SHAMANISM IN CINCINNATI By Barbara Schacht
It is said “when the student is ready the teacher will appear.” Cincinnati has drawn to it a teacher of shamanism, drumming, and ancient practices. The question is, why? Why here? Why now? Why shamanism?
The word shaman carries an ominous charge in our culture, shrouded in mystery and mystique. Why would I, or anyone, explore a practice far removed from my cultural orientation? How does it serve a technologically advanced society to enter into altered states of consciousness and explore non-ordinary reality?
I am new to Shamanic work. My background is in yoga and various healing arts modalities, and has been supported during my 15 years living in Cincinnati. In all the modalities I’ve encountered, I am left with one constant: I charge myself to be willing to be in “not-knowing.” This means I must be willing to listen deeply and to be open to moving toward wisdom and understanding through direct experience. This also is about my ability to be content in the presence of the discomfort and fear that can accompany new paradigms. These self-challenges are the underpinnings of all my life choices. I know that staying the same, retreating to the familiarity and safety of habitual patterns, limits my possibilities for spiritual growth. So, I ask myself, which teaching will best support my path? What will ultimately support my soul growth in the highest way? What will give me the tools that will allow me to move toward refinement and to embrace my gifts, my genius, my power, and allow me to then facilitate that for others?
Shamanism and traditional practices have appeared in my life. But, I am not a shaman. I am a spirit in a body, juggling my physical, mental, and emotional self while constantly working toward refinement and spiritual growth. All practices are tools to this end when I claim my own power, my own abilities and potential, without abdicating it to the technique or to the teacher. It’s not so much about which practice I embrace, it’s about the consciousness in which I embrace in the practice. So I ask, can I plant a flower without calling myself a gardener? Can I practice sun salute without labeling myself a yogi? Can I utilize a shamanic technique without identifying myself as a shaman?
So, again the question, “why shamanism?”
Much of my personal path has been magical. I recognize magical events as support from Spirit, guiding me toward that which helps me grow. Yoga and energy medicine were shown to me; they chose me before I knew enough to chose them. So it is with shamanic work. I’m just now beginning to appreciate the beauty of these ancient, time-tested practices. As I play with using the simple and basic techniques I’ve been shown, my Western mind remains in reverent awe of the magic, while another part of me has to acknowledge the practicality, efficiency, and broad applicability. And, perhaps most importantly, the techniques I have been shown provide infallible safety while supporting me in my journey to self-empowerment. And self-empowerment is essential to well being.
Shamanism is a traditional ancient practice rooted in indigenous cultures all over the world. It is a practical methodology requiring focus and discipline. Shamanism honors our connection to the natural world. It is in this connection that humility resides and it is through this connection that we begin to claim our wholeness, our health, and our joy. Shamanic methodology provides a framework for safe exploration as we go beyond the limitations of our ordinary reality and receive helpful information through direct communication with our Spirit Helpers.
An embodied teacher of shamanism and traditional ways is appearing. I am one of the many students who is “ready.” I choose my teachers carefully, knowing that I used to allow teachers to become my guru. I gave up my power in their presence. Having been a teacher, I recognize the seduction of being the “guru.” The ego likes the attention. A true guru takes no credit for the gifts of understanding their students receive. False gurus claim the power students relinquish. And we, in this culture, are so spiritually starved in the absence of traditional ways, that we cling to teachers as the source of our spiritual progress.
This is a teacher who doesn’t ask to be a guru, but rather, holds a beautiful space that invites us to stand in our own power and teaches practical techniques that show us how. He teaches from a place of experience, groundedness, wisdom, and love, sharing knowledge that belongs to no one and everyone. He walks his talk and invites all students who hunger for spiritual knowledge to do the same, through direct experience. His teaching is rooted in both Native American and African shamanic tradition, having studied with a Lakota Chief for five years as well as with the Dagara people of Ghana. These are cultures and peoples who embrace shamanic practices as an inherent part of the way they live, yet don’t refer to themselves as shamans. It’s simply a way of life. They readily access non-ordinary reality to get helpful information for every aspect of life, including for healing purposes. They do everything in the context of respect for Spirit, evident in the way they honor themselves and each member of their communities. Their rituals and ceremonies are powerful outward expressions of their spiritual beauty. They live what we, as a technologically advanced society have forgotten; they live in beauty.
Spiritual hunger is a universal phenomena, evident in all cultures and all religions, and is propagating a plethora of New Age practices. We call ourselves “healers,” collecting titles, techniques, and teachers from various methodologies. But where is our consciousness?
Indigenous cultures are our models for spiritual consciousness, yet they are disappearing at an alarming rate. We are the technologically advanced culture, with resources that allow us to choose what survives and what doesn’t. We are allowing the indigenous wisdom and teachings to die with these cultures and, in so doing, we are losing the heartbeat of global spirituality.
Why shamanism? Because shamanism calls each one of us to reclaim our spiritual consciousness, the same consciousness imbued in the indigenous cultures that our planet is losing. Shamanism is about letting go of the New Age fanfare that goes along with connecting to Spirit, reclaiming our legacy, and reestablishing the natural abilities of our ancestors that we have forgotten. Is it frightening to explore practices outside our cultural orientation, stand in our own power, and grow beyond our embodied teachers? Yes, for many of us, it’s frightening. Is it necessary? No, we have free will. We can choose to remain just as we are, individually, as a culture, and as a global people. Can I stay the same? Absolutely not.
My Spirit will shrivel if I retreat to the comfortable and numbing safety of familiarity. I am driven to move toward spiritual refinement. I am driven to advocate for the cultures that are models for spirituality and connecting to Nature. And I am driven to preserve the traditions that hold the keys to healing and transformation for all of us.
I am a student who is ready and a teacher is appearing. I look forward to immersing myself in learning about the ways of my ancestors, not to call myself a shaman, but to explore that which I have forgotten. The guru is within. I want to remember who I Am.
www.healingdrummer.com
toby@healingdrummer.com
The word shaman carries an ominous charge in our culture, shrouded in mystery and mystique. Why would I, or anyone, explore a practice far removed from my cultural orientation? How does it serve a technologically advanced society to enter into altered states of consciousness and explore non-ordinary reality?
I am new to Shamanic work. My background is in yoga and various healing arts modalities, and has been supported during my 15 years living in Cincinnati. In all the modalities I’ve encountered, I am left with one constant: I charge myself to be willing to be in “not-knowing.” This means I must be willing to listen deeply and to be open to moving toward wisdom and understanding through direct experience. This also is about my ability to be content in the presence of the discomfort and fear that can accompany new paradigms. These self-challenges are the underpinnings of all my life choices. I know that staying the same, retreating to the familiarity and safety of habitual patterns, limits my possibilities for spiritual growth. So, I ask myself, which teaching will best support my path? What will ultimately support my soul growth in the highest way? What will give me the tools that will allow me to move toward refinement and to embrace my gifts, my genius, my power, and allow me to then facilitate that for others?
Shamanism and traditional practices have appeared in my life. But, I am not a shaman. I am a spirit in a body, juggling my physical, mental, and emotional self while constantly working toward refinement and spiritual growth. All practices are tools to this end when I claim my own power, my own abilities and potential, without abdicating it to the technique or to the teacher. It’s not so much about which practice I embrace, it’s about the consciousness in which I embrace in the practice. So I ask, can I plant a flower without calling myself a gardener? Can I practice sun salute without labeling myself a yogi? Can I utilize a shamanic technique without identifying myself as a shaman?
So, again the question, “why shamanism?”
Much of my personal path has been magical. I recognize magical events as support from Spirit, guiding me toward that which helps me grow. Yoga and energy medicine were shown to me; they chose me before I knew enough to chose them. So it is with shamanic work. I’m just now beginning to appreciate the beauty of these ancient, time-tested practices. As I play with using the simple and basic techniques I’ve been shown, my Western mind remains in reverent awe of the magic, while another part of me has to acknowledge the practicality, efficiency, and broad applicability. And, perhaps most importantly, the techniques I have been shown provide infallible safety while supporting me in my journey to self-empowerment. And self-empowerment is essential to well being.
Shamanism is a traditional ancient practice rooted in indigenous cultures all over the world. It is a practical methodology requiring focus and discipline. Shamanism honors our connection to the natural world. It is in this connection that humility resides and it is through this connection that we begin to claim our wholeness, our health, and our joy. Shamanic methodology provides a framework for safe exploration as we go beyond the limitations of our ordinary reality and receive helpful information through direct communication with our Spirit Helpers.
An embodied teacher of shamanism and traditional ways is appearing. I am one of the many students who is “ready.” I choose my teachers carefully, knowing that I used to allow teachers to become my guru. I gave up my power in their presence. Having been a teacher, I recognize the seduction of being the “guru.” The ego likes the attention. A true guru takes no credit for the gifts of understanding their students receive. False gurus claim the power students relinquish. And we, in this culture, are so spiritually starved in the absence of traditional ways, that we cling to teachers as the source of our spiritual progress.
This is a teacher who doesn’t ask to be a guru, but rather, holds a beautiful space that invites us to stand in our own power and teaches practical techniques that show us how. He teaches from a place of experience, groundedness, wisdom, and love, sharing knowledge that belongs to no one and everyone. He walks his talk and invites all students who hunger for spiritual knowledge to do the same, through direct experience. His teaching is rooted in both Native American and African shamanic tradition, having studied with a Lakota Chief for five years as well as with the Dagara people of Ghana. These are cultures and peoples who embrace shamanic practices as an inherent part of the way they live, yet don’t refer to themselves as shamans. It’s simply a way of life. They readily access non-ordinary reality to get helpful information for every aspect of life, including for healing purposes. They do everything in the context of respect for Spirit, evident in the way they honor themselves and each member of their communities. Their rituals and ceremonies are powerful outward expressions of their spiritual beauty. They live what we, as a technologically advanced society have forgotten; they live in beauty.
Spiritual hunger is a universal phenomena, evident in all cultures and all religions, and is propagating a plethora of New Age practices. We call ourselves “healers,” collecting titles, techniques, and teachers from various methodologies. But where is our consciousness?
Indigenous cultures are our models for spiritual consciousness, yet they are disappearing at an alarming rate. We are the technologically advanced culture, with resources that allow us to choose what survives and what doesn’t. We are allowing the indigenous wisdom and teachings to die with these cultures and, in so doing, we are losing the heartbeat of global spirituality.
Why shamanism? Because shamanism calls each one of us to reclaim our spiritual consciousness, the same consciousness imbued in the indigenous cultures that our planet is losing. Shamanism is about letting go of the New Age fanfare that goes along with connecting to Spirit, reclaiming our legacy, and reestablishing the natural abilities of our ancestors that we have forgotten. Is it frightening to explore practices outside our cultural orientation, stand in our own power, and grow beyond our embodied teachers? Yes, for many of us, it’s frightening. Is it necessary? No, we have free will. We can choose to remain just as we are, individually, as a culture, and as a global people. Can I stay the same? Absolutely not.
My Spirit will shrivel if I retreat to the comfortable and numbing safety of familiarity. I am driven to move toward spiritual refinement. I am driven to advocate for the cultures that are models for spirituality and connecting to Nature. And I am driven to preserve the traditions that hold the keys to healing and transformation for all of us.
I am a student who is ready and a teacher is appearing. I look forward to immersing myself in learning about the ways of my ancestors, not to call myself a shaman, but to explore that which I have forgotten. The guru is within. I want to remember who I Am.
www.healingdrummer.com
toby@healingdrummer.com
posted by Toby Christensen at 9:08 PM
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