Spiritual Healing
Healing Through Shamanism
by Rebecca Fitzgibbon
Shamanism is a healing tradition that has existed since the beginning of time. A shaman can be defined as a man or woman who can travel between alternative states of consciousness at will, travelling in spirit or mind between this world and otherworlds, in order to find healing, knowledge, wisdom, guidance and help. Shamans have traditionally filled the role of priest, magician, metaphysician and healer. Healing and guidance are the shamans major purposes, whether for themselves or someone else in the community.
Shamans use various methods to heal the body such as herbalism used by the Yaqui Indians, chants used by Hopi Indians, sand mandalas used by Navajo Indians and trance-inducing dance used by Yoruban Africans. Healing of the spirit usually involves more esoteric healing, such as guided meditation and imagery.
Knowledge sought through shamanism can be gained through vision quests as performed by Lakota Indians and Aranda Aborigines2, and initiation ceremonies as performed by Australian Aborigines. Some shamans also use psychotropic herbs, plants and cacti, including the Mescalero Apache and Huichol Indians. Wisdom-seeking is an integral aspect of shamanism, whereby the individual may look to spirit or totem animals for guidance through journeying. With such powerful inspiration, shamans perform services such as divination, elemental manipulation, soul retrieval and guiding souls after death. Spirit guidance is also represented in the form of wise women/men, ancestors, spirit teachers, spirit healers, power animals, nature spirits, patron gods/goddesses and angels.
Shamans, curanderos and sangomas
The term shaman comes from the steppes of Siberia, China, Mongolia and the circumpolar region of the Northern Hemisphere, where shamanism has been an integral part of culture since prehistoric times. The shamans of Siberia survive among the Buryat, Yakut, Ostyak and Vogul people, with their own specific names for the role across dialects. Robert Lawlor3 writes of the cross-cultural phenomenon of shamanism: The plunge into the deep unconscious is comparable to the metaphor used in many shamanistic cultures. The shaman enters the creative pre-formative realm and returns with revelations about the recurring seasons of new life, growth, and fertility. Striking similarities present themselves in the visionary journeys of shamans around the world.
In Native American traditions, the shaman still holds spiritual power among his/her people. From Tlingit ceremonials to Yakut healing, the shamans main purpose is to initiate and maintain the health of his/her tribe. In Navajo culture the shaman is known as Hatali, while in Inuit shamanism it is the Angaqoq, in Cree the Heyoka (medicine woman), and in Central and South American Indian lore its the Nagual or Curandero/a. Through Eastern religions the shaman still thrives; for example, in Pakistan is the Bhitan, and in Hindu faith its the Bhopa. In Nepalese Buddhism its the Dhani, while in Tibetan areas its the Llapo, or oracular seer. Further to the east is the Chinese or Zhuang native tradition of Gongsai or Jinpo, who may be male or female. The Saami (Lapp) people have the Nonide, while the Korean female shaman is known as Mudang. In Africa, the Zulu Sangoma survives and across into Wales is the Welsh Awenydd or Celtic shamanic inspired one.
Traditional shamanism
Generally, in traditional shamanism, only chosen ones, or those shamanically called can become shamans. Native American Shaman Sun Bear, founder and Medicine Chief of the Bear Tribe Medicine Society, is one example of traditional shamanism meeting the mainstream non-traditional culture. Of Ojibwa descent, Sun Bear was born in 1929 and raised on the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota. Studying with both native and non-native teachers, he began having shamanic visions at an early age, portending his path as a teacher. Sun Bears bridging between traditional and non-traditional shamanism was made possible by his reputed acknowledgement that the long neglected wisdom of indigenous people [has] much to teach the technological-oriented civilization that is threatening the very existence of life on this planet.
The term core shamanism, coined by Michael Harner, founder of The Foundation for Shamanic Studies (FSS), expresses contemporary and often eclectic, non-traditional adaptation of shamanic methods by non-traditional people. In core shamanism each individual is believed to be capable of becoming a shaman. The Foundation for Shamanic Studies states a threefold mission to study, teach and preserve shamanism through providing training in core shamanism across the world. Harners books, The Way of the Shaman and Hallucinogens and Shamanism, have become contemporary classics for self-education in shamanism and shamanising through journeywork.
Core shamanism relates closely to the movement of neo-shamanism, which grew out of a concern for the environment and popular anthropology, combined with a desire for non-institutionalised forms of religion and spirituality. The term neo-shamanism was coined by Piers Vitebsky, an anthropologist and head of the Scott Polar Research Institute, England. Both core and neo-shamanism seek to identify and make available to a wider contemporary audience the techniques of shamanising, especially spirit journeying with drums, rattles and trance-inducing chanting.
Many aspects of core and neo-shamanism relate closely to elements of wicca, witchcraft and neo-pagan magic. Starhawk, author of The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess, which is considered the essential text for the neo-pagan movement, describes magic as the ability to transform consciousness at will and in this expression we see the similarity between shamanism and witchcraft. Starhawk introduced the reclaiming4 practice, also known as magical activism, the aim of which is to aid the healing and defence of environmental and humanitarian causes.
Author Lynn V Andrews is a non-traditional shaman of European American descent, practising and inspiring readers and modern urban shamans across the world. Andrews Medicine Woman series of shamanic visionary fiction reached bestseller status on publication in 1981, being likened to other visionary writers such as shamanic author and anthropologist Carlos Castaneda. Lynn Andrews books are semi-fiction chronicles of her journeys and adventures into spirit realms with Manitoban Cree Indians and Guatemalan Native American shamans, as well as Australian Aboriginal medicine workers, or spirit beings. Making shamanic empowerment applicable to modern culture is a major concern for Andrews, as is illustrated in her book Love and Power.
Medicine allies
Shamans across cultures adopt various herbs and cacti as tools for shamanising and shamanic journeying. The brew of ayahuasca, commonly called yage or yaje, has been utilised for shamanic ritual and journeying for millennia. Among the Native South Americans of Colombia, the Jivaro Indians of Ecuador and the Amahuaca Indians of Peru and Brazil, the potentially psychosis- or death-inducing hallucinogenic plant is not taken lightly, but only after spiritual training and ceremonial guidance. The Inca Indian term for ayahuasca comes from the root words in Quechuan Aya, spirit and huasca, vine/rope. Hence, its known as the Vine of the Dead or Vine of the Souls and used for travelling to the underworld or spirit realm.
The Peyote cactus, Lophophorus Williamsii, has been the issue of much political battle in the southwest of the United States, with Huichol Indians and shamans, Native American church members and the Peyote Foundation legally defending their rights to use, possess and ingest the cactus in a sacred manner. Hallucinogenic mushrooms have become one of the most publicised of shamanic psychedelic tools, along with datura, San Pedro cactus, mescalito and the venom of the Sonoran desert toad.
Shamanic self-empowerment
The most significant aspect of shamanism is the self-empowerment of the journey, both inward and outward, as well as in the spirit world. Kenneth Meadows, author of the shamanic workbook Where Eagles Fly: A Shamanic Way to Personal Fulfillment, defines Shamanics as a personal development process incorporating the essence of universal shamanism, A way of ... knowledge that is motivated by spirit enabling individuals to relate to Nature and come into harmony with totality of their own being and find meaning, purpose and fulfillment in their own lives. In this sentiment we hear the echoes of self-help, self-discipline, self-empowerment and self-healing. This is the most expansive, applicable empowerment of individual shamanising in contemporary spirituality. The path of shamanising is a voyage to the depths of reality and beyond through what is perceived as real and what is yet to become..
Evan Slawson is the co-author of “Sanctuary: The Path to Consciousness” (Hay House) and co-founder with Stephen Lewis of the revolutionary ‘AIM Program’, an energetic balancing technology assisting thousands to heal themselves and awaken to their true nature. With a background in drama, feng shui, yoga and computer science, Evan uses a whole spectrum of communication talents to deliver a message that is empowering, innovative and entertaining. Visit energeticmatrix.com for more information.
