turquoisebone rattle detail

The Shasta Shaman

   


Home

 


The Healing Studio At Ravensites

Polomo drumming

Shamans perform healing work, working mostly on matters of the soul and spirit. Medicine men/women perform healing work typically with the body. These healing paths are fully braided in indigenous cultures wherein the concept of holistic medicine has prevailed for many millennia.

Traditional shamans usually are chosen by the Elders at an early age and undergo a lengthy apprenticeship, sometimes lasting 20 years. What many of us who perform spiritual healing work are today are shamanic practitioners. I use the word shaman as a shortcut to quickly move to the concept of healing work. We act as healing practitioners using the shamanic healing tools we have been taught by persons who are not necessarily shamans, and perhaps not indigenous either.

We are very serious about our work. Many of us consider it to be quite sacred work. Our teachers are quite serious too; no certificates, funny hats, glowing wands, nor weekend miracles. Long term courses of study are the norm. Our teachers generally have had some sort of apprenticeship with indigenous shamans, and have studied extensively in the landscape and in the indigenous culture. They have learned and have been initiated and pass on to us what they are able to under the restrictions, if any, imposed by their teachers. Most all of the teachers guide us in the universal ways of indigenous shamans and not any specific set of peoples, say the Aino of Hokkaido, or the Tuva of Siberia.

These universal ways, called Core Shamanism by Michael Harner, one of my teachers, are practiced by all shamans regardless of their locale. These ways include recognition of worlds other than our own “ordinary reality”. The other worlds are sometimes referred to as “non ordinary reality” in which the compassionate helping spirits reside. Shamans travel or “journey” to those worlds to obtain information and help from the spirits. They are very often accompanied on their journeys by rapid percussive drumming, rattling, or other repetitive sounds. Shamans perform healing work such as power animal retrieval, soul retrieval, extractions, depossessions, and various healings. It is important to note that the shamans do not actually do the work; they communicate with the spirits who provide the information and do the work. The shaman is the conduit, the hollow bone, through whom the healing work is accomplished.

Few shamans, if any, involve themselves in negative work such as casting spells. This work is not healing work and its accomplishment is left to the sorcerers.

My work as a shamanic practitioner involves various healing modalities. Please see the following information. Preferably the healing work is carried out here on our land but I can travel to any place where you feel the most comfortable. In fact, healing work can often be best accomplished in the presence of your community of friends. Your comfort, openness and trust are vital to embarking on a path of healing. I have worked extensively with persons having chemical addictions, mostly in AA.

Please call or email for further information or to set an appointment. Fees are on a sliding scale.

 


 

 

 
 
 
home  |  shamanism  |   links  |  land  |  contact
 
© 2007 Shasta Shaman