Shamanism And Medical Science - Mutually Exclusive Disciplines?

contributed by reader, Jenni Greaves

Shamanism is, sadly, viewed by many as a dubious quack-practice grounded in bygone superstition. The minds of such people are closed to the potential of shamanic healing, and they have no wish to discuss the matter. However, some who may not quite believe in the more mystical aspects of shamanism are perfectly willing to accept it as a practice which can be of immense help to the psyche. Indeed, many have likened psychologists to modern shamans, their jobs essentially being to conduct people through the sometimes perilous realm of their souls (or psyches) and resolve conflicts therein. Though the ideological theories of the two doctrines may differ in some ways, the essential aim and, often modus operandi, bear marked similarities. This is increasingly becoming a matter of interest to modern science. Vanderbilt University points out that "Shamanic methods of working with dreams and being conscious and awake while dreaming open new doors in psychological research into the nature and history of consciousness" [1].  While some may be doubtful about the magical aspects of shamanism, modern medicine is growing to accept its psychological and even physical value. Even disbelievers can therefore benefit from shamanism without feeling that they are compromising their scientific principles.

The Psychoanalyst As Shaman
The idea of shamanic soul-flights as psychological healing tools have been present ever since the fathers of psychiatry began to appreciate the presence of and delve into the human subconscious. Freud and Jung, the undisputed fathers of modern psychiatry, were incredibly interested in the myths, symbols and archetypes with which shamans work. Both saw such things as representative of deep cultural mores which are both embedded within and representative of the human mind. Though couching his theories in scientific language, the exploration of the psyche which Freud published in "The Interpretation of Dreams" [2] would have been recognizable to any shaman. The way Freud saw it, mythic frameworks, symbols, and tale-formulae were a way in which humans could interpret and engage with their psychological states (and the demons inherent therein). The shamanic view is something more mysterious, spiritual, and magical, but the idea of healing through a mythic 'soul-journey' is common to both disciplines.

Mind, Body, Soul - Full Integration
Recently, medical science has begun to turn its attention to the spiritual and emotional aspects of healing. Initially this trend began (understandably enough) within the spheres of mental health and psychiatry. However, the medical establishment is now tentatively beginning to explore the connection between mind and body in an enhanced manner, focusing on the emotional aspects of pain and disease, and the physical effects of psychological trauma. This field of study began where physical illness and mental trauma self-evidently overlap – with addiction and substance disorders. The popularity and apparent success of recovery programs which focused on a degree of spirituality gave medical authorities – accustomed to dealing with disorders purely on a physical or chemical basis, pause for thought. The Betty Ford Institute and the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment investigated the phenomenon in 2007, concluding that "spirituality, however hard to define in operational terms, likely constitutes an important motivator for recovery for some (perhaps many) substance-dependent people." [3]. From a shamanic point of view, an addiction is an affliction of the soul caused by the absence or damage of some aspect of the self. Retrieval of the errant part and spiritual re-integration causes the person to become whole again, whereupon they will not need the actions of drugs or alcohol to fill the 'gap'. While unwilling or unable to accept this precise reasoning, medical practitioners are now accepting that addiction is a psychological problem which can be greatly aided by psychoanalytical and spiritual techniques which aid psychological wellness and wholeness. Rehabs.com state that many treatment centers now employ semi-spiritual methods designed to promote mental wholeness and wellness, including "massage and acupuncture services"  [4].

Shamanism and Pain
Shamanism and shamanistic techniques are also being explored in relation to pain and the person's ability to cope with it. In 1949, anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss published "Structural Anthropology" [5] – a book which delved into anthropological theory, practice and conclusions. Within this book was a paper entitled "The Effectiveness of Symbols", in which Levi-Strauss described and analyzed a shamanic ritual of the Cuna people from Panama. The purpose of the ritual was to aid a woman with a difficult childbirth. The shaman, through an elaborate blend of tale-telling and ritual, pulled the woman into a mythic yet deeply personal world which Levi-Strauss perceived to belong to the cultural subconscious. The shaman and his patient believed themselves to be drawing positive spiritual energies to their side and embarking upon a mythic journey through which the woman's soul would be rendered whole and she would gain the strength needed to get through the birth. Levi-Strauss saw it in less mystical terms, but was in no way immune to the psychological potential of the ritual. Indeed, he compared the shaman to a psychoanalyst and drew strong parallels between the ultimate aim and results of the ritual and that of a psychoanalytic session. Neither was he too closed-minded to appreciate the real, physical healing potential of the shamanic ritual. Even though he did not believe in magic or the religion of the Cuna, he did believe in the potential within the mind to heal and aid the body. According to Levi-Strauss, the shaman was "making explicit a situation originally existing on the emotional level and...rendering acceptable to the mind pains which the body refuses to tolerate".  Medical science increasingly accepts that the volume of pain is less important than the mind's ability to cope with it. Naturally every person has their breaking point, but it is truly astounding what the human can bear when they have the right mentality. The British Journal of Anesthesia points out that a person's beliefs about and understanding of the pain which they are experiencing can form "part of the psychosocial context, known to be the largest indicator in predicting the extent of pain-associated disability" [6], and go on to recommend cognitive behavioral therapy for sufferers of chronic pain, in order to diminish their suffering and enable them to cope. In just such a manner does the shaman build up the psychological strength of the patient, bolstering them, unlocking the resources hidden deep within their souls, and enabling them to draw upon those resources to aid them in their pain.

Better United
It seems, therefore, that shamanistic techniques and medical techniques - particularly those of the psychiatrist - can be successfully combined to bring about healing even for those who do not believe in mystical shamanism. The ancient shamans knew a good deal more about the depths of our minds and the relations between mind and body than western science has, until recently, cared to admit-  and their techniques can still be used to bring about unity and healing for suffering people.

[1] Vanderbilt University, "What is Shamanistic Healing?"
[2] Sigmund Freud, "The Interpretation of Dreams", Sterling Publishing
[3] Marc Galanter, Helen Dermatis, Gregory Bunt, Caroline Williams, Manuel Trujillo, Paul Steinke, "Assessment of spirituality and its relevance to addiction treatment", Betty Ford Institute and Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 2007
[4] Rehabs, "Advantages and disadvantages of various methods"
[5] Claude Levi-Strauss, "Structural Anthropology", Basic Books Publishing
[6] C.Eccleston, "Role of psychology in pain management", BJA, 2001

Shamanism – How to Create Sacred Space

Remember the old TV commercial with the frazzled mom at the end of the day pouring bath salts into the tub and exclaiming, "Calgon, take me away"? She probably didn't define it that way, but she was seeking her own sacred space. Sacred space is something we all need especially these days when we are constantly bombarded with noise, stress and fast-paced living. Magical practitioners and shamans also create sacred space before performing many of their rituals and practices. According to which traditions or magical practices you follow, there are numerous ways to create sacred space. Here are a few simple ones that anyone can do.

1. Sun Yellow Candle - Take a Sun Yellow candle (a bright yellow candle that has no orange overtones) and paper or wooden matches. To create sacred space with the Sun Candle, you will need to "charge" it, or program it to do so. To charge the candle:
- Stand or sit in the South facing North with the Sun Candle in front of you
- Light the candle using wooden or paper matches (do NOT use a lighter)
- Wait until the candle flame is steady and tall
- Hold your hands up to and around the flame, focusing your attention on the candle and flame.
- Say the charge verse below in a voice of command (a strong, powerful voice)
Child of Wonder,
Child of Flame,
Nourish My Spirit,
And Protect My Aim!
If there are other people in the room with you, you can change the "My" to "Our" and make the words "Spirit" and "Aim" plural. Leave the candle burning in the room for at least 30 minutes (be sure the candle is on a protected surface such as a plate and is not a fire hazard). At the end of 30 minutes or when you feel ready, blow out the flame (don't snuff it).

2. Sacred Place – Sit in a quiet, comfortable location and close your eyes. See yourself walking somewhere that is pleasing to you. See all the details, smell the smells around you, hear the sounds around you, feel the weather conditions. Start to see a place ahead of you that you are going to. See what it looks like in as much detail as you can. It might be an opening in a wooded area, or a gazebo by a lake or anywhere that you find pleasing and relaxing. Keep walking until you arrive at the place. Breathe deeply in your sacred place and decide what you will put here. You might want to put an altar of some kind or your magic books or special artifacts or magical tools. Feel yourself being in this place you have created and spend as much time as you can there. When you are done, retrace the steps you took to get there and return to where you started. You can then return again and again to this same place anytime you wish or need a getaway. I find sometimes in the middle of a particularly stressful day that just seeing the place in my mind and anticipating the next time I can go there helps to calm things down for me.

3. Sacred Circle – Find a place either inside or outside that is at least 3 feet in diameter. Burn sage in a firebowl, smudge stick, or incense burner. Starting in the east direction, carry your firebowl or smudge stick and walk towards the south creating a circle using the smoke until you return to the east. You can also use a chalice (tool of the magical element of water) with spring water in it and a pinch of sea salt (representing magical element of earth) and go over the circle you created with your smoke, sprinkling the water. Then starting in the east direction invite each of the Winds into your circle in this order, Winds of the East, Winds of the South, Winds of the West, Winds of the North and finally invite Sky Father and Earth Mother into your circle. You can use this space you have now created to meditate, perform a ceremony of some type, drum, chant or just sit with the higher powers you have invited in. When you are done, remember to thank each of these higher powers for being there and bid them farewell starting with the Winds of the East, then south, west, north, Sky Father and Earth Mother.

Creating Sacred space gives us a way to experience peace, serenity and a connection with the higher. It is necessary for anyone following a spiritual path of any kind and allows us access to third force and our inner voice or spirit. Spending time in your sacred space is healing for body, mind and spirit. So give it a try, "Sacred Space, take me away".

You can get all your ritual supplies in the webstore at the Esoteric School.

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Shamanic Journey – The Way of the Shaman

I still remember many years ago both the excitement and the trepidation I had upon enrolling in the Beginning Shamanism class at the Esoteric School. I had completed all the magic classes offered and was a bit scared of my perception of shamanism. I couldn't resist going down this path after all the life changing discoveries I experienced in the magic classes, but I admit now that I was somewhat intimidated and a bit skeptical that I could perform such shamanistic feats as going out of body, conversing with spirits and exploring other realms. It all sounded so mysterious.

I look back now and see that this class was a beginning, a Shamanic journey that started me on the road to following the way of the shaman. I did learn the lessons and techniques, but that class was the springboard for a lifestyle change. A shaman is an original researcher working in the Sciences of Religion and Magic. The shaman has meaningful direct communication with higher beings (and possibly lower level entities) to advance man's knowledge. The information obtained can be used just to increase the body of knowledge, for healing, divination, and many other things. Following the way of the shaman means that information is obtained from all sorts of physical and non-physical beings.

By learning techniques to interview and communicate with a wide spectrum of beings and expanding my spirit perceptics way beyond the 5 senses most of us use, I have found new meaning in Metaquiason (we are all one). Following the way of the shaman is a pathway of developing spiritually and embarking on personal inner growth. It also leads us to developing our inborn abilities, perceptic powers and seek power and help from all that is around us. In these present times where we are surrounded by electromagnetic fields of white noise and ruled by technology, many of us don't have a sense of the spiritual insights, powers and abilities that we were born with. The way of the shaman takes us back to a time when the abilities and powers we had were understood and not seen as something extraordinary, something to be feared or something that society shunned. It also leads us to discover who we really are, develop an awareness of how we are connected to everything and everyone else and find our places in the Universe.

If all this sounds intriguing, following the way of the shaman may be for you too. Developing your spirit perceptics is a place you can start exploring. Through the spirit perceptics shamans are able to gather much more information than is available to the 5 senses of the physical body. It takes time to develop these senses so don't be discouraged if you don't get the results you want in the beginning. Just keep practicing. An easy way to start is to learn to expand on a sense that you are already familiar with and use like hearing.

Exercise:

• Sit in a comfortable, quiet location
• Close your eyes and relax (maybe do some deep breathing)
• Draw an imaginary circle about a foot in diameter around you
• Listen to the sounds you hear within this circle and identify each
• Start with the common sounds, ie – children laughing, leaves rustling, someone walking by. Then move on to more obscure sounds that we usually wouldn't notice, ie – the wind blowing softly, an ant walking
• Then you can move on to widening your circle and doing the same thing.
• See how big your circle can become. A block, 5 blocks, a mile?

The more you practice, the more you will stop listening with your physical ears and start listening with your spirit ears. This could be your first step on your shamanic journey, the path to following the way of the shaman.

If you find this is a path for you, check out the Basic Shamanism Homestudy course at the Esoteric School.

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Do You Have an Unwanted Spirit in Your House? What to Do

Do you keep losing your keys and other small objects? Hear cabinet doors slamming in the middle of the night? Is something causing your dogs to bark at nothing at all?

If so, then you may have one or more unwanted spirits in your home. This is not unusual, nor anything that you need to particularly fear. Many times spirits who have not "moved on" hang around a house, either because they are familiar with the house or simply because they like something about the house.

For instance, when we moved into our current house, we would often see a spirit sitting in an old barrel chair in our living room, particularly during our morning meditations. When we described this spirit, a very thin old man wearing jeans and a red checkered shirt, to one of our neighbors, we discovered that he used to live in our house. He simply "hung around" during meditations, liking the feel of the barrel chair. Eventually, though, he made my wife uncomfortable so we gave the very old chair to the pastor of a church. The spirit of the old man never returned.

What to Do if You Have a Spirit in Your Home
So what should you do if you have an unwanted spirit in your home? There are multiple options, none of which are difficult or scary. You might try one of the below options.

1. Learn to Live with the Spirit
Our neighbors live in a very old farmhouse, which is inhabited by a spirit who is mischievous rather than dangerous or harmful. He likes to slam kitchen cabinet doors at night, when the house is dark and quiet. What do our neighbors do? Nothing too drastic. When they hear him banging the doors, they just yell "Stop that!" or "Cut it out!" Oddly enough, that's all it takes to keep him quiet. Since he doesn't get up to any other kind of trouble, they leave him be the rest of the time. Most spirits don't like yelling or loud noises, so this often works when a spirit is up to naughty tricks.

2. Talk to the Spirit
Many spirits have no idea that they no longer have bodies and are "hanging around" where they are unwanted. If you can see, sense, or feel the spirit, then you can talk to him or her. You hold a conversation with a spirit just as you would with another person. There are two main differences. First, some spirits are quite "down tone" and may not respond to you right away. Don't worry. Just keep asking questions and talking to the spirit until you get a response. Second, the spirit's "answers" may sound like a voice in your head rather than an actual voice. This is perfectly normal since the spirit doesn't have a body, so can't speak out loud.

Once you engage the spirit in conversation, start asking questions about the last lifetime in which the spirit had a body. Ask for a name, the time period in which he or she lived, and other relevant details. Finally, bring the conversation around to the happiest time the spirit can remember in that lifetime. This memory of a happy time should bring the spirit up the tone scale, and allow him or her to move on. You may want to help the spirit by asking him or her to move on, or offer to help him or her find a new body (in a tree, cloud, or rock, for instance).

3. Banish the Spirit
This option is a last resort, and should only be used if the spirit in your home is really bothersome or harmful. While these kinds of spirits do exist, most spirits are relatively harmless. One way to discover whether a harmful spirit is inhabiting your space is to cut a clove of garlic in four equal sections, and place one section in each cardinal direction in your home. If the hearts of the garlic cloves turn dark within 24 hours, then you do indeed have a darker spirit cohabitating with you. At this point, you will need to either do a banishment or have someone do a banishment for you. Shamans, magicians, and other spiritual practitioners can do this using a keyed athame and electric blue energy.

Explore these three options if you have an unwanted spirit living with you. As discussed earlier, most of these spirits are fairly harmless, and will move on if you simply ask them to leave. Good luck!

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Why Storm Spirits Dislike People

I'm sitting here enjoying an absolutely lovely flash-bang thunderstorm, and remembering a long-ago conversation I had with a storm spirit. Back in the early days of my studies in magic and shamanism, I was given the assignment to go out and communicate with a nature spirit, be it a spirit of tree, rock, or sky.

Being naturally of an excitable temperament myself (being a triple Fire sign, astrologically), I chose to communicate with a storm spirit. I waited until a particularly heavy storm hit our area, then went out to have my first person-to-storm chat. The results were startling.

The long and short of the conversation was that storm spirits don't much like people, and with good reason. During my chat with the storm spirit, I raised the issue that the spirit seemed quite angry and aggressive. The storm spirit replied that it was a bit angry, especially with people, because most people didn't like storms and didn't want them around.

I replied that this wasn't entirely illogical, since storms could be inconvenient, causing a lot of destruction and wet. The storm spirit huffed about that, I can tell you! He said that storms were a necessary part of the ecosystem, and that people didn't properly appreciate their role. Storms cleanse the air and the land, and distribute water where it is needed. He added that it took a lot of force to do all of this cleansing and moving of water. He, like most storm spirits, was fast-moving and very direct. He didn't have a lot of time to chat.

The biggest reason he disliked people, he said, was because most people talked about him but not to him. He said many people were quite negative about storms, in general, and cursed them. Unlike the people of ancient tribes, who properly appreciated the role storm spirits played in the ecosystem, modern people only see the inconvenience of storms.

The storm spirit and I ended the conversation on good terms (he was in a hurry to move on). I discovered a new appreciation for storms and the spirits who create them. I've since had several more conversations with storm spirits, some of which were even in the process of forming tornados. In my experience, storm spirits start out angry. They like to clobber the landscape and be aggressive, but once you get them talking they tend to lighten up. And you have to talk fast, because storm spirits don't have a lot of patience for idle chatter. They are all about action.

If you want to deepen your connection with the world of spirits, storm spirits can be interesting conversational partners, when you can make yourself heard. If you do decide to try communicating with storm spirits, be sure to hail them out loud and welcome them. Since these spirits are used to be cursed rather than welcomed, don't be surprised if your first greeting is met with a salvo of wind and rain. Just hang in there and keep shouting out your greeting until the spirit hears you. The conversation is sure to be a revelation!

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Magical Kindergarten

In the pursuit of esoteric, magical or shamanic training, there is something that must be explained to all prospective and interested students. It's a condition created in our instant-gratification society by movies such as Harry Potter or "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." In these movies the high arts of advanced sorcery, magick and wizardry are taught from the beginning. Harry Potter goes to school and is immediately taught alchemy, transforming objects from one form to another. He can fly on a broomstick right away. In "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," almost all the characters know some form of Kung-Fu, and can levitate and fight with a great degree of skill. While all of this makes for great movies, it seriously misrepresents the learning process for magical knowledge. These movies portray in two hours what can take decades to learn, if at all.

Having said all that, let's now talk about magical kindergarten. There is a kindergarten for magical learning just as there is a kindergarten for public school. In every form of learning, you must master the basics before you can move on to more advanced techniques. Many fantasy novels do a much better job of portraying the process of learning than current movies. For instance, in a fantasy series like "The Belgariad" by David Eddings or a novel like "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. LeGuin, the period of early learning and apprenticeship is spelled out in more detail. In both of these books, young magicians-to-be balk at having to learn the fundamentals of magick before being able to cast spells, shape-shift or levitate. But in all cases, the masters force their young apprentices to learn the fundamentals, sometimes for years at a time. In this early process, they are teaching their apprentices the skills of seeing, stalking, will and control. A person's knowledge can only be matched with his level of being, and all of these skills contribute to the level of being. You can have a person with a lot of magical knowledge and no being (a powerless magician), or a person with a very high level of being but no knowledge (a stupid saint). In either case, neither will be very effective in the worlds of magick and shamanism.

So if and when you embark on a journey to learn the arts of magick and shamanism, be patient with the process. Learn the fundamentals well because you'll need to know them instinctively later on. If you are going to do a banishment and you encounter a being who could be either a ghost or an archetype, you'll have to know immediately how to distinguish them because you won't have time to think! A ghost can be banished with a blast of electric blue, but an archetype will fight back and send 10 times the blast of electric blue back at you. It sometimes takes years before you understand the implications of the knowledge that you already have, and this is a rightful part of the magical journey. An author who does a great job describing this path is Tom Brown, Jr. His books include "This Vision," "The Tracker" and "The Journey." If you want to get a real sense of what magical kindergarten looks like, read his books, then add about 15 years to it, since he started when he was 8 and most of us don't start this journey until much later.

Does the thought of magical kindergarten sound boring and interminable? It is in some ways because we don't get to satisfy that need in us to do something really big and glorious in the magical realms. At the same time, though, remember that kindergarten was a lot of fun. In kindergarten, you get to play a lot, and you're not required to do much. As you take this journey, the path keeps getting narrower and narrower, so enjoy the path while it's big and wide. Kindergarten is kindergarten, whether you're 5 or 50. Enjoy!

A Real Book of Shadows – What Is It?

A lot of people wonder, "What is a book of shadows? Is it fact or fiction?" In fact, thousands of people type in the search term "real book of shadows" every month to try to find out. If you watch the TV show "Charmed" then you'll know that the Halliwell sisters have a giant book of spells written by their ancestors called a book of shadows. Others will take a hint from the title of the second "Blair Witch" movie, despite there being no actual book in the movie. Still others think a book of shadows is something of a personal journal for Wiccans, an idea popularized by Gerald Gardner, who brought Wiccan practices to public attention with his book "Witchcraft Today," published in 1954.

Obviously the definition of a real book of shadows varies widely in popular culture, and it does among magical and shamanic practitioners as well, depending on which tradition they practice. However, most practitioners agree on three common usages and purposes for a real book of shadows.

** 1. Record Spell Details **

A real book of shadows is used to record all the details of spells that have been cast, including the divinations used prior to casting the spell, the directors and limiters (or parameters) of the spell, the actual methods used in the spell, the results of divinations to check the progress of the spell, and any results of the spell. These details are crucial in case a spell ever goes wrong and has to be taken down. The way a practitioner takes down a spell that has already been cast depends on the way that the spell was cast. For instance, if a spell was cast using a carved candle then to take down the spell the practitioner could break the candle used in the spell and bury the remnants in the garden for a moon cycle.

** 2. Track Magical and Shamanic Research **

Magical and shamanic practitioners are often engaged in research. This research can be to discover facts about past lives, divine future events, try out new techniques, or travel to different planes. For instance, magical practitioners in our tradition will record the results of walks in the black mirror, which is a portal to other planes of existence, commonly called the half-worlds. When walking in the black mirror, the practitioner needs to use a litany or chant to direct the walk and keep from getting lost. After returning from such a walk, not only will the practitioner record the results of the walk in a real book of shadows, including any new facts or revelations, but will also record the effectiveness of the chant so that it can be used again or fine-tuned for future use.

** 3. Preserve Magic and Shamanism for the Future **

Of course, one of the most important purposes of a real book of shadows is to preserve magical and shamanic knowledge for future practitioners. Practitioners of most traditions "stand on the shoulders" of those giants who have come before. There's no real reason to keep re-inventing the wheel. A real book of shadows, which can contain the research and results of multiple generations of practitioners, is usually handed down through the generations. Each generation of practitioners (who are not necessarily related) adds their experience to the book. In fact, the material in a real book of shadows is often so voluminous that the "book" becomes a multi-volume set.

A real book of shadows is really a record of magical and shamanic experience that is preserved either for an individual's use or for future use. Some practitioners keep individual books of shadows and never hand them down, either because they have no one to hand them to or because they are secretive. In any event, if you are a practitioner of the magical arts, you should definitely start your own book of shadows. It will help you remember what you have done, track your magical experiments, and possibly create a magical asset for the future.

In Magic,
Alan