Newest Poems

January Morning at Smith Mountain Lake

Once in a while, when the mood strikes me, I write poetry.  That and playing musical instruments for my own amusement and amazement (I'm amused by the sounds that I make, and amazed when I get the fingerings right) keep me sane.  Anyway, here are two of my latest poems. Hope you enjoy.

Yellow

In a green forest

The first yellow leaf

Of autumn

     Silently . . .

          Falls . . .

To the ground.

Night

Well oiled,

Night

Got off,

To a rusty start.

Photograph and poems Copyright © 2013-2014 by D. S. Murphy

Soul Retreival

In a previous post I wrote about soul loss so this is a good time to finish the explanation with a discussion of soul retrieval.  Both shamanic practitioners and psychologists agree that part of a person’s psyche can become disassociated or lost.  Psychologists believe that the disassociated part of the psyche is in the unconscious mind.  Shamanic practitioners assert that the lost part of the soul is in the Lower World.

To execute a soul retrieval the shamanic practitioner enters into the shamanic state of consciousness and travels to the Lower World in non-ordinary reality, finds the lost soul fragment with the help of guardians and helping spirits, and asks it or negotiates with it to return to the person.  An ethical shamanic practitioner would never trick the soul fragment into returning; the decision to return must be made by the soul fragment. The shamanic practitioner then carries the soul fragment back to normal reality and reinserts it, normally by blowing it, back into the person and then seals the fragment within the person so that it completely reintegrates.

If you haven’t read my previous post (above) about Bill then you might want to go back and review his case.  While I gave you a lot of information about Bill’s traumatic experience I didn’t know all of that before the shamanic journey, just that he felt like he had never been a child and that he had trust and abandonment issues.  

After Bill asked me to journey for him we both laid on the floor, began to listen to shamanic drumming and I covered my eyes with a bandana (something I do ritually to signal to my mind that we are going to journey).  I began the journey and was quickly in the tunnel leading to the Lower World.  On the other side of the tunnel I was met by two of my power animals and I explained to them the purpose of my journey.  One of them agreed to lead me to Bill’s soul fragment.   I asked my power animal if we were going to the cave of lost children and thankfully my power animal said no. 

The cave of lost children is, for me at least, the most depressing place in the Lower World.  It is a dark cave in the lowest reaches of the Lower World that is filled with the soul fragments of children.  They seem to congregate there after very traumatic experience.  Entering the cave all I can see are the whites of their outlines of their wide-open,  sad eyes.

Back to Bill . . . my power animal took me to a far-away, dark, desert-like area of the Lower World, one that appeared to be completely deserted.  My power animal instructed me to begin to call for Bill, “Billy are you here?  Billy can I talk to you?”  Soon I heard  a small voice replying, “I’m over here.”  I found myself next to a little boy hiding in the dark.  I explained to Billy that Bill was looking for him and that Bill wanted him to come home.  Little Billy responded that he was afraid of going back because his mommy had gone away and he didn’t want to be alone.  I explained, “But you are alone here.  Bill is grown up now.  He is a big, strong man and he will take good care of you.  He misses you and wants you to come back.” 

Little Billy agreed to return but only if I would give him a piggy back ride so that he was behind me.  He climbed on my back, my power animal lead us back to the inner entrance to the tunnel.  I explained to Billy that we were going to go through a tunnel and back to Bill, which did.  Returning to normal reality I held Billy in my palms and blew him back into Bill’s heart and then shook my rattle around Bill to seal his aura.

Bill and I didn’t see each other for six months and when we met again he told me that, for the first time in his life, he was in a relationship where he was able to give himself completely to his partner.  About 18 months later I received an invitation of Bill’s wedding.  He is now the proud step father of two and reports that he has never been happier.

Did the soul retrieval really happen or was the change in Bill just a placebo effect?  Does it really matter?  Bill’s life improved and he is a different man.  You can draw whatever conclusion you want but to me the Lower World is as real as ordinary reality and Bill is more complete than he has been since he was six years old.

Introduction to Shamanic Journeys

Before we return together to soul retrieval I thought that it might be helpful to review shamanic journeys. This is an update to my post from 14 April 2012.  You don’t need to go back and read it because this post contains everything from my previous post and more.

If you have been reading along as I have posted about core shamanism you might be ready to try your first shamanic journey.  As I mentioned in a previous post, the big difference between a shamanic journey and a dream is that shamanic journeys are intentional.  Your intention guides you on your journey.  

I’m asked very often to distinguish between a shamanic journey, a dream and day dreaming. Unless you are doing conscious dreaming you have no control over what you dream about or what happens in your dreams (might write a future post about conscious dreaming, let me know if you are interested in the topic).  When day dreaming you let your mind wander.  Most people, when they take a shamanic journey, begin by using their imagination.  For example, when I journey to my favorite entrance I use my imagination to “walk” to the tree.  I use my imagination to “enter” through my portal.

My Favorite Underworld Entrance . . . Please Use It If You Don't Have One

Eventually, while imagining, things start to happen that I didn’t consciously imagine.  I recounted this experience in my best journey ever  about  my expectations and how I “saw” images that were different from what I expected.  That is a sign that Spirit has taken over.  Occasionally someone at a journey workshop will ask, “But what if I imagined everything?”  My response usually is, “Why did you image what you saw and not something else?  How do you know that Spirit wasn’t helping you select what to imagine.?” 

Another common concern that people have when they journey is, “What if I close my eyes and all I see is black?  I don’t see any images when my eyes are closed.”  Well guess what?  Many people, include me, have that experience.  I have learned to “see” in my mind.  I don’t “see” images, rather I know what is there as a thought and the thought creates a mental image.

Before the Journey

Before you begin your journey you need to do a couple of things.  First, determine the purpose of your first journey. To common objectives are to (1) explore the lower world just to get to know your way around, like how to get there and how to return, or (2) to meet your power animal.  The second thing that you need to do is to identify your portal.  I use an opening in the bottom of a big oak tree that is along a path where I frequently hike.  Your portal can be any opening into the earth, it might be a well, a lake, a waterfall, a cave, the roots of a tree, an opening in a wall  (see below) or you can borrow my opening at the bottom of the oak tree.  Don’t worry about the size of your portal.  You will not enter it with your physical body, rather your intention will lead you through the portal.

Portal in a Stone Wall

Your opening might be a place that you have seen before, once or many times, or one that you imagine.  I prefer openings that really exist in the physical world because they help me experience passing from one reality into another. I think that the best portals or openings are ones where you feel that the veil that separates one reality from another is thin.  The opening in the wall (above) is one that I dive through (it's less than a foot wide) so my imagination dives through it, not my physical body (which is a good thing because its about 30 feet to the ground on the other side of this opening).

Taking the Journey

At the end of this post you will find a short drumming video.  You might want to play it while you take your first journey.

1.    Lay down in dark, quiet place where you won’t be disturbed.  Get comfortable.  It may help to put a pillow under your head or knees.  You might want to put an eye pillow over your eyes.  If you don’t feel totally relax then tighten all of your muscles and then starting at your feet and working up to the top of your head slowly relax each muscle.

2.    Turn on a shamanic drumming track (you can download one from iTunes, get a CD of shamanic drumming, or check YouTube (I’ll post one later and will update this page with the link).   You can easily find 10, 15, 20 and 30 minutes tracks.  I usually use a 15 minute track.  I suggest that you use a track or have someone else drum for you until you are an experienced traveler, then you can drum yourself.

3.    When the drumming starts then find your opening.  I usually take a few minutes and walk, in my mind, through the forest to my portal.  Go through your entry point.

4.    As you pass through your portal see or imagine that you have entered a dimly lit tunnel, hall way, or passage way.  The tunnel may be only a few feet long or it may go on for hundreds of feet, either way see or imagine that you can see a bright light at the end of the tunnel.  That bright light is the opening into the otherworld, the lower world.

Note:  Some of you may be able to close your eyes as see visual images that are as real as the world around you. Others, like me, close your eyes and “see” darkness.  Your ability to “see” images with your eyes closed is irrelevant.  If you can’t “see” in the dark, then imagine or “know” what is around you.  Some people don’t “know” or “see”, they may hear.  Use whatever sense seems to work best for you.

Don’t worry if you have to “imagine” to get things started.  Aristotle said that image is the language of the soul.  It’s alright to help your soul get started on this journey by using your imagination to image a new reality.

5.     When you enter your portal or opening  don’t try to go into the ground.  Our objective isn’t to see the dirt, bugs, or roots that are under the surface.  We are traveling to a different realm that we perceive as existing beneath the surface of ordinary reality.

6.     Once you are in the passage way take a few minutes to get centered.  Breathe deeply, relax and become familiar with the sensations or thoughts of being out of ordinary reality.  You might want to look around and notice the texture of the walls, the smells, the flow of the air, temperature, humidity and anything else that will help you get a sense of the place.  If your intention was only to go and return then once you have soaked in the sensations of the passage way, turn around and move back up and out of your opening.

7.    If your intention was to meet your power animal then walk to the end of the passage way into the light.  Look around a get a feel for the other world.  When I enter the otherworld I don’t find myself in a dimly lit cave under the earth.  I find myself in a different reality, a different world with bright light, sky, trees, rivers, and mountains. Call to your power animal and ask it to accompany you and to introduce you to the otherworld.  Enjoy your stay.

8.    When the drumming changes (usually the drummer will stop for an instant, and then change the drum beat to a very fast beat for about 30 seconds, and then takes up a slow and quiet beat.)  you have your signal to return to ordinary reality.  Ask your power animal to take you back to your passage way.  Power animals sometimes take you back, retracing your steps, to your passage way.  Sometimes they just point and say, “There it is.”, and sometimes they use my favorite way and transport you at the speed of thought back to the entrance to your passage way.  Return through the passage way up through your original opening and back into ordinary reality.

To summarize, here is a general template for lower-world journeys:

1.    Lie on the floor, cover your eyes and relax.

2.    State the intention of your journey.

3.    Begin the drumming.

4.    Find your entry point to the lower world

5.    Go through the entry point and into the passage way.

6.    Emerge from the passage way into the lower world

7.    Call to your power animal.

8.    State the purpose of your journey to your power animal.

9.    Let your power animal conduct you on your journey.

10. Return to the passage way when the drumming changes.

11. Go through the passage way, up and out of your entry point, and back into ordinary reality.

Drumming Video

You may play this video to help you as you take your first journey.  Please let me know if you would like me to record a long version.  Click the drum above to view the drumming session on YouTube.  

Here is a link to a blog about the drum that I built and which I am playing in the YouTube video.

Enjoy your first journey . . . more next time.

Soul Loss

In this blog when I mention the word “soul” please think of the Oxford English Dictionary definition where a soul is defined as “the principle of life, commonly regarded as an entity distinct from the body;  the spiritual parts in contract to the physical.”  We all have a soul and unfortunately for some of us a part of our soul has gotten lost or has gone into hiding.

Soul loss can occur to anyone at any time.  Among the indigenous people of the world it is generally understood that serious traumatic life experiences can cause the soul to fragment and for a soul fragment dissociate resulting in a phenomenon generally known as 'Soul Loss'.  Soul loss an adaptive coping mechanism that helps an individual survive and continue to function after terrible experiences.

We are all different and have different levels of soul resiliency and so the triggering traumatic event may be different for each person, and some people, fortunately, never suffer soul loss.   However, common causes of soul loss include:

• physical, emotional, or sexual abuse,

• childhood molestation,

• a bitter divorce, a shocking betrayal,

• sexual assault,

• serious surgery,

• a terrible car accident, or

• an experience that is so personal at the perceptual level that no one else would know that a trauma had occurred.

Take the case of Bill (name changed).  He was the oldest of three boys aged 6, 5, and 4 in the late 1950s the summer when his parents were separated by work.  His father, a college student at the time, took a job in a laboratory on the other side of the country leaving his wife home alone with three young and hard-to-control boys.  One day the boys were playing with their mother’s jewelry box and accidently dropped several cherished items down the cold air return in the floor into a coal-fired furnace.  The mother in a furry declared that she was going abandon the boys and was never coming back.  Bill, being the oldest, instructed his younger brothers to sit in front of the back door and to not let their mother abandon them.  Bill took his position by the front door and by his admission protected the door so firmly that his mother finally curled into a ball of the floor and sobbed. 

Hours later a neighbor stopped by and found the mother unresponsive in a fetal position on the floor.  It turned out that she had suffered a nervous breakdown.  She was taken to the hospital, the three boys where farmed out to friends’ homes, and Bill said that his childhood ended that day.  He walked to each home where his brothers were sleeping to check on them and said that, “It was my job to keep the family together until my dad came home 3 weeks later.  By the time he returned I was a man with no childhood.”

When I met Bill he was a serious man is his late 50s who said that he couldn't ever remember smiling or playing, and that he had a very difficult time being trustful in relationships, always afraid of being abandoned.  Bill had suffered a traumatic event as a child that resulted in soul loss.  After discussing the event and the shaman’s approach to dealing with soul loss he asked me undertake a soul retrieval journey for him.

This post has gotten sort of long so I’ll tell you about the journey to find his missing soul fragment in my next post.  Until then, live in peace with Pachamama, Intitayta, and your ancestors.  May they smile upon you and walk with you.

Dr. Dave

More Turmeric

Turmeric Plant

Back on 5 January 2014 I wrote about turmeric and health and cited a couple of studies about the cancer fighting power of turmeric.  I told you that I would write more about it, so here it is . . . .

Turmeric and its major active ingredient curcumin are among the most clinically studied spices and herbs today. I just did a search on the National Institute of Health web site for “turmeric” and it came back with 127,000 hits.  A search of “curcumin”, which is the major active ingredient in turmeric, resulted in 112,000 hits.  Not bad for a little herb. 

Dr. Wanwarang Wongcharoen led a research team from Chiang Mai University at the University Hospital in a recent study involved heart bypass operation patients in Thailand and their study was published in the American Journal of Cardiology. The research team followed 121 consecutive patients who had non-emergency bypass surgery at the hospital between 2009 and 2011.  All of the patients were given one gram pills four times daily for three days before the surgery and five days after. However, half were given sugar pills (placebo group) and the other half was given curcumin capsules. Neither group of patients nor their doctors knew who was taking what. This was a well-designed, double blind study.  The results were impressive.  The curcumin group had a 65% lowered risk from post bypass operation heart attacks. That group also showed significantly lower levels of inflammation and oxidative stress markers in their blood. 

In another study researchers assigned 32 women to either take a curcumin supplement, engage in moderate aerobic exercise training, or undergo no intervention at all. The researchers measured participants' vascular endothelial function at the beginning and end of the study.  This measures the responsiveness of the layer of cells that line the blood vessels and is a key indicator of overall cardiovascular health. They found that while there was no improvement in the control group, endothelial function significantly increased in both the exercise and curcumin groups. Most surprisingly, the improvement in the two experimental groups was identical.

A similar study examined curcumin's effects on the responsiveness of arteries to changes in blood pressure, or arterial compliance, which is another key measure of cardiovascular health. In this study 32 women were randomly assigned to receive either a curcumin supplement or a placebo pill, or to undergo an exercise routine plus either a curcumin or placebo pill. No significant improvement was found in the control (placebo) group.  Significant (and equivalent) improvements in arterial compliance were reported in both the exercise-only and curcumin-only groups. Finally, the greatest improvement was found among the study participants who exercised and also took the curcumin supplements.  These results are summarized in the diagram below.

	Exercise
Supplement	No Exercise	Exercise
Placebo	No improvement	Significant improvement
Curcumin	Significant improvement	Greatest Improvement

Do your own research and make your own decisions about your health because I don’t give medical advice, I just report what I have read in medical journals.  However, I bet you can guess what I do and what I take every day.