Does anyone have information on Shamanism?

Question

I am curious as to what it entails and exactly what it means to be a Shaman.

Answer 1

The practice of Shamanism is ancient going back probably ten of thousands of years and I look at it as the root of all religion. Shamanism is not really a religion it is more of a spiritual practice. Shamans were the wise man and women of the tribe. They were healers, counselors and problem solvers. They knew the secrets of the world around them, what plants cured what illness, what the behavior of animals meant ect… They also knew the secrets of the world beyond, the lower and upper worlds the world of spirits. Shaman’s with the aid of their power animals and teachers could safely travel between this world and the others to find information for themselves and others. Power animals are commonly connected with Shamanism however there are teachers as well. Teachers could be a deceased relative, friend or any divine being (God, Angels, Saints ect) The various Power animals and teachers are honored and thanked for their protection and their guidance.

Cave drawing and paintings for example. I believe there were done to depicted the animals that the tribe killed during the hunt to honor the spirits of the animals so that the tribe would have continued successes.

I practice Shamanism but I am by no means a Shaman. To me the practice is very personal. Each person has power animals and teachers of their own and develops their own relationship with them and it is common practice to keep these relationships secret.

If you are looking to purchase a good book on Shamanism the best book to start out with is Michael Harner's "The Way of the Shaman" Mike is credited with the revitalization of Shamanism. Excellent book! You can check out his website http://www.shamanism.org

If you interest in Shamanism grows you can find on that site a workshop on Shamanism. The workshop I attended was quite an experience; the energy of 80+ people drumming and dancing was amazing.

Answer 2

Depends on what people you descend from and what you choose to do. Shamanism is ancient, has been considered animistic historically, but there's much more to it than I could write for you in here.

Shamans can work at healing, divination, and various other things. You'd be better served looking online and read various books on the topic, depending on which people's version of it you're most interested in. There's Tibetan shamanism, Native American shamanism, Germanic, etc. I've studied some Native American wisdom in order to supplement what was lost by Christianity's historical quashing of my people's "version", and I supplement with Tibetan Buddhist shamanism since I'm Tibetan Buddhist, however I'm mostly Germanic and Slovak (genetically) and a re-emergence of some of the "old" Pagan ways is helping me to expand my ability to be of benefit to others.

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Answer 3

To me shamanism is about seeking the truth for myself. It's not about having someone else have spritual experiences for me and interpreting spirituality for me. What does it entail? Transcending the physical world, seeing what lies beyond. Having conviction in youself. Shamanism is about being the shaman. If you arn't you own shaman it's not shamanism anymore it's religion.

Answer 4

I think you'll like these essays:
http://www.cauldronfarm.com/writing/shaman_compare.html
http://www.angelfire.com/journal/cathbodua/Shamanism.html