Shamanism & Humaniversity (Part 2)
2 - Shamanism
2.1 - What is shamanism ?
Shamanism is rapidly gaining popularity since a few years in the Western world. In North America, we are regularly offered workshops or seminars on shamanism to discover shamanistic tools or to learn to become a shaman. The most popular school in the USA is without any doubt the Foundation for Shamanic Studies (FSS) .
In fact, according to the FSS, Shamanism is described as such :
« Over tens of thousands of years, our ancient ancestors all over the world discovered how to maximize human abilities of mind and spirit for healing and problem-solving. The remarkable system of methods they developed is today known as "shamanism," a term that comes from a Siberian tribal word for its practitioners "shaman". »
Besides Harner, many authors also state that the word shamanism came to English from the Tungus language via Russian. The term shamanism has, over time, come into usage by anthropologists, historians of religion and others in contemporary society to designate the experience and the practices of the shaman. Gradually, its usage has grown to include similar experiences and practices in cultures outside of the original Siberian cultures from which the term shaman originated.
Various authors report traces of shamanism on every continent of the world, while each approach is different according to the specific elements of the contexts in which they were developped . As longevity is concerned, Halifax (1981:5) declares that « the lifeway for [shamanism] is nearly as old as human consciousness itself, predating the earliest recorded civilizations by thousands of years ».
After years of extensive research, M. Eliade, in his classical book « Shamanism : Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy » (1964), concluded that shamanism underlays all the other spiritual traditions on the planet, and that the most distinctive feature of shamanism - but of course not the only one - was the journey to other worlds in an altered state of consciousness (which we will develop more later on). So shamanism could be seen as the mother of all spiritual movements. Eliade (idem.) decribes shamanism as « a technique amongst others to get in contact with spirits, a process to make reality sacred ».
But is shamanism a religion ? According to Harner (1980), the practice of shamanism is a method rather than a religion. It coexists with established religions in many cultures. For example, in Siberia, shamanism coexists with Buddhism and Lamaism, and in Japan with Buddhism. In South America, many movements, such as the Santo Daime Church or the Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal, combine elements of the Catholic or Christian church to Native Shamanistic traditions. In North America, the Native American Church has also integrated in their tradition, beside its use of Peyolt, some elements of the Catholic Church.
Shamanism is often present in animistic cultures. The term animism is a central concept in shamanism. This word has two meanings : one is « the attribution of a soul to plants, animals, inanimate objects and natural phenomena », while the second one is « the belief in a supernatural power that organizes and animates the material universe » (Oxford Dictionnary). As we see, this term, mainly the second meaning, is close to the underlying beliefs of all the world’s religions and spiritual movements and it is linked to spirituality in general. It is by connecting with this power that the shaman can either heal a person, reach ecstatic realities or find solutions to the concrete problems of the village or community.
Animism means that people believe there are spirits, which is not so common in our modern Western cultures that put much emphasis on rationality and scientific proofs or facts. So in shamanic cultures, where shamans interact with spirits to get results such as healing, people generaly believe there are spirits. But it is said that the shamans don't always necessarily « believe » in spirits even if they talk or interact with them. In fact, Harner says that they no more « believe » there are spirits than they « believe » they have a house to live in, or have a family and that this is a very important issue because shamanism is not as such a system of faith.
So if shamanism is not a religion or a group of religions, it could rather be considered a spiritual practice, which litterally implies that a shaman gets in touch with the « spirits ». In traditional tribes, the shaman have often played different roles : he either pretends to be and/or is a healer, a doctor, a priest, a therapist, an entertainer, and sometimes even as the chief of the tribe. If Shamanism is getting more popular these days, authors attribute it to the withdrawal and the disappearing of traditional religions in Western Society, which shamansim seems to replace as people are in need of a sense of the sacred. Vazeilles (1991) affirms that shamanism should not be studied like other religions, as in some societies, it replaces all other religious systems while in others, it exists parallel to other religions while it is sometimes forbidden by the main religions. According to this author, these differences could explain that in some social groups, some shamans are more a priest than anything else, while in other groups, they play many roles and they more a healer than a priest.
According to the FSS, Shamanism is classified by anthropologists as an archaic magico-religious phenomenon in which the shaman is the great master of ecstasy. Shamanism itself, was defined by Eliade (1989) mainly as a technique of ecstasy.
Perrin (1995 : 5) defines shamanism as :
«... a particular representation of the human being and of the world, supposing a specific alliance between all the men and the gods, that is constrained by a purpose, the shaman, who has to prevent a loss of balance and answer any misfortune : to explain it, to avoid it and to ease it ».
Another definition of shamanism is advanced by Cowan (1996 : 2), which is according to me more down to earth and easier to comprehend :
« Shamanism is the intentional effort to develop intimate and lasting relationships with personal helping spirits by consciously leaving ordinary reality and journeying into the nonordinary realms of the spirit world ».
2.2 - The shaman
« A shaman is an explorer of doorways – doorways from ordinary reality into nonordinary reality, portals leading from the physical world into the spirit world » (Cohan, 1996 : 40).
The shaman is the live incarnation of shamanism. Harner (1980) defines a shaman as :
« ... a person who makes journeys to nonordinary reality in an altered state of consciousness... [...] Shamans are a type of medicine man or woman especially distinguished by the use of journeys to hidden worlds otherwise mainly known through myth, dream, and near-death experiences. ».
In tribal cultures, the shaman is the person who sees into the sacred world, the one that brings the sacred visions of ancient spirits and power animals out as ritual. By this ritual process, in a way similar to prayer, visualization, imagery and art, the shaman heals himself, others and the earth. By having visions of healing and doing sacred ritual, the shaman makes the visions come true.
A shaman may show a particular magical specialty (such as control over fire, wind or magical flight or more spectacular forms) but when a specialization is present, the most common is as a healer. It is also important to note that while most shamans in traditional societies are men, either women or men may and have become shamans. Considering the more important place women has taken in western society since 50 years, they will most probably be more visible in the coming years in the shaministic lineage .
By being able to travel from one world (this level of existence) to the « other world », shamans have a special power that allows them to see the problems in other people. If shamans are often called « see-ers », or « people who know » in their tribal languages, it is because they are involved in a system of knowledge based on firsthand experience. So shamanism is not a belief system; it is rather based on personal experiments of shamans conducted to heal, to get information or do other things. In fact, it is often reported that when a shaman is not successful in getting concrete results, he will no longer be used by people in its tribe.
According to Dubois (1999), since the beginning of humanity, the shaman is the specialist of the sacred, even before the creation of the priests and religions. He is the vector who can come and go between the world of man (visible) and the « other world » (invisible) with the help of trance (shamanic traveling) or dream. He used to be considered responsible for the health of his tribe, for the supply in meat, good harvests, protection against other tribes, social and cosmic harmony. He can achieve this by his transactions with divinities because human beings depend upon it.
Various authors report that shamanism is an oral and theatrical art where personal abilities are important and that each shaman has his own unique style. In a way, the shaman is an artist. In front of a new and unpredicted situation, the shaman will find a new way to respond in which he improvizes, he creates new adapted rituals to meet the specific needs of the moment . Apart from being an artist, Halifax (1981) says that the role of the shaman takes many forms, such as healer, ceremonalist, judge, sacred politician, to name only a few.
Many authors report that the « Call to shamanize » is often directly related to a near death experience by the prospective shaman. Among the traditional examples are being struck by lightning, a fall from a height, a serious life-threatening illness or lucid dream experiences in which the candidate comes close to dying and is thus reborn. Survival of these sudden meetings with death provides the shaman with personal experiences which strengthen his/her ability to work effectively with others. Having experienced something that strong, a shaman is more likely to understand what must be done to correct a condition or situation .
But it is reported that there are two other ways by which people become shaman beside living a near death experience : some people consciously choose, for various reasons, to become a shaman, a form of calling from the universe, while it is also reported that some individuals are choosen by the elders of the tribe to take over from an older shaman, to continue the lineage or a family tradition.
Creek (1999) presents different qualities that make a shaman a real peaceful warrior. The author identifys seven qualities composing the code of honor of a shaman. I find it interesting to present these qualities here as they also apply to any responsible therapist or human being.
1- Finding the middle way : creating balance between this world and the other worlds, between the body and the spirit, and between the emotions and the others aspects of a human being.
2- Owning our choices : taking our power in our hands. The importance of responsability. We cannot control outer events but we have the power over the way we respond to it.
3- The quality of presence : living each moment totaly. Going beyond the notion of time, beyond the limitation of the mind.
4- Developping compassion : becoming totaly human. Compassion allows us to realize and appreciate that we are all doing the best we can.
5- Hope : spreading one’s reality. By widening our vision, our beliefs and our expectations on what is possible, we can transform our perspective and our destiny.
6- Integrity : living from one’s own truth. Stressing the importance of living according to one’s fondamental beliefs and the laws of the universe.
7- Unity : all is connected. Never forgetting that all things and beings are connected in the universe.
2.3 - Shamanism in time and space
While shamanism may be more readily identified among many hunting and gathering peoples and in some traditional herding societies, identifying specific groups of individuals who might be called shamans is a difficult task in more stratified agricultural and manufacturing based societies like ours (Harner, 1990).
If the first traces of shamanism are rooted in Siberia, it is spreaded all over the world. Halifax (1981) mentions that shamanic knowledge is remarkably consistent across the planet. According to Lucchinni (1988), in areas where hallucinogenic plants are available, which is more specifically the case in the Americas, shamans make a wide use of these plants while on other areas on earth where nature does not allow easy growing of these plants (for example in Africa or desertic land in general), other techniques such as fasting, drumming, long wake and the likes are used to attain altered states of consciousness.
Harner (1980) reports that altough the term shamanism comes from Siberia, the practice of shamanism existed on all inhabited continents. This author says that a society may be said to be Post-Shamanic when there are the presence of shamanic motives in its traditional folklore or when spiritual practices indicate a clear pattern of traditions of ascent into the heavens, descent into the « nether-worlds », movement between this world and a parallel Otherworld, are present in its history. Such a society or tradition may have become very specialized and recombined aspects of mysticism, prophecy and shamanism into more specialized or more fully developed practices and may have assigned those to highly specialized functionaries. When such practices and functionaries are present or have replaced the traditional shamans found in historical or traditional shamanism, the use of Post-shamanic is appropriate. Post-shamanic traditions are found among many Indo-European, Asian, African and some native peoples of South and North America. The use of Post-Shamanic as a term makes examination of these parallel traditions and possible survivals of earlier shamanic traditions easier.
Perrin (1995) affirms that in societies where social change takes place at a fast pace, shamanism is often seen as a way to compensate the loss of balance provoked by the rapid social change. From my own observations of western societies, this statement could partly explain why shamanism is more popular than ever in recent years.
We can note two main aspects to shamanic healing : a medicinal one and a spiritual one (Harner, 1980) :
« Shamans talk with plants and animals, with all of nature. This is not just a metaphor. They do it in an altered state of consciousness. Our own students rapidly discover that by talking with plants, they can discover how to prepare those plants for remedies. Shamans have been doing this since ancient times. They typically know a great deal about plants, but it's not essential. For example, Eskimo shamans don't have access to a lot of plants, so they work with other things. But in the Amazon shamans know the various plants and the songs that go with the plants, which they commonly learn from the plants themselves ».
Shamans can be prophets because everything that's ever been known, everything that can be known, is available to the shaman in the Dreamtime ; that's why they can also go back and look at the past. With discipline, training, and the help of the spirits, this total source of knowledge is accessible to them .
2.4 - Shamanism and enlightenment
One way or the other, most people on a spiritual path are concerned with getting enlightened, becoming fully aware. Enlightenment can be seen as a state of being totaly realised, not anymore functionning from the ego or the unconscious. If Osho entertained his sannyasins quite a lot with this concept during his discourses through the years, (even bringing up the concept of « Beyond Enlightenment »), enlightenment is also an important issue in the shamanic tradition. As we have seen earlier, an integral part of the Humaniversity psychology consists of going from a state of endarkment to enlightenment. Harner (1990 : 22) describes « shamanic enlightenment ... as the literal ability to lighten the darkness. To see in the darkness what others cannot perceive ».
In the shamanic tradition, to see the light or to be enlightened means both literaly and metaphorically the ability to see either past events that the person is seeking advice about or to be able to see or feel events in the future. It can also be seen as being able to move from one world to the other, not identified to either.
2.5 - Shamanistic Tools and Devices
According to many authors, many common practices and experiences in traditional shamanism are being investigated by modern researchers (see extensive bibliography at the end of this paper). Harner (1980) note that the emergence of the new field of the « anthropology of consciousness » and the establishment of Transpersonal Psychology in the field of psychology have opened up the investigation of research into the nature and history of consciousness in ways not previously possible. Inside and outside of academic circles, a growing number of people have begun to make serious inquiries into ancient shamanic techniques for entering into altered states of consciousness.
According to Harner (idem.), traditional shamans developed techniques for lucid dreaming, called the out-of-the-body experience. These methods for exploring the inner landscape are being investigated by a wide range of people. Some are academics, others come from traditional societies, while others are modern practitioners of non-traditional shamanism or neo-shamanism. Along with these techniques, the near-death-experiences have played a significant role in shamanic practice and initiation for millenia. With the renewed interest in older traditions since the 1970s, these shamanic methods of working with dreams and being conscious and awake while dreaming are receiving increased attention.
The ability to consciously move beyond the physical body is one of the main particular specialty of the traditional shaman. These « journeys of the Soul » may take the shaman into the nether realms, higher levels of existence or to parallel physical worlds or other regions of this world. Shamanic Flight is, in most instances, an experience not of an inner imaginary landscape, but is reported to be the shamans flight beyond the limitations of the physical body.
The distinguishing characteristic of shamanism is its focus on an ecstatic trance state in which the soul of the shaman is believed to leave the body and ascend to the sky (heavens) or descend into the earth (underworld). The shaman makes use of spirit helpers, with whom he/she communicates, all the while retaining control over his or her own consciousness. This space is called by Harner (1980) the « Shamanic State of Consciousness », that allows the shaman to enter into Non-Ordinary Reality, as opposed to most people who live ordinary state of consciousness who can only perceive what can be called ordinary reality.
Different tools and rituals are used by shamans to attain these extra-ordinary spaces. We will explore some of them in the coming sections.
2.5.1 The Sweatlodge ceremony
The sweatlodge ceremony is not as such a technique to enter a Shamanic State of Consciousness nor a Non-Ordinary Reality. Rather, it can be considered as a cleansing method used to purify the physical body, the mind, the spirit and the emotions and expand one’s consciousness that could, in certain cases, lead to different consciousness levels. The sweatlodge ceremony, central to most Native American cultures but also to many traditional civilizations, is an adaptation of the steam or sweat bath common to many ethnic cultures found in North and South America, Asia, Eastern and Western Europe, and Africa. It mostly is a purification technique to align and integrate body, mind and spirit used in many indigenous cultures throughout the world. This process can be used as a preparation for a cleansing process or after an intense therapeutic structure, as it can enable the participants to connect with emotions hidden deep down in the unconscious, in the physical/emotional body and to help integrate, express and heal these emotions.
The structure of the lodge itself is usually made of saplings or bamboo, some kind of framework in a dome shape that is covered by blankets, tarps, canvas or animal skins to keep the heat in. The lodge is a place of spiritual refuge and mental and physical healing, a place to get answers and guidance by asking either spiritual entities, helping spirits, totem helpers, the grandfathers, the Creator and/or Mother Earth for the needed wisdom and power. It is a very sensual experience, as it requires to be connected with all of its senses and the elements of nature.
Stones are heated in a ritual fire a few feet away from the lodge for a few hours and then placed in a pit that sits in the middle of the lodge. In many Native Indian traditions, the stones that are used in this process are considered to be the « grandfathers » of all human beings, seen as containing the whole wisdom of every human being and animal that walked on the earth before us. Native people show a lot of respect to the stones as it is considered giving their lives to allow us to sweat our way to purification.
Prior to entering the lodge, the participants are usually smudged by the firekeeper or the leader of the ceremony with sage, sweetgrass or cedar smoke as a means toward ritual cleanliness, the smoke being wafted over with an eagle feather. Participants then crawl one at a time into the lodge in a sun-wise (clockwise) direction, bowing in humility to the Great Spirit and in close contact with Mother Earth, and take place in the circle, sitting crosslegged upright against the wall of the lodge. Once everyone is ready to start the ceremony, water is poured on the rocks, creating steam.
With the only light in the lodge coming from the red hot stones, the ceremony begins. The sweat leader sounds the Water Drum and calls forth the spirit guides in prayer from the Four Directions . The sweat leader then dips water and pours it onto the hot stones in the pit, producing large amounts of steam, usually one dipper for each of the four directions, or until he is told by the spirits to stop. Then he begins his prayers, songs and chants. During each of the rounds, and that may differ from one tradition to the other, every participant has a time to either talk, pray, sing or remain silent for a while. The process requires a close connection between all participants as some of the qualities to acquire in such a process are collaboration, generosity, support, friendship and togetherness.
It is an honoring and utilization of the four elements (air, fire, earth and wind) and is usually done in four rounds corresponding to the Four Directions – so four times, stones are added, making the lodge progressively hotter. The process is often seen as a unique way of returning to the « womb » and of being « reborn », freer and clearer than before entering the lodge. The sweatlodge ceremony can be used to journey deep into one’s own awareness of Self, either to let go of past traumas, to find the answers to questions long sought, get inspiration from the spirits or to get clarity around specific topics. Firekeeper and ceremony leader work together as a team (just like the therapist and the team of assistants and caretakers do in a Humaniversity structure).
2.5.2 The Sacred Pipe Ceremony
The Pipe is one of the most widely used article in American Indians religious ceremonies of different traditions to carry out worship activities. This ceremony is filled with symbolism; the filled Pipe represents everything in the universe while the fire represents the Great Spirit who created all things. For example, the Pipe represents the universe and man. It is often smoked when visitors arrive or before/after specific rituals. The Pipe bowl, where tobacco is put, stands for the heart or sacred center of man . When one smokes the Pipe, he becomes one with God and the universe. When the smoke rises to heaven, it is a visible prayer.
The ceremonial use of the peace Pipe is a simple ritual. The peace Pipe serves as a portable altar. It is loaded with tobacco, and only tobacco. Indeed, some Native American religion traditionalists forbid the use of mind-altering substance in Pipe ceremony. They also claim that peyote, a mind altering cactus bud, is wrongfully associated with traditional Native American religion and ceremony and that the True Native American Way finds the Great Spirit only through « our own juices » (fasting, knowledge and observances of God's creation and the Sun Dance, Vision Quest, and Sweat Lodge ceremonies). But it is reported that the shamans from some traditions sometimes use various substances in the Pipe ceremony.
Before the smoking of the Pipe occurs, a ceremony is normally conducted. The Pipe ceremony begins with loading tobacco, a natural substance, into a Pipe and then acknowledging the four directions, Mother Earth, and Father Sky; it culminates with the final offering to the Great Spirit. Each grain of tobacco represents part of the thousands upon thousands of things in the universe. The fire of the great universe is thought to make the man smoking it become all the parts of the universe and be able to feel God's presence within him. The Pipe is held firmly by the bowl in the palm of the hand with the stem pointed outward. The last step of the Pipe offering is the holding up of the Pipe with its stem pointed straight upward, out into the center of the universe. Although the Indian admits that God is everywhere, in ceremony, Wakan Tanka (another word for God or the Great Spirit for Natives) is regarded as above.
The smoke rising is visible prayer, and the entire creation is thought to rejoice, and all things are at peace with each other. The smoke from the Pipe represents the participants' visible breath and stands for truth: truthful words, truthful actions, and a truthful spirit. In regard to the actual smoking, most participants do not inhale the tobacco. Nonsmokers simply hold the Pipe for a moment and then pass it on to the next person. If there is still some unburned tobacco remaining within the bowl after the Pipe has made its journey around the circle, one who smokes will general be asked to smoke out all the tobacco loaded in the pipe; the ashes will be cleaned from the Pipe and sprinkled upon Mother Earth. The Pipe ceremony is then finished and the Pipe is disassembled. It's bowl, generally, resides within a red cloth sack within a Pipe carrier's buckskin or animal hide Pipe bag.
Many believe that a powerful good for all things can emanate from the respectful and proper use of the Pipe, but it must be regarded as a spiritual instrument by the Pipe holder, whatever their lineage or race happens to be. The Pipe can become a strong catalyst to import a powerful feeling for our Mother Earth and all living things.
2.5.3 Hallucinogens
Different natural plants and substances are used to explore Non Ordinary Realities . Many classical books have been written about the various uses of hallucinogens and altered states of mind (amongst them, Castaneda, 1969; Huxley, 1954, 1956; Harner, 1981; Lucchini, 1988; Eliade, 1965; Schultes and Hoffman, 1980; Wilcox, 2003). Ayahusca, Peyote, Coca leaves, Opium, psylocibyn mushrooms or teonacatl (meaning Flesh of the Gods in the Jivaro culture) are some of the main substances identified in the litterature, but Lucchini (1988) indicates that more than 150 plants are used in the world to attain altered states of mind. For shamans from traditional societies, these plants contains supernaturals powers, so they are a medium beetween the Gods and men. The shaman, who is usually the one person in the tribe or village possessing the knowledge and direct experience of the plants, is seen as the intermediary between the two worlds and he is the one who can judge if someone is ready or not to take part in a ceremony. In the ceremonies, his presence as a guide is of course required, but the presence of other participants is also considered important as it as a precious support that can reassure and allow a communal experience.
The effects of the drugs are linked closely to what people expect from it; in this sense, the religious or sacred contexts in which these plants are taken protects from abuse and other profane uses. The strong and often disgusting taste of these plants is also considered as a protection factor against abuse. The individual preparation that precedes the taking of the sacred plants is of ultimate importance as it paves the way and determine the quality of the experience to come. In fact, people generaly formulates expectations and intentions or ask for clarity about certain issues of their lives before taking the drug; in this way, shamans are the guides that help greatly in the preparation process. The expectations of the participants in sacred rituals are always in tune with the culture in which one’s lives in. And in every cultures in which these rituals take place, clear guidelines, directions and interdictions are expressed by the shaman to make the experiment secure and to prevent abuse. The different spaces and realities in which the drugs will take the participants are valued in some societies as more real than this « normal » level of reality. Actually, during these travels, the ego is dissolved and the real self can manifest itself, allowing one to merge with the whole existence. So the many supraconscious insights that are realized during these « trips » serve as giving clarity and a sense of direction after the traveler come back to this reality. Lucchini (1988) mentions that over time, a tendancy was observed in the finality of the drug taking experiments : while it has started mostly as a sacred or magic purpose, these rituals gradually moved to a medicinal level, as a way to heal the body, spirit and soul.
The use of Ayahusca has spreaded to the whole world in recent years resulting from the globalization. It is significant to report that the justice courts of some countries, after some tough legal battles from some of the religious movements that wanted to protect their right to use the drug in their sacred ceremonies, has allowed some churches to do so, such as the Santo Daime Church (Brazil) and the Native American Church in the USA.
Even though we will not go in details in this specific topic, let’s only mention that some authors consider the use of Ecstasy and the Rave scene in the last 20 years as a modern form that is recreating the most primitive processes of drug taking explained before. But one must admit that the dancing, the wordless music, the trance that is reached with the repetition of the beat and the use of the drug indeed bear some resemblances to traditional religious drug taking contexts.
Lucchini (idem,) affirms that in African societies, where hallucinogen plants are more rarely found than in South America, collective dances, music, drumming through the night, fasting and other techniquues are used to replace the plants that permits to reach Non Ordinay Realitiy.
2.5.4 - Drumming circles
Cohan (1996) explains with accuracy and fine details the drumming circles, its purpose and its goal. In fact, a drumming circle is formed by a group of people communicating through beats, « ... journeying to explore the Great Universe, to discover the inner working and attune [each other] to the FLow of Life ». It can take various forms, meet on a regular basis or not. The drumming creates a space to explore meditation, soul flying, redreaming (helping dreamers understand the meaning of their past dreams better), exploring various shamanic states of consciousness, power animal retrieving, vision quest, etc... The drumming circles can be more or less structured and the number of participants can vary greatly from one another.
There is an association in the USA, called the Drum Circle Community, that organises drumming circle on a large scale and in a context of festivity and celebration. It regroups people of all levels of musical expertise who share their rhythmical spirit with whatever drums and percussion they bring to the event. Everyone who comes and participates has something to offer the circle, and any one is welcome. The spirit and magic of rhythm expressed on drums and percussion instruments cuts through all ages, sexes, religions, races and cultures. It is said that rhythm is a universal language known to every one, even the youngest child, if we can just « remember ». In a very objective way, an interactive rhythm event puts everyone on an equal footing with each other and brings everyone closer together. According to Arthur Hull :
« The quality of the music produced in an event like this is not based on the rhythmical expertise of the players, but on the quality of their relationship with the other people in the circle. The result is those magical musical moments where one powerful voice is created out of the many. In those moments, the players stop worrying about keeping time because time, as they know it, has stopped. In its place is a living breathing entity, expressing timeless joy, passion and release through the power of rhythm.
2.5.5 - Vision quests
A vision quest is a quest for the visions in anyone’s life that will heal them and make them whole. In traditional North American native cultures, young people were sent into nature to listen to the voices of the living earth. The elders taught them this process to find their path in life and/or to find their power animal helpers. The person on the vision quest spent days in caves, on mountaintops, on rivers, in the desert, waiting and inviting the voices to come. It is a feminine process that requires availability, openess and sensitivity. When the person heard the voices and saw its vision, one would return to its people and know who one was and what he/she was to do. In some tribes, instead of simply being punished or banned from the village or tribe, individuals who had committed a crime would be sent by the chief or the shaman to an isolated space like an island or a remote forest to spend some time alone with himself, with or without food, so they could have plenty of time to think and ponder about his forbidden behavior. This process is similar to Vipassana meditation, to a silent retreat or even to the dishpan, an isolation technique used in the older days of the therapeutic communities.
2.5.6 - Finding one’s own spirit guide or power animal
A spirit guide or power animal is the spiritual energy of the animal on earth. The spirit animal is greater than the actual animal because it embodies the essence of that animal; rather than being simply a human form of the animal or a human dressed as an animal, it is the animal spirit itself. For example, with a spirit bear, it is the voice of all the bears that have ever lived; it is the shamanic bear, the bear that can see itself and speak. A spirit animal appears to the shaman as a vision. It is the voice of the wild, the voice of nature, the voice of the earth. This animal informs the shaman of the earth energy it holds. It gives the shaman power and protection. It is a helper that assists the shaman on the journey inward. It is reported that some shamans never go into an inner journey without the help of a power animal. The power animal conveys to the shaman and their people an energy they need to heal.
2.5.7 - The medicine wheel
A medicine wheel is an ancient way of creating a sacred space. There is different ways of creating this space but in most medicine wheels, each direction has an animal that stands for one type of energy. For example, according to certain traditions, the East can host an owl and stands for change, the South, the lion that stands for passion, the West and the bear that stands for healing power and the North, with the turtle symbolizes grounding. Each person calls in their own animals that hold or represent for them each energy and each direction. The medicine wheel can be populated by many of the animals that live on the earth. The medicine wheel is built by placing a small object that stands for the animal or energy in each direction around a circle. The circle can be as small as a hand or as large as the earth. The object can be anything from an animal fetish, a feather, a seashell or a special stone. It is always something deeply meaningful to the person, something one has found or been given as a gift. A center is also created and another special object can be put there. Through this process a sacred space is created that becomes a mini vortex of power. It is used to create intention. Balance is created by the equal presence of all four energies acting at once. Creating a medicine wheel symbolizes a physical manifestation of earth’s energies. It is a sacred alter which evokes the powers of the earth. Like an alter, it brings prayers in harmony with the energies of the earth. By actually making something real in physical space, you act and create. The energy and prayer to heal is embodied and seen and can be touched.
A medicine wheel is simply a way of making sacred space more real and more visible. Ancient people believed that the medicine wheel in itself had great power and helped create change and healing. Medicine wheels are circles that were made all over the world and found throughout history in every culture. Medicine wheels were always a place of ceremony and ritual, done at a community level and involving huge amounts of energy. Actually, the circle is an international shape that holds energy together, that unite people as everyone sees everybody else while sitting in that position. It is used for healing, drumming and various gatherings.
2.1 - What is shamanism ?
Shamanism is rapidly gaining popularity since a few years in the Western world. In North America, we are regularly offered workshops or seminars on shamanism to discover shamanistic tools or to learn to become a shaman. The most popular school in the USA is without any doubt the Foundation for Shamanic Studies (FSS) .
In fact, according to the FSS, Shamanism is described as such :
« Over tens of thousands of years, our ancient ancestors all over the world discovered how to maximize human abilities of mind and spirit for healing and problem-solving. The remarkable system of methods they developed is today known as "shamanism," a term that comes from a Siberian tribal word for its practitioners "shaman". »
Besides Harner, many authors also state that the word shamanism came to English from the Tungus language via Russian. The term shamanism has, over time, come into usage by anthropologists, historians of religion and others in contemporary society to designate the experience and the practices of the shaman. Gradually, its usage has grown to include similar experiences and practices in cultures outside of the original Siberian cultures from which the term shaman originated.
Various authors report traces of shamanism on every continent of the world, while each approach is different according to the specific elements of the contexts in which they were developped . As longevity is concerned, Halifax (1981:5) declares that « the lifeway for [shamanism] is nearly as old as human consciousness itself, predating the earliest recorded civilizations by thousands of years ».
After years of extensive research, M. Eliade, in his classical book « Shamanism : Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy » (1964), concluded that shamanism underlays all the other spiritual traditions on the planet, and that the most distinctive feature of shamanism - but of course not the only one - was the journey to other worlds in an altered state of consciousness (which we will develop more later on). So shamanism could be seen as the mother of all spiritual movements. Eliade (idem.) decribes shamanism as « a technique amongst others to get in contact with spirits, a process to make reality sacred ».
But is shamanism a religion ? According to Harner (1980), the practice of shamanism is a method rather than a religion. It coexists with established religions in many cultures. For example, in Siberia, shamanism coexists with Buddhism and Lamaism, and in Japan with Buddhism. In South America, many movements, such as the Santo Daime Church or the Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal, combine elements of the Catholic or Christian church to Native Shamanistic traditions. In North America, the Native American Church has also integrated in their tradition, beside its use of Peyolt, some elements of the Catholic Church.
Shamanism is often present in animistic cultures. The term animism is a central concept in shamanism. This word has two meanings : one is « the attribution of a soul to plants, animals, inanimate objects and natural phenomena », while the second one is « the belief in a supernatural power that organizes and animates the material universe » (Oxford Dictionnary). As we see, this term, mainly the second meaning, is close to the underlying beliefs of all the world’s religions and spiritual movements and it is linked to spirituality in general. It is by connecting with this power that the shaman can either heal a person, reach ecstatic realities or find solutions to the concrete problems of the village or community.
Animism means that people believe there are spirits, which is not so common in our modern Western cultures that put much emphasis on rationality and scientific proofs or facts. So in shamanic cultures, where shamans interact with spirits to get results such as healing, people generaly believe there are spirits. But it is said that the shamans don't always necessarily « believe » in spirits even if they talk or interact with them. In fact, Harner says that they no more « believe » there are spirits than they « believe » they have a house to live in, or have a family and that this is a very important issue because shamanism is not as such a system of faith.
So if shamanism is not a religion or a group of religions, it could rather be considered a spiritual practice, which litterally implies that a shaman gets in touch with the « spirits ». In traditional tribes, the shaman have often played different roles : he either pretends to be and/or is a healer, a doctor, a priest, a therapist, an entertainer, and sometimes even as the chief of the tribe. If Shamanism is getting more popular these days, authors attribute it to the withdrawal and the disappearing of traditional religions in Western Society, which shamansim seems to replace as people are in need of a sense of the sacred. Vazeilles (1991) affirms that shamanism should not be studied like other religions, as in some societies, it replaces all other religious systems while in others, it exists parallel to other religions while it is sometimes forbidden by the main religions. According to this author, these differences could explain that in some social groups, some shamans are more a priest than anything else, while in other groups, they play many roles and they more a healer than a priest.
According to the FSS, Shamanism is classified by anthropologists as an archaic magico-religious phenomenon in which the shaman is the great master of ecstasy. Shamanism itself, was defined by Eliade (1989) mainly as a technique of ecstasy.
Perrin (1995 : 5) defines shamanism as :
«... a particular representation of the human being and of the world, supposing a specific alliance between all the men and the gods, that is constrained by a purpose, the shaman, who has to prevent a loss of balance and answer any misfortune : to explain it, to avoid it and to ease it ».
Another definition of shamanism is advanced by Cowan (1996 : 2), which is according to me more down to earth and easier to comprehend :
« Shamanism is the intentional effort to develop intimate and lasting relationships with personal helping spirits by consciously leaving ordinary reality and journeying into the nonordinary realms of the spirit world ».
2.2 - The shaman
« A shaman is an explorer of doorways – doorways from ordinary reality into nonordinary reality, portals leading from the physical world into the spirit world » (Cohan, 1996 : 40).
The shaman is the live incarnation of shamanism. Harner (1980) defines a shaman as :
« ... a person who makes journeys to nonordinary reality in an altered state of consciousness... [...] Shamans are a type of medicine man or woman especially distinguished by the use of journeys to hidden worlds otherwise mainly known through myth, dream, and near-death experiences. ».
In tribal cultures, the shaman is the person who sees into the sacred world, the one that brings the sacred visions of ancient spirits and power animals out as ritual. By this ritual process, in a way similar to prayer, visualization, imagery and art, the shaman heals himself, others and the earth. By having visions of healing and doing sacred ritual, the shaman makes the visions come true.
A shaman may show a particular magical specialty (such as control over fire, wind or magical flight or more spectacular forms) but when a specialization is present, the most common is as a healer. It is also important to note that while most shamans in traditional societies are men, either women or men may and have become shamans. Considering the more important place women has taken in western society since 50 years, they will most probably be more visible in the coming years in the shaministic lineage .
By being able to travel from one world (this level of existence) to the « other world », shamans have a special power that allows them to see the problems in other people. If shamans are often called « see-ers », or « people who know » in their tribal languages, it is because they are involved in a system of knowledge based on firsthand experience. So shamanism is not a belief system; it is rather based on personal experiments of shamans conducted to heal, to get information or do other things. In fact, it is often reported that when a shaman is not successful in getting concrete results, he will no longer be used by people in its tribe.
According to Dubois (1999), since the beginning of humanity, the shaman is the specialist of the sacred, even before the creation of the priests and religions. He is the vector who can come and go between the world of man (visible) and the « other world » (invisible) with the help of trance (shamanic traveling) or dream. He used to be considered responsible for the health of his tribe, for the supply in meat, good harvests, protection against other tribes, social and cosmic harmony. He can achieve this by his transactions with divinities because human beings depend upon it.
Various authors report that shamanism is an oral and theatrical art where personal abilities are important and that each shaman has his own unique style. In a way, the shaman is an artist. In front of a new and unpredicted situation, the shaman will find a new way to respond in which he improvizes, he creates new adapted rituals to meet the specific needs of the moment . Apart from being an artist, Halifax (1981) says that the role of the shaman takes many forms, such as healer, ceremonalist, judge, sacred politician, to name only a few.
Many authors report that the « Call to shamanize » is often directly related to a near death experience by the prospective shaman. Among the traditional examples are being struck by lightning, a fall from a height, a serious life-threatening illness or lucid dream experiences in which the candidate comes close to dying and is thus reborn. Survival of these sudden meetings with death provides the shaman with personal experiences which strengthen his/her ability to work effectively with others. Having experienced something that strong, a shaman is more likely to understand what must be done to correct a condition or situation .
But it is reported that there are two other ways by which people become shaman beside living a near death experience : some people consciously choose, for various reasons, to become a shaman, a form of calling from the universe, while it is also reported that some individuals are choosen by the elders of the tribe to take over from an older shaman, to continue the lineage or a family tradition.
Creek (1999) presents different qualities that make a shaman a real peaceful warrior. The author identifys seven qualities composing the code of honor of a shaman. I find it interesting to present these qualities here as they also apply to any responsible therapist or human being.
1- Finding the middle way : creating balance between this world and the other worlds, between the body and the spirit, and between the emotions and the others aspects of a human being.
2- Owning our choices : taking our power in our hands. The importance of responsability. We cannot control outer events but we have the power over the way we respond to it.
3- The quality of presence : living each moment totaly. Going beyond the notion of time, beyond the limitation of the mind.
4- Developping compassion : becoming totaly human. Compassion allows us to realize and appreciate that we are all doing the best we can.
5- Hope : spreading one’s reality. By widening our vision, our beliefs and our expectations on what is possible, we can transform our perspective and our destiny.
6- Integrity : living from one’s own truth. Stressing the importance of living according to one’s fondamental beliefs and the laws of the universe.
7- Unity : all is connected. Never forgetting that all things and beings are connected in the universe.
2.3 - Shamanism in time and space
While shamanism may be more readily identified among many hunting and gathering peoples and in some traditional herding societies, identifying specific groups of individuals who might be called shamans is a difficult task in more stratified agricultural and manufacturing based societies like ours (Harner, 1990).
If the first traces of shamanism are rooted in Siberia, it is spreaded all over the world. Halifax (1981) mentions that shamanic knowledge is remarkably consistent across the planet. According to Lucchinni (1988), in areas where hallucinogenic plants are available, which is more specifically the case in the Americas, shamans make a wide use of these plants while on other areas on earth where nature does not allow easy growing of these plants (for example in Africa or desertic land in general), other techniques such as fasting, drumming, long wake and the likes are used to attain altered states of consciousness.
Harner (1980) reports that altough the term shamanism comes from Siberia, the practice of shamanism existed on all inhabited continents. This author says that a society may be said to be Post-Shamanic when there are the presence of shamanic motives in its traditional folklore or when spiritual practices indicate a clear pattern of traditions of ascent into the heavens, descent into the « nether-worlds », movement between this world and a parallel Otherworld, are present in its history. Such a society or tradition may have become very specialized and recombined aspects of mysticism, prophecy and shamanism into more specialized or more fully developed practices and may have assigned those to highly specialized functionaries. When such practices and functionaries are present or have replaced the traditional shamans found in historical or traditional shamanism, the use of Post-shamanic is appropriate. Post-shamanic traditions are found among many Indo-European, Asian, African and some native peoples of South and North America. The use of Post-Shamanic as a term makes examination of these parallel traditions and possible survivals of earlier shamanic traditions easier.
Perrin (1995) affirms that in societies where social change takes place at a fast pace, shamanism is often seen as a way to compensate the loss of balance provoked by the rapid social change. From my own observations of western societies, this statement could partly explain why shamanism is more popular than ever in recent years.
We can note two main aspects to shamanic healing : a medicinal one and a spiritual one (Harner, 1980) :
« Shamans talk with plants and animals, with all of nature. This is not just a metaphor. They do it in an altered state of consciousness. Our own students rapidly discover that by talking with plants, they can discover how to prepare those plants for remedies. Shamans have been doing this since ancient times. They typically know a great deal about plants, but it's not essential. For example, Eskimo shamans don't have access to a lot of plants, so they work with other things. But in the Amazon shamans know the various plants and the songs that go with the plants, which they commonly learn from the plants themselves ».
Shamans can be prophets because everything that's ever been known, everything that can be known, is available to the shaman in the Dreamtime ; that's why they can also go back and look at the past. With discipline, training, and the help of the spirits, this total source of knowledge is accessible to them .
2.4 - Shamanism and enlightenment
One way or the other, most people on a spiritual path are concerned with getting enlightened, becoming fully aware. Enlightenment can be seen as a state of being totaly realised, not anymore functionning from the ego or the unconscious. If Osho entertained his sannyasins quite a lot with this concept during his discourses through the years, (even bringing up the concept of « Beyond Enlightenment »), enlightenment is also an important issue in the shamanic tradition. As we have seen earlier, an integral part of the Humaniversity psychology consists of going from a state of endarkment to enlightenment. Harner (1990 : 22) describes « shamanic enlightenment ... as the literal ability to lighten the darkness. To see in the darkness what others cannot perceive ».
In the shamanic tradition, to see the light or to be enlightened means both literaly and metaphorically the ability to see either past events that the person is seeking advice about or to be able to see or feel events in the future. It can also be seen as being able to move from one world to the other, not identified to either.
2.5 - Shamanistic Tools and Devices
According to many authors, many common practices and experiences in traditional shamanism are being investigated by modern researchers (see extensive bibliography at the end of this paper). Harner (1980) note that the emergence of the new field of the « anthropology of consciousness » and the establishment of Transpersonal Psychology in the field of psychology have opened up the investigation of research into the nature and history of consciousness in ways not previously possible. Inside and outside of academic circles, a growing number of people have begun to make serious inquiries into ancient shamanic techniques for entering into altered states of consciousness.
According to Harner (idem.), traditional shamans developed techniques for lucid dreaming, called the out-of-the-body experience. These methods for exploring the inner landscape are being investigated by a wide range of people. Some are academics, others come from traditional societies, while others are modern practitioners of non-traditional shamanism or neo-shamanism. Along with these techniques, the near-death-experiences have played a significant role in shamanic practice and initiation for millenia. With the renewed interest in older traditions since the 1970s, these shamanic methods of working with dreams and being conscious and awake while dreaming are receiving increased attention.
The ability to consciously move beyond the physical body is one of the main particular specialty of the traditional shaman. These « journeys of the Soul » may take the shaman into the nether realms, higher levels of existence or to parallel physical worlds or other regions of this world. Shamanic Flight is, in most instances, an experience not of an inner imaginary landscape, but is reported to be the shamans flight beyond the limitations of the physical body.
The distinguishing characteristic of shamanism is its focus on an ecstatic trance state in which the soul of the shaman is believed to leave the body and ascend to the sky (heavens) or descend into the earth (underworld). The shaman makes use of spirit helpers, with whom he/she communicates, all the while retaining control over his or her own consciousness. This space is called by Harner (1980) the « Shamanic State of Consciousness », that allows the shaman to enter into Non-Ordinary Reality, as opposed to most people who live ordinary state of consciousness who can only perceive what can be called ordinary reality.
Different tools and rituals are used by shamans to attain these extra-ordinary spaces. We will explore some of them in the coming sections.
2.5.1 The Sweatlodge ceremony
The sweatlodge ceremony is not as such a technique to enter a Shamanic State of Consciousness nor a Non-Ordinary Reality. Rather, it can be considered as a cleansing method used to purify the physical body, the mind, the spirit and the emotions and expand one’s consciousness that could, in certain cases, lead to different consciousness levels. The sweatlodge ceremony, central to most Native American cultures but also to many traditional civilizations, is an adaptation of the steam or sweat bath common to many ethnic cultures found in North and South America, Asia, Eastern and Western Europe, and Africa. It mostly is a purification technique to align and integrate body, mind and spirit used in many indigenous cultures throughout the world. This process can be used as a preparation for a cleansing process or after an intense therapeutic structure, as it can enable the participants to connect with emotions hidden deep down in the unconscious, in the physical/emotional body and to help integrate, express and heal these emotions.
The structure of the lodge itself is usually made of saplings or bamboo, some kind of framework in a dome shape that is covered by blankets, tarps, canvas or animal skins to keep the heat in. The lodge is a place of spiritual refuge and mental and physical healing, a place to get answers and guidance by asking either spiritual entities, helping spirits, totem helpers, the grandfathers, the Creator and/or Mother Earth for the needed wisdom and power. It is a very sensual experience, as it requires to be connected with all of its senses and the elements of nature.
Stones are heated in a ritual fire a few feet away from the lodge for a few hours and then placed in a pit that sits in the middle of the lodge. In many Native Indian traditions, the stones that are used in this process are considered to be the « grandfathers » of all human beings, seen as containing the whole wisdom of every human being and animal that walked on the earth before us. Native people show a lot of respect to the stones as it is considered giving their lives to allow us to sweat our way to purification.
Prior to entering the lodge, the participants are usually smudged by the firekeeper or the leader of the ceremony with sage, sweetgrass or cedar smoke as a means toward ritual cleanliness, the smoke being wafted over with an eagle feather. Participants then crawl one at a time into the lodge in a sun-wise (clockwise) direction, bowing in humility to the Great Spirit and in close contact with Mother Earth, and take place in the circle, sitting crosslegged upright against the wall of the lodge. Once everyone is ready to start the ceremony, water is poured on the rocks, creating steam.
With the only light in the lodge coming from the red hot stones, the ceremony begins. The sweat leader sounds the Water Drum and calls forth the spirit guides in prayer from the Four Directions . The sweat leader then dips water and pours it onto the hot stones in the pit, producing large amounts of steam, usually one dipper for each of the four directions, or until he is told by the spirits to stop. Then he begins his prayers, songs and chants. During each of the rounds, and that may differ from one tradition to the other, every participant has a time to either talk, pray, sing or remain silent for a while. The process requires a close connection between all participants as some of the qualities to acquire in such a process are collaboration, generosity, support, friendship and togetherness.
It is an honoring and utilization of the four elements (air, fire, earth and wind) and is usually done in four rounds corresponding to the Four Directions – so four times, stones are added, making the lodge progressively hotter. The process is often seen as a unique way of returning to the « womb » and of being « reborn », freer and clearer than before entering the lodge. The sweatlodge ceremony can be used to journey deep into one’s own awareness of Self, either to let go of past traumas, to find the answers to questions long sought, get inspiration from the spirits or to get clarity around specific topics. Firekeeper and ceremony leader work together as a team (just like the therapist and the team of assistants and caretakers do in a Humaniversity structure).
2.5.2 The Sacred Pipe Ceremony
The Pipe is one of the most widely used article in American Indians religious ceremonies of different traditions to carry out worship activities. This ceremony is filled with symbolism; the filled Pipe represents everything in the universe while the fire represents the Great Spirit who created all things. For example, the Pipe represents the universe and man. It is often smoked when visitors arrive or before/after specific rituals. The Pipe bowl, where tobacco is put, stands for the heart or sacred center of man . When one smokes the Pipe, he becomes one with God and the universe. When the smoke rises to heaven, it is a visible prayer.
The ceremonial use of the peace Pipe is a simple ritual. The peace Pipe serves as a portable altar. It is loaded with tobacco, and only tobacco. Indeed, some Native American religion traditionalists forbid the use of mind-altering substance in Pipe ceremony. They also claim that peyote, a mind altering cactus bud, is wrongfully associated with traditional Native American religion and ceremony and that the True Native American Way finds the Great Spirit only through « our own juices » (fasting, knowledge and observances of God's creation and the Sun Dance, Vision Quest, and Sweat Lodge ceremonies). But it is reported that the shamans from some traditions sometimes use various substances in the Pipe ceremony.
Before the smoking of the Pipe occurs, a ceremony is normally conducted. The Pipe ceremony begins with loading tobacco, a natural substance, into a Pipe and then acknowledging the four directions, Mother Earth, and Father Sky; it culminates with the final offering to the Great Spirit. Each grain of tobacco represents part of the thousands upon thousands of things in the universe. The fire of the great universe is thought to make the man smoking it become all the parts of the universe and be able to feel God's presence within him. The Pipe is held firmly by the bowl in the palm of the hand with the stem pointed outward. The last step of the Pipe offering is the holding up of the Pipe with its stem pointed straight upward, out into the center of the universe. Although the Indian admits that God is everywhere, in ceremony, Wakan Tanka (another word for God or the Great Spirit for Natives) is regarded as above.
The smoke rising is visible prayer, and the entire creation is thought to rejoice, and all things are at peace with each other. The smoke from the Pipe represents the participants' visible breath and stands for truth: truthful words, truthful actions, and a truthful spirit. In regard to the actual smoking, most participants do not inhale the tobacco. Nonsmokers simply hold the Pipe for a moment and then pass it on to the next person. If there is still some unburned tobacco remaining within the bowl after the Pipe has made its journey around the circle, one who smokes will general be asked to smoke out all the tobacco loaded in the pipe; the ashes will be cleaned from the Pipe and sprinkled upon Mother Earth. The Pipe ceremony is then finished and the Pipe is disassembled. It's bowl, generally, resides within a red cloth sack within a Pipe carrier's buckskin or animal hide Pipe bag.
Many believe that a powerful good for all things can emanate from the respectful and proper use of the Pipe, but it must be regarded as a spiritual instrument by the Pipe holder, whatever their lineage or race happens to be. The Pipe can become a strong catalyst to import a powerful feeling for our Mother Earth and all living things.
2.5.3 Hallucinogens
Different natural plants and substances are used to explore Non Ordinary Realities . Many classical books have been written about the various uses of hallucinogens and altered states of mind (amongst them, Castaneda, 1969; Huxley, 1954, 1956; Harner, 1981; Lucchini, 1988; Eliade, 1965; Schultes and Hoffman, 1980; Wilcox, 2003). Ayahusca, Peyote, Coca leaves, Opium, psylocibyn mushrooms or teonacatl (meaning Flesh of the Gods in the Jivaro culture) are some of the main substances identified in the litterature, but Lucchini (1988) indicates that more than 150 plants are used in the world to attain altered states of mind. For shamans from traditional societies, these plants contains supernaturals powers, so they are a medium beetween the Gods and men. The shaman, who is usually the one person in the tribe or village possessing the knowledge and direct experience of the plants, is seen as the intermediary between the two worlds and he is the one who can judge if someone is ready or not to take part in a ceremony. In the ceremonies, his presence as a guide is of course required, but the presence of other participants is also considered important as it as a precious support that can reassure and allow a communal experience.
The effects of the drugs are linked closely to what people expect from it; in this sense, the religious or sacred contexts in which these plants are taken protects from abuse and other profane uses. The strong and often disgusting taste of these plants is also considered as a protection factor against abuse. The individual preparation that precedes the taking of the sacred plants is of ultimate importance as it paves the way and determine the quality of the experience to come. In fact, people generaly formulates expectations and intentions or ask for clarity about certain issues of their lives before taking the drug; in this way, shamans are the guides that help greatly in the preparation process. The expectations of the participants in sacred rituals are always in tune with the culture in which one’s lives in. And in every cultures in which these rituals take place, clear guidelines, directions and interdictions are expressed by the shaman to make the experiment secure and to prevent abuse. The different spaces and realities in which the drugs will take the participants are valued in some societies as more real than this « normal » level of reality. Actually, during these travels, the ego is dissolved and the real self can manifest itself, allowing one to merge with the whole existence. So the many supraconscious insights that are realized during these « trips » serve as giving clarity and a sense of direction after the traveler come back to this reality. Lucchini (1988) mentions that over time, a tendancy was observed in the finality of the drug taking experiments : while it has started mostly as a sacred or magic purpose, these rituals gradually moved to a medicinal level, as a way to heal the body, spirit and soul.
The use of Ayahusca has spreaded to the whole world in recent years resulting from the globalization. It is significant to report that the justice courts of some countries, after some tough legal battles from some of the religious movements that wanted to protect their right to use the drug in their sacred ceremonies, has allowed some churches to do so, such as the Santo Daime Church (Brazil) and the Native American Church in the USA.
Even though we will not go in details in this specific topic, let’s only mention that some authors consider the use of Ecstasy and the Rave scene in the last 20 years as a modern form that is recreating the most primitive processes of drug taking explained before. But one must admit that the dancing, the wordless music, the trance that is reached with the repetition of the beat and the use of the drug indeed bear some resemblances to traditional religious drug taking contexts.
Lucchini (idem,) affirms that in African societies, where hallucinogen plants are more rarely found than in South America, collective dances, music, drumming through the night, fasting and other techniquues are used to replace the plants that permits to reach Non Ordinay Realitiy.
2.5.4 - Drumming circles
Cohan (1996) explains with accuracy and fine details the drumming circles, its purpose and its goal. In fact, a drumming circle is formed by a group of people communicating through beats, « ... journeying to explore the Great Universe, to discover the inner working and attune [each other] to the FLow of Life ». It can take various forms, meet on a regular basis or not. The drumming creates a space to explore meditation, soul flying, redreaming (helping dreamers understand the meaning of their past dreams better), exploring various shamanic states of consciousness, power animal retrieving, vision quest, etc... The drumming circles can be more or less structured and the number of participants can vary greatly from one another.
There is an association in the USA, called the Drum Circle Community, that organises drumming circle on a large scale and in a context of festivity and celebration. It regroups people of all levels of musical expertise who share their rhythmical spirit with whatever drums and percussion they bring to the event. Everyone who comes and participates has something to offer the circle, and any one is welcome. The spirit and magic of rhythm expressed on drums and percussion instruments cuts through all ages, sexes, religions, races and cultures. It is said that rhythm is a universal language known to every one, even the youngest child, if we can just « remember ». In a very objective way, an interactive rhythm event puts everyone on an equal footing with each other and brings everyone closer together. According to Arthur Hull :
« The quality of the music produced in an event like this is not based on the rhythmical expertise of the players, but on the quality of their relationship with the other people in the circle. The result is those magical musical moments where one powerful voice is created out of the many. In those moments, the players stop worrying about keeping time because time, as they know it, has stopped. In its place is a living breathing entity, expressing timeless joy, passion and release through the power of rhythm.
2.5.5 - Vision quests
A vision quest is a quest for the visions in anyone’s life that will heal them and make them whole. In traditional North American native cultures, young people were sent into nature to listen to the voices of the living earth. The elders taught them this process to find their path in life and/or to find their power animal helpers. The person on the vision quest spent days in caves, on mountaintops, on rivers, in the desert, waiting and inviting the voices to come. It is a feminine process that requires availability, openess and sensitivity. When the person heard the voices and saw its vision, one would return to its people and know who one was and what he/she was to do. In some tribes, instead of simply being punished or banned from the village or tribe, individuals who had committed a crime would be sent by the chief or the shaman to an isolated space like an island or a remote forest to spend some time alone with himself, with or without food, so they could have plenty of time to think and ponder about his forbidden behavior. This process is similar to Vipassana meditation, to a silent retreat or even to the dishpan, an isolation technique used in the older days of the therapeutic communities.
2.5.6 - Finding one’s own spirit guide or power animal
A spirit guide or power animal is the spiritual energy of the animal on earth. The spirit animal is greater than the actual animal because it embodies the essence of that animal; rather than being simply a human form of the animal or a human dressed as an animal, it is the animal spirit itself. For example, with a spirit bear, it is the voice of all the bears that have ever lived; it is the shamanic bear, the bear that can see itself and speak. A spirit animal appears to the shaman as a vision. It is the voice of the wild, the voice of nature, the voice of the earth. This animal informs the shaman of the earth energy it holds. It gives the shaman power and protection. It is a helper that assists the shaman on the journey inward. It is reported that some shamans never go into an inner journey without the help of a power animal. The power animal conveys to the shaman and their people an energy they need to heal.
2.5.7 - The medicine wheel
A medicine wheel is an ancient way of creating a sacred space. There is different ways of creating this space but in most medicine wheels, each direction has an animal that stands for one type of energy. For example, according to certain traditions, the East can host an owl and stands for change, the South, the lion that stands for passion, the West and the bear that stands for healing power and the North, with the turtle symbolizes grounding. Each person calls in their own animals that hold or represent for them each energy and each direction. The medicine wheel can be populated by many of the animals that live on the earth. The medicine wheel is built by placing a small object that stands for the animal or energy in each direction around a circle. The circle can be as small as a hand or as large as the earth. The object can be anything from an animal fetish, a feather, a seashell or a special stone. It is always something deeply meaningful to the person, something one has found or been given as a gift. A center is also created and another special object can be put there. Through this process a sacred space is created that becomes a mini vortex of power. It is used to create intention. Balance is created by the equal presence of all four energies acting at once. Creating a medicine wheel symbolizes a physical manifestation of earth’s energies. It is a sacred alter which evokes the powers of the earth. Like an alter, it brings prayers in harmony with the energies of the earth. By actually making something real in physical space, you act and create. The energy and prayer to heal is embodied and seen and can be touched.
A medicine wheel is simply a way of making sacred space more real and more visible. Ancient people believed that the medicine wheel in itself had great power and helped create change and healing. Medicine wheels are circles that were made all over the world and found throughout history in every culture. Medicine wheels were always a place of ceremony and ritual, done at a community level and involving huge amounts of energy. Actually, the circle is an international shape that holds energy together, that unite people as everyone sees everybody else while sitting in that position. It is used for healing, drumming and various gatherings.
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