Feeling So Thankful - About Everything

I went to a Pagan Meetup group in Tacoma tonight. My beautiful daughter-in-law Skye came along. (I feel thankful to her because this was my first time gathering with this particular "Meetup" group; at the Crescent Moon Gift Shop).

I'm happy to report it was a pretty awesome event while the beginning felt awkward. The night started out with the rhythms sounding monotonous and forced. As I grew bored, I purposefully began drumming chaotically just to entertain myself. Then the group changed its pace (I don't think it had anything to do with me or what I was drumming). That's when everything improved. I became very excited about playing with the group and in a short matter of time I began to hear voices -- mostly a particular Native American woman singing but I heard more than one woman -- sort of like a women's spirit circle drumming and singing together.

I couldn't help myself. I began singing aloud with the drumming and the various women I heard singing in my head: "Hey ya hey-yo how-ya ho!" (I have no idea WHAT I was singing . . . I just followed along). It felt as though I was recalling music from a previous lifetime. Instantly I remembered the psychic woman who I go see about once a year (whenever I feel too tired to do a reading for myself). She works at The Crystal Voyage store in Tacoma and she's very spiritual when that's exactly what I need from her.

She reads her medicine cards according to the wheel of life and she often prays in some Native American language before she lets me touch her spirit cards. I often weep silently while she prays. She tells me it's my past life memories that make me cry - My connection to Native American spirituality -- and I tell her "I know" but I don't really remember such lifetimes. I have no idea why I am crying. The tears just flow.

So tonight, as I heard the beautiful Native American voices, amidst so many white men and women drumming, I remembered that psychic woman's prayers and I realize I must ask her: "In what language, exactly, do you pray?" {I do feel as though Native American women were there in spirit at the drum circle and it was not merely past life memory that I heard.}

After the drumming circle, the "Pagan Meet-up" gathering began and I learned some new Buddhist-style chants there that I really like. One chant, in particular, is more eclectic and sang slowly to someone else playing the drum in a heart-beating rhythm. The chant is like a Hindu-style prayer but the words are definitely Pagan. We chanted: "Ohm Gaia Ohm" -- only slowly, so it sounded like "Oh-m-m-m G-a-a-a-i-i-i-a-a-a Oh-m-m-m-m" and as we chanted, we were all leaned forward to stare at the ground and we imagined our heart's beating in rhythm with the Earth -- exchanging energy -- with the heart-beat of the drum.

POWERFUL STUFF. I think I will begin doing that every morning when I first awake -- start my morning with that chant to the Earth Mother.

Pictured Top: Goddess Çatalhöyük; Earth Mother {From Turkey}. As always on this blog, click any photo to see it in its regular context.