Shamanism
Shamanism is best described as a spiritual practice that transcends all levels of faith into a more advanced knowledge of the ancient ancestral memory. Contrary to popular belief, Shamanism isn’t a religion, rather, it is a primal belief that even precedes established religion itself. As a spiritual system, Shamanism is ingrained in the belief of gods, supernatural beings, totems, and symbolism all of which similar features even though they take on various forms.
Shamanism can be found in all cultures all around the world right from the beginning of time itself to this present age. The shamanistic practices are quite adaptable and easy to practice and this is evident in the way the practice has flourished over the years despite the change in culture and government all around the world.
A lot of organized religion, from Christianity to Buddhism stems from Shamanism and if closely inspected, still bears some resemblance to the shamanic belief and practices.
Individual Practice of Shamanism
Shamanism is being studied in this present age as a life path in non-indigenous cultures. According to Shamanism, humans are constantly seeking to have connections with spiritual beings and the spirit world. Human actively seeks out the guidance of the spirit in order to gain more knowledge on how to live their lives.
Of course, this Shamanic ideology is not in any way contradictory to some religious practices that people to have a direct connection with the Superior Being/ Higher power.
Consulting with Shamans
In the present age, humans who are in need of practical solutions to their everyday problem consult with shamanic practitioners who are believed to have a connection that runs deeper than the ordinary with the spirits. The reason people consult shaman ranges from ancestral issues to illness or even professional challenges.
When shamans work, they often go into trances that take their consciousness into the realms of the supernatural worlds. Performing the activities that are required of the shamans in the supernatural world depends largely on their connection with the spiritual beings of the invisible world. Basically, the job of a shaman is to make changes in the invisible world which would in turn solve the required problems which might come in terms of healing, revoking ancestral curses, and several others.
Who are Shamans?
Shamans are magico-religious practitioners who intentionally alter their consciousness in order to enter trances into the spiritual world in order to get information and knowledge from the spirit beings. The Shamans then make use of this information to help people either through healing, breaking of curses, and several other things.
In the world’s history, Shamans are the world’s first performing artists, magicians, healers, storytellers, and much more.
According to Shamanism, all adults are responsible for their personal and communal spiritual energy. However, the Shaman, as a custodian of spiritual knowledge is unique in the sense that they can easily create changes that will in turn make positive impacts among the people and the society as a whole. With this definition, it is obvious that Shamans are quite different from other spiritual practitioners like sorcerers, and mediums. Shamans make changes in the spiritual world in order to heal, while sorcerers do not necessarily heal. Similarly, Shamans actually take actions in the spiritual realm while mediums do not.
Abilities of Shamans
For someone to be a Shaman, they must be able to perform the following actions;
- Serving as an intermediary between the spirit world and the physical world in such a way that would benefit individuals and the community at large.
- Having the ability to reach the spiritual world while still maintaining their presence in the physical realm.
- Being the ultimate spiritual leader of the Shamanic community, Shamans are the ultimate practitioners who can help with spiritual problems that other practitioners ate unable to handle.
In lieu of the above, it is safe to say that a Shaman is the type of spiritual leader who alternates their consciousness in order to enter the spiritual world and make changes that would affect the community.
Benefits of Shamanism to your Health and Wellness
The shamanic approach to healing can be used for any ailments at all. In a shamanic culture, the Shamanic approach to healing is typically one that invokes other aspects of wellness like diet change, herbs and medicine, physical healing, and some other forms of therapy.
In the Western world, however, a lot of people are unfamiliar with the shamanic form of healing. Regardless of this, people who are aware still seek modern shamans for solutions to their problems or simply to expand their consciousness. People often take this step when they don’t get the desired result from western approaches to healing.
Shamanistic Healing
Healing in shamanism can be divided into two different levels. Below are the two levels.
- Precise diagnosis of the natural and supernatural ailments as well as the spiritual energies that are causing this.
- Spiritually performing the rites needed to resolve the problem.
In order to heal in the Shamanistic way, the shaman sometimes has to first remove conflicting energies and spirits that are inappropriately present in the body or atmosphere. A process called “soul recovery” that activate healing by returning lost part of the soul might also be required
In a Shamanistic community where this form of healing is supported and celebrated, an individual that us in need of the healing gets all the time and support that they need in order to complete the healing process. However, in the modern contemporary society, the shaman and the client (who is need of healing) have to produce the resources that are needed for the individual to shift into an alternate state of mind where there will be a change in their internal energies.
It is the responsibility of the Shaman to navigate and control energy in order to bring balance to individuals, the community at large as well as the spiritual realm.