 |
SPIRIT
LODGE
LIBRARY
Spiritual
Development
Page
23
|
(Main
Links of the site are right at the bottom of the page)
Some of the links for the 97 pages in this Spiritual Development
section are below. For the rest please go HERE
Entering the Silence Discussion
By CinnamonMoon
Earthwalker asked me about entering
the Silence, and I wanted to address the issue separately as
it is an important part of all spiritual pathwork no matter
what tradition you may follow.
To enter the Silence is to enter into unity with Spirit but
how it's accomplished can take a variety
of directions. Let me discuss some options and what they bring
to this effort.
Drumming:
The Drum is the heartbeat, and it is a rhythm our own heart
and breathing automatically begins
to match. As we breathe with the rhythm we come to "feel"
the pulse and it is then that we can
shift our focus and catch the Silence between those beats. When
the focus shifts we listen to the
Silence, we are carried into it and we ride that journey to
Spirit to find union.
Mother Earth:
Mother Earth has a heartbeat as well. If we lay on her breast
we can follow our own heartbeat for
a time and find that it too begins to beat in unison with Mother
Earth. At that time we can again
shift to the Silence.
In Journey Work/Dance:
As we focus on our heartbeat it begins to slow and relax its
pace and we are able to slow it down
with deep breathing. This is our control valve more or less.
Again, when we reach the point of
passive breath that is deep and cleansing we can shift focus
to the Silence.
In Meditation and Exercises:
Through the centering process we again bring into play the deep
breathing and control of our
heartbeat. Again we can shift and focus on the Silence.
You can see by these examples that the process is pretty much
the same, whether we use the
Drum, a CD or in actuality; or some other method to achieve
this state of semi-trance/light
trance, as we move into the Silence we deepen our focus and
we begin to achieve what we're
looking for.
To enter the Silence is to be one with Spirit. It's a place
to listen to guidance, to receive visions,
messages, insight, enlightenment or just be at peace as the
need may be. It's part of all our
spiritual work, and if you pay attention to the processes you
go through you will notice the
Silence when it arrives. It's there before the visions come,
it's there before you move into any
portion of the resulting response to your efforts, it's the
point of passage through your Veil or
portal and noticeably the "shift" we all undergo.
Entering the Silence can take you many places, and it can take
you into the Void of Spirit to heal,
to push past fears and arrive on the other side in dimensional
perspectives, realms, or clarity. The
Silence is Golden. It is pure love, pure trust, pure peace,
and a haven of safety when we are
feeling lost. So when someone says to you: "Enter the Silence",
hopefully you'll have found your
way to doing that or through these examples explore some ways
to find one that works for you.
I encourage questions and comments. Those of you who know the
Silence, please share your
opinions so we can expand understanding through perspectives.
Katt:
This is an incredibly healing place to go for me. I believe
I accessed it when I was a child as a
place of safety and refuge for me. Now I access it through journey
or meditation when I need to
rest and heal...it's warm, it's loving, it's nurturing. There's
no judgement, no expectations...there
exists a quiet, loving acceptance of all that I am inside and
out.
CinnamonMoon:
Yes, it is a haven of safety. I went there as a child too and
learned my way at a young age. It's
always been a place to go when there was no other place to turn
for me. There were times Spirit
called me there, and my earliest recollection of visiting was
around 5yrs. It was a grey Void and I
kept trying to connect to it or get through it even then. I
didn't realize I was supposed to push
through it until later, and it was enough to just BE there.
*S* Today I go when I need to or am
still Called at times and I know it means transition of awareness
is in store for me on some level. *grins*
Earthwalker:
Thank you for all of your comments here and in the other recent
posts. Reading what all of you
have been saying about entering the silence seems to me to be
similar to what I mean when I
have said I find the scared in nature. AS a young child it was
sledding on clouds of snow. As an
adult its walking into a special protected grove surrounded
by balsam trees and just being one
with spirit in that sacred space. The shadows and color intensify
and there is an incredible since
of presence about which exudes a feeling of peace. Its standing
on a bridge over water and
watching as the night sky surrounds you as you become one with
all that surrounds you. There is
an incredible sense of wonder as you become one with the intensity
of the beauty that you see
and feel. Yes, there is a silence as you move into that realm
but the silence is within yourself; yet
you simultaneously experience the mundane and experience the
effects of intensified light in the
mundane. The realms merge, but then, they are really not separate.
To me I have never thought
of this state as a trance like state; it simply is. To me it
is a state where imagination can show
you all types of possibilities. A place of intense feeling,
a place of gentleness, a place you go to
find your way when the darkness in life encroaches upon you,
a place of wonder, a place of
presence, and all in all it is just being at one with nature
and finding the sacred in it. It’s the
place I try to go to at dawn and dusk. It is the state of being
that I wish I could walk in at all
times (but it doesn't seem possible). It is the place I wish
all people could experience each in
their own way. It simply is and the examples are present everyday
if we choose to experience
them. I guess the real question is how to walk in that world
as well as this one continually? How
does one not only experience the sacred in nature but live in
it?
CinnamonMoon:
I'm afraid it's not the same thing, Earthwalker, it goes deeper
than that. What you describe is
attunement to nature and the environment. The Silence is cosmic,
it's dimensional, it's not
Earthbound but a state of being we achieve on a spiritual level
for a period of time and it is the
launching pad more or less for meditation, shamanic journeys,
states of trance, and seeking
visions. It's not something you're going to find in the physical
surroundings, it's found within
yourself and then projecting outward into it. It's entering
into unity with Spirit deeply to achieve
a state of being wherein nothing exists but profound silence.
Time stops, life as we know it stops,
everything is silent becoming pure nothingness.
The Silence is the space between heartbeats. When the heart
beats it lives, we die a thousand
times a day between those heartbeats. When it does not beat
we are dead. So we enter at that
brief moment into death or pure spirit form. Alternating between
life and death we move
between those worlds of physical and spiritual existence unknowingly.
Choosing to focus on the
space between the heartbeats takes us into Spirit and the absolute
Silence before creation takes
place. There our thoughts begin to take form and we begin our
shamanic journeys, our pathwork,
our enlightenments.
FireStarter/Karen:
Thanks for all the information. This is a "place"
I need to be heading. For me, I never had to put
any effort out to having visions (sorry). They just came. Maybe
I needed them in order to get me
where I am today. I don't know.
But, recently, as I have finally accepted my path I have also
been told that it is time that I put out
the effort and (go?).....anyway, I was just told that It's my
turn now.
So, I've clumsily made a circle in my back yard out of stones
and have made a few fires in it and
have been willing.
The drumming thing maybe will work for me and I will just continue
to put my next foot forward.
Wait for more direction and continue to read from the wisdom
here.
I feel silly sometimes in my endeavors, being such and armature.
I am no stranger to the spirit world but I am a stranger to
most everything else.
CinnamonMoon:
If you've recently been told to begin your path of seeking then
it is definitely time for you to
explore what you need. Is there a specific path you want? Shamanism?
Spirituality in general?
Metaphysics? Witchcraft? Druidism? Are you exploring options
or just trying to understand your
own abilities first? I know you've mentioned a Medicine Woman
so I assumed you were looking
into the shamanic teachings.
As for your "clumsy circle”, it's the intention that
counts and if you can create sacred space there
for yourself it's all you need. Bless your heart for the effort
you put into it and I'm sure it will
serve you well. Never should you feel silly or inadequate, we're
all learning and growing and
you'll be doing the same for the rest of your life and then
some. It's what this journey is all about
and no one can hope to take it all in instantly. There's a lot
to learn and we have our areas of
interest to follow. They nudge us along in the right directions
and I encourage you to follow
yours. Ask all the questions you like, someone will have the
answers or be able to suggest
resources to explore to find them. Drumming is an excellent
tool and I'm sure you'll find it
useful. Most of us do. You've got many friends here to draw
from and we're all happy to help in
any way we can.
FireStarter/Karen:
fools crow..........am reading a book right now called "travels
in a stone canoe" and it mentions
that name, I think.
What direction? I hope where I'm supposed to go. The only thing
that feels right for me is what
I've learned so far in Indian teachings and ways. I don't feel
I've chosen this path, feel I've been
put on it. To be honest, this would be the last direction I
would have picked for myself. For a few
reasons. So, I don't know which path I want. I want what calls
me. Make sense? Maybe others
can see better what your path is than you can.....being that
it's right in your face. Does that make
sense? Just thinking.
CinnamonMoon:
Hi Karen, yes, sometimes it is easier to see where others are
heading because you've been
through the experiences and know what the indications are. It
will make itself known and you
will be given a choice. If Native American teachings resonate
you're heading in the right
direction. Go with the flow and see where it takes you. Fools
Crow was quite a man and if you
can read any of the books about him you'll find a lot of insight.
Lune:
Entering the silence for me brings music. Not the little ditties
from TV or radio but much more
magic and relevant then that.
I think that is funny - in the silence there is music LOL It
is music that is an aural representation
of the spirit webbing...
How do I enter the silence? well, For a start, playing music
- be it violin, or drumming or
mandolin, will get me there. There is a stillness that is thrown
into stark relief by the music. I
rarely enter the silence by listening to other people playing
music.
Dancing is the MOST surefire way. I don't think I enter anything...
I just AM the silence. Doesn't
matter what kind of dancing either... just has to be dancing.
Listening to and focusing on my heartbeat also takes me there.
Hey I like the description of
slipping in between the heartbeats!
Frivolously, listening to the sound of the ever-present ceiling
fan also can take me there if I
desire. To the point that without that sound I can't sleep!
LOL
I have not done a lot of entering the silence unless I have
a reason, as it has a tendency to open
my mind in a way it needed protecting from for ages, so it was
very hard, until I was able to deal
with what the silence opened my mind to. All things in their
right time!
CinnamonMoon:
“Frivolously, listening to the sound of the ever-present
ceiling fan also can take me there if I
desire. To the point that without that sound I can't sleep!
LOL”
Women's Medicine comes from the passive nature and natural receptivity
of the senses to convey
things. It is motivated by emotion and passion, and communicated
through thought. In times past
the tedious roles of drudgery in maintaining a household gave
both physical accomplishment,
and task satisfaction, but it didn't fulfill the mind and the
mind wandered through its desires as
the work got done, free to explore and focus on them. In the
work a weaving took place and the
Medicine emerged as a side-effect. Women worked on looms and
wove threads and in effect
wove dreams and magic into their lives. Those wise enough to
see what was happening made the
most of it.
It's common in entering the silence to slip the veil in tedious
sounds, actions, or within the
passive energy as it were.
Earthwalker:
Going into the silence intentionally is easiest for me where
there is music (drums and strings,
Native American and Celtic music) but also whenever there is
repetitive mindless activity like
washing the floor, watering plants, doing dishes, folding clothes.
I also find it easiest to maintain
when I dance (assuming I have a least centered to the point
of hearing heart beats first).
Unintentionally or guided, I find I can be pulled into the silence
any place and any time; you are
just there put still aware.
Lune:
When you talk of dancing, Cinn and Earthwalker, do you mean
literally like getting out of your
chair and physically dancing, or more like metaphorically dancing
the energy? or both?
Cinn what do you mean when you say dance/journey? Why do you
use the term dance? Is it like
dancing the drumbeat/heartbeat?
CinnamonMoon:
Hi Lune!
Dancing can be literal or metaphoric, definitely it's Dancing
the energy...I ride it like the Wind if
there's music involved. It sends me flying! LOL The Dance itself
is expressed in many ways.
You can physically Dance the Wheel, and you can do it mentally
too as you would in guided
visualization. So you're on target here. Actually we can do
it either or both ways simultaneously.
Yes, it's like Dancing the drum/heartbeat. At least to initiate
the Dance and maintain your
rhythm. You know how the heartbeat begins to match the rhythm
of the Drum? Well that gives
us a focal point in the Dance to step "in-between* and
really Dance in other dimensions. It's both
physical and poetic essence here to achieve a light-trance state.
Hope that helps.
Northernwolf:
For me to enter the silence is actually done by being silent.
No music or distraction, no dancing,
just a deep focus on the centering process. And that if done
correctly unites me with everything
else when it comes to the middle world and it's just a question
of feeling one's self amidst and
encompassing the other directions.
CinnamonMoon:
Well said! Where were you when I needed you here? LOL
Earthwalker:
Northern,
When I focus as you have described, it takes me into a much
deeper trance, like working with the
elements (I am still not very good at this but maybe tonight).
I need to be laying down or sitting
down for this and its often difficult for me to get into without
dancing or somehow into a light
trance first. When I am tired I also fall asleep and go into
the dream world.
Another physical way when I know that I can go into a light
trance and which also depicts the
subtlety of a light trance state is by putting my fingers lightly
together in front of me about 12-18
inches from me and staring at my fingertips, first with one
eye and then independently with the
other eye. Hold the focus of both individually. After a few
seconds if you pull your fingertips
slightly apart you can see the end digit of your fingers floating
between the two fingers. Feel how
your brain feels when you are focusing each eye separately.
Feel the subtlety of the shift in your
brain. When I can concentrate and achieve this I can start to
listen to my heart beat and then can
dance. The subtlety of this shift is very similar to the change
in focus when going into the silence
in particular when it just happens (unintended). I believe it
may be as simple as using both sides
of your brain simultaneously while keeping them independent
but I don't really know. Does
anyone have any ideas. The fingertip trick is primarily an optical
illusion and probably
somewhat dependent upon which eye is dominant. But nevertheless,
it is a signal to me. If I can't
achieve even this simple focus I won't be able to dance. I therefore
sometimes use it as a tool
along with listening to my heartbeats to know when I should
start dancing.
When in a light trance while dancing, the spirit world is in
focus and the music and the mundane
world is in the background. Yet you can focus in and out of
both world as long as both are being
held independently in focus. In deeper places, I lose awareness
of the real world similar to the
focus when you are so intensely writing you block out everything
except what you are focused
on. You are someplace else albeit still aware of the world.
Loud noises etc. bring you back.
Lune,
When I dance I actually dance (not that I'd let a soul see me).
It starts off as a prayer to Spirit,
Earth and each of the directions /elements from which I center.
From the dance occasionally I go
deeper for which I usually sit down and face one direction or
one element. It is in these deeper
states in whilc I have melded or shapeshifted. This has only
happened on a few occasion and I
can't say I initiated it, it just happens. I still don't go
into these deeper trances very often.
Cinnamon, How many layers/ or dimensions of the silence are
there? Doesn't the silence within
equate to the silence (within the hollow bone as it is cleansed
by the elements)? or am I mixing
up everything?
Northernwolf:
"Northern, When I focus as you have described, it takes
me into a much deeper trance, like
working with the elements (I am still not very good at this
but maybe tonight). I need to be laying
down or sitting down for this and its often difficult for me
to get into without dancing or
somehow into a light trance first. When I am tired I also fall
asleep and go into the dream world."
Oh you are not the only one there. When I'm tired I do fall
asleep too. That's why I try to do my
centering standing up or kneeling. But as was mentioned, it
comes down to what works for you.
Also I have to be in the right set of mind for this. This doesn't
happen very often but I was basing
my comment on experiences that I've had that led to this. This
is not something that occurs every time.
I forgot to mention something too. What does it for me is smudging
with sage. I don’t know why
but that gets me into a mind set and right away gets me into
a trance like state of mind that can
bring on such a union with the directions and does lead to...
maybe not deeper work but work
that feels more intense. But then again I don’t smudge
every time. It depends on what I’m doing.
I smudge when I set a time to do something particular.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Libraries
are on this row
|
|
|
INDEX
Page 3
(Main Section, Medicine Wheel, Native Languages &
Nations, Symbology)
|
|
INDEX
Page 5
(Sacred Feminine & Masculine, Stones & Minerals)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Text:
© Copyright: Cinnamon Moon & River WildFire Moon
(Founders.) 2000-date
All rights reserved.
Site
constructed by Dragonfly
Dezignz 1998-date
|
|
