Answer the call to action, through ceremony! The shaman’s goal is to break free from the grip of time itself and to take up residence in the place of the infinite. In the West, physics has placed time in a mathematical framework. But in many cultures, it’s believed that time flows forth like a river of life, serving as the manifestation of the supreme deity, or God, from which all other gods sprang forth.  

The Greeks identified time with Oceonos-Chronos, who was the creator and destroyer of everything. Philosopher Pherekydes taught that the basic substance of the universe was time, from which fire, air, and water were produced. For the Egyptians, the sun god, Ra, was the ruler of time.   

In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, it is stated that “for the illumined soul, time has no reality. There is no sequence in his thought pattern. He controls time, as it were, and knows past, present, and future like a flash in the eternal now.” 

Buddha offered us a way to enlightenment and a way to step out of the karmic loops. The enlightened yogi or Buddhist who, through a lighting flash of truth delivered in this life, is able to understand the Buddha-mind of Brahman in himself, can escape rebirth and time. 

Today is the shaman’s time. A time of action, not waiting. A time of setting our intention and working with that intention in ceremony. The urgency of time is reflected in the Mayan prophecies which say that at this point in human history, until November 2009, it will be as if we’re living one full lifetime. This means we cannot put off until later the task of bringing our life into right relationship. This is the “later.” We must take action toward manifestation now. No more waiting! 

We often use the term “stepping in.” You can study, read, and explore, but until you step in and bring your intention to action, you are merely sourcing from the place of words or mind. Manifestation, or stepping in, becomes easy when we use ceremony and ritual to work at the place of the soul, in sacred time—time that works like a wheel. In the recent Mastery of Time class for advanced Light Body students, we explored that razor’s edge of time. Try the following exercise and ceremony, which works in both linear time and sacred, or circular, time. It will help you create and manifest your intentions. 

Step 1: Identify what you want to manifest. Set your intention at the level of the soul. Choose what you want to create or dream into being. You can start by writing down the words that define your dream, but then notice what feelings those words create in your body, such as a feeling of love or heat in your chest or belly.  

Step 2: Identify what is stopping you from creating what you want. As you begin to identify what is holding you back, notice any feelings or sensations you experience in your body and where they are located. As you make your list of feelings that are serving as obstacles, find objects (ideally, ones you can burn) to represent each of them. 

Step 3: Place a timeline on the floor. Create a timeline extending forward in front of you, into the future, and outward behind you, stretching into the past. As you hold each object, blow into it the feeling of what is stopping you. Then, lay the object on the floor, along your timeline. Notice how some of the feelings/objects are associated with a point in the past while others are associated with the future. Trust your Soul to place the objects in the appropriate place.

Step 4: Bring your prayers to the places where you are stuck, and honor them. Find the gift and lesson in each “obstacle.” Feel gratitude for that place, situation, or person. This step may take a while, and you may even need to leave the timeline laid out so you can honor it for a period of time, or create an altar for specific blocks that have arisen in your awareness. When you feel complete, having only gratitude for what you once considered problems and obstacles, you can move to the next step. 

Step 5: Create and work with a sacred circle. Take each item you gathered in the second step above, and any others you would like to add or include, and place them into a sacred circle big enough for you to stand in. Identify again what you want to manifest, such as peace, abundance, joy, relationships, or something specific, such as a new job, the opportunity to go to school or to write a book (notice that your intention may have shifted after having gone through steps 2 through 4). Find an object to represent or hold your intention and blow the feeling into that object or paper. Holding the object, step into the center of this circle. 

Allow yourself to feel the difference of sacred time, a place beyond everyday words. Feel how the gifts and lessons you honored are helping you to make manifest that which you have set your intention to create. You may also want to take your intention one step further and create an altar, fire ceremony, or despacho. 

Take the opportunity now to move out of sourcing from linear time only and into sourcing from sacred time. Step out of the rush of life and instantly create and set intention.  Bring your power to your prayers and your intention to dream powerfully.  

Warm wishes, Linda