Abel
Second son of Adam and Eve, back at the beginning of the origin story favored be followers of the god of the desert. Abel was slain by Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve, because Cain was displeased that god liked Abel’s offering of sheep more than the crops Cain had grown as a farmer.

Adam
The first man created by the god of the desert. He blamed Eve for The Fall. It wasn’t his best decision. (See “Fall, The” for more details.)

ally
Part of your team when you do healing work. Human or not, incarnate or not. Magic worker, magic user, or magic.

America
A country with a confusing mix of Native American, European, African, Asian, South American, and Australian life force. Free mixed with slave. Built on the idea of individual sovereignty, but still struggling to meet that goal.

ancestors
Parents, grandparents, great grandparents … back to the beginning. Bloodlines. Usually considered only for incarnate humans.

angel (from the upper world)
A being of the upper world, as defined by shamanic traditions, who is responsible for overseeing large regions of one of the middle worlds. Not incarnate. User and perhaps maker of magic. Not able to force sovereign humans into compliance.

Angel of the Southern States
A specific angel who oversees the southern region of the United States. We think of that region as having its own culture. Working with the compassionate version of the angel who oversees it helps us understand what is happening and heal past harm for all who are part of the region.

Apu
The Incan name for the powerful spirits of the sacred mountains in Peru. All mountains seem to have a spirit associated with them that is similar to an Apu. They can be allies during a quest or a healing. Some are asleep because no one has talked to them in hundreds of years, but they can be awakened.

armor
Protection for the body or soul. Put it on before you go into battle and make sure it’s a kind of armor that will protect you from the beings you will be facing. If you don’t have a clear picture of what you will be facing from you own knowledge or information from your allies, you better accept the chance of being destroyed.

being of place
A being who watches over a place in soul or physical reality. Usually a being who uses magic. One example is the Rock Tom met in New Mexico.

blessing
1. An action that increases the positive life force of the receiver. It is the other side of the coin from sorrow. Mixing blessings and sorrows (or grief and joy) leads to growth and wisdom. Understanding blessings and sorrows is one of the most important lessons of physical reality. 2. A statement that is intended to bring a blessing to another person. Some things that are said as blessings are actually curses.

bloodline
The line of our ancestors. Biological parents, grandparents, etc. Compare with soul lines.

brownies
1. Cake-like squares that are eaten as a snack or dessert. The Norns prefer the chewy, chocolate variety. 2. Small beings of Scottish folk stories who use magic and probably are magic, too. Said to be especially good at cleaning houses as long as they are fed regularly with gifts of porridge, honey, butter, and cream.

Cain
First son of Adam and Eve. He killed his brother Abel. The story is that his god liked Abel’s sheep but not his veggies (or maybe fruit). Maybe Abel’s sheep ate Cain’s crops starting the never-ending fight between shepherds and farmers way back then. The Bible is not at all clear about this part of the story. God, in any case, was not pleased with Cain and cursed him.

circle (personal)
A place of power Tom built with physical-world stones. Tom can sometimes move the soul version of the circle to other places in soul reality.

Cloak of the Angels
Armor or a blessing. A shiny, sparkly gold and silver cloak brought from the upper world to the middle world. It is placed over the receiver’s shoulders and wrapped around the body.

coffee
A brewed drink made from coffee beans. The Norns prefer a dark, boiled version, served black and unsweetened. You would expect that from their Norse heritage.

compassionate
Choosing to increase the life force. For example, the compassionate Kali would only tear something down if it needed to be removed before it was rebuilt. For gods who have a mixed nature, it’s usually best to work with the compassionate version.

Creator
The one or ones who make things. Makers of magic and everything else.

crossroads
A place to make choices and find new paths to travel. In folklore, they are places away from civilization where two roads or paths cross. It’s said that you can make a deal with the devil there. My experience is that if you make a deal with the devil, it’s because you brought the devil along with you. There is a Rider at the Crossroads, who is described in this list. The traditional crossroads offers the choices of life, love, luck, and death. With care, you can find a crossroad that will bring you anything and lead you anywhere.

curse
An action in soul reality that causes harm. It may be placed on a person, location, or any other thing with a soul. It has energy and intent and often protections to keep it from being removed. The energy may be from a trapped being. There may be many layers to powerful curses. The curses may be monitored to prevent them from being undone. Often they are passed along bloodlines and/or remain on souls through many lifetimes. Dissolving curses is an art that involves finding the farthest origin you can, seeking to remove the cause, removing the intentions, and removing the power. They are almost always confusing to remove, because confusion is part of their nature and one of their protections.

Daddy Death
The helping spirit from the land of the dead who connects us to the wisdom of the ancestors from the graveyard. Knock three times on the gate and ask his permission before you enter.

Daddy Down-There
Pure evil. He is composed of all of the anger and hatred from everyone who has died and been buried. Avoid him. As Orion Foxwood says, “To any readers who think they are big and bad enough to take him on — you are delusional.”

death
Transition from being in a body to leaving the body.

Eden
The first land made by the god of the desert — or maybe the yet-to-be perfected version of a badly made first attempt. Created as a test of Adam and Eve. They passed the lab portion, but failed the oral questioning.

energy
Part of life force. One of the two things that are combined to make everything in the middle regions of the worlds. The other is information.

Eve
The first woman created by the god of the desert. Adam blamed her for The Fall. She blamed the serpent. It wasn’t her best decision. (See “Fall, The” for more details.)

Fall, The
There are many origin stories. This is the one from Genesis told to followers of the god of the desert.

11 And he [God] said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

What they should have said is, “Well, yeah, we ate the fruit. You made us in your image and knowing the difference between good and evil is part of the deal, isn’t it? We’re sorry if we offended you and ask that you forgive us.”

We believe God would have replied, “Yes, good decision. No need to be sorry. Now get out there and finish creating this world.”

Adam and Eve still leave Eden, but it’s on their own terms. A lot of the problems of humankind would be solved if people took full responsibility for their decisions.

fertilizer (for the Tree of Life)
Hoocha can be broken down into component parts that feed the tree of life. Gather up hoocha around you and send it down to the roots where it is converted into fertilizer by the beings who live there.

future
In the physical world, something that hasn’t happened yet. In soul reality, something on our time line.

gauntlets
Armor for the hands and lower arms. In physical reality they are usually made of metal. In soul reality shining light is preferred.

ghost
A human soul that has not found a way to free itself from physical reality, but it also not able to fully interact with it. The best practice seems to be to ask for help from psychopomps to send the ghost on to a better place. The ghost gets to choose where to go.

God or Goddess
One of the beings who can make magic. Gods and goddesses come in several varieties — good, evil, clever, stupid, etc. Their morals are not unlike human’s. For most of a shaman’s work, it’s best to connect with the compassionate version of the god or goddess.

God of the Desert
He created Eden and put all sorts of good things in it. Then he put in the Tree of Life (also called the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil). But he told his human creations, Adam and Eve, not to eat from it. What was he thinking? (See “Fall, The” for more details.)

Grandfather Rock
A magic-making being who advises me. Someone Tom knows met him in human form. He now lives in a secret glen in a secret forest in soul reality.

grief
The opposite side of the coin from joy. Both joy and grief have stages of recovery. Grief is felt by humans and other beings when something causes them sorrow. See also sorrow.

Heart Khuya
A khuya in Tom’s misa. Especially good at helping with connections between souls.

helper
Beings who come along to do parts of a healing. They are usually in soul reality, but when two or more healers work together, they would be considered helpers for one another.

highest and best good
We should always ask beings we meet in soul reality, “Are you here for my highest and best good?” The question is almost always effective in the upper region and lower region of the world. In the middle region, we have to be more careful because many of the beings we meet have bodies. The belief, which seems to be correct most of the time, is that beings who are not in bodies almost always tell the truth. Beings in bodies are much better at lying.

In the upper and lower region, we should work only with beings who give us a definite yes answer. Even when we get a definite yes, we still need to listen to the voice inside us that warns us of danger. In the middle region of the world, things are more complicated and hearing our inner voice accurately is even more important.

The question of highest and best good also works when we are choosing whether to do something or not. We can ask a trusted spirit guide, “Is what I plan to do for my highest and best good or for the highest and best good of another being?” It’s good to ask and even better to pay attention to the answer.

Holder Khuya
A khuya in Tom’s misa that is especially adept at gently but firmly holding a being who might otherwise cause problems for a healing.

hoocha
The gunky stuff that gets in the way of seeing a situation clearly. It may be made up of badly mixed positive and negative life force. There is a detailed description of hoocha here. There are beings at the root of the World Tree who are especially good at sorting hoocha into a more usable form.

Hoocha Eater Khuya
A khuya in Tom’s misa that is especially good at gathering hoocha and sending it to be processed at the root of the World Tree.

ho’oponopono
A practice in Huna (pre-Christian Hawaiian) medicine that removes negative connection between people (and other beings) by asking for forgiveness. There are more details here.

Huna
Pre-Christian lifestyle of the Hawaiian Islands. Generally the people of the islands were healthier before the Christians showed up.

Incan medicine worker
Healers from the Andes who trace their practice back to the Inca healers. The primary language of the healers is Quechua. Their practice in connected to Pachamama and the Apus of the sacred mountains.

information
Part of life force. One of the two things that are combined to make everything in the middle regions of the worlds. The other is energy.

joy
The opposite side of the coin from grief. Both joy and grief have stages of recovery. Joy is felt by humans and other beings when something is a blessing. See also blessing.

khuya
An especially powerful stone that is part of an Incan medicine worker’s misa. Khuyas are connected to powerful places in the land and help the medicine worker keep the connection to beings of those places. Khuyas have been known to show up for medicine workers on their own and to disappear when they are no longer part of a medicine worker’s healing practice.

Lake Khuya
A khuya in Tom’s misa from the headwaters of the River of Blessings. It can create a place where the River of Blessings surrounds the beings who are part of a healing.

life force
The thing that is transmitted between connected souls. Made up of energy and information. May be positive or negative.

Light Tangler
One of the beings who walks the worlds with Tom. Once a bitter enemy, but now a friend. Not someone to mess with.

lower world
Place of energy. Shamans and other healers travel there to gain energy and work certain kinds of healings. Often a place to find power animals.

middle world
Between the lower world and upper world, where physical reality was created.

misa
A collection of sacred stones that connect Inca medicine workers to powerful places and beings. Misas come in several varieties, including ones for personal growth and ones for healing.

ñawi
The central sacred stone in a misa. A place of power in nature.

Norns
Three women described by the Norse who are responsible for keeping the lifelines of all the souls in all the worlds. Their names are Urd (Old Norse Urðr, “What Once Was”), Verdandi (Old Norse Verðandi, “What Is Coming into Being”), and Skuld (Old Norse Skuld, “What Shall Be”). Humans in physical reality stand at the moment of what is coming into being. We can change both the past and the future from this point. If you ask nicely, the Norns will help reweave the web of lives so there are no frayed ends and all the threads make a more beautiful pattern. One warning, changing anything seems to require the agreement of all of the beings who are part of what happens. Sometimes the beings involved can remember both versions of what happened, but usually they remember only what the event was changed to.

Pachamama
The female figure who oversees the earth in the middle world of the Inca people. In other cultures may be known as Mother Earth or Gaia.

past
In the physical world, something that already happened. In soul reality, something on our time line.

physical reality
The place humans created where there are permanent objects which are given souls by their creators. For example, the workman who put together my desk– and perhaps the designer of the desk — are responsible for my desk having a soul and a long-lasting existence separate from them and me. Compare with soul reality.

place
Where something is. Where we are. In the terms of physical reality it is a location and a time. The Quechua word is pacha.

present
In the physical world, what is happening right now. Just a place on our timeline in soul reality. Even in physical reality we have a present that is longer than an instant, sometimes up to several minutes.

promise
Something a being says it will do. True promises change reality because the being making the promise makes sure it happens.

protections
Things that guard a being from dangers. When Tom travel in dangerous parts of soul reality, he uses a cloak and pair of pants. For touching dangerous things, Tom uses a pair of gauntlets. Perhaps they are made of woven life force.

psychopomps
Users of magic who help other beings transition between worlds. In shamanic writing they usually refer to beings who help other beings who have died to pass on to the next world.

reality
That which most beings in a place agree on. Always subject to change.

reincarnation
Coming back into a body. Sometimes the same kind of body, sometimes not.

Rider (at the Crossroads)
Maker of magic who helps beings change directions in their lives. For humans, he is often thought of as a being to pray to when a change is needed, often in love or fortune. He’ll help you if you ask (and it doesn’t hurt to offer him a coin or two in return). The Rider tells Tom that humans get too tied up in specifics when they make requests. It’s better to ask for a good mate to come into your life than to ask for the love of a particular person. The Rider would also like you to know that, contrary to some beliefs, he is not the devil.

right to help
All beings have some amount of sovereignty. There are limits on what healers (or any other being) may do to change another being. It’s not enough that the healing will help. Beings are allowed to make unhealthy, hoocha-filled choices. The right to help is satisfied as long as a being is asking for help to maintain its sovereignty. It is not a requirement that every being in a situation asks for help. Beings that are trying to take away another being’s sovereignty don’t get much say in the healing.

River of Blessings
A river that runs through soul reality carrying blessings. It is used to wash through healings that have gone back to heal ancestors. In this work, the healing that was done for the ancestors flows through all of the descendants and helps to heal them also. When the River of Blessings and the River of Sorrows are combined, they balance one another out and let us find wisdom.

River of Sorrows
A river that runs through soul reality carrying our sorrows. When the River of Blessings and the River of Sorrows are combined, they balance one another out and let us find wisdom.

salvation
Freedom from suffering, escape from curses.

serpent
The being who spoke with Eve at The Fall and suggested to her that she and Adam should eat the fruit from the Tree of Life. Often portrayed as evil, but was helping humans fulfill their destiny of being made in the image of the creator. Those who bring fire (or knowledge) to humans often are cursed by gods who wish that humans would stay ignorant.

shaman
A human who is a maker or user of magic. Generally shamans take on roles as healers and guides for other human.

slave
A human who is owned by another human. Being a slave is a violation of the sovereignty of the person who is the slave. A person who is a slave is not sovereign in physical reality. However, it is possible, although extremely difficult, for a person who is a slave in physical reality to be sovereign in soul reality. Slavery leads to harsh lessons, often many curses, and nearly immeasurable amounts of hoocha.

sorrow
An action that reduces the positive life force of the receiver. It is the other side of the coin from blessing. Mixing blessings and sorrows (or grief and joy) leads to growth and wisdom. Understanding blessings and sorrows is one of the most important lessons of physical reality.

soul
We all are souls. When we incarnate in physical reality, our souls create a body to interact with the physical world. There is more about the whole souls here. When we experience trauma, pieces of our soul may be broken off. There soul pieces often hide in places where they feel they are safe. A being who has lost soul pieces also loses health and vitality. Shamans can gather these soul pieces, cleanse and heal them, and return them to the soul they came from.

Soul Gatherers
A set of seashells that help Tom gather soul pieces.

soul history
From a soul reality perspective these are the experiences a soul has had, is having, and will have. From a physical reality perspective, the experiences a soul has had.

soul lines
Connections between souls. Compare with bloodlines. When souls reincarnate in the same family, soul lines and bloodlines are intertwined.

soul reality
All of the worlds where beings exist that are not physical reality. There are many.

standing
See right to help.

Stick Holder
The series of human beings who beat the slave in the story of healing America posted here. The stick cursed the stick holder and blinded him or her to the humanness of the slave.

stone
A solid chunk of minerals. A sacred stone is part of an Inca medicine worker’s misa and helps in the practice of healing. Sacred stones have several levels of power. The most powerful ones are called khuyas.

surprise
Something unexpected. It is hard to do serious healing work without running into surprises. Be prepared for them.

team
A group that works together. It may include many types of beings, incarnate in bodies and not.

time
A construct of the physical world. Necessary to experience joy and sorrow and therefore necessary to gain wisdom.

Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil
See Tree of Life.

Tree of Life
The tree the god of the desert put in the garden of Eden. Also known as the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It may be the same as the World Tree, but the god of the desert did not make that clear.

upper world
Place of information. Shamans and other healers travel there to meet angels and other beings who are concerned with the structure of the worlds and information.

Will Khuya
A khuya in Tom’s misa. Helps Tom decide what tasks to undertake and helps focus life force on the task. Also works to coordinate the Wills of the members of a team of healers.

wisdom
Learning, understanding, and greater expression of the possibilities of the many realities we can create. It comes, in part, from a mixture of blessings and sorrows.

wish
What we bring into a life as our purpose. For humans wish is also what the body needs to keep it going. For most humans the body’s needs are so strong that the wishes that are brought into a life can’t be found. Losing the wishes brought into a life may also be the result of a curse put on humans around the time of The Fall.

witness
Those who watch something being done. They can provide helpful life force with active witnessing.

World Tree
The tree with roots in the shamanic lower world, a trunk in the middle world, and branches that reach into the upper world. It may or may not be related to the Tree of Life. Many human cultures that experience soul reality have a version of the tree.