FALL 2009 Volume 16 Issue 3 www.aquarianonline.com INSIDE FEATURES Shamanic Adventure ...............1 Carol Radway ...........................1 COMMUNITY Kirtian Music.............................6 H.O.P.E. Retreat .........................6 Taiji .............................................6 PLANT-BASED Nutrispeak: Eating on the Go ..4 View from the Veg: Flu-fighting Garlic ...................5 COLUMNS Opinion: Respect Fever ...........2 Voluntary Simplicity: Mindfulness ..............................3 Perspectives on Healthy Living: Natural Flu Aids ......................7 Kristi’s Kaleidoscope: Fly Fishing ..............................12 Starry Skies: Mercury Communication .....13 Pet Family: Severe Illness.....15 Book Reviews Vanishing Face of Gaia .........16 Earth Magic.............................16 And more! The Second Life of My Shamanic Adventure By CHRISTINA RAI WHEELWRIGHT Carol Radway, OR MOST OF my life, I have looked adventure it has been! natural place inhabited by spirit guides Ffor meaning in the world around On my way in animal form. The animal guide that Energy Practitioner me, searching for that place of faith. My first encounter with shamanism was you find also serves as a protector on By WENDY PETERS This lifelong search ultimately led me to at a weekend workshop in Winnipeg these journeys. Each different animal “ HEN I TURNED 60, it just the ancient tradition of shamanism, sponsored by the Foundation for holds a specific attribute like wisdom, Wstopped.” which is, essentially, based on natural Shamanic Studies, a group founded strength, love, community awareness, In 2007, Carol Radway’s practice of 20 law and includes an acceptance of and by Michael Harner in Mill Valley, magic, etc. years as an energy practitioner came to honour for the unseen spirits of nature. California. Bill Brunton, faculty member A great reference with detailed infor- an unexpected halt when all of her clients I am not a shaman. I do not retrieve of the Foundation and former professor mation on power animals is Medicine stopped calling pretty much all at once. souls or “power-broke” with the unseen of anthropology, introduced our group Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson, What Carol had on her hands was on behalf of my human compatriots, of about 40 to basic shamanic principles: which can be used for study. Before I the sort of happy “problem” that every which activities are facets of shamanism. the construct of non- went on that jour- practitioner dreams of – she had put That is someone else’s responsibility. ordinary reality, the ney, Bill indicated herself out of business by facilitating However, my exploration of shamanism lower, middle and that I would know a healing experience for her clients so has led me to a richer, peaceful personal upper worlds, and that I had encoun- transformative that they felt her help was life. I feel a sense of renewal in my work the mechanics of tered my power no longer needed. as an astrologer and in my relationships. journeying and animal if I met it I have become more mindful of the drumming. three distinct times Becoming Carol natural cycles and ceremonially mark As I lay on during the course Carol is a sensitive, someone who is, by the shift of the seasons, the solstices and my blanket, sur- of the journey. her definition “aware of vibration to a equinoxes that fall in December, March, rounded by the soft I did find my degree that is unusual.” As a sensitive, June and September, and the cross quarter darkness filled with power animal and the whole of her life has been a study of days that fall in February, May, August the scent of sweet grass it led me through the the world from an energetic perspective. and November. I walk through my days and sage, while Bill and a few convoluted terrain of the Hers was a childhood coloured in shades with my spirit guides whom I found in others drummed rhythmically, I experi- lower world where I encountered other of wonder by visions provided by spirit the upper world and my power animals enced my first journey into non-ordinary entities and spoke with beings who were guides. As an adolescent, she thought of who came to me in the lower world. reality where I was able to move swiftly both mysterious and enlightening. It her private reality as relatively normal When choices are unclear, I attune through an ever-changing landscape. eventually led me back to the place where until overhearing her peers lament about myself to the wisdom of my guides to Down tunnels, through dense foliage, I had first entered the lower world so the frustrating one-way nature of prayer. help me on my way. And when I get the alongside rivers I went. that I could come back to this reality of The realization struck her that she might opportunity, I drum. The scene was something like that physical laws and linear time. be the only one having long conversations Let me take you on my personal experienced in a dream and yet, sharper, Did I really go to some other place? I with Jesus on the way to and from school. journey into the magical world of clearer and more in focus. At least that can’t answer that with a definite aye or As an adult, Carol struggled to find her shamanism – from Winnipeg and my was my experience. nay but Bill told us that journeyers to this place in the world and was eventually first journeys into non-ordinary reality, On that first journey to the lower world, realm have described similar landscapes, drawn to explore Sufism, which led to Sedona, Arizona, where I crafted I was looking for my power animal. This entities and even events. The Foundation ultimately to the full blossoming of my own rawhide drum. What an part of non-ordinary reality is a magical, See SHAMANIsm on page 10 See RADWAY on page 8 2 FALL 2009 www.aquarianonline.com people say to dissuade us from using during minor illness with fever: “First, do opinion drugs to control fever. nothing.” This allows for a short period 16 Victoria Row, Winnipeg, MB R2M 1Y2 The late Robert Mendelsohn MD of observation to precede any action Editorial & Advertising: encouraged people to respect a fever in against the illness. Keeping a child with ph: (204) 255-4884 fax: (204) 255-5057 “New” Treatment his book, How to Raise a Healthy Child a fever home is definitely a good idea, [email protected] in Spite of Your Doctor. “If your child [email protected] for the Flu – Respect they say, and recommend liquids as the www.aquarianonline.com contracts an infection, the fever that main treatment. accompanies it is a blessing, not a curse. Publisher – Janet Whitley Your Fever Alternative health guru and osteopathic Editors – Anna Olson & Syd Baumel It occurs because of the spontaneous doctor, Joseph Mercola (www.mercola. By ANNA OLSON release of pyrogens that cause the body com), strongly urges his readers to The Aquarian is a forum for shedding light on the path to personal fulfillment and the Y ManTRA, “DON’T mess with temperature to rise. This is a natural consider the benefits of fevers: that they common good. It is published quarterly Ma fever,” ruled the roost when I defense mechanism that our bodies stimulate the immune system and create the first week of March, June, September, was a mother with young children many employ to fight disease. The presence of an inhospitable environment for germs. and December. Annual subscriptions to years ago. fever tells you that the repair mechanisms He rails against acetaminophen (the anywhere in Canada or the U.S. can be had I insisted on my children staying in- of the body have gone into high gear.” main ingredient of Tylenol®), which he by sending a cheque or money order for $12 to our office. Outside North America please doors, resting as much as they needed In the 15-page chapter, “Fever, Your calls a “liver toxin,” and also against contact us for prices. and drinking lots of water. My rule Body’s Defense Against Disease,” Dr. “gut-scraping ibuprofen.” He also We welcome your suggestions, letters to of thumb was “Stay home for the length Mendelsohn goes into detail about cautions against giving children aspirin the editor, article queries, press releases, of the fever plus one day.” The extra the benefits of fever and assuages (acetylsalicylic acid), which “poses an announcements, and other input. Please day was a safeguard to be sure the fever parents’ anxiety about high fevers and extremely dangerous risk for the life- include a phone number or email address was really over. My children and I convulsions. He suggests that most threatening Reye’s syndrome,” he says. with your letters to the editor. (and my husband when he listened to doctors overreact to fevers and create The problem with adults We reserve the right to edit letters for length me) survived all fever-related illnesses worried parents. “Most of the fevers that or readability. The above recommendations apply to quite nicely. spell serious trouble,” he writes, “are the Advertisers and contributors assume adults as well, but the problem with accuracy of their claims and statements. Today, a lot of people believe that it’s result of poisoning or exposure to toxic most people is that they want to keep The opinions and views expressed in articles okay to bring down a fever with over-the- substances in the environment, and to going: they’ve got work to do, people ® do not necessarily reflect those of The counter drugs like Tylenol and ibuprofen causes that lead to ‘heat-stroke.’” to see, places to go. They’re too busy Aquarian or its advertisers. or a medical prescription.