Take Two Aspirin and Call Your Shaman in the Morning
That might sound strange if you’re used to thinking of the shaman as a tribal or indigenous culture religious leader. Although a multitude of misconceptions about the practice of shamanism have plagued this practice over the centuries, the most common practice of the shaman is dealing with health problems of individuals.
Extreme misconceptions and fears by religous leaders have led to shamans being systematically killed or driven underground over the centuries. Most people today consider the practice some kind of evil religion, extreme in opposition to Christianity, Islam, Buddhism or other major religions. However the practice might be compared to the the town doctor instead of the priest, and the practicioners have existed in every culture and religion on earth.
Here’s a few points on how a shaman may compare to a religious leader:
The religious leader is concerned with a person’s personal life and relationships in this life and how they affect his ultimate spiritual life.
The shaman is concerned with finding spiritual causes of disease. He looks for help from the spirit world to heal the individual.
The religious leader is interested in the actions and activities of people in his church.
The shaman is interested in the activities of spirits and how they affect a person who is ill.
The religious leader is concerned with how a persons actions affect his eternal soul.
The shaman is concerned with the way the eternal soul through many lives is affecting a person in this life. He may visit the past lives of the soul to heal trauma that has carried forward into this life.
The religious leader is interested in salvation of the soul for eternal rest.
The shaman is most interested in finding soul parts that may be missing and returning them to their owner in this life.
The religious leader instructs followers on correct actions to get to heaven one and avoid hell.
The shaman is interested in many spirit realms and develops maps and tools to explore and navigate them.
The religious leader preaches to groups of followers.
The shaman treats individuals, though they may develop a following if they prove their expertise in healing.
Shamans have existed among indigenous people since earliest times. Evidence of their practice of journeying to other realms are seen on cave walls. They usually lived apart from the tribe or clan and were called upon when there was illness or suffering to deal with among their people.
The shaman would collect tools to assist him or her when the need arose. Modern day shamans collect similar tools. One primary tool is the drum. Shamans have been known to call their drum their horse, which they ride into the other worlds. The percussion of the drum is used to create a theta wave. This soundwave facilitates the brain pattern associated with lucid dreaming.
The shaman also develops relationships with animal spirits and beings in the spirit world. Since he is working with many spirits and does not see the limitations of time as it currently is recorded, he may work with Zeus, Abraham, the Bear spirit, the Eagle spirit, and Jesus all in a session to heal someone. These animal spirits, elemental spirits, beings and ascended masters come to assist of their own volition, but not on command. They accomodate the shaman when the request is made respectfully with offerings.
The healing at times involves removal of negative spirits and sending them away, usually into water. It is interesting to note that a passage of the bible records Jesus removing negative spirits from a woman and sending them into a herd of swine. He also worked with the elemental spirit of wind and water, calming the storm and walking on water.
The shaman also works with the spirit helpers to retrieve missing parts of a person’s soul. The comment “I feel like part of me is missing” or I just haven’t been the same since…” are common themes to the shamanic healer. The shaman searches for the sources of these missing ‘feelings’.
Traumas often lead to parts of the soul retreating to safety. The shaman invites the soul parts back, showing them it is safe to return once the trauma has passed. If the personality can split, as has been found in psychiatric research, the shaman sees it is possible to merge the split.
There are now many books on shamanism and many people practicing shamanism. A caution is in order. Just like there are quacks practicing medicine without proper training or knowledge, and there are religious leaders lacking the spiritual values and morals required to lead a flock, there are also people professing to be shamans that have little understanding or training in the practice. If you seek the assistance of a shaman, check references.
Two excellent books by trusted and reliable shamans are listed on our bookshelf, Journey to the Sacred Garden A Guide to Traveling in the Spiritual Realms by Hank Wesselman, and Soul Retrieval. by Sandra Ingerman.
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