Shamanism (part 1)
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
“In shamanism everyone is his or her own prophet, getting spiritual revelation directly from the highest sources... The shaman is not trying only or mainly to achieve self-enlightenment. Shamanism is people directly helping others. It is a kind of spiritual activism in which one works with the powers that connect human beings to the incredible power of the universe—a work that involves journeying back and forth between realities."—Michael Harner
Introduction
Throughout time, humans have explored the boundaries of consciousness
and beyond, and journeyed between the worlds of energy and form. Shamanism
describes this practice, and the many forms it takes throughout the cultures
of the world. Though originally a Siberian term describing “one
who knows," in the English language, the term shaman (or shamanic
practitioner) is used to describe a spiritual healer/practitioner who
works with trance states. The shaman journeys through different realms
of consciousness, working with energy on those levels, and returning to
ordinary consciousness with information, energy or power.
Many different methods are used to facilitate the work of the shaman,
some of which include drumming, rattling, chanting, singing, dancing,
fasting, spending time alone in nature, meditating, and dreaming. Shamanism
essentially involves mastering the techniques of dream, vision, and trance
in order to enter into ecstatic states at will. Ecstasy is defined as
reaching an altered state of consciousness in resonance with the energy
of rapture. Through this state of oneness, the shaman connects with spirit
energies, such as those of plants, stones, and animals, as well as ancestral
and other beings, and forms alliances with these energies, sharing information
and “power,” or energy with them.
The power itself can be used in many ways, both positive and negative,
but is most often used for healing, and bringing wholeness and balance
to an individual, family, community, or other entity. The shaman presides
over many different life transitions, such as birth, marriage, coming
of age, and death. The shaman is also consulted in times of illness, famine,
or social unrest. Some of the most common rituals undertaken, aside from
cyclic rituals and blessings, are those to find water, to find plants
with certain healing properties, to find herds of animals (in hunting
cultures), to intercede with the spirits to bring rain for crops, to extract
unwanted spirits or energies from a person, and to retrieve parts or all
of the soul of a person. In any area of the community where there is an
imbalance within the natural order, the shaman is consulted to bring people
into resonance with the unseen world because the cause of disease, famine,
and other misfortunes is considered to be an imbalance in relationship
with the world of spirit.
In his Article at www.ladyoftheflame.co.uk, Robert Lohr gives a good description
of shamans and their role in indigenous cultures;
“All over the world, there are literally thousands of documented
cases of Shamans performing rituals and healing the sick, both the physically
and mentally ill. Most shamans believe that they must have a close connection
with nature because their guardian spirit usually is that of a plant or
animal. Many say the guardian spirit takes the shaman to the other reality
where they are given their needed knowledge and power through a "hole
in the world." The shaman may also seek information to help their
people and village. In various cultures, trances are induced by repetitive
chanting, dancing and drumming. Some cultures also use natural psychedelic
stimulants to actuate trances. The Shamans rely on alliances with spirits
for their magic. They were believed to have the power to foresee the future,
heal the sick and bring success to the hunting or fishing expedition.
The Shaman was also thought to control the weather and affect what it
does. Because of the close contact with spirits they were feared and lived
away from the villages in the forests. The Shaman was responsible for
traditional myths of death, rebirth, the connection between human and
animals, and the connection between the natural and supernatural.”
There are three basic “worlds,” or levels of consciousness
that the shaman explores in trance. These are virtually universal, though
called by different names. They are:
The Lower World: A lower world journey will often involve moving through
a known hole in the earth, such as a tree trunk, tree roots, a spring,
a cave, a burrow, or some other kind of hole in the ground, and emerging
into the lower world. This is the world most familiar to many of the shamanic
practitioners working today. This world should be quite familiar before
one attempts too much in the middle and upper worlds, although one who
has done much personal work previously may be able to work easily in the
other two worlds. The lower world is a place to meet and connect with
power animals and other archetypal spirits who don’t choose to incarnate
in a physical body. It is the realm of the past and the unconscious, the
oceanic realm, and the home of emotions, as well as the origin of healing
earth energy.
The Middle World: The middle world includes the world of form, as well
as a parallel world sometimes called the astral plane. The middle world
contains the thought forms which create physical reality. A journey into
the middle world will often involve seeking answers to questions about
life in ordinary reality. This is the place one might journey to find
a lost person or object, or to find a water or food source. It is associated
with the future, and if one is looking for what the future may hold, this
would be the place to go.
The Upper World: The upper world is the realm of ecstasy, the origin of
rapture, the home of highly refined and purified energies. This is the
home of Buddha, Christ, other ascended masters, angelic beings, and our
higher self. It transcends time and space, and experiences of miraculous
healing and enlightenment originate here. It can be accessed by climbing
a tree, a rainbow, a mountain, or clouds.