The Shaman Next Door

Some episodes start with a plan.
This one starts with a tree.

Not a mystical forest or some faraway place—just a regular neighborhood, and a tree where people come to tie ribbons. But what gets left there… it’s anything but ordinary. Names. Grief. Gratitude. Prayers. Promises. The quiet things we don’t always know how to say out loud.

We’re sitting down with Karen, a modern shamanic practitioner and the caretaker of what’s become known as the Good Juju Tree. And while we talk about shamanism, this conversation isn’t about labels or beliefs—it’s about connection.

To yourself.
To the land.
To something bigger than you… whatever that means in your world.

We get into what shamanism actually looks like in everyday life (and what it’s not), how ritual can be simple and grounding instead of heavy or mysterious, and why paying attention—to animals, to place, to your own nervous system—might be one of the most powerful things we’ve forgotten how to do.

There’s a story in here about a whale encounter that stops you in your tracks. The kind that feels like it was meant to happen. The kind that changes direction.

And we also keep it real—talking about things you can actually do: getting your feet on the ground, quieting the noise, letting your mind unload, finding your way back to yourself in small, doable ways.

This one feels a little different… but also exactly the same.

Because at the end of the day, it’s still about how we move through this world— and how we take care of ourselves, each other, and the spaces we’re a part of.

Come sit with us for a bit. 🌿

Shamamama
Blue Moon Shadow Shop 

Interview with Karen Adamski, Certified Crystal Healer & Shamanic Practitioner

Things that make you say "Wow"!
For more episodes and additional information visit the Two Chicks and a Hoe website and our Facebook page. 
Big thanks to our Producer, Casey Kennedy. 

Transcript

Welcome To The Good Juju Tree

Speaker 1 0:12

Hey everybody, it's Vanessa. Welcome back to Two Chicks and a Hoe, the podcast where we dig into stories that make you stop mid-sentence and say, What? What? Wait, what? I didn't know that. Now, today's episode might feel a little different from some of our usual conservation-focused conversations, but stay with me because this one still connects to everything we care about. We're talking about shamanism, but really, this conversation is about something much simpler and much more human. Connection to ourselves, to the land, to each other, and sometimes to a tree in someone's front yard. My guest today is an incredible human who practices modern shamanism. And she's also the caretaker of something called the Good Juju Tree. A tree where people come to tie ribbons in honor of someone they love, someone they've lost, or something they're calling into their lives. No rules, no religion, just intention, story, and a whole lot of heart. In this conversation, we talk about what shamanism really is and what it definitely is not, why ritual still matters in a modern world, how nature holds space for us in ways we've maybe forgotten how to notice, and how something as simple as tying a ribbon to a tree can carry a surprising amount of power. This episode isn't about labels or beliefs, it's about listening and maybe remembering something you already knew. So grab a cup of something warm, find a comfy spot, and come sit with us for a bit under the good juju tree. Let's dig in, you guys.

Speaker 3 2:18

The elements and honoring Mother Earth. That's really basic explanation. It's a very um outdoorsy type of living. It's right up our alley, and it's the the way I was born. It's just, you know, I like when I was a kid, I loved to sit in the mud and I would suck on rocks sometimes. And it makes so much sense to me now. You know, people thought, oh, what a weirdo, what a weird little kid. And it's like, yeah, no, I'm just really connected, actually. Yes. You know, so I know those things now, but uh, but that is uh okay, so shamanism doesn't mean you need to suck on rocks, but shamanism does mean that um, you know, you you might have crystals around you, or you might understand that uh crystals are energy, um, carry energy, that all things carry energy, that you might realize that, hmm, that beer deer walked right in my path today, or that hawk flew over, and I saw his shadow first and then looked up and saw his beauty. That's shamanism. Animals are messengers. It's just our basic things that are happening in our lives all the time. It's just a matter of noticing them.

Speaker 1 3:31

So basic things, though, more though, in regards to nature?

Speaker 3 3:36

Yeah, nature. Um all things, you know, a leaf, um, even a dead leaf, I should say it's it's all living things, but it's all dead things too. It's everything, it's the circle of life.

Speaker 2 3:48

Okay.

Speaker 3 3:49

So the the beginning, like an example um of what I do as a as a ritual every morning, is I go out into the backyard and I call in the directions. And this is something that's really common um for many cultures around the world. And this is a very shamanic thing. Yeah. Yeah, it's interesting when you see um you go back to all these cultures around the world before they even knew each other existed, like the beginning of time. And you know, then we we grow and bloom. They were all doing very similar things. They might call their gods different things or um you dance in a different way, but when you boil it all down, they were looking at nature as their way of life, looking at nature as their guru, as their protector, as their messenger, you know, storm coming in. They they would read, they would they didn't have calendars then. So here's another example. Like um, they would read the animals in a way where they see the bunnies' furs starting to get thicker. They know that that's the time that colder weather's going to be coming. Something's changing. Something's changing. So the bunnies let them know when, yeah. Oh. And it still happens today. Right. I have bunnies in my backyard, and yes, I have a calendar, but the calendar's, you know, more modern and man-made. Um, the bunnies are more connected to earth and the elements and all things natural.

Speaker 1 5:21

So you're saying that so and I kind of knew this, but so shamanism is worldwide. I I I always agree.

Speaker 3 5:31

We're kind of the last ones to figure it out here in the West.

Speaker 5:34

I thought so.

Speaker 1 5:35

Okay. I thought so.

Speaker 3 5:36

Yes, absolutely worldwide.

Speaker 1 5:38

Is it more uh in in in in is it more indigenous cultures? Is it okay? So I mean that are still more connected to the earth as of right now, maybe not living in a big city, that kind of stuff.

Speaker 3 5:48

Yes, and that is still happening too. Absolutely. And that's where um often I'll run to is out of the big city because I live in the middle of Silicon Valley. Right. Um, or my backyard, it's a sanctuary for me, it's a small place, but there's there's little nooks and crannies. There's um two miles, less than two miles down the road, I can go and sit with the mortars of the Aloney people who used to do their grinding. It's it's still here.

Speaker 1 6:17

Okay, so are you saying then too that that and I'm I I don't want to keep labeling it as shamanism, but it means it's yeah, well it is, yeah. Yeah, if so that too, I mean, you actually feel that energy, right? Yes. That that that ancient energy? It's ancient.

Speaker 3 6:33

It's it's I think what has been, I mean, it's it's it's older than any kind of man-made religion. It's there first. Um and I don't mean to say that to poo-poo religion in any way. I'm just saying that it's older than any religion. Um and there's a lot of it that we don't understand still because cultures have died out and we don't have um, you know, the recordings or the writings that we understand. So it's still a lot of trying to figure it out. But it's like, well, why were they doing that petroglyph of a rainbow in Africa? And then we go to Canada, and it's exactly the same.

Speaker 2 7:11

Wow.

Speaker 3 7:12

You know, I mean, you see these things, it's like, okay, they're all doing really interesting, and to me that connects to my spiritual core. It's uh I didn't really um have an easy time in school. So I think my learning, my jam is animals, nature, water, wind, dirt, dinosaur bones, rocks, minerals that are petrified, all of that. No wonder we like each other. Yeah. Yeah, that's my jam, and that's where I learn. Um, and that's what connects to me, but math is hard for me.

Speaker 1 7:58

Oh, yeah, I'm myself as well. Yes.

Speaker 3 8:01

Yeah, yeah, I guess dyslexic reading can be hard for me. So school was bumpy at times uh in those areas, but then the creative parts were where I would excel. So and you get to shamanism and it's very creative. This is very shamanic, this gift you gave me. Can you explain to people?

Speaker 1 8:24

Yeah, so you guys, I gave I gave Karen a gift of it's um uh you know, a keychain, so to speak, like a bauble that you might put on your purse. But it's something that uh was created in several different areas. The frog that's hanging from the bottom of it is made from plastic, and it's plastic that was picked up off the streets, you know, uh in a community in Kenya that we work with, that I say we you guys know that I work with the trash punks, but um they have no trash service, so they we we gave them opportunities to figure out how can they use plastic, you know, and make stuff out of it because it's not going away. So what can we do with it? So that was one thing. And then all the beads associated with it are Kenyan or Ugandan, or you know, they're very um, I I you know they're very gosh, you know, indigenous to the folks there. Yeah, tribal and bound as well.

Speaker 3 9:21

Yeah, we see the sun here.

Speaker 1 9:23

Yes, made from different, you know, di they're they're made from rocks, they're made from um uh things they find in nature. So yes, I can s understand what you're saying now by that.

Calling In The Four Directions

Speaker 3 9:33

And this probably, if we could talk to the person who made this bead, this the sun, they might have been thinking of prana or the energy that the sun brings us. Yes, and hoping, you know, that the sun never goes away. Gosh, what if the sun didn't rise one morning? What would we do? Well, that kind of wouldn't be out, wouldn't it? Yeah, that's why I go out and I call in the directions every morning. So I start with the east. I had started to talk about that, so I go out and I face the east, which is that way, um, right behind you. And that's where the sun rises. And I like to say hello to the sun. Good morning. Thank you for being here. And the east carries like new beginnings and that morning time where the dew is on the on the grass, and it carries the element of the winged ones. So like birds, dragonflies, butterflies, anything with wings, those elementals are associated with the east. And then you you turn and you go to the south, and a welcome in the south, and that is more that passion that um the time of high noon, flame, and fire. So rather than um like where the east is the time. It's all good. Is it all good? Okay, absolutely. Where the east where the east is the time of um birth, new birth, new beginning, new day, this this time of noon, this uh energy of the south when the sun is at its highest and hottest is also that time of um adolescence where you're kind of like, ah, it's your highest and hard, you know, that energy. It's like if you're in project mode and really wanting to bring in a lot of power and creativity, the the energy of the south is good. So you might turn to that when you're creating. Okay. And then the west, it's a little bit more earned knowledge, the time of the setting sun, time in our life where we've we've learned, we know things. We are now the wise ones. Okay, where it's kind of turning, and then the north is the kind of the end of that circle and the time when the stars are blanketing the sky. And that's true wisdom, really, where we can connect and then say, say goodbyes. That might be a death, too. So it's a full circle, it's like the circle of life, but this is a day. Um and and why do you do this? Because I don't know if I'll have tomorrow, and I don't know. What if the sun didn't rise? Is this a form of honoring what's going on? Absolutely, honoring nature and honoring my ancestors. Got it. I mean, I wouldn't be here without them. Um honoring the messengers, the the the animals that cross my way, the the the wind when it talks to me and the trees. Those are just little things that I honor. And if I don't honor oops, if I those are little things that I honor, and if I don't honor them, that door might shut a little bit. I don't ever want it to shut. This is like wonderment. And um the awe. The awe and the tuning into what exactly what is here. It's not made by um of course it's made by man. We're sitting in my home that was made by a man, but um, it's not high-tech, it's not a movie, it's not um filled with electromagnetic frequencies coming at me through my computer. I it's it's not electric. It's natural.

Speaker 1 13:02

I think anybody, I I hope, anybody that's maybe sat outside quietly somewhere in the forest, that's my go-to, the forest. Um it's it's there is a disconnect to all those things that you just said. And and you guys know too that I just went to Baja and we talked to Minerva on the previous episode about the whales and what have you, but part of that too was the it was the total disconnect from I don't know from from the rest of the world, you know, and really just deep, you know, falling deep into nature and it was absolutely freeing. Yeah, it was freeing, yeah, and it it it made me so grounded, and it I came back with I I have to live differently because the peace that I received there that came to me was so huge and so different than where I was when I went down there in my head, yeah, that I'm like, ah, this is what I want. This is what I need to live. Yeah, very shamanic. Very, very shamanic. That's all those connections to the animals and the earth and the winds.

Speaker 3 14:20

And um, all of those things that you got to witness and feel and be a part of. It's so much bigger than we are. We think that we are um, well, we are very, very smart, but sometimes we can get a little too smart, you know. And um well, isn't that kind of too?

Speaker 1 14:38

When we get a little too smart, we kind of leave behind, you know, yeah. It's like the earth. And I and I say the earth, but I want to say more about that. It's like we leave behind our mother, we leave behind the essence of who we are, then then we get lost.

Speaker 3 14:51

We get lost, and it's really um uh not any way to honor her in any way, Mama Earth. It's um, you know, we would not want to damage our home and our mother, right? So um thinking about those things is important, but then you know, we live in a world that can be greedy at times. Um, it's busy, everybody has different agendas, different focuses. It's it's um it's a crazy world that we live in, and there's lots and lots of good things about it. Yes, and then there's lots of things that we could improve. And that's everything too, that shamanism, the beauty of of something, and then there's the ugliness of something, the dark and the light and the balance. Does that go hand in hand? Hand in hand if you don't have one without the other. Okay. Yin yang kind of thing. Total yin yang action for sure, for sure. Yeah, so you know, looking at the ugly parts um is important. And I think sometimes that's why it's hard for people to go into the forest like you do and really quiet your mind. I meditate often, and that is part of shamanism too, is the quieting your mind and traveling inward and closing out the outside and just traveling inward. And sometimes that can be kind of scary because you might find things and or after like really realize something you don't want to. And you have to sit with scary to. Yes. And we naturally don't want to do that. But that's where we bloom in the yucky stuff, you know.

Speaker 1 16:27

It is, isn't it? Because I think I the more I the older I get, the wiser I may or may not get it. I feel that as well. That you know, that whole idea of anxiety, for example, uh lean into it and figure out the source kind of a thing, instead of pushing it down or pushing it away or not acknowledging it, that kind of a thing. I I I think I get that. That's really I think I get that. Good, yeah.

Speaker 3 16:55

Learning into your fear. That's that's your earned wisdom. You're in the spirit of the the the direction of the West in this lifetime right now, and you have that earned, you have a lot of earned knowledge because think of all the things you know that people don't know. So you're somebody um that keeps that knowledge.

A Whale Encounter Changes Everything

Speaker 1 17:11

But and hopefully I share that knowledge with everybody too. That's why the podcast is a podcast, exactly. That's why the podcast, yeah. So before we started this conversation that we're recording, actually, we had a little bit of a conversation about the trip down with the whales of Baja, and you showed me some amazing pictures. And I'd like you to explain, Karen, because in essence it was the beginning of what you are now. Practicing shamanism. Practicing shamanism. I I think you lived it as a little kid when you were sucking on the rocks.

Speaker 3 17:45

Yes, I've now always practicing it, yes, without knowing it.

Speaker 1 17:49

Yes.

Speaker 3 17:50

But now I that was my what happened for me with the whales pushed me in a direction to practice shamanism with other people, not just myself. So to become a shamanic practitioner, there we go. Aka a shaman. So I was living that lifestyle for a long time, but never really thought I might share that with other people. That was the shift. That was a big shift. So what happened was um okay, let's see, where do I start? A long time ago, my son, uh who's an adult, wonderful man, uh, he was a child, he had a near-death experience. And that was very traumatic for our whole family. And when he came back from that, um, he had a lot of questions. You know, he wanted to know more about God. Is there a God? Um, he had just had a lot of questions. And so I didn't have the answers. We didn't have um a super religious upbringing a little bit, but not a lot. And so my son and I went to different spiritual leaders to all different kinds of churches and spiritual groups, and we would talk to the person there. We'd explain what happened, and we're looking for information we want to learn about God and just tell us what you think. And we're interviewing everybody else, too, by the way, kind of thing. Yeah, yeah. So it was like that all-you-can-eat buffet is what we how we looked at it. And so we tried things and we thought it was good because when we talk about it, it's like, oh, we like that and we don't like that, and that seemed like it had a lot of rules. That's not for us, and just you know, we figured out like trying on clothes, what fits. And it really got to the point where both of us, um independent of one another, I hope, uh really resonated with shamanism and Buddhism. Okay. Uh, and that really kind of fit our lifestyle anyway, because we've always been very natural, campy people. We like to, you know, be out in nature. Right. And help nature and do things like that. Um, so that makes sense. So I wasn't really sure. It's, you know, it's like, oh, that's interesting. I really matched with both of those. And then started to realize that, you know, I really lived my life that way already. Right. And then we went to Maui as a family. My parents took a bunch of us, and we'd all gone on a whale watching trip and we loved it so much. And then my parents wanted to go back. Oh. And so go back on another one before we left. Yes. And we're like, nobody else really wanted to. I'm like, I'll go with you. So my just my mom and my dad and I were on this boat. Prior to this trip, though, um, and this is kind of key to this story, is I'd had a dream. And I sometimes I have dreams that are just dreams. And then, like, like last night, my dreams were just dreams, just like stuff. But sometimes I have dreams and it's like, oh, that was a like a spiritual dream.

Speaker 20:50

That was you can differentiate that?

Speaker 3 20:53

Yes.

Speaker 20:53

Okay.

Speaker 3 20:54

Yes. I think a lot of people can. Okay. And it's just a matter of talking about it and understanding. So that's maybe another thing we can talk about at some point. But yeah, you get a lot of dreams are so interesting. But there are dreams that I have that I know they're so they're almost like a visitation. My grandma comes to me a lot in my dreams, and it's like, and I do whatever she tells me to do. And then when I do it, there's always a reason. It's like, oh man, she totally had my back. Wow. And I know it's it's more than a dream when it happens. And so this I had a dream where I was on the ocean and I was on a raft, like a wooden raft, and I could see like the water beneath the beat the wood beams and planks, and I was just floating. And in the distance, I saw something coming toward me. And it was a little bit afraid in the dream because it was like I that's I think kind of where it started. So it was like, uh oh, something's coming with me, and I'm in deep water. And um it was a whale, and it came up and was looking. It was like touching the the raft and kind of pushing it and then was turned its its eye so that I could just see the eye like and I kind of put my hand on the side of its face and we were looking at each other and having this moment and they kind of pushed my boat away and then went went away and it was like whoa, that that was it was just it was a a dream that I just stuck with me. And this was, I don't know, maybe a few months before our trip. Wasn't even thinking about it. When we got out there though, on this trip with my parents, I wasn't in the same raft, but the dream happened. It was a zodiac raft, so I was in like a rubber raft with a motor. It wasn't the wooden raft that I was floating in. Wow. But I saw him. Oh, it's okay. It's like I saw the thing that I saw in my dream.

unknown 22:54

Yeah.

Speaker 3 22:55

It's like the same thing happened. Yes. It was a replay. And then um and I started, I was like, I remember this man that I didn't know. He shared his video with me because he said I didn't know what you were doing, but I knew it was big and it was important and something was going on. And so I here's your video of this, you know. So he sent it to me, but I was like, it's happening, it's happening, it's happening. My my dream, my dream. This is my dream. My dream is happening, my dream is happening. And so people on the raft just sort of gave me space. Oh, nice, you know, like we all had space anyway, but I got to kind of lean over. And the Captain Steve in Maui, this he's still doing tours, was very good about saying, do not touch that whale.

Speaker 2 23:48

Right.

Speaker 3 23:48

And I know, and I didn't. Right. And I didn't need to because we have that connection. We looked at each other with the eye and everything. And then he started going under the boat and poking up, and then started playing with the boat with his fin, flipper. I don't know what the right term is, um, which isn't small. Right. You know, and he actually damaged the boat and we had to go, and we were not in any danger, but it's like, you know, okay, we gotta go back, yeah, back to the shore now because they had to take the boat out of the water because of him playing with the boat. Wow. But he left. We left. He he left, like he left in my dream, and I was just blubbering, I think. And my mom was my mom, so my mom's the one that took those pictures. And so that's captured, that's like such a pivotal time in my life because it was a message of um, not that I don't study Buddhism, I do. I think I've got my mali beads right here. Those are very much part of my life, but I incorporate that with my the shamanism. And that really pushed me down that path to actually go to school and study and study with different shamans and really start understanding deeply the medicine and deeply enough to where I can knowledgeably share it with other people. Wow. Yeah, yeah. And on the way back to that um to the de to the pier to get out of um the water, there was a dolphin, which you just educated me that often they're together, the dolphins and the humpback whales. Um, he jumped, you know how they jump along with you. Yes, and I swear he whoops, he he almost took me out. He it like he jumped, like I think it was come, no, he must have been going with us, but it was so close to my face that it was almost another, like, you better do it, lady. It was such a confirmation. Oh, it was like a reinforcement. Reinforcement.

Speaker 1 25:54

The troops had come in and reinforced. Because it wasn't the door.

Speaker 3 25:58

It wasn't um for me in the beginning, like uh now I see things and I think they're normal. Like if I were to get almost hit in the face with by a dolphin, I'd be like, oh, got it. I hear ya. But then it was like, um, okay, what the heck is going on? This is like a lot. Um, but now I know that it was like, yes, hey lady, pay attention. Pay attention. Wow. Yeah, and that might sound a little bit crazy, but if you can incorporate that into your day in some way, if you can pay attention to what crosses your path and leave your mind open to the answers, you might start understanding that it's not so boo-woo. It's it's actually how it works.

Speaker 26:48

Oh, I love that.

Speaker 1 26:50

I I love that. It that's a very profound yet very simple statement.

Speaker 3 26:55

Yeah, it's all very, very simple. I mean, it's bare bones, very simple to the root, to the core of everything.

Speaker 1 27:04

You're talking about shamanism? But it isn't it, it's so it's so when you're saying that, it's so simple. I get that. And at the same time, it tell me if I'm saying this right or wrong, but at the same time, our societies and cultures tell us, no, no, pull away from that because it's woo-woo or BS or whatever. Crazy talk. Yeah, crazy talk. And you know, you need to do, you know, this whatever this is, you know, whatever people do. Yeah, whatever all that is. This stuff that's uh so far removed from nature.

Leaving Corporate Life For Practice

Speaker 3 27:38

Yeah, sitting in a cube with a computer and the little phone and nothing wrong with that, but no, no, I did it. I did it for over 25 years. I was in corporate America, and um I now look at that as part of my yin and yang. So I understand what the dark side looks like. Yeah, and I I loved, I did, I was so good at my job. I was human resources, it's good at what I did. It served me well until it didn't, until it became poisonous to me. You know, so I know that it's a good thing to have a job, but um, and to be good at it and to to be helping others and however you are helping them. So I'm I'm not saying that that's not good. Um, it was not good for me to stay there for so long and become just a talking head. Um, it went from being able to, you know, to help people to just saying whatever the company wanted me to say. And it's like, you know what, this is I didn't realize that it was slowly chipping away at my soul. And then as I was studying this shamanism, it was like shh starting to fill my soul, refill my soul. And then actually at the end of my HR career, people were booking meetings with me all the time, and we weren't even talking about things at work, they were bonding me to talk about shamanism and and so help me, how do you stay balanced? Can you tell me how to meditate? You know, what that's what people were coming to me for in the end. And um, I'm sure those companies and they know who they are, are probably not thrilled to hear that. But um I was giving back, I was helping the employees and I was in humor, so it was just you know a little bit different. But uh, and then I just cut the cord and was able to change my career. So this is my second career. I love it in a sense. But it's not really my career, it's my life, and I just share it, share it with other people. Um, it doesn't feel like a career. Right, right. It's just how you walk through it. It's how I walk through every day, yes. And um, for me that looks like art, um, art for meditation, uh, crystals. I saw crystals, and I teach people how to work with them. Um taking people out into nature. On retreats, on retreats, yeah.

Speaker 1 29:58

Yeah, I read about retreats and classes and workshops that you do.

Speaker 3 30:02

I do, I do. And then I go in and work with the county of Santa Clara, and um like next year I'll be uh next week I'll be working with the sheriff's department, and they're all staff, and we're going to be um doing a med a guided meditation.

Speaker 1 30:16

Okay, okay. I love this. I see the sheriff's department or the police department as super duper high stress with a lot of negativity pushed at them constantly. Yes. So did they ask you? And then yes so that's something shifting there.

Speaker 3 30:32

Yes. So I'm a um um I'm a certified, what do you would call uh an approved vendor for the county. Yeah. So I've gone through that. And uh so if different departments, like I was just a public health, the public health department. Um so they're recognizing what you're bringing to the table now.

Speaker 1 30:49

They do, they do, and I think it's and so it's not so woo-woo anymore. Is that what you're saying? I wanted to ask you specifically about that too. The whole idea, there the misconceptions about shamanism.

Speaker 3 31:01

Yeah, I think a lot of people think it's woo-woo. Yes. I think that a lot of people think the word shamanism sounds scary and mean. Oh. Um, like somebody's gonna be dancing around with a scary-looking mask on and a torch in their hand and chanting. And maybe in some place in the world. Yes, but I can tell you it's probably for a good reason. Right, right. And a loving reason. Yeah. Um, and it might look scary to us, but that's not what it is. It's not the um hoodoo voodoo. Um, although voodoo and hoodoo is a form of shamanism, I should say that and and honor that. Um but it's not all like that. Yes, and that is a form, that is a absolute form because that came from Africa to here.

Speaker 1 31:51

Okay. I think though, that's where people got stuck with their mindset on the doll and thinking that shamanism is.

Speaker 3 31:59

Right. Got it. Shamanism is um it can be like that, but it's it's more so. How do you relate to nature? And how does each individual person in the community relate to nature? So, say if we were just um let's make up the beautiful, maybe we can manifest this. You and 20 other women come together and we have this special place in nature where we can all live and make the world better. Oh teach other people.

Speaker 1 32:34

Oh, this is just trying to build totally fueling into my let's build a commune, okay? Yes, that's what I was trying not to use that word.

Speaker 3 32:40

Oh, I love it. And I'm just saying, like, what if we did that? What we would be kind of like a little tribe, right? Right, right. So in our tribe, we would notice like who seems to know what the constellations are every night and be able to read the moon. And who who's is gosh, why do they always start the fire so easily and keep it going?

Speaker 2 33:06

Right.

Speaker 3 33:07

Well, in the in the tribe, that person will be the fire keeper, the keeper of fire. That's their spirit. And the fire in the spiritual world is so important. If we didn't have fire, right, our lives would be really tough. Right. And that is one of the elements that you know to be honored. So it's um, yeah, everybody's got their connections with different things. Even if they don't know it, right? Right, even if they don't know it. Like you, you might be called dog lady because you have a connection.

Speaker 2 33:39

Yeah, or something like that.

Speaker 3 33:41

Wolf lady, wolf cane, something, I don't know, or runner uh in the book Women Who Run with Wolves. I'm thinking of that. Like, um, but you might have, I don't know, a name related to dogs of some sort because you have that connection. Right. Other people might have um, you know, birds. My friend flies, so she, you know, like um parasailing, so she might have a bird name if she were to be, you know. Do you think we're naturally drawn to those things? Not even knowingly. I think so. I think um because sometimes we don't even understand like think about when you see a dog on the street. Chances are if they're like, oh, gonna pick a person, they're probably gonna come to you. That probably happens to you a lot, right? I hope so. Yeah. Because I am crazy about them. Because they and you might just because that's so normal, but that's in you. And people might say, Well, why why does that always happen that those dogs always come to you? And you're like, I don't know, it's just the way it is. Because it is, it's just the way it is.

Speaker 1 34:47

That's what it is, isn't it? It's again makeup, it's about honoring that. Yeah, making that come forward, yeah, recognizing it, and then honor it.

Speaker 3 34:55

Yeah.

Trees Hold Memory And Energy

Speaker 1 34:57

Okay, so so uh in that same kind of thinking, do you believe that the land? I already know the answer, I just let's talk about this. Okay, you believe like land, trees, places, anything, it's they hold energy and memory. Oh, yeah, let's talk about that.

Speaker 3 35:18

Yeah. Um, yes, many cultures refer to the trees as the standing people and the rocks and boulders as the sitting people. Oh, I thought because we are the same. See this tree out here? Yes, that that one's older than my daughter. It's been with our family this whole time and it's alive and it blooms and shades us and you know brings brings us joy and has grown up with our family. It sways and dances in the wind. It tells us when the seasons are changing. So um you put a group of trees together, you know, when you stand back and look at the forest, you look at them dancing. They all kind of sway, but they're a little bit different, you know, because the branches are a little different, but they're dancing together. If you listen, they talk. I I you know, and I know that sounds a little bit weird, but it is a way to I believe that.

Speaker 1 36:09

I hear it.

Speaker 3 36:10

I do too. I hear it. It's what happens when you let your human mind go to that ancient place. It's in our DNA, because our ancestors used to listen to trees singing and would take the messages from that. You know, whether you want to admit that or not, it's just the way it is because it's history. Right, right. Um, so it's a way to disconnect. Like I said before, in that meditation where we're traveling inward and shutting out the outside world by listening to the trees sing and watching them dance, you're you're shutting out that outside world and connecting to the core of Mama Earth and to yourself. You're just kind of shutting out all the other stuff. There's a lot of chaos going on. Um, so yeah, I that I do believe that they are are living things and that they hold memory. Um I I know that wood holds memory. I and I learned that from being a paranormal investigator, so I know that sounds a whole different thing, but it does kind of tie in because that knowledge now, when I go in and do home blessings, um that plays in. So it's it's funny how different parts of what you've learned throughout your life can kind of come together in a package. But wood, if you so if you go to an old lodge someplace that's been there for a while, and they've got wooden walls, yeah. Maybe when nobody's looking, just go up and take a nice long whiff of that wood. And you'll probably smell like cigar smoke, something. Yeah, but that's a that's a physical tapeable thing. It is. And that's why I'm using it, so because you can understand that that's a thing. Yeah.

Speaker 1 38:00

But if you were to actually touch that wood, there's a different, there's an energy. If you, I guess if you're paying attention, and sometimes I can, sometimes I can't. Yeah. When I touch things, sometimes I feel it. Feel it.

Speaker 3 38:11

Yeah. Yeah. So if you tune in, the answer is yes, you can. You can't. And there are like often um hand prints are are seen as petroglyphs a lot in um on walls all over the world. Um and many cultures believe that leaving the handprint there is leaving the memory there, maybe leaving the feeling there. It is a way of putting like a stake in the ground, like, yes, I was here. This is how I feel, this is I am. You know how today we say I am, hear me, I am enough. That's the handprint. I see you. I see you, feel me, hear, see me.

Speaker 2 38:52

Wow.

Speaker 3 38:52

But they're um if you find those petroglyphs, uh, some are carved. Um out in Watsonville, there's some um, and if you can put your hands, the ones that are carved, you could you're allowed to touch usually. The ones that are painted, you don't ever want to put your hand on it because it's you don't want to wear the paint on it. Right, your oils, it's not good. So don't do that. But if you're in a place where you have the carved kind, and they you know you're allowed to put your hand on there, give yourself some time and just really try to connect and you can feel the energy.

Speaker 1 39:26

So I have this is interesting, I have a fireplace mantle that's an uh a very old piece of Douglas fur that a friend of mine did some carving on it. You know, some symbols and what have you. But he also took my husband's hand, and it's not just a hand print. There, I don't know how he did it, but it looks like you, it almost looks like the hand melted into the wood. So you can actually stick your hand into the same hole, or you know, the hand hole, so to speak, that and that's my husband's hand. And and and a lot of you listeners know my husband has passed, but when I stick my hand in there, I feel him. So that's that's what we're talking about, right?

Speaker 3 40:13

That is absolutely what we're talking about. So you can hold your husband's hand through some Douglas Douglas fir.

Speaker 1 40:23

Yes, so the wood has held that memory. And it's not just a memory in my head, is it? There's an energy there.

Speaker 3 40:29

Oh, it's absolutely energy. I think in our Western culture we're very focused on our heads and our brains. Yes, and that's not just our brains, it's our mind, yes, but also our body and and our soul, or energy, what whatever word you want to use. So mind, body, energy, mind, body, soul. And if we can get our brains to look at those three things and try to balance them, give them equal amounts of water. Right now, your brain might be getting way thank you. Hang on, Karen.

Speaker 1 41:04

I think we're gonna go 12 times.

Speaker 3 41:05

No, but it only goes once getting old.

Speaker 1 41:08

Okay, good. Yeah.

Grounding With Feet And Attention

Speaker 3 41:09

So please continue. But that's kind of neat to um good message for high noon right now. So, mind, body, soul. If you were gonna feed your mind, your body has your soul a glass of water to keep you nice and balanced. Your mind shouldn't be the one that's hogging up all that water. Your body gets the same amount of water. You want to feed them, nourish them the same amount. But we give so much attention to our brains and the things that are what you know, the things we tell ourselves, and and I think it's our society where it's like go, go, go, go, go, you have to do this. You you know, it's those pressures that cause the anxieties and just a lot. The our minds are not uh the pilot, they don't drive things, and a lot of times people forget that. I did.

Speaker 1 42:02

I do, yeah.

Speaker 3 42:04

I do it sometimes too, so I need to check myself before I wreck myself. So I I when my head starts going, I go to meditation, and then I get grounded again. And I imagine roots going into the earth and Mama Earth supporting me because that's real stability, and that's a real thing that's here. You know, all of the um way, you know, internet stuff that's going around in the the air, yes, that's there too, but that's not what life is all about. That's not what we're naturally made of. We naturally go back to the earth. We don't naturally go to, we shouldn't naturally go to the computer. That could be more poison. So um we giving ourselves away from that.

Speaker 1 42:53

That's this I I know it's ancient, but it it seems to have resurfaced a lot about grounding and and and walking barefoot on the earth. That's part of it as well, isn't it? Absolutely. That's that energy, yes, exchange of energy.

Speaker 3 43:10

Yes, because we um and sometimes you know when people say, Oh, it's really hard for me to feel the energy, yes, taking your shoes off, like you said, and putting your bare feet on the earth is so important because we're not we weren't we made shoes. We made shoes so that we can go run and do things better, and we never were meant to have a piece of rubber between us and the earth.

Speaker 1 43:32

Got it.

Speaker 3 43:33

Our feet are supposed to go into the earth because that's how we feel things, that's how we feel the vibration of horses coming towards us before they get there. We can't feel those things if we have our Nikes on. Oh, sorry, Nike, but you don't make your shoes wide enough, Nike, so I'll say it. Um and I won't take that rubber between my feet. So I prefer to wear moccasins, you know, something um, or my Birken stocks that has the rubber there, but I can easily slip. My feet, my shoes off, and walk. So when I hike, I usually try to walk um part of the time barefoot if I can and where it's safe. We'll have to do that. Yeah. Yeah, it's great. Um, it doesn't make your feet real pretty, but I have always kind of had hobbit feet and see there you go.

Speaker 1 44:16

Thank you. That's just how I'm made. I have hobbit feet as well. My friend told me the other day, you know, your feet are gnarly. Yes, thank you very much.

Speaker 3 44:24

That's always in the dirt. Yeah, absolutely. And it's how it serves me well because then it doesn't hurt for me to walk barefoot.

Speaker 1 44:32

So you want to do that though. Yes, on a on a hiking trail.

Speaker 3 44:36

Yeah, and just be kind with yourself because it takes a lot, you know, the first time, depending on how sensitive your feet are, it might take some time. But if you do it each time, they toughen up. And then your feet start to crave it.

Speaker 1 44:48

I I think I I I think too, Karen, that whole idea, because when you were saying that, what I could see as well, it was not just walking, you know, that that when you lay down in the grass in a park or something, I think we've all done that, and it's such a glorious feeling. It's so good.

Speaker 3 45:05

Yeah. It's so good. And just to lay down, so here's something that you can do that's very shamanic. You can lay down in the grass of the park and look up at the clouds and practice divination. Do you know what that means? No, what does that mean? So practicing divination is what you've done when you've looked up at the clouds and you're like, hey, I see an elephant. Oh, and I see a feather. When you look at something and you see things, that's a form of divination. And that is an entry into meditation. Oh. So it's a form of meditation.

Speaker 45:37

Okay.

Speaker 3 45:38

So you're you're you're going there. So maybe even if it's not the clouds, if you lay down, look at the clouds, that's really nice. That's gonna calm your nervous system naturally because we're on the earth being supported, um, checking out again of what's going on all around us and going inward and just looking to see what we see. And we get our our mind gets a little bit lost in that. And anything where you can get your mind to get lost, that's meditation. I discovered meditation through art, through painting, because I would start and then it would be hours later, and I'd be like, what happened? Where did the what happened? And it's met that's just it's the same thing. Same muscle in our brain. That's it's that's a form of meditation.

Speaker 1 46:25

So you don't have to be like, oh, yeah, because I have a hard time doing the you know, the quiet thing, but I've been lost many times in writing stuff for the podcast or something because I'm like, and the same thing, I'm like, uh-oh. What happened in the afternoon? That's good.

Speaker 3 46:40

And you, I can tell you, have probably many times gone on walking meditations and you probably didn't know it. So when you go hiking, do you lose yourself in thought sometimes or just go walk and in the natural beauty and both like check out a little bit? That's it, isn't it? That's a walking meditation. And and I guess I can't say that it's a walk, that's what can happen in a walking meditation. You have to have the intention there first to really meditate. Okay. So but and next time you go hiking, just if you think I'm going on this hike with the intention of losing myself a little bit and rest, turning off that brain and tuning into my soul.

Speaker 1 47:22

Well, that and and and when you said you said soul, brain, body, I think the third one. And I thought, uh, you know, and you and and you're you're coming back to this on these points, but I and this is for me, okay. I'm just thinking, yeah, I I I overthink things. So it's your brain. I'm a two in my head, right? I understand that. I get that. So doing these things that you're talking about too, then feeding those other two, my body and my soul, will help. I I need to take some food away from this overthinking brain.

Speaker 3 47:55

Your brain's being a big bully pilot and trying to take is trying to always be in the driver's seat. Yes. And they need to go shotgun. They need to not always go in the back seat, maybe even on the trunk for a little while, but not be in the driver's seat.

Speaker 1 48:09

I like that. Yeah, because it seems to always be in the driver's seat. And that's when I have real imbalance in my life, then. And I see that. And I don't I didn't recognize until you just said these three things. Yeah. I I was, you know, yeah, I didn't realize that I was starving the other two.

Speaker 3 48:26

Yeah. I right. No, and I think it's natural for all of us because I can sometimes catch myself where my brain is taking over. Usually when I have a busy calendar, a lot of things, responsibilities, you know, I think those tend to get my brain really going. And then I'll catch myself. It's like, oh, nope, nope. This is I I'm in my brain way too much. I need to back out, check myself before I wreck myself. And then sometimes this little voice in my head will say, Yeah, no, no, no, you can't even look at the other two things now. You can't even give those your body and your spirit anything right now. This is survival mode. Like, I'll I'll start thinking that way because I'm so like go, go, go.

Speaker 49:06

Oh, yeah. Right?

Speaker 3 49:07

That's we've all been there. And that's when I'm like, yeah, nope, you are cut off. Like I'm a bartender with a drunk person, and it's almost two o'clock in the morning. It's like, no, you're done. You are on timeout, you go think about your dad behavior. And then I feed myself. I might go for a walk even if I don't want to.

Speaker 1 49:25

I was gonna ask you. So then how do you feed the other two?

Speaker 3 49:28

I'll go for a walk. I'll do um my bike. I love riding my bike. I have a flat tire now, so I'm I'm need to fix that, but I'm yearning for it because my bike makes me feel like a kid again. Um, just yoga or stretching. Okay. Um, sometimes I'll just sit in the backyard and watch birds. Bird watching. That's good too, right? You don't have to necessarily move.

Speaker 1 49:52

I want listeners to hear that because I I can already feel your guys' resistance. I feel like you don't have to move then. Let's let's look at that. But I feel my own resistance, and you said it too. Sometimes I just don't want to. But I that's the hardest thing is while doing it. Yeah. All of a sudden I catch this rhythm and I'm like, huh. And I do get out of actually, I get in a different place in my head though, Karen. I get the creative kicks in. Yes. Okay.

Speaker 3 50:18

That's the momentum because it's been stagnant. If you aren't feeding your mind, or if you're, you know, and we have to honor our mind. Our mind isn't bad, right? I we're we're we're acknowledging that it can get on our way. Right. But it's also wonderful. But if you're not giving enough attention to your body and your soul, you those areas get stagnant, and it's like, yeah, I'll get to it. I'll get to it. It's like the stack of stuff that just sits there.

Speaker 2 50:43

Right.

Speaker 3 50:44

So when you do get to it, it's like you're sparking the energy. You're actually sparking that flame to start in that area. So you have to do it, you have to make it happen, and you have to just have that little spark. That's all you need is a spark to just to get that fire going.

Speaker 1 51:04

Got it.

Speaker 3 51:04

Yeah.

Meet The Good Juju Tree

Speaker 1 51:05

Wow. Okay, so there's a tree out in your front yard. Yes. And it's called a good juju tree. Yes. Tell me a good juju tree. Tell everybody about this tree. Because this, you guys, Karen lives in a neighborhood, and I know this this podcast is heard all over the world, so it doesn't matter that we're in San Jose kind of thing. But it's in a neighborhood, it's in a neighborhood in America, and and it's very different. It's not just a tree, it's a tree that's filled with ribbons.

Speaker 3 51:38

Ribbons, and yes, cloth that's been um cut up into ribbons. Uh, there's some charms and bells that people have hung out there, but it's the good juju tree. And it's a tree that's out in front of my house. And it's technically not even my tree. It belongs to the city because it's in the parking strip there by the sidewalk. Um, and I think okay, it started 10 years ago.

Speaker 1 52:04

Okay, here we go.

Speaker 3 52:04

Yeah, 10 years ago. And I think it started because of the little library that we put up in front of our house. So we did that before.

Speaker 1 52:13

Okay, you guys who don't know what the little library is, it's this little wonderful little box that that people put books in. It's kind of like put a book in, and and you can take a book or leave a book. It's like a lending library for folks. I have one as well. I put puzzles in there and stickers and all kinds of games, kinds of fun stuff. But I totally agree. It has really helped build community. Community, that's what I saw.

Speaker 3 52:39

And I we didn't know what was going to happen. Same with you, probably with your little library. Little free library. Um, and it was so interesting to see so many people coming and looking at it. The library? The library, yes, and so we really saw a lot of neighbors that we didn't even know who they were. It's like, where are all these people coming from? Who are you? I know. And so we started meeting new people, and um, I would often see them sitting out or standing out there looking through the books. And then um, I think we put a bench out there was the next thing because I thought, oh, well, they should have a spot to sit nice while they're looking through. And then what happened from that was there's a couple daycares in the neighborhood, and so they would all come and sit on the sidewalk, and the teacher would sit on the bench and they would read books from Really? Yeah, and they would come, it was every Thursday. They I haven't seen them for a long time, but that was happening. It's like wow! And so I really saw lots more people coming. There was an older woman who would always come and she'd sit on that bench for a long time. I think she wasn't as interested in the library as she was the place to rest. Got it, and so she would just sit there and she was uh I think she was Russian and would speak on her cell phone for a long time and be laughing and she was talking to somebody. And I thought that's it's just a really neat spot. And then one day I got an idea that what if we put like a just a place where people could make a wish or say a prayer and they could put it on the tree. And I've always been drawn to prayer flags. So yes. Prayer flags being, you know, flags that you you hang. Like that's something that's you find throughout the world. You know, there's we hear of Tibetan prayer flags, but there are prayer flags from all places all over the world where we say a prayer, you hang the flags, and the wind comes through and blows that fabric and blows that energy of the prayers out into the community and beyond so that it ripples all of those prayers. So that's the idea of prayer flags. I love that. So I thought, let's bring that to the tree. So what I did is I put some chicken wire around the trunk of the tree, and I hung a little basket with a sign that said the basket had ribbons in it, and the sign said this is a good juju tree for the community. So just pick a ribbon, say a prayer, make a wish, and hang it, tie it on the on the trunk. And so it happened. Did it happen right away? Kind of, yeah. I think um I went back recently and looked at a video of day six, I think. Oh, and it was like, oh, there were a lot of ribbons on there. But there were, you know, people would stop. They're stopping there already. I think that's why I did it, because they're already stopping there for the library and the vent, and it's like, oh, make a wish, make your life better, you know. But then it just started happening, and that basket was covered. So then we that people started putting them from the branches, and so then we would put, we'd put um kind of like ropes so that they would come down, not ropes, but something long so that they could hang out. Yes, because the trunk was getting so thick.

unknown 55:59

Wow.

Ribbons For Grief Love And Wishes

Speaker 3 55:59

With and if you go in there now, because now you look at it 10 years later, and that trunk is still very thick. And you've never taken any down? No. We don't take so that's what's really interesting is that um that the trunk area is very becoming crusty, petrified in a in a sense. Not that it's yucky, but like if you feel the the fabric, it's very fragile now. Okay, it's starting to kind of disintegrate at times. And that's part of it. That's the the new ribbons that are being tied today, mixing with the old ribbons from 10 years ago. Wow, the new birth and the earned wisdom all coming together. So it's all of it working together, has become such an energetic kind of spot. And now we see I've seen Tell me some stories. What has happened with this tree because of this tree? Yeah. It's well, people hang things on it that um, you know, sometimes I see people out there uh talking to the tree and um hanging things like um this one woman during COVID, her husband passed, he was uh an um EMT and uh she took his patch from his uniform and tied it on a ribbon. And she would every day she'd go out there and look for the patch and talk to it for years. I know and the patch is still out there. So she's moved away, but I watch over the patch for her, so I make sure it's safe. Um it's in a different spot now because the way they with the weight of all of the ribbons, we have to hoist them up sometimes. And so her her little thing, you know, she came back, I'd have to say it's moved over about like three feet, but it's still there. Wow. Um, people have tied ribbons from like funeral flowers on there, and wow. I see a lot of laughing and crying. Um, I see a lot of kids that make their grandparents and their parents stop. I have to find my ribbon, you know. And I always want to say you can tie five every day if you want, you know. But um, I've seen, gosh, this one family. I noticed um, it's not like I'm always watching, but I the kitchen window faces it, you know, so beautiful. Yeah.

Speaker 1 58:17

Oh my gosh, oh my god, I'm crying. No, it's okay, it's all good too.

Speaker 3 58:20

No, I've been up there.

Speaker 58:21

I got it. Yeah.

Speaker 3 58:22

Um I saw this car pull up and it was pulled up on the wrong side, so it was going, you know, parked the wrong way. So I looked and it was like five people got out, and I didn't recognize any of them. So it's like, okay, and they all stood around the tree and they held hands and they were there for so long. And they were praying, I think, and then they just all got back in the car and drove away. And I thought, I don't know what that was, but I'm so glad that tree is there. Like it they made it, it's really meaningful. Really, I'm so glad this is happening. And then there was another time I saw a man propose to his propose to his girlfriend in at the Goju tree. Oh my gosh. So I watched it from the wind. I'm like, oh my gosh, that's happening. And so I gave them some time, and then I went out because I wanted to just say, can I help you with some pictures or anything? I just saw that. And their first date, they walked because his parents live a couple blocks over, I guess. And on their first date, they were walking around the neighborhood getting to know each other, and they each tied a ribbon. Oh my gosh. And that's where he proposed.

Speaker 1 59:30

Oh, that's so beautiful.

Speaker 3 59:33

So it's just filled with um for me. I've I've tied many ribbons when I'm worried about my kids when they were teenagers and they go out, it's like, bye mom, I'll be home by two, or whatever, you know, when they're in college and worried mama. Yeah. Prayers are in that tree. Um, lots of things, lots and lots of things.

Speaker 1 59:55

You know, it just kind of I would the feeling that I get from it is that we need this so much. It's like again, it's very simple.

Speaker 3 1:00:04

And I don't really have to do anything other than we we keep the ribbons and we there's a uh canister there now with the ribbons and a little note saying what it's about. Because a lot of times people, if they're new to the neighborhood, they're like, What is going on? What is that? Yeah. What is going on? Yeah. Wow. Yeah, it's a good thing. And it's you look again at um, we don't see a lot of that around here, but there are wishing trees in many places. Is that what else is called? I've heard of them called wishing trees or prayer trees. Okay. Yeah. Um, but not here where we live, but maybe other parts of the world. So wow. Yeah. Oh, that was another story. Somebody, somebody, it was a two older ladies showed up on my porch one day. One of them spoke English and the other didn't. And the one that didn't speak English, I don't remember where they were visiting from, but they were visiting their friend. And this lady was so excited, and she said, they have something like this in her country, and she hadn't been back there. Oh, oh, because it was during COVID, because she came here and then couldn't get back. Oh my gosh. And was away from her family. And so when she saw the tree, she was so happy and wanted to tell the story of I can't get home, but we have a tree like this where I live, and this was really meaningful. You know, so just and then there's people that are probably like, uh, I don't know what that is, and I wish it weren't there. You know, there's those people too. And there's that's the again, the yin and the yang.

Speaker 1 1:01:39

Yeah. I'm so glad that you kind of describe it like that because instead of getting pissy about those people, you know, and I like that because it's not about that, it really is about the balance, the yin and the yang. The yin and the yang. The light and the dark.

Speaker 3 1:01:54

Yes. Yeah. And yes, and I can tell you in that with the tree, there's a lot more love than there is complaints for sure. And even if I did have to take it down due to complaints, um, I certainly would not. Somebody else would have to do it because I'm not touching those prayers and wishes in any way. They that's not my responsibility. It's my responsibility is to keep that there in an open place and keep it safe, but I would never take it. Love it. I love it. That's not that's beyond me. Yes, I can see that.

Speaker 1 1:02:25

Yes.

Speaker 3 1:02:26

Yeah. Yeah. So if somebody else wants to take it down, that would be on them. But I highly doubt anything like that would happen.

unknown 1:02:33

Yeah.

Speaker 3 1:02:33

Wow. Yeah. So people can make a good juju tree themselves. All you need is a tree, some ribbon. And when I say ribbon, it's not even fancy ribbon. A lot of it's just um my mom's a quilter, so it started with her just making strips of all the different kinds of fabric, you know. And um that's all you need.

Speaker 1 1:02:57

See, this should be on like the top ten things to see in San Jose list. You know, I love it. I love it.

Speaker 3 1:03:04

Oh fun. Oh my gosh. Maybe we could make some other trees out there and we could do a good juju tree tour of San Jose. Oh, I love that. Wouldn't that be interesting? I love that. Get you around the whole city.

Ritual Without Fear And Intention Daily

Speaker 1 1:03:17

Oh one thing we uh we've touched in and in and around, and I I and I'm just gonna put a word to it. Sure. Because you've talked about it, ritual. That's a huge part of this, isn't it?

Speaker 3 1:03:28

Yes, that's another scary word for people. Yes, it is.

Speaker 1 1:03:30

That's why I want to bring that up because there we go, dark, light, dark, and everything. Yeah. Tell tell us how does ritual fall into this? Because I recognize the importance of it as well.

Speaker 3 1:03:40

Yeah, there's lots of rituals within shamanism. So, like the calling and the directions, that would be a ritual. Um my tea in the morning is a ritual. When I put my honey in my tea, which comes from my bees in my backyard. So it's I'm it's a very thankful. My tea is a cup of gratitude. So when I stir my tea in the morning, that's a ritual where I say, give thanks that I have this tea, that I have this honey, and that I'm it's kind of a reminder for me to just stay in the flow. Got it. Because I can be as happy and all that I want. But if some big something big happens in my life, that's I just want to be able to flow. I might not always be happy, but when big things, challenging things come up, I want to be in a place where I can handle that and stay balanced, whether it's a dark or a light thing happening. So that's a ritual that brings me that flow every day. Does so uh does is that what ritual does? Does it help helps with connection? Balance? Balance for sure. Okay. Yes, for me for sure. Um, and I think um, so a ritual would really be something that you do on a real regular basis for a certain reason. Um, so it doesn't have to be something scary. It could be, like I said, something as easy and simple as stirring my tea. Um, it could be going to Sunday Mass, you know, if you're a religious person, that they do a lot of real rituals.

Speaker 1 1:05:11

I was gonna say that the Catholic Church has a lot of rituals, right? Yes.

Speaker 3 1:05:14

Yeah, so rituals shouldn't um shouldn't be a scary word. It should not be a scary word, but I think Hollywood has kind of given it a scary word. Or true crime shows have I love true crime by the way, so I'm not poo-pooing that because I um I know. I um I do, you know, but it doesn't always give the right impression of like uh, you know, what a ritual it is. It doesn't have to be well you're right though. You just give the word ritual, you think oh, you think of a pentagram and a chicken with its head cut off.

Speaker 1:05:46

Something like that.

Speaker 3 1:05:48

Yes, you think of you're certainly not thinking of super positive stuff. Right. Yeah. Because I think that's I don't know, it's like what sticks, it's what we've been told. And and that that that that there is ritual like that. Yes. Again, that's the that's the dark, but then there's the light.

Speaker 1 1:06:05

Yes, I understand there is that. Yes.

Speaker 3 1:06:07

As long as your intention is um pure and kind and loving, I think that ritual is a as important as nourishing yourself with food. You know?

Speaker 1 1:06:20

Is it one of those pillars, isn't it? Kind of. It is. Yeah. It really is. Soul, body, mind.

Speaker 3 1:06:26

Yeah. And keeping you on your path. Because it's so hard or it's so easy really to go off track. It's hard to stay on track sometimes. Yes it is. You know, like today we're having this nice balanced conversation. And it's like I'm so thankful for this moment. Yes. And we get to connect. Yes. But then later today something might happen. Yes. And then I might just go off the rails and fall down and be like, whoop to get back there, I need that um that ritual or that meditation is ritual. You know, I I have my Malibies where which are the same as a rosary in a sense. That's a ritual. Right. You know, so we're doing things.

Speaker 1 1:07:08

And that's across the board right that's across the board. All the cultures everything everybody has that kind of stuff. Yes.

Speaker 3 1:07:14

Yes. Marriage.

unknown 1:07:19

Yes.

Speaker 3 1:07:19

Fire building. Yes. There's lots of different rituals. Yes. And I think holidays are kind of rituals. We all have like what do you do you always have the same meal at Christmas? You know that could that could technically be a ritual. Yes. But then there are rituals that are really um created for very ceremonial spiritual moments that hold you know maybe more power like um you know an event that you could have rituals like that too. But they're they're good rituals. Do they hold more power? I don't know if they hold more power. I I I caught myself when I I mean that now is that clicked with me because I thought I think I think it like oh let's see let's think of a ritual with let's think of a baptism very ritual yes that's and that that's yes that's a ritual then that's all cultures all religions kind of have some kind of a baptism so you could go and I could I could baptize you right now down at the creek and you could baptize me. Okay we could do that. Sure. And that's meaningful and powerful. Yes we could have a baptism this weekend where we have 50 of our friends and somebody baptizes. At the commune got it yeah and that that that could be really powerful. Yeah um which one holds more power I don't know that's going to be up to the individual I think more power I I was thinking more power because of more people and then more people means more energy. I understand that but you're right whatever somebody takes away from it is on them as because that intimate one-on-one might be way more powerful than the the big group thing group yeah which could be overwhelming energy as well it could be wow it could be yeah and it really depends on how you feel energy you know there's a lot of sensitive people um who can easily pick up and they don't even know what they're picking up on. I used to get sick when I would go to restaurants or I always thought it was maybe like um the stress of my family but it wasn't and I thought oh it's just I can't go and be in in certain environments for very long because it disrupts my my system. I have that as well.

Speaker 1 1:09:30

Yeah yes yeah and it's okay. Yeah I think well I I think it is okay and I think for me at least I've learned that uh oh it's time for me to go home. I'm gonna turn into a pumpkin if I gotta go that's what I feel like I'm like I gotta I gotta go oh I gotta go now. Oh my gosh I gotta go now because I can feel it or the timing or whatever it is.

Speaker 3 1:09:50

One of your glasses yes your body glass needs to be filled and aged your spirit I need to go home yeah yes yeah and and then some people can can just stay in that place for a really long time and and be that's their gem. So it's just it's a how we're dialed in and what how we run and what feeds our soul and it's we just have to figure out ourselves.

Speaker 1 1:10:14

Okay so I want to ask and if this is okay to ask yeah how can people bring more intention into their everyday lives without it feeling overwhelming because I think we live in very overwhelming times. I think or you know and I guess here to go with that yeah are there simple practices anyone can be anyone can do to get reconnected with themselves or with nature so those kind of go hand in hand. You know some little tidbit you could share with with our listeners.

Speaker 3 1:10:50

I think um setting intentions that are simple. Clearly intentions so it doesn't have to be an intention of I'm going to do this every day I'm going to go on a walk every day. It doesn't have to be something like that. It could just be although that would be very good um it could be an intention of today I'm gonna do my best and okay and that could be your intention okay to always do your best and to really check in on that intention then. So your intention you have to mean it. Yeah it's not one thing to say that it would mean anything. Yes it doesn't mean anything they're just words it's not an intention if you don't really mean it. Okay. So um your it depends on what you're craving, what you're wanting what you're wanting to incorporate into your life. So say if it's um community or connecting one-on-one today when I'm today I might say hello and look somebody in the eyes when I walk by them or maybe making an intention every day to do that. Okay. It could be something very simple. It could also be complicated you know if you if you have big uh an intention to do something really big like hold an event or whatever. I mean an intention is an intention but keeping it simple to it keep your balance um is really what it boils down to and leaving space for that. So I I used to um chunk out my time on my calendar where I would sit down and journal. Journaling if you're just getting started could be really good because you might start with I don't even know where to start. Yeah you know that might be your first thing you write the first thing you write yes and it's like okay where do I start I feel you know this I it wherever whatever they it's kind of a mind dump and that can often help you figure out where do you want to go from where you are right now.

Speaker 1 1:12:57

Oh so I never heard it put that way and that makes sense to me because journaling was like sounds to me like kind of a pain just because it's like I gotta sit and I gotta write and yeah my journey but I never realized what you just said it's a mind dump so I'm empty uh create space for the new stuff the stuff that I want to do the you know then I don't know the new stuff kind of like a diary in a way and uh like I'm you know how you're feeling just dump like whatever whatever comes to your mind like I said I'm dyslexic I don't in my journal I don't worry about spelling words right and I do a lot of drawing um because the drawing sometimes mean or like even just doodles because a symbol of the sun might mean more to me than actually writing out the word sun.

Speaker 3 1:13:52

Right. It does because I I'm like is it S-O-N or S like that gets in my way. So I write my journal the way that flows got it for me.

Speaker 1 1:14:03

You don't have to be so constrictive on things.

Speaker 3 1:14:05

No and I don't like things to I mean it's nice when I stay on the lines when I'm writing but I don't write enough to make it look like a nice pretty journal. So sometimes I'll turn my pages and go across the lines just because I want to do the other way. Yeah and I'll also use colors because black and white um makes me feel a little bit stressed out. So if I put um color different colored inks or whatever into my journal then it welcomes my it's more welcoming place for me. So that's how I journal uh it so there's not there's no wrong way.

Speaker 1 1:14:43

So so so listeners can if you want to then you can take small intentions on a daily basis.

Speaker 3 1:14:50

Yeah right and and if and and the purpose of that would be to look for change to create space for change yeah yeah maybe an intention could be I'm going to be kind to myself got it as much as possible today or it's where whatever I the journaling sometimes can help or you might already know um what it is you want to bring into your life what do you want to let go of what do you want to bring more of in and then an intention is getting rid of things bringing things in um it's it's really it's interesting to be talking about this because the intention is so simple that it's complicated if that makes sense. Yes so being aware the intention is the root kind of of everything. So being so aware of it that's are you are you walking with your intention today or have you gone off track and just bringing yourself back. So so simple is good is a good start for it. It's really good if it's not simple then we're gonna be like oh my gosh that's so overwhelming. So it doesn't have to be like I'm I'm going to go to the gym I'm going to paint the house I'm going it it's just little things in how you want to be as a human being and as a I'm going to treat other people the way I want to be treated. I'm going to you know today's a cloudy day maybe tomorrow the sun's gonna come out and I'm gonna feel like today I'm honoring the sun you know or and do that in whatever way maybe that means you do your um your computer work outside on the patio rather than inside the house but you honor the sun if that was your intention for the day. Got it.

Oracle Cards Classes And Where To Find Her

Speaker 1 1:16:36

Yeah wow and you can have daily intentions you can have lifetime intentions you can change your intentions you're the boss of you I like that yeah you're the boss of you yeah wow okay this is great so I I want to tell people your website it's called shamamama.com and that's s h a m a m-a-m a lot of m-a-m.com okay and I'm gonna have that on the website you guys on the two chicks and a hoe website uh so you can just you know check that out um tell me then Karen on your you offer and I want this is for the local community but people can go to your website anywhere in the world and learn about the things that we've been talking about. So but they can also you offer classes I mentioned this before classes workshops retreats so all they can find everything on the website.

Speaker 3 1:17:36

Yeah everything on there um there's a calendar so you can kind of go in there and look at what events might be going on and um there's just information if you're like what what was she talking about crystals or perfect yes calling in the directions you can find those things on on the website perfect okay um I have my new deck of Oracle cards that are all it's a shamanic deck to guys and can they see that on the website? Yes. Okay good yes and actually that's um at my Etsy store also which is Blue Moon Shadow on Etsy. Okay blue moon shadow on Etsy that's the name of the store on Etsy got it yeah and I sell um but if you go to my website then you can shop there's a shop button and that'll take you to so it's all good everything's very centralized.

Speaker 1 1:18:23

And what are Oracle cards?

Speaker 3 1:18:25

Oracle cards they are you got to show these yeah I gotta see this. So this is the deck well okay this deck I've been working on I've worked on it for two years and it's here it's 80 cards. This is the card that I pulled today it's playfulness. All of this is my art comes with a little guidebook.

Speaker 1 1:18:49

Yeah so all you'll notice there's lots of coyote porcupine so still for example you guys and and check them out on the website too so I just pulled the coyotes imagine that and then here's your coyote page. Oh so then in the little book it talks about so coyote keywords are expression playfulness and courage and then it it gives you more detail on that. Yeah you know I used to have these cards I still have them and I used to pull them out at work and everybody in my office we every day and they were animal animal cards. Yes so we'd all pull an animal yes I love the animal cards.

Speaker 3 1:19:23

Yes and then this is very similar isn't it yeah very similar so there'll be um the elements are in here the directions are in here ancient teachings bigfoot because he's my boyfriend bloom big and this is all your art this is all my art wow you guys these are really beautiful so lots of really um beautiful messages and so from so if you were to pick a card something in that message is probably going to resonate with you and that might turn into an intention for the day. Okay but this is a way to um this is a fun thing connect your way yes connect yourself to spirit to maybe get out of your head out of your your head say it to get out of your head because I think that's we just said it we spent a lot of time up there or in there or wherever it is we do but we can change it. I need to we can change it and we'll be better our minds will enjoy that too because they're overworked. They need a break too so we're just stimulated yes yes yeah yeah we because we're not meant to do what we're doing these days yeah we're meant to slow down a little bit yeah and stay connected and yeah it's got to do it all when you know that's where that balance comes in so things like this help. So yeah thank you thanks for um mentioning my website because that is where you can pretty much find anything and get in contact with me.

Speaker 1 1:20:44

Yes so again you know uh all those things that Karen offers along with the cool shop that she has where you you can mail things right you can mail things yeah all over the world excellent every day all right guys check it out shamamama.com and um thank you Karen thank you thank you so much I appreciate your time and gosh this has been a wonderful conversation I hope I I I you know that I know I already got a whole bunch out of it and I will listen to this again and I'm gonna be getting the Oracle cards as well because I I love that and I yeah I love it you're right it helps to set a different thought for the day and I guess in a way and that's a different intention isn't it it is yeah it is or just keeping yourself on track checking in with yourself.

Speaker 3 1:21:28

Yeah don't wreck yourself I like that check yourself check yourself yeah and you my friend I think are a little sham mama too I don't know I don't know I think you are if you think about all the things you do in your life and how you roll and where you go and what you do you are absolutely living a shamanic lifestyle.

Closing Reflections On Connection

Speaker 1 1:21:48

I like that you didn't even know it I didn't even know it but clearly I was super attracted to it. But yeah anytime I can get my feet on the dirt you know yeah suck on those rocks that's right I think I used to eat dirt but I don't remember sucking on rocks but yeah I would eat dirt too we'd make mud mud pies yeah yeah it's good for your teeth it's good for your immune system like colon cleanser there's little brooms that's right I love it thank you Karen thank you okay not a mistake okay you guys listeners so like I said I'll bring all the websites up and uh we'll talk to you soon it's remarkable what a living breathing tree can hold a tree in Karen's front yard not in a cathedral not on a mountaintop just there along the street it's rooted it's alive it's witnessing and people come they tie a ribbon they whisper a name they set an intention they leave a piece of their heart fluttering on the branches listening to Karen something became clear for me the power isn't somewhere far away it isn't reserved for the mystical or the chosen it's in participation it's in intention it's in showing up she reminds us that ritual doesn't have to be complicated to matter that nature isn't separate from healing it's part of it that the land listens the trees witness that when we slow down long enough to be intentional something shifts and in these trying times when everything feels loud and fractured and uncertain maybe what we're really craving isn't more noise maybe we're craving places to pause to remember to reconnect to ourselves to each other to the land beneath our feet we talk a lot on this podcast about conservation protecting ecosystems restoring habitats showing up for wildlife and wild spaces but conservation isn't only about what we save it's also about what we tend the invisible threads the quiet moments the ribbons and the branches the good juju tree is powerful for one simple reason people show up they care they stand in front of something living and say this matters and that matters the magic isn't somewhere else it's here in participation in intention in remembering that we are not separate from the natural world we're woven into it so wherever you are today step outside touch a tree take a breath call someone you love set an intention tie your own invisible ribbon and see what shifts for you thanks for listening you guys thanks for being part of this conversation and willing to explore question and connect you can find Karen's work at shamama.com and like I said you can find that on our website and we'll you know send a link to it gosh it was a great conversation until next time you guys take care of each other