The word Shaman is considered to be a coined anthropological term.  It stems from the Tungusic tribe of Siberia, saman.  Other indigenous communities may refer to a shaman by other means such as medicine man or woman, spiritual healer, or wise elder.  It isn’t the term by which a person is referred that matters, but more importantly the level of which a practitioner dedicates oneself to working with the spirit world to help raise the level of consciousness. 

            Each one of us is born with the ability to connect to the spirit world, or the other side.  Indigenous cultures live with the connection to the spirit world intertwined in their daily life.  Their integration with nature, how it speaks to them, and the lessons learned from nature is a part of their daily life.    The connection that a shaman has to the spirit world and the universal energies is no different than a mother of the village. The difference is that a shaman walks the path every day in the dream world and in this reality to help those in need as a healer.  It becomes a part of who you are instead of tool you pick up on occasion.  A shaman is the tool. 

            Many of us in this modern society have lost that connection to Spirit because of cars, electricity, television, cell phones, and ipods.  The further away we get from nature and listening to the messages that are there for us, the further we get disconnected from the guiding universal love and light.  How a tree might speak to you, what the rain has to say, the messages in a spider’s web are all examples of walking in Spirit.  We have all gathered messages from bits of nature at one point in time, regardless of our religious beliefs.  Our great earth is not only the greatest mother, but also the greatest teacher that we can have. 

            Spiritual healing is just one component to a Shaman’s medicine bag.  In this society a shamanic practitioner helps bring dis-ease into harmony again.  Dis-ease comes from an imbalance of the body, mind, and spirit that affects our vital energy body from working in harmony. 

            The difference in the way a shaman might perform a spiritual healing is cultural, but also dependent upon the level of society.  A shaman in the rainforest is not going to understand the level of stress that a person in modern America faces.  They aren’t going to understand what it means to be stuck in traffic, with deadlines, commitments, financial burdens, and memories of bad childhoods still lingering within.  The problems that an indigenous shaman faces are based more around survival and community issues.  The power of an indigenous shaman demands great respect, for it is through their cultural heritage and continual connection to the spirit world that we have not gotten completely lost.  However, the job of a shaman working with clients from a modern society is to be able to integrate the energetic healing that takes place deep within a psyche that has all of the burdens a modern society carries.   The integration of the healing relies upon this conscious connection so that we may transition the healing from deep within and live our life to its fullest measure in a society that does not easily support health, balance, and harmony.   

            Sandra Ingerman is one of the greatest teachers of this work being able to bridge the gap between modern society and indigenous culture.  In her book Soul Retrieval, she quotes Carl Jung saying, “For thousands of years rites of initiation have been teaching rebirth from the spirit, yet man has forgotten the meaning of divine initiatory procreation in our times.  This forgetfulness causes him to suffer a loss of soul, a condition that sadly is everywhere present today.” 

            When a young girl gets her first menstrual cycle there is no longer a rites of passage where there is a clear delineation from childhood to womanhood.  Young boys no longer get a tangible experience into the rites of passage into manhood.  The shift between our childhood and adulthood is never acknowledged.  We then carry with us all of the emotional insecurities we have gathered in our childhood and they become transferred into adulthood.  We feel voids and emotional issues that we can’t quite understand how they got there or how to deal with them. 

            Western Shamanism addresses this vital link between the dis-ease we feel in body, mind, and spirit.  The book, Shamanism, by Mircea Eliade explains the spiritual vocation of the shaman.  He writes:

            Everything that concerns the soul and its adventure, here on earth and in the beyond, is the exclusive province of the shaman.  Through his own pre-initiatory and initiatory experience, he knows the drama of the human soul, its instability, its precariousness; in addition, he knows the forces that threaten it and the regions to which it can be carried away.  If shamanic cure involves ecstasy, it is precisely because illness is regarded as a corruption or alienation of the soul. 

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'width' is a duplicate attribute name. Line 1, position 37.What is a spiritual healing?

            The job of a shamanic practitioner is to work with the soul parts of the body, mind, and spirit and align them for a common goal.  That is to live to our highest potential that we were born to be on this earth.  We do this using certain healing techniques such as soul retrieval, power animal retrieval, and extraction of negative energy.   It is our job as shamanic practitioners to humbly and compassionately work with your light body and bring back the vital essence that belongs to solely you.      

            Various forms of trauma, illness, abuse, repressed memories, past life issues can create such dis-ease in our body that we energetically send the parts we want to protect away.  It is a mechanism of self defense, but without it being returned can leave us feeling lost and incomplete.  This essence may have left for a myriad of reasons, but regardless of the reasons that energy can only serve you and it is your birthright to have it returned. 

            Alcohol, drugs, food, sex, abuse, insecurities, self sabotage are all various attempts to fill a void we feel inside.  Experiences in our life create positive or negative feelings. These feelings are energy that defines who we are as energy beings.  You might notice that some people are inherently more positive or negative than others.  They are carrying the energy of their feelings.  It isn’t until we experience these feelings on a conscious level that we can begin to transform this energy.  A spiritual healing has a great capacity to create change in a person’s life.  It is with this change that stagnant energy can move out and create space for vitality, clarity, and wholeness. 

            As Sandra Ingerman says, “Soul Retrieval is not a form of therapy that keeps us stuck in our past; it is a step in closing the doors on the places in life that have blocked our own growth and evolution.” 
'width' is a duplicate attribute name. Line 1, position 37.Do I work with animals?
Yes, I do work with animals.   I am an animal intuitive and can help deepen your relationship with your friend with this work.  Animals experience trauma, loss, and need healing work just as much as humans.  They have to adapt to our world, which can often times be a scary place to live.  Horses seem to carry this burdon the greatest because of the toll they have taken with the disrespect and treatment they have endured over the centuries.  They are very intuitive beings and relate to this work on a deep level for their own healing transformation.   

'width' is a duplicate attribute name. Line 1, position 37.Does my animal or myself need a spiritual healing? 

As your spiritual practitioner it is important for me to keep the healing journey in your hands.  There will be no magic wizard to help you on your journey, but you.  There are often allies that come along to help us get to the next phase of our journey, but ultimately the healing must come from within.   I am honored to be one of your allies.   

Here is a list of questions that might help you come to a place within yourself to determine if a shamanic spiritual healing is something that you or your animal friend may need:

·          Have you ever had a major accident, surgery, or illness and have felt like you have never been the same since?

·          Do you ever feel, numb, apathetic, or deadened?

·          Do you suffer from chronic depression?

·          Are you struggling with the grief from the loss of a loved one?

·          Were you chronically ill as a child?

·          Do you have gaps in the memory of your life after the age of five?

·          Do you sense that you may have blacked out significant traumas in your life?

·          Do you struggle with addictions of any kind, such as food, sex, alcohol, gambling, drugs, or the internet?

·          Are you having difficulty moving on with your life after a divorce, change in life, or death?

·          Do you feel there is a void inside that you look to fill up with external things?   

If this is something that resonates with you, a loved one (human or otherwise), please feel free to call to arrange an appointment with me and to discuss the healing process. 

206-434-9870

rockreadings@yahoo.com

For more information about shamanism and the work involved please visit these links:

Sandra Ingerman – www.sandraingerman/soulretrieval.com

The Society for Shamanic Practitioners – www.shamansociety.org

The Foundation for Shamanic Studies – www.shamanism.org

 
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 Intuitive Spiritual Counseling
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