Listening To Our Stories

We all have a story. It is the tale of who we are, how we came to be, where we hope to go. It holds the potential to make us uniquely whole. It sometimes defines us, often confines us, can inspire, challenge or disappoint.

Knowing that everyone does have their unique story the shaman listens with ears of understanding, looks for the messages between the lines of the story, and weaves the frayed strands together to bring alignment and healing. We learn from our stories and we learn from the stories of others as well.

Our stories provide us with tremendous lessons from which to grow. It is up to us to be open to these lessons. We learn our patterns and our blockages. We learn what is ready to be released or embraced. We learn how we have healed and how we have not.

No two people, no matter how similar they are, share the same story. So to offer unsolicited advice is often pointless. But when we are asked to witness and listen to someone's story we can create an opportunity for the engagement of the energies. We can hold with compassion, we can provide encouragement and we can celebrate successes.

The shaman is often called the Master Storyteller. She will listen to the story and read between the lines, she will find the soul loss, she will help to retrieve what has retreated and heal what is broken. She will bring the story to a place of wholeness and restore the beauty and wonder that is defined by that soul. It is within the wispy layers of the story that she finds the energies of graceful expansion.

Knowing this about our stories, we are gifted the opportunity to change the way in which we listen. Instead of engaging without being asked, we can instead witness with honor and respect. We can listen and be open to the possible lessons that are meant for us. And if we are given the role to do more than witness, we hold the potential to be in service to the soul of the story. We are given an opportunity to answer to the call of duty to be healer, teacher, or more. The greatness of the story awaits.

Blessings, Lisa

The Detachment Factor

So how detached are you? I don't mean distant, cold or uncaring. I mean how well contained you are. How good you are at boundary setting. And how present you are.

This skill took some time for me to develop. My emotions and feelings would get the better of me. Contrary to what was in my heart, the desire to help someone and show compassion, I would get wrapped up in the drama of the emotions, pulled into the feelings and actually become far less present in the situation. That is because when I allow my ego to drag me into the emotions and feelings of a situation I am contemplating on my stories of the past or my projections for the future. I am anything but present.

It seems that the more and more I chose to live in the present, my perspective shifted and became more and more impersonal. AND that was a good thing. To be effective as a shaman, a healer, a teacher and a woman in service to others, this skill needed to be honed.

Learning this detachment factor allowed me the grace to not get hooked by others feelings or emotions; necessary for the work I do. I could still maintain my compassion for others, but have clarity on what I could offer, what work needed to be done and how I would be present in the situation.

It also eliminated the need for me to have others in my life be a certain way for me to get on with my day. This detachment factor was huge! If someone was angry, frustrated or down in the dumps, I learned that I did not need to react or have it impact my day negatively. I just moved around it, took the detachment detour and got on with my day. I certainly could understand their feelings, their situation, but it did not become a part of me.

Actually, I was better able to understand what was happening to them. I could see it more clearly. My understanding expanded and so my services were more and more spot on, direct and effective. Being objective does not mean being uncaring. It actually affords you the distance and viewpoints to care in the best possible way, not a reactionary way.

Detachment keeps me clean. I don't pick up the energies of those I am working with. I also don't mistakenly place my intentions upon others, even the best of intentions. It allows my heart energies to be of love, not of expectation. It allows my soul to bring its beauty and essence to the equation without old stories or labels. It allows the situation to unfold in truth instead of confusion. Bringing detachment to my day gives me so much more room to be present, in tune with Source, in alignment with my truth and authentic.

Blessings, Lisa