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34 A Journal of Contemporary Shamanism Volume 6 Issue 1 SPRING 2013 and into a more metabolic state of be- ing. By metabolic I mean a state where consciousness becomes more fluidic and less attached to thought and the external sensesessentially a state that is not organized by the sensory nervous system. This metabolic state which I call the Tree in the Sea has become a key com- ponent of Yewshamanism and is essential to the healing process in that work. In Yewshamanism consciousness must be loosened and essentially freed from the sensory nervous system in order to enter the spiritual world where the forces of healing originate. The Yew functions as a sealed cosmic space or womb where the loosened consciousness can be reshaped outside of the influence of the sensory nervous system. The Elemental Sulfur Spirit and the Yew are polar opposites in their function. The power of the Elemental which is an Earth spirit is oriented in a centripetal direction or basically inward. It is more metabolic and tends to extinguish every- day consciousness. As an evergreen tree the Yew is largely independent of the sea- sons perhaps existing like all evergreens before the earth began to express itself in the rhythm of the seasons. All trees are etheric beings whose branches extend out toward the cosmos. And so the Yew ori- ented to cosmic forces extends outward or centrifugally in its growth like other trees but then turns inward to create an inner space. No other tree achieves this to the extent that the Yew does. The Yew demonstrates a gesture that is called branch-layering where it creates clones of itself that re-root into the earth to form what look like new trees. The East Lothian Yewhas an outer circumfer- ence of over 400 ft. The inner chamber stretches about 15 feet from the trunk in an almost perfect circle and reaches about 12 feet in height. The East Lothian Yew forms a true inner space similar to the processes of animal development. However its powers of regeneration are beyond those of any animal or human. Within its inner space it constantly dies to itself so that new growth can be induced. This is the secret of its eternal nature. It is the Tree of Life but also the Tree of Death. It holds the balance of opposites within its very gestures of growth and decay. I like to compare the growth gestures of the Yew to the early stages of early human embryological development. I have come to understand that the process of my initiation followed an orderly pattern that resembles embryological development in the critical stages where the embryo must die to its former self to reach the next stage in its develop- ment. Ultimately none of us are finished beings. The spiritual forces that create us are loosened after birth and used for consciousness and further development. However we can refocus these forces to regain their potent embryonic nature and in so doing we can accelerate and enhance the healing process. Further Stages of Initiation During the first three years spent under the tree I felt as though I were being quite literally turned insideout. There was a very clear pattern beginning with convulsions followed by a kind of incubatory sleep where I would experi- ence vivid dreams. Lesser convulsions ensued after waking and as they sub- sided I would catch glimpses of whirling tendrils of light that wound around the tree and that finally over a period of months entered into my body. The light tendrils seemed to function as sensory organs for the Yew tree as if the tree was able to use the tendrils to communicate with me. The tendrils moved like a fluid around the tree and took on shapes and forms that seemed organic. I began to see a sort of language in these forms as if the tendrils were imitating the shape of my organs and fluids in the space beneath the tree.I began to see myself pictured by the tendrils. They were like organic drawings in light. It was as if the space under the tree was filled with my extended body. During the next few years of my initi- ation I began to encounter specific spirit beings. One of the most significant of these beings was the Bird Shaman. One of the Bird Shamans principal methods of healing involved working directly with the light tendrils of the Yew. Over the next three years he and several other spirits began to instruct me in how to unite my perception and my hands with the language of the Yew in its light tendrils. The organic light forms would constantly change shape and expand and contract in a sort of breathing process. I could see my hands in space touching and directly working with these light forms and yet at the same time I could feel the forms that my hands touched as my own body was stretched out into peripheral space. This was an incredible experience and although at times pain- ful it was the beginning of a process of healing initiated by the Yew. During the further stages of initiation and especially over the following years I came to a much deeper understand- ing of the function of the light tendrils. I began to experience them as not only the sensory organs of the Yew and a language of healing described by Bird Shaman but as an aspect of my own spiritual form. Gradually I began to learn to differentiate between the various levels of their manifestation and finally came to the realization that the light tendrils were outlining the existence of a second body a spiritual body that is involved in maintaining health both spiritually and physically. This second body which I call the Spiritual Organism is not geneti- cally constituted nor is it in any way con- trolled by the sensory nervous system or by the ego. In my healing work over the last twelve years I have come to realize that each human being has such a body a perspective that was greatly supported by my work in the field of biodynamic craniosacral and in my studies of occult human embryology. The Three Healing Practices of the Yew On a practical level the Yews teach- ings stay very close to the main outlines of my initiation and the sequence given by the Yew. The teachings also reflect