What Is Shamanism?
The term Shamanism refers to the ancient healing practices employed at one time or another by nearly every indigenous culture throughout the world going as far back as the Paleolithic era. The practice itself involves the interaction of the Shamanic Practitioner with the wide range of spiritual and natural forces that permeate and sustain life on all levels. The purpose of this interaction is to locate and remedy the root cause of a given illness or problematic situation, thus restoring a person and or group of people to a state of health, happiness and well-being.
The practitioner accomplishes this by entering a slightly altered state in which he or she is able to communicate with helping spirits, gaining both insight and guidance in regard to a troubling situation or illness as well as access to the energies necessary to resolve it. A key component to this healing process is the premise that our physical bodies are vehicles through which our souls experience life on the material plane. Operating from that framework, any illness or misfortune experienced by our physical selves reflects an imbalance within our spiritual energies and must be addressed accordingly. Conversely, any trauma or injury experienced by the physical body will likewise impact the spirit resulting in what is referred to as soul loss.
Soul loss occurs as a natural coping mechanism for surviving trauma or injury to the physical body or psyche. At the time of trauma, a piece of a person's soul or essence will split off from the whole in order to minimize pain and suffering as well as to better ensure survival of the traumatic event. The psychological term for this phenomenon is dissociation. Unfortunately, if a soul piece isn't returned to its rightful home within a reasonable amount of time it may drift further and further away, leaving an unhealthy void within the fractured energy field. Generally when this occurs, said void will eventually be filled by an external energy that is incompatible with its host, potentially leading to an array of mental, physical or emotional difficulties. Because of this, it is customary in most shamanic cultures that a soul retrieval ritual be performed within three days of any traumatic event.
Soul retrieval involves a practitioner working with helping spirits to track any lost soul pieces and facilitating their safe return. In the process of restoring the soul to a state of wholeness, a practitioner will be sure to thoroughly cleanse both the energy field and returning soul pieces of negative or misplaced energies. Aside from the intrusion of unwanted energies, another unfortunate aspect of extended soul loss is the palpable sense that a vital part of us is missing. This feeling of incompleteness can greatly impact a person's ability to fully engage in life in a productive, loving and joyous manner. Fortunately, all of these symptoms of energetic imbalance can be completely remedied by the successful return of these vital aspects of one's soul.
As a fluid energy system, the soul is constantly gaining and losing energy not only through the intense experiences discussed above, but also through simply interacting with others on a daily basis. It is through this interaction that we learn and grow as individuals while in human form. Shamanism, at its heart, is simply the practice of maintaining the proper balance of our energy systems, thus enabling a person to regain and maintain wholeness while still experiencing life to its fullest.