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Shamanism involves a nonstandardized system of beliefs that varies from age to age and from place to place, As a prototypical faith, Shamanism recognizes the equal importance of the sanctity of Wholeness and Wellness, of the holy energies of the Goddess (chalice/cauldron), as well as those of her partner the God. Shamanism extends backward in time to the deep mystery caves and looks forward to a time/space when there is a universal harmonic resonance of all the diverse soul essences that comprise this glorious life dance we all call Creation. Truly the most ancient of Days and Ways, Shamanism, is a global rainbow bridge that spans from Australia to Africa to Asia to Europe to the Americas touching and connecting all continents and countries in between, in a reciprocal loop of Dreaming. The Shamans are the water singers, the tree talkers, the cloud walkers, the rock guardians who bring a feeling of sacredness and dignified meaning to the mundane. Using feather and stone, smoke and sound, song and dance, ritual and transformation, the Shamans journey up and down all homeward bound roads, and feather float up and down all streams that flow to the cosmic seas. Although, people usually associate the word, Shaman with indigenous religions, especially American Indian, Shamanism is part of many different Sacred Pathways. It is a large limb with many branches on the World Tree. The World Mountain and the World Tree are both symbolic representations of Spirit as the axis of the world, the center of the planet. The foundations of both the World Mountain and the World Tree reach deep beneath the earth below and way up high into the heavens above. They also represent the flow of Spirit, the Spiral Path, used by Shamans to journey between worlds.
The Shaman wears many masks:
priest/priestess, healer, metaphysician, and magician as a bridge between the
worlds, living at the thresholds of what is real and what is illusion or
delusion. Followers of Shamanism are characterized by personal transformation
which only comes after one lets go of personal agendas and confronts the enigma
of the labyrinth.
A Shaman is quite simply One Who Knows; one who knows how to retrieve lost soul essence; one who knows how to heal; one who knows what stones, herbs, or other sacred tools one needs to become whole; and one who knows how to communicate with other spirits in this and other dimensions through telepathy or empathy. Shamans have journeyed far, (sometimes in an Ecstatic Trance state), and endured much (often aided by Spirit Helpers) to gain knowledge of both cosmology and consciousness. Both men and women are capable of becoming Shamans. Shamans know how to modulate energy signature frequency so that one can walk between worlds; and also know how to be here now - not just in one dimension but in many dimensions simultaneously. A Shaman also knows how one acquires power and knowledge; and, how to transmit and teach that knowledge to others. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, Shamans often journey far in their search for wholeness, wellness, and wisdom for themselves and for others. Rather than summoning up a tornado to assist their journey, today's Shamans use rhythmic chanting, drumming, and dance to facilitate their soul journeys to the Spirit Lands. Shamans also use visualization to send themselves through an opening in the earth, a hole at the base of a tree, a spring, a mineshaft or some other portal to a place where they can meet and talk to the spirit helpers who will give them the information or knowledge that they seek to heal the sick, to find solutions to problems, or to restore balance to the world. Eventually as Shamans evolve and grow, like Dorothy at the end of The Wizard of Oz, they realize that they do not really have to travel on extensive journeys, the answers to their questions are right in their own backyards, berries for the picking on the bushes of intuition and inner knowing.
Animal Totems are integral
to Shamanism. Traditionally clans and groups identified themselves with the
spiritual essence of an animal, plant, or tree whose presence as a mentor,
helper, protector and guide rooted them more firmly in the Earth and bonded them
to the Land...Continue
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