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www.shamansociety.org 7 Shamanism has been practiced worldwide for over 100000 years. I believe that the reason this ancient practice has survived is because it has evolved to meet the needs of the times we live in. The key principles of shamanism remain the same but the culture-specific ceremonies have changed over the years. We certainly do not practice in the same way it was practiced 100000 years ago. And yet shamans still act as healers doctors priests and priestesses psychotherapists mystics and storytellers. Shamanism teaches us that everything that exists is alive and has a spirit. Shamans speak of a web of life that connects all living things and the spirit that lives in all things. Everything on earth is interconnected and any belief that we are separate from other life formsincluding the earth stars wind and so forthis purely an illusion. And it is the shamans role in the community to keep harmony and balance between humankind and the forces of na- ture. There are a variety of ceremonies that shamans perform ceremonies to welcome children into the world to perform mar- riages to help people transition to a good place at the time of death and to mourn the death of loved ones. And shamans of- ficiate at important initiations that mark certain transitions in a persons life such as moving from childhood into adulthood. And they perform many different types of healing ceremonies. We have seen a remarkable resurgence in the interest in sha- manism in the Western world. People are searching for ways to regain access to spiritual practices that support their own abilities at receiving direct revelation and also reconnecting them with the natural world. Many individuals seek spiritual practices that will improve the quality of their lives. And many want to explore how shamanic healing ceremonies can help with the emotional and physical illnesses that we suffer from today. More and more people search out shamanic practitioners to perform a variety of shamanic healing ceremonies. And more and more professionals such as doctors and psychotherapists come to training workshops looking for ways to bridge shamanic healing into their traditional ways of working. Bridging shamanic healing into a variety of both traditional and alternative methods of healing has been exciting. Results have been powerful and inspiring. But we must pay close attention to this integration process because as shamanism becomes popular- ized the power of this ancient way of healing may begin to un- ravel. In the West we are addicted to methods and techniques but methods and techniques have never healed anyone. Only love and light can create healing. When true shamans do their healing cer- emonies there is love light and a healing presence that shines through and this presence creates true healing and transforma- tion. It is not the outward ceremony itself that heals but the spirit contained within it. Any ceremony that is merely form and devoid of spirit will not be successful. Many people today seek training in shamanic healing and there is a danger they might end up getting an imbalanced educa- tion. There are many causes of illness that shamans address which typically fall into categories such as loss of power a loss of soul andor having a spiritual intrusion blockage or a possessing spirit that needs to be removed. Shamans remove blockages intrusions and possessing spirits and return any power or lost soul parts that are needed to fill a person back up with vital energy. It is impor- tant to be trained in all the core shamanic ways of healing. I often meet practitioners who trained in only one form of healing such as removing spiritual intrusions but never trained in soul retriev- al. Similarly I find psychotherapists who are attracted to learning soul retrieval but do not learn about removing intrusions or pos- sessing spirits that might also be contributing to a clients illness. My belief is that not everyone needs to be a specialist in all the different ways that shamans heal. But good practitioners should be familiar with them so when they see that a client needs more shamanic healing than they are trained to perform they can refer clients to other practitioners who were trained in those other methods. I think practitioners should only do healing that they feel comfortable with. In my teacher training program I encour- age students to teach one-year or two-year programs in which stu- dents are exposed to all aspects of shamanic healing. In this way practitioners get a balanced education and their future clients end up receiving the healing work they need. E dit o rial Finding a Comprehensive Soul Retrieval Training by Sandra Ingerman MA __________________________________________________ Opposite Removing blockages to restore an individuals physical emotional and psychic balance. Photo by Ron Short 2013.