Performing hand fasting ceremonies is a favorite. The occasions are so joyous and they bring that extra ancestral magic to ‘Tying the Knot’.
I was honored to perform one this week for a beloved family member and the experience was deep and precious.
If you have a union in your future, you may want to consider this ancient practice for your ceremony.
After journey journaling time.
Sandra hosts monthly, in person, Journey Groups. If you have ever wanted to connect with your helping spirits, spirit allies or power animals in their realm then this is a wonderful place to start!
Please join the Long Beach Shamanic Journey Group on Meetup.com to be notified of the next meeting. We generally meet on the 1st Sunday of each month from 1:00pm to 2:30 at Kevala Wellness in Long Beach, just blocks from the ocean. You can experience a guided Shamanic Journey with live drum and other like minded adults. The insights we receive from direct communication with our spirit allies can be profound.
I look forward to meeting you!
We have been through and continue to transform, though the light is returning. We will be forever changed and will always have the line of ‘the before time’ in our minds. I have been through profound change, introspection and release, there is so much, too much to put into this one post. So I will proceed with the upcoming news:
I have found a new place to hold my Shamanic Journeys and ceremonies. I am looking forward to see you personally for Reiki and Shamanic sessions as well as group Journey work. It is time to clear away what we no longer are needing, looking back to see what we have learned, how deep we went and what is our new pathway forward. My new space is Kevala Wellness in Long Beach.
I am also announcing a new way to connect with your heart, your higher self and your pathway forward, through the Goddess Ixcacao. I will be holding Cacao ceremonies as well in this space, bringing the heart opening and acceptance that Ixcacao offers to us through ceremonial Cacao. I will also be opening a new website dedicated to her and cacao, Tierra Mama. It is not live yet, we are still working on it.
Watch this space for updates coming soon, you can also join my Meetup.com Group: Long Beach Shamanic Journey and Cacao Ceremonies
Looking forward to moving forward!
At this time of pandemic, quarantine and sheltering in place, we are all in the midst of an initiation. An initiation of introspection, re-evaluation and transformation. Each one of us is being called to make changes, both internally and externally about where we are. I am hoping that this time will give us all an opportunity to do a ‘hard reset’, unplug it and plug it back in again. A time to go inward and discover so much about ourselves that the person coming out of the cocoon is transformed. We are pupating, changing, transforming and re-creating ourselves in this great change. Opportunities for shadow work, healing old wounds, digging deeper into our practices and learning new things about ourselves is a unique gift that we could not have been able to achieve without the restrictions put upon us. True colors are shining through (as the song says) and not only in our relationship with ourselves but also in our relationships with others, our jobs, our community and the Earth as a whole.
Now is a time to heal and a time to grow, to raise our vibrations and step into something new.
Congratulations on your next level achieved!
Spending time on the reservation, seeing family and friends. Being able to honor my ancestors in song and offerings around a sacred fire is soul healing.
I am grateful for the fire of my ancestors, my nephew and my cousins.
How wonderful to be in the company of other like minded individuals. No matter what you enjoy, this is such a beautiful place to be. With others who understand, who are learning and who are open armed in the practice. A week in lovely Petaluma, North of San Francisco in California with over 20 other Shamans in nature, enjoying each others company and working together to bring the best Shamanic practices to our clients. I am grateful!
My last post was in February, life happens and the flow carries us along. Many Reiki and Shamanic sessions have passed, Journey and meditation groups facilitated. I am so grateful to be doing this work to assist others in raising their vibrations so the vibrations of those around them may raise. We are all on this journey together and there is gold to be found in ourselves and others. There is a line in a song by Neil Young, ‘I am a miner for a heart of gold’, I think of this often as I mine my own heart for the gold in this life. Gold can be gratitude and I am digging in today. Kaqinas (peace)
I am so honored to be a co-facilitator of The Mindful Circle, a women’s mindful meditation group. The mind behind Mindful Circle is Bonnie Bishop, a woman who knew that connection and sharing wisdom with women was a place needed by many. We focus mostly on women who are in transition, usually mid to later life. This time often brings natural transitions as well as ones pressed to us from the outside. Children grown and in their own changes, our bodies leaving the place of Mother to move into the wisdom of the Crone, our relationships shifting as life moves forward, changes on job or professional status.
At each meeting I am amazed at the wisdom brought by the women who attend. The sessions run for 4 weeks each and there is a general theme to each one. Growth, stillness, center, breath, acceptance, non-judgement and so much more. My life is bigger because of it. I am grateful.
I had a dream ‘work’ day this Sunday. Two clients in the morning with a successful and tuned in journey circle in the afternoon at BOTI Studios in Anaheim. A full day of medicine and joy! I am so grateful for my spirit allies who bring healing and knowledge to us. Tantay, Kaquinas.
What a joy to facilitate Shamanic Journey groups in Long Beach and in Orange County. Being present for someone's first journey or 100th is a great gift. Insights, teachings and the wonder of being with helping spirits and allies was shared deeply. My next one in Long Beach is on Thursday, November 29th or December 2nd in Orange County. Would love to see you there!
I just returned from a week long Shamanic intensive and initiation ceremony in Petaluma CA. I learned so much and deepened my relationship with my spirit allies. It was much needed, appreciated and enjoyed. I bring back more to offer for my clients and my interaction in daily life. I am grateful.
Today was Moompetam. The Gathering of the Saltwater Peoples held at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach California. The saltwater peoples are the indigenous tribes who lived here along the south west coast of California and several were honored there today. My tribe, Chumash, is one of those. I am a ‘Saltwater People’. Going to Moompetam is such wonderful touchstone in my year, to see and be with other indigenous who’s faces mirror mine. The Chumash are a ‘first contact’ group who were invaded by the Spanish and we lost thousands of our people to this. To come together and share with others the culture which lived here along the coast long before Europeans came is a joy. I honor my Chumash ancestors and this land which was theirs and where they lived for hundreds of years. I am grateful. Kakinas, Tantay (thank you and peace).
The Shaman is in contact with their spirit allies every day. Some of them are ones who have been there for years and others come in later. I am forever fascinated by how things in my life correlate with the spirit world. I have recently met a new ancestral healing and helping spirit ally whom I would have never found had it not been for ancestral research. I was honored to work with him today and the ancient medicine he is bringing me for healing and clearing others. I am also grateful for my clients who are adventurous and open to working with new energies! The client I had today was just that. I was able to channel this medicine for her from so long ago and it did work it's magic in her clearing. I am looking forward to working with this spirit ally as I move forward on my path, learning new medicine and deepening my connection to spirit.
My helping spirits and guides have been working overtime this month! I am so grateful to have this relationship with spirit. I will now be facilitating shamanic journey groups at BOTI studios in Anaheim CA on the 1st Sunday of the month. I am beyond excited about this opportunity. My guides pushed me and pulled me to this location, an impromptu tarot card pull was also provided for added affirmation. So, off I go on this new adventure, taking steps on my path to work my souls purpose. To do this... I needed graphics. So I made these with a photo I had taken at my last Shamanic ceremony. I am so pleased with the 'woodcut' filter. Kaqinas.
It was a 'pop-up shop' weekend at Ambiance Spa where my healing room resides. Crystals, books, jewelry and chocolates were all out for the passers by. I had a chair and my heart chakra bowl at the ready for anyone who would sit. This is such a joy for me, to be offering reiki to the community. Many who had never experienced it before sat in my chair, there were tears, laughter, amazement and hugs. Yes, it was a magical day.
You and your feelings are important and valid, so too are the feelings of others. Active listening and being present are vital skills when dealing in an enlightened manner with our fellow humans. Active listening and being present can also tire us on an emotional level. Holding space for another to speak or emote into, being there for a friend or colleague that just needs to talk and be actively heard is a skill that comes with personal growth. One must understand that in order to hold space for another, one must be able to hold space for one's self. Take a moment to listen to your own voice, your feelings, your concerns. Hold space for yourself and validate yourself with a gentle ear. Allow yourself to express and nurture your inner voice without judgement, without contrary input. Be open and interested in your own inner dialogue. Hold space for your self brightly and be present for you.
Here in the Western Hemisphere we have just passed through the Summer Solstice, the longest day and shortest night of the year. I so enjoy the two Solstices of the year, the winter and summer opposites of light and dark. I feel as if I am passing through a doorway, the turning of the wheel of the year, the movement of planets and of the universe. I went on a nature walk to ground myself to connect with my feet on the earth. Here in California where my Chumash ancestors have lived for thousands of years, I seek out native plants which grow on the coast of this land. A favorite is the California Poppy, a native plant cousin to us, used by us, the indigenous people for food and a mild sedative and painkiller. Their brilliant orange petals shining like the sun are for me the embodiment of the summer solstice. Kakunupmawa, the sun in the sky, we honor you as the Earth sings your song in flowers.
It was a wonderful Mother's Day to have two Reiki clients in my healing room. I am always excited to channel Reiki for a client, having two in one day is double the fun! Two amazing women had special Mother's Day Reiki sessions with me and I am grateful.
Stones, in a hand thrown bowl. Clay from the Earth, stones from the Earth, one fashioned by human hands the other by the hands of time. Stones can hold our deepest secrets, they can comfort us with their smoothness as they warm to our hands or in a pocket, they can teach us of the beauty of stillness. I have always loved stones, their ancient-ness, where have they been? How old are they? What mysterious seeds of the universe do they carry? Oh lovely silent stone, tell me your story.
This month, as I look back on March, I see that I have been filled with gratitude for so many things. A gray day, the rain and the rainbow. My job, to be able to serve and assist others in healing and changing their vibration. I am grateful for those who lift and assist me in my journey. The tiny moments, on a walk, at the grocery store, stuck in traffic with a wide view of beautiful blue sky. A tangerine, my pups, the sun glinting off the ocean. It can all be so glorious! I am grateful, I am grateful!
