Shamanic Practices
in Overview
If you're interested, I invite
you to visit my main Shamanic site,
The Shaman's Hearth,
where these topics are covered in far more detail.
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Distinction of energetic, physical and spirit worlds is
more an observational convenience than a description of three different
levels of existence to a Shamanic practitioner. A word of caution,
even the most accomplished shaman walks and lives [very much] mostly in the physical world. To attempt to live with full awareness of all
aspects, all the time, is a path to madness. Whatever name you choose to
identify the
divine which binds our universe has yielded a physical
existence for a real and purposeful reason, and it is in the physical
that we are 'meant' to dwell.
Shamanic Practices
All Shamanic work should be in response to a calling. A strong,
non-ego based desire to do a specific thing is a calling, but the there
are many ways of being called that run from this nice end of the
spectrum right to getting slammed by lightening, normally after ignoring
more subtle calls. Often a Shaman is known by the one who is
being called for some time before they recognise what is actually going on
(their call). Once the call is heeded, the most natural course of
action is finding a 'master' to train the novice. Please read
Shamanic Education below too.
It is important to understand that a Shaman might practice one or more
of the Shamanic arts, but none is more 'worthy'; none represents greater
prestige nor bravery. There is no such thing as a "powerful
Shaman". The most accomplished of Shaman acts very little, but
just influences and guides with as little output of energy as possible.
If you're thinking of Hollywood's Powerful Magic of lights, wind
and sound, mystic chants and sacred relics, reality is going to
disappoint. All a Shaman requires is a place of peace and
themself; drums, ceremony and chanting is more about aiding the process
and helping others reach the right state of mind.
A shaman will typically operate skills in what has become recognised as light,
shadow and dark work. These terms do not follow their
Judaeo-Christian based equivalences of good and bad. Think of these divisions as shallow, medium and deep
rather than light, shadow and dark work. Many other terms used in
Shamanism have divergent meanings from their more recent, religion based
connotations.
Light work covers more physical modalities like herbal
and dietary medicine, counselling, politics and music, to list a few.
Some esoteric 'mind' journeying like communing with spirit guides and
power animals and similar are generally considered to be within the realm of light work.
Shadow work begins the more esoteric areas of spirit
and energetic communications, intercessions, clearings and soul
recoveries (more on this later). There are aspects of light work that
also have elements of the esoteric as there are no clear boundaries
between light and shadow work.
Dark work is deeply esoteric and is the realm of demon
extractions, exorcisms, curses, possessions and the like.
Now is probably a good time to reiterate two points, no practice is more
'worthy' than another AND that all Shamanic practices should only be in
response to a calling; to operate outside of a calling is to
inadvertently or deliberately place yourself in very real danger, this
warning is 'doubled' for shadow work and 'tripled' for dark work!
When is a
shaman not a Shaman?
Perhaps this is a good time to explore, “What a Shaman is
not”. A Shaman is not someone who has paid a heap of money to some
entrepreneurial teacher to 'learn' and 'be certified' in Shamanism.
The very idea of an, “Internationally recognised” qualification in
Shamanism defies what Shamanism is. This said, some valuable
practices might be learned in some of these courses, but a set curricula
leaves little room for personal exploration and limits (back to the
concept of following a calling here again).
Shamanic education
Shamanism is normally taught in a master-apprentice role
with the training sometimes taking many years, especially if the teacher
is of a more cryptic lineage of Shamen. Shamanic training may also be facilitated in
part by non-physical means; described as 'gifts of knowing' or
'discernment' in some cultures,
but well tested by their peers before acceptance, as these 'gifts' are
often more complicated than they first appear.
The role of a Shaman within a community is a sacred one;
a Shaman is an intermediary between the physical, energetic and the
spiritual, often deeply involved (traditionally) in virtually every aspect of their community’s
health and wellbeing.
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