For the last 20 or so years I have visited a Shaman.
What is a “Shaman” you ask? Well, here is how the dictionary defines a shaman “A shaman is a tribal healer who can act as a medium between the visible world and the spirit world.” Or this, “a person in some religions and societies who is believed to be able to contact good and evil spirits and cure people of illnesses.”
Shamanism and the “medium”, energy crafter or practitioner called the Shaman, packs a much greater punch than you would gather from the definition alone. A Shaman, practicing the art of Shamanism does transmit and influence energy in a way that offers them access to different realms. By gaining access to these realms, they are able to extend emotional, physical and spiritual healing, protection and guidance. I know what you are thinking that this sounds far-fetched and contrived, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Let me explain.
For 20 or so years I have visited my shaman when personal, family, friend or work situations arise that begin to spiral out of control, despite my best efforts to rein them in. A few years ago, I was having issues with my father. These issues have been reoccurring patterns in our relationship, and in the relationship he shares with my wife and kids. So, I went to go see my Shaman. My Shaman, whose name is Dr. Bill, has studied as a Shaman and mentored under his Shaman in Peru for as long as I have known him. His Shaman practice and tutelage has taken him to many different cities and countries within South and Central America over the years.
The process of becoming a Shaman is a lifetime one that requires a commitment to helping heal and protect humanity and the planet.
The session, like most of our sessions, begins with a conversation. We speak about the issue at hand and what brought me to the session. Ideally the sessions are held outside, but if the weather is not cooperating, we will do it inside. After a 5-10 minute conversation, I lay down and he will place his crystals around and on my body. He then performs a ritual and assumes a sitting position behind my head and then begins to journey. I will then slip into a meditative state which lasts for 25-30 minutes. During that meditative, quieted state I experience lucid and not-so-lucid dreams and thoughts. After he has journeyed, we review the session. With the session about my father, he told me that he saw a number of very thick cords connecting my father to me. A number of these cords were emotionally unhealthy and needed cutting. So he performed the ritual of cutting these cords. These cords were negative emotional events and patterns created over this life and many lives before. The act of cutting these cords severs those negative patterns and emotional ties that feed whatever negative relationship patterns that continue to reoccur.
The results of that session were not felt for a while. But, over time and through a number of cord-cutting rituals, our relationship, in those areas we worked on, transformed. Don’t misunderstand me, the results were not present immediately after 1 session. The reason is that, for lack of a better concept, I had a karmic relationship/bond with my father and the negative emotional baggage and patterns that ensued were reinforced over many lifetimes. You can’t expect to cure a harmful disease with one trip to the doctor. But, for relationships that do not have as strong of a karmic bond, the ritual need only be done once or twice and the results occur quicker.
After a session I feel more at peace. I feel calmer and more grounded. I feel that I vibrate at a higher frequency. I feel less weighted down.
Recently, I have found another Shaman that practices Gong, Drum and Tibetan Bowl Healing/Therapy (some call it a sound bath) and I have personally found that the use of sound for healing and exploration is extremely potent. The session starts much like the session with Dr. Bill by spending 15-20 minutes speaking and exploring the issue or issues that have brought me there. I think it is important to mention that you don’t necessarily have to visit a Shaman with an issue or problem, per se. In fact, recently I had a conversation with a friend of mine who visited a sound bath and found that it helped him quiet his mind so much that he fell asleep. He used the session as a form of relaxation. After a conversation, most of the time we will then do an EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) tapping session that lasts 3-5 minutes and focuses on the issue we are trying to resolve. Then Chris, my Gong Shaman, will begin to play.
Here is Chris:
Here is his studio:
The gongs are assembled around the journeyer and the Shaman then begins to play. The sessions usually last 1.5 hours. Every time I leave very refreshed. I feel lighter. And vibrating for a while after. I can’t speak highly enough about this modality and its therapeutic effects. For me, it has been one of the more potent practices for accessing various levels of consciousness.
I will leave you with this:
The term shamanism comes from the Manchu-Tungus word šaman. The noun is formed from the verb ša- ‘to know’; thus, a shaman is literally “one who knows.”
And, that is really what a shaman is, “one who knows”. A shaman is simply “one who knows” how to use energy to heal, guide and protect.