Despite all the many books and seminars promising to teach you "shamanism as a practice for everyday life," shamanism is not a path for personal growth. It never has been.
Shamanism is a path of service to the spirit world and to the community, more or less in that order. Sure, it is good for the soul. And you need to be in relatively good health so that your mind is clear and you can go where you are needed.
Since you need a clear mind and a level head, you cannot be really mentally ill and be a shaman. But real shamans do not get on that path in order to feel better about themselves. They do it because they do not have a choice.
Maybe the spirits choose them. Maybe they inherit the ability. Maybe they are just sort of drafted or volunteer to serve the community as shaman because they can.
For whatever reason they find themselves in the position of shaman, it is not for their own self-growth and personal achievement. It is because they are needed to keep their people in harmony with the spirits and the land.
Now, there are cases in some cultures where someone who is mentally ill is given a chance to survive by being put through a terrible, kill-or-cure ordeal in an effort to snap them out of it. Usually they die, but sometimes they do snap out of it---a sort of primitive shock treatment---and they are then trained as shamans.
But that is not done as a feel-good self-help system. Simply put, indigenous groups who live in harsh environments cannot afford to support helpless crazy people.
They give them a chance, but if they cannot recover, they are considered no loss to the group. No doubt there is grief, but there is also acceptance. There are children to support, and all able adults have to contribute to their survival.
There is also often the belief that if the spirits have made them crazy as a mark of their being chosen to be shamans, then the spirits will save them. If not, not.
One reason I try to make people aware of animism, the belief system on which shamanism is based, is that modern people often mistake experiences that are common among animists for big spiritual deals.
If you hang out in metaphysical circles for a little while, you may observe what I call the "chosen one" complex. Some people have the first mystical experience of their lives and decide that makes them somehow really, really special---chosen by god, or spirits, or someone.
That assumption is not surprising in people who come from a materialistic culture that relegates authentic spiritual experiences to monks, nuns, and medieval mystics. But it would never happen in an animist culture, where "ordinary" people go on vision quests, get messages from animals and spirits, and have big, important dreams. That doesn't make them shamans, though.
Archeologists estimate that among ancient gathering-hunting cultures, judging by the graves they have excavated, shamans were only about 2 percent of the population. Shamanism really is not for everyone. It never was.
So if you are interested in studying shamanism, do so. But remember that it is a path of service to your community and to the spirit world.
Shamanism is not a way to relax, impress people, or just feel better about yourself. The spirits do not allow you to just go joyriding in the spirit world. If you have been doing that, or trying to, you may have been under a delusion, or you may be just about to be zapped by the spirits.
It is said that your intent is your protection, and that's true---if that intent is to help and serve others. If your intent is just to serve yourself, not so much.
If you are willing to be of service, the spiritual rewards can be immense. And you may experience physical and mental healing for yourself, if that is needed for you be able to help more.
Just remember that self-help is not the purpose for shamanism. The purpose is to serve others by harmonizing humans with the spirit world and the earth.
That is what I mean by saying that shamanism is "not about you."
For more information on classic shamanic practices, see the list of links to shamanism-related web sites near the lower right corner of this page.
White Cranes has been studying and teaching shamanic practices for 20 years. Follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/whitecranes and http://www.twitter.com/shamanista.
To learn to do shamanic practices in Houston, you are invited to join the Houston Shamanism Meetup group, http://www.meetup.com/houstonshamanism.
Comments
Dingdingding! Well said indeed!
Great article. Our society has become too much about "me."
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