Mysticism

The shaman stands with one foot in the spiritual world and one foot on earth. The shaman has a recurring task; to communicate and mediate between the two worlds that are man's field of activity. Technology is advancing, is there room for shamanism in today's society?

To be born a Shaman

It is a common belief that the shaman vocation is inherited, it is sometimes said that the shaman can only be approved if he or she comes from the "right family". Even in African traditions, one can find these strict rules for what is required for a medicine man or a griot to be able to work. But this is people's interpretation of what a real shaman is. Of course, shamans can be born into completely ordinary families and still be very capable.

One needs to see the individual's choice of family from a perspective of rebirth. The spiritual person who is in the process of incarnating to earth naturally seeks a family where the knowledge of a non-physical world comes as naturally and as easily as possible. But circumstances may look different and the would-be shaman may have to be born into an environment that is totally devoid of spiritual values, the motives of the individual are decisive.
 

Who is Shaman

Man is an eternal soul traveling through the Cosmos. At certain stages, she does not see the spiritual reality and then of course she cannot act as a mediator between the physical and the spiritual. But anyone who acknowledges a spiritual existence and is prepared to work in that area can, by definition, call himself a shaman. The gist of this is that the shamanic path is open to anyone willing (and able) to shoulder the often heavy burden.

There are characteristics that accompany the shaman and distinguish him. But it is not for humans to scrutinize the signs and determine the shaman's legitimacy. Existence is mysterious, external attributes that a person is called to shamanism may initially be missing, once he has made his decision all the signs may suddenly be there. It is God and man's inner being that determines his future, public values ​​and norms do not control this.

A person's group community or nationality should have the same starting point. If it is only blood ties that are allowed to act as the norm for belonging, the group or nation is really impoverished. It is the community of the heart that should be the decisive factor in the context. We can learn from the North American Indians here, they have always judged a person by the ties of the heart. Consanguinity has been, and should remain, of secondary importance.
 

The shaman's initiation

A shaman usually undergoes a kind of baptism, an initiation, which confirms that he has been assigned a new role. This happens through a symbolic death where the person loses something of the old life. With the return to the world and life, new abilities have been established. The abilities that have been added can vary greatly and there are therefore a number of different shamanic orientations, for example, this can apply to healing, spiritual dialogue or knowledge of different planes of existence.

The shaman may find it difficult to rationally explain his newfound knowledge. The shaman has an inexplicable certainty in his particular field of activity. This particular knowledge is the shaman's most important tool that she uses. There may be other purely physical tools that are assigned different properties, for example; drums, symbols, herbs, stones, rattles or musical instruments. But the most basic thing is still the shaman's knowledge of causation.
 

Use and abuse

The shaman is granted only as much power as he or she can handle based on his or her level of development. Should a shaman wish to exceed her powers, the power can backfire on herself. All work in the shamanic field is therefore associated with responsibility. It is a dangerous business, a balancing act on the border between justified interventions and violations of privacy. The shaman must therefore constantly examine himself.

Black magic is unfortunately a reality in our world. The implication is that 'shady' people use spiritual powers for selfish purposes. The shaman should not openly go into battle with these forces but instead concentrate on helping other people. However, it may be necessary for the shaman to establish protection against the negative forces in order to reduce harmful effects. Purification ceremonies are an important component of this protection.
 

To act without ego

It is not uncommon for the shaman to become a tool for higher powers. A shaman must therefore be prepared to let go of control over what happens. The shaman may receive irresistible promptings to go to certain places or talk to certain people. In the end, this becomes such a natural part of existence that the shaman does not reflect on it at all. A shaman who has learned to trust his inner voice is automatically protected in adverse conditions.

In working with people, the shaman can "pick up" the clients' fears or pains and experience them in his own body. The shaman must learn to distinguish between these external feelings and his own. Here, too, it is important that the ego does not take over, it is important to clearly distinguish between cause and effect. The shaman may find himself acting in a dream state, but this does not necessarily mean that the dreams are associated with the shaman as a private person.
 

One earth - one people

All expressions in nature are to be regarded as living beings. One of the shaman's tasks is to study the phenomena of nature and converse with its inhabitants. The shaman is also a representative of ethnic groups with strong ties to nature. But the shaman must still not take sides for a certain people, but must maintain an independent position. Natural people of course see the shaman as their internal leader, but in a higher context this is not desirable.

Throughout history, a number of spiritual tools have been developed as a direct result of human interaction with non-physical reality. These tools are gifts from God, but they are gifts that must be used and distributed to all people. The Sámi people often claim that "unauthorized" people who use the drum are in fact stealing their culture. But they don't even use the drum themselves; what a waste of good and useful tools*.

It is important to preserve cultural peculiarities, but this does not mean that individual ethnic groups should lock themselves in closed circles and start asserting special interests as some ideal. You must not be afraid to share the cultural gifts you have inherited. Any people who want exclusive rights to their cultural artefacts have inevitably condemned themselves to slowly fading away into oblivion. We must share what we have because we are one earth and one people.
 

* What is meant here with the Sami drum as a tool is its ability to put people in a trance. However, using the drum as an oracle tool must be strongly discouraged, there are certain dangers associated with that procedure.

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