What is shamanism?
Shamanism and shamanic practice is popping up more and more these days. What exactly is it? Well, "exactly" is a little difficult to quantify, but here is a road map based on where I've been on the shamanic road so far: Simply put, the shaman is "s/he who knows" or "s/he who sees". The word "shaman" or "saman" comes from the Tungus of North Central Asia. It means, literally, "he/she who knows"; the shaman is the person who sees what others do not, who finds information from the greater world. The shaman acts as an intermediary between the ordinary world and the world of Spirit. Entering a different state of consciousness in order to access information not ordinarily available in "ordinary" consciousness is to practice shamanism, to work with Spirit. By many accounts, it is an ancient practice practiced in some form in every culture so far studied. It isn't new, nor is it "New Age"; indeed, it is very "Old Age" with pictograms, records, and oral histories dating back tens of thousands of years. Check out religious historian Mircea Eliade's tome "Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy" for a truly exhaustive survey of thousands of existing sources, eyewitness accounts, interviews, etc. I had to read it as prerequisite for taking a two week shamanic healing intensive course in Fall of 2008; it's quite fantastic, rich and complex. According to Eliade's work, entering a "shamanic state of consciousness" can be achieved in many different ways: with entheogens, hallucinogens, ecstatic trance dancing, ecstatic trance singing, sleep deprivation, or some sort of sonic driving mechanism like drumming or rattling. I use drumming and occasionally dancing, just because they're cheap and legal. And I love my drums. Once in the altered state, the shaman or shamanic practitioner interacts with big-'s' Spirit in the form of working with little-'s' spirits to ask questions, effect healings for self or others, to find out answers to questions, to help put things, people, relationships, souls back together again. Shamans are healers. This works because shamans believe a few basic things, most of which can be summed up by Tom Crockett's "five stones" of shamanism:
If everything is alive, we can certainly have a relationship with it. If everything is aware and conscious, everything is participating in Life as we know it, and can give insight and help. If everything is dynamic and changing, new conditions are arising all the time that we might need to know about. If everything is connected, we all affect each other, the earth, the cosmos. And it affects us, too. If everything responds, we can communicate and have conversation. In a shamanic journey, the shaman literally communicates with anything; rocks, trees, water, mythic beings, the sun, cancer, AIDS viruses. In my first journeys to contact an Irish ancestor, I initially interacted with a red-haired female water entity. She showed me in no uncertain terms that she flowed West, and that she was very female. She turned out to be the River Shannon, which does indeed flow West. Only if all things are connected and if all things are alive, aware, changing and responsive could I have known this without every consciously knowing it. How and why is shamanism done? Although this varies in form, the shaman does his or her work in a shamanic journey, a state similar to meditation that looks much like a self-guided meditation, fueled by one of the above methods. Time after time after time in Eliade's work, he reports near identical methods of healing and journeying to speak with the spirits. From peoples in Japan, Siberia, Tibet, the Pacific Northwest, Pacific Islands, Central and South America, Greenland, Iceland, Central and Eastern Europe to Native Americans, almost all methods share commonality, sometimes very closely. Regardless of background, the shaman journeys into a cosmology that is described as extraordinarily similar by all accounts: There is a World Axis that contains Lower World(s) and Upper World(s) and (most of the time), Middle World(s). The shaman works with a familiar ally with whom s/he has established a long and trusting working relationship to seek the answer to the client's question, find the cure, the remedy, or bring back an essential part of the client to initiate or effect a healing. The shaman is the glue that holds a group together - by being himself consciously connected and in conversation with the world in a way that others are often not. I didn't understand this when I first started out with this practice; that's why I said at length in an earlier post that shamanism is teaching me community. I can't not do this for my peeps, for anyone who asks, really. It's almost like a compulsion, definitely a motivating force. The flavor of what shamanism is like is described in an article by Tom Cowan of Riverdrum.com in the recent issue of Journal of Shamanic Practice (yes, we have journals! Lots of them!) that talks about the language used to describe "otherworld" experiences. Drawing on the work of many others, he states that since our western vocabulary consists mostly of nouns, and since language informs thought just as thought informs language, we may not have adequate language to describe what it is that we experience there. He talks instead of the Algonquin verb-based language which might have better constructs through which to understand. An example might be that English speakers would look at a garden and say, "Look at all the flowers." The Algonquin speaker might say, "Look at all the flowering." Another example: we look up at the night sky and say, "Look at all the stars." The Algonquin speaker might say, "Look at all that shining."This captures the essence of it for me: when I journey, I am immersed in the being-ness, the becoming-ness, the unfolding of it all, and am able to communicate with that unfolding. Shamanism is more about what the world is doing, how it is interacting with itself, and not about what it is. "Shamanism is about being connected with nature, understanding that we are earth-based, the real and living knowledge which is then used for balance, health, relationship as well as success in all that is that we do." Shamanism is not a religion, but rather a spiritual practice which can comfortably go hand-in-hand with any religion. It is based on the animistic idea that everything is alive, everything is responsive. It is based on the supposition that if indeed those two things are the case, then we can be in dialog with everything, that everything is connected, and that what is changed anywhere is felt in the entire web of life. The word "shaman" is a loanword, a word from the Tungus region which means roughly "one who sees" and "one who knows". To be a shaman is to see that which others do not see, to come to know that which others do not know. It is speculated by many that the abilities of a shaman are inherent in all humans, and that the practice of shamanism is millenia old. Read more about shamanism from Sandra Ingerman, Michael Harner and Dana Robinson. How does a shamanic journey work? The shaman uses some method to enter an altered state of consciousness, the "shamanic state of consciousness", or SSC to interact with the spirits of all that is alive. In my personal practice, this is done with the help of drumming; the repetitive drum beat is my "horse" that I ride into the Lower and Upper Worlds to interact with spirits in the form of my Power Animals and Upper World Teachers and Guides. In other societies, other methods may be used to enter the SSC; either via Peyote, Ayahuasca, Sufi dancing, or via some other entheogenic substance. I use drumming or rattling, as it is portable and quick, and because I have a particular relationship with my drum now after several years of our mutual work together! Once in the SSC, I commune with my spirit allies, those representations of all-that-is-alive who have chosen to work with me, and with whom I have a good relationship. I ask them for clarification about my client's problem or issue, and they give me information in a form that is meaningful for my client. Generally this comes to me in the form of images, words, smells, feelings, or in some other sensate form, and may mean little to me. I have learned over the years and through hundreds of journeys to pay attention to even the slightest detail of my journey, as everything in SSC has meaning for my client, though not necessarily for me. The shaman is the hollow bone, the messenger who brings information back from the world of the spirits to our Ordinary State of Consciousness, the OSC. S/He is the spirits' eyes and hands when doing healing work here in OSC. A software developer's analogy is that being inside a shamanic journey is like working in a debugger: you have access to an immense amount of information about your current environment that you may not ordinarily have when accessing information via the standard interface. Shamanism is sort of like life's back door. What is Healing? I was recently asked in an email to do some healing for this man's brother and mother. And, oh, by the way, we have no money and can't come to where you live. After strongly feeling the pull to do this work, yet envisioning myself driving a three hour round trip to do it, thus causing me to feel used and resentful before I had even responded to the person's email, I journeyed to my allies for answers as to how to handle these types of requests of which I receive many. Here is the answer I was given (to which I received an incredibly positive and engaging response from the young man who originally emailed me!): Dear Seeker, Thank you so much for asking me to do this work; I consider it a privilege to be able to do it in this life and with the blessing and help of the healing allies. First, a couple of things: One, I do not provide healing work for a person without their knowledge and permission. Though I know that your need and impulses are clearly coming from the heart and you sincerely want healing to come to the people whom you love deeply, it is not clear to me if I have either that knowledge or permission from them. For this to proceed, please ask your brother and your mother to call me individually and speak with me in person about this work before I can ethically proceed. I'll be glad to arrange a time that works for all of us to have this conversation. Two, I have no qualms about doing shamanic healing work for people who truly and sincerely cannot afford to pay me; I feel that this gift and these skills were given to me freely, so it is my reciprocal obligation to give it away freely to those in need. Everyone deserves the chance to heal and be whole. Having said that, here's my understanding of how the healing equation works: healing relies on proper conditions and on the life-force to accomplish it. In some way or other that life-force always comes from the being(s) who have requested healing. When I "heal you", I don't "do" anything. All I do is to assist in setting up and maintaining the structure of an energetic matrix conducive to that healing, and I then I ask both my healing spirits and my client's healing spirits to do the work, to fuel it from the appropriate source. I merely hold open the space in which healing can occur. Healing takes energy, and that energy is your life-force. The life-force which fuels the actual healing process has to come from somewhere; part of it must come from the client in one way or other. Sometimes it comes in the form of money paid to me for the time and effort it takes to journey on a client's healing behalf. It can also come in other ways, such as a giveaway in the form of helping others, doing physical things which help other beings, either concretely or on a more subtle level. This usually looks like something along the lines of: buying them food if they have none, cooking a meal when they aren't able to get around, healing an old argument, setting a mind or a heart at ease, visiting a family member when they are in need, etc. The key is that energy must flow out of you, the client in some form so that there is new room for healing energy to flow *in* from the helping spirits to accomplish the healing work. To the degree that you expend energy on behalf of the well-being, comfort, and support of others and their healing (and I include myself in that part of the equation) is the amount of new life-force returned to you to fuel your own healing. Bearing this in mind, there seems to be a connection between how hard the client works, how much energy s/he expends on his/her own behalf, and the strength and depth of the healing that s/he will receive in return. Implicit in that statement is that there should be an element of some form of sacrifice, of stretching onesself to achieve the healing, of "having to work for it" in some way. Blessing anything and everything, no matter how tiny, is a spectacular way to start. It is ultimately up to you whether the healing you need does or does not take place. I absolutely prefer money in exchange for my sessions because the world runs on money; the local utility company doesn't yet take chickens or blankets as payment for their services. I need money to buy plane tickets and workshop tuitions to continue my own studies, too, and to put gas in the car and pay for insurance. But in the cases where people truly, really, honestly can't pay me in money or trade, I'm willing to do this work with no money coming my way, knowing that my ultimate payment will be in the form of energy returned to me one way or the other via more beauty and love being brought into being in the world. I do this as my giveaway so that I in turn receive the healing and blessing that I need when I need it. If a person can pay but doesn't, the spirits are completely aware that no sacrifice or stretching of self has been even attempted, and the healing simply will not occur. It's not karma, it's balance. Since I am not willing to donate my personal life-force to fuel and power anyone's healing process but my own, the type of work I can do in these circumstances will be limited to what I can accomplish long-distance from my own sacred space here. My long-distance energetic work does not include absolutely everything that I can do shamanically, but it is nevertheless just as powerful and effective. If you agree to these ground rules and if we decide together to proceed with this healing work, I'll know more about what my healing options are once I've done my assessment journeys and have a better understanding of what is needed to open the space in which your healing can occur. With all of this being understood and if everyone is in agreement, please have your family members call me and leave me a message or e-mail me about setting up a time to speak about this over the weekend. I'll set up times that are mutually workable for consultation and we'll go from there :-) Cheers, and thanks for the asking! Jeffrey A Typical Shamanic Healing Session A typical session goes something like this: I prepare sacred space before my client arrives. This is done with songs and "smudging" using the smoke of white sage to clear and purify myself, the space, and the tools that I may use during the session. My drum is one of the tools that I use. During the preparation, I ask my spirit allies to come and be of help, and to be of help to all beings for the highest good. When my client arrives, I smudge him or her, and we discuss the issue at hand. I then embark on an informational journey, where I ask my healing allies about clarifications of the client's issue, necessary healing steps, and for any other pertinent information that might be applicable to the situation. I return and discuss what I've been shown and told, and ask the client's permission to do the actual work. The job for the client is to bring his or her need to the session. The client may or may not know what needs to be done, but knows what s/he needs. At this point, my client may either give consent to continue, or may not wish some or all of the healing work to be attempted or completed. Being a trained massage therapist, I operate from a model of "informed consent": that is, I always tell the client what is indicated, explaining what and why I think the work is needed. If my client assents, I resume the healing steps indicated by the allies using as many or as few journeys as are needed to complete the work. If my client does not wish the work to be done, we are complete. Shamanic Healing Aftercare; the Integration Period Afterward, there is a period of time during which the healing, the shifting of energies either in or out of the client's field "settles" and integrates. This may be a period of days, but may also happen over a few months depending on how much the client's energy field has been changed during the healing. Healing, the process of making-whole, is a journey on which the client and I embark together, and each of us has our tasks to perform to make sure that healing occurs to the best of the ability of all involved. For excellent aftercare instructions and suggestions, read more here. Types of Shamanic Healing Modalities A typical healing session may involve one or more shamanic healing modalities as directed by the allies in the diagnostic journey, and as agreed to by the client. Shamanic healing is all about moving and transmuting energy, either removing inappropriate energy from a client's field, returning appropriate energies that have been missing, or changing the client's relationship to energies in relationships. Common shamanic modalities which may be used in a shamanic healing session along with links to a page with descriptions of these modalities are:
Sometimes the allies give "homework" or "after-care" instructions to me and/or to my client for the period of adjustment and Integration of the work. I explain what these homework suggestions are to the best of my abilities, knowledge and experience. Sometimes I don't know why a particular suggestion is given; being the messenger, the hollow bone transmitting the message of Spirit, I merely pass them along. Usually the suggestion has meaning to my client. In the case of Soul Restoration, sometimes known as Soul Retrieval, there may be a time of integration of new energies that might last for some days or weeks after a healing session. If soul energy has been returned and re-integrated, I let my client know what this might entail. After we are complete, I drum and release my spirit allies, thanking them for assisting me and answering my client's call of need at this time. There may or may not be indications for future healing sessions; the client always has the final word of whether to continue this line of healing or not. Sometimes results are immediate and dramatic. Other times, answers and healing unfolds in a gradual process. I have no way of knowing in advance how a healing session will go, but it is always a beautiful and informative gift to receive. What does it cost? Healing always involves an energetic exchange between healer and client. Recently while listening to an archived podcast by Christina Pratt, she talked about this issue at some length. The payment for a healing should be something of a sacrifice. Not a cut-your-arm-off sacrifice, but it should be a meaningful one and should be felt by the person seeking the healing. My fees are presently $55 per hour for a shamanic session which lasts from between two and four hours, for a cost of between $110 and $220. This rate includes a follow-up contact to see how the healing is integrating, and an optional remote follow-up journey to see if any more work or homework needs to be done. Sometimes a client may feel that the fee is either too much or too little of a sacrifice. Adjustments either way may be discussed and agreed upon depending on circumstance - if you can pay me less, pay me less. If you feel you received a tremendous healing and with to pay me more, pay me more. I generally leave this up to the client and to my preparatory discussions with Spirit and with my allies before any work is done. I have put this fee schedule together in the spirit of ayni: Reciprocity,
balance, harmony. Right relationship; sacred interchange. Communal
work; mutual aid and work loaned; debt. Sacred reciprocity. If you give
you will receive and if you receive you must give back. This is the one
law of the Andean mystical tradition still often witnessed in small
mountain villages today. A way of life founded by the Incas upon which,
in the high Andes, one's very survival depends. To practice ayni with
all people and all of nature is to open the heart.
~incaglossary.org
Jeffrey
Rich
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