Out Of This World - Shamanism Healing
Eric Cho
Many of the ancient cultures of the world adhered to one or the
other form of Shamanism. This is a tribal healing tradition
where a Shaman is said to transcend the boundaries of the
conscious world and travel to a world unbeknown to the ordinary
man. Here, the Shaman converses with spirits and come back with
secrets that allows him to heal others, foretell the future,
control the weather and even ward off attacks.
The word ‘Saman’ is defined as a technique of ecstasy. A Shaman
is a practitioner who is able to enter an altered state of
consciousness where he can communicate with the supernatural.
He acts as an intermediary between the world of man and the
world of Gods and often has the power to descend to the realm
of the dead. He leaves his body when he is in trance. This
trance is induced by chanting, beating of the drum or
passionate dancing. In the more unsophisticated cultures,
Shamans even used to take to fasting, ingesting psychotropic
drugs or even undergo torture to achieve the trance.
As seen from the practices, Shamanism is based on the principle
that the world is divided into 2 distinct parts – that visible
to the ordinary man, and that visible only to the man with
powers. In the second part, there is a miraculous world
populated by the spirits who influence the world of the living
and who are always willing to help. The Shaman acts as a link
between the two worlds and works for the benefit of his
society. Shamans are therefore experts employed by animistic
societies.
Healing is the most important function of the Shaman followed
by prophecy. Shamanism, in the larger sense of the word, is
thus perhaps the oldest form of healing. It is a form of
religious medicine that originated more than 25,000 years ago.
The healing practices of most of the ancient cultures stem from
a shamanic tradition.
The Shaman is often credited with magical healing powers and is
crowned as the religious or spiritual head of a tribe. He is
called upon to treat the sick and to drive away demons. It is
important to remember that in most ancient cultures, sickness
was considered to be the result of demoniac forces acting on
the individual. The difference between the ordinary man and the
Shaman is that while the man is possessed by spirits, the Shaman
controls the spirits.
All this may lead one to believe that Shamanism is an occult
practice that is buried in the past and that it has no
significance to the modern man. But Shamanism is still
practiced all over the world, although it has evolved into
different forms. Native Americans are said to perform Soul
Flights to heal. In Tibet, the Shamans use a drum to help them
in soul retrieval. In Kerala, Shamans are closely tied to the
temple and use amulets and music to contact the spirits of the
nether world. Shamans in Africa often use hallucinogenic plans
to induce trance.
Shamanism has found a place in modern day healing because of
the importance it places on the soul, mind and spirit. Shamanic
healing includes relief from pain, anxiety, stress and emotional
healing. It is believed that there is an inner Shaman in
everyone – a force that can be released if one is able o
concentrate hard enough. Unleashing the power of this inner
Shaman will help cure maladies that afflict us.
About The Author:
http://www.methodsofhealing.com
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