Life Weaving is an adventure in living: a realization that life is a dance of mind, and spirit, and community. When we are feeling poorly, we expect to go to the doctor or a therapist, and with their assistance, fix the problem. And that’s important.
But in many cases, there are complementary therapies that can help the process, by empowering the individual: by helping them to resolve issues that are complicating their recovery; and by helping reduce physical and psychic pain to create a peaceful place for healing to occur.
Then, once we are well, do we leave well enough alone? Perhaps we should wonder if ‘well’ might NOT be an absolute! Life Weaving says that merely being well is NOT enough – that though abundant living STARTS with being well, we then need to step back onto the dance floor of Life.
Because once we step back onto that floor, we realize that there is a lot more to see, and know, and do in life than just survive. We can learn to feel our hearts beating in time to a drumbeat, one that has always been there, but that somehow we were too busy to listen to before. We can learn to see the people on the dance floor in a different way – realizing that when we dance the dance of life together, we are far more than the sum of ourselves as individuals.
Many paths can lead us back to that dance floor of life, and beyond. Here are a few:
Shamanic Therapy
“He (the Shaman) is a self-reliant explorer of the endless mansions of a magnificent hidden universe.” –Michael Harner, The Way of the Shaman
Over tens of thousands of years, our ancestors discovered how to optimize the human abilities of mind and spirit for healing and problem-solving. The remarkable system of methods that they developed is today known as “shamanism,” a term that comes from a Siberian tribal word for its practitioners: “shaman.”
In shamanism, both physical and emotional illnesses are seen as connected to disharmony of the spirit. Shamanic therapy methods encourage psychological, emotional, and physical healing by treating the spiritual aspects of those illnesses.
Reiki
“The secret method of inviting good fortune. The marvelous medicine for all sickness.
Just for today:
Do not be angry
Do not worry
Be grateful
Work with integrity
Be kind to others.”
– Mikao Usui
Reiki is a Japanese form of energy healing. The practitioner, having been attuned to the source of universal life energy by a master/teacher (whose training in turn can be traced back to Master Usui, the founder of Reiki), shares that energy with the client.
Crystal Therapy
“To sail on a dream, on a crystal blue ocean. To ride on the breast of a wild raging storm. To work in the service of life, and the living, in search of the answers to questions unborn.” –John Denver, Calypso.
We all seem to instinctively recognize the power of nature – when we can be in unspoiled natural places, we feel energized and empowered. But for most folks, that feeling only occurs during rare vacations – it is usually absent from our day-to-day lives. But it doesn’t HAVE to be.
Stones were a part of the earth long before anything living walked its face (or crawled or swam or even just lifted its branches to the sun). and they remain filled with the energy and love of creation itself . Crystal therapy connects us with an unending source which we can contact anywhere, which we can carry with us, and from which we can learn to be energized and empowered ALL of the time, and not just on vacation.
alchemy
“Weave, weave, weave me the sunshine out of the pouring rain.
Weave me the hope of a new tomorrow, and fill my cup again!” –Peter Yarrow.
People use the word ‘alchemy’ without ever understanding it (except perhaps in the mistaken belief that it is merely an obsolete and misguided effort to turn lead into gold). Truth is, alchemy is an ancient study, or more precisely it is THE ancient study – the original pursuit of knowledge. There were NO specialists back then – science, art, spirit, and symbolism were all parts of the same discipline. And perhaps they still SHOULD be – alchemy derives much of its power from the intersection where magic, art, mystery, and science combine – to become the fabric of reality.
“Promise me you’ll always remember…
You’re BRAVER than you believe, and STRONGER than you seem,
and SMARTER than you think. (Christopher Robin, speaking to Pooh)” –A.A.Milne