Healing Begins With Joy!

Let's face it, there is a little known component in spirituality in general and shamanism in particular that needs more attention—mirth! After all, as every healer knows, the sacred is fueled by joy, and at the base of joy is love. Love makes us happy...joyful! And that's the nexus point of healing. It's a beautiful circle.

Often when I speak at conferences or teach classes, audiences and students alike seem to expect anything but laughter and joy. Yet, the cliche, "Laughter is the best medicine," was once the benchmark of a healer's creed. If you do not carry a smile in your heart, how do you propose to engender it— the very basis of healing— in another? Indeed, joy has healed far more people than any pharmaceutical yet invented.

So, to honor joy's importance in our lives, I've dedicated several weeks to the subject on my blog. But it's no long litany of quotes from inspirational speakers, no endless lists of things you must do to be joyful. Rather, it's a comic book!

Who says the treasured principles of spirituality can't be entertaining or joyful? They should be!

In one post per day in the series, you can catch snippets of what the ancients taught about our common struggles as seekers of joy who also want to be of service. The series features many bygone superheroes and their nemesis enemies from aging comic books. The heroes are re-purposed with a new mission, to help people learn the importance of joy instead of a reliance on fast fists or superhuman powers.

It begins when the "retired" superheroes, who now work at the Thunder Valley Drums Blog, decide to take over the blog because the administrator, Bob (me), is on vacation. They simply want to have some fun! It quickly devolves into chaos, though, when a group of nefarious villains from their past launch a nasty attack to avenge old conflicts! The heroes are soon caught in a mire of confusion regarding their own true identities, unable to discern fiction from the virtual realities around them. Caught in the middle is a seeming hapless but sincere shaman's apprentice who must save the imperiled heroes and thousands of residents in the small city of Thunder Valley, Kentucky. But, does he possess the joy to do so?

The story is continuing, but you can start at the beginning with this link.

It makes for some fun summertime reading, and I hope it gives you a smile, spiritual traveler.

About Shaman Bob:

As an author, editor, publisher and journalist Bob values freedom, tolerance and open expression. He is now fulfilling a life-long dream of service and teaching through his practice of shamanism and his on-going independent research into comparative spirituality. His impulse for service also extends into the making of sacred drums and other ceremonial items for people on a spiritual path.

Website: Thunder Valley Drums

Podcast & Blog: Thunder Valley Drums Blog