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36 The Journal of Shamanic Practice VOLUME 5 ISSUE 2 FALL 2012 you want and become who you want to be. I became agitated and we start- ed to verbally wrestle with each other. Its a trap its a trap its a trap I heard the ayahuasca spirit warn me. Dont fall into the hands of evil. Look and see their real faces it whispered in my ear. I looked up again and saw their authentic faces they were dark and contorted. I was taken aback and we began to argue again. They laughed acidly saying in a superior fashion You cant resist us we rule millions of people around the world who follow us blindly We continued to wrestle for what seemed like a long time. At last although I was totally exhausted I found my inner power and declared as loud as I could I choose to follow the Light Id rather give up my life than join you They laughed at me again. Then I used all the energy I could muster to gather in the powers of light and thrust that energy toward them like a spear over and over again until they slowly receded nally disappearing into the void. I took a few deep breaths and looked up at the sky. Just in front of me a male gure a spiritual teacher engulfed in bright light became visible to me. He said sadly The universal evil forces took over our Hebrew spiritual teach- ings. They truly intend to conquer the world by deceit. At that moment I felt an extraordinary beam of light and love streaming from me towards this humble and loving fellow man a light that sur- rounded me too. You are part of me he said kindly. My head started to clear and I began to hear the loud singing sounds of the cicadas and river toads ll- ing the cooling night air. Finally I let my body relax. A Shamanic Approach When I speak about evil spirits I make a distinction between three types that are slightly different in manifesta- tions origins and experience and which many times can run into each other. But I believe they are distinctions that can be helpful in our shamanic work. First independent evil spirits come from a different realm than the one we live in and may take many forms often of ghastly animal-like creatures. In the Tukano Amazonian language they are called Akuras or what we may think of as gargoyles. Another type are simply bad spirits that can appear in human form or shapeless and shapes-shifting energy forms. Sometimes these bad spirits are those of deceased people who were angry and frightened in their lives and died in those energies and continue to spread them. Often people who are angry be- cause of their untimely death continue to spread a kind of angry energy. Lastly there is bad energy that does not have a human appearance but is sent by humans to hurt each other like curses the evil eye and jealousy. These energies can also be found in certain geographical location like land springs mountains cemeteries battlegrounds and homes where violent activities occurred. Accepting the shamanic view that evil can be an independent force in the uni- verse may seem primitive uneducated or a superstition from the old human past. But looking only for the light and not acknowledging the shadows and darkness is like denying the existence of night. One Amazonian tradition holds that several evil forces possess every person all the time. These can manifest as addic- tion anger sexual misdeeds jealousy lying greed stealing and so forth. These characteristics are believed to be caused by the intrusion of negative forces that can be removed by local shamans. Some Modern Examples of Possession In my workshops on Shamanic Self Defense participants tell personal stories about their own encounters with evil spirits in various forms. In my healing practice I encounter many clients who also suffer from some kind of possession. Here are some examples with the names changed to provide anonymity. Kathy a professional in the world of nance was hearing male voices that gave her misguided driving instructions reprimand her on her bad behavior and sometime punished her by preventing her from obtaining the jobs she was ap- plying for. Helen a young beautician claimed she was possessed by an evil entity that caused very bad accidents for people she was in close contact with. Mary a lmmaker had a right hand that shook uncontrollably which was caused by an evil intrusion. Paul an author claimed he was pos- sesed by evil spirits that resided in his stomach and told him to hurt himself and mutilate other people. Jane claimed she was woken up at two in the morning to see a dark force in her bedroom which then proceeded to strangle her. Brandon a CEO for high-tech start-up company encountered alien evil spirits during and after consuming ayahuasca. Bruce a practicing shaman was hav- ing panic attacks due to the intrusions of negative spirits he absorbed during healing sessions with his clients. John was cursed by his father who from early age told him that he was stupid and that nothing good would ever grow from his hands. Many people like these say that they feel engulfed by dark energy or a cloud that blocks them from moving on with their lives that prevents them from get- ting new jobs or perusing their careers or nding the relationships they want. What makes seemingly sophisticated ed- ucated ordinary people living in todays highly sophisticated technology society and who are not necessarily interested in spiritual work experience these kinds of phenomena and seek the help of sha- manic healers Many of them gave up on nding answers or help from western medicine and psychiatrists. Some have been disappointed by the answers given