(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
Shaman, medicine man, conjurer, witch doctor, shape shifter, bruja, priest, priestess, wizard, witch, or, simply village healer; these ones have been known by many names, and have been around throughout history all over the world. These ones held many roles in the community, such as mediator, spiritual advisor, and storyteller, yet underlying all these roles was the role of initiator into other worlds, often with the help of powerful meditation practices. In this way, the Wise One, through journeying and self-realization, could create a map, and be a guide, to the inner realms for the people of the community.
The Shaman often used trance-inducing drumming to "journey" to the
upper and lower worlds. Another Shamanic method of inducing an altered
state of awareness is the use of hallucinogenic plants, called "power
plants,” "medicine,” or "plant allies." These substances suppress
certain parts of the brain in order to allow altered perception, and
highlight the functions of areas of the brain connected to the higher
mind. The Shaman also used methods of asceticism similar to the yogis
of the East, such as fasting, meditating, staying awake for extended
periods of time, and spending periods of the time in isolation. One of
the more barbaric forms of ritual involved blood sacrifice. The Shaman
would sacrifice an animal and drink its blood in order to "ride the
energy of the blood to the other side." These and other meditation and
ritual forms were used by the Shaman in order to "journey" to other
worlds where the soul can roam.
In The Way Of The Shaman (1990), Michael Harner tells
us, "Archeological and ethnological evidence suggests that shamanic
methods are at least twenty or thirty thousand years old. Quite
possibly, the methods have much greater antiquity, for, after all,
primates that could be called human have been on the planet for more
than two or three million years." The word shaman is a Siberian word,
yet shamanic practices can be found in primitive cultures all over the
world. Indigenous cultures separated by continents and oceans share
very similar, in some cases identical, shamanic practices. It is
possible that meditation originated with the shaman. These were the
wise ones, the ones who found a doorway, and stepped through to the
inner realms.
Many Native Americans experience God as Great Spirit. Great Spirit is a divine being neither male nor female, whom these Native people meditate on and pray to daily, throughout all their activities. The following is an excerpt from the book The Best Guide to Meditation (1998). Victor N. Davich gives anexample of a meditation on, or prayer to, Great Spirit:
Grandfather, Great Spirit you have been always and before you no one
has been. There is no other one to pray to but you. With you,
everything that you see, everything has been made by you. The star
nations all over the universe you have finished. The day, and in that
day, everything you have finished. Grandfather, Great Spirit, lean
close to the earth that you may hear the voice I send. You towards
where the sun goes down, behold me! Thunder beings, behold me! You
where the White Giant lives in power, behold me! You where the sun
shines continually, whence comes the daybreak star and the day, behold
me! You where the summer lives, behold me! You in the depths of the
heavens, an Eagle of power, behold me! And you, Mother Earth, the only
mother, you who have shown mercy to your children! Hear me, four
quarters of the world―a relative I am! Give me the strength to walk the
soft earth, a relative to all that is! Give me the eyes to see and the
strength to understand, that I may be like you. With your power only
can I face the winds.
Great
Spirit, Great Spirit, my Grandfather, all over the earth the faces of
living things are all alike. With tenderness have these come up out of
the ground. Look upon the faces of children without number and with
children in their arms, that they may face the winds and walk the good
road to the day of quiet. This is my prayer; hear me! The voice I have
sent it is weak, yet with earnestness I have sent it. Hear me!
This prayer is an example of the way many of the Native American
peoples view their world. This prayer is a form of meditation, among
others. Some other ways Native American people meditate besides prayer
are:
Pipe Ceremony: Ritual tool given to the people by White Buffalo Calf Woman, symbolizing the spirit and earth joining. It is also symbolic of the male/ female joining, and the human body as the center point of earth and spirit.
Singing: Singing devotional songs, songs celebrating nature, songs to prepare for war, birth, and just about anything in their world, are important parts of the spiritual practice of many Native American tribes.
Ritual dances: Many Native American tribes also created ritual dances to raise energy and access altered states in preparation for, or in celebration of, certain events. Some examples of these are the Sundance, the Long Dance, the Ghost Dance, and the War Dance.
Teaching stories: Common to cultures with oral traditions, the teaching stories of Native American people are filled with metaphors, containing within them their ancient teachings, passed down through the stories, and containing many layers of wisdom. From a very young age, these teachings were given to the people, and contain the understanding of how live in harmony with creation.
Sweat Lodge: Some tribes practice Sweat Lodge Ceremony, a ritual in which a small enclosed area is created, and hot stones, carried in from a ritual fire, are placed in a pit in the center of the space. Water is poured on the stones to create steam, and people sit inside the space praying, drumming, and singing, in order to purify themselves.
Use of medicine plants: Certain plants were used to create altered states in order to connect with "Great Spirit" or "The Creator."
Meditation on the natural world: Most native people of this country viewed themselves as part of nature, seeing less separation than is common in the current dominant culture. There was an intimacy with the natural world, with the plants, animals, insects, as well as with the elements of earth, water, fire, and air. The people saw themselves as not-separate from these things. Alliances and connections were made with the spirits of nature, through meditation and a deep understanding of Oneness. People often had specific "medicine" animals and plants, beings who would become allies, helpers, and teachers.
The many different tribes of Native American people have distinct cultures, as well as differing rituals and meditation. The above list is only a fraction of the sacred practices of Native American people.
Meditation has been practiced since before recorded history began. All culturally intact indigenous people use some form of meditation. As humans have always longed for connection with the divine, all traditional people have intuitively known that through silence, looking inward, using mantras, studying dreams, chanting or contemplation, a doorway opens to connect one with the creator. In the following section, we will explore a cross section of some of the many different spiritual practices worldwide which relate to meditation. This study in no way represents all the information on this subject, but is meant to give you a taste of how the practice of meditation underlies the application of many spiritual practices.