The shamanic state of
consciousness is induced through drumming, rattling and dancing or,
in some societies, by ingesting hallucinogens.
Shamans: Links to Other
Dimensions?
by Robert Bruce Baird
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Is it really possible that Don Juan could command the movement of
Carlos' attention point or time reference point to another dimension
that he calls the Nagual
and the sorcerer’s perspective? Can the adeptness of one person rise
to know you better than you know yourself even at the level of the
body conscious focus on the material world? Is INFINITY like the
multi-dimensional soul which at some point is harmonized in ethics
so much that it laughs at the stupidity of the soulful entities
exploring the naive denial and rationalizing games our personalities
playas we avoid the purpose of our soul? Could Don Juan shape-shift
his alter egos and other dimension energy to become the reflection
or mirror of the inner character of the student seeking to label
something he knows so little about, in an "elaborate" construct that
would be akin to a crook yet academically sound? Did he command this
laughter response in another that easily?
Have you ever looked into
yourself so deeply that you "didn't care to apologize" and "found
the thought inadmissible"? What a life and so little holes in your
soul you would have if only you were so wise and yet, what a curse
and quite unlike 'any blessing it would be. Your knowledge of others
and their intentions would make you feel so alone and so
devastatingly unable to convey to others what games the ego does
play. You might try to use intellect and be found arrogant. You
might use love and empathy and be found invasive and intense. You
might develop the austere distance of an impeccable warrior as
Carlos was taught and then no longer need. No longer need! Anything!
This is the world of Carlos Castaneda which calls out for humanity
to look at itself and know how sensationally gifted our soul can be
and in the final analysis how scary it would be not to actually care
for another person at some intense level of need. But if there is no
need in those dimensions what is there? Love and connectiveness as
we have said; or purpose and productive involvement in creation on a
collective and common basis, where each separate energy is never
able to feel anything more than the most of whatever they want.
In Don Juan we see the
laughter and his great power which has no application except to help
the truly interested and committed student who sincerely commits to
the path without knowing what is about to happen. The awe and
inspiring nature of the courage makes the word warrior seem the only
appropriate word to use. No Fear! This part of the Keltic Creed that
the Toltecs knew and used so well in making other people rise within
their own soul to achieve great oneness and beauty, is most
important. Between the teacher and the pupil passes less than I
would hope could be, but in the final analysis I envy Carlos, as I
question Don Juan.
Initiation
What does it take to learn
from the secrets of esoteric and adept scholars? Does one have to
commit to pay money and be willing to attend endless lectures like
Carlos did at UCLA under professors Meighan and Garfinkel? Perhaps
it takes the willingness and intense desire he showed when he saw or
felt an opportunity to learn the ways of the self-proclaimed last
Toltec or a shaman of a lost culture? In some situations one has to
go through so many hoops and hurdles with lots of tricks and traps
that one wonders if there really is anything more than sorcery at
work. Don Juan had to trick Carlos at first because he knew there
was no way Carlos would really believe the simple truths of our
cosmic and spiritual world. Is that a rationalization? Today you can
learn a lot of these things from books and seminars. In most cases
you should do this and then determine if there is some group who
meets your own interests and requirements. Because we have just
dealt with it as a highly shamanistic experience and because that is
what the Druids and alchemists really were or are, and we recently
dealt with that; we are going to quote a good explanation about
shamanism that you can use as your own initiation if you so desire.
Shamanism
Perhaps the oldest system of
healing in the world, shamanism is prevalent in tribal cultures
which, though isolated from one another, have developed beliefs and
techniques with startling similarities (Unless you believe in long
time world travel or astral and akashic cognition.). The shaman is
an individual who enters an ecstatic altered state of consciousness,
which enables him to communicate with guardian and helping spirits
and draw upon enormous sources of power. The primary purpose of
shamanism is the healing of body and mind. It is also used for
divination and to ensure good hunts and prosperity for a tribe or
village.
According to archaeological
and ethnological evidence, shamanism has been practiced for some
20,000 to 30,000 years. (The recent discovery of 90,000 year old
drugs or herbal remedies in Neanderthal sites as well as the Mungo
Man clearly moves this a long way back from a purely physical
evidence point of view.). It may be much older, perhaps as old as
the human race. It is found all over the world, including very
remote parts of the Americas, Siberia and Asia, Australia, northern
Europe and Africa.
Shamanic systems vary
greatly, but there are basic similarities in most systems (The
Judaic Tree of Life and The Tree of Yggdrasil are more than just
basic similarities.). The shaman must function comfortably in two
realities, the ordinary reality of the everyday waking world, and
the nonordinary reality of the shamanic state of consciousness. The
nonordinary reality is attained in a trance, which varies from very
tight to deep coma and enables the shaman to see and do things that
are impossible in ordinary reality. Once in a trance, the shaman
enters the lowerworld by slipping into a hole or opening in the
earth. In the lowerworld, he sees the cause of disease in a patient
and knows its cure, and sees his guardian spirit and spirit helpers.
He can shape-shift into these spirits and fly through the air. He
performs his cures and can see into the future. When his shamanic
work is done, he reemerges from the lowerworld back into ordinary
reality. Shamans are also said to ascend to the sky in spirit boats
or astride the spirits of sacrificed horses.
The nonordinary reality is
as real to the shaman as is the ordinary reality. The things he sees
are not hallucinations but are externalized. The shamanic state of
consciousness is induced through drumming, rattling and dancing or,
in some societies, by ingesting hallucinogens.
Shamans tend to be men
(Women have more of these abilities in their natural state and
require less altered consciousness.), though women also can become
shamans; some women shamans are extraordinarily powerful. In some
cultures, shamans are involuntarily chosen by the spirits; they
realize their calling in a transformational experience, often a
serious illness that brings them close to death (For example Damion
Brinkley of today.) and is self-cured. In other cultures, persons
with natural shamanic gifts are selected at a young age, trained and
initiated.
The shaman must obtain a
guardian spirit, which is the source of his spiritual powers. The
guardian spirit also is called a 'power animal', 'tutelary spirit',
totemic animal' or 'familiar'. A common method of discovering and
connecting with the guardian spirit is the solitary all-night vigil
outdoors (It is often a death-defying experience to try to lie to
your tribe about any ability if you cannot Do the work.). The
guardian spirit usually manifests as an animal, bird, fish or
reptile but may also appear in human form. It is both beneficent and
beneficial and brings to the shaman the, powers of an entire species
(Or inanimate lifeforms with conscious wisdom like the trees and
mountains.). The shaman invites the guardian spirit into his body;
it protects him from illness and from unfriendly forces in the
lowerworld. Guardian spirits change over the years as the shaman's
needs change.
After a guardian spirit is
acquired, healing and divination may be performed. Healing
techniques vary. A shaman may collect spirit helpers, which are the
causes and cures of illness (The church believed this to the
exclusion of the free will of people and the active ingredients of
physical nature. Few good shamans would do this today, if they ever
did.). Spirit helpers are represented by plants, insects, small
objects, worms and the like. When the shaman sees, in trance, the
cause of an illness, he places one of these objects in the back of
his mouth and one in the front. He then begins to "suck" the illness
out of the body of the patient. The energy that causes the illness
is absorbed by the spirit helpers in his mouth who protect the
shaman from absorbing the illness himself. The helper in the back of
the mouth acts as a backup, in case the illness gets past the helper
in front.
In other techniques, the
shaman descends to the lowerworld, or the realm of the dead, to
bring back the soul of a patient or to retrieve a patient's guardian
spirit. Some shamans exorcise disease-causing spirits in séancelike
procedures or by invoking or cajoling them to leave the patient.
Sleight-of-hand tricks are
sometimes used, but do not necessarily negate a healing.
Western interest in
shamanism has been rising since 1951, when Mircae Eliade (Another
Eranos Conference attendee.) published his landmark study,
Shamanism. An increasing amount of literature has been written since
about shamanic systems and the uses of hallucinogenic drugs.
Some traditions of
contemporary Paganism and Witchcraft incorporate shamanic practices.
Most of these concern raising energy, Otherworld journeys and
healing. Some Witches, such as STARHAWK, consider Witchcraft
essentially a shamanistic religion because raising energy,
Otherworldly contact and healing are fundamental to it. Some Pagans
say the same about various forms of contemporary Paganism. Pagan and
Wiccan shamanism fosters a closer connection to the Earth and plays
a role in the environmental and ecological interests of many
individuals. It also plays a significant role in the creation of
healing therapies especially tailored to Pagan and Wiccan
spirituality. FURTHER READING: Harner, Michael. The Way of the
Shaman, New York: Bantam.1982. Harvey, Graham. Contemporary
Paganism: Listening People, Speaking Earth. New York, New York
University Press, 1997 Kalweit, Holger. Dreamtime & Inner Space: The
World of the Shaman Boston, Shambala Publications, 1984.” (7)
There are many things we
would have to agree seem unlikely to have the attributions credited
to them by people who have done these things for millennia. That
does not detract from the actual result and it can easily be said
that science has made some similarly false attributions. The
difference for us should be that shamans were doing something and
scientists seldom actually achieved any great result.
Robert Bruce Baird is the
author of Diverse Druids, World-Mysteries.com guest 'expert' and
columnist for The ES Press Magazine. His
Collective Works on CD (20 books including an enclopedia) are
now available from Amazon.com.
Free
Binaural Beats MP3
Stimulate
your mind while you sleep
Best-selling isochronic tones MP3s
Get it at Isochiral.com/Free
Develop
Your Intuition
in Just 2
Days. Guaranteed!
Silva Ultramind Home Seminar
Download it Now...
Melt
Away Your Stress
Meditate
as Deep as a Zen Monk
With the Push of One Button.
Free Demo Reveals Secrets!
|
