Temple Hayes: When Did You Die?
OMTIMES: What are some of the spiritual and shamanic traditions you have featured in this book, When Did You Die?
Temple Hayes: I give tried and tested proven methods which have literally changed my life. These include the sacred warrior shield to deflect my fears, sacred symbols (mine is the Eiffel Tower), my sacred shaman song, soul retrieval to restore the missing parts of one’s soul, understanding a spiritual relocation and how to read the signs around us, such as when something comes into my mental or physical presence three times…These are some of the ways to free ourselves from self-bondage and self-inflicted struggle.
OMTIMES: What happens when we become robotic in nature and how does this happen to us?
Temple Hayes: We become robotic at an early age. Our parents, guardians or adults in the foster homes begin to tell us what and who we can be. During the early stages of our lives, we have the opportunity to learn as children the natural and innate beauty of the miracles of life. Yet, there is the potential for newborns and young children to remind us adults-who-have-died-a-little, how to truly live again. The challenge is that we think our role is solely to teach them to be like us, rather than the opposite. A gifted child filled with wander and magic begins to die at an early age–the gifts stop and the miracles stop. The thriving dream maker then becomes like everyone else in the tribe – going through the motions of life, and hoping life does not give you more than you can handle.
As adults, this also happens (or “we continue to be robotic”) when we listen to other people, the preacher, the TV ads, the billboards, the “experts,” instead of listening to ourselves, instead of our own truth.
OMTIMES: How do mystical experiences play a role in being energized and impassioned versus drained and disconnected?
Temple Hayes: I’d say that mystical experiences happen to wake us up and usually we ignore them until the situation gets so desperate that we will seek another way. When we ignore the mystical, we are ignoring the source of our energy. When we embrace the mystical, we stop dying (even for a short time) and become our vibrant selves.
