10.27.04
I often get asked what tribe I come from. I don’t answer in terms of ancestry or Native American tribes. Instead, I start talking about my friends, my mother and brother, my husband Scott (yes I said husband, please assume the obvious), our animal companions and so on. I guess the traditional answer would be “part Cherokee trained Lakota”, but I kind of have a problem with all that. What part of me exactly is it that is Cherokee, my big toe or possibly my left eye? It’s just too hard to pin down. So, I prefer to talk about the modern day tribe that I belong to. My personal practice as a Shaman and certainly shamanshadow.com are not accomplished by myself alone. Not at all. I have a tribe that helps to make all this possible, just as it was in the old days on the mesa. I may be the one doing the rituals and soul retrievals, I may do the readings, but rest assured that my tribe is what makes it possible for me to do all that. Scott or MountainEagle as is his tribal name, is my main support besides being the love of my life. He helps to keep me grounded and allows me to be a total flake after difficult sessions. He deals with my odd hours and complexities of what I do. I don’t know how many times I’ve said “I’m off to fight a demon and bless a house” only for him to reply, “ok, I’ll see ya when you get back”, as though I had said I was going to the store to pick up a gallon of milk. He is my touchstone that allows me to “defrag” from my work as a shaman. I take on a lot of emotion and stress from people. I fight in the spirit world for peoples well being and soul fragments. This can take a lot out of a guy. MountainEagle is the one who stands beside me and hold me up when I need it.
My mother is the matriarch of the tribe. She is the one that we all listen to when she speaks from Spirit. We all marvel at the countless times that my mother has been there to save the day, lead the way and just be a general inspiration to us all. She is called ShiningStar and the name says it all. She is like a light in the darkness that just makes you feel like everything is going to be all right. It was my mother that first took me to the medicine woman who set me on this path. She is the one that used to send me out to play in the yard with my Spirit Guide instead of telling me he was imaginary. I would not be the Shaman, nor the person I am today if it weren’t for her encouragement, guidance, inspiration and never ending love.
Steve is my best friend and business partner. The long and winding road that has been our friendship is too long to tell here, but suffice to say it is far from over. He has supported my work and me for over fifteen years and is the co-owner of Talking Now Productions, the company that we founded to make meditation and spiritual supplies available for everyone. Trust me, you never realize how strong a friendship is until you go into business together. Steve’s personal growth and dedication to the cause are nothing less than amazing. He is currently working on developing a page for the site about stones and crystals, something he knows quite a bit about. He is also our main supplies man. If there are any particular meditation supplies or spiritual items you would like to see carried on the site please forward your interest to srcarroll@mchsi.com .
You would not be able to even read this if it weren’t for the meticulous and insightful work of Ephrius. I call him my little brother. He is the one who designs and maintains shamanshadow.com . A gifted empath, Ephrius often knows intuitively what I am wanting from the site and has always produced exactly what I envision in my mind and usually much more. His spiritual path includes personal meditation, magickal work and yoga at the hands of yours truly. “We don’t do no stinking sissy yoga” is kind of our motto. It’s a running joke that I’m sure everyone who has done yoga understands. It can be quite demanding if you get into the more difficult postures. We hit the mats hard and usually each other’s buttons at the same time. Our friendship continually evolves and grows and I am thankful for that.
That is what I call the “inner circle” of the tribe, but that is certainly not the extent of it. I have been blessed to be part of a larger tribe that includes friends, teachers, guides, and many individuals who have touched my life in some way. The regular emails I get from Michelle Pillen that keep me thinking and growing. The long standing relationship I have had with Mindy Spitz. Betty Walker, who opened her home to me and many others to be a place of learning and spiritual growth, and to the long list of people who have been there that are too many to name. I thank you all and I am proud to call myself Shaman of this tribe.
Mitakuye Oyasin…”all my relations”
ShadowHawk
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