A Deep Love for Shamanism
Hello to my return journeyers. A warm welcome to my semi-constant journeyers. And, a very special welcome to my new journeyers.
I am so glad you are here.
As you may well know, I have a deep love for Shamanism.
Contemporary Shamans, neo-Shamans or Shamanic practitioners are those that do not necessarily step onto the path of Shamanism under the tutelage of a Traditional or Indigenous Shaman. I believe one thing that unites contemporary Shamans and those connected to traditional groups is the understanding that the teachings come from Spirit. Another unifying aspect is the understanding that Shamanism is transcontinental. Shamanism is many things, including a practice of peering into other worlds in the quest for self-understanding, healing, expansion of consciousness, and reconnection to the Earth and to Spirit.
When I answered the call to explore Shamanism, I was practicing as a Registered Acupuncturist and Registered Yoga Teacher in a small hamlet outside of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – a location traditionally known to the Indigenous people of the land as Amiskawaciy Waskahikan.
My soul was very well acquainted with the ways that souls can be harmed. I was no stranger to deep therapeutic work in the realm of psychotherapy. I first learned to hear the voice of Spirit on my (then) therapist’s couch between sets of the tap tap tap tap of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).
I came to my therapist one session and said that I wanted to be in connection with Spirit. I use Spirit to describe that which is greater than us, that unites us together, of which we are but a part. It’s quite the mouthful, I know. You may be more comfortable with the term Creator, Source, or a term specific to your cultural or maybe even religious connections. You might be struggling, as I once did, with using a term at all or feeling connected to anything “greater."
A few sessions later, after five years of work, she referred me to her friend and Shaman.
My soul ached for wholeness.
From the moment I stepped into her apartment, I knew something was different about Shamanism. I had certainly experienced moments of soul flight – in which the soul can leave this reality (ordinary reality) and transcend to another reality (non-ordinary reality). If you’re unsure what I am speaking about, consider the sensation you can experience while in deep meditation, while resting in savasana after a vigorous vinyasa class, or when being guided through Yoga Nidra. When journeying, also known as soul flight, your physical body remains here, and your soul can travel to other realities.
You may be thinking, “Heather, tell me more about journeying." We will get there, dear journeyer, if not today, then in the not-so-distant future.
If you had told me ten years ago, that one day I would be collecting moon water (more on this later), engaging in ritual and ceremony, and drumming to journey to the Spirit World, I may have chuckled and even rolled an eye or two. What I can tell you, is that ten years ago, I was seeking exactly what I, and so many others, are seeking: connection and healing.
Many of us feel this inner sense that we have lost connection to Nature, the Earth, the sacred, our soul, and our purpose.
In our quest to become the most advanced species, we have unintentionally separated ourselves from the forces of Nature and Nature herself.
I, too, have walked along through a significant amount of my time here on Earth as a somnambulist. At times, I would have this sensation of waking up. But the pressures of day-to-day life and the humdrum of this world’s expectations would bounce me along and, like a baby being jostled along in a stroller, the whirr of life would lull me back to sleep.
By the time I stepped into Kriket’s healing room (Kriket is the name of the first Shaman I was referred to), I was a weary traveller that was scarred by life and marred by encounters on this path – but I had come home. The first time I received a soul retrieval, I felt like I had been slammed back inside my body.
Over the course of our lifetime (and past lifetimes, should you choose to consider this view), our souls can be changed by our experiences. Your soul can be hurt, split off, or diminished.
A client recently expressed that seeing the creation of The Shaman’s Path woke something up inside her too. She noted that if I could find my path of connection, belonging, and hope… then maybe she could too.
Perhaps you have found yourself here seeking just the same – this momentary awakening.
Whatever has brought you here, I hope that this space illuminates something for you.
Kriket once said to me that she could not walk the path for me, but that in the darkest moments, she would stand there and hold the light until I could see the path for myself.
I hope to hold that light for you too.
May The Shaman’s Path support you in living a soul-filled life.
And as always, thank you for your kind attention.
Until we meet again in this time, space, and place – happy journeying.
-Heather
