Shamanism
An Ancient Healing Tradition
By Amara Willey
Illness in our world evokes images of hospital beds, antiseptic smells,
hushed voices, and a general sense of misery.
In the distant past and in other cultures today, however, the picture might
be very different. A masked shaman might dance to rapid drumming beside a
patient's bed at home or a curandera, a traditional Latin American healer, might
anoint her patient with oil and pass an egg over the diseased area.
Shaman (pronounced SHAH-maan) is a word used by the Tungus people of Siberia
to describe their healers/medicine people. The term has come to describe
traditional healers in a variety of cultures, though each of those cultures has
its own word for that position.
Modern shamanic practitioners address what they see as the spiritual causes
for physical ailments. Their work is supplemental to Western medicine, rather
than a replacement for it.
If someone among the Jívaro (HEE-varo) in the Ecuadorian Andes falls sick, a
shaman might drink a powerful substance made from local plants that would cause
the shaman to sink into trance. In the world of spirit, the shaman would seek
out the cause of the illness, which might take the form of an insect or plant.
After doing battle with the illness in its spiritual form, the shaman returns to
ordinary reality and spits out the insect or plant in physical form, a powerful
symbol of release from disease. This is called an extraction.
It is not only shamans who keep their people safe from illness and spiritual
attack. Every person, it is believed, is born with an animal totem, a spirit
guide in animal form, to protect them throughout their lives. These power
animals are usually undomesticated mammals or birds and can even be mythic
creatures. When a person becomes ill, the animal might temporarily leave them or
become lost. A shaman can help the person retrieve their power animal, or merely
discover its identity. If that person can then make the power animal feel
honored and loved, the animal will remain and help the person spiritually.
Another service a shaman might perform for his or her client is soul
retrieval. A variety of losses are experienced throughout life. If the grief
from those losses is too great, a part of a person's soul can go into hiding to
protect itself from the pain. When the loss is over, the soul may not come out
of hiding. In such a case, the person may experience depression or feel that
she's lost a piece of herself. By journeying into the spirit world, the shaman
can retrieve the parts of the person's soul that are in hiding, thus helping the
person to become whole again.
Journeying into the spirit world can also be used to get information about
the questions that we face each day or about serious and confusing situations.
Non-ordinary reality, or the spirit world, is divided into three succinct
areas. The Lower World is where our power animals dwell as well as a variety of
other animal-like guides. The Middle World, which roughly corresponds to our own
plane of reality, can give us information about the workings of our lives. It is
also known as the astral realm. The Upper World is inhabited by human-like
guides and teachers.
A Shamanic State of Consciousness (SSC) can be achieved through a variety of
consciousness-altering techniques, including drumming, chanting, dancing,
rhythmic breath, meditation, and the use of psychotropic drugs. Most shamans in
America use drumming or rattling as their vehicle to enter the SSC. The drum
beat is usually 200-220 beats per minute. At this rate, a measurable brain
function change takes place, and the brain enters a theta state. In addition, a
galvanic skin response, change in hormone secretion, and change in blood
pressure can also be measured.
Anyone can learn how to journey to the spirit realm. It is a safe and
fascinating adventure into the depths of ourselves, into what connects us with
all other beings.
A study group for shamanic journeying meets the third Thursday of the month
in Kenilworth. The study group will explore the basic shamanic journey, as well
as trance posture, power animal journey, and the nature of the Upper, Middle,
and Lower Worlds.
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