REMEMBERING RELATIONSHIP

1 Åsbacka DP Spring

FEBRUARY 2022

“You are not alone”. Many times have we said these words on courses and in circles. The Spirits are with us all the time, if we remember to reach out and open. But how do we remember? It is up to us to connect, but it is not always easy when time is tight or we feel weak, tired or stressed. Often it is hardest to ask for help when we most need it.

A good place to begin is where you are right now – right where you live. You can choose to relate to your home, your local area or working space as living beings and animistic ecosystems. Each place is filled with Spirits, and you can ask to meet them and discover how to live well together. Eventually you may be able to ask the Spirit of the place for support and inspiration, and build long-term relationships based on respect, understanding and love. In this way you can find yourself coming into connection with the place that shelters and feeds you, the place where you set your feet and spend most of your days. It is right here, and there is much to learn.

We do not have to wait to live this way. We can do it right now. It can be both exciting and inspiring to see what happens when we step out of our own personal or human perspectives, and voice our longing to listen to what other parts of the World want to teach us, show us, share with us.

At the moment, Jonathan and Zara are in the process of preparing to renovate Åsbacka, the small retreat center where we live. It is easy to think of this as physical labour only, but it is also an opportunity to look deeper into our relationship with the place. For many years we have been working with the Spirits here, and acknowledging that they are part of all we do here. Before big changes happen, we tell the place of our plans and ask if it has guidance to share from its perspective. What does the place need or want? How can physical changes support the soul and spirit of what is here? What needs to happen before we begin and when is the right time to do it? The whole renovation work can be approached as a Ceremony, if we choose to engage with it in this way.

It is important for us that whatever we do in our home, we do in harmony with the whole. Physical changes happen not only to help us, or the people who will visit, but also to help the place itself to flourish. To do this, we need to ask first. We need to be in continuous relationship and communication. We need to listen to and respect the responses we receive. We are part of the great spiritual ecosystem that is our home. If you would like to try this in your home, read more below in the Shamanic Inspiration section or take part in our Healing Earth online course.

Wherever you live, we wish you heartfelt times feeling connected
-- Jonathan & Zara --

To find out more about the ongoing renovation process, visit the Åsbacka facebook page or give a donation to the fundraising campaign and receive regular updates: https://www.gofundme.com/f/aasbacka

** SHAMANIC INSPIRATION:
One of the many wonderful things about a shamanic practice is to realise and value how Life is not only about human connection but also about being in touch with many other living beings. There is so much waiting for us if we ask, listen, and open to meetings of many kinds.

If you would like to feel a deeper sense of connection with the Living World, a good place to start is with your local area. Explore the place you live, whether a house or flat, village or city neighbourhood. Get to know it by walking around with a heightened sense of awareness. See what you see, notice the places that show themselves to you. If any people or animals or plants talk to you or ask for your attention, stop a while with them and listen - feel what happens when you meet.

A week or so later, spend time in the same area, now on a Medicine Walk. Set out with a clear mission and a clear beginning and end. You may like to ask to meet the place in a sacred way, ask what it wants to offer you now, or what it need from you.  

Remember, one mission at a time – read more about Formulating Intentions on our website. It can be very moving to do this regularly, getting to know your home area not only as a physical space but also as a Spirit. When we open to a reciprocal way of being, our sense of connection deepens.

To work further, we offer these missions:

  • What is my next step learning to live in harmony with the world around me?
  • Journey to meet the Spirit of my Home and ask what can I do for you so that we can live well together?
  • Ask to see the area where I live through the eyes of the Spirits

Rooting deeper into the World around us can help us to feel more able to withstand uncertain and challenging times. Although it may seem like a small thing to do, it can help you to stand steadier with a greater sense of Connection.