Episode 4 - The Spider and the Elephant

In this fourth episode of the podcast, Jen and Tava discuss being a 'Jack of All Trades' and the concept of originality when creating and exploring a spiritual path. They delve into the history of Reiki and explore the concept of mastery, including the significance of storytelling in retaining traditions and cultural practices. The episode concludes with a reflection on the metaphor of the blind monks describing different parts of an elephant to illustrate how diverse perspectives offer partial yet valid truths about a bigger reality. A closing song by Jenn brings the episode to a reflective close.

Resources mentioned: The Gift of the Body by Jonathan Goldman

Please remember this podcast is for inspiration, reflection, and entertainment only, and is not medical, psychological, or professional advice.

We are two friends sharing personal experiences and evolving perspectives as we learn and grow. This is not a substitute for your own discernment, inner wisdom, or qualified professional guidance.

Take what resonates, trust your intuition, and seek licensed support when needed, always honoring your own inner knowing and personal truth.

Thank you joining us today, you are a valued member of our tribe!  If you are enjoying the podcast, please consider telling your friends and sharing it on social media.  We would greatly appreciate your support in helping us reach others and spread our messages of worth, openness and exploration. 

Connect with your Hosts!

Tava Baird:   tavabaird.com or https://darkflowerbooks.etsy.com.

Jennifer Taylor:  Amnivara (previously Willow Ridge Reiki and Healing Arts)           https://www.Amnivara.com/

Transcript

[00:00:00] 

Jennifer Taylor: So welcome to podcast four. Oh my goodness. I can't believe we're at four already.

Jennifer Taylor: I know we're really excited. Go ahead. 

Yeah, I was going to say, we are so excited. I'm so excited. I'm talking over you, Jennn. we really want to thank everybody who has listened to the episodes this far. We've gotten a lovely response right out of the gate. better than we could have predicted and we're so thrilled and we really appreciate everybody who's already reached out to, tell us what they have liked about the podcast and, uh, asking when the next episode will be.

So, here we go, here's the next episode coming at you as always. We like to start off creating a sacred space around our conversation today, and we always do that with Jenn singing us in for an invocation, and it's [00:01:00] probably my favorite part of the whole podcast. So, um, Jenn, would you like to bring us in whenever you're ready?

Jennifer Taylor: Absolutely.

Jennifer Taylor: So I invite everyone to take three slow, deep breaths and to come in to this space and time with even more presence, really being aware of where we are and opening to this unique opportunity to receive. 

Jennifer Taylor: Oh,[00:02:00] 

Jennifer Taylor: E E Oh,

Jennifer Taylor: me

Jennifer Taylor: Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh,[00:03:00] 

Tava Baird: [00:04:00] If you could just spend the rest of the podcast doing that, that would be greatly appreciated. I know, especially by Friday, a lot of times you start off the week feeling really balanced and then little bits of that fall away and get chipped away during the whole week. And sometimes by Friday, I'm like, I don't have any balance left.

Tava Baird: Um, and hearing that invocation, it just sort of sets everything back in balance. I just feel like I need a sound bath of your voice for about two hours and then everything will be fine. 

Jennifer Taylor: You know, it's, it's equally as good for me to do it because I realize, you know, being that conduit for, for the energy and sitting in that and allowing it to flow by the end, I feel completely different too.

Jennifer Taylor: So. [00:05:00] It's a good reminder of, I should just stop and do this more too. 

Tava Baird: now I'm going to have to get focused to talk because I just, I feel like I just had a good massage and I had a good massage yesterday. So hopefully I've been, I've been spoiled rotten this week. Um, good self care. I'm very proud of you. Oh God. Yeah. And that don't look at my weekend schedule, speaking of weekend schedule.

Tava Baird: Maybe this would be a good time, before we get to our topic today, uh, which I'm really excited and looking forward to. Um, if you are in the Virginia or Maryland, area, I just wanted to let you know about a couple of events you might enjoy that are coming. the first one is you'll hear me, talking a lot about the Blue Ball Inn, which is a 1747 tavern that is open.

Tava Baird: Full of Spirits, um, and I am the, uh, Head Volunteer Archaeologist at the site. and I'm teaching a series of Appalachian Arts classes inside the inn. There's one tonight, so it's probably too late for you to register for that because [00:06:00] by the time we get this thing edited and launched it will have already happened.

Tava Baird: But there are a whole bunch of other classes, um, and all the proceeds for them go to benefit the restoration of this inn. And you can find those classes listed under classes on TavaBaird. com. There's everything from broom making to, having a Victorian tea party, and reading tea leaves with me and, Among the Spirits.

Tava Baird: So you might enjoy that. the 14th and 15th of September, is Virginia Pagan and Witches Pride, and it is in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and I believe it is at the, uh, Fredericksburg Film Festival.

Tava Baird: Fairgrounds there. So you can come to see me at the Darkflower booth if you want, and we'll hang out and play with poppets and things. And then, uh, also in Virginia the following weekend, the 21st and 22nd of September, is the Bluemont Fair, which if you've ever wanted to go to a good, old time country fair, this is the one to go to.

Tava Baird: And it's right around the corner from where [00:07:00] Jenn and I live. It'll be nice not to have to go very far for that one. And, I will have an author tent. at that fair so you can swing by and say hi. and there will also be a talk that I'm giving both days right around two o'clock as part of their history talk.

Tava Baird: I'll be doing a speech on haunted archaeology that has to do with Blue Ball Inn. So, um, yes, self care is something I definitely need right now, uh, based on my upcoming weekends. But I'm so glad to be here with you talking about these things. So, 

Jennifer Taylor: Yeah, and I think it's so wonderful that, metaphysical,Topics and fairs and things that, you know, the pagan community is able to come so far out of the broom closet, as you say, that there are huge fairs and places where you can go and connect with other people that have similar kinds of experiences or interests and so many places for resources.

So I [00:08:00] think it's just lovely that we have reached a place where you can openly go and find this community of people. If you are new to the community, Market is a fantastic way to meet people and to learn. I learn every time I go there because there are always people that have different practices than I do.

And everyone there is willing to talk and explain. So you'll get to see demonstrations. You know, don't ever be afraid to walk in and point to something in the booth and say, what is this used for? for your support. And, uh, it's, you know, I meet everybody from Reiki practitioners to sound healers. Oh, one time I was, my booth was directly next to a sound healing booth and it was the best thing.

It was like eight hours of fantastic sound healing. You know, like Tibetan bowls going right next to me. I was so chill. I basically fell asleep in my own booth. But this is, if you're curious about any of the topics that Jennn and I speak about, there are lots of people at markets and fairs that will be happy to talk to you.

[00:09:00] And a lot of times there are also events connected with them, um, get togethers or small rituals or something else like that. It's a great way to kind of dip your toe in the water and, uh, and meet people in your community. 

Absolutely. And so, as we start into what we were going to talk about today, we had been talking through our Marcos about the concept of, Jack of all trades, master of none and How that has always felt to me and what that, has meant.

And I actually want to back up a little bit a lot of the advertisements and the things that we put out there about the podcast say things like, you know, Reiki master and a veteran, which walk into a room. And I was thinking, you know, we really never addressed specifically what we even mean by Reiki master.

And thankfully, in the last one, we addressed, what does Tava mean, by witch? And so I thought, it might be a good idea to start [00:10:00] with what, is meant by Reiki Master. And I've realized that it can mean something a little bit different in different lineages.

So, um, The original, Usui Reiki lineage that came through Mrs. Takata in, Hawaii. which is the way that Reiki came into the West and the United States. That lineage, um, my understanding is that to use the term Reiki master, it not only means that you have reached a certain level of Reiki training, but that you have also taught at least one other person Reiki and passed that energy on to them.

Um, um, In Holy Fire Reiki, I'm not sure that's necessarily so much the case. I haven't had anyone say in order to use the term Reiki master, you have to have taught another person. And the other lineage, they're saying that you would call yourself a Reiki master practitioner until you have taught someone.

But for me, I think the [00:11:00] emphasis on the teaching is, is shifting a little bit in that what we most want are people that are going to be accessing this energy. And so many people think, Oh, well, I don't want to take Reiki master because, or I don't need to take Reiki master because I'm not planning on teaching.

You know, I'm not going to be doing this for a living. I'm not going to be teaching. So I don't need to take Reiki master. And Reiki master is essentially the depending on your lineage, it's either the third or the fourth class that you would take. And in that class, you are given the ability to pass on the gift of Reiki to others.

So when you have that, you're not only able to do Reiki sessions for other people and flow that Reiki energy through you to others, but you're also able to give someone else that gift and the ability to channel the Reiki energy. 

 So I know when we first started talking and I'd heard the term Reiki [00:12:00] but, I didn't understand that there were different lineages and you told me a story that was really helpful, sort of, of how Reiki, Um, I don't want to say started because it's the energy has always been there, but you told the story sort of, much in the same way that I talked about Gerald Gardner and Raymond Buckland last time.

Jennifer Taylor: Can you give us just like a little quick snapshot of when we're talking about Reiki, if it is someone who has a background more like mine who doesn't know. How it kind of came, into Western society, and then how it broke into different lineages. Yes, actually, I would be happy to. So, while history is not my strong suit, I will do absolutely the best that I can. So, essentially, I know in the first, I think it was the first podcast, we talked a little bit about how, The Reiki that we use today, was initially.

Jennifer Taylor: So, Usui Reiki is something that we hear most [00:13:00] prominently these days. When someone is saying they do Reiki, unless they add something else to it, what they really probably mean is that they, do Usui Reiki.

Jennifer Taylor: And that's because the man Mikau Usui, Usui being his last name, was one of the main people who brought this energy through and started passing it on to others. And he was a Japanese spiritual scholar and he was really in search of enlightenment. And he was kind of getting to a place of feeling frustrated and, trying all these different things and saying, 

Jennifer Taylor: I'm not getting it. Why haven't I reached enlightenment? And his Zen master suggested that he go on a 21 day meditation on the sacred mountain called Mount Karama to find Satori, which is this, state of perfect peace and oneness with things.

Jennifer Taylor: And He was on that mountain and [00:14:00] near the end of that time where there's a lot of fasting and he was, he was very weak. he had a spiritual experience and he said that a bolt of lightning struck him in the third eye and knocked him unconscious. And when he awoke the next morning, he had achieved enlightenment.

Jennifer Taylor: And he said, in my heart and in my knowing, I am the universe. and the universe is me. And in his terminology, and given that this is a translation, it could also mean like, I am God and God is me. Or, you know, I am one with the all and the all is in me. And so he was really excited and ran down the mountain to tell his Zen master the news and had another experience where, 

Jennifer Taylor: He tripped over the giant tree roots that are on Mount Karama. If you ever just kind of Google even a picture of Mount Karama, there's these big roots that are way up above the ground. And so as he was running down, he really entered his toe. He [00:15:00] put his hands on his toe and the Reiki energy started flowing through it and healed his foot.

Jennifer Taylor: And he realized Okay, there's more to this. Enlightenment. I've also been given some kind of healing gift and He was aware of Reiki. Reiki is something that had been being practiced in Japan for a We don't know really how long because it was a very private thing. It was something that was passed on Through families, and it was done kind of quietly in the home.

Jennifer Taylor: It wasn't something where you could go out and get a Reiki treatment from someone in the community. And, so we know that something like this, you know, this Reiki energy and the term Reiki, was already in use. But that Yusui, then, what he then started passing on and using, that's why we call it Yusui Reiki.

Jennifer Taylor: And so he started sharing this gift of healing with others. And there was, a [00:16:00] huge natural disaster and, there was an earthquake and a tsunami and, you know, thousands of people were in need of healing. And he was giving Reiki to as many people as he could. He recognized that.

Jennifer Taylor: He could do a lot more good if he could pass this healing gift on to others. And so he started praying and asking how can I give this gift to others and eventually developed what we call an attunement which is a way of attuning another person's energy field to the energy of Reiki so that they can bring it through their body and pass it on and while he was doing this he You know, continued to work on ways of increasing the quality and the quantity of the Reiki energy that he was bringing through.

Jennifer Taylor: And one of the big things that he was always advocating was to continue to [00:17:00] increase the quality and the quantity of the Reiki that you can bring through because we are tapping into something that's infinite. And as it's infinite, it can always be, increased. You know, there's always more for us to learn and know.

Jennifer Taylor: And tap into and so that philosophy was really important and while he was practicing he met dr. Hayashi and Dr. Hayashi was asked by Usui to open his own clinic and to expand and develop the use of Usui Reiki Ryoho, which is what they were calling it at the time 

Jennifer Taylor: And so Hayashi then set up an actual clinic where people could come and He also continued to develop new methods of teaching and passing it on. And the attunements became more and more efficient and effective and people were receiving more and more of that energy as they were moving on.

Jennifer Taylor: Um, Eventually, and this is I'm really going [00:18:00] to shorten this, I think a little bit because we could spend like I could spend the entire hour just talking about the history of Reiki, but at one point, a woman named, Mrs. Takata, who lived in Hawaii, traveled to Japan and she was in search of her own healing and she was there for a surgery and at that point, you know, exploratory surgery was an extremely dangerous kind of thing because the risk of infection and all these other sorts of things were kind of almost as dangerous as whatever 

Jennifer Taylor: you were hoping to cure with a surgery. And she was there and saying, isn't there something else that can be done? And one of the nurses told her about Dr. Hayashi. So she went to Dr. Hayashi's clinic and she began receiving treatments and she received treatments by two practitioners, each day for, four months.

Jennifer Taylor: And she was completely healed and was completely in love with Reiki and just. Beside herself with, you know, what are you doing? How is this happening? [00:19:00] And so she learned Reiki and then brought it back to Hawaii, where she began teaching. And so when she began Teaching she continued to,to adapt and change and evolve the system, but she also took away some of the things that were in there because the way that you suey and Hayashi worked was very much intuitive.

Jennifer Taylor: It was the sense that. Everyone has the ability to access their intuition and to be guided by the Reiki energy. And so as the energy would come through, they would be guided as to where on the body to go and how to move the energy. And, Mrs. Takada felt like that wasn't necessarily something that the people in the West were ready for.

Jennifer Taylor: They were like, they're not ready for, Oh, just sort of listen to your intuition. And none of that was a big thing in the 1930s. And so she came up with a structure [00:20:00] of doing a series of hand placements and took a, kind of left out a lot of the more intuitive teachings from my understanding.

Jennifer Taylor: and also because the, world war two at the time. And, the bombings and things that were happening being anything Japanese was really not a good thing back then. And so she kind of changed some of the names of things and made it to where it seemed as westernized as possible.

Jennifer Taylor: Um, and you know, nothing was allowed to be written down. There were no notes that were allowed. And so eventually, She 

Jennifer Taylor: she taught 22 Reiki masters in her lifetime before her death. And then those 22 Reiki masters went on to teach others. And from those, then it started really spreading. And since then, now there are, at least, the last, the count that I had, there are 150 types or different systems, [00:21:00] from Karuna, Blue Star, Tibetan, Celtic, Rainbow, Jikidin, Angelic, there are all these different types of Reiki.

Jennifer Taylor: So when we talk about lineage of the Usui is really that lineage of tracing your teacher and your teacher's teacher and your teacher's teacher's teacher all the way back to one really probably one of the original 22 that were trained by Mrs. Takada. And what happened with Holy Fire Reiki is that William Rand Had been attuned by many of the original 22 that Um, Mrs.

Jennifer Taylor: Takata had trained and at one point he had a spiritual experience where he was given this holy fire Reiki. this essentially this energy that was saying this is how you're going to pass on the attunements now. This is how you're going to do this. This is a higher, more [00:22:00] refined level of this energy.

Jennifer Taylor: It's kind of, it's like the evolution of this Reiki energy and this is how you're going to be doing it from now on. And so he Um, practicing then in that way and following the instructions of the energy. And the energy was called, the Holy Fire So what I do then is I Holy Fire and Usui. So it's Usui Reiki Energy with Holy Fire added to it. And then, you know, now there are so, so many people that have passed it on. And part of that is that it used to cost 10, 000 to get your Reiki Master and we're now It made it then a very elite thing. It was very difficult.

Jennifer Taylor: And this was, this was 10, 000 back in the early 1900s. and there are still some lineages that say in order to be a Reiki master, you absolutely must charge 10, 000. [00:23:00] And I mean, that's a lot of money now. So that's part of why there were only 22 in her lifetime. You know, now you might have 22.

Jennifer Taylor: In, you know, a weekend of people that, that one person has taught. So they started shifting and changing the pricing structure and saying, Hey, we want this to be more accessible to everyone. We don't want this to be something that only, you know, a few people can access. 

Tava Baird: And a few people from one social class.

Tava Baird: Like, yes, exactly. Extremely wealthy. Yeah. Thank you so much for that. Like it's, it's, it's funny. I was actually talking with a friend of mine who's also a friend of yours today. And she was talking about how sometimes when you do something for a while, you forget that not everybody has sort of like the core base knowledge that you have.

Tava Baird: You just think, oh, everyone [00:24:00] knows this and people don't. And so, um, I think one of the things that's really great about getting to talk with you is that, While we are often on the same path, having those histories and things like that, that we share and exchange with each other, it's just always good to be learning.

Tava Baird: Um, and I know there's a tremendous amount of people out there who are really interested in Reiki. and sometime on another episode, we'll have to talk about, um, when Jenn did my attunement and. Holy moly, like that's an experience I will never forget. Um, but yeah, it's, you know, there's, there's so much about the history and I'm sure as we keep talking, they'll, more little bits will come out, but it's great to have this sort of starting level foundation again and to be reminded of it.

Tava Baird: Um, but now that I've completely swayed us from our topic, which is, you know, The, the phrase Jack of all trades, master of none. Um, what do you have any, what are your thoughts on this [00:25:00] thing? 

Jennifer Taylor: Yeah. So, you know, when we first started conceiving of this episode, I had A whole episode really in my mind as I was at the barn mucking and I was started thinking about it because I started with the term Reiki master and wanting to make sure that I was Expressing to others that the term Reiki master, at least for me, and in, Holy Fire Reiki, the idea is not a, I have mastered Reiki.

Jennifer Taylor: And so, because I am a Reiki master, you know, I will be able to, you know, to heal all of these things and that Reiki's jump. 

Yeah. 

Jennifer Taylor: Exactly. And so, um, And I remember before I got into Reiki, before I really knew anything about it, people would talk about, Oh, you know, she's a Reiki master or I'm a Reiki master.

Jennifer Taylor: And there was something about it that just, it was like nails on a chalkboard. It really bothered me. And I think it was that my [00:26:00] understanding and my interpretation of it was this sense of kind of better than, you know, I'm, I'm better than I am a Reiki master. So I know these, you know, I. and some sort of level above other people or that I have mastered this thing called Reiki and I don't know why really I'm sure there's some sort of unhealed thing in me that needs to be addressed that but I don't have that anymore but I'm sure it was touching some sort of unhealed part in me but in case other people have that too I wanted to be clear that when I say Reiki master what I mean is not that I have mastered Reiki because as you Usui said, and actually you're, you know, prompting the history was perfect in that it's, we're tapping into an infinite source of healing and infinite source.

Jennifer Taylor: And so, you know, you can never master something that is infinite. And so [00:27:00] when I'm saying, you know, I'm a Reiki master, I, it's not that I have mastered Reiki, but that I am. Intending to allow Reiki to master me. And that is really the step that we ask for when someone is wanting to take their Reiki master course, is that idea that I am surrendering my, egoic kind of will to a higher good, to the, you know, spiritually guided life force energy that is Reiki, and allowing that to be a guiding force in my life, as opposed to You know, other parts of my unhealed ego.

Jennifer Taylor: And So the more I started thinking about that, the more I was thinking, it made me think of that term, jack of all trades, master of none. And I've always felt like I resonated with that jack of all trades. You know, I am, I have my hands in a million different [00:28:00] types of things. I was never one that could be like, just choose the subject that you like the most and follow that path, singly all the way to the end, or pick one thing that you're going to do.

Jennifer Taylor: And I was interested in so many different things. I was into music and art and dance and science and, learning to build things and construct things with my hands. And I was into so many different areas. And so I always thought the jack of all trades. I loved that feeling. But then when the master of none part would come, it felt like.

Jennifer Taylor: It felt like a, I was starting to build you up with the first part of the sentence and then I ended it with a, yeah, but you're not as good as anyone else because you haven't actually mastered anything. You know, it's like, you're, you're not a master of any of those things. You just sort of, you know, piddle around with a, with these little things.

Jennifer Taylor: And it always really bothered me. And [00:29:00] so I started thinking about, okay, what is in that? Is there, What can we kind of unpack about that idea of the jack of all trades and master of none? And so I started that discussion on a Marco and, Tava had all sorts of lovely things to add to that as well. 

 one of the things that I was saying was that I often have had that phrase applied to me as well.

That I remember very distinctly back when I was in my twenties. I was painting and I was weaving and I was making dolls and I was doing all these different things. And there was a woman who owned a gift shop in D. C. and some friends of friends I think had introduced us. And she wanted me to come down so she could see my artwork because she was going to maybe carry it in a store.

And I remember, God, taking the Metro and I had so much stuff with me because I couldn't decide on any one thing that I wanted, you know, I couldn't be, just a painter, just a doll [00:30:00] maker. I wanted to bring one of everything. And I remember her saying to me, your work is really beautiful, but I think if you just picked one of these and focused on it, you'd be like,that could be who you became.

And you'd be, you know, like you master that. particular art. And I remember leaving there that day, you know, and of course, I think I was in my 20s. So I was like, sure, sure, I'll do that. And I remember getting on the metro thinking, I'm not doing that. Because there's a, there's a joy in wandering. There's a, and the thing is, this world is built for us to wander.

 to give you an idea, I started, you know, I love to paint. I'm a folk painter. And I started last year, painting, um, an oracle deck to go with my book series, The Spiral Pathways. And it's, you know, 78 paintings, basically. Like almost a, it's basically a tarot deck. And I've gotten, you know, 12 or so paintings into it.

And then as I was reading more about things, I ran across Leonard Mond. [00:31:00] And I, I know I don't speak French, so I know, and I've heard people say it with a much better French accent than me. But you know, Leonard Mond is another form of cartomancy. And, um, and, I started getting interested in Later Mondex, so I, I start reading about it, and then I go, I'm going to, I'm going to make a later mom deck and now within the last 48 hours, I've run into two other German forms of cartoony that came about like right at the turn of the century and they're both super interesting too.

So now my brain is going, Oh my God, I got to make a deck of each of those, you know, and, and researching the history of each of those and looking at different artists artwork, um, as they illustrate these cards. So I'm going to make a deck of each of those. And so, you know, there's a natural progression from, I want to make a tarot deck, now I want to make an oracle deck, now I'm, but I thought, I'm learning about all these different forms of cardmancy outside of what I'm, you know, outside of doing tarot, which I've done for [00:32:00] decades.

Um, one thing does lead to another. That's how our world is set up. And if you say to yourself, well, I'm just, I'm just going to stop here and be really good at this one thing. I think you end up cutting off. a lot of other paths you could have walked down that maybe as you grow and change and learn might have suited you better at that particular time.

Um, I think timing has a lot to do with it. And so, you know, a friend of mine and I were catching up the other day and she said, what have you been up to since you retired? And I said, uh, you know, Oh, well I'm still writing books and I'm painting and I'm teaching classes. And then I handed her the podcast card and said, you can scan this, listen to the podcast.

And then I handed her another card and said, you can scan this if you want to come dig at the haunted inn. And she said, my God, like woman, slow down. But I can't because each of these things are joyful. And they're all connected and they're all part of growing the spirit. And I think. 

Um, there are some [00:33:00] people who are very good at being masters of one thing and, and like the authority in their field. But that's not how I'm built, and I don't think it's how you're built either. I think our roles are more trying to connect people. And if you converse it in a lot of little things, then it's more.

It gives you the opportunity to kind of be an entryway for other people. into finding what they want to do. So I often tell people when I'm teaching witchcraft, I say, you know, you might take this class today and decide this isn't for you, but that there are aspects of it that you like. Tell me what those aspects are.

And I know enough druids and hoodoo practitioners and, you know, other pagans, you know, Norse pagans and all sorts of stuff, that I might be able to direct you towards the next step on the ladder. something that I am not specialized in, but that I know enough about that I can say, okay, let me tell you who you need to get in touch [00:34:00] with.

And then your journey can continue on. in our community, I think it's, it's really wonderful to have lots of hands helping to bring you towards the next thing that you're trying to find. so, I'm wearing that Jack of all trades Rather proudly, uh, I don't think I could be anything different.

Nothing against the people who are designed to be masters nothing against that because that's how they're built and fantastic. Eventually there's going to be somebody who wants to apprentice themselves to a master. Uh, I'm just not that person.

Jennifer Taylor: I'm totally with you. You know, I, I had always seen it as a weakness, and I had had similar things where people had told me stuff about my artwork, where I was, I would paint some, and then I was making things with fabric, and then, you know, I wanted to do all these different medium, and there were people that are like, you know, just wow, I think you could be really good if you just, you know, focused on one of those things.

Jennifer Taylor: And it had [00:35:00] always been presented to me as a weakness of mine, that I was a jack of all trades and master of none. And I was, I must have been in that kind of mindset at one point when I was doing a shamanic journey. And I was so profound. I, I still remember it where I was,in the jungle and we were asking for a guide to come and show us something, you know, like the next step in our, in our growth.

Jennifer Taylor: What, what is it that we need to know? And the next thing, you know, there was a tarantula that was. Like this size, the body was probably the size of a bus and it was way up over top of me. And the next thing you know, I was like just like sucked up, picked up, and taken up inside the tarantula. And I was in there going, okay, so what am I doing in the tarantula?

Jennifer Taylor: You know, what [00:36:00] does, what does this have to show me? And I was, it was so large that I could walk around in it and peer out of its eyes at the front. And I could kind of get a sense of what was going on. And I had this really profound feeling of I'm way up above everything else. And I had all of these different legs.

Jennifer Taylor: that were down in different things. So it was so large that each leg could be in kind of a completely different field of, of study or a completely different area of something. And I realized I was being shown, you know, I, I was meant to be That spider in the center up above the things and reaching with a different leg in each different interest area and each different area of things in life.

Jennifer Taylor: And there was this energy that was shown to me where it was drawing up the legs and bringing it up into the inside of the thing. The spider [00:37:00] and kind of working it all together and that I was meant to be having, you know, my hands and all these different fields, having my hands and all these different types of things, but then bringing them together and assimilating them and integrating them and then weaving something from that that is new and different or that is, you know, another way of looking at things and that we need the combination of those that are Masters, you know of one thing that really are going to take that one area and keep going and going and going And we also need people that are going to take pieces Of all of those things and bring them together in a new way and help people to look at everything from a different perspective and that I was, I was meant to be that weaver of things.[00:38:00] 

Jennifer Taylor: Um, and it was such a profound relief to think that my whole life I had looked at that aspect of myself as a weakness and a failure. And instead I was shown by this beautiful spider that It was actually my strength and that was how I was made and that was what I was meant to be. I wanted us to have an opportunity for us to share these things so that we could really put out there to others that feel like they are that jack of all trades, that that is, a strength as well.

Jennifer Taylor: And it's just as needed. 

Tava Baird: And when you think about it, like when people go to college, what are we encouraged to do? We're encouraged to pick a major. Right to be a specialist in one area, but that is not necessarily how everybody is designed to be There is that what you were saying was reminding me of something.

Tava Baird: So there is a Welsh goddess [00:39:00] called Elin of the waves and Elin She is often identified with a red deer. So when she's pictured a lot of times she has antlers and The thing that Elin does Is there is I, this idea that there are all these worlds out there that are ruled, you know, the land of men and the land of fairy and the, you know, all of these different worlds out there and, uh, different planes of existence.

Tava Baird: But what Elon does is she has this torch and she is the guardian of the ways between. She walks the waves. And it's said that if you want to go from one world to another, it's her, she guides you with her torch in this darkness as you cross worlds. And it's said that she has the power to open doorways to let armies through, if they need to be, or to you know, walk teachers from one place to the other.

Tava Baird: And she's this [00:40:00] revered, I'm goddess in Wales. This is, you know, old goddess in Wales. And I always really loved her. And as we're talking about this today, I'm realizing I'm not meant to be queen of any one world. But what I like to do is be the person who says, Oh, you need to go to a totally different place.

Tava Baird: Here, let me walk with you. And so those little things, Those little dark passages that are unseen, that connect the, the worlds, that's where I like to be. I like to be walking the waves. Um, And I think, that's necessary too. 

Tava Baird: When you have a knowledge of multiple things, and then that's when something new often gets generated.

Tava Baird: Um, I know a lot of times in the business world we talk about the importance of cross training, but a lot of companies never actually are able to devote the time or energy to actually doing it. But having someone who knows how to do multiple [00:41:00] jobs at least, On a base level can be what the glue that really holds the whole structure together when sometimes there aren't masters available when one has left and gone to another company or one has Retired and having that person who says I can get us through this to the next Part until we can replace our masters It's a very good thing to have 

Jennifer Taylor: Yes, absolutely And one of the things that was, was coming to me as well is the, you know, being the, the person who's kind of integrating and bringing these things you, sometimes that means that you're pulling everything together and you're creating something entirely new.

Jennifer Taylor: And sometimes that means that you are taking in this information from all these different places and passing it on and passing it on and your unique way with your own unique voice. And that was another thing that [00:42:00] I had kind of struggled with, with the idea of, passing on other people's stories or other people's information.

Jennifer Taylor: I had taken an animal communication course, and she was encouraging us to, to teach that, and I, I teach animal Reiki, I don't teach animal communication, and I was wanting to pass on some of these stories. And initially I hadn't done it enough myself to have my own stories to tell, I didn't have as many stories, but she had so much experience from having had conversations with dolphins at SeaWorld and, all of these different things and hearing those stories had changed the way that I looked at our relationship with animals and the things that I had done.

Jennifer Taylor: And I kept thinking. Can I really be telling in a class that I'm teaching someone else's stories? And there was a concern about authenticity with that. And is that going to be okay? I was [00:43:00] at a friend's we had gotten together in this beautiful home with this really nice outdoor natural area.

Jennifer Taylor: Everyone else was still asleep, and I'd gotten up early and I was sitting outside, and there were so many birds, and it was just magnificent. And I was laying there thinking, I want to have all of my an experience with a bird. I want to know and understand more in the messages and the songs. And it was so clear to me there was so much more happening with all of this bird song than I was aware of.

Jennifer Taylor: And I was really, I'd started my Reiki and I was just radiating this animal Reiki frequency of energy and asking if anyone wanted to connect with me, if any of these birds would like to connect, I would, I would love to. And I became aware of a mockingbird and it was an individual mockingbird, but it felt very much like a [00:44:00] representative of mockingbird.

Jennifer Taylor: like as a species and often you'll get that, especially a wild animal will often sort of appear kind of as a spokesperson or a spokes animal, you know, for their overall message. And so I was thinking, this is amazing. And I felt this heart connection and it was.

Jennifer Taylor: It was really strong and powerful, palpable, and I immediately became aware of these feelings that were coming through me from Mockingbird. And it was, oh my goodness, Mockingbird is a bird that copies the songs of others. and yet it feels really authentic and beautiful. when you hear a mockingbird, it's one of the most beautiful bird sounds.

Jennifer Taylor: It's varied and it's complex and all these different songs that it brings through and repeats, but it chooses, [00:45:00] you know, the, the order of the songs and which of the songs it's going to bring out and it sings it in its own voice. And so as I was, Connecting with the Mockingbird and had having more of this it became really obvious the message to me it was like, you know, it's my song not beautiful.

Jennifer Taylor: Is this not inspiring, you know? And obviously it was it was just incredible and it really helped me to realize that You know, the, the authenticity is in the way that I communicate it and that I can collect and retell stories of others from a place of authenticity through my own unique voice and that I will retell them in a way that brings, just the right experience and that it's a beautiful thing to be weaving together these experiences and this knowledge and passing it on to others.

Jennifer Taylor: And the mockingbird seemed kind of pleased [00:46:00] with that. It was like, okay, there you go. And I asked afterwards, I was so grateful. And I said, you know, how can I honor you? You know, what can I give back to you? I'm so grateful. And it said, share my story. So I thought, well, this is the, this is the perfect opportunity.

Jennifer Taylor: I am making good on my promise to share that for the mockingbird. 

Tava Baird: And the importance of storytelling in culture cannot be overstated. I mean, if you think about it, a lot of the great stories that everybody likes, um, they're very similar. You know, if you look at the structure of Star Wars, okay, you have, you know, young man loses his parents, you know, um, magical spiritual leader shows up and takes him away to this alternate way of seeing the world, you know, if you look at say, you know, Harry Potter, it's the exact same thing.

Tava Baird: Kid lives under the stairs with no parents, gets whisked off to this magical world where he has, uh, Female sidekick, uh, Princess Leia, and male sidekick Han [00:47:00] Solo. Oh no, see, now I've got them backwards, you know, like, and, and then, you know, finds their own power and rises into their own and becomes a hero.

Tava Baird: Um, you know, you see this, these, these themes repeated over and over again, and they're, they're part of our humanness. And for, you know, thousands of years, all of our storytelling was oral. It was oral tradition. Um, But I know there's that feeling of that authenticity feeling that does come in. I think I really hit it for the first time when I went down to New Orleans and I was fascinated with bone casting and I'd been casting bones, but I wanted as a teacher, I wanted to teach other people to do it.

Tava Baird: And I went down there looking for, you know, every time I go somewhere where the people might be bone casting, I want to go try to find bone casters to see, or shell casters, or charm casters, and sort of see how they do it. Because I always learn something. You know, no two people cast the bones exactly the same.

Tava Baird: [00:48:00] And I was having a blast. I had a murderously hard time finding anybody on my trip down there. I would hear, Oh, there's somebody who does it, but they work at the Voodoo Museum, and then they would go down there to find out they didn't work there anymore. And I could, and I ended up at this, at Voodoo Authentica, which I think I've, I've mentioned before.

Tava Baird: And I was actually, I, uh, I was traveling with a friend who had never had a tarot reading, and, um, I had eavesdropped on a really great tarot reader when I was there, so I ended up buying my friend a tarot reading. And I was hanging out at the cultural center in store while she was in there. And then, um, the tarot reader's next one canceled.

Tava Baird: So, I went in and one of the things that I've been struggling with is I want to add bone casting. As a class because I desperately want to keep the tradition alive. So I went in and I sat down with her and I, revealed that I was also a Tarot reader and she said, Oh good, then I don't have to explain stuff to you.

Tava Baird: And I said, I gotta tell you, um, I am in love with this tradition. And I really, [00:49:00] especially from a historical standpoint, I want to keep it alive. And it seems like there just aren't as many bone casters anymore. And she said, yeah, 

Tava Baird: The younger generation that's coming in is doing tarot instead. And, a lot of the people who practiced this, There don't seem to be as many of them as there were anymore. And I said, I have a hesitancy, though, to teaching it because I am the whitest white girl that ever lived. Like, watch me dance sometime.

Tava Baird: I'm so white, you know, and that this particular tradition that I wanted to teach, you know, it came over to America and had its roots in Africa. And then. Was over here with the enslaved and then, and you know, and it, and it grew and changed as it moved. But I felt like I said, do I have permission to tell this story?

Tava Baird: And she said, if the story is going to die off without you lending your voice to it. Yes. Like go teach as many people as you can [00:50:00] pass on the history of who brought these practices here.I'm not claiming them as my own. I'm not saying I generated it and that it's it only came from my tradition.

Tava Baird: Instead, I'm trying to honor the peoplewho founded this tradition and talk about its transition over time. And I've taken this upnow where when I meet someone who has a captivating story to tell, I say, may I have your permission to tell your story?

Tava Baird: Because running into people at markets and running into people in classes, I end up, I tell people, 90 percent of the information you're getting today isn't me. It's this repository of stories that I've picked up over half a century on this planet. 

Tava Baird: but stories do change and grow over time. But I'm trying to keep the traditions of our ancestors alive. And that, I've never had anybody have a problem with that. There's, there's a, [00:51:00] especially in this competitive environment, there's this feeling of, I need to come up with something totally new.

Tava Baird: a lot. But the thing is, humans have been around for a long time. Every music note has been sung before. Every word has been written. It's just how we put them together in our moment in time with our unique personality and our unique Our unique voice and the movement of our unique bodies that makes it new again.

Tava Baird: It's how we combine these things and the community that grows out of that. And now I'm starting to get into what I know we want to talk about the next podcast. But I think, 

Jennifer Taylor: I think you're exactly right though about the, as far as the bringing things together and passing them on and that, you know, how many holy fire reiki practitioners are there out there?

Jennifer Taylor: How many, of them are teaching? There's a lot and yet every single class and we're all trained, you know, the same way for the most part, we all, in order to be a holy fire [00:52:00] reiki, master teacher, you have to follow a certain, Manual. we have to cover certain information like that has to be in it.

Jennifer Taylor: And yet every single one of them is going to be different based on the energy of the person who's teaching and the way that they bring it through and all of their individual experiences and the other types of classes they've had and the other stories and the things that they're, all these bits of information that they're picking up along the way that they're saying, I think this is really key.

Jennifer Taylor: I wish I'd known this when I had it. And I was explaining that to someone who was interested in classes the other day that, it's not so much about researching into all of the lineages and all of the kind of book details of what it says, but it's more about finding a teacher that you resonate with, that you just, you are drawn energetically to, and you just feel like this is the person that I need to learn [00:53:00] from because I may be using the exact same manual, but the things that I have chosen to bring in that I have felt like, Oh, I wish I had known this.

Jennifer Taylor: I want to pass this on to the next person. Oh my goodness. If I'd only known this, this is what I want to pass on. That collection of things is going to be different for each individual person. And I think that's part of what makes that collecting the stories and collecting the experiences and having lots of different experiences and, hands and legs and all, all different places.

Jennifer Taylor: It helps you to create that, that repository of information and that collection of experiences that will resonate with exactly your soul students and everybody has them. 

And it almost reminds me of, to go back to bone casting a bit, you know, when you, when you build a bone, we'll have to do a bone casting or podcast.

I was going to say, we should 

Jennifer Taylor: probably quickly [00:54:00] say what is bone casting and what is cartomancy? Because I realized you were talking about that as well. 

Tava Baird: Cartomancy, the definition of cartomancy is simply divination with cards. So Oracle decks, cartomancy, uh, tarot decks, cartomancy, anything where you are doing divination and the main.

Tava Baird: object you're doing it with, are cards. That's all cardomancy. bone casting is one of the most ancient forms of divination we have. probably reading the flight patterns of birds is older, but not much more than that. Um, there, and osteomancy is the practice of using bones for divination, and lots of different cultures.

Tava Baird: Use bones for divination. And when we do our bone casting, maybe right around Halloween or something, we'll have to do something on bone casting. right around Samhain. there's a particular practice which involves tossing down an assortment of bones, shells, nuts, seeds. You can have a vegan bone casting kit, you [00:55:00] know, um, some people use charms and then you read the connections between how the objects fall.

Tava Baird: it's a very intuitive form of divination, but it's also very personal because what bone casters do is open up their energy to the world around them and say, may my bones find me. And then objects start appearing around you. You'll find children come up and handing them to you. You'll find stuff on the ground when you're taking a walk.

Tava Baird: And so no two kits are exactly alike, because they are created from objects that found that person, or that were already sitting in their jewelry box, or their junk drawer, or that they picked up off a beach on vacation. so. You end up with this very unique set of divination tools.

Tava Baird: Some people use 50 items and some people use 12. You know, there are no bone casting police that are going to come tell you, like, you're doing it wrong. But it makes the set so [00:56:00] personal. It'd be the same thing if you, as if you illustrated your own tarot deck, using things that were important to you.

Tava Baird: You get this different and beautifully unique interpretation, and that comes out in the practice of bone casting as well with your kit. And your kit's always growing and changing as you grow and change. Um, I really want you to tell the elephant story that you were mentioning to me the other day, because I think it falls really in line with this.

Tava Baird: So if I could butter you up to tell the elephant story, I think it's a really good way maybe for us to head into our closing song and that sort of thing. 

Jennifer Taylor: Absolutely,I had told Tava this story about the elephant and I absolutely love it. And then I started Researching it a little bit trying to get a sense of you know, I want to tell it right 

Jennifer Taylor: I want to be sure that I'm doing it justice and then I started realizing exactly what you were saying about stories. It has been told in all these different cultures from all these different [00:57:00] perspectives. So if you have heard it in one way, you're likely to hear it and go, Oh, she's telling it wrong.

Jennifer Taylor: But I thought it was just fascinating. The idea of adding this story in here where it's that sense of, the stories change and people take different parts of things and they use them and they retell the stories in the way that's going to be the most effectivefor the point that they're trying to get across.

Jennifer Taylor: it's probably going to be different a little bit than if you've heard it before, but the message, the overarching message for me is still very much the same. our perspective on the podcast as well is that. we are each giving our own piece of our experience with the divine and, and with life and everything in general.

Jennifer Taylor: I first found this at the beginning of a book called the gift of the body by Jonathan Goldman. And I probably end up talking about Jonathan a lot. I know I'm constantly saying to Tava, Oh, well, Jonathan says, and Jonathan says, he's [00:58:00] someone that I consider a mentor. And, um, so it's, this is how he begins his book is the, that this is just my take on the elephant.

Jennifer Taylor: And there's a group of blind monks that are introduced to an elephant they bring these blind monks in and they say, this is an elephant.

Jennifer Taylor: And each of them goes to a different part of the body. And. I've heard this both told as either this is an elephant or They have an experience of God and God is the elephant. And, I like the idea of the divine as the elephant because I think it's just so beautiful.

Jennifer Taylor: So They each go up to their different part of the elephant. and they feel around and they have a personal experience with this part of the elephant. So one is up at the trunk and they say, wow, you know, God is, [00:59:00] is flexible and strong and, is like a snake. You know, God has a lot of the qualities of the snake and it breathes air in and out at you.

Jennifer Taylor: And it describes all of these things. And another one afterwards says, no, no, not at all. God is like a tree. And that monk was standing at one of the great legs of the elephant and said, no, God is like a tree. It is strong and, and broad and thick and immovable and goes on to explain that God is like a tree.

Jennifer Taylor: And another one that was at its tail says, no, absolutely not. God is like thin and swift. And. you know, moves quickly and, and lightly so you can imagine each one is having a completely different experience because that is just the part of the elephant, the part of God that they're interacting with.

Jennifer Taylor: And so [01:00:00] afterwards, you know, then they're having this discussion in this argument about what is God? What is the nature of God? And it's all based on their individual experience with it. you can't say that any of them, are wrong. It's just incomplete. so when we are sharing our experiences and we say, This is what this energy is like.

Jennifer Taylor: This is what this experience is like. This is what working with this goddess is like. This is what her energy really brings through. It's really just our take on the elephant and we're we're coming into this with that understanding of we're really just presenting our take on the elephant and we're constantly reaching out and searching around and expanding.

Jennifer Taylor: And so as we reach up and we feel the ear and we start to have an experience of what that energy is like, we'll expand it. And so I think when it helps me, when I think of How [01:01:00] So many different people in the world can have such vastly different experiences and vastly different opinions about, who God is or what the divine is like, or what anything, especially spiritually, um, is, and everyone seems to feel very, very confident in their position because they have had direct experience with it.

Jennifer Taylor: And I think the more we can look around and say, okay, that's your take on the elephant. And this is my take on the elephant. And it helps me to see how we can all be taking all of these things from our experiences and real interactions with the divine or anything else, and all be right. And also be Kind of incomplete in our knowledge of it.

Tava Baird: Thank you so much. I love that story so much. 

Jennifer Taylor: Absolutely. I hope that I [01:02:00] have done it some semblance of justice. 

Tava Baird: Well, you have for me, so. 

Jennifer Taylor: Well, thank you. Well, I realize that we could continue talking absolutely all day long. But that maybe we're coming to a place where this subject is complete. How do you feel?

Jennifer Taylor: Yes, 

Tava Baird: for now, until we find more elephants. Um, would you, would you mind singing for us? I'm closing. 

Jennifer Taylor: Absolutely. So I invite you again to take three slow, deep breaths. Bringing your mind body and spirit into a place of stillness. I invite you to reach down into the earth through your, central channel going right in front of your spine down and out and [01:03:00] into the good earth through as many layers of building or floor furniture vehicles you have. Just feeling that connection again with Mother Earth and feeling more stable, connected and grounded.

Jennifer Taylor: You may also feel this connection through the bottoms of your feet, reaching out like great tree roots into the earth. And we draw that energy and nourishment and stability up through our bodies. Up, opening to the divine above us and receiving divine light, balancing that beautiful, stable, nurturing earth energy.

Jennifer Taylor: And bring your [01:04:00] awareness into the center of your heart space, right in the center of your chest in alignment with your actual physical heart. And imagine you can breathe in and out from this space. So as you take a little bit deeper breath than you might normally, but not forcing anything, just nice and gentle and easy. Breathe in and out through your heart space. You'll integrate the messages. And come into a place of coherence. Invite the divine to speak through my voice and bring in exactly the healing and integration, balance and harmony that is in your highest good [01:05:00] in this moment. 

Jennifer Taylor: a oh oh oh oh oh[01:06:00] 

Jennifer Taylor: yeah

Jennifer Taylor: [01:07:00] [01:08:00] Oh, Amen. And so it is 

Tava Baird: with

Jennifer Taylor: Let the day drip like water from your skin. Place your feet firmly on the spaces within. [01:09:00] Raise your voices, children, for you are divine. Thank you. 

Tava Baird: Jennn. 

Jennifer Taylor: And may you all be blessed. 

Tava Baird: Have an awesome rest of your day, everyone. Thank you so much for listening, and we look forward to being with you again soon.