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by Shiela Baker
I am a modern shaman. Shamanism, as I practice it, is based on the belief that we are all here to bring spirit into matter and matter into spirit. Spirit/God/Goddess wants us to be whole, fully conscious, alive and, yes, happy too! Spirit wants us to be fulfilled creators with our desires manifested -- all of them: physical, emotional and spiritual. Imagine a place magickally created by each of us individually where hopes, dreams and aspirations concretize. That place can be found through shamanic practice.
The work of a shaman today, as in the past, is to help connect the spiritual world with the mundane, to heal old wounds within, to find balance and harmony and to bring dreams from the world of spirit into our lives. By making these connections, we enjoy a creative and fruitful life, dance the dance of joy and become part of the solution of harmoniously living on Earth.
Shamanism has been defined as many things by many people. The term "shaman" originally comes from the language of the Tungus of North-Central Asia but has been expanded by modern practitioners to cover any spiritual worker whose practice uses a particular set of traditional, archaic techniques of ecstasy. Indigenous shamans are found worldwide, particularly in hunting and gathering peoples and in some traditional herding societies. Indigenous shamanic traditions predate recorded history. The Inca shamanic tradition claims a 100,000-year-old lineage of healers and spirit practitioners.
For me, shamanism is a way of life, involving the interaction of the physical and spiritual worlds. This interaction means standing with one foot planted in the physical world and the other planted in the spiritual world, existing fully in both at the same time.
Shamanism involves fantastic inner journeys; shamanic initiations are often dramatic near-death experiences. Shamans manage to integrate these powerful, unusual experiences into life in a creative and productive way. With this background, they have experiential access to other levels and realms of reality (the existence of these realms is a basis of shamanism) and can facilitate nonordinary states of consciousness in other folks for healing and transformation. The shaman is a specialist in spiritual practices and communication with the spirit world.
Shamanistic practices are not "supernatural," though, but rooted in the life cycles of the earth and the movement of the sun, moon and stars through our sky. Our ancestors lived in close relationship with all forms of Nature. They knew the ways of animals, they understood plant medicine, and they paid attention to the turning of the Wheel of the Year (the Sabbats) and the seasons. Indigenous cultures ceremonially marked rites of passage: birth, puberty, adulthood, marriage and death. ndigenous peoples honored a deep spiritual life lived closely with the great archetypes: Earth, Sky, Creator and the four directions (the cardinal points of the compass). The physical manifestations of this spiritual life were the medicine wheel for Native Americans, the great stone circles and wells for the Celtic peoples and the spiral for a host of other cultures.
Living in an urban environment has taken us far from this shared knowledge. In shamanic journeys, we have the ability to reclaim our ancestral heritage, to commune with beings who are carriers of deep knowing. Invoking and committing oneself to a patron or matron god or goddess in a shamanic journey is just that, deep communion.
Shamanism continues to flourish because it meets a real need for therapy and healing that is not otherwise satisfied. People seek shamanic help because they do not trust, cannot afford or have had no success with Western medicine. Shamanism offers another point of view.
In shamanic terms, all illnesses, whether physical, emotional, mental or spiritual, are essentially looked upon the same way, as soul loss. The soul is a person's vital essence. The presence of our souls is something we know by direct intuition; this intuition is widely shared, compelling and powerful. To acknowledge the reality of a soul does not necessarily endorse specific theological doctrines or articles of faith or religion. Shamanism is not a particular religion, but it does require a spiritual belief. That belief can be anything from simple animism to a complex system of deities and helpers. Belief is necessary because the shaman is involved deeply in the world of spirit.
The phenomenon of soul loss, or soul wandering, is widely acknowledged among the world's shamanic cultures. When someone experiences strong trauma or shock, part of the soul often takes flight simply to survive the pain. Soul loss is not necessarily a bad thing; it's a way for the body and psyche to survive. But when a soul part does not come back on its own, problems can develop. You may feel incomplete, not truly whole, as if you were watching your life rather than living it. You may feel spaced out and unable to remember events. Chronic illness, depression and addictions are often symptoms of soul loss. A core deficiency of vitality and life spirit leaves the body vulnerable to disease and depression.
A shaman learns to diagnose such depletion and undertakes to restore the loss. In traditional cultures, if someone in the community experienced depression, loss of energy, sickness or malaise, the shaman would consult spirit guides to determine if soul loss had occurred. If it had, she or he would then travel to recover the lost soul parts. One of the most intimate features of shamanic healing, then or now, is that the shaman undertakes the journey on behalf of the person, in contrast with currently more "conventional" therapies where the client revisits and re-experiences traumas. In soul retrieval, the shaman journeys to bring back the soul parts of a person who is suffering soul loss.
In my practice, a soul retrieval generally goes something like the following. Someone comes to me and says, "I feel sad," or "I feel alone," or "I have no energy," or "I can't sleep," or "I am not happy." We smudge burning sage, and maybe cedar. I set sacred space by calling in the seven directions (the four cardinal compass points, and above, below and center) and requesting the presence of my guides. We drink tea; we tell stories; I learn a little, enough to know if a piece of the person is missing. In my world, this missing feeling is soul loss. When I find that a soul retrieval is necessary, I request help from Spirit.
With the small pieces of information I get from the suffering person, my guides and I journey to the other worlds in search of missing soul parts. While I journey, guided and protected by my helping allies, I may use a drummer to help and to watch over my physical body.
In the spirit world, I locate and speak with the lost soul part. If it wants to return, I bring it back and continue to search, as there are often more lost parts. If a soul part is unwilling to return, I talk with it about what is now different in the person's life. Safety is sometimes a concern to the returning soul part, since trauma was often the reason for leaving.
Often, soul thieves hold missing soul parts. The term "soul thieves" is a misnomer, as these are truly guardians of the lost parts. Sometimes, they freely release a part; other times, bribery, trickery or stealing the part back is the way to go. My guides are gifted at bringing whatever is required in the journey with us, whether it is a trinket for bartering or a sword for battling.
Before I can bring any parts back, an extraction may be necessary. Extraction is a noisy, busy process -- growling, biting, snapping and occasionally spitting. One person had an actual bruise at the place I was instructed to work; another had had kidney surgery at the place indicated. A person's feelings of being "held back" may show up during extraction as an animal holding onto the person's back. An enormous bird once held someone who had felt bound to the Northwest for 10 years; after the bird was removed, he was able to relocate and establish a vibrant life in New Mexico. Extraction helps take off energy that clings onto us. At one time, the clinging energy may have helped us, but now it no longer serves. It may be a soul piece from a past relationship with a parent, sibling, friend or lover; it may be an energy block or some physical symptom of loss.
In soul retrieval, I use a crystal to collect the soul parts. Once I am finished collecting, I blow the recovered parts from the crystal into the heart chakra and into the crown chakra, then rattle to seal in the parts.
At this point, I tell of my journey while making a tape recording. Often, what I have been shown is a mystery to me. Soul parts have returned; pieces of the puzzle come. I ask the client to share his or her experience, and together we weave the story. Sometimes the information is metaphorical, sometimes very concrete. Finding a soul part hiding under the bed may mean the part is actually there, may be a metaphor for unwillingness to be responsible or may signify something else altogether. Once I succeed in returning the lost soul parts, the person's own work must begin -- welcoming home, reintegrating, caring for and honoring these forgotten parts of the inner being.
Shamanism, producing magick through altered states of consciousness, has long been considered the exclusive realm of mystics and medicine people. However, I believe that the essential powers of shamanism are present in all of us; shamanic practice can be a means of uncovering and focusing personal power. The writings of Carlos Castaneda, Lynn Andrews and Gini Graham Scott, as well as my own new book Gateway to the Soul, help demystify shamanism, describing the wisdom of Eastern shamans, Native Americans and those of other ancient traditions.
The ability to consciously move beyond the physical body, which is the particular specialty of the shaman, can be readily learned through the journey process. Each of us has helping spirits available to us in the other worlds. The shamanic technique of journeying offers a way to wake up your own potential and begin to explore and deepen your relationship with Spirit.
Shiela, who hails from Canada, has a background in nursing and dance/movement therapy. She combines a passion for astrology, Earth-based spirituality and shamanism with professional counseling for empowered growth. She facilitates monthly full moon Wolf Abundance Ceremonies, offers shamanic journey classes and is available for soul retrieval and after-care. Also available are house cleansings and blessings. Visit her Web site at www.shamanweaver. com, e-mail her at dragonlaze@aol.com or call (206) 903-9404.
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