Shamanism Today
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org,
please feel free to visit the school website)
“Once the spirit awakens us we have less and less power of choice,
but to transform.
The fruit is getting ripe and it will struggle to become
what it is meant to be.
We are to love, serve and be a stabilizing light wherever we find ourselves.
Those who know, know.
To seek and ye shall find is a timeless message.”
—Carol E. Parrish
Recently, the practice of Shamanism has gained power and prestige, and many people are drawn to train for and practice this ancient art. Traditionally, a shaman would receive powers through bloodlines, or be chosen by spirit entities, often unwillingly. Today, many people train to be shamanic practitioners, yet some believe that traditional shamans are much more powerful than one who chooses to pursue the path. Some might make the distinction between a shaman, who would be a master of shamanic flight, journeying, and other shamanic practices, and who would probably have had fairly extensive training by an elder or elders of their tradition, versus a shamanic practitioner, one who practices shamanic journeying, as well as other shamanic practices, but who has not reached a high degree of mastery or done an extensive apprenticeship with a master shaman. At www.shamanlinks.net, this issue is addressed;
“Some have wondered if the experience of shamanic ecstasy or flight makes a person a shaman. Generally speaking, most would say no. A shaman is more than someone with an experience. First, he or she is a trained initiate. Usually years of enculturalization and training under a mentor precede becoming a functioning shaman. Second, a shaman is not just an initiate who has received inner and outer training, but is a master of shamanic journeying and techniques (shamanic ecstasy). This is not a casual acquaintance with such abilities; there is some degree of mastery of them. Finally, a shaman is a link or bridge between this world and the next. This is a sacred trust and a service to the community. Sometimes a community that a shaman serves in is rather small. In other instances it may be an entire nation. A lot of that depends on social and cultural factors.”
In this place and time, the ways that many indigenous people relate to life and the planet, these often sparse but strong threads of wisdom which are still available to the people of this age, are becoming increasingly important to restore balance, health and well-being to the people of the earth. The reemergence of shamanism as a cultural practice is blossoming, and many people are realizing that it will be the shamans who lead humanity back to equilibrium with nature and the planet, as well as with the world of spirit.
At www.folklore.ee/folklore/w/z, in an article entitled Shamanism In A Postmodern Age, Mihaly Hoppal writes about the cultural/technological revolution of the last 150 years, and the impact on life on the planet;
“The concept of modern has been one of the most frequently repeated keywords of the 20th century and consequently had almost magical power. It was imbued with positive content, in part because it was associated with development—mainly technical development—and in part because it meant rejection of the tradition of earlier periods: the repudiation, denial and destruction of tradition of all kinds. The 20th century has often been called the age of revolutions and revolutionary change. But this label hid what was one of the very characteristic features of the process: modernity was always accompanied by destruction. In most cases, transformation meant the destruction of the earlier structures. Parallel with the technical development, the social structures changed, especially in those cases where the transformation was urged or even directed by political and ideological forces. It was perhaps folk culture that was most strongly affected by these changes. In the eyes of the militants of modernity, cultural traditions were the most hated enemy.”
When Malidoma Some talks about a longing for home, he is referring to these ways of life that were banished in the name of “progress.” The new tribal order that he sees as awakening consists of people all over the planet who are realizing that they can cycle back around, bringing the time-tested natural ways back into conscious reality on this planet. People from many places, though isolated by the limitations of modern culture, are awakening to their deeper nature, despite the fact that they don’t have the support and guidance from their culture to embark on this powerful journey of consciousness. People are learning to connect and journey with spirits through new pathways, as well as through pathways which have been preserved by indigenous cultures, and even by people who are outside these cultures, but have studied them. The ancestors don’t discriminate; they will work with and assist whoever can find the pathway to connect with them.
Part of the vital importance of ritual and structure as a support for shamanic awakening, especially within the context of community, is to provide the safety and stability of a predictable environment in which to experience great movement, change, and otherwordly processes. This way, madness and other forms of traumatic response to these experiences are minimized. Indigenous cultures often had (or have) ingenious systems of ritual and process which facilitated the communities ability to live comfortably between the worlds. So the great challenge for the many people who are spontaneously awakening, and connecting with spirit beings or journeying to other realms, is to be able to stabilize and anchor these energies in their everyday experiences, and to be able to integrate in order to be of service to others. In some ways it is much more difficult to become a shaman in these times than it once was, despite the ordeals the initiates once endured. The separation from community and indwelling spiritual knowing is a great ordeal in itself. This is why Malidoma’s focus on teaching community building and weaving connections through ritual are immensely valuable.
That said, there is a great emergence of shamanic awakening happening all over the planet. The basic ritual structures in place in indigenous cultures which guided and defined shamanistic practices are not readily available to all who are experiencing this process. New pathways are being created, new processes are being accessed, to support the more culturally isolated nature of these experiences. Yet the value of the indigenous knowledge is immense, and the coming together of shamans and lightworkers from all realms would be of greatest value to all beings. The time for sharing of knowledge is here and now, and fear of exploitation should not stop the sharing and community building.
There are many who are teaching about shamanism on a large scale, and exposing people to these experiences, facilitating for many the process of awakening. One of the most prominent is Michael Harner, author of “The Way Of The Shaman” (Harper And Row, 1980), and founder of The Institute For Shamanic Studies. Michael coined the term “Core Shamanism,” which describes the practices common to all shamanic cultures, which can easily be removed from cultural context and utilized as techniques for shamans today. Michael teaches workshops on shamanism all over the world, and is highly sought after as a teacher and lecturer. Then there is the already covered Malidoma Some, who, through his organization “Echoes Of The Ancestors,” teaches and lectures and gives workshops and training on Dagara wisdom, and gives much of the profits back to his village of Dano, providing clean drinking water among other means of support to his community. Another well known teacher is don Miguel Ruiz, author of “The Four Agreements,” and teacher of Toltec wisdom, founder of The Sixth Sun Foundation Center For Toltec Wisdom. There are others as well, and for those interested in further study, a list of resources is included.
In conclusion, the ability to access alternate states of consciousness, and to journey to other realities, as well as the ability to connect with unseen beings, is reemerging as people begin to awaken to deeper realities than those which are currently acknowledged by “modern” culture. Creating community and offering support to this process is key to our successful future as a species. To shamans everywhere, we welcome your awakening!
“We know ourselves to be made from this earth
We know this earth to be made from our bodies
For we see ourselves. And we are nature.
We are nature seeing nature. We are nature with a
concept of nature. Nature weeping.
Nature speaking of nature to nature.”
—Susan Griffin, Woman And Nature