A Day with a Shaman

And I don´t know what the future is holding in store
I don´t know where I´m going, I´m not sure where I´ve been
There´s a spirit that guides me, a light that shines for me
My life is worth the living, I don´t need to see the end

Sweet, sweet surrender, live live without a care
Like a fish in the water, like a bird in the air
Sweet, sweet surrender, live, live without a care
Like a fish in the water, like a bird in the air.

“Sweet Surrender” by John Denver


OK, let me be honest here...the last thing I expected to encounter during a workshop with a Shaman was a tribute to the late John Denver. That said, there was very little about the magical day and the amazing Lilo Ccoyllor (Morningstar) that I could possibly ever have envisioned. This was truly a life-changing day for me, and I dare say, for all the other fifteen participants of the workshop which was organised by Toby and Belinda of Ibiza Reiki, and held in the breathtakingly beautiful Buddha Land, high on a hill near San Miguel in the north of Ibiza.

Originally from Switzerland, Lilo´s Shamanic path started in California, where she lived for twenty years while she was married. She had had visions of Peru since the seventies and in 1998, after her divorce, she took the plunge, sold up everything and moved there, giving birth to the Casa de la Serenidad (House of Serenity), a Spiritual and Shamanic Retreat in Cusco, Peru. She is an Eclectic healer, Shaman, Lightworker and Visionary, whose main intention is to open her heart to the higher levels of consciousness of love and light, and to encourage others to do the same.

The day started with a Shamanic Cleansing. Lilo poured Agua de Florida into each of our hands which has wonderful cleansing and grounding properties and smells lemony-fresh and divine! This was used to cleanse ourselves and our auras, then we offered it to the Earth by putting our hands on the ground for a few minutes. Smoke sticks were burning in a bowl as Lilo then came around each of us, as we stood in a circle, with a feather and rattle, whispering uplifting and loving words to us. This, believe me, is a great way to start any day, and perhaps it would be a good idea for us to write to our local M.P.s and suggest it as part of the national school curriculum!

One of the highlights of the day, for me, was the group meditation we did just before breaking for lunch. In it, Lilo took us on a journey to the centre of the Earth, spreading healing and love and light as we went. Mother Earth then offered us a gift, and we gave her one back – I intuitively felt I was given a feather which, yes, of course may well have “just” been my imagination. But later in the day, when we had a Power Animal card reading, I selected The Raven, and Lilo immediately told me to be on the look-out for a raven feather which would serve me well, especially when doing my distance healing. Coincidence? Hmmm...some may say, but the warm, tingly glow I felt suggested otherwise to me.

There is much talk these days, as I´m sure everybody is aware, about 2012 and what will happen when we arrive at what the Mayans called the End of the Fifth Age of the Sun in December of that year. Theories abound from convictions that it means the end of the world, to convictions that it means nothing at all. Lilo spoke, in the most gentle and down-to-earth manner about this, and about where mankind currently stands in the evolutionary/ascension process.

The collective consciousness is shifting and we are at the threshold of an evolutionary quantum leap in human consciousness. As Planet Earth is ascending and vibrating at a higher level, it is now important that we work on our own electromagnetic fields. All issues (personal and of all humanity) are now showing up more than ever, causing confusion and chaos, especially in the big cities and this is happening because we are getting higher in the ascension process and the old stuff (in other words, anything not of the light) has to go. The Ascended Masters, also known as the Brotherhood of Light – which includes Jesus Christ and Mother Mary – are very much involved in this process – as are the Intergalactic Federation of Light who, like the Ascended Masters are...well, you know...ascended beings, but unlike the Ascended Masters, they have never actually incarnated on Earth before. They are channelling messages through people, and providing us with new tools to assist and speed up the process. For instance, a new chakra has been activated between the heart and the thymus to bring together heart and mind energy – heart energy being the most important energy of all – and to connect us to the fifth dimensional new earth. Another example is the Pyramid of Light, written about by Nestor Caceres in his new book “Encounter with the Science of Light”. This pyramid, when you stand astride it for a few minutes, provides an intense cleansing and clearing, very much needed for the transmission.

All right, let´s just take a breath here, shall we? Intergalactic Federation of what? Fifth dimensional thingumibob? Ascended Masters? Does this sound like a load of tree-hugging hippy nonsense? Well, that would certainly be the easy answer. But I think that any reasonable, intelligent, open-minded person readily accepts that there are things we don´t understand, things we have no grasp of due to our conditioning, and that just because we can´t see something, or “prove” something, doesn´t mean that it´s not there or that it´s not real. Sitting as I was that day, surrounded by a group of people, all totally different and unique, but all with one thing in common – the desire to make a positive difference to the world – and talking and listening to a fascinating Shaman, it was easy to understand and feel the truth and “realness” of everything she said. But, whether Intergalactic Federations and activations of new chakras resonates with you or not, the core of Lilo´s message, her gift to humanity, stands strong and is comfortingly straightforward and simple.

In a nutshell, it´s all about love, baby!

Love for yourself – warts and all. We should all love ourselves exactly as we are RIGHT NOW, no conditions. There´s no point in saying we will love ourselves when we lose weight, find the perfect job, meet Mr/Ms Right. It is only through embracing our “shadow” side that positive change can be brought into being. As John Bradshaw, motivational speaker and author, says “love is not a train station you are going to arrive at some day.”

Love for Pacha Mama (Mother Earth). It is important for us to now consciously show the planet love, respect and gratitude, to honour her, to realise our connection to her and to experience the undeniable interconnection between all living things.

Surrender. Surrender to love – to giving and to receiving love. Surrender to the mystery. And John Denver obviously knew a thing or two about this! This is a time when truthfulness is all important; we must stand in our own truth and realise that we cannot please everybody all of the time and that sometimes it is necessary to close the door. But as long as our hearts are open, we can do this more comfortably and with...yes, you guessed it... love.

Which, if you ask me, is a sound, common-sense approach to life – and I´m sure even the most hard-nosed sceptic would be hard-pressed to argue.

And that just leaves me with one more thing to share before I sign off – a lovely light affirmation from Lilo which you might like.

I think light
I breathe light
I feel light
I am light
Let light shine through me.


With love & light.
Namaste :)

(p.s. You might want to check out these sites)

http://www.shamanspirit.net/

http://www.ibizareiki.com/