WHAT IS SHAMANISM ?

 

 

Shamanism is the world’s oldest spiritual curing modality, is cross-cultural and dates back at least 40,000 years.

Because it is a spiritual modality, the aim of shamanism is to offer spiritual cures. Equally important, shamanism helps people to answer important questions about their lives.

 

For people who have been working with different spiritual techniques and modalities for some time, the notion that “all illness begins as spiritual dis-ease” is a common one.

 

In shamanism, we not only believe that all illness is rooted in power loss, we believe that it is the Helping Spirits who cure illness. Regardless how the illness presents itself the approach is the same. The practioner journey's to the spirit world to seek both knowledge and assistance. The practitioner works with the compassionate Helping Spirits as they dictate, and the clients receive their individual cures.

 

 

In indigenous cultures a man or woman may be called to the path of the shaman by the spirits themselves. This is happening today as many individuals are experiencing a 'tear' in the fabric of our accepted reality. One such 'tear' has been labeled 'Bi-polar illness' with devastating results to individuals and their families. Labeled as a mental illness it denies the individual validation of their 'calling' which is the beginning of the initiatory process.

 The indigenous cultures puts these individuals in the hands of an older shaman, to be trained through theoretical and practical instruction. and the illness is often healed. Once they have cured themselves than they become the 'wounded healer' their understanding of the working components from the inside allows them insight to guide others through that labyrinth. 

 

 

 

SHAMANISM TODAY

 

Since the West overwhelmingly lost its shamanic knowledge centuries ago due to religious oppression, the Foundation for Shamanic Studies programs in core shamanism are particularly intended for Westerners to reacquire access to their rightful spiritual heritage through quality workshops and training courses. Training in core shamanism includes teaching students to alter their consciousness through classic shamanic non-drug techniques such as sonic driving, especially in the form of repetitive drumming, so that they can discover their own hidden spiritual resources, transform their lives, and learn how to help others. Core shamanism does not focus on ceremonies, such as those of Native American medicine men and women, persons who do both shamanism and ceremonial work.

 

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