Waken Tanker is the Native American name for the Great Spirit in Manifestation. In Shamanic understanding, everything in creation has a spark of the Great Spirit within it, their forms vary widely, as do their earthly experiences and awareness of time.  Everything in creation, as it contains a fragment of the Great Spirit within it, has its own awareness of life and its own experiences of life. It is this Spirit fragment that is contained within all things, that links all things together, and through which we as Humans can connect with them. We therefore come to understand that all things are our Relatives, as we too have that spark of the Devine within us.  Shamanic wisdom speaks of the principle causation of dis-ease as separation. This can mean separation of oneself from ones own Spirit, from family, loved ones, society etc. It can also be a separation from the Great Spirit, Waken Tanka. To address this separation, it is vital that we re-establish our relationship with all of our relatives. Being in Nature is the ideal way of doing this. Just the very act of walking in Nature with and open heart and mind, seeing the beauty all around you and really appreciating it and giving thanks to it opens us up to the possibilities of coming in to relationship with the Natural world.  If you walk in Nature in this way, you may start to hear the quiet voices of your relatives, who are desperate to have a relationship with Human Beings once more. There are many shamanic techniques that can facilitate your communication skills with your nature relatives and thus give you a deeper connection and understanding of both them and yourself. In a very simple way I was given a beautiful teaching from my relatives. As I was walking in our local Nature Reserve one morning last month, I became acutely aware of the heat of the Sun. As it warmed the plants I could smell the different, volatile oils being released from them, such as Nettle, Borage, Heal-thy-Self etc. I was reminded of Bach Flower remedies and the process the flowers are put through in order to bring their healing powers forth (the plant is placed in water and left to sit in the intense rays of the sun) and of aromatherapy. I was grateful to the Sun and the plants for this beautiful healing experience as I walked through their beautiful aroma. Then I noticed the apple blossom in the trees, and the birds flitting from branch to tree. I was reminded how, in NLP practice, there is a self help technique to raise the mood of a person feeling quite depressed. This entails the person looking up and moving the eyes from side to side (most people who are feeling depressed look down at the floor for the majority of the time they are walking). Again I thanked my relatives for this healing gift and message and revelled in the raising of my spirits. Being in Nature and reconnecting with your relatives is essential for your Shamanic Practice and development, but it may also be essential to the Earth Herself during this time of destructive practices being inflicted upon Her and all of our relatives. Shamanic Quest holds regular workshops and courses at The Clophill Centre, Bedfordshire. A full list of dates can be found on our website at www.shamanicquest.co.uk or on our Facebook page here About the Author Melanie Tomsett is a Shamanic practitioner and owner of Shamanic Quest based in Hertfordshire in the UK. Shamanic Quest offer a range of opportunities for you to explore and learn shamanic practices. These include Introductory Workshops, Foundation Course, Practitioner Course, Drum Circle, Sweat Lodge, Sun Lodge and Moon Lodge, Student Clinics and Consultations. Full details can be found at www.shamanicquest.co.uk

Crystals are an important part of Shamanic Practice. However, often times Shamanic Practitioners do not choose their crystal helper by looking in a book and deciding which one(s) to ask for help (although this can be useful in some circumstances) but they will use their connectivity and intuition to discern which crystal wants to help them at any given time or for a particular need to be fulfilled. Crystals are very useful helpers in our own personal work, on the physical, mental, emotional and Spirit aspects of our selves and also for us to help others with. We can choose a Chrystal helper every morning to receive its positive attributes for the day ahead. We can do this by very simply using our left hand, allowing it to scan over our collection of Crystals and allowing the energy of the Chrystal to choose us by sensing the different sensations that are felt as our hand passes over them.  The sensations that may be felt can be heat, coolness, tingling etc. When you feel a crystal that seems to be drawing your hand towards it, take up that crystal in you left hand and ask it if it is your helper for the day. If it is, it will indicate to you in some way that it is your helper. If you do not get a positive affirmation from the crystal, set it to one side and repeat the process. This process is also useful when you are choosing to purchase crystals or if you are choosing a crystal to help you work on behalf of another person. If you have a small medicine pouch, you may choose to keep the Crystal in it during your travels, so that you can stay connected with it throughout the day. This can be a safer way to keep your crystal with you above keeping it in your pocket etc. It can also be helpful to have items of jewellery made from crystals as they are both decorative and functional. I like to wear Turquoise for protection during my shamanic work. In my Shamanic Practice I have two Black Tourmaline Wands that help me to re-ground after Shamanic Journeying. I also have a large piece of Selenite that helps me generally with my Shamanic endeavours. Clear Quartz points are an invaluable helper for the Shamanic Practitioner and they help in many ceremony’s.  However, any Crystal can be the most amazing helper if you just open yourself up to its knowledge and wisdom and allow it to teach you how it is going to be of service to you. This can be achieved by holding the Crystal in your left hand and completing a Shamanic Journey with the intention of connecting with the Crystal to discover how it is going to help you, or by studying the Crystal very closely and if you find a little hole in the Crystal, this can be a gateway in to it so that you may start your Shamanic Journey from that point to discover its attributes.  There are many more ways in which to utilise the power of crystals. Shamanic Quest holds regular workshops and courses at The Clophill Centre, Bedfordshire. A full list of dates can be found on our website at www.shamanicquest.co.uk or on our Facebook page here About the Author Melanie Tomsett is a Shamanic practitioner and owner of Shamanic Quest based in Hertfordshire in the UK. Shamanic Quest offer a range of opportunities for you to explore and learn shamanic practices. These include Introductory Workshops, Foundation Course, Practitioner Course, Drum Circle, Sweat Lodge, Sun Lodge and Moon Lodge, Student Clinics and Consultations. Full details can be found at www.shamanicquest.co.uk

Creativity in the general sense of the word is very much about artistic endeavours, crafts, cooking, writing, painting, drawing acting etc. Indeed, these activities generally bring forth a beauty from the internal world of the creator and offer their beauty to be shared with others.   Expressing our artistic creativity is a pleasure for us to engage in, it can be calming, meditative and  rewarding but sometimes frustrating and irritating as well!   In terms of shamanic understanding, creativity is taken a few steps further. Artist: Unknown Shamanism teaches us that we have the spark of the Devine within us, a spark of the Great Spirit, the Great Creator. Indeed, if we look at each other and all of Nature, we can observe the face of the Great Spirit in manifestation. Everything in this world contains a spark of the Great Spirit, therefore everything is our Relative and should be treated accordingly.   Having a spark of the great Spirit within each of us means that we have the ability to Create also. Not just artistically through those mediums mentioned above, but every moment of our life experience.   So, what are we creating? Relationships, professions, homes, families, personality, viewpoints, opinions - everything. But how many of these creations are truly our own and how many are influenced by the conditioning we have received from others and the desire to please, fit in, do the right thing? Art: Cheryl Smale   Are we living life being true to our authentic self and creating a life that truly reflects these things for us in a similar way to how an artist creates an image on a canvas. Is this life we are living being painted by us or others? Is it the image/images we desire to be on our life canvas, or has someone else taken control of our paintbrush?   Shamanic knowledge and techniques help us to connect with our innermost self, to regain personal empowerment, to regain control of our life path, to be our own Creator of our life journey. Shamanic Journey work is an excellent way of connecting with your deepest and most wise self to obtain the information and knowledge you seek to help you on your path, as is leaning the wisdom of the Medicine Wheel and coming into relationship with the Natural world around us from a shamanic perspective.   Art: www.samcannonart.com Looking at the beautiful images of creation within this piece, it is clear that we can also create a beautiful life experience for ourselves, if we have the right equipment, tools and inspiration. What will you create today? About the Author Melanie Tomsett is a Shamanic practitioner and owner of Shamanic Quest based in Hertfordshire in the UK. Shamanic Quest offer a range of opportunities for you to explore and learn shamanic practices. These include Introductory Workshops, Foundation Course, Practitioner Course, Drum Circle, Sweat Lodge, Sun Lodge and Moon Lodge, Student Clinics and Consultations. Full details can be found atwww.shamanicquest.co.uk