Author Archives: Debbie

A Trip Through The Petrified Forest

As I was thinking about this week’s blog, I was trying to decide what stone to feature, as the Stone People were asking to speak. As I was thinking about quartz, petrified wood pushed its way into my thoughts. It immediately reminded me of our trip to the Petrified Forest in Holbrook, AZ many years ago.

Petrified wood, Blue Mesa, Petrified Forest National Park

According to their website, over 200 million years ago, during the Triassic Period, the logs washed into the river and were buried quick enough and deep enough by massive amounts of sediment and debris, that oxygen was cut off and decay slowed. Minerals, including silica dissolved from volcanic ash, absorbed into the porous wood over hundreds and thousands of years and crystallized within the cellular structure, replacing the organic material. The wood structure was maintained, but the wood fibers slowly changed into stone. Sometimes the crushing or decay left cracks in the logs. Here large jewel-like crystals of clear quartz, purple amethyst, yellow citrine, and smoky quartz formed. Continue reading →

10 Billion Beats 2012 — Peace TO Earth ~ Goodwill ON Livingkind

It’s that time of year again, for the 10 Billion Beats global drum circle. Seems like it wasn’t that long ago. For the info on our Grants Pass, Oregon event, go to our calendar.

10 Billion Beats is a Global Event that uses drumming to focus a collective positive intention, then send it around the world in a continuous wave to improve our relationship with each other, with the living planet upon which we live, and “all our relations” . 10 Billion Beats started in Sept. 2009 with nearly 200,000 people participating around the globe, including a group at our house in Phoenix, AZ. Each year this grassroots movement grows even bigger. The focus is not to have the world’s largest drum circle, but to help us, as human beings, stand with each other around the globe through the uncertain times ahead. Continue reading →

A Healing Stone Ceremony

Wow, I can’t believe almost six weeks has gone by since I posted last. Where has the time gone?

Well, part of the time has gone into the face lift for the blog. Made some major changes so no more ugly Blogger blog. We now integrate with the website! It wasn’t a huge project except that last night, when everything was working beautifully, I moved it from the working file and BOOM, it all disappeared! And I mean disappeared! I had to start from scratch 🙁 Fortunately, it wasn’t such a project the second time around.

Besides the new look, you can now post comments on the blogs. HA! Now I’ll know if you’re reading or I’m talking (blogging) to myself 🙂

Late summer at The Grove brings a flurry of activity with harvest and preserving the winter stores. Even though I didn’t get my garden in this year, we have wonderful farms and markets here to purchase my goodies from the local farmers. My cupboards are filling with pickles, corn, tomatoes, relish, peaches, tuna from the coast and more. Needless to say we don’t go hungry around here! And, we get to eat mostly local all year round.

I had a different blog planned for today, but I received the September newsletter from Healing Drummer and it contained a great healing stone ceremony. Toby said I could share it with you, so here it is, courtesy of Toby Christensen via www.healingdrummer.com. Enjoy and subscribe to his great newsletter. Continue reading →

Squirrels – Mother Nature’s Boy Scouts

I have been out of sync with my blogging lately. Our son came from Arizona and paid us a visit for a week and so we got out and enjoyed our time together playing on the river and visiting the coast. He was so glad to be “home”, he found a job and arrives next week with his moving truck!

For the past month, I have been busy getting the winter stores put up. We live in a wonderful area for growing and have luscious fruit and veggie harvests during the late summer and fall. I have always canned food during the summer. I remember it as a child, helping Mom and Grandma, and the taste of the yummy sweet fruit mid winter. So, I have been canning up a storm.

As I sit at my computer every day, looking out into the forest, I can’t help noticing the squirrels gathering acorns and other seeds, putting away their winter stores. And as many of us begin to prepare for winter and the slowing of our energies, I thought squirrel would be a good topic for today’s blog.

Squirrel medicine comes in a couple of different forms. Continue reading →

The Majestic Oak – Wisdom, Strength and Endurance

Here in the forest at Shaman’s Grove, we are surrounded by a variety of Standing Ones. We have Pacific Redwoods that reach high into the sky, Fir, Pine and Spruce, beautiful red Madrone and the Majestic Oak. I was going to write about the Redwood today, but Oak called out to be heard today.

Ted Andrews starts out his description of the Oak in Nature-Speak by saying “The majesty of a mature oak always gives pause for reflection. They radiate an aura of calm strength.” I can say from my own experience that this holds true. There is something about the twists and curls and knots up the trunk, and the wide canopy of leaves that automatically brings me to my center. It was interesting to read that the Oak’s roots mirror its branches and stretch as far below ground as the branches do above. Continue reading →

Healing Power of Drumming – An Ah-ha Moment

Recently I was talking with a colleague in New Jersey and we were discussing her excitement over drumming for an upcoming shamanic journey at an assisted care facility. As with many conversations, this one led us on a trail of discussing the healing power of the drum.

Through many years of drumming and hosting circles, Gary and I have been witness to the not only the calming and stress relief benefits of drumming, but the power that the vibrations have to shift the energy body to release pain and to heal deep physical and emotional disorders. Studies have shown that drumming stimulates the immune system and promotes the production of endorphins and the body’s own morphine-like painkillers helping to control pain.

Continue reading →

August Full Moon – The Red Moon

Welcome to the August Full Moon (August 1, 2012 11:27pm EDT/8:27 pm PDT) and the beginning of the harvest season.

The moon has always been important and fascinating to the people. Since the beginning of time, our ancestors used the movement of the moon to keep track of the passing year and set schedules for hunting, planting, and harvesting. They linked the 28 day lunar month to a given season and gave names to the months that described important events that were happening in nature at that time, such as the behavior of the plants, animals, or weather during that month.

To some Native American tribes of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain area, August’s full moon was known as The Sturgeon Moon. Continue reading →

Deer Medicine

Deer Medicine – Gentleness and Innocence – Gentle Luring to New Adventure

I’m sitting here typing and watching one of our mama deer and her fawn, refresh with the nectar of the Faery Fountain and munch their way through our back yard. So, deer medicine seems the appropriate topic for our first blog.

We have been blessed by several deer families that reside here. We have had the opportunity to witness mamas with new fawns that were barely able to walk on their wobbly legs. And they have adopted us as one of their own. This is their home and we’ve just moved in. They sleep under our deck, just look at us as we go about our business outdoors, and don’t bother to move when we approach an area where they are resting. Today I was working on the sprinklers for my herbs and three deer approached the fountain in the front for a drink. We were only a few feet apart. They acknowledged me, got their drink and left. Continue reading →

Reconnecting With Nature’s Widsom

Returning to life in the forest has really reawakened Nature’s call to us. Just the call to return to the forest has great significance for us. The forest is connected to creation and growth energy, free of controls and constrictions. We are visited daily by Crow (“The magic of creation is calling”) and Deer (“Gentle luring to a new adventure”) among others. Besides being awe struck by our daily nature adventures, the pot of creative juices has been well stirred. And, one of the fruits that bubbled to the top was a new blog, called Nature Wise, sharing information about the wisdom Mother Nature has to offer.

For thousands of years, people have connected with Nature’s wisdom to gain knowledge and spiritual fulfillment. Nature offers us healing, wisdom and an opportunity to connect with the sacred.

We are blessed by nature. It touches each of us in personal and special ways. Continue reading →

Healing vs. Curing

Frequently Gary and I get calls from someone wondering if and how a shamanic journey can help them or a loved one with a disease. And often these are what the medical community sees as “terminal illnesses”. Their question is simple “Will a journey help?” The short answer is always “Yes, but what are your expectations?”

Here’s where we arrive at the issue of healing vs. curing. Continue reading →