Practitioners
Shamanism has been practiced for millenia in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Research by Michael Harner and others has shown great similarity in the practices and traditions between them all. In this post we'll give a little history on shamanism and then outline some different points of what makes a person a shaman.
"While I also believe you can cure yourself, one gigantic lesson I learned in the past few years is that healing is not the same as curing. You can cure without healing, and you can heal without curing. In medical school and residency, most of our training focused on curing. Very little attention was focused on healing. "
How do you know when a shamanic teacher is authentic? How do you know whether this famous author or that well-known person or that unknown (yet fervent) individual has been authentically initiated? This is most important for if there is one thing that spiritual seekers in the transformational community are looking for, it's authenticity, and here, from our experience, are some pointers you might consider.
"Shamanic practitioners can perform some of the classic healing methods that will help people today… but performing shamanic healings for people today, although important, is not enough. For shamans see that illness comes from living a life that is out of balance and disharmonious. One of the greatest gifts that shamanic practitioners can give people is to help them learn how to change their lives so that harmony returns. And we must also help people live a life of honor and respect for nature and the rest of life. In this way harmony and health can return to the planet again…"
"It has always been the role of the shaman to go into an altered state of consciousness and track down where the soul fled to in the alternate realities and return it to the body of the client."
