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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Of Shamans and Hooty-Owls

Port Alberni backyard owl

The shaman walks the medicine way
leaving no footprints.
The cry of the owl bids you follow.

Take up your staff, wrap up well in your cloak,
for the night is cold and the fog will poke 
its chilly fingers
into every exposed inch of human skin,
seeking to steal some warmth
for itself.

Hush! for there be spirits here.

If you listen, you will hear
the heartbeat of an ancient cedar.
In its bark is the memory
of who you were a thousand years ago,
when it and you and the land 
were young.

In the night sky
is written the promise
of who you are becoming
a thousand years from now.
Gaze well, and remember,
so when at last you meet, 
you will recognize yourself.

There are dreamers, and there are
the ones being dreamed.
Awaken!
The journey of transformation
is the shedding of the false self
- the one who meets the world -
and the stripping away of everything
that is not essence, joy, wonderment,
trust and awe.

Peace
is knowing
all is as it is meant to be.
All we need do
is Surrender.

The mystical hooting of the owl
bids us safe passage
through this eery midnight world.
Hasten, for the shaman guide's cloak
is already swirling 
with the swiftness
of his being gone.

Hi kids, in between my daytime cleaning job and my evening babysitting job, I decided to take a little metaphysical trip of my own. Ow-woo!



34 comments:

  1. I found my breathing slowing down as I read through your peaceful words, Sherry. I especially liked "Peace is knowing all is as it is meant to be." I enjoyed your metaphysical trip.

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  2. ... the fog wanting warmth ... the heart of the cedar ... meeting ourselves ... I don't know if I want to wake up yet ,,, I am under a spell ... but for peace? That promises to be even better.

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  3. It takes me to a wonderful trip , away from daily life's hustle bustle.

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  4. listening to the beat of the ancient cedars....smiles...peaceful way to walk...and i like little touches like leaving no footprints as well...

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    1. happy sunday sherry...i hope you have a wonderful day today listening...smiles.

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  5. there are so many wonderful lines in this...really liked the whole piece...

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  6. so when you take the cloth across to dust the table and you coddle the little tot, do you speak to the shaman and the owl, do they relay to you to tell us, whose eyes are closed, that the tree and the leaf are of equal worth?

    beautiful words mi amiga

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  7. Somehow, a Shaman's spirit possessed you. What you wrote is so mystical, beautiful, a little scary because it may contain more truth than we're willing to accept. I'm amazed at your mind.

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  8. My reaction was opposite to Mary's. I held my breath in awe as I read this. I especially love
    "who you were a thousand years ago,
    when it and you and the land
    were young" — you are a wonder, my friend!
    Luv, K

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  9. The shamans walk is mystical he leaves no footprints because he walks in the spirit. His footprints are left in our hearts. As I read this I thought I want to pick up my staff and walk with him listen to his words of wisdom as the owl bids us to walk in the other realm where dreamers dream and dreams are awaken. This poem was written with a shamanic pen..a message that needed to be heard. I would gladly walk with this shaman as he is wise.

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  10. "All we need to do is surrender." Why is the seemingly easiest things actually the most hard to do? Beautiful poem

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  11. In its bark is the memory
    of who you were a thousand years ago,
    when it and you and the land
    were young.

    This is absolutely lovely!

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  12. I love, love, love owls. this is just wonderful Sherry. :<)

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  13. Owls are great (as you know). I love the dreamers and the ones being dreamed. A fabulous thought. It is a beautiful thought - sharing dreams.

    great read for a Sunday morning in deepest October. Thank You!

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  14. Sherry,

    I feel as though I have taken a walk with you in your beautiful world in British Columbia and through the world of nature. Love the wisdom and guidance of the hooting owl:)
    A lovely find this Sunday morning..
    Best Sunday Greetings,
    Eileen:)

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  15. Absolutely breathtaking. A beautiful poem that takes me closer to myself and the earth. It's an inundation of wisdom.

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  16. I like how you remind us of the beauty of nature ~

    I like this line:

    If you listen, you will hear
    the heartbeat of an ancient cedar.

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  17. "Peace
    is knowing
    all is as it is meant to be.
    All we need do
    is Surrender." I'm watching leaves release to gravity, to the wind, to time circling round.

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  18. It's the hushing to listen that's hard for many people, although I'm not one of them. The owl and the ancient cedar (or here in the desert, the ironwood) speak to me.

    Whirling Photo Album

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  19. "leaving no footprints."...struck me...

    "In the night sky
    is written the promise
    of who you are becoming
    a thousand years from now." - very powerful and wise words.. can feel them.. i was on the road as the full moon was shining.. like coming home :)

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  20. "the heartbeat of an ancient cedar."
    you're in step with Nature. :)

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  21. I have been thinking a lot lately about how we are able to touch the goddess and how nature and the goddess are wrapped together--maybe you are in a similar place?

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  22. What a great trip into the silent woods and wisdom you took us here Sherry... if we could just walk silent like the Shaman .. maybe we would be wise too,

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  23. gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous...

    If you listen, you will hear
    the heartbeat of an ancient cedar.
    In its bark is the memory
    of who you were a thousand years ago,
    when it and you and the land
    were young.


    There are dreamers, and there are
    the ones being dreamed.


    --- i've read & re-reread (can't get enough, it seems... & yet it fills me)

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  24. A spiritual journey through your vivid words... a job well done. :-)
    -HA

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  25. Sherry, what a beautiful journey you took us on--thank you! Love the idea of cedar's heartbeat and bark carrying my memories (I love cedar, too). :-)

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  26. Ow—wooooo! That's the best I can say right now :D I had a lovely trip reading this wonderful poem :)

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  27. Sherry, you are at your best with the shamans and whispering trees whose souls are older than our ancestors. Your way of capturing not only the beauty of nature, but the gravity, is stunning. Amy

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  28. You really did justice to this, as its move and move down each line.. Thanks for it!

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  29. I love the owls and all they signify. Your poem is a beautiful evocation.

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  30. In Hinduism, there is belief that sighting an owl results in acquiring wealth in one form or the other....

    I believe in sounds and folklore...

    balance it out

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  31. Have to agree with the others, some wonderful lines here, Sherry. Your words created a whole other world, one of delight and peace. Thank you,

    Elizabeth

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  32. I loved it...
    It showed me what serenity is!

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