Where do I Start Today?

From there, where do I go? Where do I start today? This question is one that arises every day in one way or another, but on this occasion it was a conscious one. Within a blink a bird pulled me away from my self-centered attention, and I turned to see what had so gracefully shifted my thoughts.

The Presence of a Thrasher Woodpecker

It was a thrasher, with his light speckled feathers, red patch on his crown and black chest. He landed on the primary branch of the small cherry tree that had been a resting place for the hummingbirds. His head turned to and fro, surveying his surroundings. I don’t often see the thrashers unless there is suet for them, and even then they flee if there is any movement around them.

The thrasher is in the woodpecker family, with a long beak used to gain access to insects deep within the rotting wood of a snag tree. The tapping is reminiscent of drumming, rhythmic and resonant. The motions move beyond what is on the surface, a place we should all venture towards.

I marveled at the coincidence between my thought, “Where do I begin”, and the appearance of the thrasher. Within a heartbeat or two one of my hummingbirds made his own appearance, and while he stayed clear of the thrasher, a bird that far outweighed him, he still took dominance, landing above the thrasher in a position that centered him within the tree.

Where do I begin? What better place than within. Do we actually listen to the beating of our own heart? Even if we treat this reference as symbolic we can still find intuitive or spiritual meaning.

Hummingbird Visit – A Message of Purpose

I turn my head again to focus on the motion seen out the corner of my eye. The hummingbird returns to his feeder, followed by chickadees and sparrows in search of food. I’ve returned home to something I resonate with, and my day’s focus clearly includes reconnecting to my own purpose and direction. Where do I start today? With the beating of my own heart.

Where do I Start Today? © 2010. Estee Taschereau, Hummingbird Shaman, offers individual sessions by phone to clarify and clear your focus and find the beating of your own heart. For more articles on spirituality and metaphysical focus visit IntuitiveMeaning.com

The rest of the weekend will be filled with workshops, meditations, exercises in transitioning and release, and activities like a dream-catcher making class.  Each participant will have the chance to make their own dreamcatcher and take their creation home. 

This event, for the entire weekend, is only $160.  This price includes meals from saturday morning to sunday lunch, and lodging friday and saturday nights.  What a deal!!  The drum or moccasin kit is extra.  We will have ready-made custom drum beaters available for purchase as well, and a few custom-built, already made drums. 

Of course no Healing Drum event would be complete without drumming!  We will have the ceremonial drum and several drumming and singing sessions led by our Drum Making instructor Kaye Tahwakeena. 

Hummingbird Shaman’s own Intuitive Counselor Estee Taschereau will be leading a dream walk, guided meditations, and will teach tools for self awareness and maintaining your own energy in a busy world.  We’ll have healing demo’s, information about healing herbs, and a powerful group session on creating change in our patterns and thinking.

Registration is still open, you can register by calling the Brighton Creek Conference Center: 360-458-3910.

Custom beaters will also be available for purchase, ranging from $10 to $30 each. It is advised that the beater be tested with the drum, and to let the drum have a voice in it’s activator. The Healing Drum marketplace will be open through Sunday

I’ve just acquired llama hair as an optional material for blessings and totem animal guidance in the medicine bags. This is an inspiration and support for those who wish to make a stronger stand for themselves, or bring protection into their lives. Llama’s are strong spirits that make their opinions known!

For registration for any of the events during this summer solstice weekend please visit our online store at www.shamanstore.hummingbirdshaman.com