Bear Witness tour of the logo for the Bear Witness Empowerment....
Firstly, the logo represents who I am when I am guiding people.
There is a lot of meaning to all the images here which I would like to share.
Starting on the bottom right hand corner, the candle is my last name, Shamas.
In Judaism, the candle on the menorah that lights the other candles is called a Shamas. It is a last name I chose in 1993.
What I love about the concept of being the candle that lights other candles is that there is a moment where one spark ignites another.
It is up to the other person to bring their entirety, or partiality, to the candlestick that allows it to burn.
Going up, and around the circle, is the rattle.
I love the rattle because as an infant, rattles tend to be one of the very first implements that we grab onto. It offers an understanding of cause and
effect. We shake it and we hear the rattle.
The other thing I like about the rattle is that it implies shaking.
Shaking is such an important means of shedding
that which we don't need anymore.
Like an animal, when they are in trauma, they shake.
In that way, they get rid of their fear and the trauma.
And we humans can also release trauma through shaking.
We do not tend to allow ourselves, or our bodies, to move like that.
The rattle is there to remind us to shake, to let go, to remember that there is a cause and effect.
Additionally rattles create beauty with sound and rhythm.
The next implement is the knife. I know the knife confuses people the most.
I hear "Why is the knife there?" It is there for a few reasons.
One reason is, I do have the ability to slice through bullshit
and get right to the point.
Having a sharp kitchen knife, which is what this knife was inspired by, allows us to create the food that nourishes us.
This knife also represents a concept of taking pieces and putting back them together and bringing them into a new whole.
Also represented in the knife is another meaning. I recognize in myself I have a sharpness and I invite anybody who's working with me, if I am too sharp, for you to please tell me.
I know this sharpness there. I want you to know that I know it is there and you are welcome to say "whoa, maybe that's a little too sharp." I will definitely, gladly, hear it,
The last implement is the bell. There's nothing like the
sound "binggg" to bringing us back to our center.
One of my very favorite practices, that I do pretty much every night, is listen to Tibetan Singing bells.
And I listen deeply. Really feeling the vibration.
Vibration is how we listen to the truth, by feeling and knowing through recognizing vibrations
When we say "I like their vibe." your are feeling a vibration. Or you perhaps you don't like their vibe, that's another vibration/feeling.
Inside the circle is the Bear.
Bear and I are one. Bear comes through me
I am bear as I bear witness- especially, when I'm in a session with somebody.
The bear can be fierce, the bear can be protective, the bear can be cuddly, the bear can be wise, the bear can be male, the bear can be female.
The bear can be a grizzly bear. The bear can be a polar bear. Even a koala bear. Any bear will come through me.
The concept of animal spirits
was not something that I went looking for.
However they come to me and through me.
I find in sessions, when I'm
working with people, clients have animal spirits come to them.
I haven't studied any Native American practices per se.
Still, animal spirit medicine definitely is working through me and not to recognize that would be to squander this gift.
This is a gift that's coming through me, I want to share. It helps people and it helps me it help others.
I love that.
Above the the bear is Ursa Minor (the third bear in the logo) and the last star of the constellation, Ursa Minor, is the North Star. And the North Star has been a guide for centuries.
I think of the stars as bringing us to the universe and that connection between what is above with what is below.
Connecting the heavens and the earth, being in alignment.
For some, the North Star is their guide. Whatever you want to call what will guide you, I hope you know that your guide is welcome too.
The North Star and the connection between universe and mother earth is what guides me to empowerment.
While I work in lots of areas of one's life, sexuality and sexual practices are used in my approach to wholeness. Please know, there is no explicit sexuality, no nudity and no touching.