There is nothing to stop you delving into the path of Shamanism from the spirits perspective. They call people onto this ancient path from all over the world, as the shamanic ways were practiced all around the Earth at one point. One of the Spirit Helpers, a Shamanic Grandmother, once spoke through me in the Shamanic Circle I was facilitating and said, “Many thousands of years ago there were no shamans. At that time all human beings were aware of the spirit world and could communicate with beings from different realities. In that sense everyone was a shaman.”
Some current teachers are brave enough to say that shamanism is part of our human heritage and that we can all train to become practitioners of this art, for we are all naturally attuned to it. The difference is that some people are more skilled than others because of experience in past lives or an ancestral heritage. The grandmother also said, “You all have the gene that predisposes you to these ways. However, if your ancestors practiced the chances are that the gene is more active in you, or the ancestral spirits may be seeking you out.”
But this is not enough. Even people who are predisposed to shamanism choose not to walk the path or delve into the psychic arts. The spirits who worked with the ancestors, or the ancestors themselves, may come to the person who carries the predisposition and make their life difficult if they do not wish to train to be a shaman.
In my last travels to the Himalayas I was told of people who became ill and eventually disabled because they refused the ancestral calling. It can be difficult to take on something when you are given no choice. One of my elders was given no option by his family. In my lineage the first born male child is the future shaman. My elder was deeply unhappy, when , at the age of nine, was asked to ground herbs for hours and learn to read the stars to predict the weather, rather than play with the other children.
Choosing to Work Shamanically: Train as a shamanic practitioner
If you are thinking, i would have loved to have been that child, maybe your heart is calling you to the path. In the indigenous traditions it appears that either the spirits choose a person, or there is a family lineage that is passed down. In the west there is a different phenomenon – we can choose to work with the spirits on our own account and seek the shamanic path. We can train as a shamanic practitioner or we can learn the basic principles through shamanic courses.
The spirit Grandmother explained this as well. She said that there is a huge need for people to work in shamanism again, especially in the west. Humanity is sick, not because of a physical illness but due to a deep spiritual dis-ease – a disconnection from our spiritual nature combined with a deeply materialistic outlook and approach to life and the Earth. The Grandmother went so far as to say that all dis-eases that the doctors are trying to treat and the scientists are trying to cure have a spiritual cause.
(This does not mean that we should reject modern medicine or not attend a physician. This would not be wise. It means that together with the marvellous advances in modern science we also need to find ways to appreciate and explore the deeper causes of dis-ease from a more spiritual sense.)
The Grandmother then said because of the need for people to work shamanically, shamans who had a past lives in indigenous societies were now reincarnating in the west. Some bring with them their own spirit team from pervious lives, whilst others have a new spirit team which is more attuned to the place they have incarnated in, and some adopt the spirit team of their teacher.
It seems that never before has there been such a need for shamanic work to support the human tribe to find its way back to health. It is also this disconnection from our spirit that creates the problems we see in the environment, the destruction of the natural world, and the wars and famines. For those of us who have experienced the beauty of a shamanic circle or a shamanic training and have felt the wings of spirit, we can attest to the joy, deep transformation, and sense of connection and community that can take place during shamanic ceremonies.
Stepping onto Shamanism
It may be tempting for the western mind to believe that because we practiced shamanic ways in a past life or we can channel spirits all we need is a book where we can read about shamanism and then start practicing. This is a big mistake. There is a crucial part to shamanism that is well established in ALL traditions. This is the aspect of transmission.
A book may give you information and ignite memories of skills you possessed in a previous life but that are lying dormant in your current life. But this is not a substitute for a teacher who can transmit the knowledge in ceremony, planting the seed of these ways in your body and empowering you to do this work. A good teacher is also only part of the process. The only way you can become a true shamanic artist is to practice regularly and stay in contact with your helping spirits whilst adjusting your life in accord with the unique way the path opens for you.
The more you follow the calling, the more you will be able to work in shamanism and the more you can service the highest good of yourself, your human tribe, the `earth, and all beings.
To join our growing community, visit our home page and join the newsletter mailing list: https://www.theisisschoolofholistichealth.com/
Comments