—THE SEVENTH CHAKRA: THE PORTAL TO HEAVEN
The crown chakra at the very top of the head is our portal to the Heavens, in the same way that the first chakra is the portal to the Earth. Luminous threads from this energy center reach up to the stars and to our destinies. The Earth protects us...
—THE SEARCH FOR THE SOUL
The search for the soul has preoccupied humans for centuries. At first, our ancestors thought the soul had its seat in the heart. Later, numerous other organs became candidates for housing the soul—including the liver and the spleen. Eventually,...
—The Practice of Nonattachment
To practice nonattachment, we let go of the roles we’ve bought into and the labels we’ve stuck to ourselves. While our new stories can be far more interesting and productive for us than the old ones, our goal is to stop identifying with any story...
—DRAWING LIFE FROM YOUR DREAMS
Shamans believe that an enlightened person not only speaks truth but recognizes and understands the true nature of reality both when awake and when asleep. Amazon sages speak of learning to dream with open eyes. They feel it is unfortunate that...
—THE SIXTH CHAKRA: THE FIRST OF THE SKY CHAKRAS
The sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth chakras are known as Sky Chakras. They are supported by the Earth Chakras, just as the branches of a tree are supported by its trunk and roots. Through the Sky Chakras we explore increasingly subtle domains and...
—Developing Shaman’s Sight: The Second Attention
The shaman is trained to see the invisible world of energy and spirit. With practice, you too can develop this skill. In earlier blog posts we covered connecting the heart chakra and the third eye to the visual cortex and engaging your inner...
—We Thank You Pachamama
This Thanksgiving, as we are filled with gratitude for Pachamama’s bounty, and beauty, let’s remember the many ways we can fulfill our responsibilities as stewards of this planet. It can be hard, sometimes, not to get discouraged by the...
—The Practice of Nonsuffering
Nonsuffering is the second of four practices designed to help us better understand and experience The Way of the Hero. When we practice nonsuffering, we do not write stories about our pain; because when we wrap a story around the facts, suffering...
—The Tyranny of Emotions
There are many schools of thought about emotions, yet there is no universally accepted theory or taxonomy of the emotions. Some biologists speak about one set of emotions being instinctual and generated by the amygdala (which is involved in...
—THE FIFTH CHAKRA
The fifth chakra, located at the hollow of the throat, is the last of the Earth Chakras. Its Sanskrit name is vishuda, which means “purity.” The most ancient of all yogic texts, inscribed fifteen hundred years ago by Patanjali, speaks about...
