Why Learn Shamanism?
So, why do you want to learn Shamanism? Might seem a dumb question as you have taken the trouble to read a blog called "Learning Shamanism" but I think the question is relevant to your quest.
People have many different ideas about what Shamanism is - and indeed, it can be many different things. But if you are going to tread the path you ought to have a rough idea where it leads to and why you want to get there. Do you want magical powers, psychic awareness, knowledge of medicinal plants, experience of "non ordinary reality" or just plain old "enlightenment" - do you want to know the truth, the secret of life? It doesn't really matter which path you choose but you must be certain that it is a path with "heart" - it has to "feel" right for you. Rely on your intuition.
For me the answer to the question was always a bit difficult - I really didn't know what I wanted from Shamanism. To begin with I didn't even know if it was possible to learn how to be "a Shaman" - and the truth is, I still don't. There are plenty of people here in the industrialised world who are calling themselves Shamans and then charging other people vast amounts of money to teach them "how to be Shamans". But I don't buy it - these people are not Shamans. At best they are Shamanic Practitioners or Shamanic Healers and at worst they are just con artists who are making a fortune selling rehashed Yogic and Taoist techniques for personal and psychic development. Think about it - would a real Shaman charge a hundred people a thousand dollars each to attend a 3 day workshop? I guess to answer that you would have to know what a real Shaman was and how ethical they are. And therein lies the problem - it's a bloody jungle out there.
I will give my views on how to approach the learning of Shamanism in the next blog post but for now, let me share with you how I was initially attracted to this path.
I was a young, hippy type in the 1970's. That gives you a clue as to how old I am now. I discovered Carlos Castaneda's book - The Teachings of Don Juan around the same time as I discovered the wonderful chemical concoction called LSD and the even more wonderful and aptly named Magic Mushrooms (psilocybin). This was it! I had discovered the secret of the Universe! But no, I had some wonderful trips (and some that scared the shit out of me) - but I wasn't learning how to be a Shaman. Castaneda's work was not developed into a formal teaching method until many years later by some of his students.
So I gave up. I spent some time studying European Witchcraft then moved on to Yoga and Buddhism and the Western Mystery Schools and that lovable, enigmatic rogue Osho Rajneesh or the Bhagwan as he was known then. Trouble is - nothing seemed to fit. Nothing answered my burning internal desire to know "the truth". I have spent years in meditation but I know I am no closer to "enlightenment" than I was when I started. And I kept on thinking about Shamanism.
See you next time.
People have many different ideas about what Shamanism is - and indeed, it can be many different things. But if you are going to tread the path you ought to have a rough idea where it leads to and why you want to get there. Do you want magical powers, psychic awareness, knowledge of medicinal plants, experience of "non ordinary reality" or just plain old "enlightenment" - do you want to know the truth, the secret of life? It doesn't really matter which path you choose but you must be certain that it is a path with "heart" - it has to "feel" right for you. Rely on your intuition.
For me the answer to the question was always a bit difficult - I really didn't know what I wanted from Shamanism. To begin with I didn't even know if it was possible to learn how to be "a Shaman" - and the truth is, I still don't. There are plenty of people here in the industrialised world who are calling themselves Shamans and then charging other people vast amounts of money to teach them "how to be Shamans". But I don't buy it - these people are not Shamans. At best they are Shamanic Practitioners or Shamanic Healers and at worst they are just con artists who are making a fortune selling rehashed Yogic and Taoist techniques for personal and psychic development. Think about it - would a real Shaman charge a hundred people a thousand dollars each to attend a 3 day workshop? I guess to answer that you would have to know what a real Shaman was and how ethical they are. And therein lies the problem - it's a bloody jungle out there.
I will give my views on how to approach the learning of Shamanism in the next blog post but for now, let me share with you how I was initially attracted to this path.
I was a young, hippy type in the 1970's. That gives you a clue as to how old I am now. I discovered Carlos Castaneda's book - The Teachings of Don Juan around the same time as I discovered the wonderful chemical concoction called LSD and the even more wonderful and aptly named Magic Mushrooms (psilocybin). This was it! I had discovered the secret of the Universe! But no, I had some wonderful trips (and some that scared the shit out of me) - but I wasn't learning how to be a Shaman. Castaneda's work was not developed into a formal teaching method until many years later by some of his students.
So I gave up. I spent some time studying European Witchcraft then moved on to Yoga and Buddhism and the Western Mystery Schools and that lovable, enigmatic rogue Osho Rajneesh or the Bhagwan as he was known then. Trouble is - nothing seemed to fit. Nothing answered my burning internal desire to know "the truth". I have spent years in meditation but I know I am no closer to "enlightenment" than I was when I started. And I kept on thinking about Shamanism.
See you next time.
Comments
Post a Comment