What is Shamanism?
Shamanism is deeply connected to nature as well as the abundance of our earth’s teachings. It is the oldest form in which humanity has sought connection with creation. It is the oldest way of healing the individual, dating back as far as to the Stone Age. Cave art, 30,000-years-old, reveals that shamanism was in fact believed to be used for healing self, others and connecting with earth.
The word “shamanism” derives from the Manchu-Tungus word šaman, defined as: the one who knows.
Shamans are a link between our plane and higher planes of existence. They journey to the spirit world in order to heal, contact deceased ancestors, influence the weather, retrieve missing pieces of the soul and uplift consciousness.
Shamans work with the spirit or the soul. They heal illness at the soul level. They gain knowledge and insight from working with the spirits of nature such as rocks, trees and the land, and they gain knowledge from working with spirits of animals and humans such as their ancestors. For the shaman, everything is alive and carries information. You can call this spirit, energy, or consciousness In order to communicate with the spirit or consciousness of these things, the shaman will shift his or her own state of awareness and they will see what is going on with you on a spiritual level.
This type of journey that the shaman takes is termed soul flight, allowing the free part of his or her soul to leave the body. The shaman can then go retrieve information for your healing and growth. They can retrieve healing power, or things that you have lost along the way in living your life. The shaman is essentially in both realms at the same time. The shaman will both be in body form in the room and also in journey.
In Shamanism, meditation is a tool used in the majority its practice with eyes closed or open. A shaman is a healer and can often be called upon for life healing and spiritual guidance.
In its ancient teachings, it has influenced many formalized religions. Buddhism and Christianity still have threads of connection to the divine. With that said, it itself is not a formalized religion, nor has it a formalized system of beliefs or ideologies, allowing the practice to traverse into all religious sects.
Shamanism reaches deep levels of a primal belief system and has its own symbolism and totems. The core of shamanism believes that everything exists in spirit.
What does a shaman do?
Shamans work directly with spirit and heal illness at the soul level. They gain their knowledge from spirits of nature such as rocks, trees, and land. They gain knowledge from working with spirits of animals and ancestors. For the shaman, everything is alive and carries information. You can call this spirit, energy, or consciousness. Shamans show gratitude for everything living.
Shamans shift their own state of awareness, which can be done through meditation, receptive sounds or mantras. These allow the shaman to journey into an altered state of conciousness and allow for the soul flight. This is where the shaman can perform soul retrieval and energy healing.
While the shaman is in this altered state, they are still in the room and in journey. They have the ability and awareness of both locations at the same time.
While on this journey, they may perform a soul retrieval, power animal retrieval and perform a shamanic extraction. A shaman will often restore the power by removing the misplaced energy. Often you hear people talk about a negative energy but it is typically just misplaced energy.
What Is Soul Retrieval?
Shamans believe that part of the human soul is free to leave the body. The soul is the center of shamanic healing and can be freed to travel and retrieve parts of the missing piece of someones essence through an altered state of consciousness.
There are reasons for soul loss, which are actually ways of protecting yourself. Often the soul will leave the body to protect itself from emotional or physical damage. If the soul does not come back on its own, a shaman must intervene and return the soul essence.
What Are Symptoms Of Soul Loss?
Everyone has experienced soul loss at some point of their life. When you display symptoms, a shaman knows that there is a need for a soul retrieval:
- You can’t remember certain parts of your life.
- You are plagued by constant feelings of fear or anxiety.
- You feel like there’s a missing part of yourself.
- You have strong periods of depression.
- You are not sure about your purpose in life.
- You experience long periods of insomnia.
- You feel mental or physical fatigue that does not have any medical explanation.
- You feel lost.
- You have difficulty overcoming certain issues in your life.
- You feel like you’re not in control of yourself.
- You have given part of your soul to someone and obsess on them.
Reasons For the Soul’s Departure
There are various reasons for soul loss — all of which are healthy ways of protecting oneself. The issue is when that part of the soul doesn’t return, such as:
- If you were in an abusive situation and the soul left the body to protect itself from abuse. Physical and mental abuse is a common reason that the soul has a difficulty returning.
- If you are in an accident, the soul may jump out of the body to avoid the trauma. If you have been in an accident and asked to recall, often you will have no recollection even though your physical body may have been conscious
- When someone close to you crosses over, often the soul will leave the body until you are ready to deal with the grief.
- If you give away your soul, which is actually a really common occurrence and you often done without realizing it. When you are in a relationship or have children and loved ones close to you, you will give part of your soul away unknowingly. This may seem healthy since you and the other party love each other. Your soul is not theirs to use, nor is theirs yours to use. You may feel this is a fair exchange, but you lose your power after a period of time and may find yourself now disconnected to daily life to that person(s).
- Absorbing someone else’s soul or soul stealing, is one that can also be perceived as insecurities or control. When you “love” someone and are in fear of losing them, you will try really hard to hold on to them, which means you are stealing their soul. This often happens in relationships where someone attempts to control the relationship, ultimately taking away their partner’s power.
No-one can take your soul nor give you energy, positive or negative, without your consent to do so. This goes hand-in-hand with the feeling to please everyone. When you keep giving your soul away, how could you really be complete?
The Soul Retrieval Process
When a shaman suspects soul loss, she or he will then journey shamanically, to determine if a soul part needs to be returned. There are often many more pieces that need to be retrieved that require the shaman to take another journey to bring back parts of the missing pieces.
This process requires an enormous amount of energy to the shaman to take these journeys. When they return, they then blow each piece back into the body of the client, one at a time, focusing so that the soul essence fills that person’s body.
My personal practice after a journey is to not only return the piece but explain where the piece came from and where it belongs. This often gives a lot of insight as to what has been lacking in your life.
When I do a retrieval, I work close with my spirit animal, healer, and guides to assist me on my journey.
Is it a safe journey?
The shaman will create a sacred space that protects you from the outside world and is created from a space of pure love. There is always a possibility that you may become vulnerable during a retrieval and the shaman will keep you safe from those vulnerabilities.
A shaman has been through a sacred training that allows them to journey safely while keeping you out of harms way.
What happens when those pieces return?
It’s an amazing experience to feel the missing pieces return. That does not mean that you will instantly feel complete. In many cases, you have been living a long time without those pieces, so you may not really know how to respond. Many people report a feeling of being more present in their lives and have the ability to make better and clearer decisions, the ability to deal with grief, and a new-found sense of motivation.
Do you do anything else with shamanism?
Shamans are connected to the earth and have healed land for centuries. Shamans are greatly connected with the elements of air, fire, water, and earth. The aid of the elements help the shaman in various healings outside of human healing and have been used on land and space clearing and healing.
Do I need to be there?
No. Shamanic healing can be and is often completed remotely. Some people do like being in an atmosphere that is different from their daily space and always have the option of coming to the office, but it is not required.
Will you be teaching classes?
Yes! I will be offering workshops on Shamanism once I have completed working with my master healer, and given the permission from spirit. These classes and workshops will most likely begin in 2020.
Do I need more than one session?
The number of sessions needed vary according to each individual’s situations and needs.
How do I sign up for a session?
You can select from the drop down menu below. I will then reach out to you to set up an appointment. This is not a typical set standard time type of appointment. Time doesn’t hold any relevance when a shamanic journey takes place. Whether it’s a face-to-face or remote session, you will get a detailed summary of what was retrieved and what to expect with this missing piece now restored.
Can I meet my spirit guides and animals?
This is always a possibility since each journey is very different. I am not in control of the information, only a conduit that spirit works through. As with any of my services, I guarantee nothing specific.