Shamanism is humanity's oldest and most enduring spiritual practice. From the
very origins of the human race there is evidence of our relationship with the
Divine expressed through ceremony as a means of maintaining harmonious union
with Creation. Whether in the placement of flowers upon the graves of our
Neanderthal ancestors or the markings upon cave walls to magically establish
empowered embodiments of a totem animal's knowledge, the antecedents of our
own desire for personal and conscious union with the All-That-Is connects us
with the continuum of the spiritual quest as being an innate human drive.
Inherent within the Shamanic perspective is the understanding that each person
has their own unique and autonomous path of reunification with Creator.
Shamanism provides a compendium of ceremonies, dances, songs, approaches to
Spirit, meditations and understandings of the underlying principles of reality
and human nature based upon generations-upon-generations of experiential
interaction with Creator through the Creation of which we are a part. Being
free of dogma and doctrine, Shamanism enables each individual in their
personal quest of each their own Spirit's path, purpose and truth.
This recognition of the individual's right and responsibility of his or her
own spiritual awakening and fulfillment is but one of the very specific
elements of Shamanism which establishes it as a viable means of meeting
today's Spiritual Questor's desire for an honest and authentic approach to
self realization. That Shamanism as a whole is humanity's spiritual
inheritance of our ancestors' contribution to the collective unconscious of
our species provides a firm and proven system of knowledge, and direct access
to that wisdom through ceremonial forms, which can serve any individual's
understanding of the realms of Spirit expressed as Nature and Cosmos, and our
part within it. Because Shamanism is the birthright of every woman and man of
this planet, rather than the provenance of the few select or elite, it is a
spiritual form which is available to any and all.
Shamanism is the Spirit's direct expression of it's yearning to bring
body/mind consciousness into the full realization that we are Spirit. Through
Shamanic practices we have the direct experience with our senses that we are,
indeed, One with the All-That-Is. It is this cellular perception of our Truth
that brings us to the humble realization that we are accountable for all our
deeds, actions and behaviors- and the consequences thereof. From this awakened
state of being compassion is born. When compassion, born of the empathetic
relationship with all life, is brought to conscious embodied awareness, we,
individually and ultimately collectively, will emerge in chrysalis to become
the fully realized beings that is our potential.
This passionate and compassionate embrace and respect for all life, inherent
within the Shamanic perspective, makes of Shamanism a survival skill of the
human race. It is as important, and here in the 21st century, perhaps even
more important, if we are to be able to continue life on this planet, as the
ability to make fire or shelter and feed and clothe ourselves. For if we do
not once again, as our ancestors who have left us this endowment of Shamanic
ways, honor as sacred all manifest Creation as the singular expression of
Spirit, we may surely perish, taking all life with us.
Shamanism provides us with an opportunity to fulfill our own Spirit's quest
for awakening and also bond us as a Community of Creation in the service of
Life. This is the bequest of this ancient spiritual practice of our ancestors
to us here, today, in the 21st century.