(THE PRACTICE OF THE PRACTICE)

The fundamental belief in shamanism the world over is that we, as spiritual beings, are interconnected with all other life that is imbued with spirit. Animals and plants have spirit. They are alive. Wind, sun, rain and computers also have spirit. They are alive in the shamanic sense. Spirit is also the essence of a thing. It is what makes a bear a bear or a toaster oven toast. Spirits are cross culturally subjectively described as those, "transpersonal forces that we experience as moving in us or through us, but are not entirely moved by us." (Hoppal, 1987) They have their own agendas. Included in this shamanic cosmovision is the understanding that spirit also has a consciousness similar to our own. Shamans have the knowledge of how to enter into communication with these spirits, and serve their community by doing so.

The shamanic perspective holds an integrated view of the universe, one that crosses the boundaries of ordinary and non ordinary reality, the physical and the spiritual. One of the consequences of an integrated view of the universe is that action in one realm has an effect in another. Sickness is viewed as an imbalance in both the individual and the cosmos. The shaman mediates between the worlds in order to reestablish balance. Treatment therefore creates a healing in both realms. The shamans role is integral to the community and embedded in the culture.

Well-being in the shamanic sense is not limited to physical and mental health as we have become accustomed to thinking. It also includes success in business, warfare, prosperity, employment, children, love and friendship. These require flow and balance both within and between the worlds. This requires attention, intention and exchange.

A shamanic procedure may look something like the following. First there is a problem. A man is physically ill. A woman is unable to get a job. The community is starving because the fishermen have been unable to go out to the ocean because of rough seas. The crops are withering in the fields due to drought. All these need the attention of the shaman who knows that the spirits are the cause of these problems.

The shaman enters non ordinary reality to negotiate with the spirits and set things right. She may see that a soul has been abducted or an intrusion has entered a body. She may discover that the community is impure or has not been honoring the ancestors. The shaman calls on her spirit helpers to negotiate with the hostile spirits. She does a soul journey across the spiritual realms to extract harmful elements and cleanse the impurities of the community. Her job is to defeat the hostile spirits. She takes action and struggles with the opposing forces. This may take the form of physical battle or clever debate. She may even beg, plead, and cry, humbling herself before the spirits. Ultimately, the harmful spirit agrees to a settlement or is removed altogether.

Each time the shaman journeys, she dies and is reborn again, at least most of the time. (This is good news for the shaman.) She returns with vital knowledge, integrating it and herself back into the community. The community or individual is healed. This may or may not include curing in the allopathic sense Shamanic healing is in no way a substitute for allopathic medicine. They co exist together, working harmoniously on behalf of the patient. If you break your leg, you should immediately run (as it were), to see an orthopedic surgeon. Once the cast is in place you may want to hobble over to the local shaman who will endeavor to discover what was spiritually happening to you at the time of the accident. Why were your spirit guardians not protecting you? Is there someone or something that may need to be appeased in order for you to heal?

Shamanic healing concerns itself with the spiritual aspects of individual and community illness and disease. It is not a substitute for modern health care, acupuncture or homeopathic medicine. They are interconnecting circles whose center holds the intention for the well being of the individual and community.