Ceremonies of Gratitude and Healing were held in Tillamook, OR, on Thursday evening, August 26, 2007, at Healing Waters Institute and in Portland, OR, on Sunday, August 26, 2007, in the gardens on the campus of the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. Both ceremonies involved small numbers of people and large hearts full of prayers and thanksgiving.

A gift from the Pacific Northwest in the form of a talisman was added to the drum to carry our prayers with it on its journey. The note that we added to the Viking Kristall bag describes our gift as follows:

From the Oregon coastal rainforests we send a talisman of the black bear for introspection, the feather of a red-tailed hawk for a messenger, the bone (vertebrae) of a salmon for the pilgrimage of this great drum, and bells to call the spirits and spread the positiveness of world peace and love.

We are honored and privileged to have participated in a drumming that carried us to the heart and great depths of Mother Earth, to find peace within ourselves and send it out into the world on the resounding vibration of drum-speak.

At each ceremony, participants started with a “round of gratitude” by passing the drum around the circle, speaking their names and those things for which they are grateful into the circle, and playing the drum. Then, while the drum was played, all focused on and merged with their Divine essence – their unique spark of Divine creation – and once so connected, all focused on radiating their Divine essence for their own healing and, in turn, for the vibration of the Drum to carry Light, Love, and Well-Being for the healing of Mother Earth.

Each circle also honored the journey of the World Drum and pledged commitment to personal and planetary healing by the singing of this song:

Earth please make me a Sanctuary, pure and holy, tied and true.
And with thanksgiving, I’ll be a living, Sanctuary for you.

Thank you for the honor and privilege to serve as one of the many stewards of the World Drum.

Blessings, Love, and Light,
Shelley
8.27.07

Teacher of Ancient Wisdom
Shelley Stump Healing Waters Institute
Tillamook, OR 97141
503-842-2809
shelley@coyotemoon.net