Last week I was ordained a Shamanic Minister. When I told my mother she said, “Wow, from Catholic to Shaman, that’s really something.” Yes, it is something. And while I don’t pretend to come close to the title of Shaman, part of this path is awakening the “inner shaman”—not really so different from the Holy Spirit, or the kingdom of heaven Jesus spoke of. And it’s about helping others awaken to their own inner shaman/healer/counselor/teacher.
Part of the ordination ceremony was to write a Statement of Intent for my ministry. I’d like to share an excerpt with you. It’s a bit longer than usual, but hopefully you’ll read it to the end.
On a much earlier segment of this life path, I was a charismatic Christian. A group of like-hearted seekers, perennially suspect by ministers and church elders, we diligently studied the Bible and applied it to our own lives. When Jesus said “Greater things than these will you do, for I go to the Father”, we took it literally. We simply did what the Bible said: laid hands on the sick, cast out demons, saw miracles happen in answer to our prayers of faith. We told mountains to move, and they did. When I became disillusioned with the form of Christianity practiced in churches, I walked away from all of it. I had not yet found the Divine outside that form. When I left the church, and much of my spiritual practice, I did so deliberately. I told God: I want the truth of You. I am sick of following this path or that path, only to be disappointed in what I find there. If you are real, if any of this is true, show me.
I took two verses from the Amplified Bible with me. One, from Jeremiah—“ If you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you.” And the other from Hebrews, talking about the 40 year wandering in the wilderness: Because they did not have an “experimental faith”. So, I challenged God. I had an experimental faith. And for ten years I wandered in the dark. When I moved to Arizona, I had nearly destroyed my back, was on 2 antidepressants, several anti-inflammatory meds, and morphine for pain. I wandered into a Tai-Chi center, discovered energy, meditation, and God. I bumped into God while stumbling around in pain and darkness.
I’ve been on a superhighway of learning and transformation since that day. What I learned in the early bible study days has come around full circle in a much deeper and fuller way. And I’ve seen and made my own this Golden Thread of Truth that runs through all the great spiritual teachings
All that is to say, that this ordination, is a culmination of the journey. Now, to take all the “stuff” I’ve collected along the way, and with the blessing of my teachers, and my community, alchemically transmute it to healers gold.
My conviction is that we are evolving into a new kind of human –from Homo Sapiens to Homo Spiritus, to borrow a phrase from David Hawkins. As we evolve, we change the species, the planet, the cosmos. Just by doing our own work, just by tending to our own evolution. It is also my understanding and conviction that our evolution into the Oneness of our Divine Source, of necessity includes all of us—all the bits we’d rather leave behind—the ugly, the shameful, the hurtful, the uncomfortable, the wounded; past selves, aspects of us that exist on multiple dimensions simultaneously, our future selves. We, all the parts of me, become One, and One with All That is.
Through the work I’ve done with the Venus Rising Association for Transformation, as well as a lifetime of inner work, I’ve reclaimed much of that lost and abandoned soul territory. And while I’m far from finished, there is in my being immeasurably more peace and wholeness now than ever before. And it is for this that the world is crying. And so it is to this that I am called to speak, teach and most importantly, to live.
Thanks to divine grace, and so many teachers along the way, I’ve stepped into much more of who and what I really am, and, to a much greater degree, out of a limited, fearful, self-sabotaging life picture. As I step more fully into my own healing, and into the experiential knowledge of myself as a limitless spirit being, I am being recognized and sought out by others as a teacher, mentor, healer and guide. This ordination provides a framework and a platform from which I can better fill these callings, and step into an even greater expression of the package known in this lifetime as Meredith Star Raven Davis.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Stepping Through Portals
As I write this, I’m in Portales New Mexico, the morning after John and I taught a weekend workshop to Counseling grad students and therapists at Eastern New Mexico University. It was part of the summer school program there, and definitely out of the box for some in the group. The course was titled The Journey Inward and during it we introduced them to Shamanic Breathwork and taught about the shaman as wounded healer.
As you can imagine, there was a fair amount of skepticism about what the weekend would bring, but to their credit, everyone showed up and more importantly, came back the second day. Their professor was the one who brought us in to present this decidedly edgy material, and she was our biggest fan—engaging fully in her own process, which gave students permission to do the same.
Doors were definitely opened, paradigms shifted and much inner healing and release took place in that room over those two days. What a privilege—and what fabulous “work”! Love doing this! It was not lost on us that the name of the town, Portales, means doors in Spanish, or as it became for these souls, a portal into another dimension of themselves. Beautiful to be a part of.
So, to catch up a bit : I haven’t blogged in a long time. Couldn’t. Didn’t know how to talk about it. About a week before I wrote the last blog, which was pretty much a breezy recap of a delightful summer in Sedona, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Me, health nut, fitness nut, spiritual nut. I had thought, wow, I’ll share the journey, all the insights, the highs, the lows. (Lots of drama of course) Truth is, I didn’t know where to begin. I hated talking about it in a way, as I felt that would glorify it, give it energy. But in a way not talking about it gave it energy too. Plus, dealing with it took a lot of time and energy.
Obviously, from my opening report, I feel fine now, in fact, better than fine, so you don't need to race to the end to find out.
I’d always said if I got cancer, I would never do the cut, burn, poison route, which is all the medical community has to offer. But I tell you, when you sit in a doctor’s office and they tell you that you have to do this or else, it gives you pause. I chose the natural route and began working with a naturopathic oncologist—lots and lots of supplements, Vitamin C IVs—all of which amounted to around a thousand dollars a month. I had surgery too—right before Christmas. The tumor was supposed to have been about 2.5 cm and it didn’t appear that any lymph nodes were involved. So it looked easy—take it out, take the supplements and call it good. Except the tumor was nearly 6cm-- they didn’t get it all even after a second surgery a week later--and 11 lymph nodes were involved. I was told to begin chemo immediately, or face having it in bones, liver and lung in a few months. Even the naturopath concurred. I felt betrayed.
I know that all matter is energy, and that everything that shows up in our material world is a manifestation of an underlying energy. So treating this from the physical, as if it were separate from soul and spirit was foreign to me. Everything I’ve studied and practiced spiritually and energetically for the last number of years screamed at me that this path of treatment was wrong for me, that I couldn’t do it. And yet, while I had an intellectual grasp, I wasn’t able to bridge the gap and step into really KNOWING in the depth of my gut that I could heal energetically. And I knew enough to realize that if there was any doubt in me, I needed to go ahead and have treatment along with the energy work.
I felt somehow that I needed to surrender to the chemo—it was supposedly the mildest, and didn’t cause hair loss. I felt that if I didn’t have the treatment at this point, I’d be in some kind of spiritual denial lala land. I had the thought that I might be claiming a healing where I was actually covering up my fear of having the chemo.
So, I had the first chemo treatment. Nasty business, I have to tell you. They give you so much stuff, shots to protect the immune system, shots for nausea, shots to counteract the shots. My life was taken over by IVs and shots and supplements and blood tests.
“God, is this really the plan? Is this how it has to be?” I felt myself being sucked into the vortex of fear of all the negative energy the C-word carries with it. And I couldn’t pull myself out. During this time, I was working with a dear friend and energy healer, Angelica Joy, who helped me get to some place of peace with it all. Another dear friend, Gerard, hung out, walked my dog, and made me laugh.
When I went back to get the second treatment, they said, sorry, we can’t give it to you, your immune system is too trashed. If you feel like you’re getting anything, go right to the emergency room because you have no defenses. Really? It was as though Spirit said—had enough? Ready to claim the healing? So I said thank you very much and walked out. Haven’t been back.
I am working with an energy healer in San Diego—Dr. Hector Garcia. He’s a miracle worker truly and his specialty is cancer. He’s a modern day shaman in a white lab coat. He tracked the energetic source and cut it off. Now I am resting in my healing, taking supplements to detox the body and getting on with life.
This was a powerful call to put into action the spiritual principles and energy work I’d been studying. It was a wake up call to put my life on the line with these things, and decide whether these principles are true or not. I know many who have successfully used Western medicine to treat themselves. That is their path. Many have found deep spiritual significance in their lives as a result. My path was different.
I’m back living in Sedona now—just got here a couple of weeks ago. I am glad to be settling in among my beloved Red Rocks again. What a whirlwind of learning and growth! It has prepared me for this next phase of life, which began this weekend. It was a portal for us too.
As you can imagine, there was a fair amount of skepticism about what the weekend would bring, but to their credit, everyone showed up and more importantly, came back the second day. Their professor was the one who brought us in to present this decidedly edgy material, and she was our biggest fan—engaging fully in her own process, which gave students permission to do the same.
Doors were definitely opened, paradigms shifted and much inner healing and release took place in that room over those two days. What a privilege—and what fabulous “work”! Love doing this! It was not lost on us that the name of the town, Portales, means doors in Spanish, or as it became for these souls, a portal into another dimension of themselves. Beautiful to be a part of.
So, to catch up a bit : I haven’t blogged in a long time. Couldn’t. Didn’t know how to talk about it. About a week before I wrote the last blog, which was pretty much a breezy recap of a delightful summer in Sedona, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Me, health nut, fitness nut, spiritual nut. I had thought, wow, I’ll share the journey, all the insights, the highs, the lows. (Lots of drama of course) Truth is, I didn’t know where to begin. I hated talking about it in a way, as I felt that would glorify it, give it energy. But in a way not talking about it gave it energy too. Plus, dealing with it took a lot of time and energy.
Obviously, from my opening report, I feel fine now, in fact, better than fine, so you don't need to race to the end to find out.
I’d always said if I got cancer, I would never do the cut, burn, poison route, which is all the medical community has to offer. But I tell you, when you sit in a doctor’s office and they tell you that you have to do this or else, it gives you pause. I chose the natural route and began working with a naturopathic oncologist—lots and lots of supplements, Vitamin C IVs—all of which amounted to around a thousand dollars a month. I had surgery too—right before Christmas. The tumor was supposed to have been about 2.5 cm and it didn’t appear that any lymph nodes were involved. So it looked easy—take it out, take the supplements and call it good. Except the tumor was nearly 6cm-- they didn’t get it all even after a second surgery a week later--and 11 lymph nodes were involved. I was told to begin chemo immediately, or face having it in bones, liver and lung in a few months. Even the naturopath concurred. I felt betrayed.
I know that all matter is energy, and that everything that shows up in our material world is a manifestation of an underlying energy. So treating this from the physical, as if it were separate from soul and spirit was foreign to me. Everything I’ve studied and practiced spiritually and energetically for the last number of years screamed at me that this path of treatment was wrong for me, that I couldn’t do it. And yet, while I had an intellectual grasp, I wasn’t able to bridge the gap and step into really KNOWING in the depth of my gut that I could heal energetically. And I knew enough to realize that if there was any doubt in me, I needed to go ahead and have treatment along with the energy work.
I felt somehow that I needed to surrender to the chemo—it was supposedly the mildest, and didn’t cause hair loss. I felt that if I didn’t have the treatment at this point, I’d be in some kind of spiritual denial lala land. I had the thought that I might be claiming a healing where I was actually covering up my fear of having the chemo.
So, I had the first chemo treatment. Nasty business, I have to tell you. They give you so much stuff, shots to protect the immune system, shots for nausea, shots to counteract the shots. My life was taken over by IVs and shots and supplements and blood tests.
“God, is this really the plan? Is this how it has to be?” I felt myself being sucked into the vortex of fear of all the negative energy the C-word carries with it. And I couldn’t pull myself out. During this time, I was working with a dear friend and energy healer, Angelica Joy, who helped me get to some place of peace with it all. Another dear friend, Gerard, hung out, walked my dog, and made me laugh.
When I went back to get the second treatment, they said, sorry, we can’t give it to you, your immune system is too trashed. If you feel like you’re getting anything, go right to the emergency room because you have no defenses. Really? It was as though Spirit said—had enough? Ready to claim the healing? So I said thank you very much and walked out. Haven’t been back.
I am working with an energy healer in San Diego—Dr. Hector Garcia. He’s a miracle worker truly and his specialty is cancer. He’s a modern day shaman in a white lab coat. He tracked the energetic source and cut it off. Now I am resting in my healing, taking supplements to detox the body and getting on with life.
This was a powerful call to put into action the spiritual principles and energy work I’d been studying. It was a wake up call to put my life on the line with these things, and decide whether these principles are true or not. I know many who have successfully used Western medicine to treat themselves. That is their path. Many have found deep spiritual significance in their lives as a result. My path was different.
I’m back living in Sedona now—just got here a couple of weeks ago. I am glad to be settling in among my beloved Red Rocks again. What a whirlwind of learning and growth! It has prepared me for this next phase of life, which began this weekend. It was a portal for us too.
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