What is a Shaman?
Is a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit world and channel these transcendental energies into this world. A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of Helping Spirits and Guides who typically enters into a trance state during a ritual and practices divination and healing.
The term “shaman” is presently often used as an umbrella term referring to a variety of spiritual practices (medicine woman or man, sangoma, or traditional healer are some common names). The word “shaman” originates from the Evenk language (Tungusic) of North Asia and was introduced to the west after Russian forces conquered the shamanistic Khanate of Kazan in 1552.
Shamanism encompasses the premise that shamans are intermediaries or messengers between the human world and the spirit worlds. Shamans are said to treat ailments/illness by mending the soul. Alleviating traumas affecting the soul/spirit restores the physical body of the individual to balance and wholeness. The shaman also enters supernatural realms or dimensions to obtain solutions to problems afflicting the community. Shamans may visit other worlds/dimensions to bring guidance to misguided souls and to ameliorate illnesses of the human soul caused by foreign elements. The shaman operates primarily within the spiritual world, which in turn affects the human world. The restoration of balance results in the elimination of the ailment. The shaman understands that there is an invisible world of consciousness and energy that envelops and informs us, and that organizes all physical reality, even how we will live and heal and die.
I practice a synthesis of traditional (ritual and ceremonial), core shamanism and holistic energy techniques. For I believe the old ways of doing things no longer serves us. In our fast pasted society, people are too busy, or weary about digging deeper or find it difficult to separate their religious beliefs with Spiritual work or resist searching to the core of their discomfort. The methods I employ allow for a gentle way to uncover the core patterns and limiting belief systems that keep us stuck in the old paradigm. Giving one the tools to break free of limiting beliefs, behaviors and erase imprints of disease from the luminous energy field (LEF), to create health, joy and inner peace. I liken it to peeling an onion, one layer at a time.
What is Core Shamanism?
“After having personally practiced shamanism, shamanic healing, and shamanic journeying for more than half a century, I can say that there is nothing I have encountered in reports of the spiritual experiences of saints, prophets, psychedelic drug experimenters, near death survivors, avatars and other mystics that is not commonly experienced when following classic journey methods using a drum.”
—Michael Harner
Core shamanism is practiced by modern shamanic healers the world over. It consists of the universal, near-universal and common features of shamanism, together with journeys to other worlds a distinguishing feature of shamanism. A shaman enters a state of consciousness through classic shamanic non-drug techniques such as sonic driving, listening to a rhythmic percussion. This could be a drum or rattle. They journey to the invisible world of spirits and connect with their and the clients spirit allies for healing work. These Helping Spirits are available to help everyone, and it is the role of the shaman to reconnect clients with their Helping Spirits, thereby restoring the relationship between the two and restoring their personal power. Imagine for a moment, the effort one places in building a relationship with a new romantic partner or friend. In these relationships we place a lot of energy building this into something solid. This same effort needs to be applied when working with your Helping Spirits. And so, once a relationship has been re-established I provide the client with tools to continue building on this new partnership.
Holistic practices involved encouraging people to learn shamanic work – one need not become an initiated shaman to learn how to “journey” for yourself. The old ways of relying solely on a shaman to connect with your Helping Spirits is one of the old ways that do not work. It is imperative that we all learn how to re-connect back to source!
In my workshops, spiritual coaching, vision quests, sweat lodges and treatments I share ancient strategies for working with this invisible matrix of the Universe and to meet your Helping Spirits and Guides and experience this magical invisible world yourself. In order that you live a life as a Spiritual Adult and ‘dream your world into being“