Hmong Shamanism Questions & Answers Part 2
Dear Friends,
Thank you to all of you who submitted questions and personal messages. Thank you for sharing your story and opening up to me about things that we may not be comfortable sharing with others. This experience has been such a unique and uplifting experience. It showed me that we, on some level, experience some type of supernatural phenomenon, experiences that we can't explain. My responses are alternative answers and have no medical explanations. I encourage anyone to seek medical help first if they are experiencing any physical or emotional distress. Medicine heals the body while spirituality heals the soul.
Many of you have sent me facebook friend requests or asked for my personal phone number. As much as I share about my shaman journey on my blog, I am a very private person and hope you can respect my privacy to not accept your friend requests or give out my phone number. If you have additional questions or would like any help, please email me at my email and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Again, I want to thank everyone for their submissions and for trusting the universe in its decision to align our paths. May we find peace in the direction we are going.
Why is it that whenever I'm in a forest or near one, I feel as if something is following or watching me? And whenever I do have that feeling (which is every time) I always rush the person with me to hurry and get out to an open area. I also have the same feeling when I'm near body of waters. Not to mention I'm a person who is very siab me me. Am I just being too paranoid? I know for sure that everything around us has it's own spirits and always watching us.
Dear Friend,
Environments like the forest, large bodies of water, or caves and mountains are home to many spirits and ghosts, all good and bad. Your body responds to it and you get a gut feeling. Humans and spirits live side by side among each other. Spirits also come out and find food, build their home, etc. We go on with our day and we continue on our path. It is natural for you and for anyone to get these feelings. However, don't let it effect you. When it does effect you it becomes a paranoia.
Why do I keep losing like any protection necklaces i wear or they keep breaking? For example my necklaces with a cross on it would go missing even when I saw where it fell. Or a rock that has been blessed by a buddha. The case would break with just a little pressure.
Dear Friend,
Protection necklaces are often blessed or enchanted with special spells or chants. It is possible that there are forces around you that move them. Like our phone or wallet, sometimes we place it in one area and then find it in a complete opposite area. When this occurs, just say aloud for these spirits to leave you alone and that you do not want to play. Say aloud that it is embarrassing for spirits to reveal themselves this way.
It is also possible that these rocks have their own life and spirit. They too want to be free, want to be outside. Especially things like rocks, these are items from nature. Rocks are our mountains and caves, they literally build this very Earth we live on. From my experience, it is best to not have rocks or stones as blessed or protection amulets and it is wise to not bring them inside the home. For other protection necklaces or amulets, don't hang them on doors either. Doors are constantly being opened and shut, jamming the amulet against the door. Many protection amulets do not want to be jammed in this way. Unless it is simply a string or cloth, I would recommend hanging amulets on walls or somewhere sturdy with little movement.
When you perform a shaman ritual, how do you know what to say and where you are going too? Also, why do shaman have a veil that covers their face? When shamans have a veil covering their face, do they open or close their eyes during ua neeb? What is the difference between a black veil and a red veil? When you first ua neeb, were you scared?
Dear Friend,
Our shaman spirits and guides tell us what to say. It's like, we become a vessel and as they speak, our mouths open and say what they say. There are things our master tells us as well, such as what to say in certain situations. Our master also teaches us protection chants or spells. A shaman has a veil covering their face for two reasons. The first is to simply block out the outside world and is used an instrument of focus. The second more important one is that a veil is used to cover or block the true identity of a shaman. Shamans must cover their identity so that spirits or ghosts cannot see them and bring them no harm. Doing an ua neeb shamans close their eyes.
There really is no difference between a black and red veil. The color veil you wear is the same color your master wears. My master wears a black veil and so I wear a black one too. There is a story behind the red veil. Legend has it that one night demons were attacking a Hmong village. A pregnant woman was up in the mountains and sought shelter at Saub's home. As she arrived to Saub'd home, she gave birth outside. To stop the baby from making noise, she breast fed him right away. Saub opened the door for her and as he did, the demons got a hold of her. Saub decided to fight back, calling Thunder to strike the demons back to Satan's hell. Thunder heard Saub's plead for help and striked the demons. But in doing so it killed the mother. The baby ended up with Red hair and became a very powerful shaman, killing and exercising demons. This shaman is able to use breast milk as a very powerful spell to fight against wild spirits, ghosts, and demons. Shamans with the red veil are said to be descendants of this shaman and can use breast milk and to conjure Thunder when going against wild spirits or demons.
I heard that Hmong people, especially those who believe in Shamanism can’t be cremated when they passed away? Why can't we be cremated when we pass away?
Dear Friend,
Our body is a vessel for the soul. The body needs to be present in order for it to travel to the ancestors and for it to be reincarnated. Without a physical body, the spirit cannot be lead back to their ancestors during the funeral. The body is so important that any metal or material within the body must be taken out before the burial processes. Even the smallest pin inside a person's body can stop it from being reincarnated. I am not the most informed about this topic as I deal more with the lliving.
How old were you when you first started your journey as a shaman. How did you know you where the chosen one?
How is the other world like? Most shamans tend to not say or tell how the other world is like? But I’ve heard that in the other world, the spirits live like how we live in houses and towns or village
Dear Friend,
Thank you for your question! I started my journey three years ago when I was 22 years old. I am 25 now and have my big altar. Ever since I was a kid I've had really intense dreams and spiritual experiences. As early as I can remember, I think at age five I started to remember my dreams. Since five years old up until 22, my nights sleep was horrible. I experienced a lot of sleep paralysis as a teen and right up until my journey started. A lot of dead spirits come and ask for help. I also experienced a lot of pain in my hands and legs. During my teen years I became really depressed and just sad. I was very kho siab too. As I came to college, I converted and believed in God. I did feel better for awhile, but then my symptoms came back even harder. I felt like there was something missing in my life and I was longing for something I didn't even know. My dreams heightened and I kept experiencing supernatural paranormal things. Eventually I sought out a shaman and immediately she became my master. I first saw her at my partner's family gathering about two years before. It was the first time I've ever seen her and had no idea who she was or that she was a shaman. But I felt right away that somehow she was someone I knew. It felt like I had known her my entire life but in reality it was my first time seeing her. Fast forward two years later and she becomes my master.
How are other worlds? There are many places or stages a soul stops at before continuing their next journey. There are also many other realms and destinations. Family ancestors live in little towns or villages. Each family has their own village, these villages are huge. Imagine an entire family line, all the way from China dating back hundred of years ago; all in one village. When shamans go into a trance, they do go through a series of stages or "worlds." Each stage or world has a protector of the land. Each stage has a specific purpose and the shaman must go through that in order to reach the next stage.
If Hmong family transition into Christianity, and when they perform funeral for the ones that passed, if they didn’t do the funeral the Hmong tradition way, would the soul of the one that passed still be guided to their ancestors or go through the golden gate or be able to reincarnation or be reborn again?
Dear Friend,
Your question is one that everyone debates about. I'll tell you what traditional Hmong believe in and then I'll tell you want I believe in. Hmong believe that if a traditional Hmong funeral is not given to a Hmong person then they will not be guided back to their ancestors and will remain as a restless ghost or wild spirit. They will not be able to reincarnate. This perspective not only effects Hmong Christians but also divorced Hmong women, non-shaman believers, Hmong LGBTQ individuals, and other groups. With this perspective, none of the groups I just mentioned will be able to find their ancestors and reincarnate.
What I believe in and experience as a shaman is that regardless of a traditional proper funeral, souls and spirits go to the same place. We all share the same blood and energy from the moment of creation which means we are interconnected as spiritual beings. We can be traced back to that exact moment. For some souls they don't go to the land of the ancestors. They must repay their debt, repay their wrong doings. For some, they really do go to heaven and join God's kingdom, another realm in the afterlife. Even after someone dies our soul needs to find healing. We must heal and be happy and ready to move on.
When you became a shaman, is that when you learned the history of shamanism? About Siv Yees, the afterlife, & so on.
Dear Friend,
After I became a shaman I started to learn so much, not only about the history of shamanism but about my own family's shaman lineage and my master's lineage as well. As I progress through my journey I begin to experience things that allow me to see and understand things about the afterlife and other spiritual realms. In order to perform an ua neeb, we have to understand the different stages a soul goes through after death. We have to understand what happens to a soul in certain situations and how it effects a person. We are taught about the types of sicknesses a soul can experience and what that looks like. A lot of it is taught knowledge from my master but a lot of it is also just simply knowing this information and having it be revealed to me through through my shaman spirits. In a ritual we have to use our ideas, get creative, and do certain steps to make sure we're safe.
When I had my daughter, the Hmong name we originally picked for her, when she turned one month, one of our grandpa came to hu plig for my daughter, why did he say my daughter liked her Hmong name Kaj Siab? But a month after that, she got sick? We were told by a shaman that my daughter didn’t like her Hmong name, the one we gave to her. We also learned that my daughter, before she came to be reborn, the papers that she brought to be born, was not long enough or she didn’t bring all the papers with her. How does that happened? We had to do a jingle bell for my daughter and changed her Hmong name to the one that the shaman and her spirit parents picked for her. The shaman also then had to fix our alter my daughter’s papers as well in the spiritual world.
Dear Friend,
I am so glad that your daughter is doing better and hope she continues to do well. You are absolutely correct. When a baby is given a name that they don't like, they'll cry. They will become sick to let you know they don't like their name. When I was a boy my original name was Tub Foob. I got sick, cried restless hours. So, I had my name changed to Kaj Siab. As I grew up the name was ok for awhile, but when I hit my teen years I got really sick. So I had my name changed another time.
In terms of your daughter's fate papers, we all come to this life with these papers. Think of them as fate, things that are written down. When a child or elderly person becomes very sick, a shaman may come and perform a ritual to extend the "date" on those "papers." Sometimes a child may not bring all that they were suppose to. For example, Hmong people believe that the blind and deaf forgot to bring their eyes and ears. Some babies born with one blue eye and one brown eye are said to have brought two different pairs of eyes. Spirits go through a series of stages in order to be reincarnated back and it is possible that hey simply didn't bring all of it. We call this the "Ntawv Noj Ntawv Haus." So when a person is sick, a shaman will always go check this to make sure there is "enough," not literally but metaphorically.
Also important to mention that we have to be careful of where we dry out clothes. Now a days people have washers and dryers. But back in the day after washing clothes, you had to be careful not to dry your clothes by your farm animals, birds nests, etc. This is because our clothes represent us, they cover us. But if we dry our clothes by a tree with a bird nest filled with eggs, our soul may go and reincarnate into those bird eggs, becoming a bird. Our "Ntawv Noj Ntawj Haus" can go add on and join those birds, making our life span shorter and cause sickness or death.
I had three miscarriages before I had a successful pregnancy with my daughter. Is it because they were not meant to be born to me or was I not meant to be their parent?
Dear Friend,
Every spirit has their own free will. We get the free will to decide how we want to live life, experience it, and enjoy it. At the moment of conception, our spirit decides on on own terms how to experience life. In a miscarriage, your baby's spirit has free will to decide how they want to live. For some, it is a short lived time inside the womb. Even there they are able to take away their own life lessons so that in the next life they can perhaps experience life a little longer. Some spirits come and take away moments and then they must go home, to cleanse themselves again and pick a new family. When mothers and parents experience a sense of love for their unborn child, that child has learned, seen, and experienced unconditional love. Some take that with them and then they decide, on their own free will, to move on. That is a life experience worthy to them and that decision that they make is out of our control. The thing to remember most is that each spirit or soul choose you because they believe you can teach them and love them unconditionally. They have so much faith in you that without even being born, they make the decision that they've learned and experienced enough and so they go back. For parents and couples, remember that. Remember that you already offered them the entire world by your unconditional love that they didn't feel the need to come and experience it here on Earth.
For some baby spirits they are sensitive. They are not that strong. And so the transition from one existence, one plan, to another, is difficult. Some believe that some babies are not strong enough for this transition. Or when this transition does happen successfully. they attach themselves to the mother, physically and spiritually. They then become one. This weakens the mother's body, her spirit, and sometimes it can harm the baby inside the womb, it can even harm or kill the mother. This is why a special shaman ritual, known as ua neeb faiv thiab, is performed. This ritual separates the baby's spirit from the mother's and gives both the mom and the baby strength to survive as independent individuals. For many miscarriages, the spirit of the baby simply is not strong enough. For many stillbirths, the spirit of the baby is only strong enough for that moment of time. Special rituals in the Hmong tradition helps strengthen the baby both physically and spiritually. When the baby is already in a weak and vulnerable place, there may be many wild, evil, or dark spirit and demons that could harm the baby. This is often why it is encouraged that Hmong women who are with child stay indoors or that they should not cross bodies of water or go through forests. It is the belief that an evil spirit will take or eat their child and may result in a miscarriage or stillbirth. We may often see pregnant women wearing special bronze bracelets or red/white strings tied around their wrist or ankles for protection against evil spirits and ghosts. It is during this time that a person's body, specifically a woman's body, is most vulnerable.
There are many things in the Universe that happen that is out of our control. There are many things that happen without our understanding. Whatever the reason may be for a miscarriage or stillborn birth, it will forever mark a special place in our hearts. Pay attention to those times when you are by yourself, when you are sad or simply enjoying the breeze of the wind. Spirit babies show up in forms that we may not pay attention to. They can come in a form of a bug, a bird, a butterfly, or a random bubble. They are the first little sprout of plant we see on a cold spring day. They may come in a dream or in a form of a shiny orb when you take a picture. They are simply visiting you and giving you a thanks. They are reminding you of their presence and one day may you reunite with the little ones that could have been. Find some time to heal yourself and be able to move forward knowing that you may not know or understand the truth.
Am I just impatient now or are people just annoying? Is it me or do people just want me to be a certain way?
Dear Friend,
I cannot answer this question because I don't know your circumstance. However, when there are certain wild spirits around us it can cause us to become impatient, angry for no reason, get mad over little things, our irritation level is up the roof, and every little thing becomes annoying. Take this time to reflect on any weird or unusual dreams. I suggest tying a red and white cloth string to your foot to lift these spirits from latching on.
My husband's dog passed away. Did she know she was loved? Is she happy now?
Dear Friend,
I am sorry for your loss. Pets are able to build certain bonds with us and connect to us on a spiritual level. Some of them, like dogs, are very sensitive to spirits and energy. I'm definitely not able to read into an animal or their spirits. But all animals and bugs have a soul just like us. When they die, they too go and reincarnate and become something or someone else in their next life. I'm sure she was happy and died peacefully. Her fate was to meet your husband and be a part of your family's life. Who knows? Maybe in her next life she'll choose your family again?
Hello, long time ago when I was around 10 years old or so, so early 2000s I was fishing at Keller lake/phalen lake, MN and all of sudden it was pouring rain really hard but I didn't stop fishing and I saw a long black dragon's body emerged and started swimming out of the water never seeing the head or tail for what it seems to be like forever. My older brother was nearby but not close enough for us to talk or see each other and he never saw anything...i never thought much about it until I got older... Keep in mind I have never been a religious follower but yet I believe and know what I saw..i don't know what it means but any information would helpful.
Dear Friend,
You are very lucky to have seen this dragon entity but also very lucky to be alive. Each body of water, every river, pond, lake; they all have their own owner, one who lives and guards it. It's one of those situations where both you and the entity are out looking for food. You were fishing (food) and the dragon was also out scavenging for food. Each of you crossing each other's paths at the right place at the right time. You both meant no harm to each other. If you and your brother would have just left a minute earlier you would have missed it and not seen this dragon. If the dragon wanted your brother to see him, he would have. But you saw it instead. So the fact that you were there at the exact moment it revealed itself, consider yourself lucky. For future, I would definitely consider being more careful. People get possessed or taken by dragon and water spirits because most of the time people are in their home, on their territory. They don't typically come out to seek us and so by us being there it's considered us trespassing. Bronze bracelets, the ones Hmong people wear, protect us against water and dragon spirits.
A couple months ago, I started humming and singing neeb music or nkauj neeb. I'm not sure if I'm going to be a future shaman. Every time I feel compelled to sing it or hum the melody. I still do to this day. Is there any significance to singing or humming nkauj neeb? Should I stop if it attracts "unwanted" attention?
Dear Friend,
You may have some shaman spirits. Shaman spirits make us feel compelled to do certain things or act in certain ways. For example, before I became a shaman or even knew I had shaman spirits, I didn't eat anything that lived in the water. This includes shrimp, crawfish, crabs, lobster, oysters, seaweed, snails, and fish. My shaman spirits don't like eating animals in the water. For you, your shamans are wanting to sing, to express themselves, and even prepare you for future use. Now, this doesn't automatically mean you are destined to be a shaman and it doesn't confirm anything. Also, I would consider being very careful where you hum or sing it. Avoid doing it outside by the woods and large bodies of water. This can symbolize to other entities that you are showing off and want to challenge them or catch their attention. This could lead to wild spirits clinging on to you or following you home.
Sometimes writing whatever comes to mind helps a lot. Even if you don't know what you're writing or how to spell it, just write it. Whatever word you're humming or wanting to say, write it down. If they're just a bunch of scribbles, write it down. To you they may look like random scribbles and chicken scratches but in reality they are special enchantments. Keep a private journal or even just a packet/bundle of joss paper (they usually come in a bunch of 10) and write right on it. Scribble on it, draw on it, write words on it; anything you feel compelled to sing just record it down. When you're angry or upset, scribble away on the joss paper.
I had a dream when I was about 8 years old. My grandma & I were sword fighting in this dark, fiery place and I got sick for about a week. When she passed, she met with a girl whom has the sixth sense/or maybe a “shaman” (i believe she was actually a Christian girl experiencing all spiritual/paranormal things as you have). But anyway, my grandma found this girl and followed her through her dreams. My grandma told her to tell my Mom that one of her daughters will be a Shaman. I’ve experience minor paranormal stuff, such as hear things but nothing has ever revealed itself for me to see. I’ve suddenly got sick twice in a row last year. Since then, I’ve been ok. My question is, what do you think about this, and what advice do you have for me?
Dear Friend,
Those who have passed can come back in dreams and reveal things to us. Perhaps your grandpa was a shaman? There may be a shaman lineage in your family bloodline and the shaman spirits are ready to pick someone. Your sickness may continue. It may stop but then come back. Even after months or years, it always comes back. You experience paranormal stuff here and there, sometimes it will be worse and other times it feels like everything has calmed down.
My advice would be perform a shaman ritual to determine if you do have shaman spirits. There on, you would have to tsawv neeb to find your master. This is a search and screen process and it allows your shaman spirits to come tell you who's neeb is compatible with yours. However, before doing so, definitely talk it over with your family first. It's not as easy as it seems. It becomes a learning curve not only for you but for everyone involved. Your perspective on life and death, and purpose to life really changes. While everyone around you remains the same, you go on this dynamic shift where everything reveals and opens itself up. It's like you're seeing the universe for what it is for the first time but then everyone cannot and does not. When you start your journey you will have a small altar on a lamp/coffee table. This will serve as a small altar for you and your shaman spirits. In this time you should feel better and you will start your training.
Every time when I'm depressed and I'm crying, I look up at the sky and I see clouds shaped like buddha statues and Chinese gods. Are my eyes just playing with me, or is it a sign for me to seek guidance from that religion? I go to church, but I feel like my heart isn't there with Christ.
Dear Friend,
I'll offer two explanations. Pareidolia is the phenomenon in which our brain see's faces in things that are just simple shapes. This happens because our brain has a need to want to recognize shapes as faces, to identify with a human being. Not only that but we also have a tendency to see objects in random things. Children tend to look at clouds and say things like, "Look! It's a unicorn!" This is because we feel the need to identify and know that something random looks like something we know.
Now, we often look up into the sky or into space when we feel a longing for something, like something we miss or want but sometimes don't know what that is. It gives us a kho siab feeling and it makes us question our own life. It is possible that you are in need of self-fulfillment. Perhaps your soul is in a crisis, needing something more to belong to and to identify with. Your soul may be starving for purpose. It's making you see Buddha and Chinese gods as a way to answer some of your most difficult life questions that you may not be getting through Christ. Perhaps take on some meditation. Listen to chants (you can find these on youtube). Do some research and look into the concepts of Buddhism. Does it align with what you believe in? Does it call to you? Does it make you feel less kho siab? You are your own answers to most of life's challenges.
What does it mean if I dream that a dark shadow tried to take me? The first is, it called for me to go with it but I rejected it and then the second time it took me to the lake and I found a door and when I found the door a dark shadow hand reached out to me, but I had awaken before it could grab me.
Dear Friend,
It's a good thing that you rejected it. This means you are still capable of your own thoughts and actions and it has not yet leeched itself onto you. The reason you woke up is because there are family spirits making sure you wake up and not go with that dark shadow. Sometimes our own spirit gets itself into trouble. It ventures off when we sleep. Your spirit could be low right now, unable to stay put and easy to take off. I would recommend a soul calling or hu plig. If this is not an option, I recommend tying a red and white string cloth on your left foot to lock your soul from wandering off. If when alone and you feel scared, leave the room and go somewhere else. It's your spirit telling you.
Hi Toufong, can you explain why an egg is used in rituals? Eggs sit on Shaman altars and used for all ceremonies. What does it symbolize?
Dear Friend,
Great question! Nobody has ever asked about the egg before. Eggs during a hu plig or shaman ritual is used as a vessel. When we are able to get the soul or capture it, we can use this egg to send the spirit of that person into it. This is why we eat the egg during hu plig or New Years Soul Calling ceremonies. We are welcoming our soul back into our body. For new borns that cannot eat the egg for a hu plig, the egg yolk is smeared on its forehead. It is the same concept for shaman altars. In some cases after an ua neeb ritual, the eggs are even used to hu plig or given to the person to eat. Eggs can be used to reveal many things as well. A special type of hu plig or soul calling known as "hu plig cub" in which the egg sits on the shirt of the sick person. As this egg is steamed and it pops open, the sickness will reveal itself in the egg, typically in the shape of an animal. The person doing the hu plig will slowly take the egg apart piece by piece and throwing it in the trash, symbolizing the end of the sickness.
Hi Tou Fong, thank you for an interesting FAQ that allows us Hmong to learn more about our culture! I have two/three questions: When speaking with my grandma, she mentions a lot Hmong shamans (people who practice) deal and interact with demons, such as praying and sacrificing to them. Could you explain how this interaction works, its interesting while scary at the same time and I feel like I couldn’t grasp it all when talking to her. Also she mentions how there are different types groups within the Yang clan (or other ones too?) depending on the number of bowls they set out for huplig. Could you go into more detail on that? Lastly, you mentioned dejavu as a special ability in an earlier post. I have had many dejavu experiences growing up to even now, and I am curious to what it all means. Normally I would dream about a scenario, a place or a room with people and forget about it. In the real world, I stumble randomly into these scenarios and there is this force that pulls me back and immediately it becomes clear to me that I have been here before.. but in a dream. Any information would be helpful!
Dear Friend,
Hmong shamans fight the work of demons. However, not all spirits or wild ghosts are demons. We communicate and help resolve an issue, such as when a ghost spirit takes a soul. We are the medium that is able to compromise. In terms of praying to demons, perhaps there's a language barrier. Our shaman spirits and guides are not demons or demonic. In Hmong we call them "Dab neeb" which may be confusing to some as "dab" is usually understood as ghosts or demons. Some shamans now refer to their shaman spirits as "Qhua Neeb" meaning "Shaman guests." But what we worship and pray to are our shaman spirits. Not only that but we pray to our ancestors and those who have passed on. Think of it as this. When we are going through a hard time, we tell our parents. We run to them when we're in trouble and they help us and protect us. Just because they are no longer around doesn't mean they stop protecting us or guiding us.
When shamans sacrifice animals, it isn't to just randomly feed demons and ghosts and give them free food. It isn't to worship them in any way. We are sacrificing animals to replace the soul or spirit of the person that the ghost or demon has a hold of. In order for them to hand a human soul over, we need to trade it for something else. Think of those Meeka movies in which an evil entity has taken hold of a person and they don't sacrifice an animal or have nothing to trade the devil with. They end up losing so many lives. Now I know it's just movies but it's that same concept. There's a specific story as to why we use the pig as a sacrifice.
A long time ago the pig said to Siv Yis that they are willing to be used as sacrificed animals, helping to retrieve lost souls. But that in return, pigs must just be lazy animals, eating, sleeping, playing. They agreed that after one whole year, Siv Yis will release them into the afterlife to be reincarnated. Today, pigs are lazy! They lay in mud, they eat, and sleep.
There’s so much I would like to know and ask about . Shamanism, dreams, myself, my family. Everything . I have a lot of unanswered questions. But I rather personally ask you through msg. If possible is there a way I can contact you , just to ask some question that I personally like to keep between you and I ?
Dear Friend,
You can message me on my blog, a lot of people have been doing that. Or feel free to email me at my email below. All our messages and conversations will be confidential and private. No one see's or has access to these outlets but me.
email: tflhmongshaman@gmail.com
My friend had an abortion once and a few days afterwards, she dreamt that she saw two dragon tails. It looked like the dragons were floating, but their bodies were stretched straight vertically, so she only saw the tails and not the entire dragons. Does this mean anything important?
Dear Friend,
Thank you for sharing with me. It is not my place to judge anyone and my only goal is to help. The dragons represent the child. The color of the water is important. In this case I sense it was dark waters, representing lifelessness and death. Water only flows in one direction and depending on where she stood, Im assuming the water was flowing away and the dragons were going with it. This simply means the child was born and is going away. The baby spirit wanted to simply show your friend that it is now lifeless and going away to its next journey, finding it's next mother.
Why is it that I have to wear metal ankle and wrist bracelets. I have one on each of my legs and one on my right hand along with a white string. My left hand has a jade bracelet. I’ve had these on ever since elementary and my sisters had them on too, however they eventually got to take theirs off but I have to keep mine on. Is anything wrong with me? Is it because I’m the youngest? I’ve asked, but always got brushed off with it’s there to protect me. I just want to know what is it that it’s protecting me from?
Dear Friend,
There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. These bracelets act as a protector against wild spirits, a water spirit to be specfic. Some people are more easily prone and get easily sick. It just means your spirit is more open to these entities. Have you had a name change when you were younger? Did you go through an intense sickness? If so, these are used to protect you from entities trying to take you. It's a good thing that you have these!
Will me and my husband have any kids?
Dear Friend,
I do not know the future and cannot predict the success of something occurring. However, each couple is predestined as to how many kids they should have, 10 or none. For couples that have a hard time conceiving, their choj tub choj ntxhais is typically broken or it's not extending down to you and your husband. A shaman is required to go to Niam Nkauj Kab Yeeb and bring this bridge down to you and bring spirit children to you. There are many success stories of this ritual. Another thing you might want to consider is doing a fib yeem, sacrificing a cow when you recieve a child.
Hello, i have a couple of questions, 1. how do you deal with other religions calling shamanism black magic, or the work of the devil? How would you refute against those who deem that? 2. There are shamans with different colored rags over their faces. What do those colors represent? Do each color have their own specialty, as in skills to deal with entities? 3. This one is dream related. I keep dreaming of protecting my front door. Like there could be something that is coming in or always unlocking the door, or kids or things trying to attempt to open my door but I'm always there fending them off and locking the door every time it unlocks. What do you think this could mean?
Dear Friend,
Thank you for your questions! I don't feel anything towards anyone calling shamanism black magic or the work of the devil. I was once sick and shamanism has cured me. My health today matters most to me and what people say or believe in is their understanding of it. I feel like people despise what they don't understand or they hate something they have very little knowledge of. In my experience people shut themselves out to opportunities to learn and change what they were brought up to believe in. We tend to only see what we want to see and believe in what we want to, anything else is deemed bad. I really do encourage anyone who is confused about shamanism or against it to simply talk to me about it, ask me questions and 'll ask them questions about their belief too. When we listen it doesn't mean we agree, it just means we want to understand. We don't have to agree with everything we understand, just respect it. There would be less problems in the world if people just listen more, to respect what each other believe in. What I believe in has helped me through many dark times in my life, and just because it's worked for me doesn't mean it has to work for someone. It doesn't mean it's the ultimate truth. I never want to convince others to believe in what I believe in. Our spiritual journey has to be our own. We have to experience it, we have to find it ourselves. The difference between spirituality and religion is that spirituality allows room for us to find answers on our own, whatever that may be. We have the power to find our own spiritual freedom. Religion already gives us answers, tells us what is acceptable and what is not, how we should live our life and how we shouldn't. It doesn't encourage alternative answers because we should just have faith 100% through every single challenge we come across in our life, trauma, death, rape, violence, etc. So if me being a shaman and being cured through shamanism is the work of the devil, then let it be so. But I don't believe the devil would allow me to be where I am today; living, breathing, happy. For the most part, people who say shamanism is black magic just don't understand it. And perhaps they believe in something that spreads hate towards anyone different.
In terms of the veil, some wear black and some wear red. What determines the color veil we wear is what our master wears. So if my shaman master wears a black veil, I will wear a black veil too. There aren't major differences. Shamans who wear a red veil come from a line of shamans who use breast milk to conjure the Thunder God to kill demons or ghosts, allowing them to exercise demons or ghosts. This is a powerful technique that those who wear the red veil can do only. Nowadays we do see many shamans wearing other colors like green, white, orange, etc. I'm not quite sure what they represent but I do know it's a newer concept.
In terms of your dream, your txhiab meej (the spirit that guards the door) is protecting you. There are entities that are trying to get in. I suggest tie a red and white cloth to your door. The cloth should be 2 - 3 inches in width and 14 inches in length. Tie three knots in it, two on the ends and one in the middle. Tie this to your front door to strengthen your txhiab meej and protect your home from wild spirits or ghosts coming in.
My uncle die 3 years ago. This year in April, I dream that we (my father and his siblings, my cousins and siblings) were invited to see him for one last time. He was tie on stage as he was being judged by people to see what he have done during his living days. Could this mean that he is moving forward?
Dear Friend,
I am sorry for your loss and hope that all of you, your cousins and family, has found some peace. It seems like perhaps your uncle has finally gotten the opportunity to give his case. He may have been waiting awhile, awaiting his turn in Heaven's court. Please know that he is moving forward in his next journey, whether that be reincarnation, or still in court. Feel free to burn yaj khaum (boat money) to your uncle as he may need this. Make sure to use his full name (first and last) when burning the money. You can burn this inside the home.
I don’t dream but when I do I only dream of going places. Especially to funerals and seeing dead people. Every night around 3-4 am I get so cold with chills even with blanket over me. Could this all mean anything?
Dear Friend,
Dreaming of funerals can symbolize sickness. If not you then someone in the family. When seeing dead people in your dreams, are they asking for anything? Seeing them is different from communicating with them. If they are making requests and asking for help it could symbolize that your soul is venturing off too far. This could lead to sickness in the long run as their energy can feed into you, latching onto your soul as you are the one with life. If things persists and escalates, I would recommend a hu plig or soul calling and then tying a white and red cloth string to your left foot (it's very important that it's on the left side).
I was born and raised a Christian, but just married a man who's family practices the shaman ways. I like to ask a lot of questions since I'm still very new to everything. So, I'm just wondering if whenever we do an ua neeb or hu plig for me, how does it happen? For example when I'm pregnant and a shaman does an ua neeb? How are they able to find and make sure I'm protected? Does my husband's ancestors automatically know me from when they did the chicken thing when he brought me home?
Dear Friend,
Thank you for reaching out. I know the transition of learning a new belief can sometimes be overwhelming. Traditional Hmong believe that when a woman gets married, she becomes a part of her husband's family. This means their dab qhua or family ancestors will watch over you, claim you as their family, and you are now a part of theirs. I receive a lot of questions about how it's possible to ua neeb for someone who's a Christian. Before your family (your biological family) converted and became Christians, your family lineage and ancestors believed in shamanism. Your family lineage can be traced all the way back to China. Some Hmong shamans won't perform a ritual for someone who is a Christian. But, it is possible by tracing your lineage back the last generation who didn't convert. This could be your grandpa or great grandpa. By tracing this, we are able to come down your family line and claim that even though you are a Christian, you lineage is not, therefore we're able to still do the ritual for you. It's complicated but very possible. In your case specifically, since you and your husband are married and he still believes in the traditional way, an ua neeb is very possible because you belong in their dab qhua. Your children will belong in his dab qhua as well.
This incident happened a few years back, I'm currently 22 and I believe this happened when I was 19 or 20. I was at home, napping in my room. This one time when I was sleeping on my side, my face was towards my sister's bed and my back was towards the wall. I felt awake, but I knew I wasn't fully awake. And then, I felt this enormous pressure and I knew I was stuck in paralysis. I could see my room through the silts of my eyes; I felt three presences in my room: one standing next to my head, in front of my book shelf. And two in front of my closet. I knew the one furthest away from me, and closest to my closet, was a woman. The other two were men. The men were talking more and the lady just kinda watched. The man presence closest to me kept taunting me, saying, "What're you going to do about it?" Or, "What can you do about it? You don't have powers." The other male was talking with the first man, but in Hmong. He kept saying, "Mi ntxhais, tsis tau txog caij. Koj tsis tau npaj txaus." The second male just kept repeating this. And the woman just kept watch. All the while, I kept trying to break out of sleep paralysis. After the man speaking Hmong finished his sentence for the 3rd to 4th time, they let me go. I broke out of paralysis but I was so tired and drained. What may have caused this? I wasn't afraid of the presences - I was only afraid because they kept me in paralysis.
Dear Friend,
It is not news that you experienced sleep paralysis. These experiences can be frightening. During these experiences we can experience what you mentioned as seeing entities. They can appear as people, animals, or dark shadows and figures. One can typically hear voices, either conversationally or just random noises. Before I became a shaman I use to experience sleep paralysis, ones similar to yours, multiple times a week since I was a little kid. I would see figures all around me. Sometimes I'd hear scary voices and sometimes I'd hear an older Hmong woman talking. I also heard ringing noises, static radio noises, and vibrating sounds. I remember one time looking up and seeing something that looked like a man but also an alligator. It had the body of a human but its arms, legs, and tail were that of an alligator. It was all black and was just hanging on my ceiling over me as I experienced sleep paralysis. It's tail was moving side to side.
What you experienced is the Hmong entity known as Tsog. The term we use for sleep paralysis is called Tsog Tsuam. It is a wild spirit that feeds on the breath of humans, hence why you feel like you can't breath or feel paralyzed. We contract it by being out in nature such as camping, fishing, hiking, and walking in the woods. For some it's a one time experience, for others it's a daily thing. If it persists, which from your post it hasn't, but if it does I would highly recommend seeking medical attention first before anything. I would recommend tying a simple red and white string cloth to your left foot. In the string, tie three knots in it. These knots act as a lock that will capture any evil or wild spirit. Red warns off evil as well. After a sleep paralysis episode, following days after it is important to listen to your body and mind. If you don't feel like yourself, you feel tired or drowsy, you feel angry or loss of appetite, and depressed, make sure to reach out to someone and tell them what's going on. These are early symptoms that this tsog has latched itself onto you. When this occurs an ua neeb ritual may be required.
Good Afternoon, I’ve had a series of dreams over the past few years. The dreams remain pretty consistent in contents. The dream always starts off with me being inside a hut, cooking on the stove (near the fire), when two older gentlemen, in their late 50’s, would knock on my door, bow to me, and ask me to take a trip with them to their village to help some sick people. The gentleman would ask, “Koj puas cai os?”, I would respond with, “tsis cai os. Neb tuaj dabtsis os?” The gentleman would then tell me, “there has been a recent plague in our village. Our people are sick and when we tsawv neeb, it led us to you. They said you will be the only person to save the people in our village. If you have a moment can you come back with us to cure the people in our village? We would appreciate your help.” I always respond with, “Sorry. You’ve come such a long away, but I no longer practice Shamanism. I’ve converted. I’m afraid you wasted your time on this long journey. Take this with you (hands them medicine) and I hope that you’re able to cure the plague with this. Here is some water for your journey back home”. No matter how much they plead, I would politely decline. Then I wake up. What could this mean? Thank you,
Dear Friend,
Wow. Your dream is powerful. You mention you no longer practice shamanism. Were you a shaman? Or just believed in traditional Hmong shamanism? Your dream is similar to a lot of Hmong shamans, myself included. Both people and spirits ask Hmong shamans for help. Most of the time when spirits ask us for help the dream takes place in olden times. It represents you possessing healing powers, spiritual shaman abilities. You have the ability to heal, to help people and to saib. You may have a sixth sense. Perhaps you've experienced this before. When someone tells you that they are sick or not feeling well, you have a feeling of what is causing it. When someone is going through a hard time and they talk to you, they suddenly feel better. When someone's sick, you just say one thing and it's like they feel better. In this dream they came to you asking for help and healing. You are the shaman in your dream. Do you experience consistent pain? It's a pain for over a long period of time now. When you get sick, is it really bad? These may be symptoms that you are destined to become a shaman. Even though you are a Christian, learn ways to channel this help. In Christianity I believe you call this Grace. Still channel ways in which you can help, even if you are no longer practicing shamanism.
I dreamt I was with my family visiting a zoo/adventure park... (CONFIDENTIAL STORY)
Dear Friend,
Thank you for telling me your dream. It's an intense dream but not to worry. There are good components to your dream. Dragon's could signify ancestral spirits. Perhaps someone angered your ancestors. The thing that stood out to me is when you mentioned that the dragon gave you a rock or gave you something. And she was right. You will receive a very special gift as dragons represent the strongest creatures in both land and water. This could be a miracle waiting to happen, a fortune that will come to you, or something that will help you in a situation. When you feel like you are in a bad situation, call upon that item to help you. It could be possible that she gave you your shaman spirits. In the future perhaps you will continue your family's shaman lineage. Shamans tend to remember their dreams in great detail like how you described your dream to me. Seeing your grandma is a good thing too. She wanted you to wake up, she was protecting you and so that is why you awoke.
How many souls do a person have? In an answer you mentioned that there is the reincarnation soul and there is the soul that goes back to their ancestors. Is there just two souls or how many and what roles do they play?
Dear Friend,
The Hmong believe there are a total of 12 souls. There are three main souls, the Ancestral Soul, the Reincarnation Soul, and the Breath Soul.
The Ancestral Soul travels back to the land of our ancestors after we die. They reunite with the family. If we dream of seeing deceased family members, it indicates that our Ancestral Soul is weak.
The Reincarnation Soul is the one that gets washed in heaven's water to remove all our memories of this life and be reincarnated. If we have any unpaid debt or we receive a harsh judgement, then we may be reincarnated as animals to pay back debt. When an elderly person is very sick, their reincarnation soul is close to going.
The Breath Soul is the one that stays with our body. When we go to sleep and dream, it is the Breath Soul. When we die and get buried, this soul stays with the body in that location. It becomes a home in a sense. When we get frightened or lost, the Breath Soul is the one that is affected and causes illness.
What happens to a person when they commit suicide? I have heard that when a person tries to commit suicide by hanging there are poj ntxoog waiting for the person to die so they can take their soul. So what exactly do happens when a person commits suicide and is it considered a “sin” in the Hmong culture?
Dear Friend,
I feel like this topic is the most misunderstood topic in Hmong culture and as a warning it may trigger some emotions. One of the difficulties we have is battling inner demons that block our ability to see how much people love us and how much love there is around us. It is not news that there are people who suffer a great amount of depression and blockage. Maybe you at some point have vibrated low and felt sadness. Maybe you at some point thought about how the world would be without you... The point I want to make about this post is that there is love for souls who are in despair even more so in the afterlife than here on Earth. For some, when physically alive, they are unable to feel their own love for their family, friends, and vise versa. There may be conditions, factors, or stressors that make them unable to experience a great love. When passed, they will realize the full extent of their own love and the love around them. From this perspective this is a great break through. Suicide and death by despair is not an answer but we must understand that it is not the end. We must understand that a person's soul was in so much pain that suicide and death was the only option. A permanent option and there is nothing we can do to take that back. The healing begins for both the remaining loved ones and for that individual.
There needs to be a lot of conversation around suicide and death by despair in the Hmong community. Many people who have taken their lives were unable to feel love or express love because they were in a place of darkness. This place of darkness involves depression, it involves blocked thoughts and feelings towards love and hope. We must understand that souls vibrate not on a constant level but a fluctuation. We sometimes vibrate lower and so we feel sad. For some, they remain in this low frequency. As a spiritual person I must understand that the darkest points may become the starting point of a new direction toward light. I call this spiritual evolution. We are energies that want to evolve and want to seek out love vibrations. Suicide, then, is not a sin and there is no punishment. Instead, I believe there is the greatest compassion and love for people who take their lives in despair. These are the souls that need the most love; these are the souls that need the most love and self healing. Rather you believe in God or Hmong shamanism, there is help and love in the spiritual realm, in Heaven, or the afterlife... These souls are never abandoned, forgotten, or punished but instead are offered love, is gifted with help and given light to see their way home.
Spiritual evolution is when a soul finds their own meaning of peace and love through their own journey afterwards. As with the physical world, the spiritual realm involves growth of souls and spirits as well. As a Hmong shaman, I believe there is help even in the after life so souls can evolve and find love, feel love, see love, experience it, and for that soul to find closure from one life to the next. I say this from a place of love and compassion; for those who have lost someone to suicide, they can feel your every thought, your every word, your every pain and sadness. They know how much you love them, they can feel your vibration and this will help them heal in the afterlife to start their journey back home. There must be love and compassion for what ever struggle someone is going through. Even in the afterlife there is the greatest amount of care and help for souls in despair. They are not abandoned. They are not forgotten.
As to your other question about poj ntxoogs, they are most attracted to souls in despair, to hurting souls and to souls that yearn love. If a person is thinking about suicide, they can influence a person's decision. Poj ntxoog can cloud the judgement of a person and make them feel so depressed, so sad, and put thoughts in their minds to the point where they attempt suicide. When you are in an already hurting stage, they have the ability to cause even more pain. They can cause a spirit to be blind of any love, care, or support that is around them. They can cause feelings of isolation and even though we don't physically see them, they are like leeches. They suck our life, our love, they are on us and around us blocking anything that attempts to get in and disrupt them.
If you notice that someone is feeling more depressed than usual, losing interest in things they love, someone who seems to have isolated themselves, lost weight, someone who seems to have a lot of anxiety all a sudden or someone who talks about suicide and "doing it," I highly recommend always reaching out for help. Tell a counselor, tell an adult, tell someone they trust. Give them resources and constantly check on them. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number is 1-800-273-8255.
Do we have our own protection spirits individually (i.e. my mom has her own protection spirits while I have my own protection spirits)? Are they animals or are they humans spirits? Is there a way to see them?
Dear Friend,
Traditional Hmong believe each household has many protector spirits. These are both family spirits (ancestors) and entities like the xwm kab or txhiaj meej. Individual protection spirits, although not technically spirits, are things like enchantments, necklaces, bracelets, or enchanted rocks and stones. These are typically spells or khawv koob and can act as a special force. To you they may appear as a normal stone or necklace, but to spiritual entities they appear as many things like a dragon protecting you, a snake guarding you, fire, an ocean, etc. There isn't a way to see them as they only appear and protect against evil or wild spirits.
Is there a purpose to why one is born in life? If so is there a way to find out what is the purpose? I’m going through a rough time right now...
Dear Friend,
I am so sorry to hear that you're going through a hard time right now. I want you to know that I am here for you, please feel free to reach out to me at my email if you need anything or want someone to talk to. You don't even have to tell me your name, just simply talk and I'll listen. You questioning about the purpose to life lets me know that you may be feeling a little lost, deprived of meaning and direction. Sometimes we all question what our purpose is. Why are we even here if we're not doing anything? I feel like I failed so much. I feel like I'm not going anywhere, so sick of dealing with life. I want you to take this time to make it something great. Feeling like not knowing your purpose can actually be a good thing depending on how you perceive your current situation. This is the time and opportunity to find out. It simply means what you are going through right now is not the end, it is a current stage that you need to pass through and in order to do so you need to, not find yourself, but create yourself. We pass through certain stages in life, like the stage you're in, because we need to. We are exactly where we need to be and have to be in order to be where we want to be. Perhaps you're looking at life in terms of "finding it" when you need to "create it." We are born in the world as human beings, as vibrating spiritual beings not to "find" out who we are, but to create who we are. Create the world and life we want. You already found yourself before you were even born like your physical body, your physical family, siblings, etc. Those are things we "find." To "find" your purpose, start by creating it. It literally starts by making a shift. Things don't just happen, we have to set the motion for it. So, if you're in a job right now and you're not happy, find another job. Go back to school. Find new friends. Start doing something you've always wanted to do. Make a list of goals you want to accomplish and start by doing little steps. It's not how fast you get there or how many things you can accomplish, it's about the small victories in between. Small steps lead to far distances. Tread slowly, enjoy the good and the bad, and you'll create your purpose.
There is always purpose to why your life is born. To mine. To everyone else's life as well. No life has no purpose. Even bugs and plants all have purpose. I don't know what has happened in your life, who is there supporting you through difficult times, and what kind of experiences you've gone through, but we go through situations in our lives that perhaps we don't understand at the moment. We may not like it, enjoy it, and may even suffer through it. But, our purpose in life is shaped by what we learn through these experiences. Take every experience, good or bad, and learn from it. You win when you learn from it. Going through a hard time just means there are easier days coming. Someone once told me that everything in our life, good and bad, is all temporary. And this has helped me through so many times in my own personal life when I thought the bad was going to win. When I thought to myself, "if this is it then I don't want to do it anymore." What ever you are going through right now it is only temporary. Everything in life is meant to pass, from seasons to weathers, to the cycles of life, to hard times and hardships. Take my advice. Be kind to yourself. Create it.
Can you sense people’s aura? If so, does it give you a feeling if a person is bad or good?
Dear Friend,
The one thing I appreciate but also hate at the same time is being able to read people and their energy or as you call it, auras. I feel like a lot of Hmong shamans are more sensitive or have a higher sense for empathy. We're able to pick up on people more, more intuitive, and really feel what other people feel. This actually has helped me avoid many people who I know may not have the best intentions, later finding out other people's experiences with them. This does hinder or stop me from getting the opportunity to meet people or get to know them.
Hi I am [CONFIDENTIAL] years old and was born in [CONFIDENTIAL]. I am the [CONFIDENTIAL] daughter of my family. Both of my parents are deaf since sickness in child. My mom can hear and speak a little but my dad can’t. I have always take care of my siblings and help them out in whichever I can. I finish my first year in college somehow good and bad. I am currently working full time and going into second year but I doubt myself that I won’t finish college or that school may not be for me since its hard being independent since my parents can’t help me much and I am stressed about money. I wonder if I stop going, will I ever succeed or should I just stop and work until a opportunity come? Right now I don’t have any motivation in myself nor having any desire to go back but at the same time I want to but it has been hard for me. Thank you for reading this. Sorry if it is too long.
Dear Friend,
Balancing school, work, family life, it's all really hard. And to each person we have our own reasons for starting or stopping. I can't tell you to stop or to keep going. You have a lot of people depending on you. My advice is, remember why you started. Remember who you're doing this all for; why you started school, what you want to do after, and who you're going to help. Money is always going to come and go. We have money one day and we don't. A lot of times people stop chasing their dreams because of things like money. And it's a real issue. But what you're going through right now is only temporary. When the tough gets hard, you know you're doing something right. You will succeed in whatever direction you go, but it will be as hard and as challenging as you can imagine. But it will also be as rewarding as you can imagine too. When I was in my undergrad I thought about quitting. I thought maybe it's just easier if I quit. And I was right, it is easier if we just quit. But I asked myself something that maybe you can ask yourself too. "Do I suffer temporarily now or do I suffer later on in life for the rest of my life." The price we pay for our goals and dreams now will not be expensive as the price we pay if we don't pursue our dreams. There's a lot of great things in store for you but it won't come with ease. There's also a lot more for you to gain than lose.
I was told during the time I was still married that I one day will be a shaman myself. That once I conceive my first child I’ll encounter this journey that was gifted to me. But ever since my separation to my divorce I’ve lost touch to it. Before my marriage and during my marriage I always have dreams of flying, fighting demons and bad spirits. My father who has passed before I got married has brought me to his world multiple times and taught me many shamans techniques to even blowing the flute during for funerals. I just now feel like I’m surrounded by bad omens. Will I one day be able to carry that journey and will everything fall into place for me after all?
Dear Friend,
I hope that you have been able to be in some peace since your divorce. It is true that for most shaman they start their journey once they are married or have kids. Our shaman spirits look out for us too, waiting for us to be in a good place. The destiny of a shaman will never go away. Not in a divorce, not if you converted, not even if you refuse it. I wouldn't be worried about carrying that journey because it is yet to come. There are many things in your life right now you still have to heal from. Whether from your last marriage, from friends, or family. Your shaman spirits are waiting for you to be a good place, mentally and emotionally. Take it like this. Shamans are told to never be angry or sad when they perform a ritual. Their shaman spirits can block their judgement or block their way from going into trance because it can attract evil entities. This is a way of protecting you. Your shamans are protecting you until you have entered a comfortable place in your life. Something tells me your shaman spirits knew your marriage might not have worked out which may be why you didn't start your journey when you were married. Please be in better place and to let go of things you cannot control. Forgive others but most important forgive yourself. Only then will your door be open to you again.
I had a dream that my teeth keeps falling out and I have had a couple of dreams like this before. In my dream, I was trying to keep my teeth intact so that it doesn't fall out, but in the end, every one of teeth falls out anyways. I heard that when you dream of your teeth being broken or falling out, it means that a relative, family member, or someone you know is going to pass away. But nothing has ever happen before. Can you clarify the meaning of this?
Dear Friend,
Thank you for your message. In terms of teeth falling out in dreams, Hmong interpretation is that you or someone you know will be sick and it could lead to a death. It typically involves an immense sickness but could be anything like a car accident or trauma that leads you to the hospital. The reason why nothing has ever happened before is because teeth represent second chances, a turn around. The one thing that is good about these types of dreams that allow you to win the good over the bad is that teeth regrows. It's simply a warning that something could happen. Perhaps you were late one day to work and later realize there was a bad accident on the same road you take everyday. Maybe you were actually sick but you got better. Dreaming of teeth falling out is a bad omen but there is a chance you will win, a chance for the teeth to regrow. When dreaming of teeth falling out I advise you to stay home as much as possible. I recommend not going out late nights, avoid camping, fishing, or hiking.
Since you went over the names of animals, how about plants? Rice, bamboo, peach branches? And then how about the role of animals in shaman rituals? I'm curious cuz you listed birds, but I've never seen anything other than chicken and ducks (and a pigeon once).
Dear Friend,
When shamans use non-living items like plants, cutting trays, etc for a ritual, the shaman can simply assign a name to it and then in the ritual give it breath/life. For example, if a shaman wants to use a plant for a healing ritual, simply assign the name "Paj Zaub Dub." In the ritual the shaman must be consistent in using that name.
The role of animals place a significant part. All animals are used as sacrifices. No animal is greater value than the other. The pig is most used as a sacrifice. The cow is not usually used for rituals as they are used in funerals. Things like snakes and frogs are often times not used. Birds can be used in rituals. If not a chicken than a duck. A duck is used when a person has drowned. The duck is given a special role in the ritual to go under water and raise that person. In the same way, a dog is used to defend off evil or wild spirits (nowadays shamans use stuffed animal dogs). Some animals have special roles. But, back in the day if you didn't have money for a pig or don't own any, you would use birds, rocks, mice, etc.
One day, as I was cleaning, I had a slight premonition or dejavu (whatever make sense to you), of me being in a battle field surrounded by soldiers. The soldiers were protecting me and fighting off people and dragons. As I watch the scene unfold, outside of my house on the street, I saw an arrow flew off directly towards me. As the arrow hit my left shoulder, I flew back a couple of steps and the shoulder started to tingle with a burning sensation. That caught me off guard and the entire scene disappear. I’ve been having these moments more frequently. What could it be?
Dear Friend,
Sometimes we get these visions because we experience past life regression. We get snippets of our past life. Not everyone can get these small experiences. You may have been a soldier in your past life and possibly died in battle. We don't get random snippets of our past life of random things. We get snippets of very important and meaningful images like our death, our marriage, our children, etc. Do not be alarmed when this happens. Simply focus on getting back and snapping out of it. Something that helps is grounding yourself to you environment. Look around and realize what's around you. Focus on anything and literally start spelling out the word. If you look around and focus in on a desk, start spelling DESK. Look at an item and spell the color of that item. If the desk is brown, spell BROWN. This is a technique that helps panic and anxiety clients. It helps bring them back in a slow and calm way.
Hi! I have a question about one of the dreams that I had in the past. It started out where I was in the ocean and I could breathe and see clearly in the water. I remember collecting some items and there was a treasure chest and in there, was gold, silver, and rubies but I took the silver instead. When I headed back on land the the sky turned gray, the sky begin to thunder, and the wind started moving aggressively. I looked up and saw some of the water from the ocean forming a big tornado. In this dream, I lived in this apartment that was built next to the ocean and and the tornado destoryed my home. I knew in that moment that I stole from the sea and they were angry. But, I thought why did the ocean went for my home instead of me? I could care less about my house lol. Later in the dream I could control the water with my hands kinda like lucid dreams. And when I was in the water it felt like home to me. In the end of the dream I flew in the sky and lived in the ocean. Sorry if this is a little long, I tried making it as short as possible. But I have lots of dream about water and the ocean. And, when I have a dream that invovles water or the ocean it is very vivid.
Dear Friend,
Think back to your dreams, what is the color the water? Dark? Light? If the water is light, it's nothing much to be worried of. Dark water, however, tends to represent sickness that leads to a death. Now, do you go fishing a lot? Perhaps you stepped on or damaged an entities home in some type of water. This could mean a pond, river, or lake. A home of an entity could mean a puddle of mud, a rock, or a tree by this body of water. In any case, it seems like your spirit has latched itself on to you. The thing about oceans and lakes is that we go to it instead of it coming to us, which has a good and a bad. It's bad in that we are the ones who started the problem for ourselves by going to it. We involve ourselves in a water spirit whether we know or not. The good thing about it is that water only flows in one direction and depending on where we stand and what we say, it can only flow away from us. Your dream isn't terribly bad and it doesn't reveal any bad omens. But if it would get intense or worsen, I recommend getting an enchanted white and red cloth string to your left foot as protection for your spirit.
I’m pregnant with my second son. With my first son, before he was born, I kept dreaming about big bodies of water like the ocean. I dreamed that I saw a really big whale in the ocean at night, looking at me with his eyes wide opened. For my second son, I’m having the same dreams of big bodies of water. This time, I dreamed about a really big octopus instead but during the day time with the sun shining at me, and the octopus looking at me. What do dreams of the big ocean mean? And what do the whale and octopus mean?
Dear Friend,
Congratulations! Water represents your womb, which explains why you're pregnant. Hmong tradition believe that dreaming of animals when you're pregnant means you'll get a son. Your first son was represented by a big whale in water (son in the womb) and your second pregnancy right now is represented by an octopus in water (son in the womb). Do not be alarmed by these dreams, they are simply your sons telling you they are here. I would recommend avoiding lakes, rivers, ponds, or oceans as these places are not good places for pregnant women.
When I was a little girl, I was molested by my uncle while I slept. Soon after, I began feeling hopeless. And that is when I began having visions, dreams. They were of me being taken away from a man. I never knew the man, nor have I even seen his face. It was a tall, dark silhouette. Almost like a shadow. Then, I began having sleep paralysis. While I had sleep paralysis, this man would be there. And as he smiled at me, pressure would begin building on my chest. I’d awaken. Usually When I would fall back too sleep and find myself in a grassy area. And in the grassy area where my grandfather and my mom wait for me. We would cry together and catch up on things. What does it mean? Why do these things happen? Why do I see my grandfather and mother?
Dear Friend,
You are a survivor and only brave & courageous souls like yourself can find the strength to live on with experiences like these. Thank you for your story and I am so sorry this happened to you. First, I would recommend getting any professional help that may be of better help and serve as a better resource that I cannot be. You have overcome so much and healed many scars. Your dreams display your desire for a love that you were never given, either by a man or by a woman. Your soul yearns to leave this place and into the afterlife to join people like your grandpa and your mom, people who may have shown you real love, care, and support. They are on the other side witnessing your pain, your past experiences, and they hear your cry as well. Your soul hurts and because it yearns for people who are no longer here, you catch anything that tries to latch itself on to you. A tsog is known as a wild entity that feeds on the breaths of people. It can hear your sadness, your pain, your hurt and it can feed off of it, making you feel weak and tired.
Your spirit is in a low place right now. I would recommend tying a red cloth your right foot. I would recommend a cleansing of your home and if possible a hu plig or soul calling. Please try to remember when your dreaming that as much as you miss your grandma or mom, they are no longer here. Pull your hand back and come back.
There have been random coincidences or maybe not. Every time I have a hunch or not want to be selected to do something, ie. selected at random to present a speech, and I get very anxious my knees start to get weak and my body heats up, I always get selected or that event happens. Another situation is when my cousins were "ua neeb", that morning i touched my cousins glasses and talked about how bad his visions were and talking about our supernatural experiences, then after the neeb was done the shaman talked about how my cousins have such bad visions in the past life and were meant to be brothers in this generation. Then the next few months after, I always had some kind of sickness, a cold or headache that lasted months but nothing severe just ongoing and fatigue. Sorry for the research paper, just wanted your insight. Thanks in advance.
Dear Friend,
Thank you for your message. Anxiety is common when we feel anxious, nervous, unsure, and fearful. It is our spirit telling us to remove ourselves from the situation before things worsen. Anxiety can cause physical illness because our body is constantly on edge. Our body is worked up, heart beats harder, blood flowing faster, always on edge. Our spirit overtime can get tired, causing sickness like fatigue, cold, or headache like you describe. It makes the spirit lower its frequency, meaning our spirit hangs lower. I recommend working on your anxiety and learning to better cope with situations like this. It will, overtime, stop you from randomly getting sick. A technique I've used in the past is when you feel yourself in one of these episodes, look around the room. Ground yourself. Know where you are and identify an object near you. Say you look around and you see a bookshelf, literally spell out BOOKSHELF. Look around and describe the color of an item. So the bookshelf is yellow, literally spell the word YELLOW. This technique slowly helps you re-focus back to you and in the given moment.
1.) What happens if your spirit guides give you a deadline to find a sifu and for whatever reason you are unable to make that deadline? 2.) Is it possible to ask your spirit guides to help lead you to your xibfwb?
Dear Friend,
There really is no written set in stone deadline to find your xib fwm, You tell your shaman spirits that when the right time comes, when your master is ready and when you are in a better place financially and emotionally, you will begin your journey and make an altar for them. By saying so you set your own deadline and you would know when you are ready. If time goes by and you forget about it, your shaman spirits will be petty and remind you. They'll make you sick. Give you a dream just to remind you they are still waiting. You simply ask your guides again to hold off. When you've done this one too many times you'll go through an intense sickness, possibly near death. And if you still don't accept it, your shaman guides will constantly make you sick for the rest of your life or come after your children.
It is possible for your spirit guides to help lead you to your xib fwm. Tswv Neeb is a search and screen process to screen out your master. It tells you someone who's shaman guides are big enough to start yours as a student shaman. It is said that a master and student are linked together in fate that they are meant to find each other. When listening to a shaman's tools, you must really like it in order to tell if they're meant to be your master or not. You must enjoy their finger bells, their gong, their rattle, and their voice. When you like all of that, it's really your shaman guides telling you they like the shaman.
Does dreaming about children and babies mean something else other then sickness? I had a dream where I gave birth to a baby in the hospital and the baby was laying on my chest. Nurses were around me and the lights where dim. I felt weak but happy at the same time. Does it mean I'll get sick?
Dear Friend,
I don't think it means you'll get sick. I think there's a new opportunity that will present itself and when it does, take it. If there's an offer on something, take it. If it's something new and it's looking for your acceptance, take it.
When people are reborn, do they have some kind of life paper that tells how many kids they will have, who they will marry, and other stuff that will happen in there life? If so, can you tell me more about it?
Dear Friend,
This is called "daib ntawv" or the paper. It's a term used to describe fate and destiny. You see, when you pass way, one of your souls will go and reincarnate. Before doing so they must wash themselves to forget about all memories of their past life. Now, depending on a lot of factors on how you spent your life when you were alive, you pick everything you want or need in your next life. You choose your family, your parents, how many kids you want, who to be your siblings, careers and jobs, etc. These things are said to be set in stone (although I don't personally believe everything can be set in stone). You also pick how many kids you want, if any. Now maybe in your paper you wanted to come back to this life as a doctor. But, in order to become a doctor and get to this goal, you may have to make a few sacrifices or go through some life lessons before. You may experience hardships and shut downs before becoming a doctor. All experiences that lead you to where you are now is meant to happen. Now of course, bad things like rape and domestic violence are never meant to happen. Fate tells us where we need to be but it doesn't tell us how to get there. The rest is up to us and when we stray far, fate interferes and we're back at square 1.
I have had tremendous experiences, but the one thing I want to know is am I supposed to be one? I need help and guidance because even when I feel comfortably sure I am still hesitantly and unsure. How can I begin to avoid consequences?
Dear Friend,
If you're talking about becoming a shaman, I would highly recommend finding a xib fwm (master) first. Many younger generations today don't find this necessary but having a master will allow you to walk on a much smoother path and path that won't lead you into darkness. To avoid consequences, find a master. They are the ones to pave the way and the journey is for you to take. They will be able to tell you what kind of shaman spirits you have, what to do to avoid consequences, and be able to filter what spirits are coming through. There are good shaman spirits and bad ones. The bad ones will hurt you, even cause you to go insane, lose your thoughts, and lose all sense with reality. If you need more information feel free to email me at my email: tflhmongshaman@gmail.com
Hello, I’m a Christian and asking a shaman to explain the meaning behind my dreams is not something I normally do. But I had a dream that saw my maternal grandma. She had osteoporosis and died a few years later. In my dream, she was healthy again and looked even younger. We were just sitting around and then she pulled her hands out of pocket and handed to me a handful of gold coins. I told her I didn’t need them and asked why she was carrying around so many coins. So then she took all but one coin back and I told her again that I didn’t need it but she was gone leaving me with the gold coin. Can you tell me what this means?
Dear Friend,
I am sorry for your loss and hope these years have been peaceful. In terms of your dreams, she seems to be doing well. When we dream of our loved ones that have passed away, like our elders, and they appear as strong, normal again before they got sick, that's a good thing. It means they are doing well. These gold coins symbolize "koob hmoov" or luck and prosperity. She wants you to have them. Maybe you want kids one day? Or you want a home? Think of this coin when making big decisions like this as it may one day become useful.
In April, I had a miscarriage. After the miscarriage, I had dreams occur. In my dreams, I saw my grandmother. She was in a field. The field was filled with dead grass. In she didn’t move. She didn’t speak. But she wanted me to follow her. So I did. She led me to a river. And my dream cut off there. A few nights later, she came to me again. She led to the same river. The only difference was that she had my baby in her arms. Small and fragile. She held it. She walked towards the river and she placed my baby girl in a basket. Then the basket went down stream. In my dream, I couldn’t move. I wasn’t able to do anything. I’ve had that dreams 6 times. What does my dreams mean? What is happening?
Dear Friend,
I am so sorry for your miscarriage and thank you for opening up and sharing this story. Miscarriages often happen because in one of two ways (spiritually). Babies have their own spirits too, even those who are not born yet. They have their own free will. They freely choose you and sometimes the moments they've experienced inside your womb is great enough that they go back and reincarnate. The lessons they've learned in this short time frame is so great that without even meeting you, they feel content with their lessons they've learned and unconditional love they've felt from you. The second one is, there are entities out there that crave unborn children. We call these "dab noj hnub noj hli, dab noj tub nj ki" or translated to "monster ear moon and sun, monster eat son and daughter." They crave for unborn children in the womb. It is advised that pregnant women never go near oceans, lakes, ponds, or rivers as these entities may harm you and your unborn child.
Your dream symbolizes a few things. You mentioned a river. What was the color of the river? Dark and cloudy waters typically mean death or lifeless. It means someone may pass, but in your case it is someone who has already passed. You mentioned your grandma. In the dream she may look like your grandma but it is not, they are simply a form that is guiding your baby. This is symbolizing that your baby is moving forward in their journey to reincarnation and letting you know they are okay. Streams and rivers only flow in one direction and depending on where you stand and how you place yourself, it can either flow away from you or towards you. Your baby is telling you to let go because they are letting go now.
Do not be afraid. If it's an option, I recommend a small hu plig for you. I sense that maybe there are a lot of things in despair you may be feeling. Your spirit hangs low. In the meantime, find a way to move forward because this is the only thing you can do. Move forward like the stream.
So my grandpa was a shaman, and, I heard, that he died due to someone evil and jealous of his great abilities so he sent curses to my grandpa (idk what kind of curses). Some say our shamanism spirits are locked which causes my dad and uncles to be non-shamans. Btw- we still practice shamanism, but none of us have symptoms of becoming a shaman. Have you seen similar situation? Can shaman spirits in the family lineages be stopped by evil curses? Or that shaman spirits can skip generations?
Dear Friend,
Black magic or khawv koob dub is the type of magic that people can conjure and curse other people with. These curses and magic is dark and evil in nature, always intending to do harm or even kill others. These curses can last for generations in a family line, affecting young children and their kids and their kid's kids. In terms of locking your shaman spirits, this is possible. The other person who did these curses did not want your family to continue and wanted to end the shaman lineage. These curses, however, last no more than three generations. If no one continues to conjure up this spell or curse, it weakens and will end. Three generations from your grandpa is your kids or his great grandkids. Traditional shaman spirits skip generations but if there's been a curse it's possible that it will take longer. It is possible too that your family's shaman lineage is simply waiting for the right person to come along so that this curse can end. If shaman spirits feel that no one has the heart to become a shaman, then they will wait until they find someone in the family.
In the shaman community, black magic is actually pretty prevalent. Good and pure shamans do not practice black magic but instead practice ways to counteract them. Black magic welcomes many evil ghosts or demons that can possess the person doing them. Once you practice black magic, you're tainted with it. Meaning there will always be that black magic with you and can eventually attack you if you don't continue conjuring it. Some black magic even involves using deceased bodies, humans bones, or human flesh. The story of the great Hmong tiger, Tswv Xyav, actually involves a black magic type known as necromancy. He is a shape shifter and eventually it consumed his life; he became it.
Hello Toufong, I work first shift from 6am-2pm but leave the house at 5. For the past, I like to say, two weeks now I have been randomly waking up around three to three-thirty in the morning. Upon waking up, it is the feeling of having enough sleep but noticing the time, I go back to sleep with no troubles. No matter how late I stay up (usually 11-1130) or how early (7-730) I sleep, I would wake up around that same time. Upon waking up, I was already facing the alarm clock that sits on top of the dresser. There was one time when I "woke up" but still had my eyes closed, my back faced to the clock just knowing it was that time again and went back to sleep again, with no issues. Sometimes before or after waking up I would have bizarre/really random dreams that doesn't seem to concern my daily life - almost as if I had watched a movie before sleeping and had dreamt about it. It was those kind of dreams. Then I would wake up because it was "that time" or because my alarm went off.
What my question is, is something trying to get my attention? I've been observing everything around me, yet nothing happens after I wake up at three, after my alarm goes off, during the day, and coming home. Every day is the same as the next. Or is it because I'm aware of the issue that "it" knows and not doing anything? Growing up and having few encounters with experiences (meaning hearing and seeing things here and there) I was never one to get scared. Maybe it's in my own personality to just "don't care" because it really isn't "bothering" me. And because of my "I don't care" personality, could it be just me being oblivious also to what is happening? Sorry for the long letter, it has been bothering me for awhile ever since my boyfriend brought up his suggestion that something might be wanting my attention and that, that was the only way they could do it. My brother posted your part one of questions and answer and I thought I'd give it a try. Sorry again, and thanks so much!
Dear Friend,
You seem to be biologically clocked to wake up at that time. We call this our biological clock. It's when the body is so use to doing something at a certain time, our body learns to do it automatically. In terms of spiritually, this is the time when ghosts and spirits are out and about the most. As with Christian beliefs, this is the time Jesus died. Demons use this time to mock the death of Jesus. As with Hmong, this is the time ghosts and spirits wake up the most because it is the time humans are asleep the most, making it easy to find food or possess and take human souls. Your body is waking you up as an alert. It is wanting you to wake up to stop something from happening, perhaps a bad dream, sleep paralysis, or a supernatural phenomenon. This is your spirit's way of saying, "Wake up, something's going to happen." When this happens, actually do wake up. Physically get up and spit in a cup and wash this down the drain. Water only flows in one direction, allowing anything that it comes across to be swept away. I would recommend a cleansing of your home as well. This can be done by using a tree branch and paper money (spirit money, the long type). Start in the bedroom and make your way to the living room. Make sure you sweep every room and every closet. Burn the spirit money and branch together away from your house as possible.
There has been many times where I think I’ve experience dejavu or I’ll think I’ve dreamt of it. It’s either one or the other and that specific event will happen within a month or so after. All of the events hasn’t been anything bad but I find it happening more often. What should I get out of this? Would you tell me more about these two topics? What should I pay attention to?
Dear Friend,
When you find yourself experiencing dejavu, look around you. Look at what time it is as these numbers may be important. Call someone you love and check on them, could be an elderly person, a parent, or a sibling. Look around and just glaze the environment. Is there a bird watching you? Did the weather change all a sudden? Dejavu, like you said, doesn't have to be bad. It could just mean something in your surrounding area is of importance which is why you feel like you're living it again for a second time. Maybe consider changing your plans. If you planned to go shopping at the mall but experience dejavu a few hours or minutes before heading out, change your course.
I dreamt that I came across a wounded tiger asking me for help. My husband helped me nurse it almost back to full health in secret. It was not fully recovered when it wandered off one day. My husband and I went to find it. We split up to cover more ground. We did not know, but it was the territory of another tiger. The other tiger found me and made a go for me, but was intercepted by the my tiger. The tigers fought. My tiger wounded the other tiger, who ran off hurt. My husband heard my screaming and finally found me crying over our tiger, who appeared mortally wounded. I don't know if he survived, because I woke.
Dear Friend,
Interesting dream! Well, tigers symbolize sickness and can even mean a death will occur in the family. But, you nursing the tiger back to life is a good thing. As in your dream it actually saved you, returning you the favor. In your dream you actually win because your tiger fought and won. If there was a sickness or a tragedy coming, it's not anymore. Your dream actually symbolizes something true in Hmong shamanism. If we help an injured animal, it will one day actually return the favor. In these coming weeks, look out for something extraordinary. Doesn't have to be anything big, it can just be a free meal, extra cash, a few hours off work, etc. This is the favor that your tiger is returning to you. Be cautious however. Once tigers return a favor, that is the end of your cordial friendship.
My grandma passed away about a year ago but I was never able to see her take her last breath due to being a few states away. After 2-3 months of her passing, she came into my dreams and it was like we were in a whole new house and I came home and I had found her in the kitchen cooking just like how she always did when she was still here with us. I asked her what she was doing and she said that she was super hungry and was trying to make some kapoon. So I told her I’ll do it for her. As it was ready, I called her to come and eat. We were talking and I told her how much I missed her. She said the same. And she also goes “ I’ve been looking for you guys everywhere and I couldn’t find the right house, but now I did. Is this your guy’s new home?” Then I answered “yes grandma it’s our new home” I woke up from that dream and I immediately started crying. I told my boyfriend about it and he told me that it can be a bad thing. So I don’t know if it was wrong for me to tell her that it was our new home. My grandma is a sweet old lady and I know she would never come back to do anything bad to us.
Dear Friend,
Thank you for sharing your story. I hope you have found some peace since your grandma's passing. I know your grandma has found peace wherever she may be. She may be in need of money and food. I would consider visiting her at the cemetery and sending her food and money. It is not wrong for you to tell her that. If she was alive, you'd tell her too. It's the same thing when they pass. However, you have to be cautious because this means it is an open invitation for her and others to come whenever they are hungry or in need or a place to stay and certainly we do not want this. Are your parents still traditional shamanism or have they converted? Have they moved since the passing of your grandma?
When burning money or sending food to her, tell her that this should be sufficient enough for her to buy more food, fix her home, or buy clothes for herself and that from now on she must stop coming to you as your home is not just yours but also someone else's and that the home is in someone else's dab qhua or last name.
Me and my bf we decide to get marry. 1 month of living with him and his brother. I was home alone while they went to work. I was cooking. I open the fridge looking for something then i close it and I saw a white shadow on my right side of the eye. So i got scared and jump. Then I went back to cooking and again I forgot something in the fridge so I open it and then close it I saw the white shadow again and i got scared and jump again. What does that mean ?
Dear Friend,
You were cooking at this time and saw this shadow. This could mean a hungry ghost trying to get food. Hungry ghosts are called "dab tuag tshaib tuag nqhis." These entities are forgotten spirits of the living. They were once human, they died, and people have forgotten about them. These are ghosts without home and never received a proper burial. Do you and your husband have a xwm kab? There may not be anything that is protecting you and nothing to stop these ghosts from coming in. I recommend tying a red and white cloth to the front and back doors. Tie three knots to it, two on the edge and one in the middle. The cloth should be about two inches wide and 14 inches in length. This will help guard your doors and your home from ghosts like this entering.
A short story. I lived with my sister for awhile because I got a new job in a new town. She works third shift so when she leaves to work I'm home alone. I had just finished cooking close to 9pm. I ate and after that I turned the lights off and went straight to bed. I slept in the living room at the time because it was a one bedroom apartment. And five minutes haven't even passed I kept hearing something digging in the garbage. One of the plates moved, making a crinkling noise. And so I sat up on the couch, listening. I could hear something grabbing the food in the pot that I was cooking with. I knew this because I could hear someone's hand or fingers touching the pot, making a light . I was in the dark, no one was home, but why was there someone in the kitchen grabbing food? I ran as fast as I could to turn on the light switch, which happened to be by the kitchen as well. I turned it on and looked around. The food in the pot was disbursed (more food on the sides of the pot because someone was digging into the food). The leftover food pieces in the garbage looked as if someone had dug through them...
I have a few questions. First, why do I alway dream of myself flying over big oceans? I get de ja vu a lot too, and when I do get de ja vu It scares me because I already know what is going to happen. Second, why do I always have dreams of my ex boyfriend and I being together in a relationship? Yes, he still is alive and is married now with kids. We both left our relationship peacefully. But I do know forsure It really broke his heart when i really left the relationship, I also was really broken too. I felt like during the times we were dating, we had too much pride In ourselves but we both really loved each other. Third, this happens to me very often, why is it that sometimes I feel like I can see a shadow or a figure at the corner of my eyes but when I turn and look there is nothing there. Like it just vanish so quickly? Last, how do I know if what I am experiencing is my karma?
Dear Friend,
Shamans typically dream of flying over oceans, mountains, and caves. This is an early sign for people who are meant to be shamans. Now, this doesn't mean you will be one or have to become one, but the dream is typically those those who have spiritual gifts. You mentioned dejavu, Dejavu can be experienced by everyone, but can also be a spiritual gift when used that way. You see shadows in the corner of your eyes because of your dejavu. You are more open to see them, pay attention to them, and notice things. If you're seeing a shadow in the corner of your eyes, it could very well be a spirit. But it happens in a glimpse and the best thing to do is leave it alone as it leaves you alone. Don't go to it, don't ask who's there..
Having dreams of your ex is not uncommon. It's common because they've had a big impact on your spirit. Your spirit is use to his energy and use to him, his love, his ways, etc. Even if it's been years since you've last seen him. Think of it like this. Sometimes we have dreams of being in our old childhood house. It's been years and maybe we haven't even been thinking of that house. Our spirit is use to it, it sometimes goes back to it. It's like that with people we've loved, friends over the years, etc.
As to your last question, we all have karma we are paying in this life and in every life. Ever notice how money just sometimes disappears as if it literally walks out of your purse? You had $20 and by the evening it's not there anymore. This is because perhaps in your past life, you stole money from someone or didn't pay all the things you were suppose to. As you go to the store, people walk pas you everyday. Maybe the person you stole or owe that $20 from in your past life walks by and poof, money gone from your purse. Relationships are a good example of karma as well. We may owe our ex's things from our past life. So we stay with them for years, paying that time to them and years go by and one day they become our ex. Once we repay that to each other, the relationship is over and we break up. For marriages that don't work out it's the same concept.
I used to have sleep paralysis a lot when I was single. But after marriage I don't really get that much but sometimes I still do. The time I only do is when my husband is not facing me and doesn't put his leg over my body when I sleep straight. But when he face me and put his leg over my body i don't get sleep paralysis. Whenever I have sleep paralysis I dont see anyone or any shadow in the room beside seeing my husband sleeping next to me. Same thing when I was still single I dont see anyone beside my sister sleeping next to me. What does it mean? Should I worry about it ?
Dear Friend,
Avoid sleeping straight if you can. If you are already experiencing sleep paralysis, try sleeping in other positions. We are our weakest when we sleep straight and this allows ghosts, poj ntxoog, or tsog to see our face and sit on our chest. Your husband's ancestors or dab qhua is doing a good job protecting you. Sleep paralysis happens differently to everyone. Some see shadows, some hear noises or voices, and some don't see or hear anything. I would recommend tying a red and white string cloth to your right foot. Make three knots in the string. The knots are used to lock and capture any entity that tries to touch you.
I had a dream, I was working my regular office job and was feeling hot, I turned over to the left of my computer desk to turn on a desk fan and noticed my office desk had been placed in a cemetery. A plot was next to where I was sitting and there where old and new tombstones everywhere and I was getting spooked out but I noticed there were other colleagues working there too so I had to play if off. What does this mean?
Dear Friend,
It may be possible that your spirit is finding a grave for itself. It is wandering off and making this new grave its home, well before your time. There are reasons souls do this. Maybe there's been a lot going on, causing you to be tu siab, depressed, or just deep in thoughts always. Feeling kho siab is a symptom of a wandering soul. Feeling weak, easily agitated, lost of appetite, trouble sleeping, etc, these are all signs. Going off to the cemetery can attract other dead souls to latch itself on to your soul, causing sickness in the future. If possible I would consider a hu plig and a red and white cloth string to the left foot. This will help ground your soul from leaving like this.
I had sleep paralysis and had a big pain like somebody stepped on my back, then heard a bell ring. Days before that, ive smelled something like paper being burned. After my sleep paralysis, ive been hearing things. A voice saying hey and my moms laugh in the middle of the night. After 2-3 weeks i now have pain in my left arm, feels like a bruise and someones just putting pressure on it. I also have been sneezing and coughing lately. My mother told me that she saw a black shadow on the end of her bed and taunting her and hurting her a bit. My friends have been telling me ive been chosen to become a shaman, but im not sure if its true. Any help?
Dear Friend,
It's hard for me to say you've been chosen as a shaman without more information. However, have these symptoms been persistent over time or has it just occurred now? If it's been a constant and persistent pain over months or years, it may be shaman spirits. But if not, then chances are it's a ghost or restless spirit. They first begin as sleep paralysis, but if they are able to cause pain in the way you described, that is concerning. It has enough power or control to physical cause pain to you, which is something to be alarmed about. Other symptoms include depression, feeling angry or short temper, lost of appetite, trouble sleeping, losing interest in hobbies, and feeling scared or easily scared. I would recommend a cleansing of the home as soon as possible. To cleanse a home you will need
Four Ntshuas Ntawv (Four spirit money, the long type)
Three joss sticks
A small branch
And a red cloth string to tie everything together
First, start in the bedroom and make your way to the front door. Sweep the entire home, every closet and room, and tell this entity to leave. You are offering money for them to leave on their journey and that if they don't leave now, you won't forgive them the next time. Go outside and burn everything together. If you go through the front door, enter your home through the back and vise versa. Do not go and come through the same door.
After, I would consider cutting square sheets of joss and place two of them on all your doors. I would consider tying red and white cloth string to your left foot as well, making three knots in the string beforehand. If none of this helps, I recommend an ua neeb ritual to diagnose what is really happening.
My father in law passed away two years ago and he has 16 kids, 4 from the first mom and 12 from the second mom. What bothers me is he passed away quietly on an August afternoon, by himself and not from any sickness but the toxicology report says his heart just stopped and he passed. The last seven years of his life, the Hmong culture bureaucracy made it difficult for my father in-law, neither the 1st or 2nd wife wanted to live with him and my FIL was a shaman too, and he refused to move in with us because he says he has no where to put his shaman things and he hoped for the second wife to return but Hmong clan leaders always told him to be patient. The second wife didn’t return when he was alive, but returned when news broke he died and took all of his valuables and monies. I believe my father in law died of a broken heart and it’s tough for my husband and I both to deal with the lost of him although we knew he was at risk when he refused to move in with us. It’s also been tough for us to deal with how crooked Hmong people can be in terms as siding with a second wife who only wanted to be around during the good times and not the bad. My FIL came in a dream, to say good bye to husband and since then we stopped dreaming about him but we keep on get weird bird nest, one in the gutter of the roof and we hired a specialist to clean it out but the bird just rebuilds it. Is there anything you could share about the way my father in law died with no one around, and how do we move forward with life? The heartache of knowing he died alone, to the dream and nest. I just wonder if he is okay with dying alone and if there is anything we need to do for him or this bird nest...
Dear Friend,
Thank you so much for this touching story. It's not easy losing a parent you loved so much and it seemed like the funeral processes was difficult, which is unfair to you and the family. I hope you have grieved and found strength to be in peace since. I'm sure each person has their own interpretation of what happened and I can only tell you want I know and believe. It seems like your father had some unfinished business in the afterlife and someone took him to go to court in the afterlife. Hmong believe that when someone goes quietly or suddenly, no apparent signs or symptoms, they are in court in the afterlife. It may be your father's case but it may be someone else in need of his assistance like a cousin, uncle, etc. There's a problem in the afterlife that was not finish here on Earth. Did he make any promises to anyone that passed away? Perhaps there was a problem in the family that caused your family to break apart? Sometimes generations before your father could have had a problem and they are still fighting about it in the afterlife court and need someone, with great ability, to help.
In terms of the bird nest, do not touch it or try to remove it. It is your father in law. After someone passes and suddenly there's a bird nest that appears, that's them. They're watching you and because they can't come back or come inside, they make their home right on yours. Leave it and allow them to grow with you and your family. Tell the bird that as they come and go daily that they continue to bless your home with good fortune, good luck, health, and prosperity. Your father-inlaws passing came a little too early, so he is living the rest of his time in that nest.
Does being a shaman take a toll on your personal life? Meaning physical or mental?
Dear Friend,
Thanks for your question. It does take a toll on my personal life. It takes a toll on my career, job, my relationships with people, my mood, my personality, and my energy. It has changed my life completely upside down. I actually took a break at the beginning of the year until July because it became too much for me to handle. I felt like people were calling everyday, felt like I was doing a ritual every weekend, and I just felt like I had to take a break. Being a shaman has changed how I interact with people, groups of friends I hang out with, how I look at life and death and I've also had to build a lot of courage in a short amount of time to face the things shamans face now. Shamans get scared too but we just don't say it. We are given the gift to fight it and so we don't have a choice but to do it. Also, there have been two or three cases where I knew the outcome of a person, but I can't speak badly of the situation. And so all I'm able to say is "Have hope, have an open mind, and everything will be ok." Knowing that someone is already gone but not able to say anything really takes a toll on me. These days I tend to isolate myself and I've become a more reserved and private person. I also feel like being a shaman at this age, you sacrifice a lot of your time for it. People my age tend to live the best of their life. And although I'm living the best of mine, it's in a different way. You're given all this information and told that you don't have a choice. When I started I was 22 years old and at that age, what do we know about the world? It was like, I was changing so fast. Given all this information and beginning my journey all the while everything around me, everyone, was still the same. I did feel like I was alone for awhile, not sure how to explain how I was feeling and not knowing how to cope. But I've learned to live on with being a shaman.
I had two dreams of me in a wedding and as the bride, but never saw the groom. The first dream I was in Chinese clothes and had a Chinese wedding but would wake up before seeing the groom. The second dream I was in Hmong clothes and it was a Hmong wedding but I never saw the groom. I only remember vaguely that the groom was handsome. What does the dreams mean?
Dear Friend,
Do you remember the surrounding? Was it in a forest, lake, or village? Wedding dreams typically don't have good intentions to them. But, the good thing about your dream is that you don't remember how the groom looks like. This is a winning moment for you because you cannot yearn for his love or go searching for him. Your family ancestors are watching over you. I recommend tying a red and white cloth string to your right foot, first making three knots in them. For now I would avoid big bodies of water and being in the woods or forest until after the next full moon in September.
I was raised in a shaman household. My grandma is a shaman and my mom gets sick a lot so she has to practice her neeb to keep her health in check. I married outside of the Hmong race. He’s white but is very open to our beliefs. I’m curious to know if because I married outside of the Hmong culture, will me or my children not have any ties to the Hmong ancestors anymore or could me or my children not have as much spiritual empathy?
Dear Friend,
I may have an unpopular belief, but you will always have ties to your ancestors regardless if you married a white man, a Christian, regardless if you're lesbian or trans. Our ancestors don't disown us, only people do. Spirits are tied by fate and fate is unbreakable. You or your children will have spiritual empathy if you are meant to have it, regardless of marrying someone who is Hmong or not. All these sayings about how Hmong women who marry other race won't have dab qhua to protect them or how divorced women will have nothing is a lie. These are unwritten rules made by men, made by humans to control how we should live our lives. Our ancestors will always be there if we believe in them, regardless.
I don't see ghosts or anything supernatural but I keep having dreams of flying and of funerals often. What does that mean?
Dear Friend,
Funerals can mean a sickness or bad luck. But, the good thing that will allow you to win over this bad omen is that at funerals, we bury them underground. We put it to rest. And so whatever sickness you have, you're able to overcome them by burying them away. When you do have this dream, be mindful of where you're going, who you're seeing that day, and avoid fishing, hiking, and camping. Flying dreams represent spiritual awakening. People who dream of flying typically are shamans before they begin their journey. Is there a shaman lineage in your family?
I keep having dreams about a guy that I used to talk to. I don't think of him at all but will often dream of him. We never talk directly in my dreams or have any type of contacts. He always appear to be far away in distance. It seems like he's avoiding me in my dreams but always watching me too. What does that mean?
Dear Friend,
It may be that your soul or spirit is attracted to him and his energy. We may get use to them and whether we think of them or not, our soul likes their energy. It doesn't mean you like them, it just simply means something about them is attracting your spirit. Like an old childhood house that we often dream of, our spirit visits them often. Our spirit may long for them even if we don't consciously feel that way. I would consider a hu plig or soul calling if this is an option. Sometimes our spirit can wander off and latch itself onto other people.
A few years ago, I had a miscarriage and it was my first pregnancy. My husband and I aren’t trying to have kids right now but we aren’t preventing it from happening either. Anyways, just a few months ago I had a dream that me, my husband, and a couple of our friends went to this beautiful place that had a big waterfall and streams. The water was a very bluish purple color and there were also a lot of blue snakes. As my husband and friends were jumping over the streams, I decided to do the same but fell and got bit by 2 small blue snakes. The next day, I had another dream, a different one. I dreamt that I was pregnant, but I had a miscarriage and instead of it being a baby, it was a snake. What does this mean?
Dear Friend,
Snakes do symbolize fertility. And means right now the time to have kids is a good time for you and your husband. It may mean you still have two more kids coming your way. However, streams and water tend to flow only in one direction and depending on where you stand and how you perceive them, they may flow away from you or towards you. The water was not dark or cloudy, which is good thing. You want clear or bright water. If you want kids, you want the stream to flow towards you. To do so, just welcome your pregnancy. Let it happen without doubt or fear. I recommend tying a white and red cloth string to your foot or hand for protection. Once pregnant, I would recommend doing a special technique called Kwb MeNyuam. This will hide your baby from anything and stop your baby from going anywhere. I would avoid big bodies of water, hiking, or camping when you're pregnant.
I had a dream that I was at a funeral, but there was no one from my side or my husband side of the family - just me. I was in a funeral home with random Hmong people . A shaman told the family to close the funeral home doors. Then they picked up the dead person and started to ua neeb.. the dead person kept denying that they were dead and every time it denied - the body will fall down. It finally accepted that it was dead and they stopped the ua neeb. Then somehow i was in a grass field (like in Laos/Thailand , where Hmong people go to do their garden) and saw the dead person sitting in a brown straw house. They were placing food from one tier to the next tier. Is there any meaning? My mother had my grandma look into it as she and my grandma are both shamans. My grandma said my soul has wandered off and that I am sad . lately my husband + I have been arguing a lot ..
Dear Friend,
A very interesting dream. Funerals usually mean sickness. But, what you're witnessing in your dream is something in the afterlife. Your soul has wandered into places it is not suppose to. Souls wander for a few reasons. You may be sad or tub siab, causing you to look for love or for family elsewhere. You may feel kho siab, like your missing home even if you're already home. Your soul goes and along the way you see where it goes. When this happens you may become sick or even depressed. You don't want to do anything, cry for no reason or cry at little things. You don't want to go home but don't know where you want to go either. I would recommend a hu plig or soul calling for you. I would also recommend tying a red and white cloth string to your right foot. This will hold your soul in place from wandering a lot. I feel like there's a lot going on for you and just want to tell you that everything is going to be okay. Hardships in life are only temporary. The good and the bad, good times and bad; it's all temporary. Whatever rough path you're going through, be strong and I hope that you find your peace soon.