Shaman Down

I sat with my arms sprawled out and head laying on the table feeling I had bottomed out and would never be able to see daylight again. I was in the middle of a workshop to help the unemployed find work, education or grants to get back on their feet. I had gone out of business for the 5th or 6th time in my life and wasn’t sure that I could pull myself back this time. I was under-educated and skilled in today’s market for employment and lacked the confidence to try another business of my own. My self-employed business success record was lacking and we needed an income if we were to survive this downward spiraling economic time. My husband requested that I get a job with a regular income instead of my up and down businesses, we were broke and the bank was close to calling in our mortgage. I am usually a very optimistic person, but I was a Shaman down, with no daylight in sight.

After just one week into the workshop, my facilitator, Josacta Boone, had helped me bring out all the good things deep inside of me; my skills, talents, drive, enthusiasm, and life experiences. She helped me tap into the transferrable skills and talents that I already possessed and had used for many years as a volunteer within the community. She showed me that I could still start a reliable and lucrative business needed within the community; I could be an inspirational speaker as well as an event planner. I had several years experience in public speaking and planning events for charity, so she pointed me in a direction I had wondered about for years. I had wanted to try both of these jobs, a speaker who helps those with emotional issues and to plan events for fun, charity and or profit. I began work right away, I wrote introductions to inspirational stories that I could talk about at women’s groups, mental health centers’ and service clubs. I requested and received letters of recommendation from people I had worked with in these areas, which I posted on the web site, as well as all the awards and achievements from my lifetime.

I was making the final changes to my “Anne’s Story” web site, which was named after the movie of my life story. The movie, about my childhood abuses played to over 2 million people across Canada and was used in clinics as a teaching tool. I had barely started to make a list of possible groups to contact for speaking engagements, when I received an email about a job posting to which I was qualified.

Jocasta sent me a job posting for an event planner at the Buckhorn Fine Art Festival and told me to use her name as a reference. I hadn’t expected anything so soon, I had only just set my intention to get a contract and/or get my business off the ground as an event planner/public speaker. I really didn’t expect to get the festival position, I had too many obstacles in my way, two of which; I lived too far from the job plus I had never been to the festival even though I was very familiar with its reputation for quality. I managed to wow them in the interview and started the job within a couple of weeks.

I had also asked spirit to give me the occasional mural job, to fulfill my need for creativity; shortly there after I received a mural commission at the Norwood Public Library.

Meanwhile I had also been directed by Spirit to start a healing circle in my home in order to learn from the many healers in the community. I was being directed how to be a healing vessel by spirit, how to hold space, but I didn’t know the names of the healing modalities I was performing. The speakers coming to the group shared their knowledge with me and everyone else, opening up and clarifying my life purpose. I now had everything I had wanted, even though it wasn’t exactly what I had asked for. There I sat, I went from no work, and no business, to two jobs and a healing circle where I could learn and aid others.

The art festival job was great but didn’t fulfill my life’s purpose, which was to aid others in their healing journey. At first my plan was to continue with the festival and weekly healers circles. I started a workshop manual wishing to teach weekend healing retreats about finding the path of your soul. I wrote out what I thought I wanted to talk about in my workshops, and I started to track possible locations where I could hold these weekend retreats. I contacted my new friend Jocasta Boone, a business coach, about helping me organize my thoughts, write my manuals and give strategy guidance.
I was ready to add this new dimension to my life, but after completing a successful festival I decided give my notice to leave. Spirit told me I needed to continue on my true path of teaching and healing others in emotional pain. I had completed the task I was sent there by Spirit to fulfill which was to plant our Peace Pole on sacred ground, allowing a place for healers to hold ceremonies.

I had just cut one income option out of the scenario, and didn’t know how I was going to make up the difference. I had to trust the Universe to provided me with a plan. Jocasta pointed out that with an open mind and diligence I could add on to my healing practice and make up that difference in my lack of income.

I shifted yet again, I wasn’t even close to where I had started out several months earlier, I had gone from unemployed to part time festival event planner to full time teacher and healer. Now I needed a more detailed plan of action, I had to add treatments to the list of services in order to make up the income difference. I needed an affordable location for all of these desires, I needed a place to hold weekend retreats, a place to hold weekly healer groups and a place to perform treatments (a space which didn’t
have sound issues). This location needed to be near or in Peterborough, my preferred choice of cities. I was willing to share an established space, I was willing to split up my services to several locations or I was willing to get my own space and share it with others. I wasn’t attached to how I was going to fulfill the outcome of the situation; but I was willing to be flexible and I was open to receive opportunities presented by the Universe.

I wanted to start doing more regular treatments but didn’t have a space of my own yet so that is when I began to receive contacts for house-call sessions.
I put out to the group of healers and the universe what I needed in a space, when I receive an email from a group member of a possible contact. I was able to secure a space in down town Peterborough where I could hold all of my workshops, groups and a treatment space all in one location.
I needed to purchase a treatment table but could not afford a new one at this time, so with a quick request to the universe for a good second hand table I was able to find one through a friend for $50.

I then decided I needed a place where I could network and demonstrate my services; I couldn’t wait until the spring Wellness Expo, I needed to start right away. I was told about Fleming College’s health fair for a possible space next year. I was able to get in this year, give sample treatments and make connections about my services. Other ideas for trade shows and networking started to present themselves, the WBN monthly meetings and their wellness fair in mid Jan as well as The United Way’s “Be a Goddess Event” in late Jan and then I was invited to Peterborough Down Town Business Association’s monthly meetings where I could meet the other business owners.

The manual didn’t go as planned, I had wrote down pages and pages of random thoughts, which in the end seemed to make no sense what so ever. I couldn’t get my thoughts organized, I had done the research, I had information from some of the top instructors, but they weren’t my own thoughts. I could not say what I wanted to say, I couldn’t find the right words until a friend and collogue reminded me that I am a story teller, that I have taught in past lives with my stories and still teach with my stories. I rejected most of the material I had already written out. I instead tapped into the points I wanted to make and told my own stories to illustrate those points.
I had another shift in the plan. What had started out as a weekend retreat where everyone stayed over had changed to one-day workshops over a period of 4 weeks and/or retreats consisting of 2 days. Instead of renting retreat space in several expensive locations, by compromising my plans, I could take advantage of my own available space. I now had control over my future with limitless possibilities.

By not being attached to the outcome of how I achieved my desires and dreams, by being flexible to what the universe presented, success has been effortless. I was able to put forth within a year all I wanted to accomplish; I wanted to be my own boss doing what I love and what inspires me, I wanted to help others and make a difference in peoples lives. I wanted the abundance I deserve and the insight to healing with access to universal knowledge. Now I am well on my path to being the healer and teacher I had aspired to.

The Shaman down is now up and ready to face the world and its many challenges yet again.