Colette’s Halloween Happenings: Shamanism 101
I don’t think I can ever recall anyone I know choosing to be a Shaman for Halloween.
But I do know several Shaman who went to a party as The Three Stooges.
Hey, even the most spiritual of people can have a great sense of humor!
Within my social circle, there’s a shared love and respect for the natural world which is quite profound.
Because of this, we’re always discussing ways and methods to bring us even more in balance with nature.
We’re constantly reading, listening and watching for more information to exchange, understanding the new concepts and precepts we share may turn out to be the very thing that helps the next guy get farther down the path.
As a professional intuitive, I’m grateful that my work allows for me to meet people from all over the world and in all stations in life. I mention this because I’m noticing, across the board, an overwhelming interest in learning how to live in harmony with the natural world, each other and ourselves.
More and more, clients are asking questions about the world around them rather than inquiring about just their particular situation. They are asking me questions about my “process”. How do I tune in to the Universe? Where is the information and how can I gather it?
The big one is, other than praying…and recycling…what can I do to help?
My friends and I make a study of several different types of earth (nature) based belief systems. We don’t practice any one in particular but cull from the material what best suits our personal paradigm.
Shamanism, Paganism and Wicca are three ideologies which come to the forefront of many a dinner party discussion.
Recently, it was unanimously agreed upon that all three dogmas are grossly misunderstood as well as discounted and that we, all, should make a concerted effort to make available accurate information on Shamanism, Paganism (Colette’s Halloween Happenings: Paganism 101) and Wicca (Colette’s Halloween Happenings: Wicca 101).
The theory is much the same as when you were a child and saw spinach for the first time. You may have been incredibly hungry but you absolutely, positively, knew it tasted gross and didn’t like it… even though you had never tried it.
Undoubtedly, some of you still don’t care for spinach but you know where I’m going with this. For others, you, now, after actually tasting it…with a scrunched up nose and all…cannot imagine your life without spinach.
In this post, I’ll concentrate on Shamanism. In future posts I’ll address Paganism and Wicca.
First things first.
When most folks think of a Shaman, they conjure up imaginings of an ancient Native American man dressed in rawhides and a full on feather headdress dancing around a fire and singing in a language they don’t understand.
We can thank the Spaghetti Westerns of the 50’s and 60’s for that.
Of course there are Native American Shaman but the practice is estimated to have originated over 40,000 years ago and the word “Shaman” emanated from Siberia where, in the native language (Tungus), it “refers to a person who makes journeys to a non-ordinary reality in an altered state of consciousness.” (Michael Harner, Ph.D.)
The practice of Shamanism is indigenous to a wide variety of cultures. Central and South America, Korea, Siberia, Intuit, Eskimo and Aborigine are but a few of the cultures with a history of Shamanism.
Shamans serve a diverse set of needs but the one I’m going to focus, for now, is Shamanic Healing.
Not so much in the United States (though it is gaining ground), but in other parts of the world where naturopathy is more the norm, Shamans utilize plants and other natural byproducts for healing.
No big news, right?
Well, remember earlier in the article when I wrote of Shamanism being an nature based practice?
The depth of that connection to nature is intense.
For starters, Shaman “talk” with plants and animals, indeed, with all of nature. By going into an altered state of consciousness, the Shaman connects with the soul of the natural subject and they communicate as “naturally” as you’re reading this article that I wrote.
Sounds fairly “woo-woo” doesn’t it?
It might, until you read some of the thousands of studies wherein respected scientists have been able to log “reactions” from plants based on different stimuli.
The prestigious Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science found evidence that plants sensed…and reacted to…the presence of danger. When leaf-eating grubs were placed in sensory range, the plants studied emitted an odor similar to lavender. That odor alerted other plants who were not in “range” and those plants, in turn, alerted others in a domino-type effect.
For centuries, Shaman have known what hit the scientific community in 1966 when Cleve Backster connected a plant to a polygraph. Cleve, who developed the polygraph program for the CIA, discovered that, just by thinking about harming the plant, it registered on the polygraph. The plant was able to connect with Cleve’s thoughts and reacted, sending out electrical impulses which registered on the polygraph.
That was in 1966. The evidentiary proof we have today, forty years later, is phenomenal and irrefutable.
I’ll be writing more about other components of Shamanism. But, for now, it’s important to know that every living thing has feelings and we are interconnected in ways and depths even I don’t know about yet.
For those of you who want to be more in tune with nature, the next time you’re near a plant, bush or tree…close your eyes…breathe deep…focus…and experience how you feel. What’s the first thing that pops into your mind and heart?
Surprised?
You just got a message from nature.
Happens all the time. Now you’ll be aware.
For those of you who think this is just too woo-woo for you…try doing an experiment of your own. Consistently send loving energy to one plant and ignore another. I will bet you’ll see a difference in a very short amount of time.
Don’t ignore the other plant for long, though.
Everything and everyone needs love.
I found a very extensive site on Shamanism for those of you who want to know more. This site may not cover all traditions and aspects, but it’ll keep you busy.
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I so appreciate this message. Sometimes in our own little bubbles we forget that others don’t understand these practices, particularly at the very basic level…that they need that small ah ha moment to get them moving in the direction.
I will definitely be referencing this blog on some of the websites I have to help people to take those initial steps into this form of living and healing.
[...] I wrote about in “Shamanism 101” and “Paganism 101″, Wicca is a nature based dogma which is grossly misunderstood [...]
[...] “Shamanism 101” and “Wicca” I explain a bit about the two, earth/nature based traditions (I [...]
Great to see more info on Shamanism. I used to think only Shamans had access to the teachings of Shamanism. After Steven Farmer shared some of his wisdom on the subject, it sparked an interest in me, so I searched further. I found a course a couple of hours away from my home in which I could try the practise of journeying. This is where you learn how to go to the non-ordinary reality and meet/talk to plants, animals, insects, rocks, trees and other teachers in human or spirit form. I journey to educate myself about the spirit world and to ask for guidance. It is a wonderful experience, one I treasure having discovered. I am going to further my study in Shamanism and will learn how to heal myself and then others. If anyone is interested in this it can be found at http://www.shamanismcanada.com and http://www.shamanism.org
[...] Halloween and Shamanism [...]
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