The word "shaman" ( pronounced SHAH-MAN) has become a new-age
catchword, used by many but understood by few. Originally, it comes from
the Evinki people of Siberia, and literally means "the one who knows."
Today, in the western world, some mean that a shaman is any kind of
native medicine man or woman, while others think it is anyone with a
strong personality and an intense stare. But, in fact, a shaman is
defined by the way she or he works. Quite simply, a shaman is a woman or
man who changes his or her state of consciousness, at will, in order to
contact and/or travel to another reality to obtain power and knowledge.
Mission accomplished, the shaman journeys home to use this power and
knowledge to help either himself or others.
Using rhythmic drumming, dance, and song the shaman experiences a
consciousness-shift which enables her to let her soul journey to what is
traditionally known as the Spirit World. In many cultures, this
alternate universe is divided into three main areas: The Upperworld, the
Middleworld, and the Lowerworld. The journey to the Lowerworld is
started by the shaman by sending his own soul through an opening in the
Earth - for example a cave, a spring, the hole at the base of a
beech-tree, a foxhole, or even a man made hole such as a well or a
mineshaft. The hole continues as a tunnel, further and further down,
and, finally, the tunnel opens out into the landscape of the Lowerworld.
The appearance of the Lowerworld is greatly varied. For some it may be a
tropical, or woodland or mountainous landscape, while others may come
into a fairytale-like country, with two suns. Be that as it may, it is
here where the shaman meets his spirit-helpers, and it is the
spirit-helpers who give the power or knowledge the shaman must have to
return to ordinary reality to fight the illness of his patient, give
advice for serious problems, or re-establish the balance of the
community. As the American anthropologist Michael Harner points out in
his book, The Way of the Shaman , the key classic shamanic technique
traditionally practiced all over the world, the journey to non-ordinary
reality, can easily be learned and used by people with a western
cultural background.
Shamanism and
Psychology.
Many, if not most, of our modern psycho-therapeutic methods have
their roots in shamanism, and for this reason it is possible for
shamanism to superficially resemble many current therapy forms. Because
of this, I have often heard people with a psychological background try
to explain the shamanic journey as an "inner " journey to the
unconscious or the "higher self." This explanation is based on the
western point of view which sees humans as the crown of creation, and,
in opposition to shamanic knowledge, does not give other life-forms
credit for consciousness. Fortunately, there is more to the Universe
than the human mind. From the shaman's point of view, the non-ordinary
reality of the spirit world exists parallel to the ordinary reality of
our consciousness, and independent of our minds. The shaman, knowing
that all things created have a soul, also knows that it is possible to
communicate with these other spiritual essences by journeying to them,
breaking through the boundaries of Time and Space. The shamanic
techniques are powerful, no matter how they are explained, but if we
accept the reduced psychological explanation we risk separating
ourselves from most of the shaman's power. The power of the shamanic
journey resides in the fact that it is a journey of the soul, and that
the shaman's soul returns with the power of the Universe, which is the
strongest medicine be found.
Shamanism and Religion.
One of the most widespread misunderstandings about shamanism is that
it is a religion with the shaman in the role of priest. This is not the
case. In some traditional societies, the shaman serves as both shaman
and ceremonial leader, but the two activities are carried out at
different times. In the shamanic ceremony, the purpose is to build a
bridge between the world of the spirits and the everyday world as we
know it, and often all the participants in the ritual become intimately
involved with the power present. That which separates shamanism from
most religions is the direct spiritual experience without middle-men,
for example, priests, who attempt to establish a monopoly on the sacred.
There are no gurus in shamanism, except in the spirit world, where the
shaman receives his/her knowledge.
Shamanism goes hand in hand with the animist's experience of the
world: first, all that is alive, and being alive embodies a spirit;
second, all that is alive is connected by these spirits. Therefore we
all - humans, trees, dogs, cats, bees, stones, mountains, seas, Earth
and Sky - we all are connected.
Even though shamanism itself is based on first-hand experience and is
not religious belief, many religions - including certain Christian,
Buddhist, and Islamic sects - have strong shamanic influences and
leanings. One need not believe in anything to use shamanism, not even
that it works. But people who don't believe in anything risk believing
in many things, and those who hold dogmatic positions risk having to
radically revise their ideas after having experienced the non-ordinary
world of the shaman. It is also very normal for those practicing
shamanism to have life changing-experiences, experiences which in
everyday language are called religious experiences, which provide him
with a set of values and practices to live by.
The education of a
shaman.
Traditionally, the would-be shaman is most often initiated
spontaneously by the spirits. In our culture, these experiences are
sometimes referred to as out-of-body experiences, psychotic episodes,
revelations, or even very powerful dreams, depending on ow they occur
and how they are viewed. Sometimes these experiences are also
accompanied by illness, as in the famous example of Black Elk (see Black
Elk Speaks by John Neihardt). In any case, when this happens, an
experienced shaman is consulted and asked to teach the way of the shaman
to the newly initiated one. Indeed, sometimes the teaching is the only
cure for the illness. The teachings of the experienced shaman consist
mainly of setting up learning situations for the neophyte, because the
shaman realizes that the Universe is the real teacher. Of course each
culture has it's own traditions, but whereas priests and ceremonial
leaders are strictly restricted in their rituals by the pre-established
cultural rules of their traditions, in many cases the information
received by the shaman goes beyond the traditions. And this is
respected, because it is recognized that each shaman has his own direct
contact to the wisdom of the spirits. For example, in some traditional
cultures, it was felt that East was the direction of new beginnings. The
apprentice shaman, returning from a journey to the spirit world, may
announce to his ordinary reality teacher that he had learned that East
was the home of endings, and that the Land of the Dead lay to the East.
His teacher would not argue with him, but rather ask questions which
would help his pupil to understand the deeper meanings of the
non-ordinary teachings. In other words, the shaman knows that there are
no fixed teachings from the spirit world, and the Universe teaches us
all according to our needs and according to our ability to understand.
And sometimes it pushes us.
The apparently simple practice of the shaman has been used for at
least 20.000 - and perhaps as much as 200.000 - years over the whole
world, including Europe, and is by no means a "new-age" system, even
though it is experiencing a renaissance in our time. The most usual way
to learn to do shamanic work in our culture is by getting the basic
teachings on a course, although many people in our society do have
spontanious initiatory experiences. By setting up learning situations
for course participants so that they can experience for themselves the
power of the shamanic journey to the world of the spirits, and to learn
how to use that power safely and ethically is what we teach on our
courses. As a teacher of shamanism, people often ask me, "How long does
it take to become a shaman?" I generally answer that it only takes a few
minutes to have a shamanic experience, but to become a shaman takes a
lifetime, and if you ever catch yourself saying " Now, I am a shaman!"
it is a clear sign that you're still an apprentice. It is not the shaman
who decides if he's shaman or not: it is the people who come to him for
help, and the spirits, for the shaman knows that it is the spirits who
do the real work. No Spirits, no shaman.
People are often attracted to shamanism because they need to feel
more power-filled, to feel more in contact with their lives and with
what is going on around them. What happens with them is often more than
they expect. As the basic techniques of shamanism are relatively easy to
learn to use, even beginners experience feeling stronger and more
powerful with their spirit-helpers by their sides. It is also typical
that people get the desire to share that power and use it to help
others. One of the differences between a shaman and a "normal" person is
that the shaman knows who his spirit-helpers are, how he can come into
contact with them, and how they can work together. A shaman is only a
shaman when he is shamanizing. Otherwise, he is a "normal" member of the
society he lives in. In our society, people doing shamanic work have all
kinds of ordinary reality jobs, for example, computer programmers,
teachers, construction or office workers, doctors, actors, parents and
grandparents, to name a few. Indeed, many shamans are peering out at us
from behind the most "ordinary" facades.
Shamanism and Ecology
One of the drawbacks of our life today is that we are so caught up in
our daily routines that we have lost contact with the basic simple joys
of living on this planet. How often do we stop to smell that special
scent of the fallen leaves in the Autumn, or feel the warmth of the
earth in the Spring? One of the results of coming into contact with the
spirit world is that one feels much more connected with one's everyday
surroundings, the Earth, and the Universe. The reason for this is that
one is more connected. In traditional societies, the shaman was able to
talk with the plants, animals, rocks, and the rest of Creation with
which we humans share the Earth. As a result, the humans lived in
harmony with their surroundings. Now most people have forgotten how to
communicate with the other inhabitants of the planet, and the most
obvious result of this today is the threat of total destruction of life
on the Earth as we know it, by our own so-called "higher" civilization.
For us, this connection with our surroundings is of paramount
importance, not only for the sake of the planet and everything on it,
but also, obviously, for each of us as individuals, materially and
spiritually. Just as everything we use, from wooden kitchen spoons to
the microchips of our most advanced computers, comes from Nature, the
shaman is aware that much of our spiritual power also comes from the
spirits found in Nature. It is clear then, that living carelessly on our
beautiful planet not only depletes our possibilities, and harms the
source of our nourishment, but it also damages the well-spring of our
spiritual foundation. When we kill nature in the myriad ways we do it,
we kill ourselves, physically and spiritually. In attempt to remedy this
I teach a course called Spiritual Ecology, the main idea of which is to
put humans back into contact with the non-human population of the
planet, on a one to one basis. During this course, I send all the
participants into the forest to talk with a tree, any tree. Their
mission is to ask Tree what their own personal role is in the
destruction of the Earth. Once, one of the participants told the
following: " I chose a birch tree. Or perhaps it chose me. After we had
talked a bit together in a friendly way, it said to me: "By the way, you
don't really need your car." " Oh, yes, I do!" I responded, and started
to list a lot of good reasons. But the Tree had its own arguments, and
pointed out that there are shops a few minutes walk from my home, and
half-empty busses that drive past my door all day long. And do you know
what? I don't really need my car!"
As we see it, one of the greatest challenges to the new generation of
shamans is to re-establish the contact between human beings and the
other inhabitants of the Earth, to network nature, to stop the slaughter
of the environment we share, to find out what can be done - spiritually,
ritually, and practically - with the damage which has already been done,
and to learn once again that the Earth will nourish us - physically and
spiritually - if we allow her to do it.
Shamanic Healing
Healing is, and always has been, the main work of the shaman. Central
to the understanding of shamanism, and especially shamanic healing, is
the concept of power. Essentially, power in shamanism is not power as
might, but rather power as energy . Traditionally, the shaman sees two
main reasons for illness. The patient either has something inside which
should not be there (an unwanted power intrusion), or is missing
something that should be there (power-loss). As all things have a spirit
or soul from the shaman's point of view, this holds true for illnesses
as well. In the case of a power intrusion it is the shaman's job to
remove the spirit of the unwanted power.
The shaman is aware that all things are connected, and, as such,
influence each other to some degree or another, just as you are
influenced by your family, your friends, the things you read, the
weather, the Earth and the Moon, and even the stars. Think of the
healthiest, happiest person you know. In all probability, she or he is
well connected - that is, aware of what is going on around her, as well
as being receptive and responsive. Now think about the person you are
most worried about. In shamanism the idea of separation is expressed in
the term power-loss . In fact, it is generally trough power-loss that
power intrusions can, literally, take place - that is, fill up room.
From the shaman's way of looking at things, when you are feeling
powerful it is when you are in good contact with the rest of the
Universe, and, being filled with that power, there is no room for
illness. Your spirit-helpers, power animals, and non-ordinary teachers
are close at hand, you are listening to what they are saying, and
following their advice. In everyday English, we might call this
following our intuition, or trusting. Conversely, one of the greatest
symptoms of power-loss is lack of trust. Fear is another. Power-loss may
manifest itself as things "going wrong." You have often heard someone
say, "It was just one of those days when nothing worked." Of course, we
all have days like that, and they can be seen as warning signals. But if
they continue, it would indicate power loss, along with accompanying
depression and a proneness to illness. This kind of power loss often
occurs when one of your power animals wanders away for one reason or
another. To remedy this, the shaman undertakes a journey to find and
restore the lost power to the suffering patient. This restoration of
power is often enough to not only put the patient back on his feet, but
also to knock out any unwanted illness intrusions.
Soul Loss
Another, and, in many cases much more serious, form of power-loss is
what shamans call soul-loss. Soul-loss is seen as the major cause of
much serious illness, and this separation from our own soul can also
result in making us feel separated from our bodies, our relationships,
our surroundings, and Life itself. Most of us have experienced this to
one degree or another in our lives. If we are lucky, the soul parts we
have lost return again to us quickly after their departure. But we are
not always so lucky. Sometimes they can't find their way back home. How
does soul loss happen? It generally happens when we have a traumatic
experience or are going through something which, for us, is untenable.
Unfortunately, traumatic experiences and untenable situations arise
constantly in our society, and we are faced with them from the time we
are children, in some cases even before we are born. For example, most
of us know people who were beaten, sometimes regularly, even as small
children. Oppressive schooling or work experiences can also lead to
soul-loss. There are many other reasons for soul loss, (and very often
there are well known standard phrases in our language which express this
as well), for example, with the death of a loved one ("When my husband
died, I felt that part of myself went with him."), an accident ("I was
scared to death"), physical or psychic abuse of any kind ("My spirit was
broken"), divorce, or the end of an important relationship ("She stole
my soul"). In English, we sometimes express extreme sadness by saying,
"I just wanted to die." Even a violent argument can lead to soul-loss
("I was beside myself with rage").
These are some of the ways soul-loss occurs. Why it happens, as
Sandra Ingerman points out in her book Soul Retrieval: Mending the
Fragmented Self , is generally a matter of survival. We all have our
limits as to how much we can take. But what happens when we reach our
limits, when we can't back any further into the corner? Then it is time
for action. But sometimes, especially if we are in a weakened condition,
to take the appropriate action, for example, leaving a violent partner,
just isn't possible. When this is the case, that piece of the soul which
reacts most to the situation knows it is time to leave, and does so,
both for it's own survival and for the survival of the organism, its
self , as a whole.
The Way of the Shaman
The shaman has often been referred to as "the wounded healer." What
this means is that the shaman has passed through some terrible illness
or crisis, or has even been to the land of the dead, and has survived,
but not only survived: she has also come back, stronger and wiser, with
the help of the spirits. It also means that most of the people reading
this article have the potential for doing shamanic work, for we have all
faced, and gone through, times of pain and crisis. However, the way of
the "healer" is not the way all would choose, so many people work
shamanically without worrying themselves about becoming a shaman, but
rather take a journey to get help to make a difficult decision in times
of trouble, or to help a friend in need. Others combine shamanism with
their other spiritual or practical work. For example, I know a
social-worker who journeys to get advice for clients who are having
extreme difficulties, a doctor who journeys to ask about the best
possible treatment for his patients. Most people I know who work
shamanically do so for the power to be that person they know they are,
even in times of crisis. Shamanic work gives each individual the
possibility of contacting the powers of the Universe directly , and to
receive that power and wisdom without the interference of a middleman.
This is both a humbling and an empowering experience, and the true
shaman is a humble person, who recognizes that his power is on loan from
the Universe, and that it is his mission to use that power in the best
possible way for this beautiful planet we call Home, and all of its
creations.