Skyfire - Journeying between the worlds: walking with the sacred spirits through Native American Shamanic teachings & practices

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Journeying Between the Worlds: Walking with the Sacred Spirits Through Native American Shamanic Teachings & Practices 2019 by Eagle Skyfire.

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First e-book edition 2019

E-book ISBN: 9780738760711

Cover design by Shannon McKuhen

Interior design by Lauryn Heineman

Interior illustrations by Wen Hsu

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data (Pending)

ISBN: 9-780-7387-6034-6

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Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

Woodbury, MN 55125

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Manufactured in the United States of America

Disclaimer

Although this ancient tradition can give you deep insights, it is never meant to replace professional help. Always consult a physician, therapist, or other professional for your specific needs. Shamanism is meant to be a complementary modality to support these mainstream methods.

It is my honor to share these teachings with you, and they are meant to empower you. However, completing them does not make you a shaman nor adopt you officially into any tribe. In truth, there many within the Native American community who hold the opinion that the term shaman is a misnomer of their spiritual teachers and healers; however, this feeling is not unanimous.

This book barely scratches the surface of what is required to become a spiritual healer. Becoming a sanctioned traditional spiritual healer of a nation that you belong to takes many years of constant training under the careful guidance of a spiritual leader and tribal elders. What exists here is a resource for you to make use of in your own personal practice. Trying to perform any of the exercises or techniques that I am giving you here for other people may cause great harm to you and to them. Please use these techniques for your own well-being only; do not attempt them for anyone else.

Acknowledgments

It is with the deepest gratitude in my Heart that I would like to give my thanks to the Great Spirit for being given the gift of my lessons and this beautiful life. To my patron, Lord Feathered Serpent, who guides me unerringly and shows me how to evolve. To All My Relations seen and unseen, without your steadfast love and assistance, I would not be where I am today. To all my Medicine Teachers from various tribes and nations, I thank you for your love, patience, and faith in me as you taught me the ways of the Good Red Road. In particular I would like to acknowledge with much love my Uncle Bear and Auntie Brenda, who have unfailingly guided me and helped me to grow over the years. A special thank-you to Reverend Carl Letson, who gave me encouragement and confirmed the lessons of the Medicine Wheel and some of the current opinions of the Native American community that I share in this book. I would also like to extend my gratitude to my true friends and true family who put up with me on a regular basis and have given me their ideas for use in this book. To Laura, my daughter, who is the joy of my life and always encourages me. To Donna, who always believed in me and who has been my Sherpa in this twenty-first century. I give thanks to my students, who are some of my greatest teachers. Without your suggestions this book would not be as thorough as it is.

And last, to you, dear reader, I am grateful for your willingness to share your time with me as you study my culture and traditions to guide you on your spiritual journey. All of you are such a blessing in my life! May the Great Spirit abundantly bless you with the gifts of health, happiness, and help.

Contents

Chapter 1:

Chapter 2:

Chapter 3:

Chapter 4:

Chapter 5:

Chapter 6:

Chapter 7:

Chapter 8:

Chapter 9:

Chapter 10:

Chapter 11:

Exercises and Journeys

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Introduction

I have been walking between the worlds all my life and as a child displayed strong spiritual and shamanic abilities. I was misunderstood and often felt caught between the world of spirits and humankind. It was very hard, as I did not know where I fit in, if anywhere at all. It was on the Good Red Road that I found out who I am and what I am.

While I was born into a multigenerational South American Indigenous tradition, its not something that I was formally taught as part of my regular upbringing because it was thought to be unnecessary in this modern age. Eventually, though, my natural inclination toward these sacred practices led me to be adopted by a powerful spirit man, Ted Silverhand, who is of the Tuscarora Nation, Bear clan, into the traditions he follows. It has been both a blessing and a challenge to live in this mainstream society while learning the old ways, and so it has given me valuable insight on how to relay these teachings in a way that is meaningful to those from mainstream culture.