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www.shamansociety.org 3www.shamansociety.org 3 EditoriAl boArd Jeanne Achterberg Phd Saybrook graduate School research Institute San Francisco CA david J. Baker md Professor emeritus of medicine Canadian College of Acupuncture and oriental medicine victoria BC Canada Stephan v. Beyer Phd Jd Peacemaker Services Chicago Il Patrick Curry Phd lecturer religious Studies university of kent london uk Jeannine davis-kimball Phd Center for the Study of eurasian nomads ventura CA Stuart r. Harrop Phd durrell Institute of Conservation and ecology department of Anthropology university of kent Canterbury uk robin June Hood Phd Adjunct Professor School of environmental education and Communications royal roads university victoria BC mihaly Hoppal Phd director of Institute of ethnology Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest Hungary Stanley krippner Phd Saybrook graduate School San Francisco CA mary Pat lynch Phd Athens oH marjorie mandelstam Balzer Phd research Professor department of SociologyAnthropology Intercultural Center georgetown university washington dC robert moss mA Founder the School of Active dreaming Albany nY david mussina mA medford mA Philip m. Peek Phd Professor emeritus dept. of Anthropology drew university Sanbornton nH larry Peters Phd nepal Spiritual excursions topanga CA Stephen Proskauer md Sanctuary for Healing and Integration Salt lake City ut evelyn C. rysdyk Spirit Passages Yarmouth me Patricia Shaw Phd Phoenix Psychological group Inc. St. louis mo Sarah Sifers Phd lCSw Indigenous lenses Salt lake City ut Farrell Silverberg Phd nCPsyA Psychologist Philadelphia PA Sharon van raalte mA mississippi Station on Canada Alberto villoldo Phd Founder and Ceo the Four winds Society Park City ut marilyn walker Phd Associate Professor of Anthropology mount Allison university Sackville new Brunswick Canada robert J. wallis FrAI FSA Professor of visual Culture director of mA in Art History visual Culture richmond the American International university in london uk kyoim Yun Phd Assistant Professor department of east Asian languages and Cultures university of kansas lawrence kS March 7 2015 Following a shamanic path in the mod- ern world brings unique challenges. We seek out the old ways at a time when the new were told is everything. We search for ways that are lost or foreign to how we were raised and trained. We are most of us going against family expectations social norms culturally mediated goals. And we dont know what were doing a lot of the time at least I dont. Shamanism is difficult even to describe. How many conversations have you had with friends family strangers trying to distinguish spiritual from religious and referring to the many traditions in which some concept of shamanic practice can be found Like all humans we long for com- munity. We all need groups that share our values understand our issues and celebrate our triumphs. We need our tribes. Finding shamanic communities is part of the chal- lenge we face especially if we are charting a course outside established traditions and away from teachers and elders. Creating community begins with iden- tifying what the shared values are which practices best reflect those values and how we move forward on our paths. The most recent issue of A Journal of Contemporary Shamanism addressed this head on with an opening essay offering a list of basic ele- ments and a selection of articles pushing the boundaries of what a clear easy defini- tion of shamanism might include asking questions like What is shamanism today What does shamanic practice look like For many of us a full reflection of who we are in the world needs an even wider net. For a variety of reasons we develop a practice or set of practices that include elements that are not shamanic but over time become imbued with the same spirit become woven into all we are and do. Yet how do we talk about the totality of what we actually do in the world How do we present ourselves in an authentic and still acceptable way Time now to get specific. I came to shamanism after a serious illness that completely disrupted my life as it was a classic opening. I trained in core shaman- ism seeking out Celtic and especially Irish material wherever I could. Tom Cowans work in that regard was absolutely essen- tial as I began and Ive found others along the way. I found other practices too. Because of my vivid and intense dream life I explored dreamwork. Within a shamanic journey a new ally sent me off to study astrology and alchemy and I became an astrologer. Hav- ing explored the Tarot when I was young I came back to that as well. I developed a sense of a world filled with intuitive languages ranging from ancient auguries to dream messages to modern card decks. How much of this is shamanic At first consistent with my academic training I kept my practices in separate compart- ments. It seemed inappropriate to mix them vague and somehow wrong. Over time though two things happened. As the practices became mine they melded them- selves together and my shamanic allies told me to stop pretending they were separate and start synthesizing. Let me say I still have not figured out how to create a synthesis of all I do but they continue coming closer together. Sometimes answers in journeys come in the form of Tarot cards. My relationships with the planets appearing as they do in my birth chart become more and more like my relationships with my allies. There is increasingly a seamlessness to my own experience of this. But how do I talk to others about this Especially how can I have conversations within valued shamanic communities about what I actually do I dont want to be dismissed. And still not to talk about what Im really doing feels increasingly inauthentic. The thing is I look for and value similar kinds of synthesis in others. The best example I can offer here is bodywork something I need and cannot do for L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R Shamanism Yes And Mary Pat Lynch