Shamanism – Ancient Approaches for the whole world

Ask any passer-by on any street to explain shamanism as well as the result will likely be blank stares. Everybody is surprised to learn that shamanism is very little religion but the oldest spiritual and problem-solving technology on the planet. Much more surprising is the discovery that it is the precursor to most major world religions, such as the Judaeo-Christian and Buddhist traditions, which may be practised on every inhabited continent on this planet not less than 40,000 years and possibly a lot longer. Historically, shamanism would be a significant survival tool of prehistoric humans. Our hunter-gatherer forbears decorated the stone walls of caves and cliffs around the world with carved and painted images drawn straight from shamanic experience. We no longer live in caves or in really small communities whose members are all recognized to us. Many people live far longer, healthier lives than our ancient ancestors, but our brains, that part of us competent at fearing the dark and requesting the aid of things unseen, hasn’t changed in almost 25 % of a million years. What made the uncertain lives of prehistoric people that much easier works today because, although the world could have changed, fundamentally we’ve not.


Ask that of a shaman is and also the question may evoke several words about Native American ‘medicine men’ or maybe the word ‘witchdoctor’. In fact, what a shaman is and does is simply explained. From the Siberian Tungus language which produced the saying, ‘shaman’ means ‘the one that sees’ and is the term for someone able to make a ‘journey’ to alternate realities when it’s in an altered condition of consciousness to meet up with and work with spirit helpers. What are the shaman ‘sees’, what she realises, within this connection with meeting spirits is there is no separation between something that is: no separation between me writing and you reading these words, between a cat and dog, between life and death, between this apparently material reality along with the non-material realities with the spirit worlds. This concept of ‘oneness’ is normal currency in contemporary culture and increasingly given credence by certain quantum physicists working with sub atomic theory, though of course it is a predominantly physical, instead of a spiritual, oneness that such scientists are trying to describe. However, where the majority of us could only consider the notion of ‘oneness’, shaman’s actually live it with the experience of the shamanic ‘journey’ and direct, personal interaction with spirit.

Referred to as a ‘breakthrough in plane’, in physiological terms the journey begins because shaman redirects the primary cognitive process from the left cerebral hemisphere in the brain off to the right, with the corpus collosum – which is, from the structuring, organising hemisphere, for the visualising, sensing one. From the overwhelming majority of traditions around the world this ‘breakthrough’ will probably be assisted by the use of percussive sound, for example drumming, rattling or clapping. Although hallucinogens, for example ayahuasca, are widely advertised in the western world as a means to assist alter consciousness, actually only about 10% of traditional shamans use plants in this way. Metaphysically, your journey begins once the shaman’s consciousness shifts through the here and now and enters worlds visible simply to her. These worlds, which vary with each and every culture and tradition all over the world, are called ‘alternate reality’, ‘the whole world of the spirits’, or ‘non-ordinary reality’. Some traditions call shamans ‘the walker between your worlds’ since they’re the bridge between ‘here’ and ‘there’.

Although often considered primitive or seen as a ‘religion’ of less developed peoples and cultures, Psychedelics is both subtle and paradoxical. The ‘worlds’ of shamanic journeys are utterly real – they exist and is felt, smelt and experienced as clearly simply because this ‘ordinary’ reality. Simultaneously they’re qualitative spaces, states to become that reflect and keep the basis for the shaman’s journey – to request help, healing or information from the spirits. Contemporary research inside the cognitive sciences implies that the human mental abilities are hardwired to determine the ‘unseen’ as well as the mystical; the Lower, Middle and Upper Worlds with the shaman – translated into Hell, Earth and Heaven in later tripartite cosmologies – are seemingly an important part of human perception.

Obviously, one of several questions most regularly asked by students being unveiled in shamanism is, “What are spirits?”. Perhaps because Western society has mostly avoided thinking of spirituality for many generations we lack a specific, objective understanding of things such as spirits. These days it is a one-size-fits-all word encompassing entities, energies, ghosts, angels, ancestors, the undead, elves, fairies; this list is seemingly endless. Personally, We have two understandings with the thought of spirit even though the 2 coincide, they’re not the identical and yet they benefit me. The main Shamanic, or Western, tradition which underpins my very own practice and teaching, describes spirits as part of everything exists. I am a spirit currently inhabiting an actual physical body in order to possess a human experience. The spirits I meet on my own ‘journeys’ are dis-embodied and so come with an existential overview unavailable in my opinion, but we’re essentially the same: particles of infinite universal energy, fragments from the Great Spirit. All of us come from this energy, exist inside it and go back to it. It really is living this attitude that enables a shaman to have the lack of separation between items that ordinary-reality considers very separate indeed, like life and death or health and disease.

My second knowledge of spirit is a bit more psychological and archetypal and it was very simply explained by CG Jung as part of his autobiography ‘Memories, Dreams, Reflections’. Describing his personal expertise of spirit helpers Jung wrote, “Philemon… brought the place to find me the crucial insight that we now have things inside the psyche that we don’t produce, but which produce themselves and have their particular life. Philemon represented a force which has been not myself.” It is a beautifully lucid explanation of how it might feel to get with spirit during a shamanic journey. More prosaically, I describe the entire process of journeying to my students as having one’s imagination harnessed and directed by something external.
For details about San Pedro cactus see this useful website: click to read more

Shamanism – Ancient Approaches for today’s world

Ask any passer-by on any street to explain shamanism and the result will probably be blank stares. So many people are surprised to understand that shamanism is not an religion but the oldest spiritual and problem-solving technology on this planet. A lot more surprising could be the discovery that it is the precursor to the majority major world religions, such as Judaeo-Christian and Buddhist traditions, which continues to be practised on every inhabited continent on earth for at least 40,000 a few years possibly greatly longer. Historically, shamanism was a significant survival tool of prehistoric humans. Our hunter-gatherer forbears decorated the stone walls of caves and cliffs worldwide with carved and painted images drawn directly from shamanic experience. We will no longer reside in caves or even in tiny communities whose members are common proven to us. Many people live far longer, healthier lives than our ancient ancestors, but our brains, that section of us capable of fearing the dark and requesting aid from things unseen, hasn’t changed in almost one fourth of your million years. What made the uncertain lives of prehistoric people a whole lot easier works today because, although the world could possibly have changed, fundamentally we haven’t.


Ask such a shaman is along with the question may evoke a couple of words about Native American ‘medicine men’ or word ‘witchdoctor’. The truth is, what a shaman is and does is just explained. From the Siberian Tungus language which produced the phrase, ‘shaman’ means ‘the person who sees’ and identifies somebody able to make a ‘journey’ to alternate realities when it’s in an altered state of consciousness to get to know and help spirit helpers. What the shaman ‘sees’, what she realises, within this connection with meeting spirits is the fact that there is no separation between something that is: no separation between me writing and you reading these words, from the dog and cat, between life and death, between this apparently material reality along with the non-material realities with the spirit worlds. This concept of ‘oneness’ is normal currency in contemporary culture and increasingly given credence by certain quantum physicists utilizing sub atomic theory, regarded course it’s a predominantly physical, rather than spiritual, oneness that such scientists are trying to describe. However, where the majority of us could only look at the understanding of ‘oneness’, shaman’s actually live it from the connection with the shamanic ‘journey’ and direct, personal interaction with spirit.

Identified as a ‘breakthrough in plane’, in physiological terms the journey begins because the shaman redirects the principal cognitive process in the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain to the right, through the corpus collosum – that is certainly, through the structuring, organising hemisphere, to the visualising, sensing one. In the overwhelming most of traditions worldwide this ‘breakthrough’ will probably be assisted through percussive sound, including drumming, rattling or clapping. Although hallucinogens, such as ayahuasca, are widely advertised in the West as a means to help you alter consciousness, in fact only about 10% of traditional shamans use plants like this. Metaphysically, right onto your pathway begins once the shaman’s consciousness shifts from your present and enters worlds visible just to her. These worlds, which vary each and every culture and tradition all over the world, are described as ‘alternate reality’, ‘the arena of the spirits’, or ‘non-ordinary reality’. Some traditions call shamans ‘the walker relating to the worlds’ because they’re the bridge between ‘here’ and ‘there’.

Although often considered primitive or viewed as a ‘religion’ of less developed peoples and cultures, San Pedro cactus is both subtle and paradoxical. The ‘worlds’ of shamanic journeys are utterly real – they exist and can be felt, smelt and experienced as clearly because this ‘ordinary’ reality. As well they’re qualitative spaces, states to become that reflect and secure the cause of the shaman’s journey – to ask about for help, healing or information from the spirits. Contemporary research from the cognitive sciences implies that the human being brain is hardwired to determine the ‘unseen’ as well as the mystical; the Lower, Middle and Upper Worlds in the shaman – translated into Hell, Earth and Heaven in later tripartite cosmologies – are seemingly an important part of human perception.

Not surprisingly, one of many questions most frequently asked by students being shown shamanism is, “What are spirits?”. Perhaps because Western society has mostly avoided contemplating spirituality for most generations we lack a definite, objective idea of things like spirits. Currently it’s actually a one-size-fits-all word encompassing entities, energies, ghosts, angels, ancestors, the undead, elves, fairies; this list is seemingly endless. Personally, I’ve two understandings in the notion of spirit despite the fact that the two coincide, they may not be exactly the same yet they work for me. The Core Shamanic, or Western, tradition which underpins my own practice and teaching, describes spirits as part of everything exists. I’m a spirit currently inhabiting an actual physical body in order to use a human experience. The spirits I meet on my ‘journeys’ are dis-embodied and thus offer an existential overview unavailable to me, but were critically the same: particles of infinite universal energy, fragments from the Great Spirit. We all originate from this energy, exist inside it and return to it. It is really living this attitude that allows a shaman to try out having less separation between stuff that ordinary-reality considers very separate indeed, including life and death or wellness disease.

My second knowledge of spirit is a bit more psychological and archetypal and was plain and simple explained by CG Jung in their autobiography ‘Memories, Dreams, Reflections’. Describing his personal expertise of spirit helpers Jung wrote, “Philemon… brought where you can me the key insight that we now have things in the psyche that we tend not to produce, but which produce themselves and still have their very own life. Philemon represented a force that was not myself.” This can be a beautifully lucid explanation of methods it might feel to have interaction with spirit throughout a shamanic journey. More prosaically, I describe the process of journeying to my students as having one’s imagination harnessed and directed by something external.
To learn more about San Pedro cactus go to see our web site: click now

Shamanism – Ancient Methods for the Modern World

Ask any passer-by on any street to explain shamanism along with the result might be blank stares. Many people are surprised to master that shamanism isn’t a religion however the oldest spiritual and problem-solving technology in the world. Much more surprising will be the discovery that it’s the precursor to most major world religions, including the Judaeo-Christian and Buddhist traditions, which may be practised on every inhabited continent on the planet for at least 40,000 many possibly very much longer. Historically, shamanism would be a significant survival tool of prehistoric humans. Our hunter-gatherer forbears decorated the stone walls of caves and cliffs around the globe with carved and painted images drawn directly from shamanic experience. We not live in caves or perhaps small communities whose members are seen to us. Most of us live far longer, healthier lives than our ancient ancestors, but our mind, that portion of us capable of fearing the dark and requesting aid from things unseen, hasn’t changed in almost one fourth of the million years. What made the uncertain lives of prehistoric people a whole lot easier works today because, although world may have changed, fundamentally we’ve not.


Ask such a shaman is as well as the question may evoke a couple of words about Native American ‘medicine men’ and the word ‘witchdoctor’. In fact, exactly what a shaman is and does is merely explained. In the Siberian Tungus language which produced the saying, ‘shaman’ means ‘the one who sees’ and refers to someone creating a ‘journey’ to alternate realities while in an altered state of consciousness in order to meet and help spirit helpers. What are the shaman ‘sees’, what she realises, during this example of meeting spirits is always that there isn’t any separation between whatever is: no separation between me writing and you also reading these words, from a cat and dog, between life and death, between this apparently material reality and the non-material realities from the spirit worlds. This idea of ‘oneness’ is normal currency in contemporary culture and increasingly given credence by certain quantum physicists working with sub atomic theory, though of course this is a predominantly physical, instead of a spiritual, oneness that such scientists are attempting to describe. However, where many of us are only able to think about the thought of ‘oneness’, shaman’s actually live it with the example of the shamanic ‘journey’ and direct, personal interaction with spirit.

Identified as a ‘breakthrough in plane’, in physiological terms the journey begins because shaman redirects the principal cognitive process in the left cerebral hemisphere with the brain off to the right, through the corpus collosum – that’s, through the structuring, organising hemisphere, towards the visualising, sensing one. From the overwhelming most traditions around the world this ‘breakthrough’ will be assisted by the use of percussive sound, like drumming, rattling or clapping. Although hallucinogens, including ayahuasca, are widely advertised in the western world as a means to help alter consciousness, in reality no more than 10% of traditional shamans use plants like this. Metaphysically, right onto your pathway begins in the event the shaman’s consciousness shifts from the here and now and enters worlds visible and then her. These worlds, which vary each and every culture and tradition worldwide, are identified as ‘alternate reality’, ‘the an entire world of the spirits’, or ‘non-ordinary reality’. Some traditions call shamans ‘the walker relating to the worlds’ as they are the bridge between ‘here’ and ‘there’.

Although often considered primitive or seen as a ‘religion’ of less developed peoples and cultures, Psychedelics is both subtle and paradoxical. The ‘worlds’ of shamanic journeys are utterly real – they exist and is felt, smelt and experienced as clearly as this ‘ordinary’ reality. Concurrently they are qualitative spaces, states of being that reflect and secure the basis for the shaman’s journey – to inquire about help, healing or information through the spirits. Contemporary research inside the cognitive sciences points too a person’s mental abilities are hardwired to determine the ‘unseen’ and the mystical; even the Lower, Middle and Upper Worlds in the shaman – translated into Hell, Earth and Heaven in later tripartite cosmologies – are seemingly a natural part of human perception.

Obviously, one of several questions most frequently asked by students being brought to shamanism is, “What are spirits?”. Perhaps because Western society has mostly avoided considering spirituality for most generations we lack an obvious, objective knowledge of such things as spirits. Today it’s a one-size-fits-all word encompassing entities, energies, ghosts, angels, ancestors, the undead, elves, fairies; their list is seemingly endless. Personally, I have two understandings of the idea of spirit and though both coincide, they aren’t the identical nevertheless they benefit me. The Core Shamanic, or Western, tradition which underpins my own practice and teaching, describes spirits within all that exists. I’m a spirit currently inhabiting a physical body in order to possess a human experience. The spirits I meet on my small ‘journeys’ are dis-embodied and so provide an existential overview unavailable to me, but were basically the same: particles of infinite universal energy, fragments in the Great Spirit. Many of us originate from this energy, exist inside and return to it. It is in reality living this angle that enables a shaman to experience the absence of separation between issues that ordinary-reality considers very separate indeed, including life and death or wellness disease.

My second understanding of spirit is much more psychological and archetypal and it was plain and simple explained by CG Jung as part of his autobiography ‘Memories, Dreams, Reflections’. Describing his desire of spirit helpers Jung wrote, “Philemon… brought where you can me the important insight that we now have things inside the psyche that we tend not to produce, but which produce themselves and also have their very own life. Philemon represented a force which was not myself.” It is a beautifully lucid explanation of the way it could feel to get with spirit throughout a shamanic journey. More prosaically, I describe the operation of journeying to my students as having one’s imagination harnessed and directed by something external.
To read more about San Pedro cactus take a look at this popular internet page: click for more info