Looking back, I can see that my inter­est in shaman­ism began while read­ing Carlos Cas­taneda as a teenager. Cap­ti­vated by the stories of his encounters with Don Juan Matus, a Yaqui Indian shaman, Castaneda’s books gave me a frame­work from which to begin to explain expe­ri­ences I had as a child.

Often while play­ing in the woods around dusk – especially at Girl Scout camp (go figure) – I’d sud­denly feel a shift in my per­cep­tion – with the look and feel of my sur­round­ings altering completely. It felt like I had entered a different world. Even though I was still in the woods, my senses were heightened and I would be in this state for sev­eral min­utes before returning back to what felt like a more ordi­nary real­ity.

Read­ing Cas­taneda gave me the lan­guage to begin understanding some of these experiences. There seemed to be much deeper levels of reality than what I was learning about and experiencing in school or at church. And, Castaneda gave me permission to look beyond that ordinary reality.

Years later, while studying Native American traditions, I had the good fortune to participate in a work­shop with Michael Harner from The Foundation for Shamanic Studies (www.shamanism.org) that would fur­ther deep­en my expe­ri­ence with shamanic practices. In particular, I learned how to journey into other worlds and make contact with the spirits that I encountered.

Since then, I’ve used journeying and soul retrieval techniques in many heal­ing ses­sions. And, I even got the chance to take a work­shop with Cas­taneda him­self shortly before he passed.

I’ve also been a long-standing practitioner of the Bön Buddhist tradition. Bön is the indigenous shamanistic “religion” of Tibet – and is one of the world’s most ancient unbroken spiritual traditions. While much of its teachings are similar to Tibetan Buddhism, Bön Buddhism retains much of the richness and flavor of its pre-Buddhist roots.
For more information on Tibetan Bön Buddhism please visit www.ligmincha.org.

Well no, not really. A shaman is chosen by the spirit world.

According to the shamanistic worldview – the universe has three levels – an Upperworld, Middleworld, and an Underworld – and it’s full of spirits.  Shamans are adept at traversing these worlds – and contacting and dealing with the spirits they encounter along the way.

Anthropologists have identified several characteristics that are common to most shaman candidates.

A shaman candidate will usually from an early age be a dreamer and they will have “out of the ordinary” perceptions.  Their dreams connect them to the spirit world and will ultimately connect them to the their power.

Consider this description of a young shaman candidate among the Tungus in Siberia

A child who has dreams, different from ordinary ones, who is subject to strong emotions, change of mood, and in general, when his behaviour is not like that of other children, is supposed to be a candidate . . . [ref]Shirokogoroff, S.M., Psychomental Complex of the Tungus, (New York:  AMS Press, 1980), 349.[/ref]

The shaman candidate will also have suffered “shaman’s sickness” – which is caused by an event or trauma such as family tragedy, illness, or rejection. These experiences force the candidate to become familiar with the spirit world.[ref]Mircea Eliade, Shaman­ism: Archaic Tech­niques of Ecstasy, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1964).[/ref]

As they apprentice with an existing shaman,[ref]In some cases the shaman candidate will apprentice directly with the spirit world – and not with a shaman in the physical world.[/ref] the initiate will learn to journey to other worlds again and again. They will also receive instruction on how to make and use their healing tools: their drum, costume, ceremonies, and herbal remedies. And, they learn healing songs and dances.

Ultimately, as part of their initiation, the candidate must journey down into the Underworld and encounter the spirits associated with their “disease.” If they recapture their soul from these spirits they are healed. Their self-cure ultimately empowers them to act as the healer for their tribe.

So, can you choose to become a Shaman?

No one actually chooses to become a shaman – they are chosen – and they can transform and heal themselves – or suffer the consequences.

By Patrice Hall