Shamanism

What is Shamanism?
Where to begin? Shamanism is so many things, and to me, it’s everything! Tomes have been written on this topic! And it wouldn’t do shamanism justice to sum it all up in a few sentences. Below are some of the common definitions of shamanism:

- Shamanism is a spiritual path
- Shamanism is an earth religion
- Shamanism a form of animism (a world view in which everything is alive)
- Shamanism is spiritual healing
- Shamanism is natural healing

And while all these statements show at least one facet of shamanism, they are far from expressing it all. On these pages I hope to be able to add information on various aspects of shamanism. It may take me a while to get round to adding all the information I want to publish about shamanism, especially as the website also has other sections such as Yoga, magick, etc. but I am on the job!

My Personal View on Shamanism
For me shamanism truly is a way of life. It is about being in harmony with nature, with Mother Earth. Shamanism is my chosen spiritual path and a way to grow and become whole. Also, shamanism is an incredible tool for transformation. It has helped me a great deal in overcoming the trauma of my childhood and the many other traumatic experiences that followed thereafter, layer upon layer, building upon the original wounding.

Shamanism has helped me to come into my true power and develop my spiritual gifts. When one has seen the down-side of life and experienced great suffering compassion comes easily. From my own suffering was born a burning desire to help others who have suffered and need healing. And shamanism, in my opinion is one of the greatest tools for personal transformation and spiritual growth.

Originally my interest in Shamanism was mainly for healing, but I soon began to see the depths of the disempowerment that was the root cause of my problems, and the problems of my fellow seekers and clients alike. It became clear to me that no complete and lasting healing could take place until the issue of disempowerment was addressed, until all personal power lost through trauma, abuse and other circumstance had been reclaimed.

Though I am experienced in various other forms of healing as well (see more on the About Me page) I find shamanism to be more profound and effective than any other form of healing. Shamanism really gets to the root cause of the dis-ease, which is always some form of separation from Spirit, the result of our lost connection with God/Goddess/All-That-Is.

Shamanism and Holistic Health
In other words, in order to become whole, which is your natural state, you need to be fully empowered! The words healing, whole and (w)holistic all stem from the same root. Shamanism is a form of holistic healing, because in shamanism all aspects of one’s being, spiritual, mental, emotional and physical are considered and addressed. Also, shamanism is holistic because it aims at restoring wholeness. It is logical that as long as parts of yourself are missing, you cannot be whole - nor fully healed. Shamanism is a very effective way to reclaim these missing parts and the power lost, so you become whole and fully empowered again, and can eventually return to Oneness with All-That-Is.

The word “power” has many associations and brings up strong reactions in people. To a shaman power is the natural state, and power is something to be desired. But nowadays, due to the influence of society, power has become a thing to be feared! People fear being under somebody else’s power and control. They fear somebody else may abuse their power to harm them. And they fear their own power because they have been told it may corrupt them. All these false beliefs are nothing but conditioning, by society and mainstream religion - conditioning designed to keep you small, powerless and meek.

When I ask clients or workshop participants why they have come, most will say they need healing. Few will say they want to empower themselves, very few indeed will admit they seek power. And those who do admit to seeking power say so reluctantly, almost as if ashamed. And why is that? We have been conditioned to believe that power is a bad thing – which is very convenient for those who want to keep us down and in the slavish mentality.

Can a Shaman Empower Others?
Yes, absolutely -- but… the power a shaman retrieves for another will not last long unless the recipient of that power makes an effort to keep it. Some people have chronic patterns of disempowerment. They go back to victim patterns soon after a healing session and give power away on many levels. Therefore healing, besides reclaiming power for the client, must also aim at making the client aware of how and when they give power away, so they can choose to act differently from then on.

If the underlying victim identity or their habit of giving power away is not identified and addressed these people soon revert to their old patterns. The result is that they become more and more disempowered, ending up as the typical doormat or victim in the worst case scenario.

Of course, if the client’s power issues aren’t addressed, they are likely to need healing again and again as their problems won’t end. They may become dependent on the healer for help, maybe even emotionally dependent.

For the above reasons I strongly believe that any good healer, any competent shaman should strive to help their clients to empower themselves. You might have heard the saying: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish, and you feed him for life.” And so it is with power as well: the best solution is to help a person to find and maintain their own power.

Why not learn more? On my workshops you will have the opportunity to explore the exciting world of the shaman!