Sex, Money & Power Tools!--Reflections on the Latest Shamanic Workshop

Busy week and I'm late on posting about the shamanic workshop 2 weeks ago. I'll have to give you the short-and-sweet version! And here are some pics of our trip to a state park where we worked with elemental energy, the directions and blew our conch shells (very fun!).


This workshop focused on the navel chakra, which is associated with emotions and water. Wrapped up in all this is our perceptions, hang-ups and obsessions over complicated things like money, sex and power.

We talked about how money is simply just energy. Money is actually only worth something because we say it is. In fact, money is not "real." Our dollar bills are no different than shells once traded by Native Americans. But how we view money says much about us. I'm pretty responsible with it, but I guess that's because deep down I'm afraid others will judge what I do with my money. I also try to be generous and not take it too seriously (contradictions?), and that's all connected to family history.


Sex, well, that's an entire blog! Ask yourself: what is the purpose of sex? What are the "rules?" Is it ok to pleasure yourself? What is your earliest sexual memory? What does your religion teach about sex? Is sex outside marriage right or wrong? What about same-sex acts? Yes, I have my own hang-ups, and I'm working on releasing those....

Power is tricky. We all have our own power, whether we believe it or not. But how do you use it? And why do you deny your own power? What makes you feel powerful and why and when? If you were all-powerful/omnipotent, what would you do and why? I typically don't trust my own power and shy away from traditional expressions of power, such as at work or in my relationships. That may not be "bad," but I'd like to know more about why I do what I do. What does it bring me?

And in our workshop, we made some shaman tools or "mana" (spirit) tubes. We capped them with copper, and the idea is that the metal attracts energy while the wood contains it. In one tube we added sand and a quartz crystal. I don't know if I believe all this actually does anything, so I need to keep reading. Supposedly, these tools can tap into the earth's energy and you can direct it or use it. Oooooh--can I zap someone? We were encouraged to add some decorations, so when I get around to that, I'll add some pics to the blog.

Well, that's it. No deep insights this time. Just meditating on what we did and whether I find any of it worthwhile. I forgot to mention that we also experimented with geomancy and divination using metal shapes, stones and pendulums. Mostly it was just fun--and that's a good thing.