Presence

I have been thinking a lot about witnessing and presence. In what ways do we witness others? It what ways are we seen?

Others, of course, is not limited to humans in our shamanic worldview. The picture above is a state park in Vermont where I watched the total solar eclipse last year. I was immediately taken with the mountains when we arrived. They seemed to circle around the hill where people had gathered, holding and supporting the group. Too often, we fail to stop and notice what is around us, and who is there to support us.

How many times have you felt held by nature? How often to do really feel the support of your helping spirits? It's hard, in our busy society, to stop and notice. And since our relationships with our spirits are based on reciprocity--how often do you hold space with nature? How often to you join with your spirits to witness someone else, in all of their joy and grief?

It's a beautiful thing to be in awe of nature, but with our shamanic skills, we can take it a step further, and be in relationship, even for a few moments. There is so much power in this witnessing.

See if, in the heat of summer, you can take a few moments and stop and be with what is around you. Do you feel seen? Do you really see?