The following is an excerpt from my subscription service Whispers from the Cave. Learn more HERE.
Between a risk of liability exposure, the increasing costs to maintain and staff outdoor rinks, and the climate change that has given us warmer and less predictable winters, the tradition of neighborhood skating rinks died. The joy of this tradition is still carried in the hearts of all who once enjoyed the Dale School rink, and the rink is perhaps what Dale School is most known for.
The rink and the ghosts. As it relates to the rink, there is a long time Oshkosh legend of a young boy who died on that rink. The story is that he fell and hit his head on the ice, suffering a serious concussion that resulted in a brain bleed. Today we understand that head injuries are sneaky and can lead to serious, often undetected complications. The boy’s injury took place long before MRI’s, but regardless, the legend is that he died on the spot.
I call this boy Billy and he lives as a spirit in the basement of Dale School (aka The Cave). I see him as a boy of nine or ten years old….the age when boys are just starting to experience the early symptoms of puberty….in emotions and actions if not physically. Billy presents to me as a good kid, mischievous and playful as are all boys of that age. The teachers of Dale School had a special place in their hearts for Billy as his home life wasn’t especially good. His father was “a drunk” and was rough with his wife and children. Billy, being the most energetic, often became the brunt of his father’s drunken tirades. Billy often came to school with the signs of having been hit, but in those days, there were no resources to advocate for a child. Billy found refuge at the school. The teachers were kind and understanding and let him stay as long as they were able after the school day was complete. Billy was often lingered on the playground until the last employee went home.
The last to go home was Clarence. Clarence was the school’s custodian, groundkeeper, electrician, plumber, and repairman. Clarence is also the one who tended the boiler and made sure the school was well heated during the long and cold winter months. In the winter, Clarence tended the skating rink, adding water to the base when needed, and shoveling it clean from fresh snowfall. Clarence was a single man who took pride in the school and until all the work was done, called it his home.
NOTE: This narrative was created through the creative imagination and channeling and based on what I have observed as ghosts in the place I live. Without verifiable evidence I cannot claim this narrative to represent facts.
Read more by subscribing to Whispers from the Cave. Learn more HERE.
The Kabbalah is a mirror in which is reflected the fiery intelligence that has caused humanity to rise beyond all other species of creatures on the earth – a fiery intelligence that makes us self-aware and empowers us with the capacity of a conscious evolution far beyond our present state. – Tau Malachi from his book, Gnosis of the Cosmic Christ
The destiny of humankind and the purpose of each individual.
The nature of the human soul and its connection to the Divine.
The nature and attributes of the Divine.
The inner meaning of the revealed scriptures.
The mysteries and power contained in the Hebrew letters.
The mystery of the divine incarnation and the divine plan on earth.
Benefits of engaging with the Kabbalah
Provides us with a map of the journey of consciousness evolution.
Supports us in understanding the various stages along that path.
Guides us in identifying and overcoming the challenges to our Soul’s evolution.
Empowers us in becoming sovereign beings – whole and complete within ourselves in our unique giftedness and purpose.
Becoming Sovereign provides an introduction to one of the most ancient and primordial mystical traditions in the world – the Kabbalah.
The Kabbalah, as it is known today, is the tradition of Jewish mysticism which emerged in written form during the middle ages, but whose oral tradition predates the written by hundreds, if not thousands of years.
The Kabbalah, in its broadest sense is at once a cosmology, a belief system, and a practice. For our purposes here, Becoming Sovereign will introduce the basic tools of the Kabbalah including knowledge of:
The Tree of Life
The Sefirot (emanations of the Divine)
The Divine Name
The Hebrew Letters and their spiritual meanings
Angels and Archangels
The significance of the Holy Bride
The lessons provided here are excerpts of the longer and more in-depth training provided in the Order of Melchizedek Alchemist Training. Becoming Sovereign stands on its own as an introduction course, and can become a source of inspiration for taking your studies farther through the Order of Melchizedek Training. You might also deepen your knowledge and experience of the Kabbalah through our Mary Magdalene and the Path of the Holy Bride online training.
Join Lauri Ann Lumby as she breaks open the ancient mysteries related to the adversary – the natural inner force that has been corrupted into an external demon that should be feared. Even the ancient names given to this helpful and benevolent force have been appropriated by those who seek to manipulate others through fear, intimidation, and threats of eternal damnation.
Discover the ancient names given to the adversary and their true meanings.
Understand the natural cycle of spiritual growth including necessary times of resistance characterized by temptation, doubt, confusion, and difficulty.
Learn to approach the adversary as advocate.
Release resistance through practices of welcome.
Through this two-hour workshop, you will be empowered to set aside the “devil” you know and find power in working with the natural inner force that ensures our growth.
In this introduction to Gwyn Ap Nudd, King of the Tylwyth Teg (Fae) and Lord of the Underworld, you will come to understand his role as guardian of and guide through the shadows. We enter into the shadow so that we can do the critical work of healing our unhealed wounds, while rediscovering, reclaiming and reintegrating the pieces of ourselves we have rejected, repressed or suppressed. In order to become whole, shadow work is critical – though admittedly, not for the faint of heart. Gwyn helps to guide us through and supports us in this task.
In this course you will receive NINE Initiations and will be given specific tools, unique to the magic of Gwyn ap Nudd, to assist you in your journey of working through the shadows and claiming the wholeness that is your birthright – a wholeness that is both active and receptive, provisional and supportive, nurturing and empowering, expansive and protective. Gwyn ap Nudd assists you with it all!
Whether Gwyn calls to you personally, or if you are simply interested in learning more about and thereby befriending the underworld gods, as Gwyn has been known by many other names: Pan, Hades, Pluto, Cernunnos, The Horned God, and many others, this course is for you, Ultimately, Gwyn represents the part of ourselves that desires to be whole and which is willing to go into the depths to do so.
Lesson One – God under the Tor
Lesson Two – The Horned God
Lesson Three – Celestial Origins
Lesson Four – Gwyn’s Animal Totems
Lesson Five – Gwyn’s Labyrinth
Lesson Six – Carnal Knowledge
Lesson Seven – Chamber of Shadows
Lesson Eight – Gwyn’s Magic Book
Lesson Nine – Shamanic Initiation
A note from course creator, Lauri Ann Lumby, OM, OPM, MATS:
In late January into early February of 2008, over the feasts of Imbolc/Michaelmas and the Feast of St. Brigid, I made a pilgrimage to Glastonbury, England, otherwise known as Avalon. It was here that I was initiated as a priestess of Gwyn Ap Nudd – Celtic (specifically Welsh) Lord of the Underworld.
Being made priestess of Gwyn was not of my choosing, neither was I ordained by human hands. Instead, the initiation was presided over by Gwyn, himself – a god I had not previously known. Neither had I invited Gwyn into my presence. He simply stepped forth into my life, made himself known, and then led me into the world of my own shadow, a labyrinthine journey that seems to finally have come to some sort of closure, but only after many years of both profound bliss and excruciating struggle.
The journey into our shadow is never easy – but it always brings forth its reward – the reward being a more whole, fully integrated version of ourselves. From the perspective of modern-day psychology, it is only by journeying into our shadow that we have any hope of becoming self-actualized, knowing the fullness of our gifts, conscious of our human limitations, and able to live through them both freely and unencumbered, thereby enjoying a life of meaning, fulfillment and joy. Gwyn’s job, as I have learned, is to help us accomplish this task – if we allow him.
Cross land and sea Time and tide To misty Avalon I fly. Seeking what? I do not know. Unless it be a place called home. Where kindred spirit join by chance, Round the fire – the sacred dance.
Drawn through dreams of lifetimes past, Seems ancients did this circle cast. To Tor and Well and ancient spring. The place I thought my Soul could sing.
Take care all those like me who’d go For Avalon’s gifts cannot be foretold. Where Michael and Mary ley lines greet Ego and fear did meet defeat.
Gwyn Ap Nudd appeared as guide For the hell I created could not be denied. Following the labyrinth to the depths of my fears, Often wondering, “Is insanity near?”
Attachment, rage, resentment and grief Transformed in the fire while I prayed for relief. My warrior’s heart tested in flame Hoping here would be the gain. When at last released me at the top of the Tor, I collapsed in a heap – wanting no more. Processing along the dragon’s back, My Beloved Christ kept me on track. He explained the attachment that stood in the way Of knowing the peace and the love of each day.
To Chalice Well he bid me rest, In the Mother’s arms I’d completed the test. Finding her love hidden in stone. In bud, leaf and wood, I remembered my home. Then verse 12, Chapter 12 of Testament Old The world of Joel that made me whole: “Return to me with your whole heart Don’t let fear keep us apart.”
An ocean of tears the floodgate released As I was reminded of the true source of peace. The love of Divine that resides in my heart. Return to the Oneness from where we all start. The Holy Grail now fully revealed. I am this love and through it am healed.
The truth that Christ came to remind. Is that when we seek we shall find. That home is the love of the Divine deep within This is our origin and where we begin. It is ego that creates the false separation. That caused us to fear Divine reparation. In fact this love of Divine that is me, Is the ground of my being and the place I am free.
Seeking for home in someplace external Led me within to the love that’s eternal. The Holy Grail is the truth of our being. When we’re vessels of love for everyone’s seeing. Allowing the love that’s in truth who we are. To flow from our hearts to all near and far. So Dorothy’s words take on a new meaning, “There’s no place like home,” Divine love – what we’re seeking. My quest for the Holy Grail will go on Knowing where spiral ends, we’ve only begun.
For my entire life I have been fascinated by magic. Naturally drawn to the mystical, I found my childhood role models in Samantha Stevens, Morticia Addams and Lily Munster. In my teens, I become overwhelmingly obsessed with anything that had to do with King Arthur and read every book on the subject that I was able, ultimately culminating in the Arthurian masterpiece, The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. To say that I loved Tolkien and Star Wars would be an understatement, and Excalibur was my friend.
This love for magic was further supported by my Catholic upbringing which brought me up close and personal to magic that “turned bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ,” that healed the sick, exorcised demons, and made a humble human into the “child of God.” Jesus magic was everywhere and the rituals which facilitated this magic spoke to something very deep within my Soul.
Fast forward into adulthood, along with formation as a Catholic lay minister, I studied Wicca, Native American spirituality, Celtic myth and magic. I set up my home altar and when I asked for guidance it came in the form of a brick which flew through the air, awakening me to my true purpose which had to do with Priesthood – but not the priesthood I had grown up with. As it turned out, neither was my call to Priesthood somehow wrapped up in any of the neo-pagan, priestess or goddess movements. Instead, it seems like it was a Priesthood that predated all of these – what I have heard recent authors call “the primordial tradition.”
In the Judeo-Christian tradition in which I was raised, this primordial tradition is given a name: The Order of Melchizedek. First mentioned in the Book of Genesis as relating to the High Priest of Salem, Jesus is also mentioned as associated with this tradition. What distinguishes the primordial tradition from the systems of magic popular today is that in the Order of Melchizedek:
Magic is not done for the sake of “getting what we want,” but for the sake of aligning our purpose with that of the Divine.
It is not we who are “doing” the magic; it is the Divine working through us.
The Order of Melchizedek “keeps it simple,” acknowledging that the true power of magic is not in complicated rituals, invocations, chants or spells, but is in our intention to be One with the Divine – surrendering our own will to the Divine, and emptying ourselves so that the Divine might live in and through us.
We acknowledge and accept what was said to be true of Jesus:
Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.
Phil 2: 5b8
It is for all of these reasons that in spite of more training programs on magic and ritual (including the ancient Jewish mystical system of the Kabbalah) than you can shake a stick at; I have endeavored to create a training program that presents magic in another light.
online training with Lauri Ann Lumby, OM, OPM, MATS
23 lessons and attunements on the Major Arcana
at your own pace and in your own time
Discussions moderated by course creator and facilitator – Lauri Ann Lumby
22 Pathways – Tarot Intensive approaches the tarot as less of a fortune-telling device and more as a path in support of your own journey of self-actualization. Diving deep in to the ancients roots of the tarot in Jewish mysticism through the Kabbalah, 22 Pathways illuminates the human journey from awakening to full embodiment of our Divine selves. When fully engaged, you will discover a tool that you can return to again and again to gain understanding, insight and support into your life’s journey toward self-fulfillment.
In this course, you will learn and study the Hebrew Aleph-Beis (Alphabet) – the utterances through which the Great Source spoke the world into being and which later inspired the 22 cards of the major arcana. Through each lesson, you will not only gain intellectual knowledge, you will grow into embodying the creative power within each letter and its corresponding card. Through powerful spiritual practices and ritual, you will become attuned to each card/letter such that you come to understand that you ARE a vessel of Divine Creation bringing your own worlds into being.
This Shamanism Intensive with Lauri Ann Lumby introduces you to the traditional shamanic practice of journeywork. Journeywork acknowledges the creative imagination as a gateway to Divine communion and as a tool for obtaining Divine guidance. You will be introduced to the foundations of a “shamanic call in a culture without a culture” and will then have an opportunity to learn and practice shamanic journeys. Working in five different “worlds,” you will meet your power animal, spirit teacher and other teachers and guides in those respective worlds who will support you through their unique gifts in discerning your Divine path. In addition to providing guidance, journeywork supports our inner healing and transformation both in this life and in lives we have already lived. After this course you will equipped to facilitate your own journeys and to lead journeys for others.
Start anytime! Complete at your own pace.
Lesson One: Defining the Shamanic Call
Lesson Two: Identifying the Shamanic Call
Lesson Three: Discernment – Shamanic Call or Psychosis?
Lesson Four: The Initiation Crisis
Lesson Five: The Shamanic Call and Shadow Work
Lesson Six: The Shamanic Journey – Lower World Journeys
Lesson Seven: Upper World Journeys
Lesson Eight: Underworld Journeys
Lesson Nine: Journeys to the Heavenly Realms
Lesson Ten: Middle World Journeys
Lesson Eleven: Bringing it all together.
Required Texts:
Tedlock, B. (2005). The woman in the shaman’s body: Reclaiming the feminine in religion and
medicine. New York, NY: Bantam Books
Walsh, R. (2007). The world of shamanism: New views of an ancient tradition. Woodbury, MN:
A Note from Lauri Ann Lumby, course creator and facilitator:
Before embarking on this journey, I want to thank you for stepping into the question of your own shamanic call. I wrote this course for those, like me, who have received the shamanic call, but have been mostly unsupported in this call because of the culture in which we were raised. For those of us who live in the West (Western Europe, United States, Canada, even Australia and westernized parts of South America and Asia), we are so far removed from our ancestral roots and from the indigenous traditions of our own native peoples that the shamanic call isn’t even a consideration. Instead, what shamanic cultures would understand as characteristic of a shamanic call, Western culture judges as illness, at best, or at the worst – insanity. As such, those living in a Westernize culture who are experiencing an authentic shamanic call are left to their own devises, most often misunderstood, judged and even condemned for the experiences of their shamanic call (including high sensitivities, vivid dreams and nightmares, intuitive and psychic abilities, strange and frequent illnesses, depression, anxiety and even psychosis).
Some have found their way through this call by adopting practices and traditions of indigenous peoples, ie: “walking the red road” as Caucasian Americans might refer to the Native American traditions they have adopted and attempted to make their own. Others might find support through practices of the Mayans, Peruvians, Inuit or Aboriginal people. While we have much to gain by learning from other cultures, for those with Western European roots, the best we can ever do is to pretend, because these practices are not authentically our own.
The purpose of this course is to validate and authenticate your shamanic call and to give you some simple tools and support for embracing and exercising this call in your daily life. While this course is just a beginning (Shamanism 101, if you will), through this process you will have an opportunity to:
Understand the characteristics of a shamanic call.
Discern your own shamanic call.
Understand the spiritual crisis that often heralds the shamanic call.
Learn basic tools for beginning to utilize this call.
Find your own language, arising out of your own mythology and spiritual background for embracing your shamanic call.
Discover the basic tools of the shaman of ritual and journeying.
Much of what will be shared here arose out of my personal journey of discovering and embracing my own shamanic call, along with contemporary research in the field of Transpersonal Psychology which has shed light on this call, especially for those in the Westernized world.
To complete this course, you will need yourself, a notebook or journal and a box of crayons. I invite you to enter into this process with an attitude of inquiry, curiosity and wonder, for this is ultimately what the shamanic call is all about – seeing the world and our life experience through the lens of magic – for as a shaman, this is what you are! The original title of this course was “Broken Wings,” because in a culture without a culture, we most often find the hallmarks of our call looked upon with suspicion and judgment, effectively clipping our wings and making it impossible for us to fly. In this course, I want to help you to fly!
Thank you for giving yourself permission to explore this call within yourself and for taking the time to more deeply discern this call. I am happy and grateful to be a source of support for you as you move through this process and toward that end, I am available for brief email exchanges and for more intensive private consultations at my regular hourly rate. Please consult my website for details.
In Gratitude and Love,
Lauri Ann Lumby, OM, OPM, MATS
Soul School/Order of the Magdalene/Order of Melchizedek
Soul School with Lauri Ann Lumby is a one-of-a-kind education platform that provides the resources and tools to support you in becoming self-actualized.
We don’t just talk about self-actualization. We do it!
Self-actualization is known in your ability to:
Successfully reason, discern, and exercise your own truth.
Access and develop reliance on your own inner authority.
Identify and harness your own unique giftedness and contribution to the world.
Discover, nurture, and cultivate a sense of meaning and purpose in your life.
Name, claim, set and maintain boundaries around your personal needs.
Develop meaningful and satisfying relationships with others.
Exhibit care and concern for the betterment of the world for the benefit of the all.
Soul School Essentials 1 – Igniting the Flame is your introduction to the foundational tools utilized in all Soul School offerings. This course gives you an opportunity to tip your toe in the water by providing a glimpse of the materials covered in our more intensive programs including the Soul Tending and Eternal Flame in-depth packages.
Through Soul School Essentials 1 – Igniting the Flame, you will discover new things about yourself while being affirmed in what you may already know. You will also learn effective tools that you can apply in your everyday life for supporting the unfolding of your Soul toward the goal of enjoying the meaningful and fulfilling life of your dreams.
Soul
Soul is the uniquely creative way in which you have been gifted to find meaning and purpose in your life and the way in which you are called to find fulfillment in service to the betterment of the world. Soul is your true self – the part of you that knows your gift and your call, and is that which compels you to seek out, discover, cultivate, and nurture those gifts and their calling, thereby empowering you to share your gifts in service to the betterment of the world. -Lauri Ann Lumby
Soul School Essentials 1 Course Outline:
Lesson One: Soul’s Journey – The Map of the Soul
Lesson Two: Soul Design – Working with Jungian Archetypes
Lesson Three: Soul Purpose – Introduction to the Enneagram
Lesson Four: Soul Gifts – Discovering Your Unique Soul Gifts
Lesson Five: Soul Speak – Discernment 101
Lesson Six: Soul Success – Introduction to the Authentic Freedom Protocol for Overcoming Obstacles
Soul School Essentials 1 – Igniting the Flame includes lessons on each topic along with industry honored assessments and personality inventories.
Soul Gifts – Discovering Your Unique Gifts and How They Support Your Soul’s Calling, created by Lauri Ann Lumby supports you in knowing the truth that YOU are uniquely gifted to experience meaning and purpose in your life and to find fulfillment in the use and engagement of your gifts, first for yourself, and then, in service to the betterment of the world.
Your gifts were given to you so that you might enjoy happiness, and your gifts are meant to be shared so that the world can become a better place for all of us to enjoy. You cannot become the person you were meant to be – achieving your greatest potential – without discovering, cultivating, nurturing and then sharing your gifts; and the world cannot become what it was meant to be without the gifts you have to share. For your own sake, and for the sake of the world, I thank you for giving yourself the permission and the time to explore and discover your soul gifts!
Over the course of thirteen lessons, you will have an opportunity to first explore the calling that has set you on the path to exploring your gifts along with the importance of understanding that while your soul gifts may be grand in such gifts as leadership, music or the arts, your gifts may also reside in what you might judge as weakness, imperfection or failure. Ultimately, all that we are and everything that we have has the potential for being a gift that provides for our fulfillment while supporting us in helping the world.
Next, you will have an opportunity to explore what the ancient, sacred traditions, have identified as unique and special (spiritual) gifts. Some of these gifts we will draw from the Western Judeo-Christian tradition, others from the Vedic traditions of India, specifically in the writings of Patanjali. I have added some additional gifts that have arisen in support of our current stage of human evolution. In this discovery, you will have an opportunity to explore such concrete gifts as hospitality, craftsmanship, encouragement and leadership; in addition to the more intuitive gifts of discernment of spirits, spiritual hearing, spirit vision and clairempathy. You will also explore some very non-traditional gifts such as invisibility and time-walking.
Below is a list of the gifts that you will have an opportunity to explore and entertain:
Traditional Spiritual Gifts in the Western Judeo-Christian Tradition (charisms):
Invisibility, Flight, Trans-dimensional vision, hearing, Time Walking, Inter-dimensional travel, Hosting, Mediumship, Manifesting, Elasticity, Time Morphing, Blending, Exorcism, Soul Retrieval
A Note on Western and Eastern Scripture: Please note that I do not approach scripture from a dogmatic or doctrinal perspective. Neither do I use it as a way to instill fear or manipulate specific actions or behaviors. Instead, I approach scripture as the ancients did – as a collection of symbolic and metaphorical stories (myth, poetry, etc.) which have the opportunity to reflect back to us aspects of ourselves. In this way, scripture becomes a vehicle through which our highest self can speak to us – providing guidance, support, inspiration, nourishment and even healing. When we pierce through the veil of other people’s interpretations and allow our Soul to speak to us personally and directly through these ancient texts, we discover the transformational power of The Word as it was originally intended – as a tool to guide and sustain us on the path of self-awareness and personal growth.
Lauri Ann Lumby 