Jeanne Marie Ketchel
Channeled by Jan Ketchel

Dear Jeanne,
Today my question is twofold. Lately, I have re-read the accounts of the shamanic journeys of Florinda Donner* and Taisha Abelar** as they encountered the sorceresses of don Juan’s group. Each night before sleeping I state a dream intent. Since these sorceresses were dreamers I have asked them to teach me something of importance while I dream. Over a period of several weeks I have channeled, while dreaming, ten steps for developing a shamanic practice, which I will relate at another time. As I have channeled the energy of these specific sorceresses I have felt a kinship with your energy, a familiar type of energy, though I do not perceive your specific energy. My first question is: Are you in alignment with or working within this group of sorcerers while I am dreaming?

My second question today has to do with the channeling from the other day regarding detachment. I sense that there may be other steps to detachment that might be helpful for us to learn and utilize. What comes next after Not Doing? Over the past few nights I dreamed about the two selves, the rational everyday, worldly self and the spirit self. I got this message: Align with spirit. Is this the next step in learning detachment?

My Dearest One, when you dream you allow the self access to all-knowing, yet does the self not easily claim this right. When dreaming with intent you give the self permission to claim this right. In channeling, your intent is to connect through our channel and thus a sense of familiarity and continuity are established, nurtured, and practiced. By intending to channel in dreaming you leave your self wide open to that which you intend and, though you may feel a familiarity in your dream channeling, I must state that you are not tapping into my energy, though your channel, honed by our work together is operating as you have trained it. You see? You are using a familiar process, thus it is the process that is familiar and recognizable, but you are connecting elsewhere, as is your intent. So, to answer your question, you are not channeling me or my energy during your dreaming process, you are channeling where you direct your self. I wish to point out that you are in control by placing your intent, stating your desires, and asking for information from these specific sorcerers. Continue to hone this skill of dreaming intent, for it is very useful.

Thank you. Okay, so what about detachment? Is alignment with spirit another step?

I must say that your perceptions are correct, that, yes, alignment with spirit is an aspect of detachment. It is, in fact, the overall intent of detachment to remain in spirit alignment. Detachment cannot be perceived or achieved without knowledge of spirit self. Alignment with spirit self is a given in the process; it is the overall awareness factor, so I am not going to include it, per se, as a step, though I include it in each step. Alignment with inner self, with spirit intent, with spirit purpose must be accepted in order to begin a practice of detachment, otherwise the idea of detachment will seem anathema to life upon that earth.

So what is the second step in detachment?

The next step to take is the step toward Knowing of Purpose. This may take some time, it may take a whole life in fact, to discover your purpose in that lifetime. In Knowing of Purpose, your focus of self, of energy, of greater good, in alignment with inner spirit self, allows for attention to be placed where it is needed, yearned for, and required for your evolutionary growth. In order to determine your purpose in life you must pay attention to your spirit, your heart-centered knowing, and the true words spoken to you throughout your life. These true words, though they are often pushed aside for ego intent, will lead you to discovering your greater spirit’s intent, your purpose in life.

Purpose in life may be innerly centered or it may be outerly centered. By this I mean that many of you will find that your purpose is directly attached to your inner process and many others will discover that their true purpose is related to their place in the outer world. There are introverts and extroverts among you, as has been described by many thinkers. What type you are will aid you in discovering your true purpose in life and it would not be a bad idea to more thoroughly research the self in order to discover where your strengths really lie. Many who believe themselves to be introverts may, in fact, find that their true purpose is in becoming extroverted and vice versa. True purpose must therefore be related to ego in alignment with spirit. These are the questions I pose in response to your question regarding the second step in detachment: Who are you really, and what is your purpose? No one can answer these questions except each one of you personally, My Dear Readers. You must explore the self, uninhibitedly, openly and unafraid, with intent to discover your true purpose. Put that into your dreaming intent and see what happens!

*Being-in-Dreaming, An Initiation into the Sorcerers’ World, Donner, Florinda. New York: HarperCollins, 1991.
**The Sorcerers’ Crossing, A Woman’s Journey, Abelar, Taisha. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.

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