The Journey Home - by Michael Berman
taken from : http://shamanportal.org
How would you feel if someone physically picked you up and deposited you somewhere you didn’t want to be? That’s why it always amazes me that people have he effrontery to do that to animals while pretending they love and respect all creatures. To make matters even worse, they probably make a point of only buying products not tested on animals, oblivious to the fact that although the product wasn’t tested on animals all the individual ingredients were!
And it’s not just animals who have this indignity heaped upon them. What about the stone people, and what happens to them every summer holiday? Think of all the pebbles and sea shells happily minding their own business and recording the history taking place all around them, who are yanked out of their chosen habitats to be stuffed in suitcases, flown halfway cross the world, then used to form a decoration on a chipboard mock pine coffee table in someone’s living room. Moreover, those are the lucky ones. The majority are probably discarded somewhere totally inappropriate on the return of the holidaymakers, to be neglected and forgotten about. And these very same people would have you believe that they are spiritual beings with a social conscience who give regularly to deserving charitable causes by buying their Christmas cards once a year from Oxfam or Survival International! It makes you want to vomit, or at least to put drawing pins on their comfy seats and to wake them up to what they are doing.
So how about doing something different this year for a change? And I am sure your jaded palettes would relish the prospect. It’s very simple and this is how it works. You make a point of using your two-week package holiday in the sun to make a pilgrimage. The purpose being to return these objects to their chosen places while, at the same time, offering them an apology for the wrongs they have been subjected to. What is more, you could even consider leaving an offering behind, some sacred tobacco or a crystal to make amends for the disruption you have caused. And that would surely be a really worthwhile way of spending your summer break!
***
‘Are you my Teacher?’ The Seeker asked the Stone.
‘No. But I can tell stories. Would you like to hear one?’
‘Yes please!’
‘OK. Here goes then’, said the Stone. ‘Just let me gather my memories and off I’ll go.’
Once when the Earth was new and my memory bank was still quite empty, a seed began to sprout, right next to me, by my side in fact. It being rather unsteady on its weak stem, I offered it support – to lean against my side. And so it carried on growing, without even a word of thanks for all my efforts. It’s not easy having to give someone constant support, I’ll have you know.
And so it carried on growing, growing and growing, growing so high in fact that it shaded me from all the light and it got rather chilly where I lay. But placid soul that I am, I never complained and just accepted it as part of my lot in life.
In fact, despite my difficult circumstances, I have a lot to be thankful for. The Tree the shoot grew into is destined to spend the rest of its days rooted to the very same spot. But me, being a Stone Person, I know I have the possibility of being moved - having “a shift of consciousness” so to speak.
All I have to do was to wait for my Teacher, to pick me up on one of his “journeys” and to transport me to another place – for a new perspective on life. Yes – I have all sorts of possibilities to be thankful for. Indeed you could say I’ve been blessed.
***
I have learned silence from the talkative, tolerance from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am not grateful to those teachers
- Kahlil Gibran
About the author:
Michael Berman BA, MPhil, PhD, works as a teacher and a writer. Publications include The Power of Metaphor for Crown House, and The Nature of Shamanism and the Shamanic Story for Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Shamanic Journeys through Daghestan and Shamanic Journeys through the Caucasus are both due to be published in paperback by O-Books in 2009. A long-awaited resource book for teachers on storytelling, In a Faraway Land, will be coming out in 2010. Michael has been involved in teaching and teacher training for over thirty years, has given presentations at Conferences in more than twenty countries, and hopes to have the opportunity to visit many more yet.
Although Michael originally trained as a Core Shamanic Counsellor with the Scandinavian Centre for Shamanic Studies under Jonathan Horwitz, these days his focus is more on the academic side of shamanism, with a particular interest in the folktales with shamanic themes told by and collected from the peoples of the Caucasus. His MPhil is in Religious Studies from Lampeter University, and his PhD, submitted to the Indian Board of Alternative Medicines, explores the concept of soul loss and the way it is dealt with in the shamanic story - a story based on or inspired by a shamanic journey, or one that contains a number of the elements typical of such a journey. For more information please visit www.Thestoryteller.org.uk
Contact the author: Michaelberman@blueyonder.co.uk