The Elements of Elements

WWTN #26 - What Are Your Dreams?

2009-06-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do when a word comes up that seems rather significant within the realm of a healing session, or a new idea or project, is to type that word in to dictionary.com -- not because I want to find out the definition of the word, but because I want to find out the etymology of it.

The root, the original meaning of the original form of the word. What its birthplace says about its history and usage.

During a healing session a few months back a client and I were discussing dreams. Not the psychologically healing experiences one has while sleeping, but dreams in the sense that many people say: Oh well, so-and-so is what I do for a living. But my DREAM is.....

And fill in the blank there. My DREAM is: to own a fishing boat. To make jewelry for a living. To live on the ocean. To work with horses every day. And so on.

I have noted that many people feel whatever they do day-to-day is Reality. And then, the Dream is a non-achievable fantasy wish.

So I plugged the word "dream" in to dictionary.com. When I saw the what the word originally meant, I practically fell over. Check it out:

Origin: 1200–50; ME dreem, OE drēam joy, mirth, gladness.

Joy, Mirth, Gladness!

So what is it that keeps us from our dreams? They are not surreal fantasies. Our dreams are that which brings us our joy, mirth and gladness! Our dreams are our Prosperity!!

I am following mine. So far so good. Joyous!

Will you begin to follow your dreams today? Keep me posted! Let's start the Joyous Dream Brigade, together!

WWTN #25 - Writing from the Roots

2009-01-24T14:25:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

It has been quite some time since I have written one of my e-newsletters.

I have been a busy bee, as you know from receiving notices of specials and events, but whenever I would sit down to write one of these, something would always distract me, or make me second guess my "topic".

Despite my hibernation keeping in line with winter, I have been in quite a "go, go, go" mode energetically; and my body is finally catching up, along with Turtle, telling me to "slow--slow--slow."

And, so, I go: Ahhhh.

Here I am.

And there you are.

How have you been?

How are you now?

2009 is such a beautiful year.

I am so happy to be here.

We have been so transformational.

Now the change has finally happened.

I feel it.

I love it.

I write it:

Butterfly is rainbow, full, sorceress, innocent, pure and all powerful.

Giant Bird is working on our behalf, carrying the message of love between dimensions.

Water Cave is strong and solid. Standing on the water gives us power. The Sky our greatest teacher.

Tell us Sky, what to know for now.

Sky says:

"Whispers in images like fog of double-helix, rain wears a coat of air to carry itself lightly and light wears the shimmer of pink energy to show itself love...

a healing for you

a healing for you

a healing for you"

Earth pulsates with happiness at meeting again our faces, our spines; curly-cue-ing up through the portals to bring its gifts of hot stone and total release.

The ants like it, (you'll love it) they say

I listen with my head-bed on ground and the pebble whistles crooningly

"you are the sunshine"

...

And there you have it!

Peace and Love, Jen

WWTN #24 -- What it Means to BEE: Info, Updates and Healing

2008-10-01T12:52:00.000-07:00

Hello beautiful souls,

I wanted to update you on Wolf Wisdom goings-on!

Spider Workshop will be coming up again at the end of the month--October 28th, in fact--and we have caught many things in our golden web that will lead up to that workshop.

First of all, the Grand Opening of the Life Force Arts Center is happening mid-month! We are very pleased that due to the spiritual inspiration and earthly diligence of shaman Joan Forest Mage and all her helpers, she has birthed Chicago's new shamanic center, to open October 15th. This is a center for Shamanic and Spiritual Art and Education, smack dab in the middle of the windy city, on Lincoln, near the corner of Lincoln, Ashland and Belmont. 3148 N. Lincoln, to be exact! Amazing events are being scheduled to celebrate the center's Grand Opening Week, October 18-24! Events TBA. I am on the literary arts committee for the center, and I will also be co-managing the center along with Joan Forest Mage and Kate Niklasson.

Another fabulous turn of events is that the beautiful Wild Tree Cafe in Evanston, where I have had the lovely opportunity to work a couple shifts a week for the past several months, is growing from just a beautiful cafe in to an amazing center where there will be workshops and creative events of many kinds, inspiring healing and growth, spontaneity and joy!

And starting Monday, October 13, I will be teaching a weekly workshop entitled:

Creating Your Healing Space

(Within You and Around You)

A weekly workshop at Wild Tree Cafe, 1100 Davis, Evanston, IL 60201

Mondays from 6:30pm-9pm (starting October 13th)

New topic each week!

$23

I will be sending out more info on that workshop as well.

For some time now, clients have been asking me when I will start teaching Healing Classes (for people interested in becoming healers). I have also received email inquiries regarding my practice to this effect. I listen, and take seriously what I hear. After an incubation period and a deepening of the concept, I am now offering:

Individual Star-Healing Classes:

To Awaken the Healer Within

$200

Series of 4 classes, 2 hours each

Location: Wolf Wisdom Studio

I will be working with my students on an individual basis, rather than in a setting where there are several students at a time. After looking in to it energetically and talking with my guides, I see that the people who come to me are all very different stylistically--yet most of them have in common the desire to awaken and work with their inner-healer, perhaps even at a professional level. I feel I can benefit my students most by working one-on-one with them to bring out their unique healing voice. This is not a certification course, but rather a course to learn how you personally heal yourself and others, and to be able to stand in the power of your healing-self. Email me for more information at wolfwisdomhealing@gmail.com

Spider, my teacher, has been working with me as we compile the Star-Awakening Doctrine. More to come on that!

Ah yes, and if you haven't already, please check out samples of my shamanic sound healing pieces here: www.myspace.com/starsoundhealing

The group is getting together to plan a format of how we will be offering Sound Healing as a service. More to come!

And so we come to the source of the thread, the wide golden web, woven to catch all these precious star droplets. As the stars nurture me, I send it back out in to the Universe. Fabulous, fabulous!

Spider Workshop

Tuesday October 28th, 7-9:30pm

Wolf Wisdom Studio

$45 for first time attendees

$20 for returning Spider Workshop attendees

I will be sending out individual notices too of each above-mentioned event--but there was so much in the web all at once, I first wanted to cast it as One.

Love and Peace,
Jen

...

BEE HEALING

Oh yes, and today, about 1 year after Bee first came to me to request a healing during last year's shamanic performance-art piece, Bee came requesting more healing and to spread the word--so if you would take a few moments to cast healings and blessings for the Bee community as they settle down for the fall, they will be able to process all of our love and energy while they sleep through the coming cold. Please pass this on to all you possibly can, so many may join in the Healing for the Bee community.

WWTN #23 -- First Official S.T.A.R. Sound Healing Recording -- Surprise!

2008-09-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

It's a rainy day, and it smells like fall.

I gave the Star-Healing Workshop on Sunday, and something happened, and things are beginning to shift.

Fall to Summer, Fall to Summer, Fall to Summer--repeatedly for the past three days--losing leaves and bursting with regrowth, rapid seasonal changes, over and over.

So here I am, new, for the bazillionth time, in several dimensions, in three days.

For the first time in several months I sit down to try to attempt recording a song on this free downloadable recording software that I have in my laptop. A strange thing happens--it records in the built-in mic on my laptop, and also in to my little 12 dollar desktop microphone, causing strange double recordings of one drumbeat or one vocalization.

I thought I had fixed the "problem" by muting the first two tracks as I recorded the third before mixing them all in to one track. It sounded (before mixing it) pretty straightforward--one drum track and two overdubbed vocal tracks.

I couldn't figure out how to mix it in to an MP3 track so had to mix it in to a WAV file instead for the time being. And then, finally, I listen to it--thinking I already knew what it sounded like.

Well. Indeed I did NOT know what it actually sounded like!

As it turns out, none of the double-recordings are gone! So it sounds like a weird techno drum although it is just one Indian Dholak. And it sounds like about 4 vocal tracks even though it is just two. And.... I like it!

The guides are telling me to share this "serendipitous" healing track with you all (and they verified they did get in to my computer to ensure the final product would be nothing like I expected!) ;)....

So go ahead and breathe in, out, and enjoy with me the "Tails of Our Ancestors." (www.myspace.com/starsoundhealing)

Let me know what you think!

Love Jen.

"Tails of Our Ancestors" along with more of my shamanic sound healing work can be listened to here: www.myspace.com/starsoundhealing

(Fun fact--the one sound towards the end that sounds like a single clang of a cymbal, high-pitched gong or bell--that is actually the clang of my silver Scarab ring falling and hitting the metal base of my laptop desk. Hee hee! No accidents, indeed!!)

WWTN #22 -- Wolf Wisdom Presents: Ongoing Monthly Healing Packages

2008-05-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

Hello to all!

I have been contemplating how I can provide ongoing daily healing support for all of my amazing clients.

It is no coincidence that people who come to me are all on a path of raising their vibration. And in this day and age, we need to work daily to energize ourselves, raise our vibration, come fully in to our awareness.

The more I help my clients, the more their vibration is raised--and the more my own vibration is raised, strengthening me to better serve you!

Energy is energy is energy.

Energy cycles and circles.

The other morning I awoke, and my guides had the information waiting for me. Oh my beloved guides!

Now I am very pleased to share with you the advent of my monthly healing support packages. There are three packages offered: Basic, Standard, and Deluxe. All are infused with oodles of email support stocked with one of my specialties: Distance Healing. Then, add an Intuitive Shamanic Phone Reading here, a full-length 90-minute Distance Healing there, and top it all off with an in-person Shamanic Healing session, and you are treating yourself to a monthly Shamanic Sundae of healing delight.

Choose a package based on your needs, your vicinity to me, your pocketbook--all packages are filled with ongoing healing support from me, my guides, your guides. And the low monthly prices cannot be beat for their value, and what you will receive.

Are you ready?

...

Wolf Wisdom Healing Circle Monthly Support Packages

Basic Package—$50 a month: Includes ongoing email support (shamanic distance healing and shamanic counseling via email)
and one monthly 30-minute Intuitive Shamanic Phone Reading

Standard Package—$80 a month: Includes ongoing email support (shamanic distance healing and shamanic counseling via email),
one monthly 30-minute Intuitive Shamanic Phone Reading,
and one monthly full-length (90-minute) distance healing session with full report (valued alone at $130!)

Deluxe Package (BEST VALUE!)—$130 a month: Includes ongoing email support (shamanic distance healing and shamanic counseling via email),
one monthly 30-minute Intuitive Shamanic Phone Reading,
and one monthly full-length (90-minute) distance healing session with full report (valued alone at $130!)
PLUS
one monthly in-person full-length (90-minute) Shamanic Healing session (valued alone at $130!)

...

You can't beat the Deluxe Package for all of the continual monthly support you will receive, but rest assured even the Basic Package will do wonders to support the daily raising of your vibration.

FEEL GOOD!

Email now to set up your own monthly healing support system with Wolf Wisdom Healing and Counseling. wolfwisdomhealing@gmail.com

-- Jennifer Glickstein
Wolf Wisdom Healing and Counseling

WWTN #21 -- Buzz, Buzz, Buzz

2008-05-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

Hello, Welcome to Issue 21 of Wolf Wisdom Transformational News!

It is a strange energy today. The title of this newsletter might lead some to expect that I am laden with bee energy, or wasp, as usual, but that is not it.

It is a buzzing through my body, but not coming from within. It feels as if the gods of activity are swirling and awakening--energies, is the word they are giving me--within me, and within everybody.

The time feels as if things that were started a while back are coming to completion--NOW.

These things that were started are, of course, different for everybody--to a certain degree--but the patterns are the same.

It's funny, I felt the buzzing and knew I had to sit down and write a newsletter, yet I am not certain what it is about!

So I will listen to the spirits now and write what they say:

Solitude. Branch. Forgive. Expect.

...

Interesting! As I typed I received glimmers of what these four words mean, in this order.

The solitude was winter, and what a hibernation it was!

The stillness in preparation of what would be to come.

Branch--that is the spring, the recent past, when we started to wake up and slowly branch out, reach our branches out, begin to bud along the branches.

Forgive. That was the necessary step in completion of the healing that took place this winter. Wake up and forgive--EVERYTHING. The only way to heal.

And now...Expect. Some say it is best to have no expectations. The spirits tell me right now, to EXPECT. Expect good things, every moment! This is conscious creation. This is the law of attraction. This is so many things with so many names, but simply put, this is being magnetized! They are saying:

EXPECT GOOD THINGS ALL THE TIME.

And I know from experience that when I do this, when I expect good things all the time, guess what? I RECEIVE GOOD THINGS, ALL THE TIME! And I even find good things in unexpected places, at unexpected times, because I am buzzing--aha! Buzzing, with the vibration of goodness. Like attracts like, indeed!

This has been a short but powerful and unexpected good thing of a newsletter!

Until next time, expect good things all the time!

Buzzing away,
Jen

P.S. Antelope says hello! (Coming in to the time for ACTION....)

WWTN #20 -- How I Met Nessie the Alligator

2008-04-23T23:04:00.000-07:00

Hello all, It has taken me some time to digest my amazing experience meeting Nessie the Alligator.

Many pieces have come together in my life because of our meeting. A part of me has returned.

My heart continues to heal.

So many people have asked about this meeting of the souls.

I needed to let it simmer and brew in to an informational article that I could post, literally, for all the world to see--including you!

And here it is: http://hubpages.com/hub/Animals-as-Healers

Please read, respond, enjoy; and thank you all so much for your overwhelming response to the pictures of me and Nessie hugging.

WWTN # 19 -- Wolf Wisdom Presents: Phone Readings!

2008-04-07T18:01:00.000-07:00

Hello fabulous people,

I am very excited to announce the "grand opening" of a new Wolf Wisdom service:

Intuitive Shamanic Phone Readings

During such a reading, I energetically look in to any issues you would would like addressed, and give you the information and feedback I receive surrounding these issues. As issues are ready to come up and get looked at, they begin to shift and transform, lending clarity and healing to the root of the issues. New light shines on old patterns, allowing for their release.

A reading makes room for your abundance, prosperity and joy to cascade in to your energy field, filling in the gaps where the old blocks no longer exist!

Quickie Phone Reading: 30 minutes, $40

Standard Phone Reading: 60 minutes, $75

Phone Reading Deluxe: 90 minutes, $105

This information is so new, it is not even on my website as of 7:48pm tonight.
You are the first to know!

Schedule your reading with me to take advantage of these great introductory prices!

Credit Cards now accepted for all services.

Springtime blessings of rebirth and newness to you!

WWTN #18 -- Editing

2008-04-07T17:30:00.000-07:00

Hello, welcome to issue #18 of Wolf Wisdom Transformational News!

Another aspect of what I do is editing--especially creative writing: Fiction, poetry, plays, etc.; as well as non-fiction: Articles, e-books, web copy, etc.

I realized today that I approach someone's body of writing similarly to how I approach their physical and energy bodies in my healing work. I see what is not necessary and needs to be taken away (extraction of energy blocks), and I see what is beautiful and needs to be brought out and enhanced!

Each piece of writing is sacred as it is a gift we channel through ourselves, each in our own unique and fabulous way, from spirit.

As I spent most of today reworking my editing website, all this dawned on me--healing and editing--each are an aspect of my soul's path, and are highly related.

No wonder they both make me feel so good!

Many of you are writers, or know of writers, so here I share with you the link to my refurbished editing website. Twindogs Editing: www.twindogsediting.com

Check it out and pass it on!

LOVE
Jennifer

WWTN #17 -- Chameleon

2008-03-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

"I watch the ripples change their size
but never leave the stream
of warm impermanence....

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...."

Even early in his career, David Bowie was aware that things were in a constant state of flux, both on the surface and at their depths.

He has survived the flux and sustained his prosperity, grounded in what truly brings him joy.

The important thing is to be aware of remaining grounded, with a clear energy flow, through these times of rapid change and transition.

I closed my eyes today, in hopes of slowing myself down, and asked: What animal will come and assist me today on my healing path?

Immediately, Chameleon came, and the song "Changes" began playing in my head.

Ah.

It is not easy, the constant state of flux.

Sometimes I feel things will never stay still.

Then I remember: I have no control over whether anything is still.

That is, except for myself. Today, in this moment, I choose to be still.

My colors and movements morph and breathe with the changing of the tide.

I AM,

and that is all that I need to be.

Thank you, Chameleon.

Thank you, David Bowie.

"Time may change me,
But I can't trace time--
I said that time may change me,
But I can't trace time...."
--David Bowie, 1971

WWTN #16 -- Simplicity is Magical; Magic is Simple

2008-03-10T15:50:00.000-07:00

I define magic as anything that is extraordinary.

Notice I did not say "out of the ordinary"--but Extra Ordinary. Magic is as simple as it gets. It is what existed before anything could exist.

Magic is the solid base on which all is founded. It is all around us--Extra Ordinary--so ordinary in fact, that it slips by the vision of many folks.

A lot of us are often looking for magic in places beyond the here and now--beyond every day existence. It is found there, of course.

But most importantly, earth-dwellers, wearers of bodies, Magic is found here. It is inside of us, around us, it supports us and drives us.

Plumbing is magic. How water comes out of that little spout and cleans our belongings and our earthly vessels.

How poetry comes out of the pens that those bodies empty enough to be channels can produce.

How feet move one in front of the other, how a spine keeps it all aligned.

How an eye sees the basket, and the ball goes whoosh. Magic.

And for those of you who want a proven example that magic is infiltrating our lives at the base of every subject, take a look at this little math problem:

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

Magic is not random, but, like numbers, it is a core part of our every day existence. Magic is no accident.

Simply put, magic is here to stay.

WWTN #15 - Poem

2008-01-09T14:13:00.000-08:00

Have You Ever Been?

I travel a lot but need no suitcase

Have a lavender one in my closet waiting to be filled

But

Where I go I need no baggage

No toothbrush for the soul

I close my eyes and breathe and wander

Through the land of Letting Go

--Jennifer Esther Glickstein, 2008

WWTN #14 - Letting Go

2007-12-26T11:45:00.000-08:00

Thank you for being there to receive issue #14 of Wolf Wisdom Transformational News!

It is a season of hibernation--I am feeling it even more this year than in years past. And, I feel, the deeper the hibernation, the more we are going inward, preparing for what's to come. 2008 is going to be a time of tremendous rebirth, and requires a letting go of any and all murky muck that still may be lurking in our energy systems.

Light, new and fresh for the new year!

Manifesting the lives we want entails a letting go of any emotional issues that no longer serve us. And this means letting go of ANGER.

As I sat recently thinking: "How does one let go of past anger?", it came to me in a visualization. It is not always easy to simply look within and spot past anger. If the issues are not big and obvious, I think the best time to see any past anger we are holding on to is when we are feeling anger or depression in the present. The key is to look at what the present situation is really stirring up, and how it is connected to past situations, issues, relationships--think back; when have you felt this before in your life?--and then, once you see the connection, do the dissolving visualization.

When doing any visualization, remember to breathe and relax your body.

...

Visualization to Dissolve Past Anger:

See an icy sidewalk. It does not feel safe to walk on the ice.

Now, see your anger, whatever the cause, as if it were compressed in to little hardened pellets, covering the icy sidewalk. These pellets look very hard and unchangeable, like murky little gemstones.

Then, with your mind, change these gemstones to rock salt; the kind we put on the ice so that we don't slip and fall. See the salt covering the icy sidewalk as it begins to dissolve the ice. Now the anger has changed from something hurtful to something helpful!

And finally, (in your mind) take a big pot of boiling water, pour it over the sidewalk--salt, ice and all--and watch the boiling water melt away the salt and ice, clearing your path so you can now stand firmly, and walk strongly and safely in to your light new era!

...

I love that I am able to share this tool with you, and help get you started on a light, new and fresh 2008!

Use this visualization as often as you need to.

Enjoy this dissolution as it makes way for the manifestation of your resolutions!!

...

Remember:

You can still receive 25% off any session scheduled for this coming Friday, Saturday or Sunday!

And, mention this newsletter to receive $10 off any healing session in January 2008!

Light, new and fresh!!

WWTN # 13 - Manifesting

2007-12-19T15:59:00.000-08:00

Aha! The lucky 13th transformational newsletter! ...

I had/have/am finishing up a full-time job at Northwestern University Library.

I have worked in libraries all my life, because I love the people who work in libraries.

I have been working on and building on my healing abilities since 1996, and I have a healing practice.

I realized it was time to move on from the job and concentrate on my healing practice, but I was allowing other people's fears (the fears of people in my life that I am close to) to get in the way of me taking the "leap" out of the library, and just to trust that my practice plus my creative editing business will carry me and will bring in earnings that I can live on.

So, I went the "safer" route of moving out of my full-time job in to a part-time job that was more in my realm of talents--in a Behavioral Optometrist's office, where I was being trained to be a vision therapist for a variety of patients with different vision issues. Ah, I thought, now this is more like it.

I knew it wasn't going to be forever, and that it wasn't the exact right "forever" thing yet, however the training was helpful for me and I figured I would also be helping people--so good for now at least--right?

So, the doc let me go today. After only about 2 and a half weeks in to the job.

Huh!

He said my own vision problem was getting in the way of me being able to communicate with patients the way the I was supposed to, within the realm of this vision therapy training program.

And you know, I thoroughly agree with him. I do not have the style of communication needed to fit within the realm of that program. I have my own style.

So where does this leave me?

I looked at the situation, right away, with eyes wide open. What was this really all about?

Confidence.

I was using that job as a crutch while I slowly crept out of my secure full-time job which, little by little, was squishing my soul (no offense to the other beautiful souls that work there, who I do love dearly).

I did not, a few weeks ago, have the confidence to just say, You know, I really am a healer, I really have these gifts to offer, and clients are flocking to me in droves!

All of the things I do know about myself but had a hard time admitting (yes, the good things)....these are the things that I can no longer hide. It is not fair to any bosses, nor to myself, for me to hide behind their vision of what a business should be. I have my own vision and ample talents.

I manifest confidence, and that nothing will ever prevent me from admitting what I do well.
In the name of confidence, I move forward.

Thank you for reading!

WWTN #12 -- Here's What I Do

2007-11-13T09:43:00.000-08:00

November 13, 2007

It's funny, you can do something for a year, and even tell people what you do, and be successful at it, but never fully absorb it for yourself. Today, after quite a weekend of cleansing and clearing my own energy "gunk", I woke up feeling refreshed and more clear and actually ready to be one with "what I do"!

Sometimes it doesn't matter how many testimonials you receive, or how much feedback you get--until you are in a mode where you can actually be receptive to it, it may not stick with you. Oh sure, you hear it with your ears and mentally acknowledge it, but until you can receive it in your soul, it may not feel like truth. So how do we receive information with our soul? One thing is for certain--we have to clear and clean out our energetic "closets" until they are smooth and empty--vessels ready to receive our prosperity, connect with our truth--so we can FEEL it within ourselves.

So, what do I do?

Aha! I assist folks in clearing out their own energetic closets, getting all their "gunk" out, revitalizing their energetic passageways until they also are ready to be channels for their own prosperity--so they may connect with their own true earthwalk and feel the joy of "why they are here" this time!

Now I would love to share with you a recent testimonial from a client. I was not ready to "receive" it when it actually came--but after my weekend of clearing, I am ready ready ready!

"Shamanic healing has changed my life in so many ways. I've been a student of shamanic practices for a couple of years after being introduced to it by a friend. Since then I have been going to sweat lodges as well as participating in other Native American ceremonies. Although these ceremonies made me reflect on my purpose as well as fill me with positive energy, they weren't really designed to figure out what to do in life.

I knew that my totem animal was a wolf and so when I got Jennifer's contact information (Wolf Wisdom Shamanic Healing), I immediately felt drawn to it. My session with Jennifer was amazing; I could literally feel stagnant energy being cleaned out of me. She also gave me the courage per her counsel to leave my corporate 9-5 job and do something I could never imagine myself doing: working with wolves!

I am currently volunteering at The....Wolf Sanctuary in New Mexico. This is something that I believe was directly linked with Jennifer's assistance in cleaning my energy and her counsel. Since I've been here I find myself doing new things daily, breathing clean air, and learning from one of the greatest teachers Earth has to offer: the wolf. No corporate job could ever match up to this....

I am very grateful to have met Jennifer and I definitely do plan on continuing on my path here and wherever it takes me."--J.V., client, Shamanic Life Coaching

After a testimonial like that, I can't think of anything to say besides--I am so thankful that I have been able to connect with my own path, and share it with those who have needed the same clearing and connection. I love my work and look forward to a lifetime of sharing it!

WWTN #11 -- Poverty Consciousness

2007-10-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

October 9, 2007

Perhaps this is because of all the sage I had to use on a recent client, to really smoke out something big, but this morning as I walked Donovan (my beloved Boston Terrier), I realized something had been shaken loose in me as well, and was ready to break free.

I listened to my body for a moment. Uh oh, there it was, my old friend--one that's kept me "safe" from the unknown, from moving beyond a point where I have been comfortable for so long--good old poverty consciousness!

Very ironic considering Lakshmi, Goddess of Prosperity is one of my main spirit guides! How much easier it is to look at and help release other folks' blocks.

So this morning I said, Lakshmi, I really want to be rid of this once and for all. I need to break it wide open. The poverty consciousness is here, I asked, because of other spirits' belief systems glomming on to and clouding up mine, right?

Other spirits, yes, she said, and other people.

Whew. Ok, so can you help me today with this? No, she said.

I realized I had worded it in too general of a way. I knew what she wanted me to say. Ok then, Lakshmi, can you help me with this NOW?

Yes, she said.

Let go of poverty consciousness. Let the waves wash over you.

Ok, I said. Waves of what? Is it water? Is it a cleansing water? Air? A breeze perhaps?

She did not answer and her silence told me it did not matter. I was too much in the head and not letting go. So we went through it several times.

Let go of poverty consciousness. Let the waves wash over you.
Let go of poverty consciousness. Let the waves wash over you.
Let go of poverty consciousness. Let the waves wash over you.
Let go of poverty consciousness. Let the waves wash over you.

I knew then I was ready to deal with it. Out loud, walking my dog in the middle of the park, I said:

I let go of poverty consciousness.

Something jumped in my stomach. I realized of course, we hold these thoughts, these belief systems, in our bodies. I must hold mine in my stomach. I said out loud:

I let go of poverty consciousness.

I felt something jump in the top of my back between my spine and my shoulder. Oh, good gravy; there too? I said out loud:

I let go of poverty consciousness.

I felt something jump in my throat.

Surprise!

That, Lakshmi said, is a tool you can use to let go of poverty consciousness.

It's that simple? I asked. Why didn't I just think of that before?

She smiled, a smile filled with humor--laughing with me, not at me, of course....

And then, without her having to say a word: Of course, I said. Most things in life ARE that simple. It is we, the humans, who try to make things complicated.

No more complications. With Lakshmi's permission, I give you the easiest tool in the world to assist you in letting go of poverty consciousness. You can use it as often as you'd like. Say it out loud:

I let go of poverty consciousness.

Try it, and see what jumps!

Thank you, Lakshmi.

WWTN #10 -- Dragonfly, Healing Packages, Workshop and more!

2007-08-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

I had a tremendous Dragonfly visitation yesterday; another landing and bout of stillness on a bush! His head and mid-region were green like the leaves, and his abdominal segments (the long part) were brown like the twigs! His wings were transparent, so he blended right in to his background. Despite his large size, I may not even have seen him if it weren't for the fact that he first flew in a circle around me and then crashed solidly into the umbrella of my patio table before landing on the bush. After the crash, he was perfectly still.
He helped me to be still.

And today, I am more organized,
and ready to give you the news.

I am now offering as the basic type of healing session
the Shamanic Life Coaching, which is a 90-minute session.
This session entails shamanic counseling and a variety of shamanic healing techniques.
(The 1-hour session may remain a special request option for a quick tune-up,
or for people on a time-crunched schedule.)

4-Session Special

Buy 4 Shamanic Life Coaching Sessions for $400, for a savings of $80!
Balance due at the time of the first session.

I have appointments open at 2pm and 4pm on Sundays and Mondays,
and Wednesday mornings at 10:30am.

Book ahead by emailing me at wolfwisdomhealing@gmail.com
or calling 847-757-9892.

I also offer long distance healings. The times for these are flexible; please inquire.

...

There is still time to register for the Ganesha and Lakshmi Workshop:

--Release obstacles
--Instill prosperity
--Connect with your joy

A transformational workshop
facilitated by shamanic practitioner Jennifer Glickstein.

Join me in calling upon
two of my favorite spirit guides:

Ganesha, Remover of Obstacles
and
Lakshmi, Bringer of Prosperity and Abundance

in this three-hour workshop of moving energy
and connecting with your joy.

Sunday, August 26, 3pm-6pm
Wolf Wisdom Studio
1517 Lee Street, Evanston, IL 60202

$55

Pre-registration required.
Email wolfwisdomhealing@gmail.com
or call: 847-757-9892

WWTN #9 -- Hawk

2007-07-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

Sat, 30 Jun 2007

Hello! It has been quite some time since issue #8, when Bee and Antelope graced me with a visit--and now who has said Yoohoo, but oh, whoa, the HAWK!!

Here's how it happened.

As usual on my trek to work, I crossed the paths through and among the trees of the beautiful Northwestern University campus. I espied a woman standing in the grass looking straight up.

"Is it the falcon again?" I asked, due to the fact that every so often a Peregrine Falcon lands on a nearby evergreenand stands stock still for lengthy periods of time.

She shook her head. "No, it's a Cooper's Hawk!"

"Really!" I stood next to the woman, looking up, but saw nothing. I waited. Suddenly there was a rustle and a flapping and I saw a very LARGE bird. I had never seen a hawk up close and I was mesmerized. She flew to a different tree, and suddenly managed to blend in again and I could not see her.

Me being me, as soon as I could get to a computer, I googled Hawk, Hawk Totem, Hawk Power Animal--read all about it, loved it, was amazed by it. I felt blessed and energized by the visit.

I told a few of my coworkers I had seen a big hawk outside, and oddly enough I received reactions that were neutral at best. Didn't anybody understand? This was a beautiful, big, amazing creature."A hawk, you guys. I saw a hawk!"

"Oh, yeah," said one coworker. "You don't work in the mornings, but a few other employees have seen the hawk, and apparently it catches pigeons in mid-air, rips them to shreds and drops pigeon body parts on the ground right in front of people."

Well. Old me would have been quite grossed out by this. New me thought, Yeah, so? It's a HAWK!

So on I read until I was stopped by one paragraph, written by Jo Brothers, a Clairvoyant, Metaphysician and Spiritual Teacher in New Zealand. I quote it below:

"The destiny of all humankind is to awaken from their spiritual amnesia and realign with the original intention of their soul. When the hawk flies into our life we will be asked to evaluate who we have become and rip out the threads of our self-created illusions. This enables our inner truth to surface."

Wow. I read it again. "Rip out the threads of our self-created illusions." Yeah, pigeon parts on the sidewalk!

Then an inner voice said: "Jen, remember when you were making all of those totem essences? You need to make a new hawk essence, and this message from Jo Brothers is the medicine that the essence will carry."

I was surprised! In the past, when guided to make a totem essence, I'd make the essence first and then I would be told what its medicine was. This is the first time I was told what the medicine was going to be before the essence was created.

...

The essence has arrived. The creation of this essence was extremely focused and powerful. In the making of it, so much was released. So much opened up. After taking my first dose, I sat down and wrote a whole song. For the first time in 10 years.

Also, for the first time in a long time, I am being guided to advertise the essence. Getting past any blocks in the way of self-promotion; Here I Am.

Please share this blog with all of your friends.

...

HAWK ESSENCE FOR SALE. VERY SPECIAL.

Dosage: 3 drops, 3 times a day, under the tongue or in water, juice or tea.

1 oz. dropper bottle--$30.

Healing properties: "The destiny of all humankind is to awaken from their spiritual amnesia and realign with the original intention of their soul. When the hawk flies into our life we will be asked to evaluate who we have become and rip out the threads of our self-created illusions.

This enables our inner truth to surface."--Jo Brothers

...

Ready?

WWTN #8 -- Animal Humor Rules!

2007-07-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

Wolf Wisdom Transformational News:
Being and Acting; A Balance

I've just been alerted by these bee-ings, Bee and Antelope. Here's the buzz:

I've known for years that Bee and Wasp are totems of mine.
Seeing them affects me physically, gives me shivers.
I used to wonder—why this strong reaction each time, when I hadn't yet been stung?

Now I realize: It is my sense of being reacting.

My sense of Bee-ing

I will make puns until honey drips from my fingers on to the keyboard. Bee, Bee, BE.

Since I was a small child, I've had a feeling of being sort of other-worldly; magical, wraith-like, not of this earth. My name, Jennifer, comes from the Welsh name Guinevere—one translation of this is "white phantom." I was always aware of being energy—so much so, that I did not feel at home in my body. Being in a body meant pain, discomfort. Not the grounded-ness that is meant for us by being at home in our earthly form. I am still working on feeling that! But at least I am aware of it!

Since childhood I would see a bee and have this literal BZZZZZ throughout my physical being. I always chalked this up to the knowledge instilled in us at an early age: Bee careful; in fact bee fearful —these creatures have stingers, they sting, it hurts! Physical pain! This was so ingrained in me that I couldn't BEAR the thought of getting stung, although it had never yet happened! I pre-embodied the pain before ever knowing what it felt like.

Then, one summer morning when I was 10 years old, as my mom dropped me off at day camp, I hugged her goodbye. My hand touched her purse and brushed against a Yellow Jacket wasp that had landed there. For the first and only time in my life, I was stung. The pain permeated me so badly I screamed, cried, begged to go home. Forget it. No way was I about to have fun at camp that day! Somehow, between my mom and the counselors, they calmed me down, got me some ice for the swelling, and persuaded me to stay. Well, the pain didn't go away altogether, but it did become more tolerable. I learned that having a physical body can sometimes be uncomfortable, but that discomfort eventually gives way to healing, to being able to use the body in order to have fun again—hence my hike through the forest trail with the other campers that day was lovely as usual!

Which brings me loping to the second totem of the day. Yes, the bee teaches us how to BE. To be at one with our soul's path and work. Wake. Go to our flower. Gather the nectar. Pollinate. Sleep. But sometimes, when the flower has fully bloomed, when the time is right and ripe, you must be a bit more robust, allow yourself to feel the sting, get shaken up, and ACT.

This is where Antelope lopes in and plANTs itself among the flowers. And how did the flowers get plANTed in the first place? Through the ACTION of planting. And who plANTs? You, the gardener. BEE-ing, sowing, growing. Knowing. When to take action, what action to take. According to Wicca Manifestor Lin Oberlin ( www.linsdomain.com) a person with Antelope for a totem is "intrinsically psychic. Often it is in the form of clear-smelling – fragrances and odors will awaken this power." Perhaps this is why Antelope has chosen to BEE planted here among the fragrant flowers in this garden of bee-ing. "Listen to Antelope, but more importantly, act. You will overcome any obstacle in your path."

I leave you with this thought from our dear friend and relation, "Aunty Lope":

This is why, in so many cases, after months and months of painful and meticulous planning and hemming and hawing, so many couples are spurred by Antelope past waiting for their wedding,
And-ELOPE.

WWTN #7 -- Falcon Brings the News

2007-07-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome all to a quick edition of Wolf Wisdom Transformational News!

Major change all around us, major change in my own life.

I moved to a wonderful new place just a few weeks ago.

I have been contemplating other big changes; good ones. Received the message today from Falcon, who flew and perched in a tree outside as I aproached the library where I go to my day job, that big change, yes, is good. But only when it is truly in harmony, and only with patience, and the strength that comes with it.

So I sit in my tree, watch patiently, trying to achieve as much of the stillness of Falcon as I can muster (goodness how still he is, watching!).

Tiny steps will lead the way.

"Falcon teaches control of speed and movement. It shows how to recognize opportunities and act upon them at only the correct moment. Watching a Falcon will show you to fully commit and when to act to achieve success."
--excerpt from one of my favorite places on the web: www.linsdomain.com

WWTN #6 -- Wolf Warrior

2007-07-14T12:52:00.001-07:00

In this issue I want to share beautiful words.

Below is a most amazing excerpt from Wolf Warrior, a story I recently came across
by an incredible artist named Joy Harjo. It makes me full of joy to share it with you all! Enjoy!

...

"A young man, about your age or mine, went camping with his dogs. It was just a few years ago, not long after the eruption of Mount St. Helens, when white ash covered the northern cities, an event predicting a turning of the worlds. I imagine October and bear's fat with berries of the brilliant harvest, before the freezing breath of the north settles in and the moon is easier to reach by flight without planes. His journey was a journey toward the unknowable, and that night as he built a fire out of twigs and broken boughs he remembered the thousand white butterflies climbing toward the sun when he had camped there last summer.

Dogs were his beloved companions in the land that had chosen him through the door of his mother. His mother continued to teach him well and it was she who had reminded him that the sound of pumping oil wells might kill him, turn him toward money. So he and his dogs traveled out into the land that remembered everything, including butterflies, and the stories that were told when light flickered from grease.

That night as he boiled water for coffee and peeled potatoes he saw a wolf walking toward camp on her hind legs. It had been a generation since wolves had visited his people. The dogs were awed to see their ancient relatives and moved over to make room for them at the fire. The lead wolf motioned for her companions to come with her and they approached humbly, welcomed by the young man who had heard of such goings on but the people had not been so blessed since the church had fought for their souls. He did not quite know the protocol, but knew the wolves as relatives and offered them coffee, store meat and fried potatoes which they relished in silence. He stoked the fire and sat quiet with them as the moon in the form of a knife for scaling fish came up and a light wind ruffled the flame.

The soundlessness in which they communed is what I imagined when I talked with the sun yesterday. It is the current in the river of your spinal cord that carries memory from sacred places, the sound of a thousand butterflies taking flight in windlessness.
He knew this meeting was unusual and she concurred, then told the story of how the world as they know it had changed and could no longer support the sacred purpose of life. Food was scarce, pups were being born deformed and their migrations which were in essence a ceremony for renewal were restricted by fences. The world as all life on earth knew it would end and there was still time in the circle of hope to turn back the destruction.

That's why they had waited for him, called him here from the town a day away over the rolling hills, from his job constructing offices for the immigrants. They shared a smoke and he took the story into his blood, while the stars nodded their heads, while the dogs murmured their agreement. "We can't stay long," the wolf said. "We have others with whom to speak and we haven't much time." He packed the wolf people some food to take with them, some tobacco and they prayed together for safety on this journey.

As they left the first flakes of winter began falling and covered their tracks. It was as if they had never been there.

But the story burned in the heart of this human from the north and he told it to everyone who would listen, including my elder friend who told it to me one day over biscuits and eggs. The story now belongs to you too, and much as pollen on the legs of a butterfly is nourishment carried by the butterfly from one flowering to another, this is an ongoing prayer for strength for us all."

--excerpted from Wolf Warrior by Joy Harjo

WWTN #5 -- Bee in your Bonnet? A Thank-You Note

2007-07-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

Fly in your soup?

Animal friends bring messages constantly. It is up to us to listen (or not). We of course don't have to pay attention to our fine feathered or furry or winged friends, but if we choose to, we may feel calmer, and more informed, relaxed, refreshed and magically infused than we were before the animal (be it in physical or spirit form) graced us with its presence.

A couple of months ago, I was going along in a kind of sad and bluesy mode--had been for a couple of days. The unavoidable repetitiveness of "wake up, go to work, come home, go to sleep" was weighing heavily on me. One day I woke up, got ready for work, left my apartment, walked to the corner and turned left, just like I do every day. Suddenly in the distance I saw an object speeding towards me through the air. It quickly came closer and I realized it was a hummingbird! WHOA! I hadn't seen a live hummingbird in YEARS! It whizzzzzed past my head, almost grazing my left ear, whizzzzzed just as quickly away, and was "gone".

I felt shocked, exhilarated, happy! The beauty of hummingbird had zapped me. Of course, the totem medicine of hummingbird is as follows: "It can help you find joy and sweetness in any situation." (http://www.linsdomain.com/totems/pages/hummingbird.htm) On to work, with a new perspective gained! Hummingbird is bringer of joy, and gave me this medicine to pass on to others as it whizzzily whispered past my ear.

Another animal that sometimes buzzes in to my life, never failing to make me feel inordinately happy and fulfilled, is the Bumblebee! It is one of my totems, as well as the Honeybee and the Wasp, but before now I hadn't yet fathomed the depths of what they had to teach me. Today, I "randomly" stumbled on to this website: http://www.ladyoftheearth.com/animals/animals.html and I came across this wonderful passage about Bees. I was blown away, and wanted to share it with you all!

"There are books available that can help in deciphering the message or gifts of a particular animal. Some of these books are quite insightful. Above all, pay attention to how the visit from the animal felt to you. For example, if you were to search in a book for the meaning of a visit by Bee, you may learn about the importance of productivity or the value of community. However, Bee came to me with some unexpected information, information that I'd not seen in any book. During a time when I was doing research on the nature of prayer, I was approached by Bee during one of my journeys. She told me that all Bees live their life as a prayer. She went on to share with me much information about prayer and how to pray. Recently, during a time of loss, I was again visited by Bee. She asked that I ask the Bees to pray for me and also to go out into my gardens. Sitting beneath the Spring blooming trees, my attention was drawn toa loud humming. I looked up to see a cloud of Bumble Bees among the branches of the trees. I began to hum along with them and felt a peace settle over me. For months after that day, I encountered Bees in the most unlikely places. Reminders for me that they continued to pray, and also that I was not alone. Neither are you."--Raven Cypress Wood

What strikes me as I read through it again is the SOUND of the word. Bee. Bee. BE.

All animals have medicine, knowledge, and beneficial power that they want to share with us. They want to help us. Their messages can be different for each individual and it is up to us to listen and discern.

Animals, I want to thank you for your gifts, patience, help and kindness in this and all lifetimes; thank you for coming to my side and sharing your knowledge and your power.

Thank you Spider for spinning the creative web of eternity. Thank you Alligator for your rumblings of primal energies and deep wisdom. Thank you mammals, insects, birds and reptiles. Thank you all.

WWTN # 4 -- Dragonfly and the Art of Stillness

2007-07-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

July 31, 2006

Here, Now. Why is it that so many of us find it much easier to be anywhere but here, now?

I know it is very difficult for me!

But, guess who came to lunch?

I went on my little half-hour break at the university where I have my library day job.

As I sat by the window in the student center, looking at the greenery outside and munching my Vegan Soy Burger, a creature whizzed by on the other side of the glass--yep, again with Dragonfly! I smiled as I munched.

He whizzed past again--another big dude! Then, suddenly, he landed in a bush, where I had a very clear view of him. And he stayed there!

In my experience I have seen dragonflies hover, whiz, and very briefly "alight" on something before whizzing off again. Never had I seen one actually land, let alone stay put!

As I finished up my soy burger I couldn't take my eyes off my friend. I noticed his beautiful, lacy wings, then moved on to his body. The way he'd landed in the bush, he was in an upright position. He looked like a miniature person! I could just see him hopping down from the bush and walking away like a snazzy little man, wings flopping airily along behind him.

I did not want to look away, but time was ticking, and I had to eat my avocado. I cut it in half, making two little avocado bowls, took my spoon and started munching again, glancing frequently at my still motionless friend. I sincerely half-expected him to morph in to human form, and realized this just might have been what folks in the green fields of Britain have been spotting for centuries and deeming as Pixies! And really, who's to say they're not? Certainly dragonflies hold all of the magic of faeries.

Having done justice to my avocado, it was time to head back to work. And guess what? Mr. Pixie was still solidly grounded in his bush as I started the trek back.

Well, I thought, I'll be darned. If a dragonfly, of all people, can sit still for more than 20 minutes and BE HERE NOW, then I can learn to do it, too.

The lesson begins today.

Wolf Wisdom Transformational News #3 -- Dragonfly

2007-07-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Issue 3 of WWTN!

It's the 19th today--the date of the number 1. (In numerology the breakdown is as follows: 19=1+9=10=1+0=1.) 1 is the number of new beginnings. Of rebirth.

I spent all last week wondering what last week's newsletter was going to be about. Watching. Waiting. Analyzing. Trying to fit an event in to the mold of a newsletter about transformation. The week came and went.

I had a lot on my very active Gemini mind, too, apart from the newsletter. The "what ifs" and the "maybes" and the whirling dervishes in my head were doing their thing, and then some.

Walking the dog after work at dusk: "I just don't know--...On the one hand--...but on the other hand--...and/or, and/or, and/or...."

On my way to a session with a client last Saturday: "What if--...Or maybe--...Or if not that, then....)

Sure, there were outside influences which planted the seeds that grew in to these niggling thoughts. But instead of weeding my mind, I watered the seeds, let them grow in to big stalks of anxiety which rooted themselves in my stomach (ouch) and tickled my brain.

This morning as I began my trek to work, I was planning on taking my usual route; it is the quickest and most streamlined. But I felt a little twinge, and a voice said: "Take the scenic route." The scenic route is a beautiful walk north along verdant Evanston.

I became almost annoyed with my intuition. The scenic route takes longer and I was already running a bit behind schedule. But I listened. I knew there was a reason. I thought: "Maybe if I went the other way I would be stung by a wasp--...Or maybe this--...Or maybe that...Maybe, maybe, maybe."

I figured I would take full advantage of the scenic route, since it wanted me to take it so badly, and I ducked in to my favorite cafe to grab an iced coffee to go. I said a quick hello to a writer friend who was relaxing at a table, and explained like the White Rabbit: "I'm late! I'm late!" I took off down the street.

"Well," my mind went. "Maybe I was supposed to see my friend in there. Am I supposed to ask him something? Maybe I need to...Maybe, maybe, maybe." And on it went, my mind in such a whirl that I almost forgot to take notice of the beautiful front yard gardens along the blocks of the "scenic route"--after all, a "scene" is to be "seen"!

Luckily, walking past a lovely and surely turn-of-the-century home I spotted one of those wooden garden decorations-on-a-stick, the kind that you stick down in to the earth among the flowers and which are almost always ducks or butterflies with wings that spin or flap in the breeze. This one, however, was a huge dragonfly, painted blue.

Dragonfly. Dragonfly is my spirit guide who comes during sessions, to assist in illuminating the "parts" that need healing. So when I see Dragonfly outside of sessions, I always feel encouraged in some way. I stop, breathe, smile and say: "Thank you, Dragonfly." Which I did, this morning. Once in this calmer state, I was able to say: "If Dragonfly comes for me to light up parts that need healing, then what part of me needs healing right now?"

And then I realized: Seeing Dragonfly immediately quietened my hyperactive mental chatter, caused me to take a deep breath, and helped me feel more centered. And then I remembered back to last week. Walking the dog at dusk, the whirling dervishes running rampant in my head, I'd looked up to see several large dragonflies whizzing around the top of a lamppost. But did I listen then? Not so much.

I remembered back to Saturday, on my way to a session with a client; the "maybes" and "what ifs" jumping around like grasshoppers from dendrite to dendrite in my brain. I had been startled by a big hovering creature to my left, and I turned to find probably the largest dragonfly I'd ever seen whizzing its way up towards the top of a very high fence. That certainly took my mind off its chatter for the moment! I remember thinking that it's a good thing dragonflies don't bite humans! And then I felt glad and exhilarated that it had visited me. I felt calmer the rest of the way to my appointment.

It took a week and a half, and a large, rather obvious wooden rendering of my illuminating friend, but Dragonfly has finally got his point across: "Jen, how can your mind truly fly with all that buzzing in your brain?"

Jen inhales, smiles: "Oh, yeah." Exhales.

New beginnings.

Wolf Wisdom Transformational News #2 -- Headless Rabbit

2007-07-14T12:34:00.000-07:00

July 5, 2006

Last night was the 4th of July, fireworks and all. My boyfriend Rich and I decided to try and meet several friends there--some of whom were already supposed to be ensconced in a certain picnic area, some of whom were supposed to arrive after us and find us there.

We arrived at the lakefront destination. My head hurt a bit, I was limping because I had recently twisted my ankle, and we were both tired and sort of "over it" already--but we had told our friends we would be there, so we faithfully arrived.

Once there, it was already a bit past 9pm, and really too dark to make out anything in great detail--we walked and circled the area in vain, but could not see our friends.

We came across an empty picnic table and sat down, thinking that at least we could see some of the fireworks, and that maybe our other friends would find us if we kept to one place.

The fireworks began and we could just make them out through a clearing in the trees. Suddenly we heard a strange repetitive flapping sound.

Coming down a path we saw a street performer wearing a mask which resembled the character Pantalone, from the Commedia Dell'Arte: Dark leather, covering half the face, and with a long, protruding nose. He was walking along while balancing on a giant ball, and in each hand held a giant black hand-held fan--these were the source of the flapping sounds! I realized he was selling neon glow-sticks, and would also stop and perform magic tricks for the children. The whole time he did not speak, and used his body to express and communicate.

Because of his mask, I immediately thought: "I wonder what message Raccoon has for me?"

In between performing for the children, he would pull his mask up and talk with what seemed to be his girlfriend, as they decided which way they would walk next. In those moments, of course, he seemed less magical and more "human".

I remained very focused on him. Seeing performers expressing with body language always fills me with a longing for the 7 years that I was a practicing pantomime, silently conveying everything to the audience with my body--emotions, actions, humor.

Eventually the performer and his friend moved on, and our other friends hadn't shown up, so, tired, we left the scene of the fireworks early.

We walked home slowly. We found ourselves on Chicago Avenue, one of the busiest streets in Evanston, and traffic was zooming past. As Rich walked and I limped along, I stopped suddenly, looking down at a patch of grass next to a store front. "Oh no! Look, Rich, a dead rabbit!" The body was long, shaped more like a hare, and laying motionless on its side. Rich then mentioned something that I had noticed on some level but had a hard time grasping: "I think it is missing its head."

Seeing something like this is usually so hard on me, because I physically feel the pain of what the creature has gone through--so I say a quick prayer for its soul and move quickly on, which I started to do in this case. But something drew me back.

I turned to Rich and asked him to hold my keys. My arms began to move over the creature. I could feel that its soul had not left the body yet. It seemed in shock from having its host die so suddenly. As if on auto-pilot I began journeying to help the soul move on to the next level. I won't go in to details here; suffice it to say the helpful spirit guides came to assist, and the soul was safely able to move on.

As the journey/healing came to a close, I took a deep breath, opened my eyes, and we continued our walk home. Suddenly I realized I was crying. I turned to Rich and told him: "I'm not crying because I am sad. I'm crying because I feel good."

...

This morning, I started to think about last night. I allowed myself to feel gypped and frustrated at the fact that somehow our friends did not connect with us. Then I reminded myself that if we weren't where we were when we were, I would have missed the masked performer and also my shamanic appointment with Headless Rabbit.

Suddenly I recalled my thought about Raccoon. I thought: I must look up Raccoon in my books about totem animals and find the message that is there for me. But a voice said: "NO. Look at the whole experience."

I went through every detail again, remembering how I felt at each interval of the evening. When I came again to the fact that the rabbit's head was missing, I thought: What do you have when you are missing a head? You have a body.

And then I knew.

The masked street performer was NOT Raccoon coming to me with a message. He was also Headless Rabbit! Putting the dark mask on made his face "disappear," and he was left only with his body with which to communicate! What could be more grounding?

I also realized that when I was drawn back to do the healing for the rabbit, it was my body guiding me, not me guiding my body. This is why it felt so good that it brought tears to my eyes--the body knows what is needed, and trusting that feels good! Sometimes our heads can get in the way of body-knowledge.

And then I remembered: After doing the healing for the rabbit, my headache was gone!

Wolf Wisdom Transformational News -- An Owlish Experience!

2007-07-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

June 27, 2006

Hello, my lovely shamanic people!

I have recently been pondering a shamanic weekly newsletter in which I share some sort of transformational experience with you, and invite you to share yours with me!

I believe that we all have magical experiences each and every day, and my Wolf totem is urging me to clear a path to a place where we all can share these experiences with the wonder and joy that they warrant.

One goal of mine would be to put together a compilation of our experiences and distribute this amongst ourselves--and even amongst others!--thereby growing our shamanic community.

This week I will be sharing AN OWLISH EXPERIENCE with you all.

...

Last night I did not sleep very well, and at one point when I finally drifted off, I dreamed a friend of mine (who has Cherokee blood) and I were walking down the street where I live in southeast Evanston. There are many dogs who live on my block, but we don't often get much out of the ordinary as far as wildlife is concerned.

Suddenly in my dream I saw a couple of people next to a parked car trying to pick up an animal that was between the wheel of the car and the curb. I nudged my friend, pointed and said: "Look, an owl!!"

We stood watching as these people tried to bring the bird up out of the gutter and on to the grass where it would be safer. I remember thinking how amazing the bird was--and in hindsight, it seemed so real and so tangible!

I did not remember my dream until this afternoon, while sitting at my relaxing day job at a university library, perusing the book Animal Speak by Ted Andrews. I opened by "chance" to the chapter on owls, and, ding-ding-ding! A bell went off in my head. I read again what I already knew about owls:

One who works with owl medicine will be able to see and hear what others try to hide.You will hear what is not being said, and you will see what is hidden or in the shadows. You can detect and pinpoint the subtleties....Owl people have a unique ability to see in to the darkness of others' souls and life....These vision and hearing capabilities have metaphysical links to the gifts of clairvoyance and clairaudience as well.

I thought to myself, let's see; in my dream, the owl was standing in between a curb and the wheel of a car--surely not the best place for it--and why were the people trying to lift it up? The owl was not injured, and owls are strong birds. Surely it should be able to fly away.

Then I thought: What is this dream telling me? OK, time to exercise my skills a bit here, and reconnect with and hone my ability to perceive the deeply hidden parts within others. After all, why else am I here? (Here on this plane of existence, not here in the library. :)

That trail of thought continued for a while, and then sort of faded. I found myself people-watching as patrons passed by. Then I saw a woman who passes by my desk just about every day. She always catches my interest due to the strong duality of her loveliness as contrasted with her very stolid composure.

As I sat in a sort of dream state, the first line of a poem formed, then another, then another....until I had formed my interpretation of a shamanic portrait of the woman's inner spirit. (She will remain anonymous, especially considering even I do not know who she is!)

I include the poem here:

Deer-Woman

by Jennifer Esther Glickstein

There is a woman
who seems to be very beautiful
who I see every day,
and who I will never know.
Her bones tell me so.

The line of her jaw whispers
of a Roman soldier I once knew;
leather-strapped sandals on sturdy feet
bind protection to him like a shield.

A gentleness around her eyes, though,
belies a sensitivity she is powerless to control;
her totem Doe softly singing mysteries
of the unruly forest which must secretly grow
within her tidy kitchen: Pots and pans
shone spic and span line the walls
like knights hung out to dry.

Her nostrils want
to tell of the subtleties of the cinnamon
she's sprinkled in her chocolate;
to speak of the stir of lavender
she's kicked up outside her garden door;
to share the immediacy of the night-blooming jasmine
which rides in on waves of darkness
through her screen.

But her bones say No.
Head held high, feet lined up
toe to toe, she walks straight past
as she does each day--
Yet, in her wake,
blows music--faint.

...

The crafting of this poem not only brought, for me, a very bad case of writer's block to a halt (at least for now), but hopefully it filtered in some sort of healing energy and light to the woman's spirit, to do with what she will. WHOOOO knows? I hope it has done some good. I know it has for me!

Thank you, Owl!

And now, tell me your stories. I look forward to your feedback and experiences!