Archive for the ‘Shamanism’ Category

Music and shamanic practice are inseparable for me. All of my personal spiritual practice is built around what I refer to as ‘intuitive music’. When I do healing work, for an individual person or when I am working in a group (my favourite!), the drums come out and I get everyone singing. It is so powerful and facilitates amazing healing, but it is also so much fun that people get lost in it, completely in the moment. I think that’s one of the reasons it get’s such great results.

I also work with this intuitive music alone, as the most important part of my spiritual practice. Where other people meditate, I sing. When others would lay out tarot cards to find the answer to a problem, I drum. In the past, when I needed to change a situation I would mindfully create positive affirmations, or carefully construct visualisations. Now I open myself to the song that will bring about the transformation I need, whatever that change may be.

When I work intuitively with sound, I enter a space where miracles happen. I’m not talking about a one-off miracle either – it keeps on happening! And not just for me: I share this technique with my students and it works for them too.

Anyone can do this. If you’ve never picked up a drum in your life, this will work for you, because the drum is an intuitive instrument and anyone can make a sound with it. Don’t think you can sing? Guess what – that doesn’t matter! Intuitive music is about connecting to Source and working with intent. It doesn’t matter what it sounds like. Any song that has intent behind it will begin to create change.

Here’s how you do it:

• Connect to Source. I don’t mind how you define this – God, Gods, the Universe, your Higher Self. Whatever you know as the creative force that guides all things, feel that you are connected to it.
• Set your intention. Whether you need healing, guidance, compassion, or to manifest something you yearn for in your heart, focus on that. Ask for it.
• Make music. If you have a drum start to play it, relax into it and let yourself settle into a rhythm that feels so comfortable you don’t have to think about it. Don’t have a drum? Use your singing bowl, your chimes, your rattle, your child’s rattle, a packet of tictacs, or tap on your knee. It all works. Breathe deep, remember your connection to Source and your intention, open your mouth and make some noise.   

I know this might sound scary. Most people are scared of their own voice. They ask, ‘what if I do it wrong?’ Sometimes people sing a song they already know, sometimes they are inspired and new ones come to them. More often, there are simply vowel sounds, sometimes even deep sighs or whistles. None of those things are wrong. This is intuitive music. There is no ‘wrong’. And anyway, you can do this on your own when no one  can hear you if you want to be on the safe side.

The first time I did this with a group, I asked my students to name something they desired but had not yet been able to manifest. Working with drums, rattles, singing bowls and what ended up being some rowdy shouting and howling, I asked them seek guidance on what was blocking them, remove that block and then use the sound to manifest that change. One person wanted to dedicate some time to the art of storytelling now that he was retired, but couldn’t find a way to do this. A week or two later, he was asked to join a new storytelling programme for local children. Two people in that class had been trying to move themselves out of London for a long time, but had been unable to leave. They felt trapped. Six weeks later, they both had new homes away from the city.

Perhaps the greatest thing about using music like this is, once you get brave enough to let someone else hear you, this is a gift that you can pass on to someone else. I lead groups who are singing to help others. The most powerful memory I have of this is singing for an inspirational lady who had just completed treatment for breast cancer. She felt energy flow powerfully into the place where her breast had once been, saw beautiful colours and felt held and supported. For the first time since her surgery, she felt no pain.

I sing every day, filling myself with my own song to remind me who I am, singing prayers to Source to express my gratitude, singing songs of magic, healing and power. I sing (often off key) in the shower to make myself present for the day. I hum my song under my breath as I walk the streets of London. I drum and call aloud into the howling wind on top of my favourite ancient burial mound in Somerset. These are my prayers, the sound of my soul, my most joyful connection to all that is.

Upcoming events

London: Drum & rattle

This amazing day of intuitive sound work for healing and manifestation never fails to produce great results for all our students. The next one is on Sunday 30 June at Buddha on a Bicycle in London. View full details on the StarFire Alchemy website.

San Diego: Healing song

That’s right, San Diego California – I am so jet set these days! Beautiful healers in this part of the world, I would love to sing with you for an evening of soul-full healing. Thursday 25 April, please email me for full details.

In the aftermath of the Monday Power Talks, I have to say I am feeling pretty good. I’m really pleased that I managed to give you guys a video to watch every week for 53 weeks, and delighted with all the positive feedback, love and gratitude that has come flowing in as a result of them. As I got closer to the end, and particularly now that I am finished, I have noticed that it has freed up a space in me where I can become passionate about writing again and also seeing the first clear view of where my path leads next. I’m harnessing all my techniques, support and power to make sure I can get there, and that I really enjoy the ride.

What are you planning on doing after a year of learning more about your power, and the things that block you from it?

The Oak Programme brings together shamanic and energy healing techniques, practical spiritual guidance, and collaboration between you and me – at the end of the programme you will have started living in your power and creating the life you want.

Here’s what one of my previous Oak’s had to say:

“The sessions were a stretch for me financially, but I decided to offer myself a ‘gift’.
It was completely the right thing to do. These sessions were worth every penny, and more.
These six weeks have transformed my life.”

Taking your healing further – a special offer for 2013

I am offering a HUGE discount on the Oak, my most comprehensive healing and personal power programme.The Oak Programme consists of:

• Six 45 minute skype sessions for discussion and powerful energy work
• Personalised audio recordings to support your development between sessions
• A session of soul retrieval work to restore you to wholeness (click here for an explanation of shamanic soul retrieval)
• Deep journeys to connect with who you really are and what you are here to do
• Creation of a personal practice to support you as you walk your talk
• A session of energy healing to help integrate your changes

Working together over an intensive 6 week period, we will move you out of your comfort zone, through your healing blocks, all with powerful healing and strong support.

The investment

This programme normally costs £480. To assist as many people as possible to shift up a level in this amazing new year energy, I have been guided to offer it for £330 for all bookings taken in January – that is a massive £150 discount!
To book you will need to pay your deposit of £165 (the balance of £165 payable a month later) and arrange your dates with me.
The sessions do not have to begin in January, but our work together needs to be finished up by 12 April 2013.

Is the Oak Programme right for you?

Here’s what to do next to find out:

Step 1: Get a feel for how I work.

We’ll be working together pretty intensively over those 6 weeks, and the support materials you have to carry on with are very, well, me! You can make sure this stuff is going to rock your world by heading over to my resources page and checking out my free video and audio resources, as well as links to some of my most popular blog posts. This will give you a good idea of who I am as a teacher and as a practitioner.

Step 2: Get a better feel for what the Oak is about.

Read the full programme information, including the FAQs on who the programme is for.

Check out the details on the Oak programme here.

Step 3: Get in touch to book your place!

Send me an email to register your interest – places on this offer are limited so you need to let me know you want to book! If you want to have a chat with me first to discuss your aims and make sure we feel happy to work together, you can book a free skype consultation. This is especially useful if you haven’t done any work with me before.

(A quick aside about the free skype consultation, because people sometimes feel icky about this. There’s no obligation to book if we have a chat. Look, this work has got to be powerful, it’s got to be authentic, and it’s got to be from the heart. And I only want us to work together if the mojo is flowing and I know we’re going to be able to go deep together and get you on track. So if it’s not feeling right, we won’t do it. It’s not a hard sell thing.)

So, that’s it, my extremely awesome new year offer to support your 2013 transition into power. What are you waiting for? I am so looking forward to working with you!

Recently I did some speaking, drumming, singing and healing at the Como Centre for Enlightenment‘s holistic fair. It was great fun!

The best part was that my good friend and amazing healer Mel Diamond agreed to bring along her drum, and her voice, and lead a healing drum demonstration with me on the stage. I recorded the talk and the drumming for you – it’s not the best sound quality in the world but I think it conveys the energy of what we do. The intention of our work on this day was to let go what is done, and carry what we need forward into 2013.

In 2013 Mel and I will be doing more of this kind of work, but in a more ‘closed’ setting (so there’ll be no mobile phones ringing or people walking in and out!). If you are interested in joining us in Basingstoke/Reading/London areas for a drum and voice group healing session, comment below! Also, have drums, will travel. If you are a group who want us to come visit, or are running a holistic fair you want us to demo at, post below. This is something we love to do!

Hope you enjoy…

KayMel1Dec12 by KayGillard

Morning powerful ones!

Today I’m thinking about a cunning way to deal with that big, power sapping, annoying block on your healing journey, you know the one, the one you haven’t been able to shake by yourself. I’m calling it: The Power Swap!

If you can’t see the video above, go here.

This taps into an important concept in power work: accepting support. It’s not all about the work we do on our own, accepting support is vital. Find out about my offers of Support for Healers.

Thoughts on the power swap, or the issue of asking for support? Comment below, dudes.

Morning, power hunters. This week, I’m thinking about the idea of illness. Illness can often be a symptom of power loss, but today I urge you to look at illness in a different way. Illness = bad, health = good is an over simplification, and is in itself disempowering for the person concerned. Today I ask, where can we find power in illness?

If you can’t see the video above, go here.

Illness is an emotive one, particularly for those in the healing community living with illness. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, please comment below…

Those of you who listen to The Shamanic Voice will know that we offer a free journey every month. For the last 7 months, each of these have been a journey dedicated to exploring the main chakra centres.

Many of these I created myself, one was done by Alison Arcehelizaga and one I created with the help of Magin Rose.

Even the ones I did by myself all feel very different in energy, because each was focused on one particular area of the energy body.

These shamanic journeys are designed to help you learn about and better understand your energy body, to seek guidance and/or to receive healing – whichever is appropriate.

Now that the series is complete, I thought I’d do a quick blog to put all these journeys in one place for you. You can listen to them through the players below or click the download link (underneath the player) to be taken to the host page where you can download the mp3. They are all completely free!

Root chakra journey

“Following a suggestion from one of our listeners, Kay Gillard and Magin Rose kick off a set of chakra journeying tracks. We begin with the root chakra, centre of stability, foundation and nourishment.”

Download this journey.

Sacral chakra journey

“Continuing the chakra journeys, Kay has recorded a drum and rattle journey into the sacral chakra.”

Download this journey.

Solar plexus chakra journey

“Kay Gillard continues our chakra journey series, with a powerful drum and voice journey to find and release blocks to expressing our true idenity, will and power.”

Download this journey.

Heart chakra journey

“Kay Gillard continues our chakra journey series, with a journey to connect with the heart.”

Download this journey.

Throat chakra journey

“Alison Arcehelizaga continues our chakra journey series, with a journey to connect with the throat chakra – seat of creativity, communication and expression.”

Download this journey.

Third eye chakra journey

“Kay Gillard continues our chakra journey series, with a journey to draw in psychic perception & allow energy to flow into the third eye.”

Download this journey.

Crown chakra journey

“Kay Gillard completes our chakra journey series, with journeying track of rattles, chimes, singing bowls and voice to open the crown chakra and connect in with high vibrational divine source energy. Make sure you use the call back and close down to close yourselves down safely!”

Download this journey.

Enjoy your free chakra journeys!

And I’d love to hear from you – which of these journeys was your favourite? Where any of them especially powerful or helpful for you? Please post your comments below!

By the way, if you like free journeys, check out our archive page for all the free journeys we’ve shared over the past year and a half – with more to come in the future of course.

Hello all my friends on the path of healing and power!

Samhain is coming, and this is the perfect time to get in touch with our ancestry. In fact, for all of us on a healing path, honouring those that have gone before us is essential. This is such a massive subject we can only just touch on it, I just shared a few ideas and even so it is a little longer than my normal videos! There are links for going further into this work below.

If you can’t view the video above, go here.

Useful ancestral links

For a deep and powerful exploration of ancestral healing, please join us on our StarFire Alchemy ‘Ancestral Healing’ day. This is on 27 October at Buddha on a Bicycle in Covent Garden, London – all levels of experience are welcome. To learn more about this day of journeying, healing and ceremony, view the webpage.

Come to the Shamanic Spirit Circle on Friday 9 November at 7pm, where Magin Rose will introduce you to the Disir – your circle of female ancestors as found in Northern Shamanism. This is at the Yogi Tree in Greenwich, view the circle web page here or email magin@starfirealchemy.co.uk to book your place.

One of Magin’s amazing shows on The Shamanic Voice goes in depth about ancestral work. Listen to ‘Honouring the Ancestors’ for free here. And view the Archive here to catch up on all her amazing shows if you like what you hear – my personal favourite is ‘Hela Speaks- a High Seat Rite’.

To work with power issues around your nearest ancestral connections you may want to take a look at these previous power talks:
Power lost at birth
Releasing stolen power

And as always let me know how you get on, I look forward to hearing what’s on your ancestral altars…

OMG girlfriends, this week I made a video about periods!

Let’s talk about how this can be a time to feel more powerful, not less.

If you can’t see the video above, go here.

Ladies, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Please post below. Gentlemen, a normal, more inclusive service will resume next week.

The equinox is coming! Hurrah! Autumn equinox is my favourite sabbat. And it’s a great opportunity for us to work on our personal healing and of course our power – watch the video for my musings on this subject!

If you can’t see the video above, go here.

As I mention in the video, this really is an extraordinarily powerful time for cord cutting. If you are a healer (some healing experience is a prerequisite for this course) and you want to detach from the things holding you back before you make your descent, check out the cord cutting course details. If you have questions or you want to book, either book through the webpage or give me a shout.

Hey power hunting dudes

So today’s video came about because I was thinking about a fave subject of mine in respect of shamanism, namely that you don’t need a bunch of swanky tools or lots of complicated sounding skills to get in the zone. And by the zone, I mean healing, creating change and getting powerful. Some people say they could never do it because they can’t even do visualisations. But what if all you had to visualise was colour? And what if you didn’t even have to visualise it, you could just put it in front of you? Simples.

If you can’t see the video above, go here.

If you want the freebie meditation/journey track that I mention in the video, drop me a line, baby. Also, remember to check out StarFire Alchemy for info on the shamanic training offered by me and Magin Rose. And please comment below and tell me your colours, I want to know!