by Norman W Wilson, PhD
Research has shown, people called shaman existed in societies around the world, and still do. The one exception to this is the physical region around the Mediterranean. Since shamans seemed to be worldwide, what then is a shaman, anyway?
Some ethnologists define a shaman as a healer while others include terms such as prophet, and religious leader. In any case, the shaman is believed to have the power to control spirits, usually by incarnating them.
A shaman is a man or woman who has the ability to engage in mystical flights and in out-of-body experiences. He or she will engage in vision quests and may experience dismemberment and or regeneration.
Most common in ethnology and anthropology is the acceptance of the idea a shaman is one who can conjure altered states of consciousness in order to have direct communication with the spirit world. This ability is a marked attribute of anyone who claims to be a shaman. Divination, prophecy, diagnosis and of course, healing are also essential to shamanic behavior.
Sentience or interconnectedness maintained as qualities that infuse the universe is a core concept in the central belief system of those who are shamans. Because they have this core belief, they understand there are two functioning realities: the ordinary, everyday material world of consciousness, that is, wake-time, and an alternate reality often called non-ordinary time. This latter is one which is populated with spirits, souls of the dead, deities, and transcendent powers.
In addition to this population in non-ordinary time, soul parts should be added because a major function of the shaman is to retrieve parts of a person's soul that has been lost. One of his principle beliefs is that illness is caused by missing soul parts.
Above all else, a shaman is a healer.
Norman W Wison and his wife Suzanne are Camano Island residents. This essay used by permission from the author. His website is http://www.shamanicmysteries.com
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