POWER STONES

POWER STONES

Psychologist C. G. Jung’s work introduces the concept of “Individuation”, which is similar to “The Totality of the Self”, in Carlos Castaneda’s works, which is very much like the goal of Yoga, to attain to the ‘union’ or ‘yoke’, or ‘yug’, in which the completed Self is joined with the Cosmic, or Divine.  Shamanism is based on this union, which is a union of the individual with the world of Spirit through the death of the imprisoned self so that the spirits might incarnate with the Shaman. 

In the path to becoming a Shaman, there are many types and forms of energy which have to be incorporated into the energy system of the individual.  This process can take many years.  Over the course of the work, there are many things which the Wannabe must do to strengthen the energy fields of the various parts of the self as they are disintegrated and re-formed into a more complete composite.  The energies of the spirits are so powerful that an unprepared person could never survive.

In the beginning, the Wannabe is taught to ‘court Power’.  “Power” is a force in the universe which comes to the wannabe as a guide.  If you enter a place in wild nature with purity of Intent, and open yourself to Power, a sign or omen will appear.  A hawk will fly directly in front of you, and will beckon to you to follow.  You will be guided to a place of Power, where you can meditate or do ceremony, and receive the transforming energies of this place and the Medicine Energies which exist there.  Repeated exposure to these energies and the wisdom of Power will open and strengthen you to withstand the ordeals which await.

One of the exercises of Courting Power is the quest for a Power Stone.

Mountains are formed from vast layers and formations of various types of stone, as they are thrust by the movements of the earth’s crust into union with the atmosphere.  The forces of the atmosphere cause the stone layers to disintegrate, and pieces fall to the slopes below, where they eventually end up in streams, or are buried in the materials which form the soil.  Over the eons, stones which enter the streams are washed to the valleys, and are shaped by the waters and the other stones which they meet (very much like people).  Stones in the earth become eroded by the chemical interactions which form the soil.

If you walk in wild nature, you will meet many stones in various forms of individuation.  Some are broken and jagged; some are rounded and smooth; some are still buried in the soil.  When Power speaks to you, it can lead you to a stone which has completed its journey of Individuation, and is waiting for you to take it into your Power.  It will be clean; it will be sitting alone, free from attachments.  It will beckon to you.  You can welcome it into your energy field and it will become a companion.  When you take it home, it will bring the specific “Medicine” of its journey, and the place where it was found.  This Medicine will stay with it for many years.  This is one part of the Medicine Energies which a Shaman uses to build a Sacred Place in which to do the work.

Each stone is like a person, an individual.  If you hold a stone, you will find that it has a bottom.  When you set it down on its bottom, it will be steady and comfortable.  Each stone has it ‘good side’.  Place the stone in its most favorable position, so that it is comfortable and its best side is front.  The stone will lend its particular Power to whatever is near it, and it will help you in setting Medicine for a particular purpose.  Stones are great sources of energy for the Medicine.  But they also are very absorbent.  So stones have to be cleansed occasionally.

The stones in the photo were together in a tiny sand spit at the confluence of the Tieton River with the Naches River, just west of Yakima in the Cascade Mountains.  They are a greenish conglomerate from the White Pass area.  They are very smooth and polished.  The smaller one has a pleasant feminine face, and weighs 13 pounds.  The larger one is shaped like the head of an animal, perhaps a horse, and weighs 17 pounds.  I use them on either side of my meditation mat against the wall in the yoga/healing room, at the base of the “Buddha Vortex”, where the spirits gather high up on the wall.  The Buddha visited me there for many months, and Bodhidharma came to me there.  At the New Moon just before the Autumnal Equinox this year (2013), Yakima was graced with many dancing lightning storms.  So I set the stones out in the downpour to be cleansed and re-energized.

One interesting thing about stones is how they absorb energy.  Many homes have large stones set out in front as landscaping pieces.  If you observe these stones, you will notice their particular personalities.  Then notice when the home is sold and the owners move to another location.  The stone will lose the particular character you noticed.  With a new owner, the stone will change to reflect the energies of the new owner.