What is Shamanism
The word “shamanism” originates from the nomadic tribal people of Siberia. The word “shaman” means “to know.” A Shaman in that culture is a medicine man or woman who might perform healing both by physical means, (herbs, massage, etc..) and by spiritual means. Our modern-day culture has adopted this word to describe techniques whereby the practitioner travels between the worlds of spirit and of form for healing, and to gain an understanding of the nature of reality. People who are shamanic practitioners believe that the world of spirit interpenetrates our third-dimensional reality, affecting all aspects of physical reality. By mediating between the realm of spirit, and the realm of form, profound changes can be made that can effect not only our consciousness but the quality of our lives within the context of physical reality.
Tantric Shamanism activates our ability to move between the worlds of spirit and form in order to expand and liberate our consciousness, bringing us closer to a state of Divinity.
Emergent from the same roots, Tantra is at heart a shamanic practice. In both systems, the practitioner learns to access and embody unseen worlds of energy and spirit: duality is transcended through the union energy and consciousness, or matter and spirit.
Shamans, noticing nature’s patterns, drew maps to show how energy flows in the universe, often in the form of medicine wheels. Using the 4 directions of the medicine wheel (and the center), the shamanic shields teach us about stages of life from childhood through to the wisdom of the elders.
Each shield also represents an initiation, the entire journey through the shields encapsulating shamanic teachings about the journey to enlightenment.
The shamanic shields offer a wonderful diagnostic tool for practitioners as they expose lessons about where we are in our journey, thus helping identify appropriate practices. Put quite simply there is a time on our journey for catharsis, a time to dance and a time to sit still – and the shamanic shields can help show us what is needed and when. But this teaching does not suggest that we progress neatly from one to the next leaving each behind as we do so. Throughout our path, we may continue to deepen the lessons of all shields simultaneously.
Understanding which shield we are attached to, which needs healing, which we are avoiding, can really direct our choice of practices. And as we deepen the lessons of each shield, then we can really learn to dance with the energy of them all, so that no one shield is resisted or felt to be more desirable than the other.
Most energy healers will use life energy that is associated with one particular culture or tradition and may include the use of the healing energy of Chi, Reiki, and Shakti to mention a few. These energies are harvested by energy healers and will either increase the quantity or flow of energy in the patient or perhaps redistribute the energy flow
more evenly through the patient’s body by a medium, or Shaman to produce natural healing energy to treat the whole person - mind, body effectedSpirituality is a system of beliefs or religious practices based on communication with the spirit world through mediums. Spiritual Healing is a form of Native American medicine that uses help and guidance from the spirit world in traditional rituals and spirit. It can also be referred to as Shamanic Healing.
The knowledge of spiritual healing is what Native Americans mean when referring to “medicine” or “mystery.”
