Shamanism, an Ancient way of Healing

When I mention shamanism to people I often get some very strange reactions: I have been warned to beware of witchcraft; some shrink away from me , thinking I'm in kahoots with the devil.

Others believe it's some weird cult or religion, maybe even satanism.

And some New Agers who believe they are more spiritual than others, look down their noses on lowly shamans who do nothing but hokus pokus and prey on humanity's superstitions.

I am writing this article in the hope of dispersing some or all of these misconceptions.

Firstly, shamanism is in my opinion not a religion at all, but rather a way of life, a way closely connected with our mother Earth. With it goes the understanding, that we are all one, all connected , and all worth the same : people, animals, plants, minerals and every thing else. No hierarchies here, -- -- not even ascendet masters, even though some spirit guides may certainly be more powerful than others.

This shamanic system became a healing art already in ancient times, in fact many of our modern holistic healing methods were already done by shamans thousands of years ago. In tribal societies all over the world shamans are still the main healers to this day, some even survived in our own culture until very recently : the so-called wise women or spirit healers. They were bedeviled by organized religion and ridiculed by academia, and yet they never gave up. It's only in the last 20 or 30 years that shamans every where started to regain the respect they so truly deserve. Particle Physics proved them right, and Anthropology is starting to take them seriously at last. Even organized religion is reluctantly coming around, -- -- at least occasionally. Some priests and nuns have been known to take courses in shamanic journeying.

Now where is the difference to other healing systems? Shamans (pronounced "shawmans", not "shaymans") know that there are more realities than the one we can hear, feel and see. There is the alternate reality , vast and endless, bigger and probably more important, -- -- and every bit as real as the one we all perceive as "real." Shamans found that many illnesses and other problems have their roots in this alternate reality , and that solutions and answers can be found there. They are able to shift their consciousness into an altered state, which allows them to purposefully journey into this alternate reality and bring back help and information. Needless to say, it is of utmost importance to be well grounded in this, our physical reality for this kind of work ! Otherwise it may become easy to loose track of which reality you're in. It is equally important for the practicing shaman to know his/her spirit helpers and to always keep in close contact with them. It would be foolhardy to journey without their help, guidance and protection. It's a vast territory out there, and people have been known to get lost or attacked and not finding their way back into their bodies. The result may be severe confusion, coma or even death.

This brings up the subject of "soul loss," a condition that can be the cause of illness, and which a shaman can treat successfully. Mostly, to be sure, it's of course not as severe and drastic as the above mentioned kind of soul-loss. But it can still be quite devastating for the person affected . So what is this condition all about?

Whenever we experience a severe trauma , part of our consciousness, -- our essence, -- -- or lets just call it soul -- -- leaves and often doesn't come back. The lost part may not want to come back, thinking the situation has not improved., or sometimes doesn't know how to get back , being stuck somehow somewhere. The worst scenario is when the soul is held prisoner. This could be by a person, by a cult or a non-trusting spiritual leader, in rare cases even by a spirit. If this sounds spooky to you, you are absolutely right. But you'd be surprised how many of us are holding on to the souls of loved ones and won't let go ! This is often out of fear of loosing them, or to have "power over …….". In either case we are usually not consciously aware of it, but it may take some heavy duty bargaining on part of the shaman in the alternate reality, to get the soulthief to let go of the soul. Similarly it can take a lot of convincing to bring back a soul part that doesn't want to come home.

We have all heard of people who have spent years with their Psychiatrist or Psychologist trying to get in touch with their inner child. Well, it takes a shaman only ca 20 minutes to journey out there, find the child and bring it back. Then however it becomes important to get the long lost soulpart integrated. Soulretrieval is only a quick fix if the soulloss was very recent. If for instance I bring back your essence that you lost as a 5 year old, and with it comes the since then lost ability to laugh, chances are that you're not going home giggling! You got back the ability to laugh or cry, love yourself or whatever else it was you lost some 40 or so years ago and learned to live without since. You'll have to relearn, unlearn, kick habits and probably let go of some toxic belief systems along with facing and dealing with unpleasant issues, -- or your soul may just leave again. You might still need your appropriate health professional, unless of course the shaman does this soul-healing also. -- I usually do as much of it as possible.

And how do you know if soul-loss is the cause of your problem(s) ? If you feel depressed all the time, or weak and sickly despite all those good vitamins, if you feel an emptyness inside you, which you are trying to fill with alcohol, drugs, food or obsessions, you may suffer from soul-loss. If you feel somehow disconnected, watching life going by like a movie or behind a screen, or if after surgery or an accident you feel like part of you never came back, -- you are probably right and part of you is still out there somewhere. At any rate, I, your friendly neighborhood shaman, always check with my spirits first, to make sure a soul-retrieval is indeed what's needed. And of course, a person must really want it, or else it's quite useless, -- also unethical. Incidentally, at least 50 % of your soul has to still be with you, otherwise you're in a coma. And yes, soul-retrieval can bring a person out of a coma. This depends of course whether there is brain damage and the extent of it.

The shamanic health picture is one of balance. Too much or too little will throw you out of balance and cause dis-ease. Therefore, if soul-loss imbalances you because something you need is missing, -- intrusions are something you unnecessarily carry around with you and they can cause a lot of pain and make you very sick too. Have you ever suffered from a pain that just wouldn't go away ? You go to the doctor and after numerous tests the verdict is : "Nothing wrong with you, it's all in your head. Go home and learn to live with it!" Well, you may just have an intrusion in your spirit body! Those are usually negative thoughtforms --your own or someone elses-- that have taken on a life of their own and keep hurting you. The shaman shifts consciousness, sees the intrusion and pulls it out. Puts it where ?? I always visualize the nearest large body of water and throw it into it. Then I watch it going under so the water can neutralize and transform it. Otherwise they may just come back to you or go to someone else . And, if you keep up your own "stinking thinking" you'll create new ones all the time, poisoning yourself and others around you.

Is there anything else other than yourself that you might be carrying around ? Unfortunately yes. There are curses and spells,some of them going back several generations! There is indeed the occasional attack with all sorts of black magic, usually sent by ill-motivated amateurs. And there is also sometimes attack and/or outright possession by a discarnate soul. -- -- YIKES !! In such a case the shaman would probably be the only one who can undo the damage. This is VERY dirty stuff!

Shamans can even heal dead people's souls and do soul-retrievals for them too , as well as taking lost and wandering "souls" (a.k.a. ghosts) to wherever they need to go. To be sure, most people don't need any help after death, but some of them just don't know where to go. Others are too attached to things -- or to people -- Or there may even be somebody holding them back , not wanting to let go of a loved one . And then there are the ones that aren't even aware they are dead! That's why it is my firm belief, that a proper funeral is of great importance! This is not only for relatives and friends, but also -- -- and especially-- -- for the deceased. In either case the shaman will take them to wherever it is they need to go. Some of them go straight to the light, others go to relatives or ancestors who will take them from there. If by any chance you are bothered by a ghost in the house, -- -- I can probably help, even long distance.

I have found in my shamanic practice, that no two cases are ever the same, even when at times similarities do occur. Absolutely nothing is cut and dried, and the seemingly same thing may require a totally different approach the next time. Working closely with spirit is essential ! In fact, -- you get very humble doing this awe-inspiring work! Also, the shaman does NOT replace the doctor. The shaman's work starts where the doctor's ends. There is very little if any overlap, since shamans work mainly on the spirit level. I don't call this "hokus pokus," because -- believe it or not : it works !

By Gisela Ko