What is Shamanism?
Shamanism is mankind's oldest form of spiritual practice, however it is not a religion, more an authentic expression of our spirituality. Over ten of thousands of years our ancestors discovered and developed human abilities for healing and problem solving, this was to ensure the survival and well being of the tribe and to benefit from having a connection with nature and source energy in the web of life. Shamanic practices and teachings are now becoming increasingly popular as people recognize an ever increasing need for a re connection with our beautiful planet and a re balancing of their own energies, as well as the earth’s energies. Shamanism is accessible to all as there is no intermediary necessary to access personal revelation and spiritual experience.
Shamanism is very much a practical practice that brings everything in your life in balance. It was first documented in Siberia from the Tugusic Tribe. The word Shaman word originates from Samen which means to know. Shamanism is connected to animism, which means all things have a spirit and creative force, which gives life. Shamanism is based on the principle that the spiritual world may be connected through the inner senses through the practice of ecstatic trance. This means the ability to enter meditative or trance states at will or through the use of drumming and rattling. Learning about yourself through shamanism often involves gaining knowledge through direct revelation. The practice is very self experiential and involves developing long-term relationships with guides and helpers.
Roles Of The Shaman
The shaman acts as a central pillar of the community and is responsible in keeping the energy and spirit of the community in balance as well as taking care of the spiritual aspects of life. The shaman plays many roles such as a healer, seer, artist, mediator, herbalist, counselor and keeper of cultural myths. Using an altered state of consciousness shamans travel to other realms and worlds seeking knowledge and power, which they use for healing and manifesting within the community. The shaman is very much attuned and feels a deep connection and an affinity with nature, it is from here that the shamans’ powers arise, from connecting to the hidden powers and elementals of nature and it helping spirits. The shaman seeks harmony with nature and the drum serves as an instrument of attunement.
In the worldview of the shaman all beings are interconnected and interdependent. If one species suffers all are affected. We exist in a great web of power or web of life and everything within the web is alive, even what many see as being not alive such as inanimate objects.
Read more about: Shamanic Healing | The Shaman | Shamanic Drumming | The Shamanic Journey
Shamanic Healing
Shamanic Healing is the most ancient spiritual healing tradition in the world and it is still in use today
Shaman Workshops
Our Shamanic Courses & workshops are held in a beautiful Mongolian Yurt that is located in doors
Blissfire Ecstatic Dance
A Guided Conscious Clubbing Experience to reconnect with your inner self
Shamanic Healing
Shamanic Healing is energetic work that essentially enables the energy in the body to flow more clearly and in balance. We are supposed to be flowing wellness all the time and fear interrupts the flow. The shaman removes these energetic blockages and returns them to balance. All dis – ease has emotional origins and a lot of the healing is done in the mental, emotional and soul body which then affects and heals the physical body.
Shamanic Healing is very much concerned with the restoration of one's own personal power and creative authentic expression. The Shaman works with subtle energies to heal and remove energetic blockages and restore vital essence.
The Shaman
Shamanic Healing can either be done through journeying or in the physical world. Essentially all Shamanic work is done with the Shaman becoming whats known as ‘The Hollow Bone’. This means that the shaman allows spirit to work through them and it’s not actually the shaman doing most of the work but rather spirit or the spirit guides and helpers assisting them. The shaman must get out of the way and allow spirit to come through; most of the healing is done by spirit not the practitioner.
Examples of different Shamanic Healing Techniques include soul retrieval, spirit attachment removal, intrusion removal, psycopomp, depossesion, cord cutting, sorcery healing, curse healing, Psychic Attack and Earth healing.
Shamanic Drumming
Shamanic Drumming is an ancient approach that uses rhythm to promote self-healing and self-expression. Recent studies have shown that drumming is extremely healing to the body and is a useful treatment for many health and emotional issues. For example stress. The drum acts as a concentrate to focus one self- inward, it is a tool that’s assists the shaman to induce the trance state. When drumming is played at 180 beats for around fifteen minutes the mind naturally shifts in to theta /alpha waves. This is a shift in consciousness. Drumming unifies the left and right hemisphere of the brain and creates brain Hemispheric Synchronization. This synchronization links the subconscious and conscious minds. In shamanism this is termed the rainbow bridge. Wise shamans have said that the world will begin to heal will heal our hemispheres are in balance one again. When this happens the brain becomes open to intuition, psychic impressions and spirit messages. The shamans then ride their drum to other realities.
The rattle is a sacred object to the shaman and is used to assist the shaman in to trance states. The frequency of the rattle contains high beats, which works well with the low beats of the drum. They’re by boosting the total sonic effect. The shaman’s rattle is used to invoke the assistance of power animals and helping spirits. A rattle is also used when opening or closing a circle, to consecrate scared space, calling in the directions and spirit, creating the scared space and circle. A rattle can embody helping spirits that then assist in the healing. It is possible to direct energy with a rattle much like a magician with a magic wand. Healing energy can be transmitted through the rattle and out in to the environment or in to a patients body.
The Shamanic Journey
The Shamanic Journey involves using all of your senses and entering in to what is called non ordinary reality, this is done through Shamanic states of consciousness. The shaman sees very much see through their heart not their eyes. This reality is to be much respected, as it is just as real to its inhabitants as we are to this reality. Journeying involves having an intention issue that ant to work with and journeying to these realms to receive guidance and healing for such matters. In the shamanic journey you are using all of your senses, which ones in particular though all depends on your personal strengths and strong points. Some people are more clairvoyant which means they see with pictures or some are Claircognizant which is a knowing, some are clairaudient which means spirit talks to you in the journey and you hear messages given to you in your mind. Never get disheartened from journeying because you cant see everything in the 3d on a screen, some people do see when they journey, some are more feeling, some come from a knowing. Each time you go on a journey you will encounter a tunnel, like a wormhole funnel tube that you travel up, or down to, or across to.
The lower world is a world that is down in the earth and is often entered in to by going through a hole in the ground or some kind of entry in to the earth. The lower world is generally nature landscapes such as deserts, forests, lakes and beaches. There is an organic and earthly feel to a lower world journey. The lower world is a good place to explore and a good place to begin your shamanic work. Journeying to this world is generally for healing.
The upper world is almost a polar opposite of that. The upper world is quite literally up and you can reach it by using anything that will take you up be it a tornado, stairs, an elevator, escalator, a rope, climbing huge tree. Upper world journey people will often encounter like a membrane or cloud and when you go beyond that the experience is quite ethereal, the beings you encounter are more energy, it does not feel so solid and organic as the lower world as its seems to be made mostly of energy. Often when travelling to the upper world, you receive messages in colours, symbols and through sacred geometry. The beings you encounter there will be simply energy with no form. The upper world is very light and ethereal; you may see clouds, crystal palaces. Journeying to this world is generally for guidance and advice.
The middle world journey you can journey to anywhere or any when. The middle world looks just like this one. You can communicate with people you may know. Furthermore you are communicating with their energy and their spirit further more you can communicate with virtually anything thing and anyone, you house, your dog, your house, you can get some real work done in terms of energetic connections with things. For example if you an issue with a particular person you can visit them and intend the journey to be a communication to the relationship itself. Journeying to this world has numerous uses to acquire archetypal knowledge, bring a vision in to being, and influence events in the material world. It is also travelled to for environmental healing, soul retrieval, relationship healing and place healing.