Which Path Should I Take?

 I am having a little wobble in my practise. Right from the beginning of my journey into Shamanism I have been aware of it's flexibility and it's absence of dogma. As I have stated before - Shamanism is NOT a religion. But, the weird thing is, following some sort of dogma is very attractive to the human psyche - which is why religions have been so successful over the centuries. For some bizarre reason most of us humans actually like being told what to do. I suppose we are a bit like dogs - we seem to function better when we have been "trained". And the "education" system that has been set up in the modern, industrialised world is designed to do just that - to train us how to behave. But you should stop and ask yourself - just who benefits from this training? The children who grow up into obedient, conforming members of "society"? Or the elite one percent who own the corporations that depend on obedient wage slaves in order to maintain their wealth and their control of the status quo?

In the present political climate of global fascism descending into an Orwellian totalitarian dystopia based around the blatant "pandemic" hoax - it is plain to see that the "education" (brain washing) system has worked extremely well. People seem only too happy to be told what to do and to be told what is "in their best interest" - even when it is screamingly obvious to anybody with an un-conditioned brain that everything they are being told is a LIE.

Still, I digress, the political turmoil in the world is nothing to do with Shamanism. In fact, true Shamanism rises above all political systems, which is why shamanic people have been persecuted and murdered by the priests and politicians of the "system" over the past 2000 years. 

To get back to my little wobble mentioned above. I have stated that my early interest in Shamanism was ignited by Carlos Castaneda and "The Teachings of don Juan" back in 1970. Then, more recently, Core Shamanism became "trendy" and widely accessible to the general public. From the original seed of Core Shamanism many different offshoots sprang up in the 21st Century. We have Celtic Shamanism, Native American Shamanism, Eco Shamanism, Therapeutic Shamanism, Nordic Shamanism and New Age Shamanism all based around the tenets of Core Shamanism. Then, apart from Core Shamanism we have people introducing us to Amazonian (South American) shamanic practises and African Tribal Shamanism and Australian Aboriginal Shamanism - all of which got the New Wokers fired up about inappropriate cultural misappropriation. And we must not forget that European Witchcraft is itself a form of Shamanism.

And this brings me back to my question in the title of this post - "which path should I take?"

When I started actually practising the Shamanic Way back in 2018, my main teacher and influence was Paul Francis and his Therapeutic Shamanism school based in North Wales. These teachings are based around Core Shamanism but with an emphasis on the psychological states that reside within the human mind - both the known and the unknown. For me it was a great place to start my journey and I am very grateful to Paul for his wonderful books.

But I am forever being drawn back to Toltec (Mexican) teachings of Carlos Castaneda and don Juan. There has been a resurgence of (non Castaneda) Toltec teachings in recent times, mainly from the Ruiz family tradition but although these are good in their own right, they lack the magic and mystery of don Carlos's work. I have always wanted to experience the Separate Reality or Realities that Carlos described and having taken many LSD and Magic Mushroom "trips" in my youth, I had a rough idea what he was talking about. Learning "Tensegrity" from the Castaneda lineage school in the USA was not something I could afford to do so I was pleased to find a book by a Mexican anthropologist and student of Castaneda's work (he has actually met with don Carlos) called Victor Sanchez. The book is called "The Teachings of Don Carlos" and is subtitled "Practical Applications of The Works of Carlos Castaneda". It was just what I needed - an actual instruction manual for Toltec Shamanism. At time of writing I have just started to use this book - I will let you know how I get on.

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