Learning Shamanism

This is the last (maybe) post on this blog. I spent over 7 years looking into what has become a "trendy" spiritual path for the unenlightened and curious. Although this is the "last post", I have been updating and adding stuff from time to time. Latest update July 2026. After experiencing a recent NDE, I have come to realise that it really doesn't matter which "spiritual" path you decide to take - or even if you have zero interest in so called "spirituality". The only thing that matters is that we try to develop unconditional love (which includes respect and compassion) - for ourselves, our fellow humans (I often struggle with this one), the animals, birds, reptiles and insects. For the beautiful planet we live on - the forests, rivers, streams, wild plants, mountains and meadows. This is our only job, may we do it to the best of our ability.  As I have said elsewhere - no urban Westerner is ever going to become a "genuine" Shaman e...

 Here's the thing - "Shamanism" is just one word but it can mean all kinds of different things to different people. I have just started doing the First Steps course with Paul Francis and the Three Ravens College of Therapeutic Shamanism - more as a refresher for myself than an attempt to learn something new. (I have read all Pauls' books, so I am very familiar with his take on Core Shamanism).  Paul is a great teacher but there is one thing he is very dogmatic about (an unshamanic trait) and that is his insistence that the "Lower World" is a pristine environment as would have been experienced by hunter gatherer humans living in what we call the "Stone Age".  I am not saying he is wrong but this is not a universal belief among shamanic people. There most likely was a "Blueprint" for planet Earth that was pure, natural, beautiful and unpolluted by modern human greed, ignorance and mental illness - but is this our Prime Reality or not? Whet...

In my last post I implied that talking to yourself is a form of madness and that a state of "no mind" is a goal to aim at. Well, I still stand by that, but I will acknowledge that words do have a certain "power" and there can be a place for talking to yourself. Many shamanic teachers refer to "words of power" because sorcerers and witches rely heavily on the psychological impact of a word or series of words to gain influence and power over other people. The same techniques can work when trying to influence or gain power over one's own mind. In mantra yoga, words, or more correctly, sounds, are used to control and master the mind. Some mantras are claimed to have "magical" properties such as enabling levitation or telepathy. I practice a form of mantra meditation myself; the so hum (soham) meditation technique mentioned in my last post. Soham actually has a meaning - I am that - but it is the sound that is important. It is the sound of the bre...

When I was a boy I used to hear this phrase a lot - "Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness". Probably not PC or "woke" to say that in these strange times that we are living in but I believe it is a statement worthy of consideration. Those who know me personally will be thinking to themselves "Well he should know" - not because they respect my knowledge or because I spent many years working for a Community Mental Health Service - but because most folk seem to think that I am a bit mad. Maybe they are right, it's not for me to say. Obviously, most of us have witnessed the blatantly crazy person talking loudly on the street and having an animated conversation with him or her self (by the way, it is usually a male). But in these days of mobile phones and "bluetooth" technology it is no longer considered strange to see somebody walking down the street apparently talking to themselves. In fact, it has become the norm. But, technology apa...

 Here is a story that some may find amusing. The Ram in the title is not the Hindu god of that name but a particularly stroppy little git of the sheep variety. Here's how the day went.... As I have decided to start journeying again, I decided to visit my "Axis Mundi" - the place where I begin my journeys to the other worlds. It had been a year since I had visited this place physically and I was more than a little disappointed when I got there. It was completely overgrown with nettles and somehow the magic of the place had gone.... Then I heard a strange grunting noise coming from under a bush. At first I couldn't discern where it was coming from and then I thought it might be an animal in trouble, caught up somewhere. Suddenly from the bushes came a rather handsome jet black ram and he was walking slowly towards me. Now, I pride myself on being able to communicate with most non human people (not so much with humans lol), so I crouched down on my haunches and beckoned ...

 It has been a while since I have delved into the wonderful world of Shamanism. I have been following a yogic path, which while it is satisfying in a lot of ways, just doesn't have the same buzz as a shamanic journey. So I am back on the broomstick, so to speak. I will be adding more content over the next few months as I relearn old lessons and discover new ones. The picture may give a clue as to which direction I will be taking......or does it? Next post - Ram Versus Man