what is shamanism?
To be fair, one could talk about this for centuries and one has talked and written about it for millennia. What I can tell you is how I live and practice shamanism. To me, it’s simply the oldest survival and healing technique in the world. It surrenders to no laws except the law of nature and in its nature it always gravitates to restoring balance though connection and right relationship.
The shamanic realm is philosophical, historical, political and medical, if you will. When we really work shamanically, this perspective shapes our inner and outer reality. The essence of this reality is visible in sacred geometry, music, ancient scriptures, mythology, nature and folklore. Shamanism speaks of peace, harmony and devotion to beauty, but at the state where the world is right now, it often speaks of wounding and trauma, because that’s what we have to transform in order to return to peace.
Shamanism is not something that we “imported” from indigenous tribes somewhere else on the planet. Sure, we work with some of these teachings and initiations in the West, because our Druids have been murdered, but essentially we have to rebuild our own shamanic lineages. I devote my service to this, while supporting and connecting to the living lineages that I’ve been initiated into and that I have learned from.
Shamanic practice and healing gets us out of karmic loops and toxic cycles, back into our healed nature so that we may heal the Earth. This type of healing is individual and looks different for everyone but it always leads you back to your soul, vision and purpose. It lets you remember the landscape of your dreams and the parts of your soul that you’ve had to sacrifice in order to find safety and love in the past.
From a point of no sacrifice and wholeness we are able to serve and receive in a more abundant way. We are able to face darkness and beauty in a much more expansive way and we are able to dream a better world into being. Shamanic healing and practice will inevitably make you more of what and who you naturally are - and you are good. In my line of work I see the collective mirrored in the individual and the individual in the collective. I see the myths behind the narratives that we construct and I devote myself to restoring communities naturally rooted in balance, love and compassion instead of scarcity and fear.
Shamanism can be spectacular, involving smoke, feathers and drums, but it doesn’t have to be. It can also be as simple as looking at the compass app in your phone and remembering where the sun rises or using a Unicorn emoji, because that’s one of your spirit guides. The shamanic perspective is in our human nature, and that’s one of the parts that fascinates me most about all this work. I always say: If you want to be a rebel, if you want to hack the system and build a better world, work shamanically. It will ineivitably lead to healing, and healing leads to peace. It’s as simple and wild as that.
