WHAT IS SHAMANISM?

Shamanism is the practice of recognizing, honoring, and seeking the wisdom of spirit in all things.

It is not a religion, but rather becomes one’s life journey and practice. The soul knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge often is being able to quiet the mind enough to discover the answers. It is in this vein that someone who walks a shamanic path may be of assistance in a seeker’s time of loss, chaos, addiction, and woundedness, among other conditions of distress. It is not unusual for physical, mental, emotional, relational, or spiritual suffering to arise from the disconnection from one’s true spirit or soul. Aspects of our truest nature can get lost along the way. In addition to personal conflict, community disharmony can also create disharmony in the individual.

In many cultures, shamanism has served to strengthen the community as a whole. We are not separate from our community. Embracing one’s truest nature and finding joy in authenticity heals the community at large. If there was ever a time crying out for a shamanic revival within our diverse communities, we are certainly living in it.

Shamans may come from an unbroken shamanic tradition or may be called by spirit to serve the needs of their community. A person may study, take courses, and/or apprentice with a shaman in order to begin to unveil the territory that some describe as non-ordinary reality. Embracing the practice of shamanism, however, requires the willingness to empty oneself of ambition and ego in order to become receptive to the messages of spirit to discover awareness and healing on a deep soul level. The teacher with whom I apprenticed for many years advised that to attribute the term “shaman” to one’s self is somewhat of an assumption. On the other hand, if one’s shamanic assistance is beneficial and the person for whom the work was done chooses to gift the term “shaman” to the healer, well then, that is of a different nature. Certainly, there are numerous well-known shamans today, yet for me, I choose to not claim that title but am sincerely humbled when clients give that title to me.

A person may elect to seek shamanic assistance for a variety of reasons. A shamanic approach is to consider the seen as well as unseen energies at the root of the problem and to then to remove energies that are inappropriately present and/or to return energies that may have become lost.

Curiously, I find a unique connection between shamanism and neurofeedback. It is not uncommon for individuals to deepen their connection to their authentic self through neurofeedback training. While it is not a required outcome, most people find that once the brain is working effectively, their sense of self and their purpose in living seems to sneak up on them. Their consciousness expands and they begin to heal themselves. One strategy in neurofeedback is to work in the alpha-theta frequency range to uncover deep concerns that may have become unconscious self-defeating patterns. This type of training is called Alpha Theta or Deep State training. Interestingly, in shamanic ceremony when a shaman uses a drum to travel to unseen energies, the effective beat of the drum tends to be that of an alpha-theta frequency. This frequency allows the brain to calm down and provide insight into the query. I like to think of the shamans of old as the first neuro practitioners!

If you resonate with Shamanic Guidance as a healing strategy , it can be done in addition to counseling or neurofeedback, as it is not uncommonly used in conjunction with more traditional healing modalities. Or, you can take the incredible journey to yourself without adding in other adjunct therapies. Is there evidence of its effectiveness? Perhaps the best answer would be to consider that shamanic healing has stood the test of time for thousands and thousands of years.

Here’s wishing you a glorious journey to yourself! Aho!

Namaste, friend. YOU GOT THIS!