There in the heart of the springtime, I’m reminded that Calos Castaneda’s Yaqui shaman, Don Juan referred to the shamanic path as “Paths of the Heart.” In my experience, it is the heart-centered path that draws the most from Life. It also brings the best out of those of us, which travel it. And when our hearts are in alignment with the needs and workings of the planet, we can transform the nature of our world. I believe that the core of the shaman’s path is to be in right relationship with the Earth and all of her “children.”

Now that we know the “inconvenient truth” about our biosphere, it’s time to refresh hope and renew our energy. We need to move out of the paralysis of fear into inspired action. No more “raging planet” or “savage seas.” The Earth isn’t our enemy; she’s our treasured and remarkable Home! The minerals of her body create our physicality. Her waters are reflected in our tears and blood. All breaths, which have been and will ever be drawn, originate from her own respiration. We are inseparably intertwined with Nature and yet, we often feel ourselves so separate from it.

It seems as though shamans were the first to practice what we now think of as “eco-spirituality”—that is holding a spiritual perspective on our interdependent relationship with the Earth and the Universe as a whole. Relationship itself implies that some form of reciprocity—the energy of give and take—is an inherent part of the belief.

The process begins when one has an experience surpassing ordinary comprehension of the Earth and the Universe. This can occur through something as simple and everyday as an experience of Beauty. We may be stopped in our tracks by an animal sighting, have our breath stolen away by a sunset over the ocean or feel our smallness under the starry expanse of a clear night sky. These kinds of experiences bring us “back to our senses through our senses.” We suddenly remember the supernatural aspect of reality—the non-ordinary or spiritual that always lies within the ordinary.

Our next step is what makes all the difference! We can either choose to file the experience away or we can “take it to heart” and allow it to become a springboard to action. In other words, bringing the experience into life to letting it unfold through everyday life and daily actions. When we allow this, we are changed. Our awareness shifts and it becomes effortless to live more intentionally in harmony and with respect for Life in all its many manifestations.

We don’t have to wait for a special moment in nature to ignite this either. There are many ways to discover the intricate web of interconnections of which we are a part. Indeed, meditation can offer us the deeper experience of ourselves as well as nature—as can the shaman’s journey. Entering into the shamanic state of consciousness supports us to begin looking at our world through fresh eyes. For instance, when we connect with a tree—whether through a shamanic a journey or by using another method, we can no longer objectify that tree. It is no longer just some thing we pass by on our travels. It becomes instead, a fellow traveler with us on the adventure. We, in essence, shift our abstract idea of trees toward a relationship with individual trees. 

This shifting of perspective is similar to two experiences I had as a very young child. The first one was a critical part of my very early artistic training and it occurred when I was only three years old. I was sitting with my mother as she drank her coffee and I was drawing with my crayons. As a gift, I drew my Mom a picture. In this case, her cup as it sat on the table. As most children do, I drew something that looked like this:

My mother offered me praise and then said something that I’ll never forget. ”Honey, can you see the coffee from where you are sitting?” That set my little mind turning! I knew that there was coffee in the cup yet when my mother set it on the table I could no longer see inside. She added, “Draw another one and try just drawing it as you see it.” This flipped a switch in my mind! Her comment allowed me to really see what was there on the table in front of me. When I truly observed the cup, the lip which I understood was a circle, appeared to be elliptical. I no longer simply accepted the shorthand symbol my brain had filed under the legend “cup.” I started to see the uniqueness of individual cups and the way they appeared to change from different perspectives. In essence, I had learned to not simply look at an object, but to see it.

Another moment happened around the same time. I was doing something else that I loved. I was walking on a sidewalk, which was lined with trees. I was enjoying the way they made spots of shade and sunlight on the concrete and how their roots ramped the walkway into little hills. I also loved the way they dropped their funny seedpods, which my Mom called “polly noses.” Someone, I think it was my grandfather, told me that the tree I was lingering with was a maple. I must have asked him, “How do you know?” He held a leaf and showed me it’s shape then took me over to another tree to show me its leaves. Once again, my mind was expanded. All trees weren’t the same! There were different kinds, which you could tell apart from their leaf shapes. This knowledge made my green friends along the walk even more precious to me. They had names—just like me!

While on occasion my family would drive to the ocean or to more rural areas than where I lived—the “nature” to which I was primarily exposed consisted of fairly tamed patches of woods or empty lots. Yet even in this landscape, my heart found it easy to connect to the Earth. Having inherited an insatiable curiosity from my Mother and a love of nature and animals from my Father, who was an avid outdoorsman, I spent many hours rambling through my little patches of nature. I would examine stones, look at different plants and leaves, notice lichens on trees and enjoy the animals and birds that crossed my path.

It was in these early years of my life that I developed a habit of collecting stones, shells, and other bits of this and that, that caught my eye. Once collected, those treasures were laid out on my dresser in the room I shared with my two sisters. These small objects added a kind of earthy groundedness to my “civilized” suburban world. The objects provided me a way to feel connected to places in nature during the times I was unable to actually be there. In winter, when I rubbed a surf-polished bit of purple clamshell with my thumb, I was transported back to my favorite summer beach. An acorn in my pocket had the power to return me to the wooded lot next to my home. These objects connected me to the feelings of being a part of something very big and wonderful, which I experienced when I was outside in the “wild.” When in nature, I felt some how more complete, or plugged in. It’s what I’ve come to define in my adult language as feeling connected.

My adult spiritual explorations always seem to be an extension of that early time. Rather than just learning to see instead of look, I was being invited through spirit to perceive the very nature of reality differently. Through the shamanic journey process, I learned to recognize that everything is not only living, but that each living being has a consciousness. In addition, when one learns ways to communicate with these other sentient beings and step into relationship with them, the world suddenly becomes populated with many more companions. Like the toddler on the sidewalk, we can suddenly recognize the friends that are all around us!

While some of us know we need to feel more connected to the Earth, we don’t always know how to go about it. Due to their remarkable diversity and complexity, a thorough study our planet’s many ecosystems is a very involving and lifelong quest. As such, the thought of beginning to learn about Nature could feel rather daunting. So, we need a simpler way to approach the natural world to begin our sacred relationship. One method that I’ve found useful is creating a dedicated space in your yard or on your land. This smaller plot of land can function like a portal for you into the greater whole while remaining manageable in scale. The goal is to excite your curiosity and ignite your heart without leaving you feeling in any way overwhelmed. This space will in essence, become a sacred space for you—a tiny sanctuary in a busy world.

It’s nice to define the boundaries of the space in some way. It can be as simple as dowels and twine, upturned flowerpots at each of the cardinal points or as elaborate as a circle of prayer ties. Do what feels right. Once you identify a part of your landscape as “sacred space,” spend time being with it. If meditation is your path, you may choose to do your daily “sit” in or next to your sacred space. If you are a person who uses the shamanic journey process, take time to journey to meet with the beings that live in your space.

Getting to know the “ordinary” plants and creatures in your yard can be a heart-expanding experience. They are emissaries of a larger world that beckons to us from all around. As we step into relationship with each of them in turn we grow into a deeper relationship with the Earth as a whole. For instance, we can’t be in relationship with a tree without noticing the effect of the seasons on its leaves or the squirrel in its branches. Once we love even a tiny part of the whole, we more easily fall in love with its Entirety.

As we gain spiritual insight and experience growth, we also sacrifice illusionary control. That is, the more we learn about the nature of reality, our mind’s knowledge becomes insignificant as our heart’s understandings gain deeper relevance. We begin a shift from a personality-dominated viewpoint to a spirit/heart-led perspective. In speaking about the world around us, in essence we move our perspective from the EGO to the ECO!

© 2007 Evelyn C. Rysdyk

Evelyn C. Rysdyk, author of the book, Modern Shamanic Living, is a Teacher of Shamanism, healer & artist in joint practice with C. Allie Knowlton, LCSW, DCSW as Spirit Passages. Since 1991, they have offered workshops across the US and Canada. They also offer a private shamanic healing practice at True North in Falmouth, Maine.

Featured in the book, Traveling Between the Worlds, interviews with 24 of the world’s most influential writers and teachers of shamanism, they may be contacted at: www.spiritpassages.com