Quest Yol

Most of you are probably like, “Uhm ok, what is this shamanism you speak of?” Well, I’m glad you asked…Shamanism is, scientifically proven, the world’s oldest religion. Shamans act as the spirit healers and wise ones of a tribe. One of the main concepts and practices of shamanism include the ability to enter an altered state of consciousness through the use of sound, rhythm, movement, and plants. This is the main point that I am going to be preaching about today. The shamanic practice is legit. Let me explain, when shamans were first becoming noticed in tribes, tribes all over the world were being studied. Now, the cool part about all this is that in every tribe the term “shaman” was present and the shaman had the same techniques of practices. These tribes were separated by thousands of miles of land and oceans and mountains, could have never communicated with each other, and had no clue that each other existed.

In shamanism there are 3 worlds; the upper, middle, and lower worlds. These worlds can also be called other “dimensions”.

The middle world is the world that we are most familiar of, this world is where we reside – out physical universe.

The upper world contains awareness and enlightenment. One goes to the upper world for information, perspective, and detachment.

The lower world, or under world should not be confused with the Christian concept of hell. The world is viewed as a land before time, most people see it as an old jungle or forest of great age and power. The energies tend to be more emotional, healing, and protective. The lower world is where you must complete your first journey, as the lower world is where you find your power animal. Your power animal will help you through all of your other journeys that you will ever go on and also help youthroughout your everyday life.

a million women

Generations of women
know how i feel
when I say abuse, rape, and fear
Trillions of women
know how I feel
when I say that the end is near
Due to me
Looking at the wrong peer
Billions of women
know how I feel
when I can’t speak
Cuz my words
Have been choked out by tens
of thousands
of men
“complimenting” my ass
instead of wiping my tears
Millions of women
know how I feel
When courage runs low
And thoughts of being low
Run high
Thousands of women
know how I feel
When sweat, blood, and tears
Dripping down on us
Remind us of the most traumatic
Incendent of our lives
Hundreds of women
know how I feel
When I reminise about a hate
so strong
That my ora literally
Burns
Your whole atmosphere
Your whole world
Til nothing exists
Cuz thats what you did to me
Tens of women know
My story
Now, a part of me
in my history
One woman knows
That this story will not
Define who she is
This woman
Is me.

peace

Life lays stagnant in my mind.
This is a nice break from the usual.
Once activated it goes to one extreme or the other.
Usually never in between.
But it is when it lays still, like a swamp, that it is at peace.

To whom this may concern;

Whoever said that life was easy clearly never lived.

Whoever said that everyone can be trusted clearly never did.
Cuz its when you fully trust – that you fully get hurt.
Atleast once in your life, when you trust, you will be taken advantage of.
Its when someone knows you inside and out
When it truly hurts to get hurt by them.

I’ve been hurt by many strangers – but it never made a huge, gaping hole of an impact on my life in the way that happened after i was hurt by him.

i don’t even want to call him him, i’d rather call him IT, because thats what it deserves.

So much pain, internally, externally, caused by this thing. There musn’t be any human traits related to it because how can one possibly think that anything done was OK. let me tell ya, it wasnt even close to ok, thinking about it makes me SICK.

I close my eyes and hallucinations of the events haunt the darkness that is my world.

I feel like I should be able to deal – its all in my head right. its all physical, i can change the way i think. i wish it was that easy. i would rather of been hurt physically than mentally, as our mental and emotions are all that we have. The tangible is merely our learnt reality. To connect with the spiritual is a gift, that has been taken away from me. This gift, I wish to take back.

Dearest Phyllis,

So Phyllis is out of town and i miss her dearly!

Everyone in this little town that we live in is pretty lame.

They either stay in or go out and get drunk

No drumming circles, no epic forest raves, no forests… thats for sure.

So pretty much, i dont feel like going out and getting tanked. So what is there to do? abso-fucken-lutely nothing.

UncleSamGodDamn.

What to do… You kno, i’m thinken a shamanic journey is a must at the moment. Oh wait, everyone else is wasted or at home doing shit all. Oh YEAAAH, everyone here is lame how could i forget.

Phyllis come home. Shaman with me.

K thanks.

-Lou

Ghetto Superstar.

So here I am, Lou, chillen on m’bed listenin to some irish myths told by the lovely Phyllis. Man, the irish are fucked.. i would know because yes, I myself, am an irish. that’s right.. like completely and utterly “every family reunion is just an excuse to get drunk” irish.. and then there’s the whole scotish side of me which only adds to the concotion. It’s good stuff though..

anyways, life at the moment is moving very quickly but standing still at the same time. let me explain. Last night I went to this bar and ofcourse i was wearing a suit… and a fake mustache.. I can grow my own mustaches, but sometimes, just for the hell of it, i buy a fake one just to fuck with people. or sometimes, i just buy a pack of them and hand them out throughout the evening. always a great conversation starter, “hey want a mustache” ….”Whuuut, watchu talking abooot i dont understand!” …”shhh, dont ask questions, just accept” and then like cinderella at the ball while the clock strikes midnight mixed with a lil bit of zoro actionnay, i throw a mustache on they face and whisk off into the night only to find my next victim. it’s a great way to pass the time.

Another Magnificent Daylight

That which is new

Is old again

That familiarity

Not always positivity in shadow

It’s just there

Asking, hoping

That mine mind has changed in ways unchangeable

But still I ask

What is the point

 

Release all love towards one entity

Why so

When you can spread it out entirely

Into the universe of hopeless tragedy

Just you

Expelling luminosity

Into the auras touching yours

Envelop all the others with your overwhelming passion

For life

Existence

The tendency to jump

Into a pool unchlorified

Just pure.

 

So wrap your hand around the fading light

Release your own

Electric fibre

To be seen

from worlds around.

-Phyllis

Halloween – Samhain

It is November 2nd, and I would like to say that this year’s Halloween was absolutely spectacular..to say the least.

 

 

A Recap

 

One of the best sights of the night was for SURE a guy dressed as a pig with H1N1 written on him. He got praised all night. We later ran into a waving pope, who I then realized was wearing high heels! This is when we decided that gay bars are the most awesome ones around. They have the BEST music, the most amazing drag queens and an awesome vibe where you don’t have to worry about guys grabbing your ass! How fantastic indeed.

 

Rewinding to the start of the night, one of the things we have been meaning to do for a while was hold a witch’s circle or pagan seance. It was our first time and completely improvised, but we made it work with one of the guided meditation descriptions in a sweet witchcraft book. Lou and I were experiencing this awesome phenomenon with our friend Frieda, who was no doubt a little freaked out at first, but then ended up enjoying it as much as we did.

 

I created the circle of sacred space with our newfound wand transformed from a halloween devil’s tail (bahaha). We could the commence the session led by Lou, who is in the midst of learning the ways of shamanism, and wants to eventually learn everything there is to know about the pagan lifestyle. She got us into a meditative state, and as we let our energies merge together and loosen the reins on our present reality, our minds were at peace. We floated into our imaginative natural world where everything, including the trees, rocks and stars have a spirit.

 

I became the tree, rooted deep in the ground and connected with those that make my life even more enjoyable. I realized the incredible power of sisterhood and union with other energies. Letting go of everything that is on your mind is a skill to be learned by many, for it is one of the most difficult things to do. Becoming a complete part of a separate reality is something that you can only attempt to achieve in the city realm of things, but something that is so incredible in a place of natural beauty and full tranquility.

 

At the end of the session, we paid our gratitude towards all the great things in our lives and i spoke about the apple ritual (if you cut an apple in half, there is a star inside – resembling a pentagram). The circle was closed and we went out with a clear headedness probably unlike any drunk person that night.

 

apple star

 

Origins

 

Halloween originate frm the Celtic festival or ” new year ” called Samhain. It was one of the main feasts for the ancient celtics, and remains to be a very important event for practicing pagans and witches of our day. It was believed that on this day, the lines between the Otherworld and our world was blurred on his day, allowing supernaral forces of this mysterious world mingle with the common folk. Those who belong in the Otherworld are known as the sidh and they are of a divine nature. If you ever thought about where this yearly celebration came from – there’s your answer. You can find more details simply by googling “origins of Halloween”.

 

All in all, the moon still shines bright, ending the full moon of a few days ago.

 

Be open to life, and life will be open to you,

 

Phyllis

 

NO LOGO – Book Review

 

Adbusters

I have recently read the book “No Logo” by Naomi Klein and have come to conclude it’s  a very worthwhile and informative read . Here is why:

The book is an amazing recount of the evolution of the brand as well as an incredible analysis of the corruption of big name corporate bodies, their large influence on the world as a whole and the response of the working class towards the unfair practices of these corporations. Klein’s thesis points out that because of the resulting loss of space, choice and jobs of multinationals, the common folk has taken it upon themselves to lash out and take a stand in various forms such as culture jamming, boycotting, pie throwing and “reclaiming the streets” (among many others).

If sweatshop labour is something that you have only heard of and not something that you have been able to explore in detail, this book is a perfect opportunity to learn about the unlawful labor practices of the 90s (some of which I’m sure continue to this day). Big name brands like Nike, Adidas, Starbucks, Tommy Hilfiger, Shell and McDonald’s are put on the stand and are unmasked in the realm of hiring practices, labour disputes, space invasion, and the huge separation between marketing and production of goods.

Klein writes using her experiences in downtown Toronto as well as detailed worldwide facts and research. She uses the method of analyzing specific names, incidences and examples to look at the big picture of anti-corporate  movement. Throughout the work, she has a way of inflicting a sense of hope for the reader by showing that the power is in our hands, and when people join together for a common purpose, they will succeed. She points out that no matter how powerful these companies may be, the brand can be tainted and reduced on account of their unjust actions, because let’s face it, without the consumer, the brand is nothing. Although the biggest names in advertising hold a huge portion of the world’s wealth, they can indeed be brought down to earth, “spotlighted”, exposed and forced to respond to the demands of the people.

I find that the ideas correspond closely to one of my favourite movies, Fight Club.  I love the detailed description of the culture jamming movement and groups like Adbusters that take it upon themselves to “out” corporate bodies by altering billboards, creating meaningful tunes, skulling posters and using other forms of effective activism. In Klein’s view, Adbusters serve as an ad for anti-advertising. I find the book gives you something to think about if you are the kind of person who think that there is SO MUCH wrong with the world, but you have no idea what to do about it. Well, it turns out there are many options to make your voice heard and remembered. You can join a group of corporate bullies or boycott on your own, but  either way, you are doing something. Below is a collection of keywords from the book. If you are interested in any of them, you should really look into Klein’s writings and  inform yourself of the many ways to make a difference.

Some keywords from the book: Culture Jamming, Adbusters, Reclaim the Streets, Koder fire, Loglo, Spotlight, Selective Purchasing Agreement, World Trade Organization, National Foreign Trade Council, Saturation Point, Censorship, Synergy, Cannibalization Strategy, Trademark Harassment, Buyouts, Mergers, Chain Clusters, Price Wars, Superstore, Monoculture, Creative Artists Agency, “Cool” Hunters, MAI.

Peace and Love,

Phyllis