Secrets of Shamanism

40 SECRETS OF SHAMANISM

Mike knew if he were to be successful, he had to relax

and go inward. First he spread out a map of the town in

front of him and studied it. Using a shamanic technique

he had learned recently, he sat down, closed his eyes

and quieted himself. He reproduced an image of Max in

his mind's eye and reached out to him with his feelings.

Silently he called to the monkey, "Max, Max, this is Mike. I

need you to come back. I've got some nice food for you

and I'll keep you safe and warm." Mike continued in this

fashion for a while until suddenly he felt a connection. He

reached out and stroked the monkey's fur and soothed it.

Then, using his shamanic vision, he reproduced the map

of the town in his mind's eye. A little spark of light lit up on

Elm Street just about where Carl's Pizza House was lo-

cated. "Aha, gotcha. Stay right there," cried Mike as he

grabbed his coat and keys. In a flash he was in his car on

the way to Carl's. When he got there, Max didn't put up a

fight but came to Mike amiably. He was stuffed with pizza.

Shamans have learned to communicate with the spirit
within both inanimate and animate things, not just with the
physical forms. It is this communication with the spirit that
empowers shamans, for they know that the invisible web of
power, that spirit within all forms, is in fact the real source of
life. Through such communication they gain a deep under-
standing of and respect for the workings of the universe. The
power they gain is one that comes with truly knowing some-
thing. As the shamans' power grows, they learn to manage
and channel it appropriately.
Shamanic communication is almost always effective, even
in modern-day situations like the wayward-monkey scenario.
To give another example, one of our friends communicates
regularly with the tree in her front yard and claims to receive
information regarding the health of some of her house plants
as well as coming weather conditions.

The Human Spirit Body

Shamans believe that humans as well as rocks, animals,
plants, and other natural phenomena have spirit bodies that
can be communicated with. Unlike rocks, animals, and
plants, however, each person's spirit body is unique and dif-
ferent. This spirit or energy body is associated with heat and
to shamans it looks like flames or the kind of heat waves that
can be seen shimmering in the desert on a hot day. The spirit