Shamanic Healing
This is Part 2 of an article to introduce shamanism as a spiritual practice. Part 1 of our article, published in the December 2009 issue of CoSozo Living, focused on the history and key concepts of the shamanic journey and the various states of consciousness that are important to understand for this topic. Part 2 of this article focuses on the historic role of the shaman, shamanic healing, and shamanism as an individual spiritual practice.
It is important to note that although the shaman serves an intermediary role, through his/her intention, all healing work is achieved through the connection with the spiritual realm and energies, not by the shaman. The shaman taps into and channels universal life force, or energy, and facilitates the healing rather than performing it, a concept familiar in other spiritual healing methods such as Reiki.
Traditionally shamans served complex and multiple roles in their communities, which over the centuries have included divination, healing, spiritual counseling, and leading ceremonies, among others. In shamanic terms, healing involves restoring balance and energy, including, but not limited to:
- soul retrievals (restoration of our essence and soul energy - ex. post-traumatic stress disorder)
- psycho pomp (helping spirits cross over after death)
- power restoration (addressing depression, bad luck, chronic illness)
- extraction (removal of spiritual blocks in energy; loss of power; localized pain; precursors to, and established serious illnesses)
When we speak of shamanic healing, what we are referring to is the facilitation of a shift in energy which restores balance to the presenting problem or issue. A shaman will journey for a client and seek information and guidance that will accomplish that. In shamanic terms, individuals who are healthy and in balance are filled with spiritual power. Michael Harner refers to this as analogous to “a spiritual immune system.”1 In this state of spiritual power, an individual is more able to maintain their overall well-being. As an individual slips from this state, illnesses, “bad luck”, and less optimal states of wellness may begin. The human being has amazing self-healing abilities both emotionally and physically. However, as we all know, there are times that we become so out of balance that we need external help. Just as we sometimes need an antibiotic or medical care when the body’s self healing capacity is inadequate, shamanic healing may be helpful when our spiritual state is out of balance.
In any discussion of shamanic healing, we must identify a core element of shamanism that is not typically considered in Western approaches to medicine – a focus on the soul. In shamanism, the soul is understood to be our spiritual and personal power. To the shamanic practitioner, traumatic events or even other energies or people can cause us to lose a part of our soul, or power, which can result in physical and emotional maladies. Soul retrieval wherein the shaman journeys to locate the missing part of the soul and retrieve it to restore the individual to full personal power, is a standard practice in shamanism and is unique to this healing method. Extraction is another common healing method, but in this case, energies that diminish or impede the expression of one’s soul are removed.
Another concept important to discuss is that shamanism addresses the spiritual cause of an illness or problem. As Michael Harner writes, “there’s no simple one-to-one concordance between the spiritual illness and the ordinary reality illness. You can’t say, ‘this equals that’.”2
An illustrative example from our practice is insomnia. A woman presented with a long-standing problem of insomnia, for which she had sought cures and relief from many traditional and non-traditional sources with no success. Through shamanic journeying, the practitioner discovered a disruption in energy that occurred in the past, in the nighttime, that caused soul loss. The practitioner retrieved and restored the lost soul energy, and related this to the client, who then remembered experiencing, when quite young, the traumatic death of a sibling, in the middle of the night. This had been forgotten by the client, buried in her subconscious. This awareness, in addition to literally shifting the energy field by restoring lost soul energy is how shamanic healing effectively cleared this trauma. Through this process of soul retrieval, the client began to sleep again normally.
All of our experiences are recorded in our subconscious mind, which is an extraordinarily more powerful neurological processor than the conscious mind. This is why psychological therapeutic methods that involve cognitive processes, and talking, often cannot help deeply rooted problems. Soul retrieval is one method that has been found to be profoundly helpful with such issues, because it bypasses the mind and goes right to the energetic truth of a problem.
This capacity of shamanism to offer healing methods that are not found in other existing modalities underlies the inherent and lasting usefulness of shamanic healing. Shamanism continues to be worldwide in most indigenous cultures, as well as within modern society. Carl Jung, in the 1930s, felt that the West had lost a needed mode of spirituality as represented by such practices as yoga and shamanism, and he foresaw these practices as emerging in the West because the Western psyche had become unbalanced in his view.3
Within the last decade alone, we have seen a tremendous increase in our society regarding the desire for information and involvement in the ancient body/mind/spirit health and wellness practices such as meditation, yoga, Reiki, acupuncture, and others. We also are in the midst of the rise of quantum physics’ studies which are allowing us to finally comprehend and embrace some of the fundamentals of these practices. These events are enabling us to apply our sciences to better understand and validate the principles in the energetic realm on which these healing modalities are founded.
Shamanism as Individual Spiritual Practice
How did some individuals become shamans? Historically, there were many paths to the shamanic calling. Near-death experiences or serious illness served as an initiation for some. Others had a visionary dream announcing their purpose; and yet others inherited the role, or voluntarily apprenticed. However, only those individuals who had the true ability to perform healing and achieve the desired results would be deemed a shaman by the people he or she served. Shamans experienced spiritual initiations and engaged in many years of practice to develop their abilities before serving their communities.
Most contemporary practitioners of shamanism are not living within a tribe or unique culture, and are not in the role of the traditional shaman. They refer to themselves as shamanic practitioners, and engage in healing and journeying practices in their communities. However, it is important to note that an individual can practice shamanism without actually becoming a shaman. Although shamanism is a healing practice, it can also be a transformative personal spiritual practice for interested individuals.
The shamanic journey is accessible to anyone interested. As with all areas of life, some individuals may find it easier and more accessible than others. Through instruction and practice, most individuals can successfully engage in the shamanic journey. If you are interested in learning how to journey, while there are how-to books and instructional material, it is generally recommended to work with a trusted and established practitioner at some point. Through the practice of journeying you may improve your problem solving abilities, enhance creativity, deepen your sense of inner peace, actuate self healing, learn to live in balance and harmony, and deepen your connections to others and to the natural world. Some who engage in this practice may be drawn to pursue the healing practitioner path, but anyone with an interest in journeying, who practices regularly, can personally benefit deeply from this practice.
We know that the mind/body/spirit connection is of vital importance not only in helping us to heal from illness, but beyond that, to truly thrive and live in a state of wellness. Shamanism has ancient wisdom and practical knowledge in how to work with energy. It is no coincidence that shamanism has been, and still is, practiced around the world, as this way of life is as natural as breathing - it is our birth right, fostering the development of our natural physical, psychological, spiritual well-being and health.
Summary
In closing, shamanism is a complex system of spiritual connection, practice, and healing that blends the symbolism and connection with nature and all living beings with the relevancy of the present. At the same time, although shamanism as a practice evolves with experience and time, it is accessible to everyone. You can see why this practice has been used as a spiritual and healing tool for the past 40,000 years!
