What is Shamanism?
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Shamanists, similar to animists, believe everything has a spirit. The stones, a chair, plants, medications, building, crystals – and these spirits can be communicated with. Their energies may also bring balance to another area or person, and reciprocal helping relationships can be created between yourself and these spirits.
Shamanism is a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit world, often this is facilitated with the aid of a percussive instrumental beat that encourages the brain to enter deeply meditative states. A generalization of shamanic healing is to remove what doesn't belong energetically or spiritually and returning what does belong, and that the spiritual realm has a direct affect on our day to day living realm and vice versa. The word ‘Shaman’ is a commonly recognized, yet appropriated term from Siberia for a specific type of medicine person. One who believes that wellness is interrelated with the spirit realm. Similarly, "Bean Feasa" is a Celtic term for Wise Woman of similar ilk, Curandero in Peru, Sangoma in Africa, and so on. They may or may not use various healing techniques such as herbs, bone setting, energy healing, and communing with spirits of the natural world around them, deities, or archetypes. Generally their attention extends beyond the wellness of the single person at hand, out to entire families, tribes, communities, the land around them, the animals – all these areas need harmony in the spirit realm to flourish in the physical realm. |
photo credit: Gagun Ghuman
Deep Peace |
