Speaking with Shamans

In March of 2008 Sylvia went to the Yucatan and video taped interviews with a family of Mayans Shamans who live in the jungle there.

Creating Sacred Balance in a Mundane World

It’s easy to get sidetracked by certain things we focus on in life. There are times when too much of our focus gets hijacked by one aspect of our lives at the expense of others. For one person it’s a work project,

for a different person it’s TV, for another it’s a high drama relationship or perhaps a video game. Where did that time go? Between work, relationships, health, and home, life can seem like an endless plate spinning game, with the potential of one or the other of our plates stopping rotation and crashing to the ground if we don’t pay attention to what is going on.

Tantric Intention, Attention & Sacred Techniques

for Healthy Relationship

A Radio  interview with Sylvia Brallier by Francesca Gentille

In this interview, Sylvia offers essential  tools for successful communication in relationship using the tools of mindfulfulness and blame free relating to help you have a clearer, deeper,  freer and juicer relationship with your partner.

You can listen to the radio interview at this link

Visit one of our favorite new pals, Puppetji  on your tube.
  Here are several one minute  enlightenment discourses
by a puppet guru.

Spiritual Practice

  Personal spiritual practice is a subject that has alot of history for me. I have always wanted to do it, promoted doing it, and I've done  it. There is often a struggle within me, especially when I'm feeling down or sick. Of course,  that's when a person
needs to do spiritual practice the  most.

The Profound Power of Loving Kindness

One of the most powerfully transformative outlooks that we can view reality from is the lens of compassionate awareness. When we practice loving kindness towards ourselves and others, something really miraculous occurs. When that love is truly allowed in and integrated, the ego’s defensive posture can drop away. What remains when that façade is left behind is the pure shining essence of the soul without pretense.

Going for the
True Goal

Most everything that we wish to manifest in the material world usually has less to do with the actual thing and more to do with the desire for the internal state of happiness and peace. A person might think: “I really want a fancy sports car.” “I want to feel successful in my career.” “I want a new house.” But the reason that person might want those new things is in order to reach a desired state.

Dance as a
Spiritual Path

Many cultures have used dance as a path to spiritual union. Sufi dervishes spin on and on to experience a sense of unity with all that is. Practitioners of Orisha worship invite the deities to dance through them. In Bali the Sanghyang trance dances are performed to spiritually protect and clear the village. Through dance, it is possible to move beyond the limited perspective of the persona and experience something greater moving in and through us when the ego mind gets out of the way.

Art and Spirituality

There is a profound connection between art and spirituality. When a person is engaging in an artistic endeavor, they are participating in an act of creation. In that moment of creation there is a natural connection between the artist and the Creator of all that is. In essence, the artist becomes the Creator. One of the reasons why we are here on Earth is to participate in the ongoing creative process of the universe. We are aspects of the Divine and we expand the wisdom and experience of the Cosmic Creator through our own creative process.

The Nature of Karma

In Alchemy, a double ourobouros (two serpents swallowing one another) signifies volatility and the potential for change. It also signifies the balance of our upper and lower natures. It looks very much like the number eight, which is the number of responsibility, karma and positive change.

Newton’s third law of motion states: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction,” While Newton likely did not intend to describe karma through the third law of motion, we can use that law as a useful analogy to understand the nature of karma. Simplified, the law of karma states that no matter what you do, it will come back to you at some time or another. We are all inextricably linked with our environment. There is a dynamic relationship between the self and that which surrounds it.

What is the Function of Dreaming?

Since time immemorial, people have believed dreams to be supernatural gifts from the divine, as messages from the spirit world. All religions from both the East and the West have looked to dreams as a source of wisdom and guidance. The Talmud says, “An uninterpreted dream is like an unopened letter from God.”

That Pesky Mind

“The mind is its own place and can make a Hell out of Heaven or a Heaven out of Hell.”1

Our beliefs are like boxes. Sometimes those boxes can help us to organize the way that we perceive things, creating more ease in our psyche. Sometimes those boxes limit us profoundly.

Everyone is a
Multiple Personality

We have been led to believe that only the mentally ill have multiple personalities, but in fact it is perfectly natural and normal for a person to be operating from many different perspectives. There are different levels of dysfunction. Some people are more and some are less integrated between their different subpersonas. People get into problems when the different subpersonas are each doing their thing without a centralized observer-self maintaining witness consciousness. It is more likely to be classified as mental illness when the subpersonas are going about their business without the other parts knowing what they are doing.

 Intention + Attention = Manifestation 

There is a fine line between thought and matter. In quantum physics, we learn that there is a direct relationship between perception and manifestation. Niels Bohr believed that the occurrence of phenomena is dependent on the observer. In metaphysical theory, we take that concept one step further by saying “Through the laws of manifestation, it is possible to manifest reality according to will by directing thought.”

Balancing the Intellect, Passion, Emotion, and Body through the
Elemental Forces of Nature

Fire, water, earth and air are the basic elements from which all creation is made. Plants need sun, rain, earth and air to nurture and sustain their life and growth. Humans and other animals could not survive without the warmth of the sun, without the abundance of food from the earth, without water to drink, nor could we live without air for more than several minutes. These are the basics upon which we depend. We are composed of the elements, and they give us a strong foundation on which to build our lives. The number four symbolizes strength and stability, and the four elements represent the strength and stability of a well-planned structure.

What is Shamanism?

All over the world there are cultures of people who practice shamanism. The  word shaman originates from the Tungus people of Siberia. Even though there are many different shamanic traditions in the world with different ceremonies, they share many similar beliefs about the nature of reality. Shamanism has become a word commonly used to describe spiritual belief systems in which the practitioner believes that all things of nature have life and consciousness.

We are All Both
Male and Female

All people, whether male or female, have both receptive and active qualities. Each person is a synthesis of active and receptive behaviors, energies, and attributes. We incarnate in either a male or female body to integrate the lessons available to us by being a man or a woman. Most people, having incarnated into human form many times, have been both male and female in the course of their many lifetimes. By both tapping into our soul knowledge of our dual nature, and by applying our awareness to the active and receptive principles within us, we can more easily achieve a state of balance between these polarities.

Sound Healing

Sound is a very powerful tool. Different frequencies, tones and sounds can induce different states to promote healing for the body, mind, emotions, and spirit. On a molecular level, our bodies are systems of vibrating atomic particles. We are living receivers and transmitters of sound vibration. Some researchers claim that each of our organs vibrate at a different frequency. We can use sound frequencies to vibrate matter and promote healing and regeneration of the different body systems. These frequencies also shift etheric patterning to heal the emotional and mental causes of illness.

Medicine Bags

For centuries, people have worn small medicine bags around their necks to give protection, guidance, good luck, good health, abundance or love to it's wearer.

This bags are often filled with small trinkets that represent the thing that that individual would like to draw into their lives. It might contain talismans such as stones, herbs, animal fetishes or personal items to hold and transmit the needed energies for manifestation.

We took some very interesting pictures at The Tantric Shamanism Institute a while back.  It happened during a class that helped people to make connection with their spirit guides, allies, and angels. After performing several meditations and journeys to make personal contact, a woman in our class snapped a few photos of people. Before taking the pictures, we asked the spirits that worked with us to show up in the photos. She only took a couple of shots, but each and every one had some very interesting visual phenomena in them, which you can see below.

Using Crystals and Stones
for Healing

Many cultures through time have worked with gemstones and crystals as healing agents. From the lost civilization of Atlantis, to the Maya of central America, the ancient Hebrew civilization, the Native peoples of North America, the alchemists of medieval Europe, through out Asia, and beyond, crystals, gemstones and metals have been used for spiritual upliftment and physical healing.

The  Power of Pleasure

Pleasure is a great touch stone of where to head in your life. If you think about it, it's pretty obvious. If what you are doing is causing you pain, making you stressed out, bringing up load of frustration, perhaps you are off track. If what you are doing is making you feel good physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually, you are more likely to be on the right track. I believe it is very important for individuals to find there proper direction in life by using their passion as the compass. Life is too short to not do the things you love!

Is There a Difference between Healing and Spirituality?

Healing of the psyche and spirituality are intimately linked. I have heard it said that some Native American tribal people believe that the inner child is actually the high self. When a person completely heals this inner self, that being reaches enlightenment. This is very central to the way I view the process of enlightenment. Each step we make forward in our search for the truth heals our soul, and when we heal our soul, we experience the truth of the universe. Healing and spirituality are woven together inextricably as the warp and the woof in the loom of change.

The Infinite Universe and the Ultimate Unity

Have you ever tried to imagine the universe going on forever? It’s pretty hard to fathom, isn’t it? We are accustomed to thinking in terms of limitation. The concept of an infinite universe is outside the scope of our perception because our perception is largely dictated by the “rules” of third-dimensional reality. Our perception defines our view of reality. What if we could think in an unlimited way? Could we expand our minds to encompass more of the universe? Would it change our reality for the better?

Introduction to
Dancing in the Eye of Transformation
10 Keys to Creative Consciousness

   My life is a story of weaving.
   All of my life, I have been a spiritual seeker fascinated by the various mystical traditions of the world.  I have always marveled at the amazing diversity that springs from different cultures and beliefs. There is so much beauty in the many ways to be a human. There have been wise ones and great healers in every culture. I have reveled in that diversity and have found ways to weave those wisdoms into my life. These teachings have enriched me beyond measure.
As a spiritual healer, I work with many different people with many different cultural and spiritual backgrounds. I feel it is important for me to work with each person in a way that honors that person’s unique perspective and background instead of trying to make them fit into mine.

Divination with Pendulums

Pendulums are splendid tools for developing clairvoyant abilities. Through the regular application of its use, it can help you to connect to and recognize higher wisdom by exercising your ability to listen deeply to your inner knowing. Some of the things pendulums can be used for include: ascertaining information about health issues, finding lost objects, assisting in decision making processes, help with understanding energy flows in a place or in a person.

Sanctifying, Clearing and
Anchoring  Sacred Space
through Smudging

In many spiritual traditions, different herbs or resins are burned during ceremony to clear negative energies away, draw positive energy in, sanctify space, as well as prepare oneself for entering sacred space.

When smudge or incense is used during spiritual practice, it can act as an anchor into spiritual reality, especially when it is used regularly by the individual for that purpose.. As soon as that familiar smell reaches your nose, your psyche is triggered into dropping down into spiritual awareness and relaxation through that recognition.

Wild Woman Interview

Here are some pithy excerpts from an interview with Sylvia Brallier about the wild woman archetype.

What are your experiences with wildness and being a wild woman?

Life is very precious. You only have a limited amount of time here, so you might as well be doing what really matters to you. It will serve you best to be focused on what your truth is. A major part of what defines my truth is my passion, and one of my passions is my creative process. That process has many avenues that it takes, but the goal for me is to be fully involved in what I am doing and what it is that I am feeling without a lot of editing going on.

Healing and Transformation- 
Through the Shadows
and to the Light

"For me, the path of transformation means not only going for the feelings of bliss, joy, and all those other fun emotions, but the willingness to dive into all aspects of myself, even the places within myself I have consciously or unconsciously disowned because they seem unacceptable to me or I fear they are unacceptable to those around me.

These shadow places with the psyche contain vast amounts of energy that is bound up by our inner editor, the part of our self that sanitizes our behavior and the expression of our emotions in order to attempt to gain control of reality by controlling our selves.

Shiva's Descent

Many yogic lineages put a strong emphasis in the rising of Kundalini, but put almost no emphasis on the descent of the Shiva energy down the spine. I believe Shiva's descent is equally important to Kundalini Ma's ascent, though a bit more difficult to achieve.