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What is passion? I think of passion as something that is a bit like a fire inside our being. Could it be the stirring within that makes each of us who we are and guides us towards what attracts us the most? Passion energizes us for sure.
Opening to passion, or responding to the clues that remind us what our passion is, is akin to following our calling.
The Passion of the Earth
There have been times in my life when I have experienced loss or devastation and I want everything to stop frozen in time and listen to my shock with me. Instead, I have been utterly aware of the striking resolve of the Earth to keep on moving forward no matter what. “Time and tide wait for no man,” says Chaucer. The Earth’s drama to continue and not stop tugs me into a remembrance that I too need to let this grief or agony move, move, move.
Through the passion of night following day, the moon spinning the Earth, the seasonal evidence of the Earth orbiting the sun and the relentless flow of the life of those we love and know moving through death, the theatre of the Earth’s passion show continues. When I feel the Earth, I feel how passion is the great instigator of this creative vortex of life we live as a part of. It is meeting the passion of that which continues (almost brutally felt sometimes) in nature that in the end has been that which has brought the greatest healing.
The areas of closing down and fear are often what we need to focus on freeing more than anything else in order to let healing happen.
Following Our Calling Challenges the Ego
The ego is what the psychologists Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung brought to the world’s attention as a model of that which keeps us safe. As conditioned humans, we respond to the rules and the sensing of the ego as it shows us what we have internally learnt is accepted or is safe.
The ego will keep us closing down or it will play tricks with us to help us to avoid something that is going to be painful or have us exiled from our tribe. Often following our calling challenges the ego. This might be exactly why we have never followed it before!
So the job with the ego here, in being able to follow a calling that might challenge its formation, is to bring in what can hold love no matter what and compassionately listen with discernment to its messages.
This is where bringing in the model of the creativity wheel below can come in handy and the task of accompanying this with opening up the passion lines can be relieving.
In the shamanic “elements” or “medicine” wheel, passion is the element of fire. Fire works as that which gives warmth and light and also as that which brings huge transformational energy. When I work with people and the subject of projects and passion, I am always noticing how when the passion comes in it also involves the burning through of a previous idea of self.
The Full Cycle of Creativity
Transformation is an energetic process. Creativity is a full cycle. Below is a map of the creativity wheel that marks the seasons and the elements as part of its course. You can see how spring moves through to winter and that the process of death and picking up what is behind the veil is as much a part of creativity as the visible process of life in our world. . Following the calling and the messages of our passion will necessitate including the burning and the letting-go part of the process of transformation.
Be aware of what is let go of or what has to move out of the way as you step more into opening up to connection and expansion. Try to let the people around you know in advance that there will be some changes so that you can be ready to work together through them.
Creativity Wheel
Setting up the Earth Whisperer Practice
Have a look at the creativity wheel above. What do you notice as you view it? What stands out for you? Notice what feels weak or strong for you.
Find five stones and place them in a circle at a distance of about two feet from each other so that they can be the four directions of the compass and the centre. Place the stones as follows: East as Air, South as Fire, West as Water and North as Earth elements. Take your rattle and move to stand with the centre stone and feel a ring of light around you where the compass points move through. Acknowledge that your body and this Earth exist with the intelligent energy and cooperation of each these elements.
Now whistle and rattle to call in each direction. You are opening up a relationship with and acknowledging the presence and utter importance of the four elements in your life. Now feel yourself in the centre and whistle and rattle to acknowledge all of the different dimensions that operate that you opened up a connection to. Notice how you sense this in your body and how you perceive this in your circle.
Step out of the wheel and notice how you feel now.
Take Time for a Passion Walk
This week, take time to go for a walk to open up the passion lines. Simply open the creativity wheel as above and then with your connection to your passion open, move outside and see where you are led. You might go to your tree, or you might be called to jump on a bus or into your car to go and visit a special place. See what calls you. But know that with the intention of opening up the passion lines, something can happen that is important.
If you can try to set yourself a passion walk with the Earth every week from now on, this will act as a way of connecting your passion even more with the passion and communication systems of the Earth.
After your visit, take time to write or create something that can map your journey or allow the passion line to flow into a creative act.
Copyright ©2023 by Carol Day All Rights Reserved.
Adapted with permission of the publisher,
Findhorn Press, an imprint of Inner Traditions Intl.
Article Source: Shamanic Dreaming
Shamanic Dreaming: Connecting with Your Inner Visionary
by Carol Day
Visionaries dream the future into life, and throughout the ages shamans have served this role within their communities. Yet, how does one as an individual open to visions and allow the messages we need to hear to come through? Enter the stage of Shamanic Dreaming for a playful, evocative rendezvous with circle consciousness.
In this shamanic guide, visionary Carol Day shows how to access our creative potential to shape a strong vision for ourselves and others, connecting intimately to the world around with the support of seen and unseen realms. Earth whispering practices prepare for shamanic visioning by expanding the senses; we open up to different dimensions and initiate a conscious relationship with nature, myth, and archetype through the creativity wheel.
Click here for more info and/or to order this paperback book. Also available as a Kindle edition.
About the Author
Carol Day is a visionary teacher, psychotherapist, artist, and director of Creative Earth Ensemble in Scotland. Also the founder of the systemic story therapy, she runs a private practice and is involved in projects centered on creating community and connecting people back to the land.
Visit her website at CreativeEarthEnsemble.com
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