Shamanism by 6:30am

I have been studying Huichol Shamanism with Brant Secunda for 25 years and each year has given me a deeper understanding about how to infuse my daily life with shamanism.

As I wake before dawn each day I think of my dreams and tell them to Grandfather Fire. Speaking with the fire settles my spirit, and sets my intentions for the coming day, reminding me to keep connected to kauyumari (the deer spirit), my heart, to stay connected to the gods, my family, my community and to remember that my daily work is for the wellbeing of the earth and all her creatures.

As I leave my house and drive to San Jose, I often see the rising sun. Again an opportunity to connect with the beauty of life, the power of tauwarika (the spirit of the rising sun), to breath in the sacred colors and honor the energy of a new day. It is a chance to begin anew, to find myself in the circle of life, and to start the day filled with the wonder of the sacred colors of life. Throughout the day I call on the fire and the sunrise; the memory of the images fill me with life force, peace and calmness.

Outside of my classroom there is a beautiful vegetable garden. As I look at the plants, I give thanks for the beauty, the earth, the water, the sun, Takutsi Nakewei (Grandmother Growth). I am grateful for the fantastic miracle that the vegetables grow deep in the city, that they grow as a flower, that they create the air that we breathe, that when I look into their centers I see a green blossom expanding out with vibrant life force.

It is now nearly 6:30 am and I am remembering, feeling, experiencing shamanism all around me. Brant has always taught us that the life force is always there to experience, to see, feel, hear and know. We just have to become aware, to open our hearts to the nierica of life. To let our spirit float through the passageway into the miracle of creation, into the heart of life, into the blessing and the energy that reminds us that we are one with all. This is how shamanism touches me each day.