A shaman is something of a doctor of the soul. Like a doctor, a shaman can make a number of different diagnoses. Also, the shaman has a number of tools at her disposal.
Below are the various modalities I offer in my work as a a shamanic practicioner.
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Opening and Closing Sacred Space
At the heart of shamanism lies the ability to orient oneself to The Universe and to the forces within it. In this practice, a person will learn a way to open a sacred container for a time of prayer or meditation (of whatever style). This practice deepens any meditation or spiritual practice a person already undertakes.
Journeying for Healing, Wisdom, and Insight
Journeying is a foundational practice of shamanism. A person learns to journey to various locations (e.g. into the earth) for healing, to gain wisdom, and to commune with the spirit world. Journeying involves being guided into a light trance state. The state is very similar to the state between dreaming and fully waking up. It is not hypnotism. A client is perfectly safe in this state. The client’s conventional rational mind is still conscious and the client always has choice about how to proceed in the process. The typical first journey a person makes is to the lower world to experience a place of rest and healing to which they can always return to be spiritually resourced.
Locating Guides
The shamanic traditions teach that there are guides to help us along our journeys. In this process we learn to locate and establish a connection with these guides. This connection is established through journeying.
Chakra Healings
When a person suffers a wounding that goes unhealed, these wounds leave marks in the energy field of a person. Those marks often manifest themselves through one of the charkas. In this process we work on establishing whether a wound has been left in the energy field and if so which chakra it is connected to. We then open that chakra up and remove the negative energy affecting a deep cleansing. Afterwards, we use energy to mend and strengthen the energy field.
Extractions
There are times when wounds leave what feel like objects or at times foreign energies. The Extraction process exists to remove these objects or energies, accelerating physical and emotional healing.
Decording
Shamans throughout history have sensed cords: energetic ties that bind us to each other. Normally these cords are healthy and a source of loving connection between us and others. But when we find ourselves in unhealthy patterns or relationships we can form negative cords that weaken us and drain energy from us. In this process we locate some of these negative cords and cut them.
Soul Retrieval
The shamanic tradition our souls (or personal essences) are thought to consist of parts. Certain traumatic events, it is believed, can cause these soul parts to fragment and go into hiding. This results in soul loss which in turn causes increased anxiety, loss of energy, and so on. In a soul retrieval the shaman undertakes a journey seeking to retrieve any lost soul parts that desire to return to the person. The shaman then brings these soul parts back and blows them into the person’s energy field (usually their heart and/or head). The individual then has work to do to welcome this returned part of themselves home. If they do so, they will experience greater trust in life, healing, courage, and strength as a result.
Creating Protective, Healthy Boundaries
We live in a fast-moving, often chaotic world. We are bombarded daily by electronic messages, advertisements, and commercials. We also are highly influenced by the energies of those we interact with–friend or stranger. This practice teaches the person how to create energetic safety for themselves, to take responsibility for what they are putting out in the world energetically, and to defend themselves against forms of negative energy that they interact with (whether intentionally or unintentionally communicated).
Death Rites
The traditions also offer practices to prepare for the end of one’s life. This proces involves more than just simply what occurs after death. In other words, this process is best begun while a person is still lucid. Please contact me about this offering. For more information on what is involved, please see here.