Traditionally shamanism is a complex system of beliefs which includes the knowledge and belief in the names of the helping spirits in the shamanic pantheon, the memory of certain texts, the rules for and the objects, tools and paraphernalia used by shamans. Shamanism is ultimately a method, not a religion with a fixed set of dogmas. People arrive at their own experience, deriving conclusions about what is going on in the universe, a place that is "just the way things are". Shamanism is a belief system on the threshold between religious and everyday ideas.
What is a Shaman?
The shaman is the priest or priestess of the shamanic path. A shaman is:
The supporter of a belief system/value system that legitimizes the cultural social structure and structure of power.
The shaman acts as initiate, mystic, custodian of tribal lore, suffering savior, medium, physician, and psychotherapist.
A three-way intermediary between the tribe, the inhabitants of the spirit world, and nature.
In these roles, the shaman maintains the balance in society and the world. In pursuit of balance, the shaman insures a conduit is maintained between waking consciousness and the mythic underworld. This empowers the shaman to apply inner mythic wisdom to the circumstances that arise in daily life.
As the shaman takes the role of psychotherapist, they can see things others can't. In our culture, this is a symptom regarded as a psychotic episode. Yet, the shaman is not psychotic. He is a fully functional member of his local social order, and is amongst the most intelligent and creative people of the community. Shamans must also be a healthy individual to have the ability to maintain a high degree of concentration and physical stamina.
What is the Calling to Shamanism?
The shaman is the archetypal technician of the sacred, and his profession is precisely the relationship between mythic imagination and ordinary consciousness.
Conventionally, there are two different ways to be called:
Hereditary - ancestors were shamans. A "lesser" shaman that is designated by the social community.
Spontaneous "vocation" (call or election) and such a shaman is believed to be called by the spirits. A "greater" shaman designated by a supernatural order of power.
The spontaneous vocation of the shaman may begin with the shaman becoming extremely nervous and withdrawn. The future shaman is called to cure themselves before they can cure others. In our modern world, the would-be shaman is called to cure themselves of the illusions and bonds that are given to us all. The curing may or may not be physical, but the sickness will be psychological, and energetic sickness can lead to physical sickness.
Traditionally the initiation can be very harsh. The illness removes the past - reveals the "data of human existence" while the ritual initiation (plunged into freezing water, slashed with quartz knives, left to fast alone) brings the shaman fact to face with death and beyond. The shaman must "attain to intimacy with the supernatural by visions of death". The old must die so the new can be reborn. The shaman must cure himself of initiatory sickness, and only afterwards can the shaman cure the other members of the community.
There are some common themes to the spontaneous initiation of the shaman.
Vertical movement of spirit. Visions of vertical caves, rainbows, and birds are often featured.
Acquisition of "helping spirits" or supernatural beings - shaman gains power over the spirits that came to eat his flesh or challenged him. The violence of the encounter is attached to the power gained. While the gaining of the spirits does not require violence, there is always an element that transcends the normal.
Attainment of vision: seeing in darkness (3rd eye) or seeing into hidden things, future or secrets of other men.
There are common elements of shamanic training. As apprentices, shamans are taught by both master shamans and spirit allies. The training can include: nomenclature, history, technology (ritual, music, dance), secret knowledge (power plants and power places), and dream interpretation. In our society the master shaman has been replaced by media resources and perhaps several teachers. The last training, mystical mythology, is the doorway through which the shaman relates the other nature and the spirit world to his tribe or cultural group. With this lacking, the practitioner is merely a sage, mage, or sorcerer.
Altered Consciousness: Non-Ordinary Reality
The shaman communicates with the spirit world in a state of altered consciousness. This altered consciousness has been referred to as "non-ordinary" reality by Carlos Castaneda. While the shaman is in a state of non-ordinary reality, the realness is identical to that of ordinary reality. The methods of achieving an altered consciousness are varied, with the shaman using the method(s) that are culturally accepted. These methods include:
1) Intensive temperature conditions. The shaman can not only withstand temperatures, he can also produce heat for healing and maintenance of the body under harsh conditions.
2) Physical or sensory deprivation. The shaman undergoes fasting, no sleep, and darkness. The focus of all of these is to remove the outward contemplation, turn thought inward toward another reality.
3) The use of sacred plants. Culturally accepted mind/mood altering plants are used for sacred reasons, not recreational. Often, when there is a mental narrowness that impedes the achieving of non-ordinary reality, the sacred plants open the door and provide a entry. Future entry can then be achieved through other means.
4) Auditory aids to altered states. Drums, chanting, and music serve the purpose of bypassing the logical, language side of the self. It is known that the auditory aids activate all brain centers, opening states of consciousness suppressed in ordinary conditions.
5) Spirit Allies. These represent a combination of logic and intuition as man reaches for symbols of a unified order of things. The spirit allies can be part of ourselves, and also part of that universe outside of our brain.
There are some common characteristics of altered consciousness. The shaman voluntarily enters and controls the duration of the altered state. During the altered state, the shaman may communicate with others. And finally, the shaman remembers the experiences at the conclusion of the altered state.
