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8AJournalofContemporaryShamanismVOLUME7ISSUE1SPRING2014tothatfoundinyoga.Thisisnotsurprisingastheshamanictraditionistheancestralprecursortoalltheyogictraditions.ThefourstagesoflifeinHinduismarebrahmacharya-unmarriedstudentgrihastha-marriedhouseholderwithchildrenvanaprastha-forestdwellerandsannyasa-wanderer.DuringthelastyearsoftheirlivesmanyoftheAboriginaleldersleavetheircommunitiesandgooffaloneintothemountainstoengageinspiritualpracticesmuchasinthelasttwostagesoftheHindusystemwhicharecharacterizedbysolitaryretirementtotheforestastrivingforspiritualunderstandingandpreparationfordeath.OneofthetechniquesreportedbyDr.NandisvarapracticedbysuchrenunciateAboriginaleldersisgazingattheskywithwide-openeyes.Thisisnotatypeofastronomyorastrology.Ratheritisameditativemethodusedtoobtainspiritualinspira-tionandintuitiondirectlyfromthecosmos.InBuddhismYogaJudeo-Christianityandotherrelativelyrecentreligioussystemsskyphilosophiespredominateinwhichtheconceptsofspaceandskydeitiesareofgreatestreli-giousimport.InoppositiontothisaretheearlierreligiousaswellasindigenoustraditionsinwhichearthphilosophieswerethenormfocusedastheywereupontheEarthasMotheraswellasotherearthlydeitiespoweranimalsorfertilitygoddessesasthepredominateobjectsofreverence.InterestinglyinAboriginalthoughtbothphilosophiesarepresent.TheEarthisthebasisforallspiritualstudiesduringthefirstandintermediatestagesoflife.ButwiththeapproachoflifesendthebasicEarthstudyiscompletedandthereisarefocusingofthestillembodiedspiritoftheindividualtowardtheboundlessreachesofthesky.ThusfortheAustralianAboriginalsthehighestspiritualityisassociatednotwiththeEarthbutwiththeshamanicUpperWorldsandwiththeinfinityofspacewithCosmicConscious-nessitself.ThisagainisincompletealignmentwiththegreatteachingsofthePerennialPhilosophy.Atthisstageboththebodyandthemindhavebecomeabso-lutelystill.Thisisnotthesamestateassociatedwiththechakrasasdescribedinkundaliniyogaandtheotheresotericschoolsforitisbeyondsuchexperiences.Itisinfactawithdrawalofenergyfromthechakrassothattheynolongerhaveanyeffectonthemindwhatsoever.Thisisthestateofdadirri...thedeeplistening.Dr.Nandisvaradescribesthisstateastheborderlandbetweenthemindthatisconnectedtothisworldandthemindthatisnotconnectedtothisworldthemindthatisabsolutelyfree.ItistheinterfacebetweentheexplicateandimplicateordersofrealityofthephysicistDavidBohm...theintimateone-on-oneconnectionwiththehigherselfofthemystic.ThisisthestatethattheAboriginaleldersseekastheyleavetheirhomesandgoofftoliveinthemountainstopracticegazingatthesky.Thisistheshamansinvitationtothespiritualcosmicforcetoapproachandembracethefocusofourmind.Itisandwasandwillforeverbeunionwiththeinfiniteauthen-ticnon-dualmysticism.ReconsideringIndigenousWisdomItistimeIthinktoacknowledgethattheindigenoustribalpeopleswerenotandarenotatsomechildlikeformofaware-ness.RatherthetimehascomeforusallegedlycivilizedWest-ernerstoseriouslyreconsidertheirworldviewsandtheirspiritualpractices.Fortheirwaysofbeingintheworldhavekeptthemandtheirsocietiesaliveandwellfor40000yearsandmore...whilewewhoconsiderourselvessohighlyevolvedhaveonlybeenhereforafewhundred...andthingsarenotgoingparticu-larlywellthesedays.Dr.Nandisvaraalsodiscussessomethingelseofinterest...Alongtheirwaytoachievingthehigherstatesofconscious-nesstheshamansinAboriginalsocietiesareabletodevelopvarioussortsofpsychicabilities.Theypossessforexamplethecapacitytotraveloutofthebodyacrosstheskyinanalteredstateofconsciousnessandvisitanyplacetheywish.ItisalsoknownamongtheAboriginalsthattheirshamanscanjourneytothemoonortoanyotherplanetatanytimetheychoose.ThisiswhytheywerenotparticularlyimpressedwhentheApollomissionsflewtothemoonandback.Infacttheyfailedtounderstandwhywehadneededmachinestogothereastheyarebothbulkyaswellasslow.Dr.NandisvaraconcludeshisessaybyobservingwithconsiderablereverencethatthoseAboriginalsstillinvolvedintheirtraditionallifewaysaresopeacefulandquietaswellassoharmoniouslyintunewithNatureandthespiritualdimension.Bycontrasttherestoftheworldaroundthemincludingmostoftheso-calledcivilizedsocietiesareincrisisdominatedbymurderandmayhempoliticalmendacityandcorporategreedwithpeoplekillingeachotherinthenameofwhatevergodtheyespouseexploitingtheenvironmentandtheirfellowlivingbe-ingsofthisbeautifulworldonlysomeofwhomhappentobehuman.WecouldobserveinpassingthatthereislittledoubtthatwearetheRomansofourtime.IsitthereforesurprisingthatDr.NandisvarawhosomehavecalledthePopeofIndiahascho-sentodescribethenativeAustraliansasoneofthemostcivilizedandculturedpeoplesontheplanettodayABOUTTHEAUTHORHankWesselmanPhD.isananthropologistwhohasbeeninvolvedinthesearchforhumanoriginsinthefossilbedsofEthiopiaforover40yearsatimethathasallowedhimtoliveforsubstantialperiodswithtraditionalpeoplesrarelyifevervisitedbyoutsiders.HeisalsotheauthorofeightbooksonshamanismincludingTheBowlofLightAncestralWisdomfromaHawaiianShamantheaward-winningAwakeningtotheSpiritWorldTheShamanicPathofDirectRevelationwithSandraIngermanandhiscriticallyacclaimedSpiritwalkerTrilogy.HelivesonHawaiiIslandwhereheandhisfamilyareinvolvedwithsustainablehorticulture.HankalsooffersshamanictrainingworkshopsatretreatcentersacrosstheUSandabroad.Visithiswebsiteatwww.sharedwisdom.com