Magickal Correspondences
July 15, 2008
by Jeffrey Pierce
One of the interesting things about being self-employed in the United States is the issue of medical insurance. You'll remember in the article,
The Bigger Picture, that I mentioned that 47 million non-elderly Americans (that would be children and those below the age of 65) lack access to any sort of health care. Those numbers are two years old meaning that, with the worsening economy and the increase in population, the situation here in the States is actually worse than the numbers would reflect.
At first glance, this might not seem to be such a big deal. So, someone doesn't have medical insurance? How often does someone really need to see a doctor? Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is much darker than that. It is estimated that in 2006 alone, 22,000 deaths here in the United States were directly attributed to people having no access to medical care. This doesn't take into account people who had no access to preventative care and died later due to a treatable illness that became serious. Generally speaking, these people only have access to medical care when things become so serious that they find themselves in the local hospital's emergency room. Every other level of our health care system will turn them away, simply because they lack insurance and can't pay hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, out of their pocket at each and every turn through the medical maze.
According to a report compiled by
Families USA, uninsured women are substantially more likely to be diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer rather than being diagnosed at a more readily treatable stage. Twice as many people in the United States die each year because they are uninsured and don't have access to medical care than died from homicide. It's not only a crisis, but a growing tragedy. Imagine knowing that you're sick, that you're dying, and not being able to do anything about it. Imagine that the culture you live doesn't have any way to offer you assistance. Imagine that you're watching your spouse, your parents, your child, slowly succumbing to an illness and not being able to afford even the most rudimentary medical care for them.
Why mention all of this?
One of the reasons that blogs have been on the quiet side the last few days is that I've been dealing with a massive sinus infection. When they get bad in my world, they get really bad. My head is riddled with weird cavities and a simple sinus infection tends to spread into places they don't normally go. In the past couple of years, sinus infections have had a tendency to slip into my jaw causing excruciating pain. (Imagine an intense sinus infection and having abscesses simultaneously in all of your teeth on one side of your face.) Doctors can't figure out what to do about it, other than treat it as you would normally treat a sinus infection. (It was my dentist that originally diagnosed the problem as the physicians couldn't figure out what was going wrong and thought the problem - and associated pain - was dental in origin.) Given normal, allopathic techniques, it usually takes a week to ten days to clear up, a period in which the pain is so intense that I'm usually awake for 72 hours straight, unable to sleep due to the absolute agony of the situation.
What's more is that this particular bout was the worst that I've ever experienced. And now that I'm self-employed I lack any sort of medical coverage. Which means that I can't see a doctor. So Briana and I have had to treat it ourselves - through a combination of my shamanic path and her knowledge of herbalism, some common sense, and a couple of minor changes to my diet. We've employed herbal teas and smudges, energy work and healing techniques. No doctors, no prescribed medicines. If you took Bri and I back in time a millennia or two, you'd find the tribe's shaman or the local wise woman treating things in exactly the same manner.
Today is Day Three of the infection and already the vast majority of the pain is gone. I'm visibly swollen still, but feel substantially better than I did, even over where I was just yesterday. Another day of treatment and I'm anticipating that I'll be right as rain by tomorrow. And through it all, I haven't missed a single opportunity to help folks that have come my way, something I would have been incapable of doing under any other approach to healing.
All told, the entire treatment cost less than $2 USD for us to implement. It's something that, if we could openly offer it to folks, we'd charge $40 USD for, start to finish, an amount that would cover the supplies, the preparation, the know-how, and the guidance. And you know us. We wouldn't turn a single person away because they couldn't pay. There's always the barter system and, for those who truly need it, there are simple things called "compassion" and "generosity" that fill in the gaps.
Imagine the 22,000 people that die every year having access to something that could tangibly help them. Anything that could make even the tiniest difference in their lives.
However, this is the United States we're living in. It's actually illegal for Briana and I to even suggest that we can treat any of these people. When someone does come to us, specifically asking for help with a physical ailment, we even have to be careful of the words we use when responding to their request. We can't say, "This will help with that condition," because if we do that we're making a medical claim. We have to answer, "When I've dealt with that particular condition, this is what I've used for my own healing." It's a subtle difference, but it's absolutely critical that we adhere to it - otherwise we're literally breaking the law.
So we hand out herbal teas and salves, not charging a penny, not always knowing where the next month's rent is coming from but really seeking to help the people that come our way. A lot of folks are skeptical at first, but when the remedy is free and simply offered to them, they'll usually give it a try. And the positive feedback has been phenomenal. We're healing everything from bug bites to nervous disorders, from sinus infections to anxiety attacks. Not treating them, because that would be a medical claim, but healing them - because strangely, regardless of the methods we employ, "healing" falls under the umbrella of "faith."
Being a healer is something that both Briana and I have clearly been called to do. Nukah, the Mi'kmaq woman who taught me shamanism, saw the calling in me from the first moments that our paths intertwined. I've had cancer (twice), a shredded anterior cruciate ligament, and severe bronchitis - all of which I was able to heal through shamanic techniques. (There's a reason that a shaman's magick is often referred to as "medicine.") I've been paying close attention during this latest sinus infection, focusing not only on the malady, but on the entire healing process from start to finish. And I'm learning a great deal, not only regarding the effectiveness of Bri's herbal teas (and she brews a blend that's amazing at addressing my sinus issues) but of the energetic process leading from diagnosis to healing
We've just been extended the opportunity to begin working with a handful of terminal cancer patients, people who have a year or less to live. And we're going to embrace that opportunity. It would be a little overwhelming to take that particular step, but things have rapidly been gearing up to that level. Trust me, when you have a mother on the phone and she's standing next to her son, who is in intensive care 3,000 miles away from you, teetering on the line between life and death, this doesn't become a "what if" path any longer. You get it right. Period.
And, thank the gods, we're continually being given the insight, intuition, and techniques to "get it right."
That is something that is so incredibly humbling. You can't imagine what it's like to step into a situation where someone is dying - or their child is dying - and have them look to you for assistance. There aren't any charts in your hands, no tangible reports from medical tests that a trained professional has run. You have your intuition, the wisdom you've earned along the way, and the path that you've walked that has brought you to that moment. And, in that instant, you step out in faith, trusting Spirit, and you heal. In those moments, even though this is our livelihood, we don't charge a penny. What's important in that instant is simple humanity. You're there to serve. When they're on the other side of that healing, if they decide to work with you once they're out of the woods, you can work out a plan to charge for the recovery process as you help them find their strength and understand the newness of the path before them. But in the heat of battle, you simply heal and ignore anything and everything else. You trust Spirit to guide you in the moments just as you trust Spirit to see to your needs in the mundane world. It's as simple as that.
So we're doing good work. We're healing and making a difference. And we would have never reached this point on our path without the love, support, and encouragement from all of you.
Which is the perfect moment to say, "Now onto your mail."
"I am a hungry student of shamanism, druidry, soul-crafting, Native American/Celtic spirituality, and holistic healing, and have had an exciting 46 years to date. After 20+ years of MS and more than seven of those completely relegated to a wheelchair, I am walking and even dancing again, after combining a completely raw, organic diet with an intense spiritual awakening and art as healing in 2006." This was written by Wren, an already familiar name that I'm always happy to see when she pops up in my inbox. "I am currently absorbing anything and everything I can from wonderful people like you as I simply cannot afford vision quests, shamanic courses, and other learning experiences that run upwards of $1000."
People like Wren are one of the reasons why Bri and I offer Old Ways for free - and why we're working like mad to keep our prices as low as humanly possible with everything else we do. Spirituality should never be about growing wealthy. Never. It's a path of servitude. I'm looking forward to the day when our family isn't continually living month-to-month on faith, but neither Bri nor I are willing to sacrifice the integrity of the work we do for material gain. I have faith it will all work out. And we're both working as hard as we can, not only to stay afloat, but to give as much as we can to you, our magickal family.
Classes were a pretty hot topic over the course of the last week. Victoria wrote in regarding a group of spiritual seekers that she knows on the East Coast of the United States. "They want a discussion group that explores different aspects of the spiritual realm. These people have wanted me to start a "discussion group" for awhile now but I didn’t feel like a leader; but YOU are..." This was either the second or third email that I'd received over the last few days about putting together customized classes for groups of people. She continued, suggesting, "If you committed to a two hour group class with extended dates ([for instance] from January to March every other Thursday night; so much per class; course syllabus includes 15 min. discussion period for open forum on "discussion group". Rest of class could focus on different topics from education to development of psychic gifts...) Have the class start at a certain time every Thursday night and we conference call into you from a house that we all meet at down here and we put you on speaker phone; voila you have a group class." Thanks for the suggestion. As I mentioned before, you're not the only person who has suggested that I do something like this.
Our current level of technology allows us to completely bridge the geographical gaps between us. Doing something like Victoria suggested is something that I really feel that I'm being led toward embracing. However, I'd prefer to use a free video conferencing feature (such as
Skype) so that we can work face-to-face via Web cam and a microphone. Just imagine having me sitting in your living room, being able to receive instruction directly from a knowledgeable teacher. When I wrote the first issue of Old Ways and sought to fill the need brought on by a severe drought of available teachers, I never imagined it going in this sort of direction. What do you think? I think this is something I would be willing to offer and I'll give it a test run with the two groups that are asking for customized instruction, but I'm curious as to your thoughts regarding this sort of service.
Speaking of teaching, I'll be leading an hour long workshop in shamanism at the
Ocean Shore's Body and Soul Festival in Washington next month. Bri and I will both be in attendance and have a vendor table reserved for the products you've been hearing about in my blogs. I'll provide additional details here once the time of the workshop is scheduled (it was just approved), but we would love to have the opportunity to meet some of our readers first hand.
As far as all of that hand-crafted goodness is concerned, there was a lot of very positive feedback regarding the
Sage and Scribe logo (people love it) as well as the
first glimpse of our product line. Melys wrote what was a fairly typical response to the logo and our new endeavors. "Exciting! Awesome! It looks great!" It's all coming along, a little slower than intended, but I should have everything online by the end of the week.
Gralyn wrote in regarding the article,
The Bigger Picture. "Yes, yes, and yes! How is it that you keep pulling me along....I get something, really get it and there you are explaining, telling, guiding. It's hard to try and explain that each one of us is an individual Spirit of the Divine but connected to each other and all things, including our Creator, however once chooses to picture Them. That if we allow it we're guided, taught and get the honor of passing if forward." Thank you for your feedback, Gralyn. It's always an honest joy to hear from you and I'm very glad that you're a part of our journey.
A big thanks to all who wrote in with kind words and feedback regarding the article. Mel and Moonchild, especially, thank you so much for you email. I greatly appreciate your kind words.
The article caught Saoirse's eye as well. "Whoa, now that was a mindful. Thanks so much for sharing that," they wrote. "So much of what you say sounds "familiar" somehow, but I can't put a finger on why. Maybe it's some common thread we all have that calls to us when it's time, but we all have a bit of a different piece of the fabric." I couldn't agree with you more. Other people are already being pulled into our "calling" on this end - absolutely wonderful people who share a vision similar to ours and would willingly give you the shirt off of their back, even in the dead of winter.
There were also a handful of letters this week regarding visions of change for the future, both that I alluded to in The Bigger Picture and things that folks had been given on their own. The following (and I've withheld the person's name out of respect for their privacy) was fairly typical. In the email, the person describes working with an elder that they were acquainted with when they were given a vision of days to come. "...not too distant, but not immediately either. I could "travel" to wherever I needed to be during it to "check things out" and saw pockets of total destruction... lots of gray ash like after a huge forest fire and places were totally deserted. There were still "pockets" of people and animals, but the largest portion were gone. I had this happen totally out of the blue and I happened to be with the elder at the time and she asked me questions about this place or that and had me go look for things to try and find more of the total picture. When it happened, I felt like there was a tiny amount of time left to change things, but feel now we have passed that point and there is no changing it...except maybe being able to alter the severity of it. Being totally awake and seeing all of this at the same time was odd. It was like many of the things I "sense" that come in short blips, but it went on and on. Sounds like a bad dream about some sci-fi movie or something, but it wasn't...I know as much as I'm sitting here now it was real."
I hear a lot of this sort of thing - and it's a theme that regularly appears in my world. I've been toying with writing a piece or two on this topic for some time now. If there's interest, let me know, and I'll open things up and we can discuss the visions of days to come.
And that brings us to the end of the mailbag for this week. We had an article (
The Bigger Picture) and a small interaction with the fae (
Feathers and Bones.) There were a handful of blogs (not
one, but
two blogs about pretty intense dreams) as well as an update regarding the progress with our product line (for instance, how to you promote tea online?) And of course, there was your email, which always means so much to me and which I'm really working on getting to a place where I can personally write a response to each and every one of you. That time is getting closer, day by day, there's just a lot of work to be done, not only with folks that need to be healed and students looking for instruction, but with the online endeavors that will, hopefully, go a long way to financing other parts of our calling.
As always I truly hope that these words find you and yours well and filled with joy. Blessed be.
In peace and light,
Jeffrey Pierce
www.oldways.com
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