What is it now-a-days that creates such enthusiasm for things mysterious. Like Wicca, Paganism, New Age and Shamanism, to name a few.
I am creating this musing, this news muse letter to speak a bit about Living Shamanically. I hope it will express and make clearer some of the things we all ponder, or muse about. I will start with the definition of Shamanism.
Shamanism: It is as old as time and has been and is practiced world-wide among indigenous people. Wherever the Shaman lives, energy is the medium used to bridge the gap between worlds. Ancestral memories of honoring the sacred in all things form the basis of this ancient spiritual discipline. A Shaman is a person who goes through symbolic initiation and rebirth – emerging enlightened, with a new vision of the world. The Shaman is “on fire” or heated up, with active energy fields in trance where other worlds can be experienced and provide beneficial news and wisdom for the Shaman to bring back.
A Shaman is always working to refine and shape their spiritual selves. All must begin somewhere to live the life and follow The Path.
11 Steps to Getting in Touch with Your Shamanic Self
1. The awakening of desire to be more spiritually attuned to the universe.
2. Finding out your own limitations and oppositions to living more Shamanically.
3. Death of the self-either through illness or personal rite of passage.(More on this later!)
4. The discovery of your new self- rebirth and awakening.
5. Discovery of other worlds and realities and the inner voice.
6. Finding your power animals.
7. Finding your inner guide or teacher.
8. Moving about in the spirit world: The Journey.
9. Working and living Shamanically in the outer world.
10. Divination.
11. Integration of the inner world and outer life and finding The Path.
Ritual for getting in touch with your self.
The Need for Solitude and Inner House Cleaning
Doing inner spring cleaning, throwing out old, dusty, worn objects and feelings, and airing the inner house out brings in a freshness, a newness and gives one room to expand. We create a sort of vacuum that allows new energies to come in.
Ask yourself “What old ideas, attachments, hurts and grievances are cluttering your emotional self?” Then let them go! Throw them out the window and be free to confront and forgive the self.
Then, really listen to your inner voice and thoughts. Try to remember things you already know- cellular memory from ancient voices, the world of nature and the Otherworlds.
Begin a daily journal – nothing expensive- just a good hard cover blank book to begin recording ALL your dreams, thoughts, experiences, inspirations, and inner visions.
Journaling is the way to begin to see patterns or themes in your life. Dreams are the way your inner emotional self uses symbols or signs to show any areas that may need attention.
As you look back and see what people or cir*****stances block or hold you back, enter these thoughts in your journal. Ask again “What are you throwing away? What is cluttering your mind or lifestyle?”
It may be terrifying for some seekers of wisdom to shed many years of un-needed things, but it is essential. The lesson here in Step #1 is to pare down, get rid of things and ideas that keep you tied to the past. As you proceed along The Path journal about what you may need to eliminate and why. Meditate often, in solitude, on these ideas and then, journal any insights that may arise.