Bonita Springs, FloridaDear friends,

As I write this we are changing seasons again. I feel as though I completely missed autumn, it went by so fast! Mark and I are in Florida, where I just finished a Sekhmet class at my friend's store, The Mystical Moon, in Bonita Springs. As I said, my retirement includes anything that will take me close to my grandkids, which means New York City, South Florida, and the Seattle area. Mark and I are enjoying the warm weather and quiet time. We will join our East Coast family this weekend for some much-desired grandkid and family time.

Wiley plays the ukulele (click to see the video)My seasonal holiday of choice is Winter Solstice (here in the northern hemisphere), the most powerful of the quarter days, as it represents not only the Pagan Yule, or that which preceded Christmas, it offers hope that the darkest times will refresh us with new light and warmth as the days lengthen. Winter is also a time of reflection and gestation, when we look back on the past year and show our gratitude for lessons learned by resolving to do it better next year!

This holiday season offers us an opportunity to gift in new ways. Between the floods, hurricanes and fires, not to mention the refugee situations, it's also a great time to teach our children and grandchildren about the joys of gifting. How do you imagine that can be accomplished? Because every family and every individual is so different, I cannot tell you how it will work for you, however think about the young ones in your family and imagine what you can do with them that will have a lasting influence and make love and charity a priority throughout their lives.

Four examples from my life when I learned the lesson of the rewards of giving rather than receiving was 1: forgive me if my memory is a little fuzzy here, yet I read the Hobbit to my children when they were young, and that when it was a hobbit's birthday (I think it was Bilbo Baggins), he would give gifts to everyone. 2: when I was inspired by that a year later (also in the 70s) to go on a shopping spree that morning and made sure that everyone in my family and extended family received a gift from me. It was one of the best birthdays I ever had. 3: One day a couple of decades ago one of my daughters called to tell me that on her way to work she gave her last $5 to a person in need on the streets of San Francisco. Much to her surprise, she was given a raise that day. And finally, another daughter used to take part each year in organizing collecting gifts and giving them to children from underprivileged families at schools in her region, and her daughter and son were integral parts of that program. I believe it's called the Giving Tree.

Speaking of gifting, I have many, many copies of the CDs, The Cauldron Journey for Healing with Kuan Yin (including music by Roland Barker and Jerry Garcia) and the journey for potentially terminal children, …And You Will Fly. If you work with anyone who has cancer, leukemia, or any other life-threatening diseases, please let us know so we can send you those CDs for free. Once we have given them away we will put up downloads, and already have a special link for those who don't have a CD player.

Tonight Mark and I were watching a Scrooge movie, and as I completed this letter Bill Murray put into words how addicting joy and love and giving becomes, and how they attract the kind of miracles we so greatly need at this time. My gift to you is this holiday season is this prayer: May your days be lit with joy; may your attention be drawn to the miracles that are happening all around you; may you experience awe at the beauty of a sunset; and may you discover hope and your miracle in the magic that brings you the solutions to life's ongoing challenges.

If you want a reminder of all the pain and suffering, we've got cable news that thrives on those stories, but I was reminded recently of the country north of India, Bhutan, that measures gross national happiness instead of gross national product. The goal of their leaders is improving their growth happiness numbers. What a beautiful lesson that is for all of us. I am further reminded of how I feel when I am in the presence of these love filled families and surrounded by laughing children. I choose this holiday season to focus on that reality.

For all those who are suffering for one reason or another (and I know there are many), my heart goes out to you. May you be surrounded with joy, love and laughter, and share it with whomever is around you.

SekhmetSekhmet: Transformation in the Belly of the Goddess video/teleconference workshop

As promised, I am offering a video/tele workshop from my newest book, and will probably not teach it again until fall of 2018. If you are up for transforming your most egregious characteristics and becoming a warrior for Ma'at (Truth, Justice, Balance and Cosmic Law), then I suggest you take this opportunity for the alchemical process that is the fastest and most effective I've discovered. It requires a strong commitment, and the willingness to participate in rites of passage that include being devoured by the lioness goddess of Egypt, Sekhmet, the feminine face of the sun. As we, including the gods, are literally what we eat, your journey will bring you into an intimate relationship with this goddess, and you will have her courage, strength, passion and power to be a true guardian of Ma'at. This work comes with the responsibility of joining a larger community, or working alone to help yourself, your community, and the world back into balance and to repel the chaos that threatens to overtake our planet.

Full details on the workshop here: Sekhmet: Transformation In the Belly of the Goddess Tele/Web/Video Seminar

Egypt, 2018

An Egyptian Mysteries Pilgrimage: The Wisdom of the Neteru with Debbie Clarkin and Indigo Rønlov, March 9- 22, 2018

Walking with Ma'at and Thoth with Indigo Rønlov and Sandy Corcoran, September 11- 24, 2018

While holding the dynamic of a mutually supportive, co-creative and harmonious traveling community, we will delve deeply into an experience of healing, transformation, and renewal. Each participant in our group carries a piece of the larger picture of what we will create together. Through our rites and rituals you will remember your soul's connection to the mythic tradition of ancient Egypt, and you will re-member your self.

Please join Shamanic Journeys, Ltd. for one of our extraordinary pilgrimages to explore the ancient mysteries of Egypt. We've got some new experiences to share with you. After a several decades love affair with that majestic, magical place, returning again and again to quest for direct experience and articulation, we've somehow reached a new level of perception of the layers of myth and meaning through which ancient Egypt speaks to us. We have also found new ways to immerse you even more deeply into the mysteries and spirit of ancient Egypt. The way has been prepared for us. Anubis, Thoth, Isis, and Sekhmet are among many others in the revered pantheon who will be our true guides as we explore the temples and monuments that still reverberate the intentions of the magician/priesthood that built them. During this consciousness expanding, life-changing spiritual adventure you will experience a number of initiatory rites of passage and receive guidance from our experienced teachers, our Egyptian Egyptologist, and the Egyptian Pantheon.

There is no place like Egypt, and no doorway into her mysteries like the one we will enter together. Click for the details: An Egyptian Mysteries Pilgrimage: The Wisdom of the Neteru with Debbie Clarkin and Indigo Rønlov or Walking with Ma'at and Thoth with Indigo Rønlov and Sandy Corcoran. To discover whether either of these is the tour for you, contact Indigo at Indigo@shamanicjourneys.com and arrange a phone call.

Maximum 18 participants for these tours. We have concluded over the years that the ideal number of participants on our tours is 18. Now, instead of sharing a large boat with one or two hundred strangers, we sail the Nile in a yacht, a vessel designed to replicate the dahabeyas from the age of the Pharaohs. Now, we are free to land at the temples without being tied to the large groups (herds?) that come when groups of tourist liners arrive at the same time. Because we are in charge of our timing, we often have the whole temple complexes privately, just our small group of 18. The most important ones we arrange for private after hours visits.

Journey into real Hawaii with Piliaka Corina Peter

Molokai and Big Island, March 10 – 24, 2018

Dive into the real Hawaiian culture and spirituality and find both the outer and your inner Paradise! On this journey we will dive into the ancient, real Hawaii. Because of Piliaka's connections during more than 17 years she has created a very special journey to get to know the Islands in a different way than the most tourists. She is happy to be with you on this journey and to bring you the Hawaii that she so deeply loves.

For more information contact Piliaka at http://moveandgo.ch/kontakt/ or by email corina.peter@compunet.ch or by phone +41 79 474 36 85.

Piliaka was born in Switzerland and has traveled around the world. She sees herself as a bridge-builder between cultures and people from different continents. Since 2003 Piliaka spends time regularly in Hawaii and studied with kahunas that have shared their knowledge and wisdom with her. She is trained in Hawaiian healing arts and ways of living. These teachings are also part of the Alchemical Healing wisdom, and therefore it's a great opportunity to open up the way for Alchemical Healing.

We hope to see you this year on one of our tours, or during one of the few classes I will be teaching online.

Happy Holy Days to you all,
Nicki