MOTHERFOLK

WHAT IS SHAMANISM?

Shamanism is one of the oldest forms of spirituality that exists today. It is a universal wisdom tradition found across the world, with thousands of cultures separated by vast distances intuitively living by and practising healing techniques according to an agreed set of principles.

 

First, that everything in the material world is alive. From minerals, rocks, plants and trees, to animals and human beings, everything is imbued with energy — or consciousness — at varying degrees of awareness.

 

Second, that the material world is only one aspect of reality, and beyond our five ordinary senses, there dwells the extraordinary. The energies and entities that make up this invisible world are as much a part of our environment as the visible. 

 

Third, that our environment, being alive and conscious, both visible and invisible, is thus deeply connected and responsive to us. We affect it, and it affects us. We have a fundamental, if not always obvious, relationship.

 

Fourth, that the quality of that relationship is determined by balance and mutual support.

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AYNI

The Andean shamans use the word ayni to describe the depth and nuance of this philosophy. It points to a sacred reciprocity in which, as individuals, we're in harmony and right relationship within ourselves and each other, and as communities, we're in harmony and right relationship with our land and ancestors, and as humans, we're in harmony and right relationship with the earth and other beings in the universe. There is a natural dance of giving and receiving, a sacred exchange between seemingly separate entities, and a deep awareness and reverence for the interconnectedness of all things.  

 

In traditional indigenous cultures, being out of ayni might look like a village suffering from drought because something about the communal energy is misaligned. Perhaps neighbours aren't speaking to each other, or there's been a period of shared grief. A shaman would step into that village, perceive the conflicting energies, and then proceed to restore balance between the people and their environment — perhaps by fasting and meditating and offering prayers, or engaging in ceremony. 

 

In most of our modern lives, being out of ayni looks different because our immediate environments are not rivers, lakes, and mountains; they are offices, commutes, unassimilated communities, and very often, the four walls of our anxious and distracted minds. Imbalance might look like job expectations far exceeding the compensation; it might be exhaustion from caretaking in a broken social system; it might be that food starts to become poison because conglomerates are prioritising profits over nature and health; or it might be a dis-ease, a depression, or addiction, rooted in a personal trauma. It ranges from the glaringly huge to the subtle yet insidious.

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WHY IS BALANCE IMPORTANT?

Energy (consciousness) impacts its environment, and the environment, which is also conscious, reflects this impact in the ways available to it. When an energy is dominant or amplified, such as through longevity, intensity, groupthink, or shared traumas, the impact eventually becomes tangible. Our environment mirrors it, in some way. We can't see this happening with our physical eyes in real-time — (although some of us can really feel it) — we can only usually see the effects, like a drought, or a break-up, an accident, or illness. The lower the consciousness being expressed, the more turbulent the mirror, which is what we're seeing playing out in the world today. It's as if the hidden or repressed energy needs to find some way to make itself known, so that we can become aware of it, and love it back into balance.  

 

The Hermetic principle as within, so without; as above, so below is at the core of this philosophy. Our thoughts and our feelings, both individual and collective, really do create what we experience; so if we want to fix issues in the outside world, we must address what is out of alignment by looking within our communities, our families, but most essentially, ourselves, as this is where we have the greatest power to enact change. 

 

SEEING BEYOND THE VISIBLE

It can be very difficult for some western minds to appreciate ideas not 'proven by science', as we've historically valued the mental, intellectual body and its ability to gain knowledge through observation, testing, and repetition — which is fine and incredibly useful, but it's only one aspect of the human experience. And it's one that tends to lead to separation-consciousness. Other cultures, particularly in the east but elsewhere too, have focussed more on the spiritual body and its ability to gain wisdom through contemplation, meditation, and mystical experiences — which is, again, just one aspect. But one that tends to lead to more unity-consciousness. Both ways of understanding and interpreting the world are needed for experience and growth; for the whole to appreciate its individuality, and for the individual to find its way back to the whole, through spiritual wisdom and emotional maturity.  

 

Taking the sacred out of life — which is what has happened in modern, predominantly western, culture — cuts us off from our divine essence, and therefore, our true power as humanity, our ability to self-regulate, to heal and create beauty, and to co-exist with others. It makes it easy to fall out of alignment with many aspects of our lives. We exist at a very low state of consciousness where survival of the strongest, sexiest, wealthiest, or most powerful and influential becomes the modus operandi. We become lonely and disillusioned here, vulnerable to values and beliefs constructed by external, manipulating forces. Our society becomes competitive and hierarchical, and the systems within them corrupt. 

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WHERE WE ARE NOW

It is this profound and underlying lack of balance that has resulted in our current issues. When a species dominated by the mind and its separation-consciousness, still fighting over territory and resources, and valuing superficiality over the deepening of wisdom, is then given access to technologies that exceed their maturation, no amount of intellect appears to be able to prevent the selfishness, greed, unchecked ambitions, and cruel compulsions that result in what we're dealing with today — climate disasters, extinctions, genocide, war after war, famine, poverty, corruption in so-called developed nations, social service systems in collapse, the food industry hijacked, record levels of modern-day diseases, scientists blocking life-saving drugs for profit, leading doctors declaring aging women obsolete, depression, suicide, every other child diagnosed with ADHD.

 

Put simply, we are not spiritually evolved enough to handle the complexities of modern life and the devices we have created — or that have been given to us — to help deal with it. Rather than work together to create new infrastructures and use technology to end global suffering, those in charge have wielded their power to further manipulate and subdue, threaten and destroy. Fundamentally, we are out of ayni in all the ways it is possible to be. We are totally detached — mind, body, and soul — from the truth of interconnectedness, and from the responsibility we all have to create and maintain balance within ourselves, for each other, and the earth. 

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HOW SHAMANISM CAN HELP

These are the shadows, both personal and collective, that shamanism deals with. A shaman (or student of shamanism, for those of us who are not indigenous) is a luminous warrior, or wounded healer. Someone who has been through a symbolic death and rebirth many times in their life, and possibly over many lifetimes, facing and confronting hidden or repressed experiences within themselves and bringing them to consciousness, so that these fragments might be seen, loved, transformed, and thereby restored to wholeness. This process bears no resemblance to various New Age or otherwise distorted and commercialised concepts of what shamanism — or indeed any type of authentic spiritual healing — is. The call to become a shaman or healer is not a glamorous path and not one anyone would consciously choose, since the necessary challenges (or initiations) one goes through in life in order to be effective and pure of heart are extremely isolating, often pushing the initiate beyond what they can reasonably cope with before all of the learning alchemises into resilience, clarity, and an unshakeable inner stability. At some point on the journey, the shaman is instructed to continue their healing alongside the work of healing others; they have learnt enough to hold more light than shadow. They are unafraid of what might be found in the darkness, and can thus hold the light for others as well.  Shamans works with the land, in areas affected by trauma, with communities, and individual people. And the principles of non-judgment, no-enemies, beauty, and oneness are our healing allies.​

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GUIDING PRINCIPLES  

Non-judgment teaches us to let go of all preconceived beliefs, freeing us from prejudice and self-rejection. It is the basis for unconditional love.  

 

No-enemies acknowledges that everything originates from an intelligent source of unconditional love, and is present in this universe for the purposes of experience, growth, and reconnection with that source. While that process may take many forms, we are all, at our core, innocent and pure; and when you reflect unconditional love into another — whether it's a pathological warlord, an inconsiderate partner, or unwanted entity — it can do nothing but reflect it back, or be deflected from you until it is ready to evolve. The declaration of enemies, even when it feels logical and righteous, only serves separation-consciousness. Love is the only authentic source of power. Living in this truth, there is nothing to fear.  ​

 

Beauty reminds us that the healing path is not just about exorcising energies, or transmuting negative experiences. It's also about creating something new. We find the gifts hidden inside our challenges, and we use them to cultivate new skills, talents, abilities, and to attract experiences that bring us joy. We are reconciled with our own innocence and purity, and encouraged to move forward like children — open-minded and freely expressive, grounded by maturity and trust in a benevolent universe. ​

 

Oneness brings everything back to ayni and the Hermetic principle, encouraging us to embody our interconnectedness. It encourages us to see and think through the eyes and mind of the heart, and thus understand the beauty and clarity of everything — from small details to the big picture. We're reminded that, since everything is connected to everything else, working with love and integrity on behalf of the self and the other matters greatly, in all that we do.  ​

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LOVE AS A WAY OF LIFE

As this becomes a way of life, although challenges are still present, trauma and suffering cease to exist. ​​When we love ourselves without judgment, we unburden ourselves of so much. Old wounds, grievances, feuds, and unhealthy patterns have nothing more to latch onto. When we choose to see the beauty in our experiences, even the rubbish ones, we can move forward with purpose and awareness, open to receive new opportunities that are aligned with our higher consciousness; and when we are rooted in the awareness that life is sacred, connected, and deeply meaningful, we have no fear — even of death — and therefore nothing can control us. 

 

When we love each other in this healed state, our relationships flourish. When we love our communities and provide effective care, they nourish and support us. And when we love our earth and take from her in a grateful, sustainable way, she provides all of our material needs. This is ayni.  There are many paths to freedom and the Utopia I describe! This is simply how shamanism, in particular, can help us. Whichever path resonates with you most is the one that's right for you. Ultimately, all rivers lead to the same ocean. So, however we go about it, remembering our innocence and divinity, our connections and responsibilities will, in the end, heal us all.