the practice of
the shaman
 
I'm writing this
page after a trip
home from school
with my son, Arin
who told me
excitedly about an
inspiring lesson he
had about drugs
today. This
led to an
interesting
conversation into
why people found
their way to
different
addictions.
They had mimicked
through drama some
of the effects
the different drugs
had on you
(like spinnng around
wildly).
'Why
would anyone need to
take drugs mum? You
can feel like that
without them.'
I stared into his
innocent blue eyes.
Eleven years old and
Arin is
well-connected to
his wholeness. 'When
you can't feel like
that naturally it's
so natural to want
to find a way to be
able to access those
feelings.' I
replied.
'Somehow the ability
to do this by
yourself gets cut
off. It's soul
loss and power loss, Arin. We're
all susceptible to
it. Something
has happened earlier
in a person's life
which has affected a
person's ability to
be their full self.
A part of them has
split off,
gone into other
realms.
Drugs seem like a
good way to return
this energy and
confidence,
but then if a person
can't access it
without them,
they become
dependent on them
and something else
starts living their
energy for them.
Soul retrieval,
power retrieval or
extraction would be
great starting
points for helping
someone like this -
bringing those
missing parts back
home and clearing
what has fit into
the space.'
The
practice of the
Shaman is to restore
wholeness. In
our culture, it is
common for people to
feel less than whole
and fill the inner
emptiness with other
things which never
seem to fill the
gap. As a shamanic
practitioner and
educator (a shaman
needs a tribe to
select him/her for
the job to be worthy
of the title),
I devote my life to
study of how to
become more and more
whole and bring
teachings to other
people.to help them
in turn to return to
wholeness and
feeling alive!
('Restoring
Wholeness - the
Shaman's Craft' is
the little
red drum's 3-4 year
Practitioner
training program.
It is a rich program
of many traditional
and modern day
methods and
practices which help
restore soul, power
and meaning to the
lives of
individuals,
families and
communities as well
as traumatised
places on the
earth's surface.)
In
shamanic terms, the
experience of not
feeling whole is
literal: parts of
the soul may have
"split off" and gone
to other realms.
This happens in
order to allow the
physical body to
survive trauma or
loss. But once these
soul parts are gone,
people may suffer
physical,
psychological, or
spiritual loss of
power. This power
loss, in turn, can
prevent people from
leading completely
healthy, creative,
fulfilling lives.
For
thousands of years,
shamans all over the
world have worked
with people to
return lost parts of
their souls so that
vitality and
well-being are
restored. To do
this, a shaman
journeys into
"non-ordinary"
reality, searches
out the cause of the
trauma, and
retrieves the lost
soul parts.
Guidance is given
and brought back
which supports the
persons path to
restoration.
Alignment with the
natural world and
coming back into a
life living in tune
with our soul
nature (so much of
our cultural sadness
is to do with our
separation from the
natural cycles -
nature is our best
teacher!) is often a
part of this.
As a shamanic and
nature educator,
I hold workshops
which support people
in this process.
The
word 'Shaman',
although a role
indigenous to most
cultures,
comes from the Tungus tribe of
Siberia. It
means 'he or she who
knows'. I
would interpret this
as he or she who
knows wholeness and
the ways to bring it
through. It is the
shamanic journey
which provides the
vehicle to being
able to enter the
knowing field of
wholeness or
''non-ordinary''
reality.
If you recall the the iron
filings and two
magnets traditional
demonstration of
showing invisible magnetic
fields, this
may be used as a
helpful model in understanding
of where Shamanic
attention is placed
in the journeying
state to
''non-ordinary''
reality. Shamanism,
rather than
exploring the
physical map and
helping the physical
heal and flow as
someone like an
osteopath would do,
and instead of
working with the
mental and emotional
maps and listening
to the mental and
emotional messages
as someone like a
psychotherapist
would, works with
the 'knowing' field which is similar in its
apparent
invisibility to the one the iron
filings reveal. Just
because it is not
apparent doesn't
mean it is not
there. You just need
the right equipment
or skills to
reveal it. This map
is known as the
spiritual realm and
carries all of the
signals and
informational codes
which inform the
programming of the
physical, mental and
emotional realms.
Whether you work
with the physical,
mental, emotional or
spiritual model as
your focal point for
seeing what is going
on, the
healing effects on
that framework can
extend into the
others,
especially
if the intention is
held for
this. The Shamanic
map always includes all of
the maps and brings
healing on all
levels.
The practice of
journeying is
the method a shaman
and shamanic
practitioners
use to connect with the
field and
communicate with the
forces which are
behind the
structuring of this
reality. To
the shaman, we are
like puppets in a
puppet show,
acting out the
'magnetic' or
programmed patterns
which are held in
the field.
Once we can
communicate with the
field, the
hidden layer of
reality, we
can access the
programmed codes
of illness and
separation.
The discoveries we
make by journeying
and entering into
the field are
interpreted by our
contemporary models
of perception to
become images,
archetypes and
informational codes
which begin to build
a dialogue. In
traditional shamanic
language, these are
called the helping
spirits. It
takes a lot of time
to practice with
journeying and be
able to understand
how the language
operates for each of
us. It also
takes time to be
able to test and
then trust our
findings.
The shaman
traditionally
journeys with the
beat of a drum,
or with the help of
plant medicine or
methods which
help to take the
brainwaves to the
deeper level they
operate at to be
able to journey. The
eyes are usually
closed and the
intention of
journeying and
entering a waking
dream-state is held. The frequencies have
been recorded of a
person journeying
and the results are
that the brain waves
move from its normal
beta state, to
alpha and then the
deeper theta brain
wave frequencies, as
they are when one is
deep in sleep.
This allows one to
be in more of a
dream time state and
be resonant with the
'field' of vision
the spiritual worlds
operate in.
It's like tuning in
a radio to a
station. If
you don't have a
good tuner and find
the right frequency
you don't even know
it's there playing
out to the nations.
The Shamanic radio
station is
especially tuned to
everybody's
individual station
and is ready for the
individual's own
process of
deciphering and
interpreting.
A shaman can in this
state access lots of
information which
can be used for
divining
information,
performing healings
such as: soul
retrieval, power
retrieval and
extractions, guiding
souls to the other
side in death (psychopomp
work), clearing
spaces and opening
ceremony.
Shamanism is the
most ancient of
practices on this
planet,
pre-dating records
of human
civilisation.
Artefacts have been
found dating back
tens of thousands of
years. The
same codes of
practice seem to
operate across all
cultures who have
used this practice
(found extensively
in all continents
except the
Antarctic).
One of the most
reassuring and
powerful attributes
of Shamanism is for
me the depth of
heritage and
consistency of the
practice. This
has created a
regular conduit of
trustworthiness, power and
dependability in the
roots, trunk and
branches of the man
and womankind
historical tree.
To pick up and use the tools
and ways of
mankind's most
ancient healing art
-
is to activate, quite
possibly the most
deep and supportive
conditioned reflex
on this planet.
Shamanism is an art
and it is a science.
To understand its
ways is deeply
experiential and
involves great
imagination,
artistic sensibility
and openness.
It is also
incredibly
scientific as it
involves careful
questioning, testing
of results, study of
the natural laws of
nature and a
commitment to
observe impartially
the behaviour of the
reality which is
being presented.
Someone not
operating with this
level of tenacity
and thorough enquiry
would not be
accurate enough to
produce effective results.
They would be in
danger of delusional
practice. Shamanism
takes an enormous
amount of
dedication,
love, concentration
and a desire to
serve and bring
results. It
also requires well-practiced, skilled and
integral teachers
to
guide the way.
Shamanism offers
many different entry
points. If you
are experiencing the
field coming through
and want to learn
more, or if
you ask 'Why are we
here?' and are
looking for new ways
to find answers,
Shamanic study may
offer ways to
satisfy the
curiosity which is
being aroused.
I think we live in
such interesting
times! As much
as being a Shamanic
Educator
(educate means 'to
draw out') and
Practitioner,
I see my role as
being a bridge
builder -
cultivating
understanding and
alliance amongst the
contemporary mix of
therapies and
allowing Shamanism
to settle back into
mainstream life and
support a whole
range of healing
projects,
including the relief
and restoration of
people dependant on
drugs who inspired
Arin's empathic
questions and the writing
of this page.
Equally,
the bridge is with
society at large -
where spiritual
consciousness and
consensus reality
can be seen not as
opposing one
another, but
as allowing richer
dialogue and
opportunity.
Together the two
poles support us in formulating
an intelligent
definition of how
reality works which
works to empower the
'knower' in every
man or woman.
If you would like to
learn more about
Shamanic practice,
or are interested in
training to be a
Shamanic
Practitioner,
the information
below may be of
interest to you.
the little
red drum
offers
individual sessions,
workshops and trainings. The teaching
of shamanic
journeying skills is
offered to every
client. The aim is
for each individual
to be given the
tools and support to
create their own
spiritual dialogue,
so we are each
empowered to find
through the external
teacher, the teacher
within ourselves.
the little red drum offers
Foundation training and
Practitioner training. The first program commences Spring 2010. Each person is given the opportunity to visit different Shamanic healing techniques. The emphasis is on safe, professional and heart-connected practice.
You can read
articles on
the little red drum Shamanism, view events and share
thoughts and
questions through the
links page.
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