Newsletter September 2014
Hello Folks!
The Summer is definitely drawing to a close fairly fast and the first signs of Autumn is already looming… I love the crispness of the air and the colours in the landscape this time of year, and makes letting go of the Summer months a bit easier 🙂
September is a busy month for me as I am sure it is for a lot of you, getting back to work, college etc. And as always I have plenty of news on upcoming workshops and new blog posts. I am also happy to say that we will be back with our monthly meetups in Kilmurry Hall, Castletroy, Limerick in September!
Blog Post
Abracadabra! and other Spells
I am fascinated by the energy of words and how what we say can have a profound effect on our emotions, how we carry ourselves and what we believe to be true.
In many spiritual traditions there is the belief that words create a physical manifestation in the world. For instance, in the Bible in the book of John it describes the story of creation and it states “In the beginning was the word….” and so you get similar writings in may spiritual and ancient texts.
The phrase “Abracadabra” has its origins in the ancient language, Aramaic “Abraq ad habra” which literally means “I will create as I speak“.
Click here to read more about how we create our reality by the words we use.
“Into the Otherworld”
This is the title of our CD being launched this month! This CD is an Introduction to Shamanic Drumming and Journeying and a collaboration by me and Noirin Rooney.
Click here to read more about what this process was like and where you can buy the cd when it is available near the end of the month.
Upcoming Workshops and Events
Shamanic Journey Circle
Come and join me and other like-minded folk for Shamanic Journey circle. No experience necessary.
Date: Saturday, 13 September 2014
Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Venue: Kilmurry Hall, Castletroy, Limerick
Fee: €10
Please send me an email to info@joannemacmillan.ie or a text to 086 166 2157 to confirm that you will be joining the circle.
Explore your creative self
Come and explore your creativity through paint, clay and sound. Â Through guided imagery and sound awaken the visual awareness. The class will include some technique and colour theory and range of materials, including acrylic paint, clay and collage materials. Beginners and experienced artists welcome as this is a free flowing space. Materials supplied just bring your creativity.
This introductory day will be followed by a series of 4 evening classes on a Monday evening. This will continue to provide a creative space to explore through the mediums of clay and paint. Themes such as visual expression of sound and the elements will be explored.
Sheila Stone is a local visual artist who works both in clay and paint. She has degrees in both of these areas and has been teaching art for over 30 years, and has many regular exhibitions of her work.
You can look at Sheila’s website  or Faceless Mural to read more about Sheila’s work and qualifications.
Day Workshop
Date: 14 September 2014
Time: 10:30am – 4:30pm
Venue: Killaloe, Co. Clare
Fee:€60 (Inclusive of materials)
Please bring a packed lunch, teas and coffees will be provided.
Places are limited and a non-refundable deposit of €30 will secure your place. Balance to be paid on the day.
Ring Sheila Stone for more information or to book your place on  086 1717 241Â
4 Monday Evening Classes
Start Date: 22 September 2014
Time:Â 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Venue: Killaloe, Co. Clare
Fee: €80 (Inclusive of Materials)
Places are limited and €40 deposit required to secure your place, balance to be paid on first night.
Ring Sheila Stone for more information or to book your place on 086 1717 241Â
Spirit of Folk Festival
19 – 21 September 2014
I am co-facilitating a workshop with Noirin Rooney at the Spirit of Folk Festival again this year! We will be facilitating a workshop called “Reconnecting with the Shee”. This is a fun workshop that will allow you to reconnect with enchantment and the belief in wonder! Looking forward to meeting many of you there. Click here to go to the Spirit of Folk Festival website. See the line-up of folk musicians, storytellers, workshops etc on offer for the weekend and buy your tickets.
Introduction to Shamanism
Date:  27 September 2014
Time:Â 10am – 4:30pm
Venue:Â Killaloe, Co. Clare
Fee: €70 (Including Lunch)
To book your place:
Contact Jo-Anne on
086 166 2157
info@joannemacmillan.ie
Many have asked that I run this Introductory workshop again, so here you go!
On this One Day Workshop we will broadly introduce Shamanism and the many facets of Shamanic Practice. Some of these practices help us to connect to the wisdom, insight and imagination within ourselves, that offer us teaching about our own woundedness and healing, find answers to questions and release emotional or energetic blockages.
Most of the day will be experiential and you will leave with a broader knowledge of Shamanic Healing and learn how to tap into the well of wisdom within you through Shamanic Journeying.
“Shamanic Journeying is a joyful path to regaining the knowledge of how to bring our lives back into a place of harmony and balance. It helps us to wake up to our full creative potential. As we do this, our lives change in a way that brings good health and well-being to ourselves and others.” ~ Sandra Ingerman
Bring an open mind, your open heart and come and learn techniques that will reconnect you with your True Nature, and share an enjoyable day with like-minded folk!
Certificate of attendance for CPD requirements available to all attendees.
Vegetarian Lunch, Teas and Coffees will be provided on the day.Â
Shamanic Drumming CD
Into the Otherworld
An introduction to Shamanic Drumming and Journeying
I have been wanting to do a Shamanic Drumming CD for some time and this year I put it on my list of goals I want to achieve in this year. So I contacted my friend and colleague Noirin Rooney and asked if she would like to team up to do an Introduction to Shamanic Drumming and Journeying with me. Noirin often invite me to co-facilitate in her workshops and that is how we started drumming together in the first place. 🙂
After a workshop that we facilitated at the Spirit of Folk Festival in 2013, many of the workshop participants came up to us and asked if we have a cd available of our drumming…. Well in that moment a seed was planted… and I am happy to say it has grown and ready for the picking.
The whole process of the recording felt guided somehow, even though we met many “tricksters” on the way, there was the feeling… for me anyway… of something pulling or nudging me forward… So despite of possible setbacks all worked out as it was meant to be. On the day of the recording, the energy was light and vibrant. The producer was fully on board with what we wanted to achieve and also got a “crash course” in what Shamanic Drumming and Journeying was about. He made the process really enjoyable and added his own skill and creativity to the final product.
The CD itself is an introduction to Shamanic Drumming and Journeying and contains tracks which explains briefly what journeying is, and also what queues to listen for during the drumming tracks. On the CD you will find a guided journey and also a wonderful track by Noirin, where she opens sacred space by calling in the four directions. There are two tracks of double drumming that you can choose from – a 15min and a 30min.
My wish is that you find this cd to be a support in your own healing journey and practice.
You can buy your copy online (see the link below) or directly from me or Noirin. We will also have the cd on sale at any of the groups and workshops that we facilitate.
Abracadabra! and other Spells
I am fascinated by the energy of words and how what we say can have a profound effect on our emotions, how we carry ourselves and what we believe to be true.
Why not try this simple exercise right now… Find a quiet few minutes and list out words that you find you are using a lot about yourself or about your situation. It might be something like…. “I am always broke… I never have enough money” or “I am so stupid… I always make the worst decisions” etc. you get the picture… So, when you have your list, I want to invite you to say those words out loud… How do they make you feel? How does your body respond to these words? Do you feel your energy contract or expand? Note your breathing. Just take a few minutes to notice…
Now I want to invite you to create a phrase that more or less affirms the opposite of something that you usually say… If we use the two examples above, something like “I always have enough money” or “I always make the best decisions in any given moment” Once again, say these out loud… Do you feel different when you make these statements? How does your body respond to these words? Do you feel your energy contract of expand? Notice your breathing.
Cool huh?! You can try this with specific words also LOVE / HATE Â Â COURAGE / FEAR Â Â HAPPY / SAD
In many spiritual traditions there is the belief that words create a physical manifestation in the world. For instance, in the Bible in the book of John, it states “In the beginning was the word….” and so you get similar writings in may spiritual and ancient texts.
The phrase “Abracadabra” has its origins in the ancient language, Aramaic “Abraq ad habra” which literally means “I will create as I speak“. So when we create as we speak…. How many of us actually want what we say to ourselves, about ourselves to others, about others, about our communities, governments etc. on a daily basis to be true for us? hmmm…. Don Miguel Ruiz writes in his book “The Four Agreements” how every human being is a magician, as we cast spells with our words and opinions everyday. I wonder if that is where the word “spelling” comes from… How we spell characters (to form words) Â literally creates spells that we cast on ourselves or others….
Now, I’m not writing this to create fear about how we speak or use our words… It is more of an invitation to become mindful of what we say and that we choose to say or affirm things that we want to be true for us.
I came across a blogpost recently of a guy (Mauricio Estrella) that writes about how changing his password on his computer at work changed his life. He used a mundane task of inputting his password at his desktop computer everyday into an exercise of forgiveness, (forgiving his wife after the divorce) and then went on to input other life-changing passwords – as he was required to change his password every 30 days. Amazing! You can read his post here.
Lastly I do want to mention dr. Masaru Emoto’s work with the water crystals and how he has developed a way to measure the energy and the effect of our words and intention on the world around us. In his original experiment he took two cylinders of water, one he marked “LOVE” and the other “HATE”. To the love cylinder he repeated the word “love”, expressed love and sang to the water etc. Â to the hate cylinder he repeated the word “hate”, expressed hate and cursed it, talked to it in a hateful way etc. he then chose to freeze the water in order to see and measure if his experiment had any effect on the water’s molecular composition… Well it did indeed and the water crystals in the frozen water in each looked completely different! The “love cylinder” water had beautifully formed crystals and the water from the “hate cylinder” had misformed blobs as crystals. You can read more about dr. Emoto’s work here.
The thought I want to leave with you though… Our bodies contain about 80% water… I wonder how does the words we affirm over our lives affect us… Do we create beauty by what we say or do we create misery? Do we use our words to create curses or blessings? I want to invite you to change one word or phrase you negatively affirm over your life into a positive statement or a statement that you want to be true for you… even if you don’t believe it, yet… Maybe take a page out of Mauricio’s book and change a computer password into something positive and affirming, which then becomes a regular affirmation of what we wish to create.
I often use the analogy with my clients that our subconscious mind is a like a flower bed waiting for the seeds (words and beliefs) that we plant and then water by repetition. So, maybe some de-weeding is in order and some more planting of seeds that flower and bring beauty, joy and colour to our lives.
May you walk in Beauty,
Jo-Anne