Taking action is an important part of shamanic work. I’m great at spending time journeying, call in the spirits and just spending time in nature connecting with spirit. I find it very easy to think that this is taking action and that my self-development and the things i need to change will just happen. It’s a type of passive philosophy that says me being spiritual means that I will get what i want and good things will come my way. I’ve found that life is more complex and that taking action is part of that.
Some action is clearly set. After some healing sessions I am given a set of tasks to do. These form part of a sacred contract with Spirit for the healing. In overly simplistic terms, Spirit heals and I do some tasks as my part of the healing which aids the self-healing. Now if I don’t do the tasks then the healing may not happen, and certainly not to its fullest potential. It’s worth remembering that Shamanic healing often takes place over time. So if I engage with it by taking action as set, am working with Spirit. I will just point out that if I’m not comfortable with the task given I can ask to change it. I’ve done this only a few times. Once when the list of things was so big I knew I wouldn’t do it so asked for something more manageable. There have also been times when I’ve been asked to do something I was not comfortable doing. I then asked for something different. This all worked out fine.
What I have found interesting is that some of the things I initially said no to I have then done at a later point. These have been tasks that have pushed my buttons and that have been part of my growth. It has been part of my growth to do more things that others would not do. To express myself more fully. This is all part of growing into my true self.
The other area where taking action is important is around making change. Any process of growth changes us and shamanic growth is no different. In fact I would say that at times it may feel like your world is being turned upside down. So sometimes we need to take action to make change. There have been times when I have been reluctant to take action. I have found that circumstances soon dictate that action is needed and that the ride would have been smoother had I taken action earlier. It is easy to get into the blame game of “I should have done this or that earlier”. Taking action is part of going with the flow. Sometimes it is inaction because we are not yet ready for the action.
For me one of the toughest forms of action, are the ones which need to happen over a long period of time. It isn’t just taking one action but taking several. Letting the seeds grow, having planted them. With the bigger projects I all to often want it done now. I want to take all the action in one go so that it’s all achieved. It also means that I am fully in control. I still find it hard to let go of control and just let things happen. It is the point of finding the balance between taking action and allowing for things to find me. Making sure I am on my path and building the things I want to build.
When writing these blogs I often want to be able to solve all the problems. Life isn’t like that it’s messy. Shamanism has helped me gain clarity, to get a clearer vision of my true self. Shamanism has helped me to have confidence in myself. Part of shamanism is playing in the mess of life and enjoying the process for what it teaches us. There isn’t one answer, it’s just time to go and play in the dirt.
Love and Blessings