Shamanism

In the West, we're very much removed from the way of the shaman. We often have a romantic understanding of his world but I'm not sure we really appreciate the world of spirit he lives in. However, as lucid dreamers, we walk with a foot in two worlds and anything we can learn from shamanism present or past can be useful. Lucid dreamers are not shaman 'but they are getting their toes wet in a deep pool that is shared by contempary shamanic practictioners, as well as our ancestors in the dawn of human consciousness' (Winkelman 2000).

I first became interested in shamanism as a way to deal with the be-mushroomed mind of a friend’s neighbour’s dog……

Short aside:

Obviously you can take psychedelic mushrooms in the same way that we consume alcohol - in a recreational setting – well, apart from the fact that in our society it’s considered a very bad thing to do – hence a class A drug. I can understand why this is but when you look at how alcohol is currently being abused you wonder why this is not banned too. As far as I know, psychedelic mushrooms are neither addictive or destroy the body in the same way that alcohol does. How can you make something that grows in nature an illegal substance?

But what if you want to use these natural plants to access altered states of consciousness – to learn something about the nature of reality. Their illegal status and the negative baggage associated with Class A drugs is not helpful in our society. It’s a different story for the shaman in the jungle of course. But even when tv presenters go through the ritual, people don’t seem to make the connection that they are taking what we consider illegal drugs – just in a setting where the associated self destruction that happens in our society doesn’t occur.

Back to the story

…..Very much like a dream state, after consuming magic mushrooms it’s not always easy (or so the dog tells me) to know what is reality. For lucid dreamers used to checking reality, the experience is an amplified version of the same thing. It can become a bit overwhelming, confusing and a bit much when you’re trying to figure out what’s going on in this strange world you find yourself in. I wondered if the skills of the shaman would be useful to help navigate this particular state of mine. I also wondered if learning to stay aware in such a state was simply an amplified version of the Buddhist dream yoga and the state of mind needed for that last great sleep.

I looked around in the UK and came across Trackways. The thing I liked about Thomas Schorr-kon is that he makes a connection with shamanism and survival skills used to make a deep connection with nature.

I first attended the basic survival weekend with Trackways followed by a couple of the Wilderness Spirit Philosophy weekends. These follow the teachings of Tracker Tom Brown Jr, based on the teachings of Stalking Wolf, an Apache Elder. We were taken on guided visualizations to our medicine place, often accompanied by the slow rhythmic beat of a drum and from there began to explore out into various areas of the force and spiritual realms. We formed misty paths, walked through veils and explored tunnels in time. I sat in the seat of the Apache warrior and saw a yellow goblin as clear as day. I met my spirit guide and learned to heal a friend.

We learnt how to see the world in wide angle vision and stalk silently and invisibly like an Apache. We did pipe ceremonies –which as someone who has always had very negative feeling about smoking was an odd one to have to work with. We learned how to spend time with trees, learn from them and preach to them – so quite a lot over just a few weekends!!! On a practical side, I was introduced to the Hennessy Hammock which provides a great way to sleep off the damp forest floor.

Another aside

I’m constantly amazed how coincidences seem to come together as I reach different stages on my path. As I was first exploring Paganism, I started reading 2 series of books that have been very helpful. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley presents the Arthurian legends from a feminine viewpoint with great emphasis on the Goddess and a community of priestess's living in a parallel world on Glastonbury Tor. The Earth’s Children series by Jean M Auel describes the world when Neanderthals and our own homo sapien ancestors lived side by side and it’s a great combination of living in nature and spiritual beliefs. Lately, I've loved the Boudica series by Manda Scott. The books describe the struggle against the Romans in the region where I live with the help of 'dreamers' who are the British indigenous shaman, in touch with their dreams, nature and 'intuition'.

So where am I now?

As a lucid dreamer I understand that reality is not as straight forward as my Western education taught. As a dreamer walking in two world, I'm hungry for lessons I can learn from shamans past and present with a firm desire on my part to follow my roots as far as possible. Lucid dreaming ultimately led me to a pagan belief which has enriched my life, bringing me closer to the cycles in nature, the environment and a growing concern that we are becoming increasingly removed from these things.