“facing death and making death an ally.” This step means examining one’s atti-
tudes and beliefs to “put to death” any that are inaccurate or outdated. It includes
remembering that bodies are temporary and will one day be claimed by death. It is
moving beyond personal history and recognizing that all people are part of a fam-
ily, village, tribe, city, country, and ultimately all humanity. The third step is “stop-
ping the world,” which involves clearing the mind of its mental garbage. The fourth
step is “controlling the dream and finding new vision and purpose.” This is the time
to quest for vision and seek direct connection with the dream world and its spiritual
teachers. The Vision Quest is part of many old world cultures and is a time when
one fasts and prays in a sacred place, often a mountaintop, for up to four days and
nights. The person prays for a vision and thus a reconnection with the Creator and
Creation. Following the Vision Quest, the person is expected to make life changes
that were called for. The fifth and final step is taking full responsibility for all of
one’s actions without guilt or shame. Apprentice shamans go through this path of
transformation, as they become healers and helpers in service to other people.
Shamanic initiation is experiential and often gradual. Shamans must learn how to
achieve the shamanic state of consciousness; they must become familiar with their
own guardian spirits, and must successfully help others as a shaman. After learning
the basic principles and methods, new shamans extend their knowledge and power
by shamanic journeying. Many years of shamanic experience are necessary for the
few shamans who become true masters of knowledge, power, and healing.
How Does Shamanism Work?.
Shamanic healing is a manifestation of the personal power of the shaman, who uses
altered states of consciousness, imagination, and environmental and spiritual guides
to create an experience of healing within the patient.
Finding Harmony with the Environment
For the shaman, everything exists as part of an infinite web of life. Plants, stones,
the earth herself, are all perceptive beings; they are all consciously aware and have
a story to tell. In the shamanistic tradition, people communicate intimately and lov-
ingly with “all their relations,” as the Lakota would say, talking not just with other
people, but also with animals, plants, and all the elements of the environment,
including rocks and water. From the shaman’s viewpoint, one’s surroundings are not
“environment,” but family. A deep respect for all forms of life is present, with a great
awareness of one’s dependence on the environment. Shamans believe their powers
are the powers of the animals, of the plants, of the sun, of the basic energies of the
universe. They are expected to live in harmony with nature and to provide strength
in daily life, and help save others from illness and death.
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