What is Shamanism?
Michael Harner- "A Shaman is a man or
woman who is deliberately changing his or her state of consciousness to
communicate with an otherwise hidden reality in order to get
informations and knowledge for his or her community."
Tom Cowan- "Shamanism is the intentional effort to develop intimate and
lasting relationships with personal helping spirits by consciously
leaving ordinary reality and journeying into the nonordinary realms of
the spirit world"
Shamanism is a spiritual practice dating back
to prehistoric times. It has been practiced by indigenous people
throughout the world. The practice of shamanism uses drumming, song, and
dance to place a shaman in an altered state of consciousness so that
he/she can communicate with the spirit world and seek aid from the
helping spirits. This is done for purposes of healing, divination, and
self exploration.
The spirits that are worked with in shamanism are those of our spirit
guides, power animals, ancestors, and the spirits of nature and the
land. When a shamanic practitioner calls upon their spirits it is done
as a partnership. The relationship between shamanic practitioner and
spirit is the same as any relationship in life- it is founded on
establishing a bond of friendship, trust, and respect. A shamanic
practitioner is quite simply a liaison between those that reside in
ordinary reality and those that reside in the spirit worlds.
The practice of Shamanism believes that every physical, mental, or
emotional illness has a spiritual illness or imbalance that causes it.
Shamanic practitioners enter non-ordinary reality to work in conjunction
with spirit guides and spirit helpers to remove harmful energy and to
restore a clients personal power and strength. This enables physical,
mental, and emotional healing to start by removing the spiritual illness
at its core.