When you say "shaman" people usually say "whaaaat?" and that's quite understandable.

Most of them will think of someone in a tribal setting doing a wild dance. And shamans do dance like that - when they are in a tribal setting. When they are in a city they will more likely wear a suit - or a pair of doc martens and jeans. Confused yet? Good! Let's clear it up.

Shamanism ultimately comes from paying attention. You can train that, but originally, some people just naturally notice more than others. That sort of person would notice that breathing deep will relax you and breathing shallow and quick will make you feel upset. We all breathe, but it would be a shaman who will notice you can breathe on purpose to feel the way you want to.

And that's all there is to it. You find something everyone does, like breathing. You notice how it affects you. And then you use that knowledge in ways that make you feel better, and when you feel really good, you start showing it to others. Voila. Shamanism. That's all there is to it.

So the shaman doing the dance might have noticed that everybody dances unless they're taught not to. Kids dance, and in any setting where it's culturally okay and there is a rhythm happening somewhere, people dance. It's just something we do.

Now shamans might have noticed that they can dance like something in particular. And doing that they may have noticed they can do that to feel like something in particular. So if they dance like a thunderbird, that might represent the spirit of the rain to them. And by becoming the rain, they might get so in touch with the rain that they can start talking to it... or even identify with it, and honest to god feel just like the concept of "rain". Like some of our very good actors become their role rather than pretending. You can tell the difference easily if you pay attention to it.

And then being the rain like this, they can decide to appear over the land- and save the crops to help their village. And the shamans noticed that this actually works. So they do a lot of rain dances. And being able to dance so well that you can bring out the rain reliably, that takes a lot of practice and skill... but what they are doing isn't really that different from a three year old jumping around when ma sings Itsy Bitsy Spider.

It's the same for every aspect of shamanism you can find, anywhere. Everything is very normal human skill that is noticed, developed, and then used to achieve a positive end.

For example, everyone knows that you will behave differently in different places. When you're at work there is a certain kind of behavior that you can use, and when you're with your family you can be very different. Shamans noticed this too and figured out that it will be very influential on people if you act in ways that are meaningful to them. A very good shaman friend set up a voodoo ritual for someone who believed in it and convinced him a curse was lifted. The person relaxed in a deep way and symptoms went away. The shaman used the very normal human behavior of play-acting in a very developed way to achieve a healing.

Everybody daydreams, to some extent, although it might have been discouraged by others growing up. Shamans noticed a lot of things about daydreaming, but mostly they noticed that emotionally, it doesn't make any difference if an experience is real or not. You can completely make up scenes where you are cheered for and celebrated and it will be good for your self-esteem. Shaman used the very normal human behavior of daydreaming in a developed way to achieve healing of the mind and feelings.

Then shamans noticed you can look at something in your physical life and let yourself daydream and you will start getting tangible information. They also noticed that whatever you are talking to will respond readily to questions. That leads to the whole realm of talking to plant spirits and nature and the guardian spirits of people. Guess how tribal folks knew what to eat and how to find medicine.

And then they might notice they can do the same thing for people. A very said person might show a dream of a very dark world. A shaman might then enter that world in their mind and find something in their to change to resolve the issue of that dark world- and the person will relax in a deep way and regain strength and energy and be healed of sadness. Then you have a shamanic journey. It's just looking at someone and getting a daydream about them. Have you ever looked at someone and they reminded you have something? Congratulations, you've done the basics of a shamanic journey. 

If you hang around someone a lot sometimes you start finishing their sentences. That's telepathy, pure and simple. Shamans noticed it too and found out they can hang around people in their minds and they will resonate with them and it will work just as well. That's shamanic telepathic communication. When two shamans get really good at it they can have a clear, two way communication over long distances. Having said that- shamans also like cell phones. But they might help you overcome your fear of radiation, which will stop you from being affected by it.

Then a shaman might have just been there with other people, and being a shamanic-level noticer- they noticed that when they pay attention to their surroundings, having their attention on the entire group for example, people feel better. You probably know that- when you're in a group and pay attention to everyone, you're a gracious host. Well shamans noticed the good feeling comes directly from noticing that person, from experiencing them in a lot of detail. And that leads to a kind of direct connection where you can both experience the person and lead them. And we all know some people just are natural leaders, right? But shamans know why and can do it on purpose. They also came up with the idea of imagining light around you to affect the people around you in different ways, as a way to steer your influence. You could calm them, excite them, send them blessings, or be confident and give them strength, just by imagining different colors.

And you probably know that when you hang around people a lot and it's fun, you start calling them your friend. Or it might get really fun, and you might start calling them your lover. But when you stop hanging around your friend you usually aren't really friends any more, and when it's not fun anymore, the same thing happens. That's all very normal and very human. Now shamans noticed there's a direct relationship with being in contact with people and finding things to like about them that is love. Shamans found love and made a recipe. And they also noticed that when you leave out all the things that aren't very loving but are traditionally associated with love, like jealousy control and nitpicking- then you get really good relationships and can develop them on purpose. And you can love many many people in ways that fit your culture (in ours that usually means as friends), and you can really really love the ones you are closest to, your family. And they noticed that if you teach this to others they become happier too.

Have you ever noticed something happen to someone, and it occurred to you they had it coming? Then you have an awareness that as a person is, eventually their circumstances become a bit like them. This is the common idea that your thoughts create your reality. Well, shamans noticed this, and they realized there was nothing that happens that is beyond your own power. So if you don't like things that physically happen, you can change them by using whatever shamanic techniques you can to change your thinking, like dreaming your own feelings and changing them. People kind of know that things happen for a reason, but a shaman can develop that awareness into fully being in charge of their life events.

And one of the first things you do as a kid is you find your parents want something from you, and then you find a loophole. Well, shamans noticed that people think all sorts of things that are completely opposed but it's all perfectly real to them. So how on earth do you decide what's true? So shamans just decided to consider anything true that works well. This let them keep things and discard things as needed in order to heal people.

So at their core, shamans notice things. We think better to feel better. We focus on what we want. We focus right now. We love people. We think our power is inside. And when something doesn't work we change. And everyone is like that. We're all a bunch of shamans. If you want to be a shaman, the only thing you have to do is notice it. You can also train and become a really good one, but everything you need is already there.

Exclusively submitted to crystalwind.ca by Carlo Capocasa.

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