Jose ATID LENA STEVENS 41body surrounds and interpenetrates the physical body and is
made up of a blend of vibrant colors.
Historically, shamans have described these brilliant waves
surrounding the head and body as a sign of the spirit of light
that infuses each human being with life. Shamans of old be-
lieved the sun represented the fire of life and that the human
spirit body was the internal sun. They believed that the
brighter the flame of this in-dwelling solar fire, the more
powerful the shaman. Much shamanic art depicts this inter-
nal sun as rayed aureoles emanating from the heads of spirits
and influential shamans alike.
Shamans are famous for their ability to generate incredi-
ble heat from their bodies with an act of will. For example,
Tibetan shamans are able to melt the snow all around them
in the dead of winter with self-generated heat. This talent for
generating heat is a shamanic sign of the incredible power
available in the spirit body.
The spirit body has been seen and described for centuries
not only by shamans but also by psychics, mystics, and intu-
itives. They have seen, sensed, felt, and worked with it via
intuition, clairvoyance, and imagination. You may ask, how
is it that so many powerful individuals have described this
field of energy throughout history and cross-culturally the
world over? Why is it that venerated saints and avatars are
depicted with halos and flames surrounding their bodies?
How is it that artists and visionaries are always the first to
know what science later discovers? These questions point to
the fact that over time and from all continents, sensitive peo-
ple have noticed a similar phenomenon with regard to a cer-
tain kind of energy field within and about the body. In the
discussion that follows we will assume that the energy body is
a functional part of you and we will explain its fundamentals
and how to use it. The description of the spirit body that
follows is really a compilation of what both shamans and
mystics have described over the ages.
Although the spirit body has its source in the spirit world,
it actually exists in a kind of interface between the physical
world of form and the spirit world. Kirlian photography and
other sensitive instruments have been able to capture it, thus
forcing science to admit that the physical body emits a form
of energy that cannot be seen with the naked eye. This field
is truly very subtle, but in fact can occasionally be seen by
the naked eye although it is easier to "see" it using a sha-
manic visioning process.