[Wildspeak] Soul Healing and the Shaman.
Mar. 13th, 2010 02:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moonvoiceI completely forgot I wrote this, I haven't been cross-posting the articles I'm getting published in Axis Mundi atm, but this one has finished its publication rotation, so...here it is.
One of the primary jobs of many contemporary shamans, is to encompass all aspects of soul healing. In these practices it is commonly held that the soul is transient entity. It is not immovable, fixed or static. It can be hurt, wounded, injured, fragmented and damaged; often through fundamental betrayals, trauma, as well as surgery and chronic or acute illness. Soul damage, fragmentation or the occupation in the soul of alien energies is responsible for mental and physical illness; especially illnesses of an inexplicable nature, that can be directly tied to events such as the unexpected loss of a loved one.
We even have language to describe the mechanisms of soul loss that we use frequently. People who say ‘I lost a part of myself, and I just don’t know how to get it back,’ or ‘I was never the same after that event, I feel empty inside.’ Likewise, people who have spontaneous retrievals without the assistance of healers (aside from the best healer there is – themselves), will use language like; ‘I’m more me again!’ or ‘I’ve found myself,’ or even – while still trying to heal – ‘I’m looking for myself.’
It is a language that in shamanism is taken very literally; soul illness and soul wounds are not uncommon, and people often invest a great deal of time and energy into trying to heal them. They may see psychologists, doctors, spiritual healers such as Reiki practicioners, and of course shamans. Or they may simply undertake their own deeply personal healing journey in order to ‘find themselves.’
In this practice of soul illness and soul healing, there is one philosophical constant that remains true; the soul wants to be whole. The soul is attracted to the pieces of itself and its own energy that is lost, and constantly seeks to dispel energies that are alien to it. Sometimes it needs help along the way, and this is where the soul healing work of the shaman comes in.
The shaman’s skills are very specialised when it comes to healing; notably, the shaman is able to travel or journey to the external otherworlds (upperworlds, middleworlds, underworlds) in order to locate and bring back people’s soul fragments. Likewise, they can do work to remove unwanted energies around the person and put them back where they belong, which is often called depossession.
The work the shaman does to learn how to trance, journey, negotiate with spirits, attract and work with spirit helpers and even deities, often culminate in a series of specialised skills specifically designed to help people (and animals, plants and the land) with soul illness and injury, both while living, and beyond life in this realm. Through this specialised work, they seek to bring about the harmony of the souls in their community.
It takes years to learn these skills, and they are always being added to. The shaman is often called a ‘wounded shaman’ because they may have to learn how to heal their own soul before they can work on others, but the act of soul healing the self is only a very small part of taking on the responsibility of helping others with their soul illness.
Because the nature of soul healing on behalf of others is so intertwined with working in the otherworlds where the spirits live; it is often the spirits who call the shaman to the work and not the other way around. Because so much of the work is done in places where humans may be irrelevant, or in constant danger, or simply in places where we are vulnerable, the phrase has sprung up; ‘no spirits, no shaman.’ In other words, if you don’t have good support Over There, you’re not going to be able to do any shamanic work Over Here, and you might as well go back to your day job.
Sadly, today, many people who claim the title of shaman can actually lack the skills necessary to perform any sort of soul healing with competence, and most – because of the fragmented nature of our spiritual society – won’t have supervisors, colleagues or assistants. For this reason, if you are searching out a healing from a shaman or shamanic practitioner, it’s best to follow word of mouth and be very discerning about who you accept help from. Most of the shamans that I know work through word of mouth only, and do not need to advertise anywhere; but this is not always the case. One woman I know swears to me that when she was ready to start working on others, her clients just started appearing, and said ‘the spirits send them to me, even when I’m already pretty busy working on my farm!’
Over the years I have performed retrievals and depossessions and had colleagues who have done the same. But I’ve seen many people heal themselves without us, though it tends to take longer, and be more fraught with setbacks. I’ve seen people take glimmers of wisdom from books and friends and learn to do it themselves. I’ve seen psychologists and doctors who started focusing on soul healing as well as mind and body healing; taking a more holistic approach and getting greater results. I’ve seen spontaneous recoveries of the self and the soul, and been witness to the great wisdom used to create long-lasting health. I’ve heard ‘I’ve found myself,’ and ‘I’m more me again!’ claimed with exultation after years of hard self work.
Shamans are excellent custodians and specialists in this sort of work, and can certainly speed along the process. There would never be a world with no shamans; the soul wants to be whole.
One of the primary jobs of many contemporary shamans, is to encompass all aspects of soul healing. In these practices it is commonly held that the soul is transient entity. It is not immovable, fixed or static. It can be hurt, wounded, injured, fragmented and damaged; often through fundamental betrayals, trauma, as well as surgery and chronic or acute illness. Soul damage, fragmentation or the occupation in the soul of alien energies is responsible for mental and physical illness; especially illnesses of an inexplicable nature, that can be directly tied to events such as the unexpected loss of a loved one.
We even have language to describe the mechanisms of soul loss that we use frequently. People who say ‘I lost a part of myself, and I just don’t know how to get it back,’ or ‘I was never the same after that event, I feel empty inside.’ Likewise, people who have spontaneous retrievals without the assistance of healers (aside from the best healer there is – themselves), will use language like; ‘I’m more me again!’ or ‘I’ve found myself,’ or even – while still trying to heal – ‘I’m looking for myself.’
It is a language that in shamanism is taken very literally; soul illness and soul wounds are not uncommon, and people often invest a great deal of time and energy into trying to heal them. They may see psychologists, doctors, spiritual healers such as Reiki practicioners, and of course shamans. Or they may simply undertake their own deeply personal healing journey in order to ‘find themselves.’
In this practice of soul illness and soul healing, there is one philosophical constant that remains true; the soul wants to be whole. The soul is attracted to the pieces of itself and its own energy that is lost, and constantly seeks to dispel energies that are alien to it. Sometimes it needs help along the way, and this is where the soul healing work of the shaman comes in.
The shaman’s skills are very specialised when it comes to healing; notably, the shaman is able to travel or journey to the external otherworlds (upperworlds, middleworlds, underworlds) in order to locate and bring back people’s soul fragments. Likewise, they can do work to remove unwanted energies around the person and put them back where they belong, which is often called depossession.
The work the shaman does to learn how to trance, journey, negotiate with spirits, attract and work with spirit helpers and even deities, often culminate in a series of specialised skills specifically designed to help people (and animals, plants and the land) with soul illness and injury, both while living, and beyond life in this realm. Through this specialised work, they seek to bring about the harmony of the souls in their community.
It takes years to learn these skills, and they are always being added to. The shaman is often called a ‘wounded shaman’ because they may have to learn how to heal their own soul before they can work on others, but the act of soul healing the self is only a very small part of taking on the responsibility of helping others with their soul illness.
Because the nature of soul healing on behalf of others is so intertwined with working in the otherworlds where the spirits live; it is often the spirits who call the shaman to the work and not the other way around. Because so much of the work is done in places where humans may be irrelevant, or in constant danger, or simply in places where we are vulnerable, the phrase has sprung up; ‘no spirits, no shaman.’ In other words, if you don’t have good support Over There, you’re not going to be able to do any shamanic work Over Here, and you might as well go back to your day job.
Sadly, today, many people who claim the title of shaman can actually lack the skills necessary to perform any sort of soul healing with competence, and most – because of the fragmented nature of our spiritual society – won’t have supervisors, colleagues or assistants. For this reason, if you are searching out a healing from a shaman or shamanic practitioner, it’s best to follow word of mouth and be very discerning about who you accept help from. Most of the shamans that I know work through word of mouth only, and do not need to advertise anywhere; but this is not always the case. One woman I know swears to me that when she was ready to start working on others, her clients just started appearing, and said ‘the spirits send them to me, even when I’m already pretty busy working on my farm!’
Over the years I have performed retrievals and depossessions and had colleagues who have done the same. But I’ve seen many people heal themselves without us, though it tends to take longer, and be more fraught with setbacks. I’ve seen people take glimmers of wisdom from books and friends and learn to do it themselves. I’ve seen psychologists and doctors who started focusing on soul healing as well as mind and body healing; taking a more holistic approach and getting greater results. I’ve seen spontaneous recoveries of the self and the soul, and been witness to the great wisdom used to create long-lasting health. I’ve heard ‘I’ve found myself,’ and ‘I’m more me again!’ claimed with exultation after years of hard self work.
Shamans are excellent custodians and specialists in this sort of work, and can certainly speed along the process. There would never be a world with no shamans; the soul wants to be whole.
