The Joyful Shaman
Talking About Practical Shamanism For Everyday Life! Sharing Stories Of Hope, Transformation, Meditation & Spiritual Connection With Laughter..And A Little Bit Of Cussin'. Hey Y'all! I'm The Joyful Shaman.
The Joyful Shaman
From Retail to Rituals
What if the challenges you face today are the keys to unlocking a more profound spiritual journey? Discover how the pandemic's upheaval transformed my career in retail into a path of spiritual awakening through shamanism. Join me as I share the pivotal moments that led to the creation of a holistic wellness center and how a friend's influence sparked a deep exploration into my spiritual lineage.
Experience the turning point that shifted my skepticism to passion after my first energy cleansing ritual with herbs, feathers, and a jaguar whistle. Guided by Ali, a seasoned shamanic practitioner, I embarked on a quest to uncover my ancestral connections to medicine women and delve into rituals and ceremonies. Ali's mentorship opened up a new world, where I began to embrace the call of shamanism and aspire to understand my innate spiritual gifts.
Shamanic healing practices like soul retrievals, sound bath meditations, and oracle card readings have not only transformed my life but also inspired me to guide others on their spiritual journeys. Through the Joyful Shaman podcast, I aim to foster personal growth and spiritual awakening, emphasizing the power of intention in rituals. Tune in for inspiration and a reminder of your inherent worth and connection to the universe, and how embracing these practices can lead to profound shifts in energy and awareness.
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Naomi@joyfulshaman.com
Thank You So Much For Supporting Me & Energetically…The Collective
Hi, welcome back to the Joyful Shaman Podcast. I'm Naomi, your host with the most, and we are back again with another episode. This week I'm finally going to be talking about how I got into shamanism and my path and journey of my shamanic apprenticeship. That actually is still going. It will be lifelong. So if you listened to the last episode, I briefly, briefly talked about 20s and early 30s and now we're coming into the last two or three years of my life, really diving into full awareness of my spirituality, finally having another awakening. I'm sure the universe is like girl, wake up and just embracing that head on full speed ahead. So I want to say it was about two, almost three years ago now that I had my retail shop that I talked about in the last episode and I moved from the retail store, once the lease was up, into a larger facility, literally just a block away, to expand the service offerings, because at the time, with the pandemic, small-scale retail really wasn't able to keep up with everyone just really diving into online buying because of course you know, the world was shut down and people needed to shop and of course online businesses was where it was at. So I started to see a decline and just the wholesale costs of things and just my way of doing retail just wasn't quite working anymore. So unfortunately, once the lease was up, I said namaste to that version of the retail store, moved into a larger scale facility and just focused on expanding massage therapy, adding in couples massage, adding in estheticians, adding in yoga and regular sound bath meditation and honestly I felt like, wow, I am finally accomplishing this lifelong dream of this holistic wellness center. You know, I thought it was it in Sarasota. That was a hell, no. And so here I am again doing it and it's actually succeeding.
Speaker 1:And it was about, yeah, three years ago that I had someone who is a very dear friend of mine here in the community come and let me know that they had moved to Lakeland from Colorado and they wanted to work with me and that they were a holistic practitioner, they were a spiritual teacher, they were a follower of the esoteric path and honestly, they just wanted to do massage therapy. I was like, absolutely, of course, come on down the more the merrier. And the reason I said that was that week I had told myself out loud in the midst of my sorrow from it not working out what this guy was super into. I really wanted to start pivoting my business to be more of a spiritual base and not just organic holistics, but really embracing energy healing, really embracing teaching on spirituality, really embracing on just what that means. And, honestly, now that I look back on it, it was probably me. Just like I need to understand this for myself, and if I need to use my business as the vehicle to get me there, I'm going to do that.
Speaker 1:And so when this person came, literally five days later after I said that audibly to the universe, I was like, oh my gosh, this is the universe manifesting, this is God answering my prayer. Absolutely, I must hire this woman. And so I hired her. And then I felt that I was pressuring her. I will say that I feel like I was pressuring her to be like okay, so you're the super spiritual person, can you teach me, can you help me develop this? I really want to pivot my business. And she was like, hello, I really just want to do massage therapy, like I need to take a break from teaching, I need to do this. Like she was on her own journey. And so I was like, okay, but no, not really, I don't really need you to help me out.
Speaker 1:It was a mid-suffrage of me, I will say that, and I think, looking back now, we're both kind of glad that it did happen, because it helped us to grow as people and also really helped to formulate our friendship, because it was a little tumultuous there for a moment. So she helped me to really pivot the business and I really looked up to her as a mentor and as a teacher. I was like, wow, she's just so devout to her path, to her teachings. I really want to know more, because what is the spirituality that I want to focus on For me personally, you know, like as a practitioner, as a healer, like what is it? And so she has a background in shamanism as well. She studied with Lakota chief for 15 years and also studied with a Scandinavian medicine woman because that's her blood lineage. And so I was like, okay, well, I'm Mayan and I guess I have some blood lineage somewhere, but where am I going to find a teacher like that? And so I was just learning very basics from my friend, just overall, a variety of different spiritual topics and her views, and really starting to formulate like, does this resonate with me? Some of it does, some of it doesn't, and that's okay, there's nothing wrong with some of the things that she believes, as she practices. It's just not my path.
Speaker 1:And so I kept desiring, and kept desiring and asking you know the universe. I'm like, please, I think I want to understand what the shamanism thing is. I just feel like this blanket general term. Is it religion? Is it a practice? Is it a lifestyle? I don't know what it is, but I feel like there's a calling and it's kind of jazzing me up again in a way that I've never felt. It's waking me up and you know I'm researching things online, looking at different, you know shamanic schools that were really expensive, with people that I was just like this isn't resonating with me. And traditionally, if you're called to the shamanic path or if you want to train in shamanism or work to become a shamanic healer, you generally do an in-person apprenticeship with a shaman. And I was like, holy hell, this is Lakeland. Where in the fuck am I going to find somebody that is a shaman? Like? Okay, I'm going to have to accept that. I'm just going to have to do this online.
Speaker 1:And it was around holidays season, december, yeah, about three years ago that I had three new clients that week and I had rolled out a new vibrational therapy session where I was using sound healing on and around the body, starting to incorporate, you know, smoke cleansing and laying of hands and really embracing that Reiki side of me. Of course, I had studied Reiki like almost 20 years ago but never really embraced it. I was just like, man, it is what it is. I did a continuing education credit, let's move on. And so I was just like, well, let me just start doing some things, let me start feeling it out. And people really responded and I knew it was the universe like continuing to nudge me of like, yes, yes, keep going, let it flow through, you know, kind of thing. And so these three new clients that week said, wow, you have such a beautiful gift. And I'm like, wow, thank you, okay.
Speaker 1:And they said, do you know a woman named Allison Smith or Ali Smith? And I'm like no, and they're like she's a shamanic healer. She also teaches kundalini yoga. She does a lot of the same stuff that you do. You guys should meet. You would really be able to, you know, get along. And I was like, okay, well, cool, but I don't know.
Speaker 1:Those three people, complete strangers, all in one week said her name three times and when I heard it the third time I was like, okay, I need to ask for her telephone number because obviously the universe is trying to send me a sign. This is not a coincidence, this is a synchronicity. So the last client that mentioned her name, I said you know, I never would do this because this would not be professional. But you're a spiritual person and you're the third person this week that has told me this woman's name. Will you please give me her telephone number so that if I feel that I have the courage to reach out to her, to talk to her, I can. And they're like, yeah, if anything, she does energy healings at her home and also teaches private yoga classes. Just say, like I referred you and you know, if you just want to go and experience that yourself, and I was like, okay, they gave me her number.
Speaker 1:It was before Christmas and I called Allie. And I was like, okay, they gave me her number, it was before Christmas and I called Allie. And you know, I told her who I was and briefly the story, and I said can I set up an energy healing session with you? I wasn't even going to energy healers. I worked with my friend and we traded energy healing. But I was really getting more from my friend because she's been a 20-year tarot reader, she had a successful business online. So I was like, ooh, receiving from my friend, but I really I'd never gone to another person physically to receive energy healing, much less shamanic healing.
Speaker 1:So here I am, going to Allie's house, and she was on the north end of our town, of this beautiful house on this beautiful lake, and I'm like, what am I doing here? And so I walk up to this wood building that her husband had built for her. She had a private gym downstairs where she did private classes, and then upstairs was kind of like a pseudo apartment, but that's where she did her counseling and energy work. So, walking up the stairs and I knock on the door and she opens the door and she's like hi. And I was like, oh shit, okay, all right, this is a lot of energy, you know, and I'm still kind of quiet and introverted and just a little bit repressed, just nervous and anxious.
Speaker 1:And so, you know, she makes me take off my shoes. She says, you know, can I cleanse your energy? And I was like, yeah, sure, you know, I was used to that, doing that in the studio all the time, lighting up the stage, lighting up the Palo Santo, you know, moving around and cleansing it. And I was like, okay, it's just like. So stand here, you know, extend your hands and close your eyes and start to take some deep breaths. So I'm like, okay, I do it.
Speaker 1:She has the herbs lit, she has this massive, massive fan of these beautiful feathers and then she starts flapping the fan in front of me so forcefully that I have this thing about air blowing in my face. When I go get my hair done and they're going to blow my face, all the little hairs come off. They have to tell me because I have to hold my breath. I don't know when that started, but it's been like that for many years. And so when I feel large gusts of air in my face at such close proximities, it like makes me stop breathing, like it makes me choke a little bit. So it caught me off guard. So I'm like you know? And she's like are you okay? And I was like I just didn't know it was going to feel like that, and she laughs and she clears my energy.
Speaker 1:And you know we go and sit down on the couch and she's like so I just want you to let me know who you are. Why are you here, what are you seeking? And I'm like, I don't know, man, I just here's my story and I don't know what that means. But I'm maybe interested in learning about shamanism and finding someone that can teach me, find someone that can tell me about it so I can understand what it is. And if this is a path for me, am I supposed to use it in my business? I don't know. And she's like well, I used to have my own shamanic school. I typically don't teach students one-on-one. I have private clients where I do energy healings and I'm by referral only, because you don't find her on Google. She doesn't have a brick and mortar, she's totally by referral and she chooses if she wants to work with you. And she said well, let's have some more conversations.
Speaker 1:We had a conversation about my childhood and I was feeling anxious around that time. Financially, we weren't doing well that holiday season, the economy was starting to take the turn post-COVID, with the inflation and all of that, and so I was just a bundle of nerves. And she did this energy healing called a chakra illumination and this exercise, you know, showed me how to understand the chakra system or how to clear the chakra system using muscle testing. And just I felt this powerful energy surge into me when she like touched me and then used this powerful jaguar whistle that was extremely loud and blew it right into my belly button and I was like, oh my God, what is happening to me? It was crazy, but it felt amazing and I just had this like burst of energy and just like this whole thing just cleared in my mind and I just felt totally new and I was like, wow, wow, this is it. Man Like this is me. I need this, I need this in my life.
Speaker 1:Christmas happened and I was just thinking about it more and more and just taking in that experience and just being like I really want to learn. I think this is what's going to re-energize me. I think this is what's going to change things for me. You know, I just was tired of my business. You change things for me. You know I just was tired of my business, didn't want to keep doing massage you know, really tired of massage and just was like what is next for me?
Speaker 1:I contacted Ali after the new year and I said would you be willing to meet with me again for another session, and this time it was two hours. And I told her. I said I really feel that I'm being called into shamanism. This might sound a little crazy, but I think my grandma visited me a couple years ago and told me I came from a lineage of medicine women, and I don't know if that sounds totally wild to you, but I think if you're open to it, you're meant to be one of my first teachers. And she looked at me and she's like oh, so you finally figured that out. And I was like what?
Speaker 1:And she's like I knew it from the moment that you contacted me, it came into my intuitive awareness that I was going to be taking on a new, powerful, advanced student who, to them, is not quite aware but is unlocking her gifts. And so when I met you and I talked to you, I could feel that energy rising. And she's like in your spirit guides, we're already telling me this is her. This is her, this is her. Open her up, clear her and allow her to be your student, because it's going to transform you as well. And I'm sitting there and I'm like what? But internally I'm like, yeah, she's going to teach me. Oh, my God, this is such a huge honor because she teaches no one anymore and I am just over the moon one anymore. And I am just over the moon and I committed to working with Ali, going every month for two hours talking about different aspects about shamanism.
Speaker 1:I would do research and I would ask about what is a power journey or what's a soul retrieval, or what's this and what's that, and she would explain things to me. But she's like you already know this, it's already in your medicine. I'm just unlocking your mind so that your logical mind can catch up with the subconscious. Because I was like, oh, I know this in this way, or I already do this. And she's like, yes, yes, you do. And I was like, okay, and so I started to learn about different rituals and ceremonies and why we do them and her experiences and her perspectives and her way of teaching them from the people that she has learned over many years, and so it has been a powerful journey and we have become wonderful friends. I see Allie as like a big sister. Fun fact, we actually had the exact same birthday of course, different ages, but our birthdays are both June 13th and we're both Gemini's, which is why she has big energy, like me has been this profound journey with Allie of going and receiving and opening myself up to new perspective, new thoughts and just a powerful and different way to receive and to give counseling to people.
Speaker 1:I remember after the first session, we talked about healing circles, and healing circles are when people gather together, generally around the fire in shamanic practice, and it's like open share time. It's a time where we the teacher or the guide or the shaman is sharing stories, is sharing teachings, is providing some kind of healing to the group or to an individual, and other people are bearing witness to this. And I had already been thinking, wow, I feel like I could do this. You know, we have been leading group sound bath meditations for well over a year and a half and I'm like, I think I would really like to offer this to my community and she's teaching me about this and in my mind I'm formulating like, okay, I'm going to do this on the first Sunday of every month from 2 to 3.30. I'm going to channel messages, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that, and people are going to come and blah, blah, blah, like I'm already. Like, once again, I get passionate about something. I'm going in, you know to the deep end.
Speaker 1:And so I learned about healing circles and I told her would really like to offer this? Do you feel that as a student just starting out, this would be appropriate? And she said you are far more advanced than you think. You need to step into your power and know that you're not just a part-time shaman, you're a full-time shaman. When you walk the spiral path, you are all in. And I sat there and I was really taking it in and I said, okay, I guess I'll do it. And so I started my first healing circle. I put the announcement out there of what it was that I was going to be channeling messages and providing a safe space for people to come and share and I was going to be doing group energy healing and group sound healing and it was all going to be donation. I never charged anybody. The first time that I opened that, over 20 women came and I was just blown away because I'm like, oh my God, this is actually happening, like people in the community are opening themselves publicly to shamanic healing, like no one that I know of was doing it through a public brick and mortar business, and it was such a beautiful experience. It's also where I really started to step into mediumship.
Speaker 1:I have this beautiful friend here in my community who is an amazing entrepreneur, just this beautiful, gentle, cancer-y soul. I love her, such a cancer. And she came and it was in the midst of heavy grief, a huge life change in her life, and she came just looking for support and her friends came with her. And she came just looking for support and her friends came with her and it was just this profound moment and her father, who had recently ascended into spirit, came and it was the first time that I could see and understand that, oh, I'm clairvoyant, I can see and I can hear. Clairaudient.
Speaker 1:I saw her father stand behind me because I was sitting on this mat on the floor, and I could see him wearing a cowboy hat and a mustache and he's dark skinned and you know she was from Texas and he was speaking to her half English, half Spanish, and he's like please tell her that I'm here. And I was like oh my God, what's happening? And I put my hand on her and I said I have to say something to you. I hope that it resonates. I want to know if it's okay, are you in the space to receive? And she's like, of course, and I told her everything that her dad told me and just the tears streaming down her face and like the peace that she felt, even her friends were crying and I was just like, oh my God, this is my path, this is my work. I am an open conduit to be able to help people heal. A lot of those women that were there had gone through serious trauma, trying to heal relationships with their mothers, their fathers, their children, loved ones, caregivers, understanding their purpose, understanding why they were here and in that first healing circle. That's what solidified, this is what my grandma meant. And then from there it's taken me a while to embrace and being the full-time shaman, because a part of me was still feeling less than A part of me was like. You know, I'm a young person.
Speaker 1:Shamans typically traditionally train for 20 to even 30 years before they are called a shaman in their tribe, in their culture. You know me, it's been three years really, and I just went with it. I just opened myself up to try different things. Now there are some things in shamanism that don't really resonate with me at this point in my life. I don't know if it will ever. I respect it, but it's not something that I do.
Speaker 1:So the type of practices that I do offer in person and now in my foray into the online world as of this year, is chakra illumination. It's using a stone on the body to move through the main chakra meridians and using muscle testing to determine where energy is stuck, where energy is not flowing, so that we can help the individual move the energy through guidance, but also us connecting and being the conduit through the universal energy to be able to move. I do that with all of my clients massage or just energy work-wise, because everyone deserves to have clear energy, you know, and that's just our right. And the other practices that I do is a practice called extraction, and extraction is something that I use in my somatic trauma work.
Speaker 1:And the next episode I want to get into shamanic breath work, which has been the most transformative thing in my life. And extraction is going to the root cause of going into the awareness and the understanding through the shamanic journey, which is a deep, deep trance meditation, of where we want to shift and reshape and reframe a story, a paradigm, a limiting belief that's within us energetically, when we still have the roots of things and it's still sending out that vibration, we are attracting those similar patterns and behaviors and experiences to come back into our lives. So I was getting people that were coming to me that were like why do I keep dating the same kind of guy, or why does this keep happening to me, or what is this about? I want this to stop. So doing extraction and coming into the awareness of like, oh, this came from your childhood of not receiving enough love, or this came from the trauma that you experienced in a negative coping behavior or you know, unprocessed anger, unprocessed grief. When we get to that root, I ask the individual how do you want to shift this? Do you want this out and what do you want to put in place of it? And then I do this whole somatic breath work, vibrational healing therapy that I kind of created but kind of mixed in some other rituals and practices in there, and I help to get that root out and energetically help to literally pull it out, return it to the earth. It is one of the most profound experiences that I will facilitate and that person will experience as well.
Speaker 1:Of course I do soul retrievals, which is similar to extractions. I may do extractions through soul retrievals, but my shamanic healing journey is meant to go and retrieve and understand and come into the awareness of parts that you can't remember or parts that you feel are lost but not really lost, they're just buried deep, deep into the subconscious and bringing them to light, putting light in the shadow parts. I do that type of work too, very profound. I always like to do soul retrieval journeys before doing extraction or somatic work. And then, of course, I do a variety of different ceremonies. When I lead our monthly sound bath meditations, it is a ceremony. I make it a ceremony. I'm sharing a teaching with the group, I'm guiding them on a channeled meditation. I'm playing the instruments. Sometimes I just play the drum when I do shamanic journey meditation to take them into the world of spirit, so that their guide, so that the celestial angels, beings, whatever, of the highest and greatest good can connect with them and take them to where they need to go, into their mind to heal. These are some of the basic practices that I do.
Speaker 1:Of course I do my own meditations. Of course I read oracle cards, and that's been a big thing for me because I love it. I do read oracle cards because it's a profound, visual way for people to understand the channeled message and to make the connection intuitively within themselves and to see the words. And to make the connection intuitively within themselves and to see the words and to see the imagery, to touch the cards, because I love to do it in person. So that's a tool that we use of divination. Yeah, I use pendulums and dousing rods and things like that, but that's more of a personal thing for me.
Speaker 1:But really it's about the counseling. It's about connecting with people in their hearts and talking to people and saying I have been on the path, I am on the path and I can tell you that I can relate to you in a variety of different ways. And here are the things that I have come into the awareness of and this is how I've shifted things and I continue to shift things over and over and over. And you're not alone. And that's what shamans do. They connect and inspire through their own stories, through their own woundings, through their own practices. And the ceremonies and rituals are to reinforce the reframing and the awareness that the individual has. The shamans themselves they can go and speak to spirit. Yeah, we can talk to spirits. We can commune for ourselves and we can call and ask for them to help us during our journey, which is what I do.
Speaker 1:But me personally, I don't do anything. I'm not the one that's changing your mind. I'm not the one that's calling up that stuck emotion or calling up the way that you want to reprocess your trauma or your reaction and your response. That's you. I just create a ritualistic structuring container and give you instructions so that your mind can be okay with some crazy shit that's about to happen spiritually. That's really what it is, honestly, and if you're willing to be open, to receive this kind of experience and to really open yourself up down to that spirit level, that level of vulnerability to shift and change, your mind's going to change immediately and your awareness is going to grow. Your ability to observe is going to change. Your energy output, your vibration is going to change. It happens every time and I've been doing this work really almost full-time for about two years and now I'm about to step into it full-time.
Speaker 1:It's because of this work I was able to create the Joyful Shaman podcast, to feel the courage that I'm now at the point to be able to share and yes, I am a young baby shaman along the path and I appreciate my teachers and my grandmother teachers and all the other guides and teachers that will still come into my life. But I am grateful to have the awareness that I have now at 37, and to be able to shift and create the life that I want for me and to be able to help other people shift and create the life that they want for themselves at such a young age. I am eternally grateful to God and the universe to co-working with me and having the patience until I woke up and was like I need to change. My life is a shit show and I want to make it better. So that's really briefly about my journey into shamanism, as this is going to be a lifelong path for me and I have yet to still learn more medicine and I'm grateful to my sweet big sister, teacher Allie Smith.
Speaker 1:I think I'm going to take a pause here for this week's episode and next week I'm going to start to get into more specific practices and rituals that you can do and the reason behind them and why we do it and how to make it your own. The one thing I will say about rituals and ceremonies it's not about following it to the T, I will always say it. It is about the intention in your heart and the attention of where your energy goes, and your belief within yourself and your connection to the universe, and that's what creates the magic. I just want to say that you are an amazing person. Those that are listening to this or watching this video, you are loved, you have a purpose, you are fucking amazing and you are supported. Thank you for supporting me in the Joyful Shaman podcast. If you liked what you heard today or liked what you saw today, please like, follow and subscribe and share it with a friend that needs a supportive message or would like the show. Until we meet again, be well, sat Nam friend.
