Shamanic cultures believe that there is an intelligent energy underneath the surface of all of creation. An energy that human beings are capable of communicating with, even bonding with in a loving and harmonious relationship.
Beneath the design of all of life, there is wisdom greater than the capabilities of one individual. Through altering our consciousness, shamanic practitioners learn to communicate with the intelligence and fine-tune the ability to drive the ship of our human existence. Many cultures believe that we create our reality with our thoughts, with our imaginations and with our beliefs.
Shamanic cultures understand the power of thoughts and words in creating our realities, and understand that we can create illness, pollution and war with our intentions. I knew someone who was told by a doctor that she would never walk again. But she believed she would and she ultimately did.
These beliefs that have been planted all throughout our lives since early childhood can be firmly ingrained in our psyche. Like a gardener, the shamanic practitioner learns to excavate the soil of the psyche. We must be careful with the words we say; each word is a seed that can grow into a flower.
Gratitude
At the core of shamanic belief is the idea that we are working for the benefit of all living beings on the planet and for all of life. Shamanism is about gratitude. We wake up and we give thanks for the earth for holding us and nurturing us. We give thanks for the beauty of water for giving us life and for healing us.
We give thanks for the air for giving us breathe and spirit, and connecting us to the spirit of all of life. We give thanks to fire, for heat and passion, for giving us the gift of the ability to transform and transmute energy. We give thanks to the spirit of the land. We give thanks to the trees.
When we wake up to create healing in ourselves and for others, it is with the understanding that we are creating healing for all of life so that we all may come into greater awareness and attunement with our relationship to the earth that connects us to the web of life.
Visualization
I believe in the potential for health and wholeness in each individual and I also believe in the potential for health and healing for the planet. Every day I take time to visualize a world that is abundant with clean water, clean air, healthy food and people who know how to co-exist and walk in beauty with the earth.
Every day, I imagine children laughing together in war-torn countries, sharing their resources and caring for one another. I also take time to visualize my goals for my business, for my relationship, for my children and for my loved ones.
Yet, I also know that I do not have control over suffering in the world. I may hope for a future without war, but I am still alive and human and present in the world that we live in today.
Acceptance
Because of this, I have also learned to surrender to the unknown. It is only with my own practice of doing my own work and seeking healing for myself for the past several years, that I have learned to truly understand myself and accept myself for who I am.
Being a healer doesn’t mean that I am free of illness or that my family is free of illness. Being a counselor doesn’t mean that I am always happy or living in balance. It means that I have learned the tools to understand my own suffering and have compassion for myself, to understand my quirks and imperfections as a part of the great mystery and the great mess of the human existence.