Shamanism is a way to
connect with all of nature and beyond.
A Shaman is a person who is
able to access the Spirit World for purposes of healing and divination, a
ceremonial and spiritual leader among indigenous cultures worldwide, often
referred to as a Medicine Man or Woman in Native American culture.
Shamans have dreams or
visions that carry certain messages. Some shamans have spirit guides who direct
the shaman in their journeys in the Spirit World. The spirit guides are always
present within the shaman -- others may also encounter the spirit guide when
the shaman is within a trance, which is energized by the spirit guide.
A shaman has the ability to
cleanse negative energy that disrupts a soul. When within the Spirit World, a
shaman may also retrieve lost portions of a human soul and return the lost
parts to the human soul.
* * *
According to the Navajo
people of the American southwest, sometimes it becomes necessary to create a
doorway between the two halves of the world -- the people of time (human beings
on Earth) and the timeless people (spirits in another realm).
For the Navajo, this
doorway is created by sand paintings -- the art of pouring colored sands or
pigments onto a surface in order to create a "sand painted" design.
A traditional Navajo hogan
is a circular, one-room dwelling. For a healing ceremony, to cure a physical or
emotional illness, a small group will gather in a hogan, where a shaman
(Medicine Man) will create an elaborate symbolic design by pouring the colored
sands loosely upon the ground of the hogan. The symmetry (order) of the sand
painting symbolizes the harmony that the ill patient desires to reestablish in
their life.
There are up to 1,000
different traditional sand painting designs within the Navajo culture, with
more than 30 different designs associated with a particular ceremony. These
sand paintings are considered to be living spiritual beings, to be treated with
great respect.
When the healing ceremony
begins, the patient is directed to sit on the sand painting whereupon the
shaman sings a long prayer. The sand painting is intended to act as a portal to
attract the spirits, allowing the spirits to come and go into the patient as
needed.
This healing ceremony
traditionally continues from dusk to dawn for two consecutive nights. At the
end of the ceremony, when the sand painting has served its purpose by absorbing
the illness, the sand painting is destroyed.
* * *
The Plains Indians, Lakota
and Oglala Sioux, perform a ceremonial ritual when faced with the loss of a
loved one. They traditionally create a medicine bundle that includes an item of
the deceased person's clothing or some other special item they valued in life.
The soul of the deceased is
then "invited" to reside in the medicine bundle. Thus, the grieving
person is able to ritually care for the deceased by nourishing them their love.
They will also sleep with the medicine bundle and ritually bathe them.
The bereaved cares for the
medicine bundle for exactly one year. The following day, the medicine bundle
will be opened, thereby releasing the soul of the loved one, and the grieving
period will then cease. In this manner, the grief of the loss of the loved one
will promptly end because the tribal shaman felt it would be detrimental to the
entire community if the grieving continued too long.
* * *
In Peru, the Shipibo
Indians believe that illness is a breakdown of the body's energy system. The
Shipido shaman embarks on a visionary journey into the Dreamtime to receive
healing symbols from the spirits to restore harmony within an ill person.
When the shaman returns
from the spiritual journey, they paint the symbols encountered in the journey
onto the body of the ill patient, using a strong dye. These symbolic designs
contain energetic patterns, embodying a spiritual power, that impose a strong
intention within the subconscious body and soul of the patient, thereby
enhancing the sufferer's own inner ability to become well again.
* * *
The Kuna Indians of Panama
create wooden medicine dolls used in rituals for ill patients. The medicine
dolls are carved from a sacred tree and blessed by a shaman. The spirit of the
tree, within the medicine doll, journeys into the spirit realm to locate and
retrieve a lost soul part required for healing the patient.
To the Kuna people, the
medicine dolls are alive and are to be honored with respect. The medicine dolls
may also help to heal the Earth and send messages through a shaman about how to
deal with various aspects affecting their lives.
In return for the medicine
doll's assistance in their lives, the Kuna people consider the medicine dolls
to be extended members of the family. The medicine dolls are ceremonially fed
and bathed with the smoke of burning cacao beans.
* * *
The shaman is a mediator
for their community and culture. They enter the Spirit World on behalf of the
community, including encountering the spirits of the deceased. By doing so, the
shaman eases unrest and settles issues. In return, the shaman delivers gifts to
the spirits.
Be silent and listen to the
messages of your soul -- whatever happens to your body, your eternal soul will
remain whole.
___________
Quote for the Day -- “We hardly ever
realize that we can cut anything out of our lives, anytime, in the blink of an
eye.” Carlos Castaneda
___________
Bret Burquest is the author
of 11 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a few dogs and where the
human body is a container for an eternal soul.
___________
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