Drake Bear Stephen Innerprizes

11/16/2023

We are officially in the season of winter festivals of lights. The season kicked off with Diwali (Nov 10-14) that is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists. It is a celebration of light over darkness and good over evil. Burn the diya (a ritual dish filled with oil) for 5 days.

Next comes Chanukah (Dec 7-14), celebrated by Jews. It is a commemoration of the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. Burn the candles of the menorah for 8 nights.

Advent (Dec 3, 10, 17, & 24), celebrated by Christians, occurs on the 4 Sundays before Christmas. It is the anticipation and preparation for Christmas. Burn a candle mounted in a wreath on each Sunday.

On the Winter Solstice (Dec 21), also known as Yule by pagans, a Yule log is burned in the fireplace. After it burns out a piece is saved to put in the following year’s Yule fire. The Yule log replaces the bonfires that pagans used to burn on the longest night of the year to welcome the return of the light beginning at dawn and continuing until Summer Solstice.

Lastly, Kwanzaa (Dec 26-Jan 1), celebrated predominately by Afro-Americans. It is an adaptation from African harvest festival traditions. Burn a candle in the kinara for each of the 7 nights.
And if that is not enough candle burning, get some angel chimes that rotate and ring little bells when the 4 candles under them are lit. Mostly a Western European custom, I remember these from my childhood.

10/08/2023

Tomorrow has traditionally been called "Columbus Day" but in many communities throughout the country, it has been renamed as "Indigenous Peoples' Day". Here is a graphic that lists all known Native American, First Nation's and Indigenous Peoples' commemorative days.

09/28/2023

It is time to wear orange and stand in solidarity with survivors and all those that were/are impacted by the residential schools system.
Taking Native American children from their families and shipping them to residential schools is a form of cultural genocide. September 30 is a day of recognition and awareness. In Canada it is called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. If you would like to get a t-shirt, button, cap, or to donate to this movement, check out these links:
Orange Shirt Society https://orangeshirtday.org/
Native Spirit Store www.nativespiritstores.com/
Etsy www.etsy.com

08/03/2023

Circles & spirals, spinning and spinning, we are always moving in concurrent, concentric circles and spirals.

01/06/2023

New year, new opportunities. Ed Snyder and I have teamed up to offer a unique training track. During this training we will be using the shamanic medicine wheel as our approach and we will be covering both the shamanic teaching that I do, as well as the vibrational medicine (energy medicine) that Ed does.

We will start our training in the Center and also end our training in the Center. These 2 Center trainings will be in person and will take place in Minneapolis MN. After leaving the Center, we will go to the South and move clockwise around the Wheel. In the South, West, North and East directions, the focus will be on shamanic medicine and during the SW, NW, NE, SE, the focus will be on vibrational medicine.

The class will be limited to 12 participants so register as soon as you can for this unique opportunity. Below is a flyer, the agenda with dates, and short biographies of Ed and myself. Please reach out to either Ed or myself with any questions and to register for the class.

10/20/2022

Tomorrow is Spirit Day, a day to raise awareness against bullying during National Bullying Prevention Month. Anti-bullying, Anti-discrimination, and Anti-phobias are so important that this is a list of all the days set aside throughout the year to raise awareness:
March 1 - Zero Discrimination Day
2nd Wed of April - International Day of Pink
2nd Fri of April - Day of Silence to Protest Bullying
May 17 - International Day Against Homo, Bi, & Trans Phobia
Last Fri of August - Wear it Purple Day
3rd Thu of October - Spirit Day Against Bullying

10/18/2022

Tomorrow is International Pronoun Day. Proper etiquette should be evolving to be more inclusive of non-binary identities. There are many individuals who feel devastated when they are misgendered. The best way forward is to ask individuals what their preferred pronouns are. The most common options are:
She/Her/Hers
He/ Him/His
They/Them/Theirs

Other non-gendered language replacements include:
Ladies & Gentlemen = Distinguished Guests, Dear People
Guys & Gals = Folks
Lady & Man = Person, Human
Men & Women = Everyone
Mr./Mrs./Miss = Mx. (mix)

The background of this graphic is the Non-binary Pride Flag. Under the umbrella of "non-binary", there exists an entire spectrum of gender identities, not just the two of male & female.

07/13/2022

Tomorrow, July 14th, is International Non-Binary Peoples' Day. Binary gender identity only includes 2 options: male or female. Under the umbrella of "non-binary", there exists an entire spectrum of identities. This list of identities and their pride flags seem to grow each year. A Gallup Poll last year indicated that the number of people that identify as LGBT+ roughly doubles with each new generation. It is estimated that 50% of the Gen Z generation (born 1997-2012) believe the gender binary is outdated. Yet only 7 countries in the world (not including the US) allow gender-neutral passports and other legal docs. It is time to change our rules of etiquette. Let's stop automatically gendering people. We can begin by asking individuals what their preferred pronouns are.

Some English gender-neutral alternatives:
He/She = They
Him/Her = Them
His/Hers = Theirs
Ladies & Gentlemen = Distinguished Guests
Guys/Gals = Folks
Lady/Man = Person or Individual
Men/Women = Everyone
Mr./Mrs./Miss = Mx. (mix)
Sir/Ma’am or Madam = No neutral equivalent

Message me if you would like a pdf of all Gender Identities & Flags or all Sexual Identities & Flags.

06/21/2022

Looking for some summer reading?

07/22/2021

Humans truly are like snowflakes. Each individual is unique because there are so many points of identity on so many spectrums of human experience. Yet we are all connected by a common thread, our hearts and souls. So let us honor diversity and practice inclusivity for we are all walking on this Sacred Earth together.

05/17/2021

My interview on "Conversations with the Q***r Tribe", with Kirk Prine of Flesh and Spirit (www.fleshandspirit.org), is now available on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWjDy-sBZYw). I discuss two of my favorite subjects: integrating the spiritual with the physical and the spectrum of gender and sexual identity.

Drake Bear Stephen BA, CHT, RMT, CSPis a Certified Hypnotherapist and Somatic Healer, Shamanic Energy Medicine Practitioner, and a Teaching Reiki Master. Rec...