Shamanism is new in my life and even though I have dipped into it a few times over the past years I never really gave it the opportunity to grow within me. Also I have simply scratched the surface of a vast, vast world and as such I will tip toe onwards. A good friend asked me … is it fantasy? … and that is a very good question. Einstein said imagination is more important than knowledge.
For me it taps into the right hemisphere of the brain which is another half of the same story. Not so much logic, words, ego, separateness, selfishness but images, symbols, wholeness, oneness, selflessness. The Divine talking to ourselves instead of ourselves talking to ourselves. Shamanism has helped me to experience more of my whole self … mind, body and Spirit, more than this outside, physical world ever could.
Some of the flavours of shamanism include journeying to other worlds, meeting your Power Animal, communicating with Spirit Guides and otherworldly beings, grounding with Mother Earth and connecting with archetypal energies. It can also involve healing through burial, dissolution, burning, dismemberment, being eaten and regurgitated … all symbolizing the alchemical rebirth and transformation from one form into another. It calms the mind, relaxes the body, expands awareness, liberates the Soul, connects to Spirit and helps to remind us of who we really are.
The greatest shock and real light bulb moment for me was after each journey and return to familiar reality with the knowledge and gifts received from the shamanic journey. There were far too many synchronous events and researched information that resonated on a deep personal level to make this purely coincidental and made up. So, is it fantasy? … YES! It is magical, creative, visionary, inventive and imaginative. Is it real? … as compared to this physical world we live in … orders of magnitude more so.