It seems like we have been observing holidays since mid-October, Honorable Shamans and Fellow Pagans, so today, I’m going to provide the Earthways Shamanic Path, Stepping Stone #3, “Returning to your Practice.”
After the holidays, with all the visiting and the hustle and bustle, you may find that you have become ungrounded, or that you have strayed from your practices. Sometimes, you may have traveled either for business or for pleasure. It is important then, to take steps to get re-grounded, and to return to your practice. First, how do you know when you are not grounded? You may feel tired or out of sorts. You might call this being ‘out of whack.’ Other people may helpfully point out that you look tired or sound tired, or something like that.
Here are some suggestions to get re-grounded so that you may return to your practices.
1. Unpack from your trip. Literally unpack your luggage and put things away and do your laundry. Get all the junk food wrappers out of the car and fold the the maps back up and put them where they belong. If you traveled on business, put the files away and fill out your travel voucher. Brief your manager.
2. Return to your regular rituals and habits. Figure out what day it is, and perhaps even what time it is. Drink the water you are accustomed to drinking, and get re-hydrated. (This is really critical if you were inside an airplane or a hermetically sealed conference hotel for 2 solid days.) Return to the food that you know agrees with you, that which you should be eating. Eat when you should, and the quantities you should be eating. Attend to your personal care needs. Sleep in your own bed. Get enough sleep for you. Return to your exercise schedule. (Particularly the one you keep meaning to start!) Conduct your daily spiritual rituals.
3. Return to the People and Animals in your world. Visit with your friends and family, the ones you live with or talk to on a day to day basis. Catch up. Play with your pets. Groom them or take them for walks. Run little errands to the places you go, to see your acquaintances.
4. Go Outside. Experience fresh air, sunshine, sit on the ground, and go somewhere where you can perhaps play in water, or at least see/hear a body of water. Greet the Stars and the Moon.
5. Visit your sacred space — your Meditation area or Altar, and fix it up. It may be dusty. People may have moved things, or put stuff that doesn’t belong there, on your works surfaces. Remove unwanted objects, and reestablish the space as your own.
6. Conduct a special Ritual or Ceremony to acknowledge you are home. For me this involves writing, and the use of music and smudging. Other people like to do a reading for themselves, using cards or rune stones or other methods of divination.
Once you have completed these tasks, then you should feel more grounded, and be ready to return to your practice.
And, Share Your Peace with Our Earth.
~Whale Maiden~
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Although the Earthways Shamanic Path is based in Florida, it can be celebrated anywhere. You just need to explore the magic of your land. What is it saying to you? What are the seasons, where you live? What do they mean to you? How are they celebrated?
Join Whale Maiden in the discussion at the Earthways Shamanic Path – Facebook Group
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