shamanism

shamanism as an essence often comes to me as a language nestled into the cells of all matter, realms, beings, & lifeforms. a language of deep listening and tuning in to the energetic truth—or spirit—of things. the practice of shamanism is the ability to harness this deep listening to receive knowing and to stimulate a shift in other realms so that our realms may come into balance. since many of the problems of our time are spiritual, energetic, emotional, and ancestral, they are often not shifted by ordinary means of tending. for a spiritual problem seeks a spiritual tending.

shamanism has been practiced all over the world by all peoples and continues to be. in this way shamanism is a universal language that all peoples speak and hear in their own dialects. while practices of shamanism vary in diversity spanning the diversity of life on the planet, many of the vehicles and functions of shamanism are overlapping. a few of these are the shamanic journey, the shamanic dance, usage of trance states of ecstasy, and sonic drivers such as a drum beat or rattling. while specific shamanic practices that are culturally specific have become more widely known in the modern world in association with shamanism as a monolith, there are as many ways for shamanic ritual to come together as there are people who may be engaging the ritual. another way to say this is that —the functions of shamanism as mentioned above are not the rituals themselves, and thus are universal gifts given to and practiced by people of all cultures—in their own ways. appropriation is what occurs when people take rituals, symbols, stories, and song that do not belong to them nor have they been blessed by the peoples they come from to use them for one’s own end and means. 

to hear a shamanic call and take it up and learn to walk the path one must deeply engage the medicine and guidance of the spirits who seek to take you on this journey in tandem with life. a shamanic path reveals itself to the one who is called; it is not a path that can be borrowed from another. the medicine that moves through one’s shamanic practice comes from an intimacy with one’s well ancestors, helping spirits, the land, and the web of life we are all held within. medicine comes from intimacy and deep knowing, and an allowance for the river to flow. 

for those who feel the call to work with me i am honored to work with the spirits on your behalf. may we all honor the ancestors and the descendents by what we do in our own time.

grey Sun