The TalkFebruary 9th, I attended the Introduction to Shamanism Talk at The Hidden Path in Struthers, Ohio hosted by Whitefeather Wisdom. She has studied at the Foundation of Shamanic Studies in California among many other places. Her teachers, aside from the spirits who she works with, are renowned in the field and include Hank Wesselman & Jill Kuykendall, Gretchen Crilly McKay, Amanda Foulger of the Foundation of Shamanic Studies, Ross Bishop, Larry Kessler and Daniel Foor. The Talk was a basic overview of what Shamanism is. In a sentence, Shamanism is a lifestyle approach to working with spirits as a healer. The archetype commonly associated with the Shaman is the Wounded Healer, who must heal themselves before they may heal others. We covered the following points in detail enough to define it and give a few examples of the work involved with it:
Power Animal JourneyThe Journey was guided through our set intentions of finding our Power Animal, the drums to alter our consciousness and keep pacing. We were also given a little synopsis of what was supposed to happen. It was to be about 15 minutes long. We were supposed to imagine ourselves in a place in nature we feel comfortable in. Then, we were to find a hole in that place (under a tree, through a cave, in the grass, etc.) and crawl down into it. We would pop out on the other side, into the Lower Realm of the Spirit World. There, we would [probably] meet some animals. We would have to ask them if they were our Power Animal or not. They would respond (perhaps verbally, perhaps telepathically, visually, through signs, etc.) with a yes/no/follow me. We could ask them anything we liked. At the callback drum cue, we would then have to go back through the hole we came from and back to our initial place in nature. WARNING: If you are not open to the idea of Journeying, please note that the experience of Journeying is rather strange. From the outside, without knowing or believing in the significance of it, it would seem like a Wonderland inspired fever dream. Do not be surprised by the unexpected tale in the remaining sections of this post. Please do keep in mind, that most of my interactions with my Power Animals are less verbal and more on the telepathic end of the spectrum, if that helps give you any indication of what you're in for if you continue to read. So, you've been warned. Believe what you want to believe, but for those intrigued, please feel free to read on. River to MountainI started out in my place in nature. It is a creek that runs through my front yard that I played in as a kid. I have a very close connection to it. I made my Runes there and found my first crystal, a piece of obsidian, there. I found those in addition to my RWS Centennial deck I use exclusively for myself and my other crystals. I collected them and found the green Garter Snake that I saw hanging around the banks of the river. I had noticed the hole where I found the Ash stick to make my Runes, but the Garter Snake was making its way over there, so I followed. I went to the hole in the river, between the roots of a tree and crawled in. It wasn't long at all, this tunnel, and I popped out on the other side on top of a mountain. I only had 15 minutes, so I decided to slide down the mountain to make my trip faster. It wasn't a terrible idea to my surprise. The RiverOn my slide down, I met with the River Spirit. Yes, the one from the creek I'd started at. He is a very derpy looking, softie and I love him for it. He looks something like this, but with less red... I'm not an artist, I just took this from a Google search, sorry. So he comes along and offers me a ride, seeing as I was just tumbling down a mountainside. It was very nice of him. We caught up with each other on the ride, when suddenly he decides to drop me off without saying anything. It's very like him. The KitsuneAnyone who knows me knows that I love foxes. And Japan. So it should come as no surprise, especially after showing you my main guide, that I would fall off of this River spirit and onto the butt-end of a Kitsune. This Kitsune and I have met before. She doesn't talk a lot, but she does make her intentions, advice and feelings known through non-verbal means. She was pleased to see me, but not pleased I landed on her. I thanked her for her help in the past and she and the River came with me exploring the mountain. The SnakeWe came across a cave and went in. We encountered this Cobra who was black all over with red eyes and very dark energy-wise. He said he was my Power Animal too and that he needed healing from me. If you recall, I had my stones, Runes and Tarot on me in the Journey but I had completely forgotten about them! In desperation, I used my bare hands to try to muster up some white light to give to to him. He was gigantic- his body was about as round as I am tall! The Cobra was not very receptive to my attempt to heal him at first and it was evident he was in shock. He bit me. His enormous fangs pierced my right shoulder and leg in one swift bite because I didn't move fast enough out of the way. My physical body was already numb because that's just what happens when doing spirit work, but now my spiritual self on this Journey was also numb. I have never felt like I couldn't feel my energy up until that point. In fact, usually I'm not very well grounded and "top heavy" chakra-wise, so I'm very aware of my energy since it usually causes me issues. This sensation, or lack thereof, was simply alien. I felt like a foreigner in my own spiritual body. At this point, I'm desperately trying to amateur-Reiki this Cobra and I can't feel my own energy. Great, right? I've never even tried, dabbled in or have had Reiki done to me. I haven't even read about it. I just know that it exists and that it's healing energy work. For me to do this under this condition seemed impossible, PLUS I had that 15 minute time restriction. I ended up grabbing this Cobra by both hands in my own state of shock, anger and haste, choking and shaking him as he shrunk to about a foot long and pencil thin. I gave him all I could and I was fairly confident I could handle the output level. It worked to my amazement and this Cobra became a cool white with beautiful ocean-blue eyes. He grew again to make his face about as big as mine. He coiled up as if to strike me again but he didn't. He thanked me and continued with me and my party along the way out through the end of the cave. I was still on edge and sill kind of pissed off. The CoyoteThe end of the cave led back to where I started at the River. On the bridge part of my driveway, there was a red fox. It was very odd looking- almost like a bad taxidermy. I made it known that I knew it was a trick and the fox revealed himself to be Coyote. He laughed and exclaimed that he could have done better if he wasn't rushed. So I thanked him and the rest of my Power Animals and went back to reality. Upon ReturnWe were able to share our experiences after we all came back. I chose to keep mine to myself, but I did want to share something one of the people had to share. She mentioned that she was a highly sensitive individual who could see other people's energy/chakras/auras. She was explaining how she could see everyone as energy balls getting sucked down into the ground. She looked around the room and depicted how she saw everyone, blue, green and even a purple aura sudden disappear. She looked right at me when she said "purple" and knew I'd been called out! It was just the thing to put the icing on the cake! I will definitely be learning more about Shamanism and continuing to Journey. I had a blast! I learned a lot, too! The environment of the Talk -the people, the place- were all so very inviting and completely open. It was definitely a non-judgmental zone, which is crucial to hosting a successful group Journeying event. Hats off to Whitefeather and the Hidden Path! Thank you for the experience!
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