The Shaman’s Work

A Shaman work’s in the realm of spirits. He does not call themselves shaman; if one achieves success in shamanic healing, the community may name him or her a shaman. The basic worldview is that there is not just one reality; there is the generally agreed-upon physical reality we inhabit, but there are other invisible realms.
Those are different for every visitor, filled with animated human, plant, and animal spirits. Shamans summon these to help heal people’s souls.

Shamans Journey

Shamans journey to these other worlds by going into a trance-like state, most often with the sounds of drumming. A shaman is a healer who moves into an altered state of consciousness to access a hidden reality in the spirit world for purposes of bringing back healing, power, and information. The word shaman comes from Siberia and means “one who sees in the dark” (the hidden realities), and widely refers to those who are medicine women/men, healers, and seers. Shamans believe that all problems, physical, emotional or mental, have their root cause in spiritual imbalance. A shaman works to restore balance and wholeness by addressing the root cause of the problem. Many methods are used in shamanic healing, including soul retrieval, retrieval of a spiritual ally, removal of unwanted energies, soul remembering, ancestral work, psychopomp (from the Greek literally meaning the “guide of souls”) and hands on healing.

Shamans never work alone, but in conjunction with spiritual allies who guide them in providing what is needed for people. In my own practice “The Shamanic Way” I tell clients this is not my work, but rather Spirit working through me. My goal is always to be a clear and open channel for God’s healing, wisdom, and love to flow through me for the healing of the client.