Spiritual Dance Blog

A shaman is an intuitive healer. The word shaman literally means “one who knows”.  Shamans connect with the spirit realm through altered states of consciousness in order to direct spiritual energy back into the physical world, usually for the purpose of healing. Dance or movement is one way to achieve this altered state and begin your journey. Then there is a turning point where you begin to move through a dream-like landscape - interacting with the world beyond the veil.

Samhain (pronounced sow-an) is a symbolic transition in our journey around the sun. It is the halfway point between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice marking the end of the lighter half and the beginning of the darker half of the year. Celtic pagans celebrated the death and rebirth of the year on this third and final harvest festival falling on October 31st in the northern hemisphere. It is a day of liminal space where the veil between our world and the otherworld is at its thinnest. Those who celebrate Samhain engage in activities that honor their ancestors and also ward off evil spirits.

Last night I had a dream about a large old building that was getting ready to be demolished. I’m pretty sure the building represented my old life. I got everything out that mattered and then I watched it fall. When I woke up I started looking through old photos and ran across this picture from two years ago. My husband, a few close friends and I were attending a conference called “Evolving Faith”. That conference marked the beginning of the end for me and it was a last ditch effort to try and hold on to the beliefs that seemed to be crumbling around me.

For as long as I can remember I’ve always been fascinated by the moon and large bodies of water. My earliest spiritual experiences were beholding the beauty of the ocean or lying under the stars on a camping trip. A little over a year ago I started tracking the moon and aligning my life to flow with her cycles. In the process, I’ve become even more taken by the fact that no matter how much or how little we see her in the sky, she still directs the tides to come in and go out like clockwork.

Sometimes I feel like I’ve spent most of my life on this never-ending quest to find others like me. Someone with the same spiritual gifts, perceptions, and experiences. Anyone who might speak the same spiritual language that I flow freely in. I think that maybe if I found someone like me, it would somehow validate my journey, validate me as a person, and make me feel less weird and less lonely. But I have yet to meet that someone. And what I’m beginning to realize is that I’ve been searching for me this whole time. I’m here on this planet to teach and to share my unique gifts and perspectives. Doing so requires me to use my voice, come out from behind the curtain, and do hard things.