Urban Shamanism

Stories and endless growth

One of the many things that we can relearn from childhood is the openness to effectively use the greatest ability we have a species: imagination. Imagining things is what we do best, that's how we create, design, build and organize our world. Countries, laws, money, art, religion, politics, even the words that we use to communicate in any language, are abstractions given form so that we can use them to make sense of our surroundings. According to Israeli historian Yuval Harari, humans are the only species in the world that can cooperate flexibly in large numbers, and the essence of this unique form of cooperation is that we can invent stories that we can get behind regardless of whether we know each other personally or not. I may not know anything about a man in India or a girl in Africa, but all three of us believe in money, for instance, and likely have many other stories in common which instantly establish a network of understanding between us.

Children naturally use the gift of imagination to innovate, to look at things around them as questions that can be seen from many perspectives and used in a variety of ways. If we get a bunch of kids of any nationality together in a park and don't interfere with their interactions in any way, chances are they'll manage to play together and have genuine fun even if they don't speak the same language or if they were raised with different values. As we grow up, this ability to connect with total strangers declines because the very stories that bring us together can and are often used to sow division. How many wars have been fought in the name of one vision of divinity or another? How many people hate each other based on nothing but country of origin or skin color? These are all adult things, children don't have them unless they're taught by adults to develop them.

We manifest our reality, and if our imagination's free, childlike, the reality that we can manifest is boundless, rooted in innocence and a constant desire to learn. In order to return to that core of pure creation, we have to get rid of all the definitions and preconceptions that we've collected as we grow older, we have to find our inner children again. Every fiction and stance that inspires us to play, to have fun, to see our surroundings in the light of joy and pleasure, directly arises from the child's wisdom. I've come to realize that all paths of self-discovery are ultimately paths of reconnection with this colossal wellspring of amplitude and curiosity, and for the past year or so, I've actively worked on unlocking my earliest memories precisely because I feel the infinite potential in them. The moment I believe something so strongly that it becomes a conviction, I've restricted my fluidity and lost part of my flexibility, but the kid I used to be, this energy that lives within me still, didn't have convictions, he knew how to enjoy life and embrace possibilities. All kids know this.

Approaching our inner children isn't easy, especially for people whose childhoods were traumatic and desolate, but if we truly wish to fly, if we want to flourish without limits, that's the only way. Observing children around us with clarity and attention undoubtedly provides us with the clues we need, but are we ready to take the cue? Are we willing to let go of the convictions, the ideas that we were taught to believe? Can we implement the necessary changes in our civilization to foment the safety and mutual care required for every person to accomplish this? I think that's happening already even if it's not immediately obvious, and I think that if we give children the vote of confidence to take the lead, this process will get an exponential boost. The freer and safer our children are, the more powerful and united our entire species will become.

Night Rune: Laguz

Designs of structures of power, among them a building like a cross with its arms pointing to four directions. Chests full of treasures of gold and gems.

Daylight message: Sowelo

Devotion, smile. Genuine friendship feeds on candor, offer your loved ones your faith and trust. Celebrate your imagination, in the path of dreams there are no frontiers. Even in sinister times the joy of others may illuminate you, keep your mind open. The sacrifices that are done for love do not increase pain for the opposite, do not fear to surrender. Laugh, sing, play, enjoy, give rest to your heart. Do not try so hard, if looking after the interests of others oppresses you, change your attitude, collaborate only with projects that cause you authentic interest, do not invest your energy in causes you do not believe in. Wealth that is kept stored is lost, share your gifts and knowledge freely. The value of gold is a fiction, do not skimp on expenses for pleasure and celebration because all shall return to you multiplied.