A shamanic drumstick is more than a mere stick, even though its appearance may not suggest so. This is a shamanic tool every bit as sacred and cherished as, say, a shaman's drum or his/her medicine bag. It's both an extension of a shaman's hand and heart in one, enlivening and energizing a beautiful connection with Spirit while simultaneously aiding to fortify protection around the circle and all within it. To move former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt's famous quote around a bit, this is the stick to carry when you are talking softly, but want a big voice!

You can make a drumstick in a matter of minutes, of course. Whittle any old stick and—voila! But if it is to be a powerful asset in a spiritual quest or journey, in other words if it is to be a shaman's drumstick, it should receive your utmost attention and devotion. In return, you will have an unfailing and devoted partner. The more special you treat your quest to find the perfect stick, the better will be the energy and connectedness you will feel when using it in ceremony or journey work. << MORE >>

Now that the headquarters of the giant international conglomerate known as Thunder Valley Drums has been consolidated into our home, my executive powers have multiplied. I can now decide on my own at exactly what time I wish to take out the garbage, or how I will go about completing the to-do list I'm given every day. Such power and control! Heady.

My responsibilities have also expanded, the result of a lifetime of preparation for leadership at the executive level. For instance, I am now the full time pest controller, tasked with chasing recalcitrant spiders or flies that penetrate our defenses through the back porch screen door or windows. My expertise is also required in breaking up the occasional cat fight in the back yard. So I can add "Security Expert and Conflict Negotiator" to my resume. I'll bet even Donald Trump can't make such claims.

Given that it's Sunday afternoon, I can now lounge around however I wish... with that to-do list provided by the CEO in the living room. << MORE >>

I have written extensively here on my blog about "going inside" and awakening your spiritual power. It's time to do it, you know, because it's time to remember who you are. And that's impossible without connecting with this special power.

Oh, it's not something I give you. Fact is, you began your Earth walk with this power. It was granted to you long before your birth. It's not gone anywhere, you just need to get in touch with it. It's inside, waiting to be recognized. And I can help you do it.

• You cannot find a fulfilling sense of connection with Spirit.

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Oh, my, I haven't written about UFOs for a while, so what better to do on a Sunday night?

Considering it's such a potentially exciting field, it's really sad that it doesn't change much. That's at least partly because...

1.) the same old people continue to dominate it. A lot of the so-called leading lights in UFO research should be settling into retirement and taking their tired old theories and presentations with them.

2.) The field is also suspected of being so hum-drum because an alleged power elite controls the message and intentionally flummoxes any legitimate information, the better to influence societies toward predictable behaviors and desired outcomes, and possibly to cover over potentially illegal, unconstitutional and / or downright immoral acts. These first two reasons may be more related to each other than we realize, at least in certain instances.

3.) Another reason, also related, is that few legitimate scientists or metaphysicians show much interest in doing real research into the associated phenomenon, and that's because there's no money being offered to sustain the sort of effort that would be required. Nor would the two parties necessarily EVER consider joining in a shared effort, which I believe is a prerequisite to true breakthroughs in understanding. If our government had any real gumption, and was truly innocent of any complicity in the above, it would fund such a program on an interdisciplinary level with our best universities (assuming there are any left) and independent thinkers. It would throw a few journalists into the mix to keep it public, too. (No, I'm not volunteering. << MORE >>

Chris Hedges won a Pulitzer Prize for news reporting, and is a leading voice for truth and justice in an unjust world. His recent TruthDig article, "Welcome to the Asylum," powerfully delivers insight into the Western capitalist juggernaut that has supplanted religion and societal order like the rapacious beast portrayed in the Christian Bible. He is, in effect, saying what you have probably sensed for some time, and that is, changes are needed or, as George Bush, Jr. said, "This sucker could go down." Ironically, Bush spoke those words while approving a $700-billion taxpayer-funded bailout of certain wealthy investors and bankers, the people who are leading to the demise of civil government and society.

But leaders need followers, and that's where we all fit in.

Inevitably, it will go down, according to Hedges, because we can't stop and get off the thrill ride. The momentum will carry us, as it has all civilizations, into the dust.

His cautionary observations are not without a glimmer of hope, however. He cites the success of various past Native American governmental and social structures as examples of future options we could choose for the continuation of an improved civilization. In this vein, he is in agreement with many observers, like James Howard Kunstler for example, who foresee a time after a major economic collapse when people return to the land and start anew. << MORE >>

Thunder Valley Drums has a new home!

What a job! After ten days and a 10-day backache, the task is at last finished, and I can now answer the phone, work on a drum, record a podcast and make a necklace, all without leaving my chair! Yes, it is incredibly cramped! You wouldn't believe it if you saw it. Thank goodness it's only a temporary situation as we begin preparing to relocate to a more permanent homestead.

I'm still busy rearranging and straightening up the mess, but I'm as happy as a bug in a rug and ready to make your drum (all links open new window), whether a hoop type or a lightning-struck drum, though the latter will be a while. I am also working on three sacred powwow drums like the Bear Drum I showed you last year. The first drum from the new location will be heading to Canada later this week, followed by others, of course, here, there and yonder. << MORE >>

I'm temporarily consolidating the Thunder Valley Drums studio into our home, all in preparation for what we hope will be an eventual relocation to a larger place, perhaps sometime this summer or early fall. You wouldn't believe how cramped we are!

But the energy and motivation for change has been building for some time, and animal friends have signaled its portent since early January. Besides, I've been jumping between the two locations far too long, working at my desk in one, at the workbench and in ceremony in the other. The arrangement was too expensive, too. And that brings me to the point of today's article.

Assuming GoDaddy's statistics report is accurate, more than 4,000 people a week are checking into this blog. It seems you are about as equally interested in how to make shamanic items as you are in reading the various articles or listening to the podcast episodes I post. People copy or download a lot of the information here every day. << MORE >>

In Part One we discussed the work necessary to engage in a trek toward enlightenment. I presented Seven Steps that seem necessary to developing the work habits and organization one may need to accomplish the goal. I had also asked for postcards from enlightened people so that I could report to you what it’s like to be in such a state. Cleverly, I had masked the real motive behind that request, which was simply to see if I could trick an enlightened respondent to reveal a shortcut the rest of us could take! Alas, I have not received any postcards. So we must press on. (The invitation is still open, though!)

In Part Two, we’ll look at the rather grim situation facing us in this world, and how to overcome it by doing the work of “going inside” to find your personal power. It's offshoot is joy, so it's worth the effort.

A few caveats: This piece is meant for seekers who aren't settled in their skins and know there is more to life than they know. They feel a pull to explore beyond their current beliefs. If you don't sense that in yourself, then you can save time and skip this article. << MORE >>

   

• Full Instructions For Making Three Variations Of Bob’s Preferred Rattle Design
• 40 Color Illustrations "Secret Ingredients” To Include In Your Sacred Rattle 
• Tips & Techniques For Maximizing The Rattle’s Voice
• How To Use Your Rattle
• Bob's Colorful Commentary & Spiritual Insights
  
• 60 PAGES IN ALL!

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I posted several new necklaces, including a unique Medicine Bag Necklace on the Thunder Valley Drums Website last night. What joy I felt while making them. (More photos below)

It all started three or four weeks ago when a good friend from whom I purchase many supplies offered me a limited quantity of some beautiful suede deer skin lacing, and I was off to the studio with glee! You will be so surprised and pleased when you touch these sumptuous all-natural necklaces that also include lightning-struck cherry pendants, lilac pendants and a wide variety of other materials. There are copper and jasper beads, a real feather on one, some antique Ethiopian copper beads, brass and wooden beads, and some Peruvian ceramic, too.

The lone medicine bag necklace (there will be more!) even includes a Columbian Copal (photo, left), which is a form of resin produced by trees and very similar to amber, only younger, according to the experts who sold the beautiful piece. Its color is exactly like amber, and this particular copal reminds me so much of Jurassic Park because a mosquito is encased (or is an "inclusion" as experts call it) within it, just like in the film. But copal is typically only a few hundred years old at most, whereas amber could be thousands or millions years old. The copal energy is a very soothing and quite useful in shamanic ways because, like its older amber cousin, is associated with drawing out, clearing and transmuting energy, and even with fertility and the associated notion of giving birth to new ideas. The medicine bag necklace is pictured on the right in the main photo at the top of this post. Opposite it in that photo is a lilac necklace. << MORE >>

This new series highlights some concepts I’ve shared with you in person during shaman training classes, or at conferences and/or in podcasts about how my quest for enlightenment has not been in a straight line. This is the first time, however, that I’ve actually published them in written form. I hope you find them helpful in your own spiritual quest. And when you get there, please drop a line or send a postcard and tell me what it’s like to be enlightened. I’m eager to know!

Part One: Seven Steps To Doing The Work

Okay, first I want to tackle the concept of “DOING THE WORK.” And wow, so many people have told me about their frustration with what they perceive as a lack of any, or at least very slow progress along their spiritual path. Well, I sure understand that feeling, completely, having experienced it over and over myself. I mean, really, why can’t it be easier? I want truth and I want it now. Gimme the God pill, already!

Oh, if only there were a pill we could take to get spiritual! << MORE >>

We will convene a drum circle tomorrow (March 14, 2012) at 5 p.m. EDT (U.S.) for the man mentioned in the previous post. He has asked that his name be withheld, but that he welcomes your love and healing energy, and wishes to return it in kind. His operation is scheduled for 1 p.m. on March 14 in the Kentucky area. << MORE >>

First, an update to the Feb. 9, 2012 request: One of the men mentioned in that post, who is in his 70s,  has made wonderful progress toward a full recovery. The second man needs our continued efforts, though. He now faces surgery on March 14. We are planning a circle for him, but have yet to set a date/time (so please check back, as I'll post a notice as soon as possible). Meanwhile, if even right this second as you read this, please sound your drum or send a prayer or do what you can to envelope him within the great circle of protection and healing. << MORE >>

It's NEW time at Thunder Valley Drums! Today I offer a new TVD Newsletter, a new Shamanic Gourd Rattle Kit, and a NEW book! Triple new, just for you.

Here's a link to the Thunder Valley Drums Newsletter! You will see the Bear Drum in action at its new California home and catch up on what else is going on out here in the Kentucky bluegrass at the TVD studio. There's a valuable coupon in it, too! << MORE >>

Here are a few photos I promised to post as a supplement to the Shaman Drums 2.0 Podcast episode, "A Walk With A Ghost",  posted Feb. 5, 2012. And by the way, I offer thanks and a big hug here on Valentine's Day to everyone who called, wrote and emailed about the episode. I am so deeply appreciative of your loving kindness and support.

Now for those photos.
(Left) The Hawk Tree, located in a playground, is flanked on the left by pines and on the right by an open field. Behind it are two fenced-in tennis courts, and then, just beyond, The Three Titans.
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I have just learned of two men in Kentucky who are suffering medical problems and are in need of spiritual support. One is in his 60s; the other, in his 70s.

If possible, please whisper a prayer, or sound your drum, or do whatever you have found that offers help and healing to those in need. Many people will be doing so as soon as they read this request, and others will join in over the next few days. Your assistance can help make a positive difference in these two lives, and to all of life everywhere.

We will be drumming for them tomorrow (Feb. 10) evening, beginning around 8 p.m. U.S. East Coast time, and will certainly welcome you into the circle, wherever you are.

Aho and Namaste, << MORE >>

Hello from Kentucky! This is the Shaman Drums 2.0 Podcast, brought to you by Thunder Valley Drums, your source for lightning-struck drums and many other spiritual allies for your sacred exploration. I’m Bob, your drummaker and podcast guide for the next hour or so, and I am very honored and excited that you’ve joined the circle today! Welcome!

Today’s show is a personal report of my ongoing encounter with a ghost—practically in my backyard! So I finally decided to grab my digital recorder and head outside to see if I could capture an episode with the haunting figure.

Well, what can I say? What an adventure it turned out to be.

For one thing, many power animals showed up for cameo appearances during the taping, even though one was camera- and recorder-shy and thus avoided detection by my equipment. The ghost also eluded capture, by electronic means at least. << MORE >>

Well, it was a wonderful time last week engaging in some fun with my hobby having to do with old comic books. This week, though, I invite you to turn your attention to another in an occasional series of "how to" articles, this one dealing with the sacred medicine bag.

It’s called a medicine bag or pouch, and you can make a simple one in as little as a few minutes. But the preparation for choosing its contents and actualizing its healing, protective and/or divinatory power can take a lifetime. You can read more about that in my forthcoming book, Make It Sacred. (More details coming soon!)

But you don’t need to know everything before you start, because now is the time for learning and doing. You are, after all, a healer in your own right, and the sooner you allow yourself to discover your true nature and to then be of service to yourself and others, the better. Your time has come! And making a medicine bag necklace is a wonderful way to explore some of the aspects of spiritual expression, healing and service.

The example shown below will demonstrate how to make a small medicine bag necklace, and will result in a bag about one or two inches in diameter and height, depending on what you put inside of it. The size can be adjusted to suit your needs. << MORE >>

(Please Note: Today's series ends with a l-o-n-g post, so please expect it to take a couple of seconds longer to load. Thanks!)

And what would such a week be without doing that which all good comic book superheros must deal with at some point in their careers— POLITICS!? What a subject! A real sticky-wicket!

But it's eerily similar to the main subject of this week's Spiritual Superhero series, and that's spirituality. Both subjects, politics and spirituality, were the two things my Dad always told me not to debate with people, because it deals with people's beliefs, or lack thereof, and that doesn't necessarily make for good conversation. "You'll make few friends discussing these matters," he warned. And he was right, of course.

But it doesn't apply if you're a talk show host, a journalist or a comic illustrator— zany people they are! Whoa, wait a minute, those are things I do! Oh...never mind!

Hey, it's all for fun! And what the heck, if you're upset with me for what's been posted this week, you won't be reading today's entry anyway! (And if you don't hate me yet, just hang on, 'cause today's is three, THREE big comic book pages long, so there's plenty of time left to build up steam!)

One person who understands the point I'm trying to make has just broadcast a couple of Twitter messages about the series in the past few days. She wrote (or rather, "Tweeted") the following... "Thanx. << MORE >>

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