What a fantastic Spring Equinox Celebration we had at Spirit of Nature Retreat. All I can say is this place was definitely buzzing with energy. By 2 in the afternoon we had close to 30 people in the Healing Sanctuary drumming and singing from many native traditions. We had our ceremonial drum in the center. Four people can play it simultaneously.

Have you ever been to a celebration or ceremony and nothing was happening? I mean they are “doing” all the right things. Whoever is facilitating it has on a lovely outfit. The incense and candles are burning. There is a prayer invoking the other realms whether it be God and angels in a church or the four directions or ascended masters from some other tradition. And you don’t feel anything. There is no energy moving. There is no life changing insight brought to your conscious mind. You aren’t uplifted by the experience.

Then I say, “What’s the point?”

It’s kind of my unwritten motto that if people don’t have some sort of “noteworthy experience,” then why bother. There are people that like the rituals and the superficial things being done and don’t really want to “feel” something. That would mean they had to let go of something or change in some way. But I want to know when it’s over that something really powerful happened. I’ve sat in church and had Shekinah – The Holy Spirit – come around and fill me with wave upon wave of euphoric bliss. The glory of God. Fantastic.

Have you ever been to or seen a Native American PowWow? When a group of singers (that’s what they are called) gather around and beat the big ceremonial drum and sing and chant, it is sooo powerful. The energy is definitely moving. It hits me right in the heart chakra. O.K. so I am very sensitive.

But you get a group of people with intention hitting a drum at exactly the same time, singing powerful songs, and see if something doesn’t happen for you. Well, we had a lot of that happening here at the Spring Equinox Celebration as we connected in with the 8000 drums for peace.

Then Raven began the teaching/sharing circle. O.K. so I’m going to acknowledge Raven and his gifts now.

All around the world people do purification and renewal ceremonies that involve something similar to a Native American Sweat Lodge. In those rituals, people go into a darkened place, sweat, and pray.

The Earth Sky (sweat) Lodge is Raven’s creation – based on many traditions and his own internal guidance. The “lodge experience” begins the moment a person arrives at Spirit of Nature Retreat.

I don’t know if you are a person who leads groups, but the ability to do it well is something that for some takes years of practice and for others is simply an innate gift. Raven has that gift.

When I was in the corporate world I specialized in team development. How to take people from diverse backgrounds, with diverse ideas, with diverse needs, and create a oneness between them. I had to teach them to honor and respect each other’s insights and ideas – not a small task when they have never been taught those skills and no-one in their life has ever treated them that way. And those who research team development have concluded that the best teams contain only 5 to 7 members. Fewer than 5 and one person dominates everything. More than 7 or 8 and the shy people don’t say a word – they are too afraid of rejection.

So it takes a gifted individual to set up the space and hold that safe and sacred space to allow large groups of people to each take their turn in a circle and share the truth about what is in their heart, their fears, their challenges, what they are most thankful for right now. It happens consistently here. And this is among a group of people who have never met each other before. I sometimes feel like that experience alone is enough. Connecting with other humans, realizing we are loved and cared about, discovering that other people face similar challenges to the ones we face, it is very powerful.

But of course, there is the lodge. At the Spring Equinox Celebration, we had so many people that the lodge was full and while it was going on I led a kind of workshop, ceremony, Golden Water Activation meditation with the others present. We had such a great time.

I got to share for the first time ever in a group setting one of the exercises in Freeway to Freedom – removing ALL ILLUSIONs. One of the participants told me afterward that she knows that particular exercise is why she felt guided to come to our Equinox celebration.

The Golden Water Activation was again a very powerful experience. It is a global meditation I’ve been leading since 1998 each Fall and Spring Equinox.

Kaye Ogilvie from Australia shared with me that David Adams told her he could feel when our group joined in. This year I was guided to include the platinum ray in the meditation. I just love that energy. I’m so delighted that David has introduced me to Kaye. She has agreed to do some artwork for me – hopefully, a book cover or two.

I can’t tell you much about the sweat lodge because I wasn’t in there. But I know what typically happens – people experience huge insights and understandings, they see animals and other visions, they feel things happening and shifting in their physical body, they feel renewed, they feel clear, they emerge with a new sense of purpose.

And of course, no celebration, at Spring Equinox or any other time, is complete without feasting. And we had quite a feast.

Blessings to all those who attended. It was a joy to share the experience with you. And blessings to all those people around the world who joined in for the Global Marine Meditation and the Golden Water Activation.

Blessings,

Bestselling author Debbie Takara Shelor signature

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Takara Shelor
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