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SPRING 2013 -

It was a long winter, but now it seems we can finally say “Spring is here!” How wonderful to walk on the bare Earth, feeling that raw, re-awakening power come up through the snow-flattened grass. I always become more Earth-conscious in the Springtime, the joy of the early days of smells and textures in the air, the new shoots penetrating through last year’s leaves, the brush of green on the willow, hazel and beech.

This joy is sometimes dampened by the constant reminders that som…

AUTUMN 2013 -

Today I woke up thinking about Time. I always start thinking about Time in the Autumn as the days grow shorter. Time - there is never enough for everything. But is that true? Busying this morning I heard myself thinking: “I’ve got to catch my breath.” Catch my breath! Sitting down, I felt my breath – breathing in – breathing out.

There is time for everything, I thought, starting with time to stop. How easy it is to blame other things, like “no time.” But there are no “other thin…

MIDWINTER 2013 -

In some parts of the world the new year comes in Springtime, others mark it in the Autumn. Here in Scandinavia the New Year arrives in Mid-Winter. No matter how it’s done, the idea is the same: ending what has been, pausing to gather together what we have learned, moving on and starting anew. It is a wonderful idea, but why wait and only do it once a year? Why not once a month, once a week, or once a day?

In October I went to the Deer Park Buddhist Monastery in southern Califo…

MAY 2014 -

Walking down by the pond it is so still except for the song of a warbler. Sitting by the water, I thought over the past weeks. It has been busy with four courses in four countries working with some of the faces of power – balance, gratitude, responsibility, joy, and the spirits of nature.

Many people think of power as the power over us, but as we know it is also a surging energy that gives life-force. Power has so many faces and different ways of interacting with our lives: the powe…

AUTUMN 2014 -

Today, someone asked me how I feel about Åsbacka, the place where I live. I could feel the answer in my heart before the word came. And when the word came, I said “Home.” As soon as I said it, I knew that I had found a new understanding of “home”.

For me Åsbacka is not only a place to live. Åsbacka is a being – a being with whom I have a relationship. Åsbacka has needs and I have needs. We take care of each other and nourish each other in many ways. We share this space and we liv…

MIDWINTER 2014 -

Years ago on a workshop in Finland, a friend asked me, “What do you do when you get tired?” “I drink a cup of coffee,” I answered. He smiled. “That’s one possibility,” he said. So I asked him, “What do you do?” He smiled again. “I take a nap.” For me it was a very deep teaching that I often reflect on, especially at this time of year.

In these days before the Winter Solstice, we are at the edge of darkness. And what do we do when it’s dark? We turn on the lights. Well, that’s …

SPRING 2015 -

The days are getting longer and I feel very excited about the courses and retreats we are offering this year. When I first learned to practice shamanism it was presented to me as a set of techniques that could help me and others. I could see this was a powerful and good way, but gradually I began to sense it was not the whole story. There was more to shamanism than techniques.

It has taken a long time, but shamanism is now the heart and soul of my life. It informs everything I do…

MIDSUMMER 2015 -

Many people I meet wonder about the meaning or mission of their life, what they can do to make a difference, or to feel their life has value. In the Western world, people and media are often preoccupied with the question "who am I?", as if knowing this will solve all their mysteries and the problems of the world. But from many years of doing shamanic work, I feel there is a more essential and rewarding question: "how do I want to live?"

My Teacher once said to me, “Now that yo…

HARVEST EQIUNOX 2015 -

The first birch leaves are yellowing, and soon the cranes will be flying south as Summer seamlessly moves into Autumn. When does the one end and the other begin? It’s different every year, but one day I become aware that the light is changing and I find myself looking back on the warm mornings of July and forward to the cool evenings of October. What did I plant in the Springtime and what am I harvesting now?

At the end of the soul-retrieval course in August I realized t…

WINTER 2015 -

The Winter Solstice is one of the great turning points of the year, and celebrates both the deepest dark and the coming of the light. Solstices and Equinoxes are thresholds - invitations to stop for a moment, to consider what has been, where we are, what is to come. When we pause during these changing times it can lessen feelings of being lost, out of step, or racing too fast. It helps to connect us to what is, right now, and to the power of the season.

The Winter Solstice is an …