Saturday, September 5, 2015

Blood & Stuff

This last moon cycle of Summer has been intense. 

In addition to several experiences that reminded me to practice Kindness, Compassion, Acceptance, Love and Forgiveness in situations that fall short of my expectations, I have also been visited by a lot of wild animals at my back door; many species of bird, stray cats, skunk, raccoon, opossum. 

My yard has become a haven for creatures, and for the most part, this ecology has been peaceful. However, during this moon cycle, the energy has bumped up a notch. A creature ripped my screen door off, came into my house and ate all my cat food, several times. 
I suspect raccoon. 

Last night, I opened my front door and there was blood everywhere. Blood clots and splatter throughout 4 rooms of my house. It's alarming to open the door to your house and see blood  everywhere. The first thing I did was check my cat. She was ok, however, traumatized by what ever happened (she has not left my side since). 

I do not know what creature(s) came in, or what happened to cause so much blood, however, this definitely goes in the category of Wild. After spending the evening cleaning up blood, clearing the house with tobacco and calling in protection, I am ready now to reflect on this experience in a more contemplative way. 

Wisdoms, Insights and Contemplations Coming Through:  

  • As Raven Shree, these types of mystery activations will occur in my life. It is part of the medicine and magic that finds its way to me and the type of work I am called to face and interact with from a humble presence of curiosity, acceptance and love.  
  • Use my tools. Rather then just cleaning it up and say “oh my goodness”, use my tools. Engage my practice. Prayers, chanting, bells, tobacco clearing, banishment, cleansing, healing, protection...journaling, art, soulcollage, breath, yoga, meditation.  This experience calls on the Magician to do her work. Bring my full self forward in this ceremony of life. 
  • Invasion of the home, and trauma within the home, is a powerful force. When things happen “out in the world”, that is one thing, however, when they come into your home, a deep fundamental vibration is activated. Home is intended to be a safe, nourishing container. When this thesis is challenged, a deep chord is struck within our primal being. 
  • Opening the door and seeing blood all over the place brought me back to a past experience from which I ran from and have not revisited since. This  allowed me to  see energy currents from the past calling for healing and release. I see some SoulCollage cards coming through! 
  • Last week a Dove flew into my window and died on my back patio. I honored this passage of life and harvested the wings, tail and claws. As I deepen my practice of Shamanic Arts, the universe hears that I am open to this energy, and this type of energy will come. If I am to walk the Shamanic Path, blood will be part of that journey. 
  • As I was cleaning the blood, I found myself wanting to be in partnership. To have an intimate, lover, other to share this type of initiation with. Someone that lives the mystery, can be a witness to the magic, and participate in evolution with me. As I scrubbed the blood from the floor, I heard my soul calling for more romance and shared intimacy with man in my life. 
Here are SoulCollage cards from my personal deck that represent some of these contemplations. May these images inspire you in some way to explore mystery in your life as well . 

Raven Shree: Shining Light In The Shadow 
Use My Tools
Shamanic Arts: Feather Wand I created with Magpie wing and talons.  
 This Rock Structure represents my deep yearnings for relationship; Read More 


Sunday, July 19, 2015

Lessons from a Lake

Poem & Image by Raven Shree 
The lake laps at my feet 
slapping against the earth
Wind caresses ripples.  
Sun sparkles play. 
Shree Morris Code to my soul.

Birds chirp; 
singing the songs
of their species.
Bees buzz; pollinating
through the service 
of their living 
bring abundance and life 
to the world. 

Hummingbirds flitter;
small magic beings 
moving through air and sky.
I watch one rest 
on a branch
of a Blue Spruce Fir. 
I want to watch him fly, 
however, his rest reminds me 
to be grateful for 
Rest and Relaxation. 

Flowers bloom; all shapes and color 
opening, spreading to life. 
Colorful aromas attract visitors; 
synergistic relationships 
that feed the vitality of life on our planet.

And here in the center of all this 
I sit. 
An Animal in the Wild. 
A Spirit in Flesh. 
A Wise Woman. 
An Innocent Child. 

Perched in the center 
of my universe 
I bow with gratitude, 
to the passions inside 
that continually guide me 
to places
and experiences like this.

I drink in beauty 
breathing in the experience 
of freedom. 
Anchoring the potentiality 
and actuality of now 
into my flesh, 
into my heart, 
so that I may bring this magic
back with me 
and out into the world. 

~ Raven Shree 

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Cultivating Heart Flame

Last night in my Shaman's Circle, during our invocation drum journey, I experienced the embodied imagery of a lit candle in my solar plexus. 

The candle was small, like a birthday candle for a cake. I felt called to grow this power in me, and asked spirit for the courage and ability to grow this candle force in my belly. 

The candle immediately grew in width and height, taking up the whole circumference of my abdomen. The increased height of the candle raised the flame up into my heart space. 

With this increase in power potential and light force, I was reminded that a candle needs wax to burn, it need a fuel source to continue burning its flame. 

My daily practice is the fuel source for my heart flame. My daily practice of meditation, bodywork, gratitude, time in nature, SoulCollage, presence, love, authenticity, living in alignment with soul...this is the fuel that keeps my flame alive and vibrant.  

If my practice diminishes, the height of my candle will lower, bringing the flame back down into the abdomen, keeping me striving from a place of adolescence grasping and egoic limitation. These energetics may have served me well historically, however now it is time to live from the flame of the heart. To do this, it is imperative that I engage commitment and accountability to a daily practice that adds fuel to the flame of my inner fire. This practice will keep the height of my inner candle flame in my heart space and light my way in life from this central source. 

Here is one of my recent SoulCollage creations that honors this intention of living. It reminds me to engage my daily practice as a tool to continually add fuel to my heart flame. My hearts desire is to live my life as a beautiful service to the living of beauty and intentionality in this world, and to do so with embodied grace and enlivened presence

  • What imagery encourages you to expand into wider realms of fullness?  
  • What soul work is calling to be honored and realized through your living? 
  • How can you rise you up from the personal into wider realms of service to the collective?


Explore these questions in the upcoming
offered by Raven Shree in Aurora, CO 
June 6th, 2015. 
Come create sacred soul art that inspires your heart flame 
and your soul service, for yourself and others 
as we move through this time and space of evolution. 

SoulCollage Creation Circle 


Friday, February 20, 2015

The Muddy Underworld

Mixed media art piece I started
to capture my journey.
I enjoy creating art
from my journey experiences. 
On the recent Imbolc Full Moonwhich represents the halfway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, I went on a Shamanic Journey to the Underworld. 

My journey began looking for an entryway down. Sometimes it's hard for me to get started on these journeys. Often times the portals that present themselves do not make sense to the mind and reality I normally live in. 

Journeywork calls for you to allow the experience to guide you, deep into the mystery of the unknown. Trust what shows up and simply go with it....

My descent began with a smaller version of me walking a clockwise circle on my abdomen, which was a swirling vortex of black ooziness. The smaller version of me walked the perimeter of the vortex, and with each rotation sank deeper into the black ooze; to the ankles, knees, pelvis, abdomen - slowly sinking deeper and deeper...

...then suddenly the vortex sucked me down and in. 

Swirling around and down - the black ooze vortex spit me out onto a grassy prairie. Before me was a Tipi made of animal hide. I entered, and cicumnavigated the fire pit. Meditating on the flames I was informed that to descend into deeper wisdoms I must exit through the Doorway of the North. 

I approached the Doorway of the North and was instructed to take off my clothes. I did, stepped through the portal, naked and exposed, and descended into mystery calling me deeper.  

Once I stepped through the doorway, I found myself at the top of a steep muddy slope.  As I walked down it took so much effort to stay upright. With each step my legs sank deeper and deeper into the mud. Exhausted, I gave up, sat down and let the mud consume me. 

I was surprised. I had no fear of drowning. I had submitted to the process. Mud found an opening at the base of my spine and slowly started to fill the center of my being; filling me with dark, moist soil, weighing me down, taking me deeper into depths of mystery

Dripping out of the mud portal, I found myself on all fours, naked and alive in primal animal instincts. I found myself in a meadow I know very well. This was where I met Bear, many years ago, eye to eye, in the wild. One of the most profound experiences in my life.

Bear approached and I re-experianced the feelings of strength and power I absorbed from our last connection. However, this time, Bear shrugged its head and asked me to follow it through the forest. I did. 

Bear led me to it's den. I crawled inside and found two small cubs inside. Bear crawled in, laid on her side, exposed her underbelly, and welcomed us to her breast. The bear cubs and I crawled to her tits and started sucking.  


It was a POWERFUL experience, wrapping my lips around the nipple of Bear and sucking its milk. I had only connected to the strength and power of Bear from my past connection. This experience showed me the nurturing side of Bear, reminding me that we can be both strong and soft, and that both are needed in how we parent ourself

Throughout Winter, I've been engaging the Root Chakra and in doing so, have been transforming how I parent myself. I am so grateful that Bear has re-entered my life as a guide for me in this process. 

Thank you Bear for being such a powerful force in my life.
I bow to your strength, and your softness. I welcome these traits 
deeper into my life and honor you for you wild, primal living.  


Friday, February 6, 2015

What Direction Are Your Tires Pointing?

Want to learn more about the
Root Chakra? Join Raven Shree
in a Root Chakra Tele-Session. 

Click Here for More Info
Your feet connect you to the earth, to your physical foundation. They support your vertical architecture and hold you up against the ever present forces of gravity. Your feet have carried you through life, holding the weight of you since you started to walk. 

The feet and how you use them are excellent indicators of how stable and grounded you are, core aspects of deepening Root Chakra consciousness.

Feet are designed to be strong, yet flexible. Strong so you can be stable and self-supporting, yet flexible enough so you can move freely and safely through the uneven and often slippery terrain of life. 


If your posture is out of line (feet are part of posture too), your body has to compensate elsewhere. If the feet are not used properly, the full efficiency of your body cannot be realized. The body has to work harder to stand its ground and support you against forces of gravity. If your BodyMind feels it has to work hard simply to support your body, it will take more energy and effort to engage in higher level movement and actions in life.  


When a car is moving forward, what direction are its wheels facing?   Answer: Forward.  If the wheels were pointing in or out, the car wouldn’t move very far, and the axial would get messed up. The same is true of the body. If you want to move forward in life, what direction should your feet point?  
Answer: Forward!

From a BodyMind standpoint, if the momentum of your body is moving forward, and your feet are not pointed in that direction as well, your BodyMind receives conflicting messages. This dissonance can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression and the inability to get your needs met in a healthy fashion. And like the car mentioned above, if your feet are rotated in or out as your body moves forward, you’ll mess up your axial, which in this case are your knees and hips.   

Let’s do an Exercise
Stand up
Yes, stand up, right now, this will only take a minute. 
Stand facing forward. No peaking or reading forward. 
Simply stand facing forward like you would if you were standing in line at the grocery store. 
Now freeze your body…no moving. 
Hold this position....
Read on. 

Look down…what direction are your feet pointing? 
Are both your feet pointing forward (2nd toe pointing forward) or are one or both rotated in or out? 
  • If they are pointed forward, continue to keep them pointing forward, not only when you are standing but when you are walking too.  
  • If your feet are rotated, either slightly or a lot, this is not about judgement.  It's simply an awareness that you have access to additional resources in your body to support you with manifesting stability and expansion in your life. 

Root Chakra Encouragement  
As often as you can, be aware of what direction your feet are pointing. 
When you are standing in line, taking out the trash, washing dishes, hiking.. 
Adjust your feet as often as you can so 2nd toe points forward. 
It may feel weird for a while, but stick with it and see what shows up.  
As your feet move into new positions, you may feel adjustments in other areas of your body. 
As you modify your foundation, your whole vertical architecture adjusts to it's new foundation and deepening roots.  

Each subtle adjustment you make to operate your body more effectively 
improves the whole of your being. 
Point your feet in the direction you want to go and you are more apt to get there!

Friday, January 16, 2015

The Return

SoulCollage card I created before my Vision Quest 
(yep...that's me in the drivers seat) 
Returning from journeys out into the world can be challenging. Being out on the open road, exploring foreign lands, and being alone in wild nature offers a sense of newness in everything; a permissioning of expansion into the Now Adventure. 

Returning home from a Vision Quest is an interesting loop around in the spiral.  We move forward then come back. We are changed and new, then put back into old to cultivate transformation. 

Coming back from a Shamanic Journey is similar. There is such a visceral and ethereal understanding that emerges when we do journey work; inspiration and soul stirring messages infiltrate the core of being and ignite the Aliveness of Now.

Returning home from these types of adventures can be disorientating. Our return holds up a mirror to see forms and constructs we have created with our life. Often times, the life we return to seems limiting, restrictive, flat, boring. We may find ourselves slipping back into old ways, writing off journey expiernaces as memories to simply reminisce about.

The Return is an important part of the Hero's Journey. On Vision Quests and Shamanic Journeys you are provided a magical potion; one that must be consumed, digested, and metabolized for its full effects to take place. Journey work calls us to bring what we discover on our journeys back into our daily living, back into our communities and how we relate with others, and into living our soul service to the world. 


This week I honored my return with ecstatic dance at Rhythm Sanctuary. Before entering, I gazed up at the starry sky, remembering my relationship to them on my recent journey. Deepening my gaze, I expanded into the space between the stars, breathing in the Great Dark Void and the expansion this space encourages in me.  

SoulCollage card I created to capture 
the experience I had
on my journey and in my dance. 
Potent Medicine. 

Learn how to make SoulCollage cards
to honor life experiences and understandings 
Intro to SoulCollage Playshop 
Denver, CO  More Info
 
My dance begins. Embodying the Great Dark Void 
I expand in all directions, into no-thing-ness. To Be. 
My aura reaches out in all directions 
To touch stars around me, my fellow dancers
made of star dust and cosmic wisdom, are radiating 
Swirling through the universe at their own velocity.

I connect with other, a universe of sacred brother. 
Body to body we move through cosmic void 
Expanding and reaching out towards one another. 
His front body pressed to my back 
Our arms up-stretched, eyes closed, 
Breath Connected, Hearts Open, We Expand.

Then BAM...another universe merges with us. 
The fullness of another presses up against me. 
I am a star between two universes. 
We stay open. We Expand. We Breathe. 
Our stars pour into one another. 
A new universe is created through our dance
We engage in ecstasy
These two men and me. 

They lift me over their heads
I am spinning around shoulders. 
4 man hands support me. 
The Dark Void encourages me to stay open. 
It feels good to be supported by strong men
that love me. At one point, my mind kicked in, 
Fear of falling....I hesitate; 
He says, “I’ve got you” 
What a wonderful thing to hear from the universe. 

My abdomen rips open and so much joy spills out. 
I start laughing. 
I pulsate with gratitude. 

What A Beautiful Return. 

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Shamanic Journey to the Upper World

Me; Expanding Into the Cosmos
Last night I went on a Shamanic Journey into the Upper World. It took me a while to get there. I tried going up in a tornado. I tried jumping up on cloud trampolines. I kept trying to find ways up, with my mind of course. 

Then, a spiral vortex grabbed me by the back of my body and pulled me up through a time-warp of space, moving fast through the swirling cosmos..then boom, it released me and I was floating in the stars. 

I asked my spirit guide to appear. I was excited to meet my guide in the Upper World, a wisdom force to support me in my journey and offer guidance as I traveled through the unknown. 

All that greeted me was the dark void of space. That did not seem right. How can the dark void of space be my teacher? I explored that question for a while, then realized how small I felt. All this room to move around in and I was still retaining my contracted smallness of the ordinary world. 

Then a worm hole grabbed me by the back of my head and pulled me backward through another portal. I was released into a deeper realm of cosmos with instruction to open up in all directions. The void informed me there was plenty of room between the stars surrounding me to expand. 

Release Constrictions. Expand in all Directions.  Take up Space with Being. 

I relaxed tension in my head, thoughts and mind, and felt my cranium expanding in all directions. There was still so much space between me and the stars. There was freedom to open up. It felt good. 

As soon as things started to get comfortable, another worm hole grabbed me, this time by the back of the neck. It pulled me through another portal and once again, the void of space released me into a field of stars with instructions to expand. I open my throat in all directions, a bit tentatively at first. This is a place of a lot of wounding for me. Songs, stories and fears stuck in my throat started to loosen.  There were stars all around me, cosmic light beings serving as beacons for my expansion. 

"Open up till you reach us" they encouraged. "There is so much space here for you to expand". 

One of my SoulCollage creations. 
Although I did not create this card from 
this Upper World experience, it shows the cosmos
in an inspirational way and supports 
an essence of this journey in visual form. 
Another worm hole grabbed me from behind, this time by the back of my heart, pulling me through a portal, releasing me into a wider realm of space with instructions to expand. I opened my torso in all directions, feeling constrictions between my ribs and vertebrae soften and release. I found myself taking up more space with my breath, finding that I was actually being breathed by the cosmos. 

This process continued throughout my journey; a worm hole grabbing me by some part of my back body, moving me through portals and depositing me with expansion instructions. 

The stars were there to witness the whole thing!!!!

The further down my body this process went, the harder it was for me to expand, especially in the pelvic region. The void taught me there is still so much healing for me to do in this area of my being. 


The starts twinkled for me. My teacher, The Great Void reminded me to take up space, to expand into the ether of all and allow the circumference of being to open outward into the expansive space of cosmos. I bowed in gratitude, offered a deep breath of gratitude to my new resources, and gently floated down to earth and into a deep sleep. 

Soulful Pondering's

  • What is your relationship to the stars? 
  • What does The Great Void have to teach you? 
  • What constructions are held in your BodyMind? How can you release them? 
  • How can you open up and take up more space with being? 

SoulCollage creation by Raven Shree 

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Vision Questing

My spot along the Rio Grande River;
Truth or Consequences, NM
Hawks lived in the cliff walls.
They brought deep medicine to my journey. 
I’m often asked, “What do you do on a Vision Quest?” 
My response: “Well....it’s different each time.” 
However, there are 3 parts of a quest for me; 
the preparationthe quest, and the integration. 

When I head out into the wild for a Vision Quest, I usually have some inspirations already seeded in my soul. I do an Oracle reading before my trip, which offers me metaphors for contemplation. I almost always have SoulCollage cards, and most often a chakra theme I’m exploring.  All of these inputs fuel my journey, weaving together in unique and powerful ways to guide and support me at my location.  

When I get to the location for my quest, the spirit of place informs and guides me through my journey. The rituals I co-create with the space are inspired by terrain, weather, animals that show up, and the play of light and shadow as I move through day and night.    

This year, on my drive to southern New Mexico I had several experiences that activated energies within me, adding contemplations for my quest.  


I love to create altars;
in my home, in nature, in my car.
They are prayers that honor
 Passage, Inspiration, Hope.
They help me stand in the light
and see my shadow.
Bringing all pieces together
into wholeness. 
A I drove to my location read Bill Plotkins book “Wild Mind”  and began to embody the archetypal force of the Nurturing Generative Parent and naming my Loyal Soldiers. This expansion of archetypal energies in my being ripped me open, activated emotions, and primed me for my arrival in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. 
Once I landed in my location along the Rio Grande River,  an altar started to take shape, bringing forces brewing inside of me out into visual form. As I created my altar, the hawks that lived in the cliffs soared overhead. They became a vital part of my experience, leading me on journeys along the river as they hunted and sang with one another. 

I Cried. Journaled. Did Yoga. Laughed. Danced. 
Talked to the Cliffs. Walked. Slept. Prayed. Listened. Created Intention Flags. Drew. Read. Meditated. Sang. 
Crawled on my belly. Honored Bones. Gave Offerings. 

As I return home, and integrate lessons from the trip, I create altars around my house, journal and write blogs, the keep the energy alive and activated in my daily living. 
Creating SoulCollage cards around what shows up is an essential part of my Vision Questing integration process.


  • How can you get out into the wild for your own Vision Quest? 
  • Even if it only for a day, how can you get out into nature, for soul time? 
  • Find a location that calls to you, sit there, and apprentice to the lessons of nature. 
  • Enter into relationship with the land.  
  • What animals show up as companions for inspiration? 
  • What laughters want to ride the wind? What tears does the ground want to soak up? 
  • Schedule time for your Winter Vision Quest... Your Soul is Yearning...
SoulCollage card I created before my Winter Vision Quest. 

Saturday, January 3, 2015

New Year Oracle

To honor the New Year, 
I enter the Shamans Cave
with a 3 card Oracle reading. 

Each card offers a perspective 
for me to explore 
during the 3 months of Winter.  
January. February. March. 

One of my favorite decks; 
The Psychic Tarot
The first card in my spread, 
guidance for the month of January
shows me walking a thin stone bridge, 
over a deep, dark canyon, 
with a river flowing at the bottom. 

The bridge is missing a section...
and that missing section 
is right in front of me. 
There is only one step 
between me & the other side. 
Surrounding the chasm is a red circle, 
This is where I face fear. 
Fear #1: Leaping 
Fear #2: Standing Still 


Etched into the stone pathway, 
on the edge where I stand,  
is an image of a bird 
with wings outspread;  
 indicating movement, flight, capability.  
A reminder of the vows and intentions 
of my living model
from my totem & namesake Raven. 
This card calls me to face fear, 
...and I have lots of it. 
Fear of Pain. Fear of Death. 
Fear of Stagnation.
Fear of Chocking. 
The list goes on ... 

This card says, "yes, you have fear....
What are you going to do about it? 
What strength do you have to leap anyway? 
What courage do you have to fly? 

You may make it. You may not. 
Both options are possible.  
However, standing still 
is no longer an option. 
Move forward. 
Me crossing a bridge; Sedona, AZ

Ponderings for Action 
- What leaps are calling you to the edge of preparation? 

- What inner principle can you engage to support you 
through your fears into wider realms of courage?