Where you can find us. A bit of what we do...part 1

We are based near Glasgow and work there and all over the West of Scotland bringing Shamanism and Faerie Tales to light in a new and interactive way. We also travel to such far flung places as the rest of the UK & Ireland, France and Canada to present workshops and attend conferences. If there is anything you would like to know please do get in touch we are available on Skype and by email see the web site. http://www.spiralheart.co.uk You can also see more of us at http://www.petitebearrousse.wordpress.com

The Tale That Is The Most Important Thing

Everyone has a favourite story. A story or a nursery rhyme that when heard or read whisks them back to the time of safety and security a nostalgia of sleepy time stories or the perhaps one time in school we all paid attention as one unit. What is it about stories? What is it we love so much? We connect through time and space with stories. We keep ourselves secure inside, with the knowledge that all will be well as long as the story is told and retold. Strangely though, often these stories are not how they began - they change with each generation - with each telling. We have many stories that we tell but one brings us to the path of curiousity again and again. It has changed and grown and become its own being from the time I read it as a little girl (I don't remember it being read to me)to the present day. There was a point in between where I had that wonderful Eureka moment, what some might call an epiphany, when I thought for the firs time consciously, 'What if...? That question is the adventurer question, the Quester's question, the heroes question. It is the begining of a journey of pure delight and curiosity. My 'What if...' was to do with the little girl in the red hooded cloak and how perhaps if we looked at it from a different perspective we might see things in a totally new way. As with all of these 'What if...?" questions I began a journey of discovery, wonder and magic. A path of initiation and rites of passage and I realised that if this was so then...'What if...' Thereby hung the tail of the Shamanic Faerie Tale events at Ladywell where we have revisited, Goldilocks, and The Selkie Wife and we have peeked into the life of Morag and her shenannigans with the Water Horse and even danced a little with Karen in her Red Shoes. Most recently we have enjoyed the company of Rumplestiltskin and the next on our journey is the Puss with the penchant for boots! The most interesting thing is who comes to hear, and not just to hear but to tell their story, by journeying into the tale. There are some who come every month, but there are those who come only once or twice, they love it but they have no need to come back, and there are some who are regular participants but will not fancy a particular story, and that is where the magic is, for it is all ways the people who will get the most out of the story who come to hear whichever is right for them at that time. Serendipity aside, we find ourselves wondering what the next story will be and oft times it is just as we are about to say goodnight to everyone that it will come forward and introduce itself. Sometimes I find myself wondering how on earth it will flow I have a long time since learned to let it be what it is and trust it will bring what it has to for whomever arrives to hear it. So if you have young children and you want them to learn in wonder and curiosity begin with a Faerie Tale, and then teach them the joy of 'What if...' and see where their imagination takes them. Tis the stuff that dreams are made of that we make real in time.

From an Article for Fifth Element Magazine

Shaman...What’s that?
The word Shaman comes from the language of a tribe in Northern Siberia the Tungus. It is a word that has many meanings the easiest of which is the generic ‘healer’ but the more interesting and probably closer translation is like the tag line, ‘The one with eyes to see in the dark’.
There are as many different types of Shamanism as there are peoples on this Earth and each one has their own unique way of dealing with their people’s dis-ease, problems and queries.
The most interesting thing about this is that it is the oldest belief system on Earth; perhaps even in the Universe (I’ll have to get back to you on that one!)
Cave paintings that have been found dating back about 100,000 years show the primitive lives that were led at that time and the mainstay of that life was the hunt, for without food there could be no tribe.
Across the world there were tribes in the same situations and at the same stage of evolution. The other thing they all had in common was their Shamans, and what they had in common was a central or core belief system.
Shamanism is an animistic belief system. It has all to do with how the animals lived and hunted and fought and survived on this great planet of ours. The Shamans drew parallels and observed closely the animals’ behaviour and their connection with their environment, this also set apart from the others of the tribe because they could do, see and know things that others did not.
An eminent anthropologist called Le Barre once said that there were Shamans before there were Gods.
One story which explains this well is the story of the arrival of the first ships on the coast of what is now the America’s. No-one could see the ships because they had no knowledge of what they were – they could not conceive of a vessel such as a galleon. However, one Shaman noticed a disturbance on the water and he drew from his experience of observing the water for fishing and the strange disturbance grew in size and shape before him and then he saw the new thing and went off to tell his tale to the chiefs of the people.
So it is more a lack of limitation of knowledge. An understanding that perhaps we have not yet seen all there is to see in the world and therefore some of us notice things a little differently.
This way of seeing things comes at a price. The Shaman is called in one of three ways:-
Near death experience
Mental trauma (mental breakdown)
Hereditary calling
The first two are really self-explanatory, the other way the Tungus describe a Shaman is as ‘the one with the mad eyes’. They say that the eyes of the Shaman burn bright in the dark. I suspect that is also when they are in trance. A severe shock or mental breakdown or a near death experience is going to give you a reasonably different outlook and it also is the way of being touched by Spirit. This is why the Native American Indians are very respectful of the mentally wounded and will almost revere them, some likening them to Heyoka medicine men/women whose medicine is to do everything backwards. These are called by the thunder spirits and are equally feared and blessed by their neighbours.
The hereditary Shaman: well you would think would you not that these guys would have a choice in this matter and to an extent you would be correct but not really. In order to refuse the office of Shaman they must take themselves off and be separated from their family and friends until the calling leaves them this separation can result in a mental breakdown so Hobson’s choice really.
So how does all this come to be happening in this neck of the woods?
The modern day Western Shamanic practitioner has experienced some of the above too. Spirit calls and when it does it kind of grabs you by the scruff of the neck and gives you a good shake...at least that was how it was for me.
There are just as many different Shamanic cultures here. Some of us follow Celtic ways or the Norse system, some are more Native American, and then there are the Peruvian/South American devotees and some are a little bit eclectic because the central – core belief is what really counts.
Why are there so many different ways to do this? Because there are so many different people with different needs and it is like choosing your doctor you want someone who ‘gets’ you as much as you ‘get them’.
The Shaman goes on what is called a Journey; this is done in what is called an ecstatic trance, which is a light to medium trance. It is not like meditation, for meditation the focus is inward the Journey trance is outward hence the word ecstatic which comes from the Greek ekstasis meaning outside. The journey is done to the beat of a drum. A particular kind of drum which will enable the Shaman to travel to one of the three worlds, these comprise of the Upper (Angelic, Divine realm), the Middle (the reality ‘next door’ the land of the Fae, healing and other change work takes place here) and the Lower World (where the Power Animals are found, a place of teaching, connection and healing).
The journey is usually made to the beat of a drum, but trance can be achieved in dance or by connecting to nature, stones, the Sami culture Joiks themselves into a journey that is a song with no words but that is another story. We do love our stories, and we use them for healing also. The faerie tales of old are the telling of journeys. They tell of quests and lessons, healings and challenges, rites of passage that we do not honour so much these days.
Also known as Shadow Walkers the Shaman’s task is to traverse the veils of these realities in order to bring back healing or messages for the seeker or client. In the beginning it would have been to find out where the herds would be for hunting, where the best water and shelter would be found and when it was time to move. They will talk to the ancestors and the other peoples who share this world with us. The Stone people, the Standing People, the winged ones and the beasts that crawl and swim. For everything has a Spirit and everything is of Spirit and therefore deserves and demands respect.
This is the dipping of a toe into a vast ocean; this subject spans the Universe, not just the globe.
Our path has taken us as far as Canada where we are part of the Wolven Clan and I have been ordained and initiated within that community. And really that is what it is all about, community. Respecting oneself and ones neighbours, being aware of the consequences of ones actions. Being responsible for one’s own lessons in life and understanding that dis-ease has a spiritual root as well as an emotional and physical root.
It really is all about connection, and a world wide web that is not the internet.
There is so much to tell and so much still to learn. For further reading I can recommend ‘The Sacred Hoop’ which comes out quarterly. There is so much information out there, it is all happening and these days we have no excuse to miss any of it. From the resurgence of the 13 Grandmothers to the exponents of Huna, Shamanic practice from Hawaii, (that is where the term ‘the Big Kahuna’ is taken from).
We at Spiral Heart are happy to provide information and help with enquiries should anyone want to know more. See our website for more info on some of the things Shamanic practitioners can do for you.




+ Leslie Marsh Spiral Heart Healing

Were you a ‘Listen/Watch with Mother fan? Did you then progress to Jackanory on television after school?

There was always a set time for a story, and we would all eagerly await the radio coming out of the cupboard or the walk to the TV room, wondering in hushed tones what the story would be as we made the journey along the corridor anticipating where we would ‘go’ today.

Teachers must have loved it, the only time when the average classroom of thirty boys and girls became one quiet, attentive and enthused body, all at once. Experiencing trance journey and multi level learning by living it. Allowing it to happen due to the safe environment they were in, and retelling the story of their journey to their parents when they got home.

Jacked in to the Universe, the story a scart lead connection to the mainframe of the void, where the unconscious mind downloads information by the mega bite. Boys and girls in a journeying trance, enraptured, enthralled, engaged, being in the story, real time. Get the picture?

The power of metaphor bridging the generational gap and more; we tell our lives through stories.
If we look more closely from our new perspective, as adults, and take one story, you know, the one with the wolf who has the big eyes and the little girl with the grandma who may well be tougher than she looks, and take it in the context of a Shamanic journey, what new lessons would we learn? What if we could take that idea and apply it to other journeys that we take in life? Would we not then have a better idea what stories we would like to tell? When we would like to tell them and how they would better benefit both the teller and the listener; because you know we listen to every tale we tell. What if we could make our story better, truer, like another little girl who found the one that was ‘just right’ or so she thought at the time?

When we journey for people who come to us for help, they tell us their story, we then bring them back another story that they will connect to so that they may continue their journey towards a happy ever after. Not everyone gets there, we know this, but the meat in the middle holds the beginning and the end of a story together; it is always the journey, not the journeys end that our seekers are striving to understand.

As Shamen we tell our truth, we tell our story, your story, his – tory. We find wisdom and learning in places that others have forgotten they’ve been. The warp and weft of the tale makes a rich tapestry that we weave as we go.

So let’s explore this one story of a little girl’s journey through life, she is after all a warrior just like us. Let’s re tell her tale and find out things we perhaps forgot we knew by seeing them through Shamens eyes, and then as we always do, share our thoughts and feelings on the experience.

Shaman eyes – all the better to see you with…

the Write Retreat

If you are thinking of retreating it pays to get it right, WRITE?


There are times in our lives when, let’s face it, we need to take a step back. We need to take stock. We need to take time to breathe. Far too often our conscious mind says “Well yes, of course you want to do that but let me just say – NO! Not now, not in the next little while and just NO! You have so much to do – there are a hundred thousand things that are all clamouring for your attention when and if I give you a spare five minutes to even look at the possibility of dealing with them.”

Now that is when, and I mean right at that second you really do need to stop.

Serendipity led to meeting @Katherine Parris at a Writing Conference in August this year,
Katherine has a place in France, Brittany to be precise.
Not only does she have a place in France but she is opening her doors to writers and their families who perhaps feel the need to stop for a bit, take stock for a bit, but want to continue to have the opportunity to be writing at the same time – should they feel the urge.
Katherine is the proud owner of +‘The Write Retreat’ and it does exactly what it says on the tin.
On arrival we were struck by the total lack of noise. The air was easier to breathe and the pace was chaotically slow.
Walking into the Narnia cupboard would be similar I think – it is an assault on the senses to experience the total lack of forward motion that is France at its most laid back.
No sooner had we put the cases down than the wine began to flow and we were introduced to the family that would be ours for the duration of our stay, indeed we feel that we have become part of that growing family and are honoured to be so.
There is opportunity here. So much to see and do if you wish it, from the Menhirs to the Dolman, you are never more than two hours away from a coastline so there is ample to do for family who may not share your writing bug.
Perhaps it is your wish to make a full retreat and write that opus or Oscar winning screenplay? Then the annexe is the place for you. Flexible to the extent that it is up to you whether or not you interact with the family or live in splendid isolation, the choice is always yours.
The Write Retreat has to be experienced in all its wonder. The schoolhouse quietly situated on a main street, waiting expectantly for the arrival of the inspired and inspiring. The most amazingly eccentric but phenomenal restaurant bar that is Ghislane’s where in this the 21st Century you can have five courses and a litre bottle of good house wine for the princely sum of 13 Euros. The sleepy hamlet that is Kerivoa where the night sky is as blinged up as a hip hop DJ lottery winner with stars that shine and sparkle as Mozart and the Beatles would say, like diamonds in the sky only so much brighter and so much more beautiful.
Anyone who writes, has written, wants to write or is suffering from white page angst should go there.
The warmth of the welcome is out classed only by the feeling of belonging that occurs as if by magic. The rapport that springs from long acquaintance has been somehow concentrated and added to the air you breathe and the water you drink there.
Go to Kerivoa, get +the Write Retreat and breathe deeply. You will be inspired and recharged and you will return.

connecting the dots

Fae-rly Interesting

So, what is it with the fascination with the Shining Ones? We tell tales of them and wish on them and claim they are living at the bottom of the garden, and some may well be if we are very lucky. All these things and more we tell to our children. Stories of Wicked Witches and Wiley Wolves and quite psychotic mother goats’ who slit open stomachs and place rocks in there before allowing the recipient to drown themselves in a well due to their new weightiness.

Were these the play station games of their times. Was the story of Baba Yaga the equivalent of Grand theft Auto or whatever it is called?

Probably not, because unless I miss my guess there is an element missing in the latter, the moral tale, the warning to all who ‘play’ that they are going to be virtually made responsible for the carnage they make on the screen. Which part of it makes them think about consequences of choices?

If, as posited by Deepak Chopra et al, what we think we project and manifest then perhaps the reason we have so much violence and disharmony in the world is the constant onslaught of bloody adrenalin fuelled imaginings of one person that is connecting with the punters who play their game. What does one win with these things anyway? If it is a sense of achievement that is the prize surely it is society at large who should be thinking about just how low the bar of this particular achievement is set.

Instead of finding things to do it is an automatic response to get to a games machine or a computer, this is not just restricted to the younger end of the spectrum either, so in the morphogenic field it is not surprising that we are in the midst of scenes from Mad Max.

This sounds like I’m preaching that this is abnormal. Unfortunately being human kind of predisposes us to violence. We are after all the biggest predator on the planet.

The idea that what can be imagined can become manifest in the physical is nothing new; look at the communicators in Star Trek, good old James T. Kirk getting out his prehistoric mobile phone to get himself beamed up by Scottie. We already have the mobile phones and they have been working on the beaming up thing for quite some time. The boffins are busy boys particularly since the Quantum Theories came into their collective consciousnesses.

String theory now there is a fascinating one, but the Quantum theory small as it is… well now it is throwing up some very interesting posits of its own. It is proving the faerie tales of old, it is challenging the scientists dogmatic grasp on what reality is.

It is proving Magick exists and that it has been with us since we began to ‘string’ two thoughts together (pardon the pun).

So if that is the case and the Shining Ones exist in the Universe adjacent to this one, and they have areas of overlap couldn’t we perhaps concentrate on filling our younger minds with adventures in Quantum land where just any and every permutation of any given situation is possible and is happening in another Universe concurrently with this one.
Get a large Kit-Kat and cup of whatever you have and discuss that at tea break – see what happens.

Then just for fun, think about all the other ways the conversation could have gone and it will have somewhere. My head is now opening up to possibility and it’s a bit of a rush you should try it – no drugs required just imagination and if I can imagine it well – let me tell you a story about that…

I want to journey you a story...

Were you a +‘Listen/Watch with Mother fan? Did you then progress to Jackanory on television after school?

There was always a set time for a story, and we would all eagerly await the radio coming out of the cupboard or the walk to the TV room, wondering in hushed tones what the story would be as we made the journey along the corridor anticipating where we would ‘go’ today.

Teachers must have loved it, the only time when the average classroom of thirty boys and girls became one quiet, attentive and enthused body, all at once. Experiencing trance journey and multi level learning by living it. Allowing it to happen due to the safe environment they were in, and retelling the story of their journey to their parents when they got home.

Jacked in to the Universe, the story a scart lead connection to the mainframe of the void, where the unconscious mind downloads information by the mega bite. Boys and girls in a journeying trance, enraptured, enthralled, engaged, being in the story, real time. Get the picture?

The power of metaphor bridging the generational gap and more; we tell our lives through stories.
If we look more closely from our new perspective, as adults, and take one story, you know, the one with the wolf who has the big eyes and the little girl with the grandma who may well be tougher than she looks, and take it in the context of a Shamanic journey, what new lessons would we learn? What if we could take that idea and apply it to other journeys that we take in life? Would we not then have a better idea what stories we would like to tell? When we would like to tell them and how they would better benefit both the teller and the listener; because you know we listen to every tale we tell. What if we could make our story better, truer, like another little girl who found the one that was ‘just right’ or so she thought at the time?

When we journey for people who come to us for help, they tell us their story, we then bring them back another story that they will connect to so that they may continue their journey towards a happy ever after. Not everyone gets there, we know this, but the meat in the middle holds the beginning and the end of a story together; it is always the journey, not the journeys end that our seekers are striving to understand.

As Shamen we tell our truth, we tell our story, your story, his – tory. We find wisdom and learning in places that others have forgotten they’ve been. The warp and weft of the tale makes a rich tapestry that we weave as we go.

So let’s explore this one story of a little girl’s journey through life, she is after all a warrior just like us. Let’s re tell her tale and find out things we perhaps forgot we knew by seeing them through Shamens eyes, and then as we always do, share our thoughts and feelings on the experience.

Shaman eyes – all the better to see you with…