What is Shamanism

According to renowned shaman, Sandra Ingerman the word shaman means: “One who sees in the dark.” Sandra states that to practice shamanism, is to open your vision to a world that is hidden from normal view and to enter the deeper reality of the unseen universe. She teaches that shamanism can be done through working with your dreams, and it can also be done in meditation or hypnotic trance. A guide or several guides, ‘helping spirits’, are often involved. These guides are often wise beings from the spirit realm. They can also be totem, spirit and power animals.

Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. Shamanism encompasses the belief that shamans are intermediaries or messengers between the human world and the spirit worlds. A shaman embarks on spiritual journeys with his/her mind. These journeys can be done to explore the cause of an illness or emotional problem.

Shamans also have methods to heal the individual, such as extracting dark energy, literally removing the dark energy from the body and soul. They can use their hands and, or their breath, to do so. Shamans use ceremonies, rituals, prayers, chants, and various plants to aid in healing.

Shamans are said to treat ailments and illness by mending the soul. Alleviating traumas affecting the soul and spirit restores the physical body of the individual to balance and wholeness. A shaman can enter supernatural realms, or dimensions, to obtain solutions to problems afflicting the person and/or the entire community.

Shamans may visit other worlds and other dimensions to bring guidance to misguided souls and to amend illnesses of the human soul caused by foreign elements. A shaman operates primarily within the spiritual world, which in turn affects the human world. The restoration of balance results in the elimination of an ailment.

In modern Western culture, those who practice shamanism are known either as shamans or as shamanic practitioners. Shamanic healing can be immensely helpful in gaining clarity about issues such as career, relationship and their soul’s purpose or life lesson. Shamanic healing can be used to address the spiritual aspect of illness, be it physical, emotional, or mental, and increase the effectiveness of other forms of healing, including regular medical and psychological treatment.
Shamanic healing works with your essence energy, which can be described as your soul or your spiritual self. It encompasses the intangible aspects of your being, including gifts, qualities, and aspects of who you are. When the physical body dies, this soul or essence continues.
In creating a healing opportunity, it is useful to do healing work on the soul or essence level first. The soul or essence is the blueprint that tells the other levels of your being (your life force energy, your mind, your emotions, and your body) how to be. It informs the universe and world around you what type of relationships and experiences to manifest. Shamanic healing and soul retrieval are very effective tools for working on this level.