Shamanism

Shamanism

By Rev. Ovidiu Petrescu

The history of an old form of Divination

Knowledge is the mother of science. Opinion is the mother of ignorance.

- Hippocrates (460-377 BC.)

Shamanism is a prehistoric form of divination used by different tribes around the world. The word saman comes from language of Tungus speaking tribe of Siberia, and it could be translated as the wise one. Initially the word meant the religious leader – a Priest or High Priest - of Siberian region. In our days it is synonym with medicine man/woman, magician, witch doctor, and sorcerer.

“Shamanism is not only a religion or a facet of religion; it is a very active and practical one. Although Shamans are mystics and experience the basic patterns of the world and appreciate them for their own sake, everything a Shaman does is ultimately directed towards regulating some aspect of the world on behalf of the community. The Shaman’s soul travels in order to rescue the souls of others, to fight demons and to obtain food and material resources”. (Vitebsky 156).

A Shaman was the most powerful person amongst the members of the tribe. A layman became a shaman by heritage or he was chosen by Spirits World. His initiation was very demanding. To achieve his task, a Shaman has to reach a trance state, by the help of rituals, drums, chanting, and using different hallucinogens. Shamans have power over spirits, over

illness of his people, and he could demand changes of nature’s pattern. He could leave his body

at his will; he could invoke spirits help to overcome death, and/or master life’s circumstances. He also could be a fearless and a vicious warrior, a knowledgeable healer, a mediator on the tribe’s mundane problems, and in general his words were followed by the letter. We find shamanism from Japan to the Natives of Americas; from Africa to Northern of Europe, to Australia and the smallest Islands. Now days Shamans take different forms, and they still to practice their skills in Brazil, Dakotas, Finland, Mongolia, Siberia, and different other countries around the World. The Shamans emancipated in hunting societies, and they adapted into agricultural societies.

“A figure from the Les Trois Freres Cave in the French Pyrenees, nicknamed – the dancing sorcerer – thought by some to be a shaman. Every part of his anatomy seems to belong to some animal: wolf’s ears, deer’s antlers, horse’s tail, and bear’s paws. Yet the overall effect is compellingly human. A plausible interpretation is that he is a spirit Master of the Animals, who embodies the essence of all these species at once”. (Vitebsky 29).

In Desana tribe of Northern Amazon the word for “hunting” was synonymous with “making love to animals”, so in early times of history the word “hunt” and “love” were analog. Because the survival weighted in the life style of that time, the strongest and most skillful hunter usually possessed youngest, most healthful reproductive females.

“Although some scholars have argued that the word shaman is actually derived from Sanskrit, the term could strictly be used to mean only the religions of Siberia and Mongolia. Through much of the area there is a special association between the Shaman and the blacksmith. There were many different kinds of shamans, even within the same societies. Some were healers; others were finders of games, and still others warded off evil spirits or contacted the dead”. (Vitebsky 34-35).

In the forest of Amazon Shamans use hallucinogenic snuff to induce trance and visions. Among these plants are peyote, datura, psilocybin mushrooms, and others. Also Shamans through songs and chants alone can alter their consciousness. In most Africans cultures Shamans don’t travel to spirit world, but the spirits come to this world and take possession over Shamans.

“The Shaman’s activities depend closely on the ability to sweep the audience along with the power of his or her performance, which must have its effect both on the audience and on the Shaman. Shamans use many props and symbols to represent their psychic experience, and to affect the experience of their clients. Magar Shamans from Nepal use special costumes, feathers of powerful birds, and drums and bells to create hypnotic musical effects, as well as the poetic language of spells and prayers”. (Vitebsky 52).

Hindu Sadhu – holy man – treks to sacred caves of Himalayas. The Sufis Dervishes of Turkey reach a state of ecstasy by ritual recitation and physical exertions, like whirling.

The historian Mircea Eliade said that the path of Shaman is a struggle one. The Shaman goes through illness, dreams, magic, and bodily dismemberment. He sees spirits, hears strange languages, and experiences the road of the dead. These experiences terrify him but in same time empower him.

Like most of Shamans from around the world, “Native American Shamans respond directly to the interplay of elements within their environments, such as the relationship established between sun, sand, sky and trees” (Hunt 7). For Native Americans the human beings, animals, spirits, even the flora, and forces of nature were equal. The Native American Shamans recognize that people are responsible to keep the balance of Creation. So for the manner of respect, the hunter had to bless the animal he killed for food, in other wise the spirit will withdraw the animals and the hunter’s family would starve. The farmer had to bless his field and seedlings, in other wise for failing to do so, the deities withhold the rain and the crop would dry out and farmer’s family will starve.

“Shamanism in North America also has an ancient origin. Some scholars believe that it can be traced back to early migration from Asia to the Americas as much as 50,000years ago; but it is also clear that many distinctive traits have developed since then as a response to widely divergent environmental conditions in different parts of the North American continent. Native American Shamanism is a concept known as medicine. (Hunt 10).

That term came from the first French colonists, whom witnessed shamanic healing rituals by herbal remedies. The arrogance of the French and other Europeans denied the shaman’s knowledge because they considered witchcraft. But in1940’s science of anthropology suggested that shamanism might contribute to understand the world we live in it. In different countries the prejudice against Shamans slowly ends, and let old knowledge starts to pour into our modern world, so together we can work and live in peace.

This course gave me a new view about shamanism. The subject triggered my interest, when in my teens, I read “Tristes Tropiques” by the French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss. He was a professor at University of Sao Paulo, and did numerous explorations into Amazonian Jungle to contact and study Indian tribes. I am glad I was in this program, though it was a concise course.

*******************************

 

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. 

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.We also offer many free wedding ceremonies for your use.

 

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.  
 

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Spiritual Awareness

Insight into Spiritual Awareness Essay

I believe that this course is a fairly complex and long one (in the good sense), and that any essay raising issues related to the Insight into Awareness must include a summary of the key points of each of the Insights. Having set a holistic basis for discussion, it can then delve into deeper considerations.

The course teaches us the Insights that, as more and more humans become aware of, will lead to a dramatic evolution of society over the new millennium.

The First Insight tells us to become aware of the mysterious occurrences that change one’s life. It is the insight of awakening, brought about by reaching a critical mass of individuals who now experience more spirituality. It requires us to remain open and alert for the coincidences in our life to move us towards our destiny.

The Second Insight asks us to acknowledge our awareness as something real, and to realize how we have up to now been preoccupied with control and the attainment of material security, but that we are collectively becoming aware of our essentially spiritual nature. The Universe is much more than material security and its true nature should be discovered. This Insight represents an awakening of true reality. However, our coming awareness should involve the spirit, the mind and the body in harmony, without neglecting any aspect of ourselves.

I began to question traditional religious views at the end of the twentieth century. Raised a Catholic, I had more and more issues with Christian concepts such as sin – especially the original sin – the transcendence of God, and the commands of the Church, which sounded increasingly antiquated. I turned to the study of Neo-Paganism and other new and old religious views, and I have been discovering and refining my true beliefs ever since. In that sense, it was a spiritual awakening.

The Third Insight informs us that everything in the universe is composed of Energy, and this Energy creates all the forms and substances of what we call our reality. This Energy responds to our intentions. This Insight requires a different understanding of the physical world. Being able to sense that energy first brings a heightened sensitivity to beauty. This beauty comes from the ability to use that universal Energy. The Third Insight leads us to understand that everything in the Universe is one, but that humans are unique in the sense that they can consciously project energy.

In a sense, the Third Insight tells us about the immanence of the Divine. The Love of God is present in all things, and that sensitivity to beauty comes from a new awareness of the presence of the Divine.

However, the Fourth Insight reveals the human tendency to steal energy from other humans by controlling them and taking over their mind. This creates a sentiment of scarcity and is the root cause of human violence (physical or otherwise). Personal insecurity, the fact of feeling depleted from energy, leads us to look for dominance and hunt for others’ energy. This can be summed-up in the two words power and competition, which very often rule human behavior.

Even on a metaphorical level, the Fourth Insight is interesting. It shows that humans cannot live spiritually while being disconnected from the Divine. They need to realize the presence of God – Divine Energy – in their life to avoid violence. They do not realize the immanence of the Divine in the whole of Creation. Therefore, their competition is meaningless, as God is in any case always with and all around them.

The Fifth Insight tells us that it is possible to reach a state of mystical consciousness, or higher purpose. This experience is the key to ending human conflict and shedding power and competition. We must open our minds, hearts and spirits to be able to tap into the unending source of universal Energy. This will lead to an increased need for transcendent experience, allowing love to enter into oneself. This consciousness will be felt as a sense of buoyancy and total security. The challenge is to maintain this stage of consciousness.

Simply realizing and accepting the immanence of God should already be a major step in the right direction for reaching that sense of love. Becoming aware of the beauty of things and people around us, a consequence of having accepted the Third Insight, should also help realize that conflicts are meaningless.

The Sixth Insight therefore asks us to face and resolve our particular way of controlling others so that we can tap into the source of universal energy. Each of us is the next step in the physical and spiritual lineage of our parents, and we should be able to recognize what they gave us and what we made of it. We will then need to clear away past attitudes, fears and behaviors, our unconscious control drama. Being able to assess ones’ true spiritual identity and to discharge one’s spiritual past allow to have a clear awareness of one’s spiritual path.

My mother was clearly an ‘intimidator’, and my father a ‘poor me’ if there ever was one. I would probably be something between an ‘intimidator’ and an ‘interrogator’ (yes, it is more difficult to assess clearly one’s own control dramas). Over the past years, I had to shed a number of fears I inherited from my parents. However, I think that this process was relatively successful and that I am now becoming more and more a leader/advocate (I am a mid-level diplomat and a published jurist, and it feels right).

The Seventh Insight teaches us to constantly evolve, to stay alert to every coincidence and allow our perception of beauty to guide our path. One must therefore focus on the environment, learn to build energy, and especially to learn to ask the right questions, follow our intuition and listen to our dreams to find the answers. Fear images should be done away with. This can be done by engaging the flow of universal energy into our life. Impulsive desires should be differentiated from intuitive knowing.

The Eighth Insight includes teachings on how to conduct relationships, especially about the dangers of being addicted to people (co-dependency), how to manage Energy within the family and especially with children, and how to consciously project energy into others, which is the next step in developing awareness. As we evolve spiritually, we will form groups with like-minded people, and this Insight tells us how to deal with group dynamics. This will allow the Energy to flow longer and brighter and bring out the best of each other.

As humans become more and more aware of the Insights, we are entering a new phase of the evolution of the human species and of the planet that relates to the spiritual perfection of the soul. This will be ensured by passing from our current five-sensory perception to a multi-sensory understanding that will lead to peace, compassion and Spirit. We will realize that we are Spirits or Souls having a physical experience and that time is generally meaningless. Every action, thought or feeling is motivated by an intention that is a cause with an effect that affects further reincarnations of the Soul through the law of Karma. To become whole, the Soul must balance its energy, avoid judgments, listen to feelings and understand them, and learn reverence for all life (and therefore humility). This all means making responsible choices and learning our lessons. Becoming a reverent person will mean becoming spiritual.

The Ninth Insight is an outline of where the human race is heading for the next thousand years. It gives the inspiration and motivation for our current actions. This utopian vision can be achieved through living by the eight other Insights, which will bring a heightened sense of alertness and move us towards our true destiny. It will involve a changing of occupation based on intuition, the automatic production of goods, and the achievement of Spiritual doctrine. We are therefore on a bridge towards the future and multi-sensory ability. Humans are the culmination of Evolution, and our common destiny is to reach Heaven on Earth.

I believe, however, that this vision of the world, although certainly not impossible, is still far off. First of all, only a very few people have reached the stage of multi-sensory ability, and most people remain focused on their material needs. The spiritual revival of the planet is still in its infancy, and violence is still prevalent. Violence is not necessarily increasing: it is simply more publicized through the media, but I feel nevertheless that anger is rising in Western societies. I fear that the situation will first of all have to become much worse for people to realize how much they need to regain the spirituality and the closeness from God that they have lost.

The Tenth Insight tells us how to remember our Birth Vision. This life purpose exists within us, and understanding it does not need to wait, as it unfolds in every moment of our life. Intuition is the key to find that purpose, thought the sequence of being, doing and only then having. The type of plan for that life purpose is usually defined at the time of reincarnation, although this is far from being always true. Learning our Birth Vision requires embracing our purpose and living past the fear.

In this new ear, humans will be able to become authentically empowered. They will be humble, having shed their fear and pain, will love and listen to their feelings, and will be able to forgive. They will aim at reaching goals together, not against each other. They will reach the freedom of taking responsibility for their lives. They will therefore be able to fulfill their Birth Vision. They will be able to let the Universe/God lead the way.

The course was thoroughly enjoyable. It was quite deep and insightful (no pun intended), and should be recommended to all Seminary students. 

Rev. Baudouin Heuninckx

*******************************

 

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. 

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.We also offer many free wedding ceremonies for your use.

 

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.  
 

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar