relational.

Certain illnesses are more likely to have a spiritual component that may respond to shamanic healing techniques. These include psychological diagnoses like depression and anxiety, ADD/ADHD, autism, and addictions.

Illnesses that manifest physically may still have significant spiritual underpinnings. This is especially true for illnesses that have atypical or premature presentations, such as a degenerative illness that normally occurs in elder years occurring in a young adult.

The sense that something is “missing” or that “I haven’t been the same since…” can often be indicative of an energetic loss of some type, including soul energy loss. Shamanic healing is often part of a multi-pronged approach to an illness, and is fully compatible with both conventional medicine and other integrative treatments, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic, and others.

Shamanistic healing

Shamanic healing work requires two distinct phases:

The accurate diagnosis of the seen and unseen energies at the root of the problem.
Carrying out the specific choreography of energies needed to resolve the problem.

The shaman may serve by removing energies that are inappropriately present, or by returning energies that have been lost. This includes soul recovery to accomplish healing via the return of lost parts of the soul.

When an individual is living within a community that supports such work, there is time and support for the integration and processing that an individual must do to complete most healing processes. In contemporary society, the shaman and the client must create the resources and structure for the individual to adjust to the shift in internal energies.

Shamans direct and move energy to restore the harmony within the individual, between the individual and the community, and between the community and the spirit world.

You can find this full article at:

https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/explore-healing-practices/shamanism

An Ear To Listen

August 3, 2016August 3, 2016 by Akasha Shamanka, posted in General Articles, Karma

It can be a true art to be just an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on without expecting something in return, be that loyalty, closer friendship, love or an ego boost etc.

If you want to support someone then its important to jote that the role does not come with conditions. We listen because we can, we hold a hand because it gives comfort.

Changing the mindset so that, often subconsciously, we are not expecting to gain anything from it may take a while and we will often be suprised at ourselves. We all hope that we are selfless, ego free but its suprising how well hidden we can keep that need for an ego boost or gain through ‘helping’ others.

Being selfless is not necessarily a natural state for us Humans. However we have evolved enough now to know we would be better people for it. Being selfless takes courage. Your actions are no longer conditional for strengthening loyalty, making sure someone has got your back, making allies and so on. Your flying by the seat of your pants! Your not tied down by any ‘contracts’ that you have made with others and your relationships with them. You have freed up not just yourself but those around you too. Its a hugely positive state to live in but at first may feel extremely scary.

There are a few rare folk out there that were born selfless. We treasure them, and very often worship them. Throughout history we have seen these precious people bring new teachings but also seen them endure great hardships so why did they do it? What we may see as hardship might well be viewed entirely differently by the people themselves. What we might think of as a hard time they might see as a fabulous life lesson and have gratitude for what they went theough. Its all relative.

So … How can we live our lives like the selfless teachers we admire. How do we change our mindsets?

1) Dont see someone in need of support as an opportunity or a chance to strengthen a relationship. Just be their support with no strings attached.

Yes. I did just hear you all shout “but I never see that as an opportunity!”. No. But our subconscious reptilian brain does. In our history it was a great survival tool.

2) Start tying to see hardships, upsetting life changes for the life lessons they are.

By allowing ourselves to see even the hardest time as having a silver lining it makes life suprisingly easier to endure. Also by seeing the positive amongst the shadow, we boost the light that surrounds us and attract more of it into our life.

Learning to help another and being a shoulder to cry on just because we can, witnessing the events that take place around us and not letting ourselves get entrenched in them…this is how we start changing that mind set.

Be the witness to the events of your own life. Stay that step back and let the light in. Living in the light is that step closer to the purity and love in the divinty of our Universe. Living our lives from a place of love, and not fear, allows us to happily help those around us selflessly. Expecting and wanting nothing in return.

In love and light

In La’kech

Namaste

Xxxx

The Mis-Diagnosis of Orbs

April 20, 2016February 1, 2017 by Akasha Shamanka, posted in General Articles, Paranormal investigation, Tools of the Trade

The mis diagnosis of an Orb Photo is very common and im regularly asked to “take a look” and often see nothing but moisture and dust. However im great all out expert. But still those asking will often see all manner of paranormal evidence that is simply down to visual matrixing (the brains acute ability to make images and patterns out of randomness). We should all be carefull that our desire to capture true paranormal evidence shouldnt outweigh our ability to be objective.

For the paranormal to be taken seriously it is vital that we are extra careful in stating wether something is paranormal evidence or not. Have all normal means been explored? I know this spoils our fun a bit but for it to be evidence, and to stand up to any peer review, it is vital. The internet is full of non-evidence that completely discredits that which is genuine by calling it into doubt.

I see so many photos displaying an orb that were taken directly infront of a shiny wood surface, glass surface etc and this is the source of the orb, not the paranormal, however these images are then blown up to show all manner of faces and images within the orb itself and stated as evidence. Sadly this is where we step away from objectivity.

Im a psychic medium myself so you might expect me to say that it doesnt matter wether its proper evidence or not but for those looking into the subject, those trying to learn and study the paranormal it is extremely important.

For the Spiritual and Paranormal world to have any credibility and fend of the neigh sayers, haters and doubters we must be objective, hold back a little scepticism and offer up our really good, undoubtable paranormal evidence!

xxx

How Trauma Created The Shaman in Me

February 2, 2016 by Akasha Shamanka, posted in Experiences, General Articles

It is not always easy to give up your old ties to the world and fall head first into the spiritual side of life. Not is it always right for everyone either. I was continuing with my day to day life quite happily, or so I thought, not wanting to give up the many things that I felt were important to me. A part of me knew that I wasn’t quite on the right path but I remained content to continue with healing at a healing centre and giving psychic and mediumistic readings to an audience once a week. I knew that I was so close to where I should be. The final sacrifice of leaving your old world behind, stepping out of the ‘9 to 5′ materialistic world, is such a hard thing to do. When you do, you find yourself grieving not just for your old life but for the things you thought were important, and sometimes the poeple you thought were important too.

The knock for me came when I got ill. I have had M.E,/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, for about 10yrs but have learnt to live with it. My final blow came 7yrs ago. This time my life was under threat from a little known foe. I turns out I have a very rare genetic illness called VKH, it stands for Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome. The immune system attacks all pigment in the body, the eyes, the inner ear, the lining of the brain and spinal cord, the digestive system, and so on & so on. One morning I woke up with only half of my vision. All I could see were colours, light and shapes. I was terrified. I went straight to eye casualty centre where they battled to save my sight. My retinas were detatching, quickly, which required injections of steroids into the eye itself. I had 3 injections into my left eye and 4 into the right. I had to be awake at the time too. Ick! The doctors then took me into another room where they took lots of photos and scans of the eyes. Luckily for me, a locam from Moorfields Eye Hospital in London happened to be there, it was meant to be his day off. He was a malaysian man, his name was Mr Kok. Nobody else knew what was wrong and my eyesight was getting worse by the minute. He asked me hundreds of questions about my childhood, my ancestral line, whether I ever found pigmentless hairs or not. I was so confused. It turned out that the recessive gene that causes the VKH came from my Grandfathers line. We have latin blood in the family and the Spanish ancestor we traced had shipwrecked in Scotland when the Spanish Armarda came here. How bizarre. A gene that hadnt shown up in the family since Marc O Polo times just happens to switch on in me. I couldnt believe it.
The syndrome is only usually found in the poeple who used to travel the old ‘Silk Trade Route’. Why I dont know, but thats how it turned up in me. So, im one of about 25-30 poeple in the UK with this crazy illness.

In the first year that it struck my life became a living hell. I had Meningitis 6 times over three months, this happens when the lining of the brain becomes swollen and is a part of the condition. The pain was truly unlivable. I would lose consciousness quite alot due to the pain, thankfully it means I dont remember very much about the worst attacks. The first attack was one of the worst,my bloodpressure went nuts at 255 over 160, I really thought my head would explode. I couldnt talk due to pain but luckily, as I said, I kept passing out.

Over the next 3 months I went from 8 1/2 stone to 18 stone because of the medications. I had to go on a type of chemotherapy to stop my immune system attacking my body which left me with numerous health problems and I had to start using a wheelchair. I had stretch marks appearing so fast that some of them would actually split and bleed. I was a mess. Within a year I was 80 percent bedbound. I couldnt gig with the band anymore, that part of my life had gone and it was the thing I lived for.

Eight years on and im about 70 percent housebound which is much better than I was. I still have to use a wheelchair when I am very fatigued or have to go any distance, and still have to walk with a stick for short distances. I still need strict rest periods through the day but I am coping better. It would seem that the VKH is now in remission but could easily come back. It usually attacks poeple in their twenties and poeple in their fifties, causing various inflammatory problems throughout the body in between.
My eyes are now healed and, although I have been left with some blank spots of vision, my sight is almost back to normal and all the scarring has gone. Months of sitting in hospital beds taught me alot about life. I got the crash course on what is truly important in life.

So many of my beliefs or ideas on how you should live your life were blown apart. I started to listen to what my body was telling me, and what my subconscious was trying to say. I was already spiritual but now I explored my own personal beliefs instead of trying to fit in with someone elses. I thought I was alone in my ideas until I came across the Toltec shamans of meso-america. All their ideas and beliefs fitted with mine rather than me trying to fit with them. The Mayans came after the Toltecs and some chose to continue with their religion (for want of a better term) in the form of the priests and priestesses. Thanks to them the Toltec way of being was rescued and is still practised. The only famous known followers of Toltec ways I can think of are Don Jaun Matus, the man who trained Carlos Castaneda, and Victor Sanchez who has written many books, also Florinda Donner, a female shaman and author, and Don Miguel Ruiz who has written books such as Beyond Fear: A Toltec guide to Freedom and Joy. Teotihuacan, “the place where men become gods,” is the sacred center of the Toltecs, thirty miles northeast of Mexico City. The Toltecs retained and passed down through oral tradition secret knowledge of healing and spiritual transformation which has remained intact for thousands of years. Traditionally the word Toltec defined a group of poeple who achieved a rarified level of spiritual enlightenment. They became known as The Toltecs.
Most who follow a path akin to Toltec shamanism have been through a major trauma of somekind, and in the fifth year of that trauma the person becomes aware of the Toltec way. No one quite knows why but it has been long documented and even researched. I was in the that fifth year and it was this year that I found the Toltec way. Life has some strange avenues, twists and turns, most of which are meant to be. Some we can change and some are our destiny.

Most of us sleepwalk our way through life but some of us, if we choose to ‘wake-up’, get to open our eyes and really see the world and its energies.

Christmas/Yuletide/Solstice Holiday mash up! 2015

December 28, 2015December 28, 2015 by Akasha Shamanka, posted in General Articles, Holiday/Solstices

So…. Xmas happened.
Christmas eve was spent in a panic wrapping the distasteful commercialist side of the holiday, reminding me of how much I had spent, but when finaly finished at 23:48pm I was able to relax and welcome in Christmas day itself. Rock on Santa!
The day itself was a tad stressful with two visiting, heinously flatulent, French Bulldogs and a cat with Dementia. Adds a whole new angle to the family strains of Christmas. Love them all to bits of course though. We forgive our Furrbabies anything, except for excessive flatulance. After a while I had to exit the room and breath! 😉

That aside, Christmas has been quite lovely. I like the quiet cosy christmas’es. The ones with christmas Yankee Candles lit, mug of Hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows in hand, suggled up in a cosy blankets watching delightfully sugar laden and utterly cheesy Christmas films! Ahhhhhh….. bliss.

I love remembering and honouring Krampus, The Holly King, the Ice Queen, the Two Crones, Slepineir, St.Nicholas etc etc…
I may be a shamanic, crystal using, tarot reading pagan but Christmas/Yuletide/Saturnalia/Solstice time has been mixed into a wonderfull, hormogenous blob of a celebration that lasts several weeks and is absoloute Heaven for me.

Yes, I celebrate the lot but there is no shame in it. I do so through sheer joyfull abandon of the holiday season! For me its celebrating life and loved ones from my Heart centre. I celebrate from a place of love not commercialism, consumerism or any other ism. Its about celebrating our darkest coldest days with light, love and warmth in my heart! And more importantly to share that with one and all.

Merry Christmas/Yuleide/Solstice… Everyone.
🎄🎅🎄
Xxx
)○(

A word on Karma

November 23, 2015 by Akasha Shamanka, posted in General Articles, Karma

“What the flippin heck is Karma?” Is a question I hear over and over again. Whilst the basic principle is easy the how’s, why’s and when’s become quite complicated.

Firstly…Karma is NOT a punishment for something you have done in this or previous lives! That is a common myth that seems to have become confused with the Catholic idea of punishment for wrong doings. This negative idea is not the meaning of Karma.

There is a great quote by Atasha Fyfe, a past life therapist, explaining Karma:
“Karma is a wise law that works to push us slowly but surely onto happier and more positive paths. The ultimate destination will be a state of pure love for all creation”

This quote by Mira Kelley is very clear on the mechanics of Karma:
“Karma is not punishment for deeds in this life or a past life. There is no Divine being of light judging you and keeping score. Karma is entirely self-imposed!”

So…how can Karma effect our lives? You may experience Karmic ties with people you meet, have karmic connections you need to break in order to live a happy life, have a personal negative Karmic issue that needs healing.

Generally, our Karmic connections are usually with other people from our soul group, who have agreed to incarnate into this lifetime to learn a life lesson or complete unfinished business and pay old deeds.

How do you know if you have a Karmic connection with another person? You know that moment when you feel inexplicably drawn to someone you’ve not before and feel a strong connection with, this could well be a sign of Karmic mechanics at work.

“Deep, instant love or an unexplainable dislike are clear signs of reconnecting with a soul you deeply loved or who deeply hurt you in another life” explains Mira Kelley. “Karmic patterns can bring you the message that you are not in alignment with your core, divine, soul essence”. In these situations you will find you repeat the same behaviour over and over or you meet the same kind of person you have issues with repeatedly until you learn how to break it or take the life lesson it offers into your heart.
“When you are stuck in a certain area of your life, study the patterns and allow for the core limiting belief to become known to you. Address it through past life regression or any other healing modality that you use, and realign with your true essence. Karma is a tool of empowerment, so by addressing these issues, you can truly learn to heal and grow.”

Carmen Oca, who also works in past life healing and karmic connections says “By exploring a past life, we can bring the issues to light, understand why we are having these connections and remove the negative attachments, so we can forgive and create a new contract that is both enlightening and positive for us.”

It is often the case that our Karmic connections are people who are family, partners and lifelong friends. If these relationships are strong and happy ones then it means you’ve had a good history together and enjoyed positive past lives with one another. Those we have long-term problems with, someone who has been hard to get away from, an abusive partner, energy draining friend etc is a sign of Karmic issue between the two of you that you have reincarnated in or order to solve. When two people need to sort out an issue, they can wait for a life that will work for both of them. So the existing problem may have occurred several lifetimes ago but is being addressed now in this one.

So how can we break a negative Karmic cycle?
Atasha Fyfe says:
“The best way to resolve an issue is to look within yourself. When you do, the other person will either change towards you or continue the drama with someone else. If you cut that person from your life without addressing the problem, another version of them will appear on your doorstep. Just being aware of negative Karma is a huge step towards healing it.”

So what is Karma? Karma is a universal law in which our balance and harmony is the goal. When we slip out of balance certain behavioural patterns will come to light and unless we resolve it within this lifetime we may well encounter it as a Karmic lesson in another lifetime. It keeps us on the right road by nudging us back from negative behaviours and relationships.

What repeating patterns do you notice within your own life? Have you dealt with the energy draining friend, or dealt with the abusive partner and released yourself from the old Karma you have carried across into this lifetime?

Look within and spend time assessing your relationships and the patterns within your life. Give yourself permission to heal the old hurts and break the ties that bind!

Love each day 💜

How to Use a Smudge Stick | Crystals, Healing and Spirituality

November 3, 2015 by Akasha Shamanka, posted in General Articles, Rituals, Meditations, Tools of the Trade

Never leave unattended whilst burning. Beware of falling embers.

At first use, decide which end looks stronger-this will be your handle. Take some time and apply a lighter, match or candle flame to the other end to burn away the first centimetre of the leaves and string. This will open the smudge stick. Allow to go out.

At subsequent uses, loosely support the stick inside your fingers in an overhand grip. Allow the scorched end to extend out so that you can use the back end of a lighter to gentlyscape away scorched black material and to loosen and slightly spread the leaves to allow air flow between the tightly bound leaves. Take care not to open the strings more than .5-1cm as this will weaken the smudge stick and burning embers will fall out.

There are 2 ways to use the smudge stick

The Quick Spritz:

Use this method when getting home or after a disturbing phone call or encounter.

Move your fingers to the handle end of the smudge stick and use a lighter or match to light the open end. Use intention that clearing of negative energies and strengthening of positive energies is exchanged. Breathe deeply as you waft the smoke over and around both sides of the head, around both sides of the waist, and again at the knees, then between the legs and back over the head. Repeat until you feel refreshed. Give thanks to the energies.

The Deep Cleanse:

Use this method to cleanse a large area such as a room, house or garden.

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Follow the link below for the full version of this extremely usefull article at Muddy Creek Enterprises!

http://muddycreekenterprises.com/2015/05/25/how-to-use-a-smudge-stick/

Love each day 💜

Finding another way to breath!

November 3, 2015November 3, 2015 by Akasha Shamanka, posted in Experiences, General Articles

“Rather than resign herself to the fate dictated by her medical history, she has chosen a different , if less probable , outcome—one in which she is a shaman.”

I have decided to post this above quote from the book ‘A Shamans Miraculous Tools For Healing’ by Alberto Villoldo because it really resonates with today’s experience. I had an appointment at hospital with a Neurologist, I’ve also been seeing a doctor at the sleep clinic, as it would seem I have developed a Narcolepsy like sleep disorder. This is on top of the very rare chronic recessive genetic illness I have called Vogt-koyanagi-harada syndrome and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Anyway, the upshot is that I have also been allowing medical diagnosis to dictate my life to a certain extent. Until this week. After far to long the penny finaly dropped and I realised I am probably experiencing what is known as Shamanic illness. This happens when the spirits have chosen someone to work in the capacity of a Shaman but that person is either in denial or is simply not listening and don’t begin the work they are meant to do. For a period of time, often many years, that person will experience great illness that is life changing, and often, will have the doctors very confused as the person doesn’t respond to their treatments in the expected way. The person goes into a chrysalis like state, gaining knowledge and power over the years until finaly they start to take on the role they have been chosen to embody. Over the weekend I had a major epiphany moment where all the jigsaw puzzle pieces fell into place at one leaving with no doubt whatsoever that I have been picked to serve by spirit. You don’t get in a choice in this. You can ignore it and potentialy spend decades being severely sick or you can face up to it and jump down the rabbit hole.
Im jumping!

So to now where im tucked up in bed, its 5.25am and im reading a book that just came out by Alberto Villoldo and there is that above quote. I appreciated the synchronicity greatly. The sign posts that let you know “your on the right path kid!”.

Big love to you all
Dannie
Xxx

A Shaman’s Miraculous Tools for Healing by Villoldo, Alberto
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00X4Z21OQ

Love each day 💜

My friend. My drum!

October 26, 2015October 26, 2015 by Akasha Shamanka, posted in General Articles, Rituals, Meditations

I want to introduce a friend of mine. A dear and very special friend who means a great deal to me.
Meet my drum!

We go on many journeys together, just the two of us. She was hand made for me two years ago by a wonderful couple who live in the New Forest. The skin is Reindeer with a cedar hoop. They also made a rattle from the same piece of animal skin so its lovely to have these twinned tools.

This drum is not just a musical instrument, although it does very well in that role. My drum is also a tool of healing, of reaching beyond the veil and journeying through the tunnel to other worlds. Interestingly the rate of the drumbeat that induces journeying is also the same as the vibrational pulse of the universe. Interesting huh?
Continue reading “My friend. My drum!” →

Glastonbury Tor

October 26, 2015October 26, 2015 by Akasha Shamanka, posted in Experiences, Spiritual Places

The Glastonbury Tor, or St Michaels Tower, is a world wide known spiritual sight that many are drawn to every year.

It had been a goal of a friend and myself to travel to Glastonbury and climb up the iconic hill to the Tor itself. It was a much steeper hill than we were expecting, or should I say the side that bus dropped us at was much steeper. It wasn’t until we had climbed to the top that we realised the other side was more of a gentle amble uphill as opposed to the vertigo inducing side we were on. Anyway… despite that we were thrilled to be there, Finally! Years of planning finally come to fruition!

Glastonbury village itself is enchanting, and not just because its choc full of magical and spiritual shops. It instantly feels like home when you arrive. Like somewhere you’ve been to many times before and you are comfortable being in. We arrived on market day so the whole centre was buzzing.

We caught the little bus to the Tor itself from the town centre. It was a diddy little bus but rather packed with visitors. Some were going to Glastonbury Well and other sites along the way, next on our list. During our journey we kept catching tantalising glimpses of the hill and Tor itself and then finally we had arrived. We crossed a small meadow, with an ice cream truck in the middle of it (bizarre), and then straight in front of us was the start of our climb. Oh My Word! That is one hard climb!!! Oh my poor leg muscles.

A tough climb but oh so worth it. Being close up to the Tor is quite daunting. The energy is so strong, deeply rooted and stable. Its like an energy beacon, or portal, that radiates out over Glastonbury effecting all who live in its shadow. For myself and my dear friend Michelle it was a Pilgrimage. We are both deeply spiritual people and coming to Glastonbury had been a trip we had wanted to take for many years.
The thing that really stood out to me at the top of the hill was that, despite all the tourists milling about, it was incredibly peacefull. You could feel entirely alone with your thoughts sat up there yet you were surrounded by people. The Tor seems to instill a need for reflection and recapitulation. The energies nurture a balanced, calm and peacefull state of mind. I noticed this effect in the people who were sharing the top of the hill with me. Even some children who were enjoying a day out with their families were calm, relaxed and peacefull. Strangers were happy to talk to one another. Boundaries seemed to have been lowered for the day.

Reaching the top of the hill felt amazing. I was so proud of this achievement. After a long term illness im still mostly house/bed bound so to be able to do this was incredible. Saying that I must be honest in that it was also one of the most painfull and agonising achievements of my life but hey…. no matter what this illness may put me through I will always have the memory of climbing the hill up to, and being at, the Glastonbury Tor. Nothing can ever take that away from me! Michelle was just amazing and gently supported me as we made the ascent. We stopped regularly and sat down and made the trek in little bite sized pieces. She was so kind and patient with me and made the whole thing possible. Bless her heart.

Glastonbury is special for so many reasons and not just because it is the heart chakra of the planet, or that it is home to the Tor or the Glastonbury Well or Abbey. The area has a fascinating history stretching back a long way. For me it is the wonderful healing energies in the land of Glastonbury.