Urban Shamanism

Don't wage war upon yourself

Eihwaz repeats once again both at Night and at Day, and I had a pretty powerful dream about sensuality and bodily strength. The message today is also very suggestive of physical nakedness and honest expression, of showing ourselves as we truly are rather than as we (don´t) want or used to be. While I was processing these Runes, I had many insights about the lies we tell ourselves, the attention we expect from others and the things we keep quiet when we should speak up. Eihwaz is a Rune of confrontation as well as balance, of power as well as calm, and this time it's telling us to accept that we're strong but also want to be understood. How can we be understood, though, if we conceal ourselves behind a bunch of ideas?

We all tell stories to ourselves, some of them thriving and beautiful, but most are oppressive and ugly. We don't necessarily know why we beat ourselves up, but the fact stands, you can see it when you read any newspaper or peruse social media: conflict and disaster, sex or corruption scandals, abuse of authority, diseases, climate change, political partisanship, arguments about religion... these are the kinds of things people talk about, many spend hours in this mood and vibration, but you know what? There are a lot of wonderful things happening in this world at the same time, they're just far less noisy and rarely make it to the front pages. People are helping each other grow, caring for animals, learning and teaching, building and preserving at every level of our world, everyday. Just take a walk through your neighborhood and look around as neutrally as possible, as you'll see the abundance, the creation, the dreams floating and being realized all around you.

I don't know how many people I've met who constantly complain about their situation. It's always the banks, the corporations, the politicians; it's always someone else looking to strip them off their rights and money. Thousands of people sitting in front of their computers or holding on to their phones for hours, just bitching about everything others are doing to them, not stopping for a second to review what they've been doing to others, or to wonder why they're going through such situations. If all you see everyday is destruction, chaos, noise and shadow, how on earth can you connect with pleasure and joy? How can you find Light?

Living in a better reality demands that we create it for ourselves, it's a matter of discipline and focus. We have to cleanse our language and our thoughts; we have to express our emotions and find ways to deal with our own stress; we also have to take the necessary steps to avoid distractions or splitting our attention and energy across meaningless, bothersome tasks and connections. Going through our days in a continuous fit of self-pity, victimhood and misery, shoving it onto others as if it was their responsibility to solve it, isn't nice to anyone. If we want to elevate our experience in this world, we have to foment elevation with every breath. It's often hard at first, but it becomes much easier when the Love and the Gratitude start flowing more regularly.

Night Rune: Eihwaz

Gatherings between warriors with good drink. Journeys through various spaces. Intimate encounters.

Daylight Rune: Eihwaz

Defiance, challenge. Establish your presence, stand tall, elevate your heat to the level of the Storm. Show yourself in all your glory, attentively observe the panorama and focus on the points of greatest potency; stimulate the appropriate energetic nodes with precision, match your rhythm with that your surroundings and flow. Demonstrate your capacity and abilities, admire those of others, mutual recognition is integration. Reforge your determination, sharpen your arguments, there are moments when the battle is unavoidable. Rebel against restrictions, respond to aggressions with rectitude and nobleness. Persevere in your Purpose, everything that gives you progress is welcome. Discipline must be conquered, Willpower must be expressed; if you do not let others see you, how can they know who you are?