How To Make A Shaman’s Medicine Bag Necklace

It’s easy to make a medicine bag necklace, but it can take a lifetime to learn what to put in it and then to activate its power for spiritual healing and service to others. It’s worth learning, though, because spiritual medicine does not need to be accompanied by a list of nasty side effects like found on modern pharmaceuticals!

So, now’s a good time to start!

You can find easy step by step instructions on how to make the necklace at my main blog. And watch for the announcement of the publication of my new ebook that will help you learn how to make, activate and use several shamanic tools for your spiritual journey.

Aho & Namaste, My Friend

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Coming Soon!

A New eBook By Shaman Bob

Making It Sacred: A Shamanic Guide To Creating Special Tools For Your Spiritual Journey

Special Week for Spiritual Superheroes!

ZOUNDS!

It’s Spiritual Superhero Week!

I’ve been meaning to do this for a long while, so finally got down to work over the weekend and started producing a series of one-panel comic strips to post on my main blog this week, one a day for what I’m calling, “Spiritual Superhero Week!” It’s all in an effort to contribute my two-cents’ worth to the on-going discussion most people are having about the sorry state of the world and what possibly we can do to bring back balance, both to our internal and the external levels of existence. Today’s panel is also a humble tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King.

This nifty guy, above, plays a prominent role, so don’t miss it!

Shaman Drums 2.0 Podcast and Blog.

Aho & Namaste,

–Bob

A Prayer Messenger Who Lives In A Tree

When young, we love to celebrate New Year’s at parties. But growing older, one begins to celebrate in other ways, too, like in thinking deeply about the past and trying to gain some perspective on the life thus far lived, even days before the New Year arrives. Recently, we’ve had some respite from winter’s chill, so I’ve had the luxury of spending more time outside, where reflection is buoyed by sunshine and the beautiful though stubborn stalwarts of nature that persist in living vigorously while others sleep. So, for example, while a very large oak tree I admire in the view-shed from my back yard is now bare and lifeless, a most lively hawk still occasionally finds comfort high up near its top branches for an unobstructed view of the lesser lifeforms like me, far below.

The hawk is good company. It doesn’t say much, and neither do I. But we are simpatico.

To many tribal people, such an exquisite bird as this serves as a messenger who carries prayers to Great Spirit. That certainly makes sense to me, since I’ve watched hawks throughout my life, and have seen them soar far above and beyond my sight  into the heavens.

And one sunny day last week, I think this hawk showed up for duty.

I had a prayer to send along.

I write about that prayer, the hawk, and other things on my main blog for this advent of a fledgling New Year. Yes, it’s a reflection piece, something written by one who now rather prefers partying in nature most of the time. It’s called “Guns, And A Prayer For The New Year.”

I’d like to know of your reflections on the past and of what you see ahead, so feel free to swap an email or comment any time.

I wish you the brightest and best year yet.

Aho & Namaste,

–Bob

Thank You, Friend, And Happy Holidays!

Best and bright blessings to you, my friend. Thank you for your love and support. I look forward to 2012 as another, greater year and opportunity to be of service.

Aho & Namaste

Holiday Sale & A Free Offer At Thunder Valley Drums

Here are seven gifts I guarantee you will never find anywhere else but at Thunder Valley Drums!

And they are now on sale (some at HALF price!). But you’d better hurry, because each is a one-of-a-kind, and once it’s sold, there will never be another. First come, first served.

Plus, to help acquaint people with my Shaman On-Line service, I’m offering a special opportunity for a FREE 30-minute shamanic consultation with me. No purchase necessary, of course, but you must be the first to send me an email on one of three possible days I list on the sale flyer.

See the flyer here on my blog! (http://blog.naturalshamandrums.com/2011/12/07/20111207.aspx)

Aho & Namaste

Bob

How To Make A Sacred Spirit Shield

Here’s the link to my latest post on the main Thunder Valley Drums blog about how to make (and use) a sacred spirit shield. Thanksgiving is a perfect time to make such an ally for your personal expression and connection with each other, with our beautiful planet, with All That Is.

Here are two I’ve recently made and posted on the Thunder Valley Drums Website.

(Left) The Prayer Spirit Shield.

(Right) The Unity Spirit Shield

Try making your own. It is one of the most fulfilling activities you can do, and if you have children, you can teach them valuable lessons about Spirit.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Aho & Namaste,

Bob

The Bear Drum’s Birthday Party

Just finished editing this video that features highlights from a very unique birthday party— for the Bear Drum!

Some wonderful friends gathered at the shop for the sacred initiation of the largest drum I’ve ever made, and while six of us played it, one recorded parts of the ceremony on a video camera. Then it was party time! Good thing the cake wasn’t as large as the drum, or we would still be there eating!

Hope you have good bass speakers because the Bear has a BIG voice!

(More info about the Bear Drum on the Thunder Valley Drums Website, will open in a new window.)

Aho & Namaste,
Bob

A Shamanic Drum For Groups and Circles…and All That Is

It’s the first community-type drum I’ve ever made, and for certain the first ever drum to contain “Sacred Womb Lodges,” a beautiful concept explained and taught to me in dreamtime by a most profound teacher. It holds four raw emeralds mounted on lightning-struck wood with copper and lace, each powerful symbols of spiritual connection and service to All of Life.

When you place seeds, flowers, stones, herbs or other sacred offerings in each of the four lodges before a drumming ceremony, you are demonstrating gratitude and asking to join with All That Is in order to serve the greater good. And when you and up to four or five companions all begin playing the Bear Drum, you are activating the great heartbeat that resonates in every atom in the Universe.

I certainly do not take credit for any of this, except for the actual work of fashioning the drum from a hardwood cherry log that daunted me with its size—more than five feet around— but blessed me with its spiritual totem, the Bear, who taught my hands how to do the work and my heart for how to revere this sacred task. It was a six year process, sometimes during journeys or when I worked on something else in the shop, but mostly in dreamtime, and every minute was exquisite.

I only wish , like everyone who glimpses the greater reality, that I could sustain such a state of awareness during every moment of my life. But it is the way of things that this world crowds us with continual distractions and pulls us away from our centers, our true selves. And that’s okay, I guess, given that these challenges seem an essential part of the “house rules” we must all oblige, else, what is the point of being here? Earth school 101.

So I introduce my old friend and Thunder Valley Drums’ newest creation, the Bear Drum, to you. I must say it has a most exquisite sound, but the teacher who comes with it is sublime, indeed, for Bear will take you away from distractions and lead you inside to the safe place, the place of exploration, where awaits that spark of “God made manifest on the ground,” the real you.

Aho & Namaste
Bob

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More about the Bear Drum

“The End of the World” Maybe the Last Podcast You’ll Ever Hear! (lol)

About The New Shaman Drums Podcast Episode,

“The End of the World,”
Available Here

Is it the end of the world?

Well, welcome to my last blog post if it is!

We are in such interesting but troubling times. Astounding breakthroughs in science, new cures for disease, the shout for freedom heard in countries long deprived of it, these and more point to unprecedented advancements for humankind. And yet—YET!— it seems chaos has the last word on our plight.

Signs and wonders in the heavens abound, disasters rule on the planet, narrow creeds and extreme prejudices gain sway in every quarter, cherished institutions falter and crumble. It is even difficult for people with rational thought to dismiss the idea that we may be reaching some sort of pivotal point in our lives, or even the end of our existence.

Join me for a foray across the vast eschatological landscape of mid-2011 and the short path ahead to the monumental year of 2012 in the latest podcast. Let’s investigate “corporate colonization” and its effects on the loss of personal power. Peer into the military-industrial-religious-government complex for the connections that are making us lesser citizens, serfs of the modern day priest-kings who wield enormous influence over our lives. Hear a wrap-up of news about comets and other extraterrestrial goings-on, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and other misery that invades our Earth lives like bad nightmares. And then, wonder at the fact that an American governor running for the presidency dares speak for Jesus while many people in his state are homeless, lack proper health care, and cannot adequately feed their children. Who gives power and money to such politicians? Moreover, why is it that America never runs out of planes, tanks and ammunition but can’t feed 17 million children who go hungry every day? Why is it that the country can feed war and starve its children?

Perhaps it’s not such a mystery after all. Just maybe the situation is an urgent expression of our collective psyche that demands attention and healing. If true, where do you think help could come from?

Well now! Hop on down the rabbit hole with me and let’s find out!

The End of the World Hear on my Blog

 

Also available on iTunes

 

 

 

Copyright 2011 Thunder Valley Drums, All Rights Reserved

Personal Power And Service to Others During Chaos

Here it is again, that familiar feeling, heck — a KNOWING — of the advent of great change. I know you feel it.

The change, which some would call chaos, is upon us, and building. How we deal with it will determine the future.

Thus, in practically every way imaginable in today’s world, forces are aligned against you in order to compromise your power. Constant self- and corporate-directed distractions, trifling entertainment and empty titillation align to keep us from noticing the breaking down and erosion of our freedom. These are driven by our aversion to the unrelenting march of fear-inducing events that shock our existence and spoil the love trying to take root in our hearts.  Darkness fans the flames of bigotry, religious fanaticism and inhumanity of the most degrading varieties. Our cherished institutions crumble like dust in the wind.

And not realizing this, we forget our power and begin to believe the message that we are diminished. We lose our power.

Well, I am not the answer man, and do not make claims otherwise. But I do know a thing or two about how to go about finding my power when I’ve temporarily misplaced it. And I share some of my techniques with you on my main blog, where simple ceremonies and the development of daily habits can smooth the way toward a reconnection with “self power” and service to others who suffer.

Most recently, I have begun looking at the esoteric and spiritual underpinnings of what healers have known for centuries and that science is just discovering. It has to do with, of all things, LIGHTNING. I invite you to scan the few paragraphs about it in my most recent post, and should you find it interesting, not to mention hopeful, then have a look at other posts or give a listen to my podcast.

You will find a sacred water ceremony (podcast) you can do in a short amount of time that will greatly help you find your power. The ceremony itself is in the last half of the podcast, so you can fast forward to it if you’re in a hurry. (Just click the player button and you’ll see the playlist of all episodes to choose from.) Water is the quintessential source of a woman’s power and a man’s grounding agent (which is necessary for him to find his power). So dive on in.

In another podcast episode, “Shaman Drums on Location,” you can join me in my little drum making shop and hear a shamanic drumming session that will introduce a very effective and ancient way of finding your power.

There’s a short article about how to begin or to maintain an altar space in your home. This is a place where you can always rely on linking back to your power, as it contains items of great importance to you and you alone.

For an overview of a journey to power, you can read “The Sacred Passage, Infinity on the Medicine Wheel,”  and thereby find the sacred lessons connected with each of the power points you will find on a compass.

Do not let world events or distractions diminish you. You are awesome in every way.

Aho & Namaste,

Bob