ralph

Hi Strange, I use an analogy with dance these days. See shamanism as dance, there's dance everywhere in the world, it has enough in common so that you recognize it is dancing, but it also encompasses many practices and many tunes. You could learn to dance on your own and become a very good dancer, but what if you had teachers with a lot of experience with dancing? Maybe they could make you learn faster by giving you exercises or dancing routines. Maybe they could also show you some aspects of dancing you never considered. Dance well, Ralph

Hi Sphinxy, Let's talk a little about Alchemy. I'm not an Alchemist myself (not yet) but I love the way the teachings are brought and can really see a very close relationship between them and the Maker's Tradition. Here's a hint, they work in a Laboratory (half labor, half oratory). Alchemists have a say about what brings us to a Tradition; First you begin with a speculative phase and then you enter an operative phase. Seeking Truth through reading is the speculative phase. You can learn a lot, but you won't advance on your path very much. Depending on your own personal experience, some things you read will make sense and other won't. At one point, you have to confront all these readings with personal experience. As you may know, the practices tought in the cave through numerous classes are precisely designed to do that, to give you personal experience you can build on. Wherever you come from, whatever your beliefs, whatever sense you want to give to those experiences is part of what makes your Path unique. The cave was the right place to start for me, I hope it can be for a lot of people, I hope it will be for you. Ralph

Hi Douglas, Nature has cycles and humans had to understand some of them in order to survive. Think about seasonal rytmes for instance when you have cattle or crops. The solar and lunar cycles are both easy to follow and accurate concerning to seasons. That's why you find them a lot in human folk lore. On the other hand, energy wise, you can of course find difference between time periods as well as you do in different places. So in order to achieve things, humans wanting to put all chances on their side, used particular rituals, in particular places, on particular days. But if you need external circumstances in order to do anything, you do not achieve much. Your personal power, the way you train to learn how to use it, with clarity and determination, is a much greater tool than any calendar. But if you're growing radishes, you'd better sow them on a growing moon. R

Hi MorgusHroud, When you spend your time meditating in natural places, your own energy gets attuned and aligned to natural energy around you. So you're not so much of an obvious, smelling, noisy human anymore. No wonder some animals get surprised. I would just enjoy and use this opportunity to look at the animals, how wonderfully beautiful they are. R

Hi Whiteeagle, I guess anger stones are more practical because we can feel bursts of anger and the use of a tool to ground it can be handy. To me, sadness is better handled by looking for the causes and try to work on them. But to answer your question, you can use a stone the same way for multiple purposes, it's just that some will be more effective than others. Ralph

Hi Whiteeagle, I'm afraid I don't know much about bartholomew and his teachings despite the fact that he was teaching and healing people, certainly transmitting things he received himself from his own teacher. So it seems really valid to me but I would make some remarks : In my humble opinion, traditions are best tought by a living person, because the words that are used are adapted to our specific cultural context. Teachings use words to make you feel things that transcend words. Once you master what is behind, you are free to reexpress it in whatever way you feel appropriate. That is how oral traditions are passed through the centuries. As for the thiaoouba prophecy, I didn't read it, but I tend to be very cautious about books that pretend to explain everything in the universe. Mes deux centimes, Ralph

Hi Lyla, You can also try a different approach, try to get the 'feel' of the dream, how it appeals to you. Maybe in your day you will get the same feeling about some casual stuff, or thought. This keeps all the metaphors and your mind trying to make sense out of it in check. Ralph

Hi Vasily, A good way to do it is to clean the place, I mean physically. Take a broom, whatever is necessary to clean it in full. While you do it, link your intent and intend to clean it energetically as well. R

Hi Douglas, You have a talent for bringing up topics that could take books to explore that would eventually only scratch the surface. I like that. As far as I know, the Makers Tradition as it was brought to me doesn't meddle so much in religion or religious beliefs. Yet some of the Makers were priests, why is that? I think it is because whatever insight you gain, whatever awareness depth you reach, your ultimate freedom is to give it the meaning You want. This tradition is about teachings, but beliefs can't be taught nor can they be discussed. Believe what you want, what serves you, gives you the drive you need to achieve whatever it is you wish to achieve.

Hi Douglas, Once again, we are faced with the limitations of words. Words only apply in a particular cultural context. To the Makers, love is an emotion and emotions are a way for humans to express their energy. So you could say love is a color of expressed human energy. To other traditions, other contexts, Love isn't an emotion, it is the perception of Unity. Makers would call it Clarity. Greeks would say 'to see the great Pan' etc ... So we can go back to your sentence and say : The Universe was made by the intent of Unity. Works for me. Ralph

Hi Douglas, The maker's tradition has a lot to do with Personal Power. You can see it as the Power you have over your own life, taking full responsibility for it as opposed to fate. That doesn't mean there aren't beings in the universe whose consciousness is far beyond what we can imagine, it's just that they respect the spark of energy and intent given to us or more probably they just don't care. Think about it this way : Would you stop to give guidance to an ant ?

Hi Ali, Your perception is changing and you discover a new world. Congratulations. What you need to do now is building some reference about what you see to apprehend your perceptions better. What you call entities can be a lot of things only part of them are inorganic life forms. Learn to watch and observe so you can understand things before you wish to act on them. And have a nice ride. Ralph

Hi Ali, Payback is a big word and I understand it can be scary. I'll try to develop a little about plants. First of all, when you take a plant like ayahuasca, there's a form of agreement occuring, you will touch the awareness of the plant and it will touch yours. The trade is something like energy for knowledge. The makers spend a fair amount of time retreaving their energy through recap and becoming sober about it in stalking, so every experience involving a trade of energy will not be considered lightly. That doesn't mean it is forbidden or that we strongly advise people against it. Just be aware of what you do. The second part is about freedom and independance. Using plants is a valid way to move your energy and shift your perception. It has been used for centuries in various traditions. It may be an easier way to get great insight and experiences, but in the end the experience and achievement is not completely yours, since you're using external help. We makers like to own the things we do and not rely so much on tools or external help. It doesn't mean tools can't be used, it means it's better to be able to move also without them. Finally, the plant tends to give a particular color to the experiences you make so you can't really built neutral references. One question will always remain, was my perception genuine or was it the plant messing with me, even just a little. If you're going to an ayahusaca ceremony soon, what you learned in the cave can help improve your experience with it. - Try to be detached and emotionally neutral. - Set a clear intent about what you want from the experience. Dream well, Ralph

Hi Sabre, I can't advise a book because I don't really believe shamanism can be learned in a book. There's a lot of material on the shamanscave website that you can consult if you want to know a little more about the maker's tradition. Since shamanism is a practice, you'll also find some exercices that you can try. I hope you can find some answers there. Ralph

Hi Mehkeis, You're very welcome to post here, we are always glad to hear from people with other traditions. Ralph

Hi Narael, I have a few people from the cave in mind which are empaths themselves, I'm sure they can give you good pieces of advice. From a teacher's point of view, I can see some classes taught here that might really help : - Recapitulation : Can help to be able to see the difference between what is yours and what is not in term of energy and emotions. - Spirals : Can sharpen your intent and give you some juice so you can protect yourself from external pressure. I'd like to add a little warning here. The classes taught in the cave are part of a vast teaching program that is not meant to adress specifics but to put students on a shamanic path. I'm not suggesting you pick two classes and all your problems will be solved. I'm suggesting that if you wish to see if the Maker's tradition has answers for you, you're of course welcome to try some classes and the two I quoted seem like a good start. Ralph

Welcome Sweet Soul, All the classes are told online. We use IRC chatrooms, a form of instant messenging to teach the classes per see. Between classes, students can access class logs on the Library section of the website and share about their experiences on specific sections of this forum. Recap 1 is a class that is given often, so watch for the announcements to see when the next class session begins. Ralph

In my opinion, a superstitious behavior that stigmatises people according to their gender and year of birth isn't going to meet a lot of consideration by shamans.

Heather, It is called a möbius strip. The surface has only one side.

Welcome Heather, Feel free to wander around and ask questions, we would be happy to give you the best answers we can. I don't think you're in the wrong place but of course that's for you to decide. Ralph

Hi Sacred Spirit, Thank you for the interest you show for the website and the forums. The author went to great length to make it accessible to everyone. I would second Lorrie and Beth and add that studying in a tradition is not about getting as many techniques as you can. It's about building upon a set of practices. I would suggest you take a look at the practices described in the 'Information' section, you will find there a great amount of material which you can use, including scrying techniques. It is easy to find, you just need to go and look for it. Ralph

We never talk about the brain or the brain sides. We talk about energy. I'm not saying it doesn't exist or it has no use, I just think what we call brain activity is a consequence, not a cause.

Hi, I'll try to give you my thoughts about this. The teachings in our tradition comprise a fair amount of exercices. Some of these involve the use of your hands. In this case, the way it is done is always the same, using one hand to do one thing, the other hand to do the other. The reason for that is that each new student can built on the exercice and if it's always done the same way, it adds momentum to the exercice itself. Same goes for the recapitulation exercice, it is always done in the same manner for this reason. Ultimately, since it is a question of intent, it would not make a big difference to switch sides. As for the left handed or right handed question, I would say the makers try to practice so they can all become ambidextrous. If they don't, it doesn't matter. R

Hi Sunshine, RA is a nasty one, but that doesn't mean you can't do anything about it. Nutrition can help, look for crudes or anything with minerals (fresh fruits and vegetables). Some people have good results with organic silicium too. Also, I see you're among the students, maybe you can try to work with recap specifically and see where it leads you. R

Hi Billcu, As Karl said, the older, the better. I would add that you're right about not trusting a virtual mirror. These practices are used to redefine your 'reality' so it can't be virtual. Is it hard to learn ? Some people find it easy, others don't. It's a practice, so you have to practice with it and see what happens, you might be surprised. R