Being Shamanka

At an early age I was asked what I planned to do when I grow up.  I wrote that I would live in the countryside, keep lots of animals and lead a Sunday School for them all.  I think becoming a shamanka is a decent realization of that ambition. Certainly nature and spirituality are key elements in my life's work. Recently, I have started leading Dances of Universal Peace at Oxford City Farm, where my husband works.  As we sing and dance with the prayers of Sufi, Hebrew, Christian, Buddhist, Goddess and other traditions, the chickens root around outside and the goats and sheep call to each other.  Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before I’m leading the animals in prayer...

As well as nature and a spiritual life, music and story have always been central to me. And healing – the kind of healing that is about wholeness: the body and mind, earth and water, family and community, song and dance. It is hard for me to separate out these strands. I sing in my shamanic work.  My clients tell me stories.  My songs have become spiritual practice.  I have made an autobiographical storytelling show about a horse Goddess (Rhiannon Unbridled), with songs as part of it.

Cut me through the middle, and you’ll find music, story and healing in every cell. But for the sake of simplicity, I will try to unravel the threads a little here.