Sandra Ingerman - The Book of Ceremony: Shamanic Wisdom for Invoking the Sacred in Everyday Life

A CKNOWLEDGMENTS

T his book would not have been possible without all my peers, friends, students, and readers of my monthly columns and books joining me in performing ceremonies for personal and global healing. I learned so much from performing ceremonies alone and with groups. I also have been inspired by how many of my students have taken up sharing ceremonies with their friends, loved ones, coworkers, and communities.

I have felt honored and inspired by hearing from my students about their improvisations and adaptations of ceremonies I teach. It is quite extraordinary to learn about the innovative and powerful ceremonies they are performing in their circles and communities.

So, I thank my global community for joining me in this transformative and ecstatic work.

I also want to thank my agent, Barbara Moulton, who has been such a support to me personally and professionally.

I give my deepest gratitude to Tami Simon and Jaime Schwalb at Sounds True for inviting me to write The Book of Ceremony. Performing ceremonies is a true passion of mine, and it has been a delight to write this book.

To add to the gift of writing The Book of Ceremony, I had the joy to work with both Grayson Towler and Haven Iverson as my editors. I believe Grayson is a brilliant shamanic practitioner, and I loved the issues he brought up as a shamanic teacher himself. He gave me a lot to think about and reflect on as we explored how to make this book accessible to people traveling diverse spiritual paths. And I give thanks to all the staff at Sounds True who helped with the editing and final phases of the book.

I feel honored to have Mitchell Clute at Sounds True, who is an amazing writer and shamanic teacher, as an ally. His expansive worldview of life and shamanism brings me home when I lose my orientation.

I also give gratitude to Sylvia Edwards for her friendship and immense support in all levels of my life. Her presence in my life is an invaluable gift I cannot put words to.

And to my husband, Woods Shoemaker, thank you for who you are, your brilliant light, and unconditional love. I love the ceremony of life we have created together.

A BOUT THE A UTHOR

S andra Ingerman, MA, is an award-winning author of twelve books, including Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self; Medicine for the Earth: How to Transform Personal and Environmental Toxins; and Walking in Light: The Everyday Empowerment of a Shamanic Life. She is the presenter of eight audio programs produced by Sounds True, and she is the creator of the Transmutation app.

Sandra is a world-renowned teacher of shamanism and has been teaching for more than thirty-five years. She has taught workshops internationally on shamanic journeying, healing, and reversing environmental pollution using spiritual methods. Sandra is recognized for bridging ancient cross-cultural healing methods to our modern culture, addressing the needs of our times.

Sandra is devoted to teaching people how to work together as a global community to bring about positive change for the planet. She is passionate about helping people reconnect with nature.

Sandra is a licensed marriage and family therapist and professional mental health counselor. She is also a board-certified expert on traumatic stress. She was awarded the 2007 Peace Award from the Global Foundation for Integrative Medicines. Sandra was chosen as one of the Top Ten Spiritual Heroes of 2013 by Spirituality & Health magazine.

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A BOUT S OUNDS T RUE

S ounds True is a multimedia publisher whose mission is to inspire and support personal transformation and spiritual awakening. Founded in 1985 and located in Boulder, Colorado, we work with many of the leading spiritual teachers, thinkers, healers, and visionary artists of our time. We strive with every title to preserve the essential living wisdom of the author or artist. It is our goal to create products that not only provide information to a reader or listener, but that also embody the quality of a wisdom transmission.

For those seeking genuine transformation, Sounds True is your trusted partner. At SoundsTrue.com you will find a wealth of free resources to support your journey, including exclusive weekly audio interviews, free downloads, interactive learning tools, and other special savings on all our titles.

To learn more, please visit SoundsTrue.com/freegifts or call us toll-free at 800.333.9185.

W HAT C EREMONY I S

C eremony brings the sacred into ordinary life. For tens of thousands of years, ceremonies have been universally used to help communities navigate change and welcome in new cycles. Performing ceremonies creates a bridge between the material world we live in and the world of the unseen, the divine, the power of the universe. In modern terms, ceremony opens a phone line between you and the power of the universe, God, the goddess, the Creator. Through this line of connection, you can have direct communication between yourself and spiritual forces, creating a partnership to manifest your desired outcome.

In shamanic cultures, a variety of creation stories teach how life and the Earth was formed. Stories range from a variety of gods and goddesses, as well as the creative forces of the universe, manifesting life-forms and the planet Earth out of unconditional love. Some creation myths share how Grandmother Spider weaved the world into being, and some speak to the metaphor of the Creator sculpting life and the Earth into form as one would mold clay. There are a wealth of stories about how the vibration of the energy of words created the world of form. Creation stories were reenacted and honored through ceremony.

Many ancient cultures share the insight that this world is a dream and an illusion. We are given a role to play in life, and part of that role is to learn how to mold spirit into form just like the Creator or creative forces of the universe did billions of years ago.

In the shamanic understanding, the world of form we see, hear, touch, smell, and taste starts as vibrations in the invisible and transcendent realms. Through words and thought forms, these vibrations transition from the transcendent realm and manifest on the Earth and in the world of physical form. For shamans, the world is seen as a dream, and we are active participants in creating the dream through our words and thoughts. This dream ends up creating the reality we live in for ourselves and for all life on Earth.

Think of the vibration of our thoughts and words spinning together just like a spinner spins fiber, and then the fibers weave together to create the fabric of reality we now live in. The vibrations of our thoughts and words create strong, resonant waves throughout the universe that change the course of our lives and that of the planet. Your view of yourself, others, and the world is made of thoughts that weave together to create the fabric of your life. Everything in the universe is seen as energy that can manifest into form over time through our intention. And using ceremony is a powerful tool to create and transform the world of form.

In shamanic cultures, the shaman and the community members actively engage in the role of creating a good life for all in the community. Much of the work they do to ensure harmonious connections with life, nature, and others is through the power of ceremony.

Working together with the compassionate spirits and the divine, the shaman and the community state their intention, which spins threads through the invisible collective energy fields to call in blessings and healing for the community. By opening to the power of love, stating a strong intention, and staying focused and fully engaged during the ceremony, they generate a powerful collective field of energy where the threads of creation can manifest into form.