To Mentor and be a worthy instructor

30 12 2010

In 2007 I visited Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). After a hectic couple of weeks, I ended my trip with a visit to two history museums. The first was large and expressive. The second had been hastily substituted onto the itinerary for the adjacent craft museum which was unexpectedly closed for the day.

This second museum was lackluster compared to the finer one I had seen that morning. I wandered through the exhibits willing myself to be open to learning something from my time there. I began to wonder how long I needed to give to this effort before I could leave. In this bored state my eyes passed over a small cardboard diorama depicting a unique period of civil rest in Burmese history.

Burma is located at the crossroad between China to the North, India to the west and the notoriously violent Khmer empire of Cambodia to the east past Thailand. Not surprisingly the Burmese people have endured many occupations and conflicts over the years.

At one time in their history the Burmese people enjoyed a rare period of peace and prosperity brought about primarily when a wise leader called for scholars from all parts of the Buddhist world to gather in the Burmese capital to compare and standardize scriptures. He realized no one would attach while their leading theologians were in Burma.

I had seen a video and other exhibits about this time period at the morning museum. As I roamed the afternoon museums my eyes wandered over a small colorless cardboard diorama I recognized as depicting this gathering of scholars. It showed perhaps 50 small figures sitting cross-legged on the floor with scrolls open on their laps. Facing this congregation from a slightly raised dais sat a similar figure. As my bored gaze traveled thoughtlessly over this scene, I felt a familiar sensation I have come to associate with the receiving of shamanic knowledge. Apparently the bored state I was experiencing had shut down my conscious mind sufficiently for me to receive a message.

I became the figure on the dais. In an unfathomable way, I was transported through time and space and became him. With the instant awareness typical to such an event I was flooded with emotions. I felt a sense of responsibility, a sense of fatigue and the overwhelming sense of humility his task took. Then, as quickly as it came, my reverie was gone and I was left to relive the feelings and wonder what they had meant.

I was sure they had meaning. I wondered if they suggested I should teach or organize others.  How could I be of service to my fellow students, scholars and practitioners?

Recurring Themes of my Study of Shamanism

Since I began to study shamanism more than 20 years ago, several themes had recurred and developed.

1.  Early on, I was often the only person in the room who made their living in the business world. Everyone else seemed to be a healing professional of some sort.

2.   Probably because of this difference from my fellow students, I often said I studied primarily to understand myself and grow as a human being.

3.  As I witnessed healing occur on a regular basis I considered it a side affect rather than a primary reason to practice shamanism.

4.  I got to the point where I was learning more from my own practice and healing work than from ordinary reality teachers.  I began to feel that there were too many teachers and not enough healers.

5.  As I got older my compassion for the suffering of others overtook my commitment to the business world. I began to see my business work as a way to support the healing work. I realized what an honor it was to see and facilite healing. I committed to the healing work.

6.  I became a reluctant teacher hoping to let the healing work speak for me.

I write this blog to help others on the shamanic path and as a way of teaching. So, dear friend, this story about the museum in Myanmar is both explanation of one root of my recognition of a call to teach and an explanation of one of the important lessons for a modern shaman.  How does one prepare to receive shamanic knowledge in this culture?

How do we receive shamanic messages?

Intuition resides in the deepest, oldest part of our brains. This is the same place where primitive survival impulses such as the “fight or flight response” occur. On your path of shamanism you need to court this instinct in order to receive clear messages. You court it by paying attention. You need to understand that it speaks most often in a small quiet voice. It is very easy to miss. I can these tiny nudges “flirts”.  They are most often heard as a tiny voice speaking against the flow of your proposed direction and often occur when the mind is allowed a moments rest. Such moments come at odd times like when you are sitting down on a toilet or hanging your coat up. In shamanic cultures this receiptive state is most often accessed with the use of drumming or other repetitive sound which stills the mind.

In the case I described above it was boredom and fatigue which invited a message into my conscious mind. Pay attention to the flirts which you receive, note them, and they will increase in strength and frequency.

Pau Wangchuk’s passing

Another event triggering this blog was the death of Wangchuk, a Tibetan shaman who lived in a refugee camp near Pokhara in Nepal. Wangchuk was a tiny very elderly man whose face beamed a smile and whose presence lit whatever space he entered.  He would often be seen spinning a small prayer wheel constantly as he walked and talked, accompanied by his equally tiny blind wife. Wangchuk was recognized as a living treasure by the Foundation for Shamanic Studies and as the reincarnation of a famous healer by the Dalai Lama. I had the good fortune to visit him in his home to learn from him and watch him perform healings.

I recall watching sadly as this frail man undertook healings for the small group of American healers with which I traveled. To my eyes, he glowed with love and light but I felt great concern for his frail body’s stamina to perform healing, even as I was aware of the power and spiritual support he received.

On the day I received the email announcing his passing I began to cry. My sadness and tears continued for several hours. I began to think my tears had more to tell me than just that I was experiencing grief. This tendency to examine my actions for deeper messages is also a characteristic of my shamanic path.

I began to realize my tears where due to my own sense of guilt. I felt incredibly fortunate to have received the gift of traveling to Nepal and learning from Wangchuk. What had I done with what I learned? I saw that it was possible to be a light for others; a commodity is short supply in this troubled world. Yet what had I done with the knowledge he shared? I had told no one. I had horded it for my own education, that’s what I had done.

In the past I had been mocked for my beliefs. That wasn’t too hard to take. I recognized they were unusual. What had been harder to take was the criticism for sharing knowledge too freely.

Yet, I treasured Wangchuk’s example. I found myself inadequately reflected it onto others. Wangchuk’s message is not new. He didn’t talk much. I feel he had the absolute conviction that magic was possible and that it came from love and the realization that we are all one. Separation is an illusion.

I examined why I hadn’t taught more. As I thought back to the 20 plus years of exploration of shamanic knowledge. I felt my teachers were better prepared to teach than I am. I don’t want to dilute, exploit, or plagiarize their lessons. When asked to teach eager young students I generally referred them to my own teachers.  I also felt they taught much more ritual and structure than I was interested in. I am primarily interested in experiential learning. I have learned the most from my spiritual teachers. Among other things, I credit my ordinary reality teachers for helping me formulate the best questions to ask of my spiritual teachers.

Anyone can teach

I remember a particular beginning practitioner who was rushing out to teach others after her first class. Oddly, I remember this same student asking me a year earlier why I wanted to help others and truly not understanding my explanation.

I was happy for her desire to help others. I remembered the young mother who has nursed her new born child for one day and who became the very best teacher for me, another new mother, as we shared a hospital room on the first day I was a mother. Sometimes the best teacher is someone who has just learned the lesson and also understands what it feels like to be a beginner.  I also believe that we each chose our own best teacher.

About the same time Wangchuk died, I received an invitation from a prestigious shamanic teaching organization to attend a class. The class was being taught by an individual whom I had taught informally a few years ago. I took this as an affirmation that I did have something to offer. This is another awareness to cultivate – the awareness of synchronicities and affirmations.

I hope, dear friends, that you find this information helpful. I will continue to write, and teach when asked. But mostly, I will continue to do the work.


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Categories : Learn about Shamanism, Letters to a Young Shaman, Teaching and Mentoring

Shamanism and Menopause

30 12 2010

In the ancient temples such as Delphi, the priestess and oracles were middle-aged women because of the recognition of the spiritual power which is released after menopause. It isn’t a coincidence that so many spiritual seekers are postmenopausal women. In general the statistic is 70/30 female to male ratio in workshops I have attended. There are probably many reasons for this. There is often an unfortunate imbalance of power in workshops – both from this female to male imbalance and also from the inability of individuals in the group to control and balance their individual power.  In an effort to be effective, participants often use their own power rather than connecting directly to the source. This is neither successful nor appropriate.


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Categories : Divination Sessions, Learn about Shamanism, Letters to a Young Shaman

Being in the Flow-The Mind/Body Relationship

30 12 2010

When you consistently practice shamanism, you begin to recognize that events seem to happen easily with little thought or effort on your part. You need a job or a place to live and it appears. Conversely, when you are not in the flow, your best efforts are thwarted. You feel like Sisyphus pushing the rock up the hill. You can be working very hard to complete a project and despite your heroic efforts, you can’t think or work yourself out of the situation. This is another important principle of shamanism – when you can’t think or work yourself out of a situation, become an observer and step back away from the situation.  Give up the allusion that you have control.

In traditional shamanic societies the shaman lived closer to nature and is more physically active. Many shamanic traditions utilize “the gait of power” or “passes” or some other physical activities to manipulate and focus power. That is, they use their bodies in a way that helps them align with the flow of energy which is not best helped by thought.

The recognition of charkas and meridians, and the release of emotional responses during massage are examples of the interconnection between the physical body and the other levels of energy such as the emotions, mental and spiritual bodies.

Second charka – it would take a long blog to address charka energy but this is an important topic and one that requires a different approach in modern society than in traditional shamanic cultures because of the increasingly sedentary nature of our lives.

Shaktipat, the possibility of instantly communicating enlightenment from a guru to his student or the possibility of instantaneous healing is always possible. However, the opportunity is greatly increased by preparing the body to receive greater energy flow. Therefore the physical fitness and free flow of chi are highly desirable.

 


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Categories : Learn about Shamanism, Letters to a Young Shaman

A Serious Discussion about Ayahuasca

16 12 2010

If you are looking for a little light reading, this isn’t it. It starts of easy enough but gets tougher.

It is such a pleasure to be in Santa Cruz. This is a place where everyone seems to be searching for greater understanding and a better quality of life in one way or another. Some are seeking it through time spent in nature. Others sample the infinite smorgasbord of spiritual practices available here.  Still others work hard at living healthy lifestyles by eating nourishing food and building strong relationships with family, friends, and animal companions. Actually, many people here are pursuing most of these goals simultaneously. It probably isn’t surprising then, that recently a number of people have asked me about the use of peyote, ayahuasca and other mind altering plant medicines. Other people are reporting their experiences to me. Many people are interested in these powerful teachers.

To put it in perspective, these hallucinogenic plants are only a few of the many helpful medicines derived from nature. There is a rush among pharmaceutical companies to discover more plant medicines and duplicate them chemically for profit.

The primary difficulty I see, aside from the fact that their use is often illegal, is that people are trying them without proper preparation and guidance. Their use is a sacrament and deserves preparation and respect.  Comparing our lifestyle with that of the Shipibo people demonstrates my point.

The Shipibo People

The Shipibo are a group of about 35,000 people in northeastern Peru along the Yuki Yaki River, a tributary of the Amazon River. They come from a land near the mountains, somewhat higher and dryer than the Amazon. They have lived in this area for 6000 years and are not nomadic.  They are a combination of two peoples, the Kanebo and the Shapibo. The Kanebo were aggressive people knows as headhunters who, fortunately, adapted the peaceful ways of the Shipibo.

The Shipibo have a very different concept of life than we do. Their language is all present time which makes it hard to organize tours or commerce. There is no concept of doing things for the future.

The Shipibo believe they were formed from the patterns on the back of the anaconda which is the pattern they associate with protection. This pattern is said to include movement and balance which can also be experienced as music. The Shipibo believe healing comes from using our reptilian brain, which is one of the oldest parts of the human brain.

The Shipibo are known as the singing people. Their “Icaros” are songs infused with prayer. These songs are usually not written nor are they fixed. They never sing a song the same way twice. This concept seems strange to them.

The Shipibo avoid conflict. For example, when they cut down a tree they first consult with the spirit of that tree for permission. When they harvest a crop, they offer thanks. When they walk on land, they ask the land’s permission. Like many societies that live off the land, they live in close harmony with all of nature.

As part of their plant culture they use ayahuasca to have visions. They look for visions relating to fishing, marriage, childbirth, illness, community issues, etc. During these visions they memorie the patterns of the plant visions they see. The patterns of the plant songs are woven into fabric which can be looked at for a guide in how to sing that particular song. These fabrics are also used in healing. The patterned fabric is placed on the body to work against imbalances in the body. There are basic easy patterns everyone knows and more complex ones that only the elders remember. Unfortunately this information is being lost as the younger generation move away from this way of life.

The Shipibo do healing work with the plant patterns.  They move their hands along the patterns and see the tangles as explaining the problem. They can sing a thread out and unwind the tangle. They commonly sing several songs for several weeks as they work through an issue.

The patterns of the plants can also be accessed by putting the plant juice into water. It is then consumed as the patient sings the song of that plant medicine. There are plants and patterns for each organ, such as the circulatory system and muscles. The song can be put into veins, bones, kidneys, eyes. Old trauma patterns, emotional shock patterns and patterns associated with the spirit of heart and mind can be seen. They don’t analyze or compartmentalize the cause of illness or trauma as we do.

Shipibo healers who have visited the United States expressed horror at seeing so many unreleased shock patterns and traumas. They expected that because of adequate food, housing, doctors, and other the availability of other necessities we would be balanced.

According to the Shipibo, when you sing you open your body, emotion, and spirit. It is a way to start to share with people without being overwhelmed

They often eat special plant diets while avoiding some activities. Specific dietary restrictions are prescribed according to their needs, songs, illnesses, etc.  They ingest specific plants to have the spirit of that plant help them. It is a way to have that plant’s special ability velcroed to them. Then sing their intention into plant, bless with tobacco, while also following a regime such as taking plant baths while carrying the intention that the plant spirit enters through their skin. They emerge with the songs of those plants, with familiar spirits, or the spirits associated with power places. They may visit a power place, ask permission, connect with the guardians of the place and make an exchange – leave something and absorb power.

Shipibo fabric represents Amazon River. They sing songs of fabric telling of love and joy. They sing the song while they make the fabric. Later they sing its patterns to activate the fabric which may be worn or hung on a wall.

Their choice of which plant to work with is not random. The healer will start by observing a person’s energy and may feel the person’s pulse. Healing may include extraction or massage. The healer sometimes uses their own breath to send energy to cause something negative to move out of a person.

Recommendations

The use of plant medicine, including ayahuasca, is only one part of complex healing processes among people like the Shipibo. Alone it is less effective than when it is part of a complete regime. It has merit. Anyone considering its use should also consider other choices, such as slowing down, dialoguing with nature, and especially seeking out help in releasing old trauma patterns. Trauma patterns, such as an emotional shock pattern from past fright can interfere with a person’s present harmonic pattern. Dangers such as may  come from someone or something interfering with a person should also be released. For instance, a person can be negatively affected by angry relatives.

Final Words

The beauty of blogging is that I get to say how I see things. We Americans are, dear friends, addicted to quick results. I call it short-attention-span theatre. The use of plant medicine is, like the use of many other healing modalities, best used as part of a total program of work allowing time for the work to integrate. This work requires commitment and dedication and time.  Workshops, gurus, and books have much to teach us. However, we need more time spend on fewer lessons, rather than more lessons. If you often experience deep healing but your life does not change, slow down. You have everything you need.  Do the things that help you find it inside yourself.

 

 


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Categories : Learn about Shamanism, Letters to a Young Shaman

Where does healing come from

5 01 2010

The Brazilian healer called John of God is fond of saying, “I do not heal. It is from God alone that healing comes.”

As a “healer” I put aside thought and become an open channel through which healing passes. When I have the honor to be present in this way, I am aware of an intelligence that is greater than me. I may experience it as a body nearby, a voice, heightened senses, or merging with another consciousness.

One of the things I observed at the Casa where John of God works is that healing happens through all things working together over a period of time. Time allows the individual to adjust and fulfill their commitment to doing the work. A clearing away of extraneous concerns corresponds with a vibrational change. There is a slowing down from the hectic pace of modern life that allows an inward focus.

Each story of healing is beautiful and amazing in its simplicity and uniqueness. I believe each recipient receives exactly what is possible for them and most needed by them at that moment.  We often want an immediate physical healing and an end of symptoms.  Healing does not always look like we want it to. Sometimes this is frustrating.  Often an individual is; not yet willing to let go of something which is holding them in pain, has not yet learned what they can from their current situation, or their healing may be a preparing for death or other major change that they cannot recognize; rather than the desired return to life as they previously knew it.

Instantaneous healing is always possible. The opportunity for this is greatly increased by preparing the body to receive a greater energy flow. Therefore physical fitness, the free flow of chi and all the prior healing one has done on his or herself, work together to prepare the way for healing at this moment.


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Initiation at Nargargot

3 01 2010

Initiation at Nagargot – Part 1

The night before the Initiation

A healthy dollop of red tilak courses down my face like a fatal wound and my back aches so that the wood floor I sit on feels like a medieval torture device. What possessed me to travel half-way around the world for the privilege of sitting here cold, be-feathered and diligently drumming these many hours? Dear God, just let me make it through the night and I will go back to my hotel, take a shower, and in a few days, return to my lovely clean home in the United States. If I can just get through the next 24 hours, I will leave this place behind and never look back. I won’t have to tell anyone anything. I can just pretend it didn’t happen, and oh cripes, my back hurts. Suddenly, I feel myself soaring over the trees to a place I don’t recognize. I am surrounded by a large group of nature spirits. They seem familiar somehow as they greet me joyfully and thanks me for coming. They are as hungry to live in harmony with humans as I am for the peace I suddenly feel. Then, in the blink of an eye, I again own my aching back and…what the hell was that? Was it exactly what I had made this pilgrimage to experience? My acing back can be thanked for taking me to a place of peace, and equally for bringing me back. Oh my God, Out-of-Body. I know that experience was when I had one. Thinking about this got me through the next few hours and finally it was time to bed-down for the night.

Bed-down is an entirely appropriate euphemism. The monsoons ran long this year so we scrapped the plan to sleep under the stars due to an abundance of leeches. At this mountainside monastery there are no restrooms, and few building. In service of the former one aims one’s backside downhill along the steep trail and completes one’s business in a most unladylike fashion. Then one dutifully does the two-handed leech check to be sure no pesky critter has attached itself to one’s derriere. Then one heads for one’s assigned bed-down location to sleep, one hopes, fully clothed. One, of course, being me.

Our group of eight found ourselves rationed into the rag-tag collection of outbuilding. My new friend, Marilyn, and I lay in a small storage building on planks laid over dirt. The space is dominated by two small statues on waist-high stands. Tiny wicks sputter above enormous bowls of oil creating ghostly shadows prostrating themselves in unending reverence to the two figurines. In the dim light the figures seem sinister rather than holy, despite knowing they are guardian deities.

With hardly enough floor space for our sleeping bags, I spent a good deal of the night trying to remain in one position so as not to wake Marilyn, unaware she is enduring the same self-enforced restriction. I spend much of the night wondering what is chewing inside the walls which appears to be made of stone and plaster.

Initiation at Nagargot – Part 2

The morning of the initiation

When enough light pierces the darkness that I can safely venture forth, I attempt to extract myself from the sarcophagus of my mummy bag. It appears that my leg is glued to my clothing and sleeping bag. A close inspection reveals the death of a happy leech. One of these tiny, inch-long, pipe cleaner shaped blood-suckers had died a happy death indeed. It had morphed into a large cucumber sized gelatinous mass before being squished in one of my wigging attempts to get comfortable. In vain I attempt to communicate to a porter that this sleeping bag should not be rented again without laundering. I offer my profound apology to whomever received it next.

This bloodletting, which left a deep dent in my right calf, is considered an auspicious omen. I am told it removed any impurities that might prevent me from experiencing the greatest benefits from the initiation.

Another good omen is my recurring dream last night of an army of ants marching through my house despite my efforts to stop them. My companions suggest that the spirits are seeking to communicate with me and I should be open to receive this communication. This coincides with the messages I received during last evening’s OBE.

Somehow “making a pilgrimage to a monastery” conjures a far more expansive image in my brain than hiking barefoot up several miles of gritty stone trail to reach this tiny compound perched rather precariously on steep, uneven, boulder-strewn ground.

After weeks of heavy clouds, the sky clears revealing the magnificent spires of the Annapurna mountain range. In my joy at the morning sun and the magnificent view, I, a card-carding member of non-singers anonymous, am lifted to a previously unknown level of freedom as I sing songs I had never heard.

As the time approached for my initiation, I am positively giddy. It could be the altitude, lack of food and sleep, the prospect of getting off the hill, or self-congratulations for all it took to get me here, but I am happy. Our small band bangs our drums and sings and dances. Never mind that I am left-handed and therefore insulting tradition. Never mind that I am off tune and clumsy on the uneven ground. Never mind that I know I look idiotic in my strange costume. Never mind that I need a bath and carry leech guts on my leg. Never mind anything that should matter, I am at home here. Exactly as I am, I am alive and well and experiencing a freedom I have seldom known.

As I sing and dance on our approach toward the outdoor altar I am humbled that I have been there before, last night, without my body. I know the place. The wonderfully familiar spirits of the place welcome me back. They ask me to help my people at home reconnect with the spirits of that faraway place.

Go out and connect with the spirits of the place where you live. They will welcome you and celebrate your presence.

Initiation at Nagargot – Part 3

The initiation begins

This description must start with a few words about our motley band. We are old, young, fat, skinny, tall, and short – though not as short as our compact Nepalese guides who appear to be breed in equal parts from leprechauns and mountain man. We are each dressed in white skirts and blouses, draped with malas of dried rudraksha berries and a sash laden with bells. Our heads are crowned with a sash each of red and white cloth(white indicates knowledge and red, life force). Secured about these sashes is the piece de resistance, our crown of peacock feathers. The peacock is associated with the shaman in the Tibetan tradition because of it’s ability to eat poison without dying. This is said to reflects the shaman’s ability to extract illness (poison) from his or her patient without becoming sick.

Amma, the respected and energetic teacher who leads us to this ceremony had spent the last two days observing us and, I think, deciding if we are ready. I am reminded of the two individuals on the previous trip who had bizarre injuries that prevented them from participating. One had a random piece of a building fall on him while walking down a city street. The other lost her footing while standing in a grassy field and ended up in the hospital for several weeks with a badly broken ankle. I have been very careful where I stood in the last few days and behaved humbly.

When Amma places my peacock crown on my head, I wear it proudly. I feel like I had climbed nearby Mt. Everest to reach this point in my life. I haven’t felt like this since I realized, while riding in a helicopter after my divorce ten years ago, that it was okay to still be happy.

Wearing our peacock crowns, we begin to parade toward the initiation site. We leave the family compound where the single monk/caretaker and his family had offered us their hospitality. We move along singing and dancing. We spent the previous afternoon learning this song and dance. Our performance is like a kindergarten class, making up for shortcomings of performance with enthusiasm and joy. Drumming the oddly shaped Tibetan drum with the traditional bent branch beater, while jumping alternatively on one leg and then the other while bending forward and straightening back up, proves harder than patting the head while rubbing the tummy. Add singing a repeating song, and I am completely lost. The song translates something like “I am a foolish shaman asking for help.” That is true.

I do my best. This combination overwhelmed my senses, shutting off my monkey mind and allowing my ancient, intuitive mind to hear.

Our band of intrepid shamans weaves an unsteady path down a circuitous route through boulders and tenacious trees clinging to this barren mountainside. We arrive at a tiny but lovely outdoor shrine built around a huge boulder on which a magically incised face of Shiva is present. It is covered and highlighted by the tilak liberally applied by, pilgrims who have come to this out-of- the-way place. Someone had thoughtfully spread woven mats for us to sit on in our white skirts on the stone and concrete floor.

Amma and a local sadu (holy man) flanked the altar near this sacred stone. On casual observation it might appear that they were going to share in leading the ceremony. The sadu approached as if unsure of authority. My heightened awareness senses an energy exchange in which this sadu recognized Amma’s superior authority and sheepishly backed off. This mini-fireworks was a flicker in time as I sat enjoying the communication of the local spirits. I was surprised that familiar spirits from my far-away home were also present.

Initiation at Nagargot – Part 4

So I sat in this odd corner of the world, among my travel companions and my spirit companions from both sides of the planet. And, I was at home.

The specifics of the initiation are for those who travel there. It was real and present and humbling and I am changed by it. I will only say that having been tested, blessed and having venerated the spirits, we retraced our steps.

Strangely soon, we found our way back to Katmandu. We made our triumphant return to the stupa at Potupotinath where returning pilgrims parade around the stupa giving thanks and offering healing to any who approach. It was a lovely day marred only slightly by the incongruity of our white western faces that elicited few healing requests. And when, at last, I returned to the sanctuary of silence in my hotel room, I felt like one awakening from a dream. Or, maybe, this is the dream, this walking sleep that fills our days. What a gift it is to be alive and free to choose how we spend our allotted minutes.


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Categories : Learn about Shamanism

In honor of the word Shaman

31 12 2009

It was with a heavy heart that I named this website. My technical consultant responded to my request to make the information easily accessable with “Santa Cruz Shaman” as terminology that would help potential customers find this website.  This logic was impeccable and I reluctantly followed his recommendation.

My reluctance was a result of my great respect for the word Shaman.  This word has long  been used to identify extraordinary individuals who underg0 many hardships to provide compassionate service to others.

One of my early teachers, Michael Harner, used the term shamanic practitioner to describe those of us who utilized the traditional methodologies of the shaman. To call a shamanic practitioner a shaman is  like calling every yoga practitioner a yogi.  A practitioner is committed to practicing, learning, and accepts successes as gifts that are part of the path, not a confirmation of arrival at a mystic master state.


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Michael Harner’s message for 2010

30 12 2009

“The shamanic path is not a path traditionally intended to achieve enlightenment. It has never been typically a path for self-improvement. It has been a path followed because people cared for other people and felt compassion for them and wanted to help them through healing and alleviating their suffering. In following that path, gifts were then given them that were totally unexpected. By working the way that spirits seem to want us to work, they help us in alleviating suffering and pain, and give the healers gifts to help them work even more successfully. This then changes them, and they are never the same again; they are indeed enlightened. But that was not the intention; it was just a result. And as the shaman works to heal others, the shaman himself or herself is healed because of that desire.”  — Michael Harner,  Foundation for Shamanic Studies (as posted on Shaman Portal).

This so perfectly captures my thoughts that I am happy to begin with it.




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