Path of the Shaman
U0...@wvnvm.wvnet.edu
My name is Mar-Garet and I have written a series on spiritual
"paths." I thought you might be interested in reading my
*Path of the Shaman*. (If you'd like a copy of *Path of
the Sacred Warrior* or *Path of the Sacred Clown*, please
let me know and I'll email it to ya.)
Any and all comments concerning my article would be
appreciated.
And now. . . . . here it is:
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THE PATH OF THE SHAMAN
The Path of the Sacred Warrior heals the Spirit. The Path of the
Sacred Clown heals the Soul. And the Path of the Shaman heals
the Body. The Body? Haven't most of us been conditioned to
believe that the Body is somehow inferior to the Spirit, to the
Soul?
America's Elders--the Native Americans--have always taught that
the Body, our personal connection of substance and spirit, is
sacred. An ancient song of the Salish Women's Society runs:
Who cannot love her Self cannot love anybody.
Who is ashamed of her body is ashamed of all life.
Who finds dirt and filth in her body is lost.
Who cannot respect the gifts given even before birth
Can never respect anything fully.(1)
A Shaman's Path begins with her own Body and involves the
generation, control, storage, channeling, exchange, and release
of energy. Principles recently "discovered" by modern scientists
have been known to Shamans since ancient times, for example:
Entrainment ("If two rhythms are nearly the same and their
sources are in close proximity, they will always lock up, fall
into synchrony.")(2); E=MC2 (the interchangability of energy and
matter); and Wave/Particle Theory (Energy can travel in either
waves or particles). A Shaman perceives her Body as a luminous
cluster, a sacred act, a whirling act of power and beauty.
Exploring her Body, she becomes a specialist in vibration,
harmony, and balance. Curious to bridge other dimensions, her
awareness reaches out like a lightning rod. When that awareness
is illuminated, her own Body grounds the energy and releases it
into the Earth so that it does no harm.
Some scientific principles have not yet caught up with
shamanistic knowledge, for instances, the principle of Gravity.
A modern-day Shaman puts it this way, "The earth is calling to
you. It has something for you. This great creature upon which
we live wishes to give you its energy to empower your life.
Westerners shun this gift. They call it GRAVITY and think it's a
force that wants to pull us down to the center of the earth.
Instead, be like a tree, sinking roots down into the earth's
magnetism. Reach out with your branches and leaves for light and
air from above!"(3) The image of a tree is a great model for
Shamans. A Tree is a very efficient energy-being. It uses every
bit of energy and wastes none. The wood of a tree is a conductor
of energy from both below and above; and as such, is often used
by the Shaman to conduct her awareness upon journeys of
discovery. A drum, made from hide stretched over wood, becomes
"the shaman's steed." Gourds, rattles, and other rhythmic
devices can also be used as energy conductors. The Shaman tunes
into the rhythm and rides it to other worlds! Then the rhythm
brings the Shaman back to this, her beloved Earth. "Like a
living tree, the shaman is rooted deep within the earth, reaching
and growing into spirit."(4)
Shamans heal themselves (and serve as a healing catalyst for
others) in three main ways:
1. Removing blockages in the energy flow;
2. Balancing and centering; and
3. Attunement and harmony.
Shamans are described as having keen intelligence, a perfectly
supple body, and an energy that appears unbounded. Their memory
and self-control are above average; and their bright eyes reveal
a shy cunning. Often, their inner power advances with their age;
and they display great strength, flexibility, and stamina
throughout their elder years. As Old Ones (a term used with
utmost respect by Native Americans), they can perform amazing
acts of balance and agility. Often, they are splendid artists
(especially abstract/mystical art), musicians, dancers, poets,
singers, craftswomen who use their art to bring the spirit to
earth. All these qualities proceed from years, even lifetimes,
of suffering, sacrifice, and impeccable effort.
"As shamans, the women in many tribes perform in all ways
that male shamans are known to. They perform healings,
hunting ceremonies, vision quests and the guidance for
them, acts of psychokinesis, teleportation, weather
direction, and more. In the various tribes according to
each one's custom, the shaman also creates certain
artifacts--clothing, baskets, ornaments, objects to be worn
in pouches or under skirts or sewed into belts. She
officiates at burials, births, child naming and welcoming
into this world, menstrual and pregnancy rituals and rites,
psychic communication, manipulation of animals,
metamorphoses or transformations. She does much of this
through dancing and chanting, and a large part of the
method, symbols, significances, and effects of her shamanic
efforts are recorded in the stories she tells, the songs
she sings, and the knowledge she possesses. Much of this
knowledge she transmits to others in ways that will be of
use to them, and much of it she keeps to herself, teaches in
formal settings to her apprentices, or shares with other
shamans."(5)
Acquiring shamanic power involves a kind of death/rebirth
experience. It involves letting go of the self, eliminating
habits that make up the personality, dispensing with the "self-
dialogue," getting out of the way and letting the universe do the
talking. When the Shaman traditionally dies to herself, she is
born into the larger community of the Tribe of the Cosmos as a
representative of Earth. "Essentially, a woman's spiritual way
is dependent on the kind of power she possesses, the kind of
Spirit to whom she is attached, and the tribe to which she
belongs. She is required to follow the lead of the Spirits and
to carry out the tasks assigned her. Native American stories
point to a serious event that results in the death of the
protagonist, her visit to the Spirit realm from which she finally
returns, transformed and powerful. After such events, she no
longer belongs to her tribe or her family, but to the Spirit
teacher who instructed her. This makes her seem 'strange' to
many of her folk."(6)
Seeking the Body's wisdom, a Shaman continually centers herself
in her womb, her belly, or her solar plexus, NOT in her head.
The lower center brings her to a better foundation from which to
move. It also anchors her runaway thought processes and brings
her to an attunement with the Body of the Earth. In order to use
her own energy efficiently, the Shaman must become flexible,
fluid. To do this, she must confront the blockages of fear
stored in the Body. Her task is to melt the blocks of fear with
the energy that she generates; indeed, the word "Shaman"
literally means "to heat oneself."(7) As the rigid form is
consumed, the flowing form is released; this is the meaning of
transformation. It is a return to the liberating simplicity akin
to the primal nature of wild animals, young children, and our
earliest Earth-ancestresses. Freedom comes from letting go and
learning to trust in one's Body to find its own vibration,
balance and harmony.
"I find myself happier and happier as I get older. I am
simply freer of conditions. This entails making voluntary
sacrifices. Sacrifice comes from the words 'to make
sacred.' My shamanic life is a whole life of making
sacred, seeing everything as sacred. . .Even garbage is
sacred."(8)
The initiation of a Shaman is no easy affair. However, as one
budding Shaman was told, "The most beautiful jewel is tempered in
the hottest fire and dipped in the coldest water."(9)
"Power is strength and the ability to see yourself through
your own eyes and not the eyes of another. If a person has
power, as women do, and she doesn't use it, power will sit
within her and have no place to focus. It is then that
power becomes twisted and evil. It can turn against the
person who has called it. If a person backs away from her
power (for example), she will develop back problems and all
sorts of physical ailments."(10)
A person may be a potential Shaman if conditions such as these
exist in her life: Her birth is peculiar, special in some way.
Perhaps it is difficult, even traumatic. As a child, she
experiences some element in her life that sets her apart from
other children. She may simply be left to herself, or there may
be disabilities and restrictive situations. She feels somehow
different than the norm. Sometimes there are long illnesses,
fevers, seizures, even brushes with death. Because of this
isolation, or simply because she is gifted, she comes in touch
with a subtle world that is foreign to most of her peers, and her
psychic talents flourish. Importantly, she also misses out on
vital portions of the acculturation process, leaving her to feel
that she doesn't quite fit in.
At a certain point, the psychic energy peaks almost unbearably.
If met with hostility or abuse (as usually happens in a world
that lacks understanding), the potential Shaman may turn the
energy in on herself, or outwards, becoming hostile and abusive
to others. Some conditions such as Multiple Personalities,
Mental Retardation, Dyslexia, Sexual Disorientation,
Hallucinations, Hebephrenia, Schizophrenia, and Delusions can be
the result of this "twisting" of the psychic flow. Sociopathic
or psychopathic behavior, addictions, behaving in a such manner
that one is literally "crossed-off" by society--all these can
become the path that leads to the shamanic initiatory crisis.
This is not to say that an initiate cannot receive help. If she
is sincere in her desire for healing, she will find the proper
catalysts and midwives for birthing the Shaman in herself. In
the ancient tribal ways, she could find an experienced Shaman in
her own community to explain what was happening to her, and ease
her way a bit. This older, wiser one would give her exercises
that would train her to control the degree and timing of "opening
the flower of her awareness."(11) These might include
instructions in meditation, lucid dreaming, self-hypnosis and
visualization, recognizing energy fields, practices with sound
and color, ritual-making, sand-painting, crafts of various kinds,
trance-dancing, etc. She would also be taught how to protect
herself from unwanted psychic and physical intrusions.
Techniques such as purifying, blessing, boundary-making, shield-
making, and acquiring guardian allies would be part of such
instruction. Grounding techniques would be stressed as the
initiate worked with plant, animal, and rock medicine.
In modern times, however, the help may come from strange
directions, indeed. For example, the contemporary Plains Indian
Shaman, Tayja Wiger, was born into an extremely hostile, abusive
urban environment with no exposure to tribal ways. Society
called her blind, crippled, retarded, insane and delinquent. She
was institutionalized in reform schools and mental institutions.
All this time, she prayed for healing. The psychiatrists didn't
understand her Shamanic tradition (which she often expressed
subconsciously), but they did help her to find the time, space
and resources that she needed for her to be able to heal herself.
Her intense focus on self-healing propelled her through the dark
tunnel of fear and anger to a place where she could let go, in
love, trusting the Universe. Now, she is sighted, physically
sound, intelligent, sane and working as a Shaman; "healer,
ordained minister, counselor and laughing friend of the
Light."(12) Her story is an inspiration to us all!
Tribal people believe that becoming a Shaman is a matter of
destiny; and that if a destined person resists becoming a Shaman,
she will become more and more immeshed in her own problems. The
story of Sky Woman, a Shaman of the Ojibway Tribe, illustrates
how a womon who courageously responded to a crisis embraced her
own shamanic destiny. Born into a family that was disturbed by
violent parental disagreements, Sky Woman fled from this chaotic
situation at 9 years of age and wandered in the northern woods
for a long time until a search party found her. Among her
rescuers was an old womon who loved her and took care of her, and
became her adopted grandmother. They lived together happily for
many years until one day, the Grandmother got very sick. Sky
Woman was afraid. While she took care of her Grandmother and
watched over her, Sky Woman fell asleep and had a dream. She
dreamed someone gave her a rattle and other things Shamans use
when they heal, and said to her, "Try this on your grandmother.
She might get better." When she awoke, Sky Woman made a little
rattle and started to do the things the dream showed her. When
she finished, the old womon seemed brighter. Sky woman kept on
with her work until her grandmother was up and around. Then,
other people heard about her and came to her for help. She
became a travelling healer.(13)
Following her inner guidance, Sky Woman later remembered that in
her youthful wanderings, she had been guided and instructed by
her Guardian Spirits for her life's work. Her loving compassion
for her Grandmother was what catalyzed her own transformation.
Her Spirits guided her but SHE CHOSE OF HER OWN FREE WILL to
follow them.
Modern-day Shamans have learned from the mistakes that Shamans of
the past have made. Keeping what works, they've thrown the rest
away. They have let go of arrogance and embraced simplicity.
They are not afraid to frolic and have fun. They have made a
commitment to serve the life-force; they draw strength and unity
from that commitment.
It has been said that the first Shaman was Grandmother Fire. She
is the true ancestress of all Shamans. It also has been said
that the first Shaman invented sex. The Shaman is self-erotic,
in love with her own Body and with the Body of Earth. She heats
herself, burning off the dross, centering herself in her own
luminosity. She radiates well-being and self-confidence. Her
leadership emerges out of a passion for life and is sustained by
balance. The Shaman's heat is a centerfire around which a
community naturally gathers. Her heat is engendering; and her
own gender can hold and transcend the tension of opposites,
giving her the ability to operate with success in whatever world
she finds herself. Just by being, a Shaman gives comfort by
proving that change is possible.
Healers state that it is love that heals, yet it is so
difficult for many to release the fear and anger that
lodge in the subconscious mind in order to be able to
ACCEPT that love. Now it is time for all of us to
cleanse our lives, then turn ourselves inside out for
all to share.(14)
Love is a word for transformation. And there are many
beings worthy of our love. It does not have to be a man
you seek. When you say, 'I love you,' you are saying, 'I
transform you.' But since you alone can transform no
one, what you are really saying is, 'I transform myself
and my vision.' I am always living in the lodge of love
and I share it with you.(15)
BY: Mar-Garet Andreas
NOTES:
1. *Daughters of Copper Woman* by Anne Cameron, 1981, Press
Gang Publishers, Vancouver, BC, p. 62.
2. *Planet Drum* by Mickey Hart and Frederic Lieberman, 1991,
HarperCollins Publishers, NY, p. 17.
3. *Movements of Magic* by Bob Klein, 1984, Newcastle
Publishing, CA, Pg. 8.
4. *In the Shadow of the Shaman* by Amber Wolfe, 1989, Llewellyn
Publications, St. Paul, MN, p. xiii.
5. *The Sacred Hoop* by Paula Gunn Allen, 1986, Beacon Press,
Boston, MS, p. 207-8.
6. Ibid., p. 257.
7. *Shamanic Voices* by Joan Halifax, 1979, E.P. Dutton, N.Y.,
p.3.
8. Ruth Inge-Heinze, in *Shapeshifters: Shamanic Women in
Contemporary Society*, 1987, Viking Penguin Inc., N.Y., p.
62.
9. Leilah Tiesh in *Shapeshifters*, p. 36.
10. Agnes Whistling Elk in *Flight of the Seventh Moon* by Lynn
V. Andrews, 1984, Harper & Row, San Francisco, p. 130-131.
11. Channeled from my Spirit Teacher, "Butterfly Woman."
12. *Birth of a Modern Shaman* by Cynthia Bend and Tayja Wiger,
1987, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN, p. 8.
13. *The Shaman: Patterns of Siberian and Ojibway Healing* by
John A. Grim, 1983, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK,
p. 121-125.
14. Bend and Wiger, p. 6.
15. Agnes Whistling Elk, in *Flight of the Seventh Moon*, p. 156.