What is a Shaman?

One day a friend of mine asked me, “What is a Shaman?” I said, “a Shaman is someone who is somewhere between a priest/priestess, a healer and a teacher.”

There are shamans all around the world, and there have been since time began. Or at least since humans began.  Some people become a shaman because they grew up in a tribe or other indigenous close-knit community, and someone in that community taught them the knowledge of healing and divination that was handed down over generations.

Other people, like me, didn’t have the knowledge handed down to them from family members, but felt a “call,” to become a Shaman.  I’ll write about this some more…

I believe we are all connected through energy.  I am connected to people, plants and trees, animals and minerals.  All these are beings, and have an energy pattern that can be seen/felt and interacted with.

One of the things Shamans do, is go into Altered States of awareness.  That means, they do something to change their energy, to change their vibrations.  Some Shamans ingest plants or beverages that change their awareness.  In my case, I meditate.  I dance.  I make sounds (tones).  I listen to music.  I play a rattle or a drum.  The noises and the movements, change my vibrations, change my energy.  Once I’ve done that, then I feel calmer, and my senses are heightened.

If I do a walking meditation, which is part of a Shamanic Nature Trek, then, when I am outside and calm and relaxed, I see more of the plants and animals and minerals around me.  The colors are more vivid, the sounds are more pronounced.  I get in tune with the vibrations of the plants and animals and minerals around me.

Also while in an altered state, I travel to the other worlds to meet with my animal guides and spirit teachers.  We all  have animal guides and spirit teachers.  I go on these journeys to solve problems and help myself and other people.

Since being a Shaman is a way of being, it becomes the way you operate.  So I say, See the Magic in Your Land.  Feel It.   And I say, Share Your Peace with Our Mother Earth, Our Father Sky and our Big Waters that surround us.

(c) 2016 all rights reserved, Whale Maiden

Advertisement