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HOOP ISSUE 87 2015www.sacredhoop.org6
Nick: Shamanism is proliferating in the West -do you have any
thoughts about that?
Sandra: Indeed, we are seeing an incredible resurgenceof people
called to practice shamanism, but there issome difference of
opinion am ong experienced teachersabout bridging shamanism into
the Western World.
In many ways the discussion is somewhatmeaningless, because of
the numbers of peoplealready practising today. It’s already
happening, there’sno way to turn back at this point. How do you say
totens of thousands of people, this isn’t supposed to behappening,
and try to stop the process?
I get a little confused by some of the controversy- it’s almost
like listening to American Democrat andRepublican parties fight in
Congress and the Senate,
while there are millions of starving childrenbeing sold into
slavery, women beingabused, wars, and the destruction of
our environment and planet.
There is a need for people to wake upand live a more conscious
way of life. While
people debate about Westerners practicingshamanism, it seems
like the helping spirits
are finding a wealth of people to work with andthrough, who have
no idea there is a controversy.
These people are like ‘innocents’ - in the bestsense of the
word. They don’t read any shamanicmagazines or newsletters. I
continue to hearaccounts from them of some of the mostextraordinary
and profound journeys that I’ve heardin over thirty years of
teaching.
The spirits are sharing incredible, life-changinginformation
with them, and helping them bringthrough healing methods. For
instance there arepeople practising shamanism who are teachers
inschools who encourage their students to connectwith the trees and
get messages from them, andconnect with the animal world, and learn
how to livewith honour and respect for all of life.
There are people who bridge shamanic work intothe world of
business, working with the guidance oftheir helping spirits. In
business meetings they areraising consciousness about the need to
stop
projects that might destroy an entire species ordamage the
environment.
People in the medical and psychologicalprofessions are getting
information fromtheir helping spirits, so their patientsmight, for
example, go throughchemotherapy and not getsuch a
WHENWE FOCUS
ON THESIMPLEWAYS
Sandra Ingermantalks toNicholas Breeze Woodabout the need for
simple,grounded, shamanic practice
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based in West Wales, published four times a year since 1993.
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HOOP ISSUE 87 2015www.sacredhoop.org
negative impact from thetreatment. They are receivingguidance to
inspire their clientshow to improve their state of healthand
well-being.
A range of people are learningabout the shamanic ways ofviewing
death, and are able to sitwith clients and loved ones as theyare
dying and share ways of beinga loving, calm, and peacefulpresence.
For example they mightshare; “Yes, if you see yourancestors
standing there in theroom, they are here to help you,”instead of
running out to getdoctors to administer medicationsto stop the
hallucinations.
So people are performingshamanic work in beautiful andinspiring
ways, and they’re notaware of any controversy going on.So I have to
wonder, if some of usare being left behind...
When you and I starteddiscovering shamanism in theeighties,
there wasn’t anyinformation around. We werethe first generation
doing it herein the West, so we had to feelour way forward. I think
many ofus got a bit politically correct -we were wary of
becoming‘wannabes,’ and didn’t want totake on cultural baggage. But
atthe same time we wanted to doit authentically, and that was
adifficult path to tread.
I understand that. When we firststarted out there was no
internet,no emails, or any way tocommunicate with each other, andso
we were forced topractise direct
revelation and learn directly throughour helping spirits, we had
to findour own ways to incorporate ourwork with others.
And that’s one of the shadowsides that I do see with
theresurgence of shamanism today.There is a whole culture that has
notbeen brought up in the practice ofdirect revelation, and doesn’t
knowhow to enter into a process of self-reflection about how to
work withthe personal guidance they receivefrom their helping
spirits. When theyget information in their journeys, ortime spent
in nature, they turn toothers to interpret their experiences.In
doing so they give their poweraway by letting other peopleinterpret
symbols and metaphorsshared by their helping spirits.
Shamanism requires takingresponsibility for
self-reflection,going out into nature, sitting forweeks, or even
months, if needsbe. During my first journey, where Imet with my
guardian spirit in 1980, Ireceived a powerful one sentenceanswer. I
am still reflecting on all themultiple levels of this answer
allthese years later!
I really yearn, as manypractitioners do, for the daysbefore we
could network witheach other, the times we wereforced into our own
‘vision quest’process around the work, as youwere.
When I started studying shamanismand practising in San Francisco
in1980, there were only a few bookswritten on shamanism. Buteven
then there was sucha wealth of
workshops going on, and so manyteachers. There were a lot
ofdiscussions and judgments about whoshould be doing what, and
comparingthe work people were doing.
But we just had to find our ownway, had to rely on our own
helpingspirits and methods that worked, sowe could help clients
with thechallenges that people were - and arestill - facing.
Yes, back then no-one hadheard of shamanism, but now ithas
become an incredible buzzword. Now everything is
shamanic! For me that’s adifficulty - the word andconcept are
getting diluted
because people apply it toeverything.
I live in Santa Fe,New
7
While people debate about practisingshamanism, it seems like the
spirits
are finding a wealth of people towork with, who have no idea
thereis a controversy. These people arelike ‘innocents’ - in the
best sense
of the word... So I have to wonder, ifsome of us are being left
behind...
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Mexico, and when Iwent to the store oneday I saw a
‘shamanshampoo’. I almost had
a heart attack!What’s happening is, the
practice is being diluted becausemany do not understand what
theword ‘shamanism’ means anymore.At the same time I find that
theendless discussions - trying todefine what is and isn’t
shamanism- can get so extreme. It isn’t reallyhelping to educate
people, becausethere’s such an emotional energyof controversy
around it all, whichmakes it really hard to hear whatpeople are
trying to share.
I think one of the issues now, isthat so many different shamanic
waysare being taught, that people start tothink that one way is
better thananother. So instead of sinking into justone practice,
and becoming it, reallyfocusing on it, people seem to besaying: “If
I could just study with onemore teacher, or take one moreworkshop,
then I’m going to learn amore powerful healing method.”People are
surfing - take a little bitfrom Peru, and take a little bit
fromSiberia, a little bit from a Westerner...They are not focusing
on one practice,one tradition, one way of working!
Shamanism has an incredibledepth and potential - that’s why
it’ssurvived tens of thousands ofyears. But it’s the power of
thepractice and working in the invisiblerealms that has the ability
to createchange and healing.
If we don’t really delve into the
depth of the practice, make it ourown, really focus on it and
becomethe work, then we will no longersee powerful results. Without
theresults we know are possible, thepractice of shamanism will
start tofade away. We have to dive deepinto the work and experience
thetrue magic behind the methods. I agree - and yet to be
devil’sadvocate - I’m so aware of whathappened in the later stages
ofRome, when there were all themystery schools thriving there.Then
a heady moment of gnosisarose, where all the bits andpieces from
the different‘mysteries’ got fused togetherand out popped the
ChristianChurch - a synthesis, with bitsof the Isis cult and
Mithraismand so on. So I wonder if we’rein some form of gnosis
point atthe moment, some kind ofmelting pot from whichsomething new
will emerge?
Well, yes you can definitely seethat. I have students who
contactme and ask, “How do I combineshamanism and reiki, massage,
andso on?” We can see where themelting pot of combining
differenttraditions is already occurring.
On one level I ask myself thequestion; ‘Does the work continueto
evolve out of bridging shamanisminto other systems?’ But then
Iwonder if because of that meltingpot, are we losing and diffusing
thepower of the work? I can stay up allnight and wrestle with these
things’
So shamanism becomes a kindof baby food, all mushed upwith all
the texture removed!
Right, exactly. But I’m seeing somereally amazing things
happening, soI observe and stay open.
I receive letters from veterans ofboth the Iraq and Vietnam wars
whowere introduced to shamanicjourneying through a book, or CD,or
workshop, and many of themseem to meet up with helping spiritswho
are able to help them learn howto forgive themselves, heal, andmove
forward in their lives.
I observe people healing fromillnesses - which doctors would
diagnose as terminal - with the aidof their helping spirits.
People arelearning how to live a life filled withhope, and learn
through their helpingspirits how to improve their health onboth
emotional and physical levels.There are many paradoxes thatwe’re
dancing right now.
The helping spirits are touchingpeople in deep ways, by-passing
allof the conversation. Due to this theissue becomes a ‘both-and’
wherethe gifts and challenges are bothbeing revealed. So, how do we
encouragepeople to go deeper?
Well, what I tell people to do, isfocus on just one practice at
a timeJust do it and make it a part ofyour daily life.
I’m still teaching workshops on tohow perform shamanic
healingceremonies such as soul retrieval, butmore of my passion
right now is tryingto help instill some of the the highercore
values that come out of life inshamanic cultures. Teachings such
ashow to live a life filled with gratitude,how to love and respect
yourself andothers, how to share your strengthswithin your
community to add to itsstrength and health. It is time to
stopexpecting a hero or heroine to appearto fix all the challenges
we’re facing inour world. It’s each person’sresponsibility to work
with spiritualpractices so we join together to createpositive
change in our communities,for all of life, and the Earth.
I’m more interested and devotedto teaching people daily
practices,not just to perform in the morning,but ones we can
integrate into dailylife. So that when you’re stuck intraffic, or
you’re standing in line atthe bank, or the grocery store,you’re not
moving into a place offrustration and anger, but you candrop into
being a presence of love,peace, and light. When we do thiswe uplift
people with a smile and akind word, and focus our positivewords,
thoughts, and daydreams,as well as what we are grateful for,to lead
to our desired outcome.
So, instead of looking for morecomplex ceremonies to get
involvedin, I really try to inspire people tointegrate simple
practices in theirdaily life. Performing complexceremonies can end
up being adistraction and might only speak toour mind. When we
focus onsimple practices that connect us to
HOOP ISSUE 87 2015www.sacredhoop.org10
I went to the store oneday and saw a ‘shamanshampoo’. I
almosthad a heart attack!What’s happening is,the practice is
beingdiluted becausemany do notunderstand whatthe
word‘shamanism’means anymore
THIS IS A FREE ARTICLE FROM SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE. Sacred Hoop is
an independent magazineabout Shamanism and Animistic Spirituality,
based in West Wales, published four times a year since 1993.
You may share this in any non-commercial way but reference to
www.SacredHoop.org must be made if it is reprinted anywhere.To get
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our heart and soul, we end upcreating healing. We must do
ourwork on a daily basis andthroughout the day. Then you startto
notice how your life changes,and how you start to uplift thepeople
around you.
I use the word ‘simple’ a lot andoften people misinterpret that
andthink it means that Sandra is onlyteaching beginners. But I find
thatit’s the simple practices thatpersonally kept me alive and
havehelped me to live a meaningful life.
I have suffered suicidaldepression for most of my adult life,and
it’s really a miracle that I’mhere! I’m 62 years old, and it’s
thesimple daily practices that I dowhich have kept me here. I
havelearned how to be grateful - nomatter what I’m feeling - even
if I’mmaking it up - even if I’m forcing it -just giving thanks for
my life. I havelearned how to work with my wordsand my thoughts,
being aware ofthe energies I send into thecollective. Through the
practice ofshamanism I have learned how touse my words, thoughts,
anddaydreams to bless myself andothers. I have learned how to
ridethe waves of both the joyful andturbulent times.
In a way those are thefoundations of shamanism,living with
compassion andkindness and love for the world,and also being
connected to lifeand the spirit of life. Having an
animistic world view is verywholesome, getting connectedwith all
our relatives in all thedifferent kingdoms. But as I seeit that is
slightly different fromdoing more interventionistshamanic work. I
always thinkshamanism is ‘appliedanimism,’ if that makes sense?
Yeah. So you mean bringingthrough some of the power of
thehelping spirits to do healing workand intervene?
Yes. I see lots of ‘shamanic’workshops advertised, just likeyou
do; and what’s being taughtis really healthy, important,empowering
work - but it’s morea form of animism. I think there’ssuch a hunger
in our culture formeaningful practical spirituality.
I definitely understand what you’resaying. I love performing
healingceremonies, such as bringingpeople together to bring back
thesoul of land or removing traumafrom a place.
But that is where my cautioncomes in. In the culture we live
init’s really easy for people to seekintervention from the helping
spiritsin a very powerful fashion. But alsothere is a tendency to
try tomanipulate our environment - albeitfor all the ‘right
reasons.’ I try toget people to explore thedifference between
intervention
and manipulation. For example, shamanic
weather-changing work can getvery tricky. How do we help
peopleevolve into a place of spiritualmaturity to avoid
performingweather work from a place of egoand personal desires? How
do weencourage them to be aware of abigger picture?
I guess for me, I think I try tohelp people develop the
maturityand consciousness needed beforethey ask the helping spirits
tointervene. It’s necessary for us togrow and evolve, and that’s
part ofthe initiation that we all go through.
One of the things that Iencourage is to become embodied.This is
number one. I think part ofwhat creates dissociation and astate of
un-groundedness is thatwe have all experienced so muchtrauma in our
lives. Also we areflooded by so many images oftrauma through the
media, so thatpeople are often drawn to spiritualpractice to escape
being in a body- the body is not a comfortableplace, and it doesn’t
feel safe.
I know one of the things I teachthat can be controversial in
theshamanic community is my beliefthat shamanic journeys are not
an‘out of body experience.’
Yes, shamans go into anecstatic state of consciousness,but when
they go into the invisiblerealms they engage their sensesfully and
see, hear, smell,touch,and taste the invisible spiritualworld that
they are in. They use all
HOOP ISSUE 87 2015www.sacredhoop.org 9
When we focus onsimple practices that
connect us to our heartand soul, we end upcreating healing.
We
must do our workon a daily basis andthroughout the day.
Then you start tonotice how your life
changes, and how youstart to uplift the
people around you
THIS IS A FREE ARTICLE FROM SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE. Sacred Hoop is
an independent magazineabout Shamanism and Animistic Spirituality,
based in West Wales, published four times a year since 1993.
You may share this in any non-commercial way but reference to
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their senses while communicatingwith their helping spirits.
In our culture some people tendto view their shamanic journeys
likethey are watching TV or a movie.Some lie in bed, seeing
somelovely visionary experience, butdon’t actualise the information
andguidance received. Of course thereare many people who do
drum,sing, and dance when they journey.And I encourage people to
deepentheir experience by being moreactive as they journey.
I encourage people to wake uptheir sensory experiences of
thisworld, and of the invisible worlds.They need to touch the
earth, tosmell fragrances and listen to thesounds of nature in both
worlds.
I think the more we can getembodied, the less our spiritual
workbecomes ‘fluffy.’ When we’re reallyliving in our bodies, and
experiencing
what is actually happening around usit creates the fuel to want
to dosomething about it.
If we go around half in and half outof our bodies that’s soul
loss. We areexperiencing soul loss on a prettymass level, and many
aredisassociated too. When we’redisassociated it’s very easy to
ignorewhat is going on around us, and say,“Oh that story on the TV
news, or onFacebook was disturbing,” and yet wedon’t do anything
about it. The storieswe read and the events we witnessdo touch us
on a heart level. But untilwe get truly embodied we might notbecome
active in participating inbecoming a positive change-maker.
If you really get in your body,you become more grounded, andyou
wake up to your responsibilityto become an active participant
increating necessary and positivechanges in the world.
I agree with that completely. Istarted off learning
shamanismjourneying in the typical Westernway, headphones and a CD,
Thenabout ten years ago I gave allthat up and now I drum formyself
sitting up. For me thatmakes it much more physical. It’sno longer a
passive experience,and the journey experience is
more vital and richer because Iam more deeply in both
realities.
I do the same thing, and I actuallyhave been teaching that.
One of the reasons I keep writingbooks is that I keep exploring
howwe can deepen our shamanicexperience and practice. And one ofthe
topics that I’ve been writingabout is how to stop being passive
inour journeys! Shamans drum, rattle,dance and sing while they
journey.But not everybody feels called tothis. For some people the
passiveapproach still really works for them.
In my workshops, one of thefirst exercises I do is get people
tostand up with a drum or rattle, gooutside, connect with nature,
andsing and dance their journeys.
When I see clients, I drum formyself, and I just put the
drumdown when I have to do somehands-on work with them. It’s
justtoo easy for my ordinary thoughtsto come in if I’m listening to
a CD, Istart thinking about my emails, orall the tasks I have to do
while Ijourney for myself.
Likewise. And if I’m lookingaround in the spirit world,
myphysical body turns and looksaround in this world. It’s
likethere’s an intermesh between
HOOP ISSUE 87 2015www.sacredhoop.org10
People seek intervention fromthe spirits in a powerful
fashion,but there’s a tendency to manipulate.For example, shamanic
weather-changingwork. How do we help people evolveinto spiritual
maturity to avoidperforming weather work froma place of ego and
personal desires?
THIS IS A FREE ARTICLE FROM SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE. Sacred Hoop is
an independent magazineabout Shamanism and Animistic Spirituality,
based in West Wales, published four times a year since 1993.
You may share this in any non-commercial way but reference to
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both realities and it’s vivid andextraordinarily real then,
muchbetter than anything I everexperienced on my back
withheadphones on.
Ok, I’ve got another questionabout the thorny issue ofwhether
people in the West canbe shamans or not? The wholething about a
shamanicpractitioner and the ‘S’ word.
Well, you know, that’s a questionthat I sit with a lot.
We see tens of thousands ofpeople getting in touch withshamanic
practices, and my beliefhas always been it is our birthrightas
human beings to engage in thepractice of direct revelation
andreceive our own guidance fromhelping spirits
And so I still feel really goodabout teaching people how
toaccess their own spiritualinformation through shamanicjourneying,
and through connectingwith - and communicating with -nature, and
watching for omensand signs that are shown to us tohelp guide our
way.
But I’m sure you get the sameemails and letters I do - ‘I would
liketo be a shaman, how do I go aboutdoing that?’ I really believe
that it isa destiny to be a shaman, and not aprofession that you
choose.
I do observe people in myworkshops who are born with agift. I
can see it in their eyes. I’vetrained some practitioners whosework
is extraordinary, it’s beyondmy wildest imagination, but itwasn’t
their choice, it was a giftand part of their destiny.
There are two aspects I see -those who ‘become a shaman’through
destiny, and those who‘engage in shamanic practices’ toimprove the
quality of their ownhealth and well being, and become amore
conscious being on the planet.I separate out these two aspects.
I cannot teach anybody how tobe a shaman, that is for the
spirits todo. Once you open up to the worldof spirit, the spirits
take you intotheir tutelage. And it’s not always apleasant thing,
because there arevery challenging initiations thatcontinue
throughout life. The spiritsare not just going to put you
through
a hard period for a week, there areconstant initiations to open
you up tothe world of spirit and teach you howto be a vessel for
the helping spiritsand to work from a place ofcompassion and
love.
Yes, for me it’s always been theold thing that it’s the spirits
thatdecide who’s going to be ashaman. Whatever we mightwant to do
about it. it is not in ourpersonal game plan, so to speak.
Absolutely, I agree with that. I’ve hadthe opportunity to work
withthousands of students, and I’veobserved that it is people
whosuffered a terrible loss - such as achild dying - or they have
healed froma challenging physical or emotionalillness - they are
the ones who I seewith a gift for the work. Many ofthese people
suffer the kinds oflosses that you can never heal from
-transforming them into a woundedhealer. Shamans are often
calledwounded healers. Of course having anear death experience is a
classicinitiation into becoming a shaman.
It’s almost like the spirits chosethem before they were aware
ofshamanism or spiritual practices, andthey went through their loss
or crisis,and it was their destiny to be openedup - because of that
initiatory lifeexperience - into the work. Just likeyou, I teach
people that it’s the spiritsthat choose you and if they do, itwon’t
mean that life becomes easyfor you, because you are going
toexperience a lot of challenges in orderfor the spirits to sculpt
you into theshaman you are going to become.
What I see is that the reallygreat shamanic practitioners
areconstantly going through initiations.
I was introduced to the practiceof shamanic journeying by
MichaelHarner, and I also did a lot of workwith Oceana FastWolf,
who is anApache medicine woman. Both ofthem really instilled in me
you don’tcall yourself a shaman. Yourcommunity recognises you as
ashaman, but to actually callyourself a shaman is an
egoicstatement. That idea became soembedded in me. I never
trainedwith anyone who said, “You shouldstand up and call yourself
ashaman.” I saw calling yourself ashaman, and bragging about
your
power, as being the same thing. But I can see that if you
were
initiated and trained in a culturewhere you were taught, ‘this
is whoyou are,’ then ‘shaman’ explainsyour identity.
I was trained very much like you,for me the ‘S’ word is a big
‘nono.’ But then again, I got a bit ofgentle finger wagging from
aSiberian shaman once who said“Of course you should callyourself a
shaman, it’s only likesaying you know how to do first-aid if you
come across a trafficaccident!” What an amazingalternative way of
looking at it!
I know, that’s beautiful. I love that. Igrew up in the sixties,
and I’ve alwaysbeen a rebel. My mother died at theage of
ninety-eight, and my husbandwill tell the story that she would
sayevery day; “You could never tellSandy what to do - ever! She
willalways do what she wants to do!”
I had three near deathexperiences which opened me up toa state
of oneness and unconditionallove. As a teenager, growing up inthe
sixties, I ingested psychedelicdrugs and had a wealth of
numinousexperiences. I then moved to theHaight-Ashbury district of
SanFrancisco, to join others in birthing amore loving and conscious
way ofbringing life into being.
Then I was introduced to
HOOP ISSUE 87 2015www.sacredhoop.org 11
I really believe that itis a destiny to be ashaman, and nota
profession thatyou choose.I cannot teachanybody how tobe a shaman,
that isfor the spirits to do
THIS IS A FREE ARTICLE FROM SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE. Sacred Hoop is
an independent magazineabout Shamanism and Animistic Spirituality,
based in West Wales, published four times a year since 1993.
You may share this in any non-commercial way but reference to
www.SacredHoop.org must be made if it is reprinted anywhere.To get
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shamanic journeying in 1980, and Iwas taught that the helping
spiritswill teach you what you personallyneed to learn to improve
your life andto help others. Well, that really fit mypersonality. I
realised that, I neverhave to work with a human teacher, Ijust
needed to engage deeply in myown practice of direct revelation
andwork with my own helping spirits.’And that’s what I’ve done,
andthrough that experience and learningI’ve been able to help
others.
I think the shadow side ofworking with human teachers, isthey
can often take certainprinciples and turn them into rules.And then
they plant the seeds offear into students by the desire towant to
control their them. We canchoose a broader construct, andask ‘Where
does this teachingactually come from?’ and ‘What isthe purpose of
this?’ Or we can justsay ‘Well, you’re my teacher, and
I’m going to take all of this in, andbelieve everything that you
say.’
As we deepen our ownshamanic practices, we move into aplace of
self reflection and need towork with our own helping spirits,rather
than say ‘I learned this fromsomebody else, and I have to
followeverything I was taught without anyprocess of self
reflection.
I have students who worked withan indigenous shaman who
taughtthem that one should not share theirjourneys with others.
Now, ofcourse, sharing without discretioncan be a form of giving
your poweraway, not sitting with the experience,not letting it
really sink in.
Yet often, there is a healing thatoccurs in our Western culture
thatcomes from sharing our experiencesand having others reflect
back to you‘How beautiful and profound yourexperience was’. For we
live in aculture where we were taught that if
you go into invisible worlds ‘You’recrazy,’ or ‘You need
professional helpand get on medication!’ We weretaught to only
acknowledge what weexperience in the tangible realm.
So as I see it, often a teachingthat comes from a specific
culturehas a broader underlying principle,which doesn’t always
translate intoour modern day culture in the West.
But there are profound guidingprinciples that we can learn
fromindigenous cultures and theirshamans - whilst we are living
inthe here and now in our Westernculture, which is so
different.
It is so important to me that wedo the questing, the visioning,
thejourneying, getting directrevelation. I continue believingthere
is a way for us to broadenour perspectives and evolve ourwork to be
effective practitionersduring the times we live in.
The paradox is, shamanism haschanged over thousands of yearsto
meet the needs of the people;and we’re in a different time now.So
when we are wondering‘Should I call myself a shaman?’we have to
know what ‘being ashaman’ actually means.
Part of the shaman’s role hasalways been holdingceremonial
space. I was inconversation with MartinPrechtel one time, and he
saidthat he saw his role as ‘givingpeople the authentic taste
ofceremony, so that when theycame across it, they wouldknow if it
was real or not.’
I think if you learn from atraditional culture, or learn
atraditional technique or atraditional world view, then youget that
taste of what’s authentic.We need to know the bones ofthe ceremony,
so we add ourown flesh to them in a way that’ssuitable for our own
culture.
Absolutely, and I think that whenpeople are able to participate
in aceremony which has been carrieddown through an ancestral line
in aparticular way for thousands ofyears, then the way that the
peopleand the shaman at the ceremonyall conduct themselves makes it
-
Often people turn to others tointerpret their experiences. In
doing
so they give their power away byletting other people interpret
the
things shared by their spirits. Shamanism requires taking
responsibility for self-reflection, goingout into nature,
sitting for weeks,
or even months, if needs be
HOOP ISSUE 87 2015www.sacredhoop.org12
THIS IS A FREE ARTICLE FROM SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE. Sacred Hoop is
an independent magazineabout Shamanism and Animistic Spirituality,
based in West Wales, published four times a year since 1993.
You may share this in any non-commercial way but reference to
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-
in Martin Prechtel’s words -‘authentic.’ The power is
thepresence that comes through aceremony like that.
The power that then shinesthrough every cell of one’s being,
issomething that inspires us. Butoften we aren’t inspired
becausethere’s not the depth. People wholearn ceremonies or
rituals, throughchurches, or different religioustraditions, are
given ‘step one,’‘step two,’ ‘step three.’... and rules.
So people end up reading frombooks or memorising steps to
aceremony taught by other teachersbut there isn’t a cellular depth
that’sbeing touched, the bones you spokeof are not really coming
through.
When you’re in an authenticceremony, that has been carrieddown
through time, it’s not aboutreading notes, it’s about
reallyexperiencing what energies arebeing carried through, what
healingenergies and dreams can be bridgedfrom the invisible into
the visiblerealms. It shows the true power ofshamanism as we spin
threads intobeing from the invisible into theworld of form, to
weave into being anew beautiful fabric of reality.
Yes, and of course that taps intoanother aspect. An
ancientceremony or tradition has anincredibly vibrant spirit of
itself,and you’re tapping into that spirit,which helps create an
ancestralenergy to what you are doing.I agree. One of the things
that I tryto share with people in the West isthat, due to modern
psychotherapy,people often focus on what theydidn’t get from their
ancestors,because maybe they grew up in adysfunctional family, and
they aredealing with the impact of that.
On one level, we all have to dealwith what we didn’t get growing
up,and validate the feelings that comefrom feeling wounded as a
child.Then we must work our feelingsthrough and heal our past.
But at the same time, what’shappened, because of only
delvinginto the wounds from growing up,is we have lost our
connection toour ancestral line, in the way thatpeople experience
their connectionwith the ancestors in indigenoustraditions. That’s
a real loss.
For in the West, we’re generally
cut off from that wealth of tradition,from that line of
ancestral gifts andstrengths.
I remember one time - this wasmany, many years ago - I
waspresenting at a conference. I wastalking about my ‘Medicine for
theEarth’ work, and I was teachingabout the power of words, and
howwords can be used to bless, or howwords can be used to destroy.
I wassharing how we have to really workto align our words and
thoughtsthat lead to our desired outcome,
At the end of my lecture, aNavajo [Diné] Elder came up to me-
dressed in her full native dress -and she said to me; “Do you
knowwhat our term ‘May you walk inBeauty’ means?”
And I said ‘No.’ I often hear thatterm being used in songs
andconversation. She said “It’s a Navajoterm, and it means to make
sure thatyou bless everybody with your wordsso that you always
bring beauty.”
And then she said to me; “Doyou know why we don’t trustpeople in
America?”
I was confused by that question,because for me, there are
obviousreasons, but I knew she was diggingdeeper than just the
surface.
She said; “Because you do notspeak about your family when
youintroduce yourself.”
I asked her what she meant,and she replied, “When you cometo the
Navajo nation and we askyou ‘Who are you? What’s yourname?’ we
expect you to talkabout your ancestors, and peopledon’t do that in
your culture.”
I thought about that, and we satdown together and talked for a
verylong time - had a really deepdiscussion. I told her that my
familycame over from Russia to escapepersecution and death. I
shared thatwhen they came to America theirfocus was on integrating
into theU.S. They taught their children howto integrate into
America and did notshare where they came from andwho their
ancestors were. I knowwhere my Mother’s family comesfrom, but I
actually don’t knowwhere my Father’s family comesfrom at all.
Nobody in my familyknows where my paternalGrandparents came from in
Europe.Her questioning made me think hardabout my own ancestral
connection.
The whole topic of ancestry andconnecting with ancestry
reallytakes us to another level of
reflection on how deep can we gowith our own shamanic
practices.We really need to bring through thewisdom and teachings
and strengthand bones of our ancestors.
For traditional people thisconnection remains and is carrieddown
in physical community events.I live in Santa Fe, and I can go
andsee different traditional dances thatgo on in local Native
Americancommunities throughout NewMexico. They rehearse and
theypractise their dances, from the littlekids - maybe only five
years old -right up to the elders. They practise,practise,
practise. But it’s not aboutpractising the steps, it’s abouttapping
into the ancestors, andhonouring the ancestors through thepower of
the dance. And it’s reallyevident that this is not a show forthe
public - not a performance.These are people who are
actuallybringing through an ancestraltradition, one that is still
being donein a genuine and authentic way. Thepeople present are
touched by it.When people are touched, they feeltheir deep
ancestral connectionsand it changes their consciousness.
Of course in the West, when wethink about getting in touch
withour ancestors, the automaticresponse is to go onto agenealogy
website. We get very‘head’ with it. But my shamanicapproach would
be to makeofferings to the ancestors. Imight offer honey and
milkmixed together. I’d go and makeprayers of gratitude to
myancestors for the fact that theycarried me, and I’m here now!
Idon’t necessarily need to knowwho they actually were.
Exactly, yes. I do that every day inmy own life. I adored my
parents,And I just have such an honour andrespect for my ancestors,
and soexpressing gratitude for myancestors is part of the
dailypractice that I do every single day.Again, I’m looping back
into someof those simple practices that wecan do, which bring
through someof the core values of shamanism.We need to be able to
honour ourown ancestors, and I also honourthe helping ancestors of
the land I
Sandra Ingerman, MA,is an award
winning author often books, including
‘Soul Retrieval: Mendingthe Fragmented Self,’
‘Walking in Light:The Everyday
Empowerment ofShamanic Life.’
She is the presenter ofseven audio programs
produced by SoundsTrue, and she is
the creator of theTransmutation App.
Sandra is a worldrenowned shamanic
teacher and has beenteaching for more than
30 years. Sandra isrecognised for bridging
ancient cross-culturalhealing methods into
our modern cultureaddressingthe needs
of our times.
www.sandraingerman.com
See the review ofSandra’s new book:
‘Walking In Light:The Everyday
Empowerment ofShamanic Life,’ in
this issue ofSacred Hoop
Sacred Hoop wishesto thank Sofy Rosie forher help with this
article
HOOP ISSUE 87 2015www.sacredhoop.org 13
THIS IS A FREE ARTICLE FROM SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE. Sacred Hoop is
an independent magazineabout Shamanism and Animistic Spirituality,
based in West Wales, published four times a year since 1993.
You may share this in any non-commercial way but reference to
www.SacredHoop.org must be made if it is reprinted anywhere.To get
a very special low-cost subscription to Sacred Hoop please visit :
www.SacredHoop.org/offer.html