The Way of Change: Finding your Power to Thrive in a Changing World

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THE WAY OF CHANGE

Luitha has walked the shaman’s path for many years and now invites you to experience self-empowerment through The Way of Change. Overflowing with down-to-earth guidance and exercises, this book shows you not only how you can effect change in your life but also how you can grow in the process – connecting to nature, learning your truth, finding your courage, and touching your sacred self. Heartfelt, compassionate, and deeply practical, Luitha’s book is a wonderful guide to have by your side.

Mike Williams, author of Follow the Shaman’s Call: An Ancient Path for Modern Lives

Change is going to happen – so it’s better to approach it with grace and welcome... and this book points the way to achieving this. Easily acessible, well written and heartful.

Nick Wood, Sacred Hoop Magazine

I loved this book – it was so packed full of exercises and practical things to try it was almost too much! I loved how relatable to daily life it was and how down to earth too – a very approachable introduction to some of the shaman ways.

Lea Woodward, Location Independent

The simplistic act of ceremony has been captured beautifully in The Way of Change. Reconnecting to the sacred in all things has been brought to life in this lovely book.

Julie Dollman, Shaman and owner of Ayni Shamans Shop, Author of Living Shamanism

The Way of Change

Finding Your Power to Thrive in a Changing World

Luitha K. Tamaya

Winchester, UK

Washington, USA

First published by Axis Mundi Books, 2013

Axis Mundi Books is an imprint of John Hunt Publishing Ltd., Laurel House, Station Approach, Alresford, Hants, SO24 9JH, UK

[email protected]

www.johnhuntpublishing.com

www.axismundi-books.com

For distributor details and how to order please visit the ‘Ordering’ section on our website.

Text copyright: Luitha K. Tamaya 2012

ISBN: 978 1 84694 959 3

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publishers.

The rights of Luitha K. Tamaya as author have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Design: Stuart Davies

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

We operate a distinctive and ethical publishing philosophy in all areas of our business, from our global network of authors to production and worldwide distribution.

CONTENTS

Preface

Section One: All About Change

Why Change?

The Story of Change

The Journey of Change

Section Two: Connection

Faith – Being Open to Spirit

The Personal Sacred – Exploring Ways to Connect

Growing a Relationship With The Sacred

Developing Trust

The Open Heart

Section Three: Truth

Other People’s Truths

The Heart of Spirit

Truth From The Fire

The Truth About Who We Are

Developing Heart Knowing

Section Four: Courage

Developing Courage Through Practising Courage

Developing Discipline In Our Practice - Acts of Power

Courage Through Knowledge

Working With Courage In Daily Life

Section Five: Vision

Fundamental Vision Practices

Seeing Joyfully and Freely

Applying Vision In Our Lives

Letting Go

Thriving In Change

Recommended Practices

References

Further Reading

About the Author

Preface

I wrote this book because I believe in the power of change, and in our power to dance through the transformations of our lives with grace and vision. Change is a two-way gift; it allows us to learn about and practice our deepest, most empowering, healed natures and then gives us the opportunities to re-create the world how we’d really like it to be, every single day.

I’ve personally experienced huge amounts of change, both beautiful and painful, over the years of my shamanic training as well as before I began walking this path, ranging from divorce, chronic illness and homelessness, to close encounters with death and the miracle of healing through the grace of Spirit. Each and every change that I’ve ever encountered has taught me something; each wonderful gift from each wonderful transition has become, in the traditional way of the shaman, my medicine – the power that I bring to the world.

But change and it’s gifts aren’t just for medicine people and healers – we can all work with and benefit from the power of change in our lives. After all, we all have to live with change on a daily basis, so we all know it very well and have plenty of chances to discover it’s medicine!

This book is offered as a map for how we can all work with change, and it includes the various powerful practices that I’ve used when dealing with change, both as a shaman and simply as a human being who lives in a constantly changing world.

The practices can be used by anyone, and I’ve made them as accessible and open to interpretation as possible without losing their power, because I believe that everyone has a unique and equally valuable approach to their own personal growth, healing and relationship with the Sacred.

Working with that uniqueness is what makes spiritual paths both so challenging and so valuable, and I encourage everyone who reads this book to honour it within them as they work through the practices.

This book would never have been written without the web of support and encouragement woven by my guides, teachers and most especially my husband; thank you all for teaching me everyday about the power that lives within us all, and for walking this path beside me.

And thank you too, for having the courage and vision to look at change in a new way. May we all learn to thrive in this changing world, and, so doing, to dream it anew together each and every day, more and more beautifully.

Blessings on your journey with this book,

Luitha Tamaya

email: [email protected]

www.lktamaya.co.uk

Section One:

All About Change

Those who give themselves to Wakan-Tanka discover that every winter of life is followed by spring.

Fools Crow

Why Change?

Change is the process of transformation from one state to another. The movement of the sun from the East to the West each day is a process of change – of transformation from one position to another. Journeys are all processes of change; we begin in one state or place, and end in another: change is the transition between those two states.

So when we think about it, life is, essentially, a process of constant change; from birth to adulthood to death. Every day that we live, we are engaged in this process of living transformation, as well as many, many other transitions, journeys, processes and changes.

We are surrounded by change every day. The sun comes up and then falls, our children learn and grow, our bodies age, our minds experience new things and so mature. Our societies change their structures, their governments and their values. Countries rise and fall in prosperity and peace. The seasons cycle, the weather is forever moving and our ecosystems shift, adapt and even sometimes collapse. The years turn, people are born and die, and even our roles, beliefs and relationships end. The very act of breathing is itself a process of change - we are beings of change by our very nature.

So to be alive in this world is to be constantly surrounded, both within and without, by change. Even when we die we don’t really stop changing - our bodies will undergo a process of transformation back into the cycle of change as food, soil, air, and water.

Looking at change in this way, it becomes clear that if we aren’t comfortable with change, we aren’t really comfortable with being alive at all. And yet, so many of us have problems with change. From death to economic fluctuations to relationship changes, we all avoid looking at the reality that change is only a moment away – like when we won’t talk about the possibility of old age, retirement, death or divorce. We become frozen in fear at the thought of the changes that could happen, might happen, probably will happen, and even those that definitely will happen. And if we are not comfortable with change, we certainly cannot be truly comfortable in our lives, or with ourselves.

When we are avoiding or worrying about the changes that are going on around us, we are at a huge disadvantage. It takes a huge amount of energy to avoid looking at change, and to repress the emotions we’re feeling about the changes around us. This is energy that could otherwise be used for our well being – creating what we want in our lives, healing old issues or wounds, building loving relationships and generally enjoying our lives. But when we can’t face change this energy is stagnated or blocked, leaving us tired, ill or depressed, and even making us physically ill.

And on top of this loss of energy and vitality, we can miss all of the great opportunities that change offers to us; all the doorways that are opened when one thing ends and another begins, all the ideas and new avenues we could be exploring, avenues that could hold amazing, healing, joyful discoveries. All of these treasures go to waste when we’re too afraid to look for them in the shifting reality around us.

And fear itself leaves us crippled, no longer free to choose how to live our lives. From stress at the changes in our work environment and economy, to worry at the changes in our families and children, to panic at the changes in international structures and countries, to downright terror in the face of our own, inner change, like spiritual growth, challenges to our beliefs, accepted truths and values, ageing and our eventual deaths. We become frozen, unable to make full use of our personal power or to even enjoy what we’re experiencing right now.

Learning to be truly alive means learning how to be with change; how to relate to it, and ultimately how to thrive with it.

Fortunately, our relationship with change is something that we can all work on. This is a personal process, one that we can do only for ourselves and no one else, and it involves working on four aspects or powers that we all have: Connection, Truth, Courage and Vision.

This book aims to help you work with these powers, enabling you to positively transform your relationship with change so that you can live a more joyful, empowered and fulfilled life. Each of the four main sections describes one of these powers, and gives practices for their cultivation.

Connection and Truth give us still places in which to stand when all else about us is in chaos. Through having a personal relationship with that which is unchanging, and by knowing who we are and what is most important to us, we need never fear becoming lost as we go through the changes of life.

Courage allows us to maintain the practices that will help us to thrive, as well as freeing us to make the best choices for our well-being. Having courage means that we are able to listen to the inner wisdom of our hearts, and that we are then more likely to put that wisdom into practice. And being able to engage consciously with change means taking responsibility for ourselves and our lives, something that requires a great deal of courage.

And lastly, Vision is the ability to perceive clearly - to see what is, what could be, and what we’d like to be. When we have vision we no longer have to accept other people’s interpretations of our lives, but can choose for ourselves what is possible. Being able to see the opportunities before us, as well as the outcomes that we’d like, allows us to fully participate in the changing world; an empowering state to be in, and one that allows us to transform the world that we all live in as we move together into a new era.

Combined, these four powers allow us to relate to change in a totally new way; open, present and peaceful, no matter what.

The Story Of Change

We all have beliefs and habitual ways of thinking about change. Some of these are helpful to us, while other ways of perceiving aren’t so helpful any more. Our beliefs and perceptions are like walls around a room – they contain what’s possible, what’s real, and what’s true within a certain set of boundaries. Anything that exists outside of those boundaries is discounted or ignored.

And this can be helpful for us; it certainly is useful to have common, reliable boundaries within which to frame our lives. But sometimes these boundaries can become unhelpful – such as when the reality they describe is no longer healthy for us, but is instead creating pain, fear or any other lack of well being.

This is exactly how it is with change; our old beliefs and patterns of thinking about change can actually hold us where we don’t want to be, preventing us from moving on into a more healthy relationship with it. For example, if we were to believe that change is unpredictable, that could foster a sense of tension and fear in us with regards to change and when it could happen in our lives. This, in turn, can reduce the ways that we can respond to the possibility of change, leaving us defensive, unable to take advantage of opportunities as they appear, as well as reducing our enjoyment of the transitions and processes that make up our lives.

Practice: Three Symbol Story

Before we begin to work with our relationship to change, it can be really helpful to know how we currently feel about and perceive change in our lives. When we know what the key issues in this relationship are, we can hold those issues in mind and work with them as we move forward.

A really great way to uncover our fundamental way of seeing something is to tell a story about it. Stories are complex, multi-levelled maps that operate in all the areas of our lives; a story can be taken literally, metaphorically, or can speak to us on a spiritual level that goes beyond words. Because of this, telling our story about something gives us access to a wealth of understanding about our relationship to it; it’s because of this that storytelling has been used as a healing tool and spiritual