So You Want To Study Sheya...                                                                      By Donna I still remember the bleak gray winter day that I came to Kenn Deigh and asked if he would allow me to be his student. And I still remember the surprised look on his face, "You want to study Sheya?" Although a little taken back by his lack of recruiting zeal, I convinced him I truly wanted to do the Sheya thing. And I did, um I am, I will...always....I will be doing Sheya for the rest of my life. I am not trying to scare any true seeker away, but the reality is this "elegant" magickal system is also very lethal. Parts of you will die and you will discover parts of yourself you would rather not admit were yours. Doesn't sound too glamorous, or powerful does it? Glamorous - no - Powerful - YES! What could be more powerful than truly knowing yourSelf, your True Will? How can one even profess to practice magick if one's Will is not clear? Answer these questions, honestly, as I did and maybe you will begin to see, to understand the desire to study Sheya. Sheya is not the only way to find your "true will". It is not THE path. In reality, there are thousands of different ways up the mountain. There is a method out there that suits each one of us and when one is ready the method presents itself. First, very clearly, let us look at what Sheya is not. Sheya is not a religious cult. Sheya is a system used to explore ourselves and the known and unknown universe. There are not gods, goddesses, festivals honoring fertility (sorry) or the like. We can not even claim to be particularly earth based with the exception of the elemental correspondences of the aspects. Ah, the aspects those are a deity form, right?! Well, in a way, yes. Each aspect correlates to part of one's Self. And I truly believe we are all gods and goddesses. But full blown god forms to be venerated and worshipped, no. We do have ritual, but rituals are not the sole property of religion. As for being a cult, well (sorry Ken) we don't have a charismatic leader. We are learning to be our own leaders. And if you want to you can stop at any time, no one will force you to continue - but yourSelf. Sheya is not a magick school. We do not teach you ancient, long forgotten, arcane secrets with which you can perform amazing rituals and dazzle you friends, while getting all you desire from the universe. No, alas, that is not Sheya. Sheya is not an exhilarating ego trip with lots of flowing robes, smoke, titles, and a place of power to aspire to. However we occasionally use incense, some Sheya like robes, and we all have a place of power we aspire to. We find it within ourselves. Sheya is not white light neopagan psycho babble. The principles of Sheya run through many other ancient practices. We do not profess to own any concept. The Truth is still the Truth no matter its form. Sheya just drapes it on a little different form, one that works remarkable well. As for white light, one of the steps one progresses through is threshold, the threshold to the abyss. I don't think you can twinkle through that one. There is a fair amount of phychology, Jungian or otherwise, in the structure of Sheya. It is in the innate structure of the system, as it is in the innate structure of the human psyche. After all, where did Jung get it from? Now just sit for a moment and think. Remember different times in your life. What things helped you, what inspired you, what "turned you off? If you could create a system what would it include? What wouldn't it have? Maybe you should write this stuff down, in a journal perhaps. Then read it over. What images come to mind, what emotions are stirred? Write those down, too. Then read it over in a couple of days. Do the words still ring true? Or are they way off base, or maybe only slightly out of foucus. Do it again. Do it until you KNOW you have captured the essence of your desires even if it seems a little faint or far out. Now, find a Sheya and sit down and talk. In person, e-mail or phone. Snail mail works well also! We are basically a varied unique group of people. We have may differences; our backgrounds, religions, education, ethnic roots, sexual persuasions, ages. But one thing we all invariably like to do is talk - about Sheya. It is the need to communicate what we are experiencing. It is part of our work. We each keep a journal and share it with our mentor - teacher. Then we discuss our experiences, what we learned, what we didn't and why or why not. We laugh and cry. Share pain and sorrow. And sometimes the golden glimmer of joy. But we listen well too, because a student is often a mentor, and a mentor is forever a student. So, start a conversation - someone will respond and answer your questions as well as they can be answered. O.K. You have decided what you think you want, you have talked to a Sheya (or several), so do you still want to study Sheya? Does what you discovered bear any resemblance to the essence of your desire you so diligently distilled? Really? Oh, did I tell you Sheya is not a coven. It is essentially a solitary path. Some of us are lucky enough to meet together on a weekly basis. We do routinely gather at least two to three times a year, and we each have a mentor, but we do our work alone. I am married to a fellow Sheya and, of course, we lend our support to each other, but his work is his and what's mine is mine. Work? I keep saying work. Yes, and if you begin Sheya you will say it too. One thing. Sheya "is" is work, oh and discipline, don't forget the discipline. Sounds a little dull. Not too glamorous. And where is this "elegant" stuff?! But, you see, that is why we study Sheya because it is a nonstop gut wrenching thrill ride through yourSelf, higer and lower, inner and outer. And it is elegant, kind of like the gleaming blade of a stiletto. It swiftly cuts through all the crap. Of course speed is relative, the process of becoming is never ending. Sheya is just another method. Any method that works (there is that word again!) for you is valid. So the true question is why do you want to study Sheya? Do you know someone who practices Sheya and see the changes in them? Do you want what they have? I would say most people become attracted to Sheya in this way. We do not go out and proselytize, remember we are not a cult. So observation is the main way people are exposed to Sheya. It is effective, it is honest, but just because you want what I have doesn't mean Sheya is the way for you to get it. My sister tried it but the pagan overtones made her uncomfortable. She learned and found a path more to her liking. Have you given up yet? "Oh, anything but Sheya," you scream! No? Hmmm. Well maybe you should talk to you Sheya friend some more. Maybe watch them do temple. Talk, discuss, learn a little more. Then look in the mirror and ask if you are ready, really ready to change your life and yourself forever. If you still say "yes", welcome! Donna Ravenscraft was once known as Donna Stanford-Blake and before that just Donna Blake until she fell into that Sheya crowd and married Paul. She formerly was the editorial assistant for the late (still great) Mezlim magazine and wrote a regular column - "Neophyte's Niche". She has been studying Sheya for over 8 years. Back to More On Sheya     Home     Sheya     Shamanism     Transformational Magick     LumensGate            Kenn's Article          Nancy's Article