scroll
Kristena West M.A.
coach artist shaman dreamer
Hello Friend,
Every one has gifts to bring to the world. We all harbor secret dreams for our lives. When we sit in circle, the discussion and sharing of women is always such an honor. So many women have "spiritual" gifts, they rarely talk about, and if they do they call it "weird."
But if we work with these gifts then they tend to reveal aspects of our right-livelihood, what we are here to offer the world.
So if you long to understand your life-purpose, or have hit a bump in the road, want to kick-start your creativity, or dive into some spiritual study & explore the universe, then Join Kristena West Art
You choose what areas of life you want to engage in, art-making, dream work and journal writing, how to create healing rituals?
For those who wish to work longer sessions, a condensed price package is available. I invite you enter into the Alchemy Lodge of your life, love and engage in this exciting journey of your life.
Where are those ruby slippers?
sacred arts alchemy of life
The alchemy work includes of course our ancient ways of knowing. One of those terms we recognize today is "Shaman." The Tungus term "Shaman" means To Know or to See with a Strong Eye or See with the Heart. These ways of perception have been almost lost, but we can develop many techniques from different traditions to "Know the World" as a means of perception.
Foundational shamanic practices, the shamanic journey, and psychological tools are taught within the Five Lodges of Perception. These are tremendous gift to us, to have in our personal tool-kit. We will remember the sacred rhythms of the earth; the cycles of nature and the forgotten traditions of Women's Medicine Ways.
• Air Dream Lodge learning to work and journal our dreams - Will
• Earth Body Lodge taking care of body & tools of self-reflection - Thinking
• Dolphin Lodge Emotional Lodge -Feeling
• Fire Lodge of the Heart - Revelation
• Aether-Space-Void Lodge - Being
Air: Owl Dream Medicine
Earth Bear Physical Medicine
Water Dolphin Emotional Medicine
Fire Lion Heart Medicine
Space or Void Medicine
Air: Owl Dream Medicine
The Dream Lodge
Ways of Seeing
Learning sacred arts includes waking up to ways of seeing. How we do not really look at things. We scan with a unfocused eye, and are kept too busy in our daily life.
Sacred Arts is not only art-making, it's an entire way of life. When we take up creativity in a "sacred" manner it changes our focus, enhances our contemplation skills and we learn to hone our intent as we create. Through the lessons, we develop rigor and discipline learning how to create a chalice within; to center and enter the silence.
We engage in different ways of "seeing" we re-learn how to really look at the world, nature and the other; this wakes us up to the numinous.
Dream Practice as an entry into Sacred Art
Learning the skills of dream work is one of the many tools for gaining gifts, information and yes, even training in sacred arts.
Dreams are one way many people are given direct training in sacred arts. They are shown how to design, make and empower ritual art objects. When one is given a dream art image, shown what materials to use and how to empower it, they become sacred artisans. These kinds of tools, masks, or ceremonial art will carry the power of the spirits and it’s maker.
When I decided I was going to start a business making spirit dolls, I recieved many dreams all the aspects of doll making and empowerment.
Learning dream work and building a cohesive dream body is essential for crossing the thresholds and bring back spiritual tools and information.
Alchemy Dream Practice
Learn Basic Dream Work 6 Sessions
• Remember Your Dreams
• Keep an Art & Dream Journal
• Identify Your Personal Symbology
• Connect with Your Ancestors
• Meet Your Dream Teachers
• Learn How to Incubate a Lucid Dream
• Use Dream Work to Discover Life Purpose
Bear Medicine Ways of Relating
The Body Lodge
Curing the Soma
One could say Bear is the Great Dreamer too. These animals are chosen to represent the directions, and they are found cross-cultural. But for the Medicine Lodge we use them in a general way. Bear is one half of the year on the earth and the other half of the year under the earth; this is two-earth medicine.
Bear medicine is both taking care of the physical and the unconscious. For women we acknowledge our place in the world and take care of our daily life of being in the world and also personal development of our soul-spirit selves.
When we experience issues at work, in our families and close relationships, we can deny or submerge our feelings in our body, because we have to just get on with life and our many tasks. When we begin to slow down and breath, take time to just be, walk in nature or sit at our art table we can make a "sacred" time-out to do some creative writing or art to express what arises in our body. Expressive arts can make a big difference in soothing our anxiety, sadness or low-self esteem.
When we develop a habit of "soothing" our body-soul-heart connection as a daily or weekly artistic practice, we find that it eases our mind, smooths out life's wrinkles and develops an inner strengthening that builds a firm foundation.
Water: EmotionalMedicine
EmotionalIntelligence
Balancing the Opposites
If we think about it, we could say the whole world is driven by the feelings of every human being, couldn't we? Feelings are the driver behind all our triggers, decisions, reactions, musings, wishes, longings and drives.
A Medicine Woman must have an understanding of her own feelings, and unravel the knots of her unconscious resistance, fears and self-doubts that may have developed into patterns that limit her life. And through conscious decisions, she lays new more creative pathways to her life path.
This is the secret key of transformation.
In the Dolphin Lodge we will be delving into our biography using creative writing and artistic practice to explore, expand and discover our deeper story.
If you have some struggle, go through it. Grow through it. Don’t let it stop or hinder your outflow of creative juices.
Creation is a birth process, and part of that process is the tension or struggle to release the sacred art you feel within your soul. Let it flow through your body and mind.
Allow the power and potency of pure, raw creativity to lay new pathways within your soul being.
~Kristena West M.A.