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One of us is reading this seminal text.
I was initiated into Shamanism in 1990 by the Michael Harner foundation & method. This was a series of seminars across the nation who introduced people to using the drum as a vehicle for accessing the subconscious or other world. I had read the book, which was why I was inspired to try the method. My friend came along for the ride.
I suppose I could’ve followed it further; I took the class with a friend. We both felt like we’d been dropped in the deep end. Nobody told us what to do with what we found in the other worlds. Nobody offered interpretations until years later. Nobody helped us when what we experienced made us want to cry (we both had such experiences). Nobody seemed to have trouble getting to the Upper World and meeting their gods and angels, nor did anyone seem to struggle to get a hole in the ground.
At the time, we doubted a lot about the experiences shared around us. We thought – didn’t they see the dark slime, or hear the taunting voices? What’s with all the rainbows and unicorns and crystal faeries, and all of them got power animals of Lion, Bear, Wolf, Eagle. (except for the ones who got unicorns, of course)
We struggled with what was presented during the seminar. It has been years of integration, and talking to Elders and wiser folk than I, that I have started to learn more about my Medicine Wheel, my Animals, and how they work in my body and my life.
Nobody at the time taught me how to catch the synchronicities – the things which happen in both worlds. The cockatoo you saw in the Other World, flies across your vision in This World. That song you hear brings together the energies you felt while you were learning over there. You write down dreams, and pay attention to your waking world. Experiences in the consensual world start to mesh with your experience in the other World.
So I have learned a lot since I read Michael Harner and took a workshop designed by him & his foundation. I will be revisiting his book, especially since one of us, Coda, is also reading his book.
I recommend Michael Harner’s “Way of the Shaman” for anyone to understand the expansion into Other Worlds as a normal human experience.
I’m finding The Way of the Shaman to be a very good introduction into the lives and customs of those who journey down this path.
I’d like to explore the first chapter and perhaps a chapter a week, in hopes that others may join in by posting or simply enjoy reading.
Discovering the Way
Chapter 1In chapter 1, Harner takes us through his experiences as he first starts doing fieldwork as an anthropologist. I find this intriguing, as it brings western science into play. As Harner writes earlier in the Prologue (to the 3rd edition):
The ‘New Age’ is partially an offshoot of the Age of Science, bringing into personal life the paradigmatic consequences of two centuries of serious use of the scientific method. . . . .Shamanism provides a way to conduct these personal experiments, for it is a methodology, not a religion.
And so Harner invites us to witness his journey in a multi-faceted way, allowing westerners to stay inside our world of western science, but at the same time, opening us up to a very beautiful spiritual realm.
Harner writes about the terrifying and mystifying experience of seeing all sorts of visions and feeling like his body is turning into stone. He writes, “I became aware of my brain. I felt–physically–that it had become compartmentalized into four separate and distinct levels. At the uppermost surface was the observer and commander, which was conscious of the conditions of my body, and was responsible for the attempt to keep my heart going . . . Immediately below the topmost level I felt a numbed layer, which seemed to have been put out of commission by the drug–it just wasn’t there. The next level down was the source of my visions, including the soul boat.”
Harner writes about a series of mystical visions and the use of ayahuasca and other mind-altering plant medicines to open the mind/body/spirit into these visionary realms. This book was written in 1973, but to show how timeless these types of experiences are, not only has ayahuasca been used for hundreds of years by indigenous tribes, it is now making a comeback in contemporary medicine. This is a talk by Dr. Gabor Mate, for anyone interested in how it’s being used today as some western-trained doctors are researching alternative treatments:
Gabor Mate Answers Questions About Ayahuasca – video 16 minutes
Harner writes about his experiences with Jivaro shamanism and the use of tsentsak which are magical darts or spirit helpers that are the “main powers believed to cause and cure illness in daily life. To the nonshaman they are normally invisible, and even shamans can perceive them only in an altered state of consciousness.”
That being said, Harner is very clear that you don’t need drugs. He writes, “During the years since beginning shamanic work among the Conibo, I have also studied briefly with shamans of a few western North American Indian groups: the Wintun and Pomo in California, Coast Salish in Washington State, and the Lakota Sioux in South Dakota. From them I learned how shamanism could be practiced successfully without the use of the ayahuasca or other drugs of the Conibo and the Jivaro. This knowledge has been especially useful in introducing Westerners to the practice of shamanism.”
Another quote from the Prologue that I want to reference, as it ties into climate change, again keeping the door to western science open.
Another important reason that shamanism has wide appeal today is that it is spiritual ecology. In this time of worldwide environmental crisis, shamanism provides something largely lacking in the anthropocentric “great” religions: reverence for, and spiritual communication with, the other beings of the Earth and with the Planet itself.
This stayed in my mind as I continued reading the first chapter. In one of his Shaman journeys, he writes about his visions:
I learned that the dragon-like creatures were thus inside of all forms of life, including man. They were the true masters of humanity and the entire planet, they told me. We humans were but the receptacles and servants of these creatures. For this reason they could speak to me from within myself.This speaks to how we are so very interconnected to everything around us. We are not only servants of the creatures that Harner sees, but we are also servants of our planet.
With our planet in dire need of humans as protectors and servants, I’m finding The Way of the Shaman to be especially relevant.
Coda writes:
In chapter 1, Harner takes us through his experiences as he first starts doing fieldwork as an anthropologist. I find this intriguing, as it brings western science into play.
That was what appealed to me, too.
By this time, I had my fill of crystal gazing, faery worshipping, alien abudctees where I could not find evidence or explanation for what was happening. I couldn’t deny that these were real to those people – but Harner offered me something academic, that I could respect and tie into other studies.
Coda writes of an altered state:
Immediately below the topmost level I felt a numbed layer, which seemed to have been put out of commission by the drug–it just wasn’t there.
I think that’s the “governor” or “filter,” that judgemental part of ourselves which keep us from feeling connected all the time – which enables us to be rational and direct our activities in the ordinary world. The filter is a survival mechanism – but remove it, and it is much easier to touch Spirit.
Coda continues:
Harner writes about his experiences with Jivaro shamanism and the use of tsentsak which are magical darts or spirit helpers that are the “main powers believed to cause and cure illness in daily life.
Back in the day, when I was full of ego, I probably wanted to be a powerful shaman, and would’ve taken delight in “collecting darts” and caring for them. It’s a very wizardly thing to do. Now I am careful about darts, now that I am less ego, I don’t want too much power. Just enough is fine.
Darts, to many South American tribes, are energies which are removed from your patients, when the suffering or infliction is removed. They are often destructive, and need special binding and care in order to keep them alive inside the Shaman. Then, when needed – for another illness, or perhaps in defense (or even attack) – the dart is ready and waiting to be used.
They are fed with herbs and ceremony. It requires a lot of purity to collect darts, and a lot of respect and honor. But I am not collecting darts at this time. Now that I understand better how it works, why, and how to do it – I’m not inclined to collect power.
Just a few updates I’ve picked up since reading the book!
This is gonna be fun! To get a review of the book while someone else is reading it!
Back in the day, when I was full of ego, I probably wanted to be a powerful shaman, and would’ve taken delight in “collecting darts” and caring for them. It’s a very wizardly thing to do. Now I am careful about darts, now that I am less ego, I don’t want too much power. Just enough is fine.
Thanks for the feedback, JanCarol, and taking the time to write out your experiences in relating to Harner’s book.
Yes, I can definitely relate to what you wrote here. As I get older, the more careful I am about many things. I think with care, comes less ego, comes more wisdom.
The Shamanic Journey
Chapter 2Chapter 2 is a great introduction into a shamanic journey – western style. First, Harner defines what a shaman is:
A shaman is a man or a woman who enters an altered state of consciousness – at will – to contact and utilize an ordinarily hidden reality in order to acquire knowledge, power, and to help other persons. The shaman has at least one, and usually more, “spirits” in his personal service.
But a shaman must become educated and be in control of this altered state. As Harner writes:
The “ecstatic” or altered state of consciousness and the learned perspective that characterize shamanic work may be usefully termed the Shamanic State of Consciousness (hereafter referred to as the SSC). The SSC involves not only a “trance” or a transcendent state of awareness, but also a learned awareness of shamanic methods and assumptions while in such an altered state.
In this chapter, Harner gives examples of Shamans exploring the Lower World through caves, holes in the floors of homes, and other entrances into the ground.
And he also gives examples of his own western students’ experiences as they write about their first shamanic exercise. It’s interesting that people don’t write “I imagined . . . ” or “I fantasized that . . . ” The journeys are too real and profound for that. It is a real experience.
As Harner writes:
Your only mission will be to traverse the Tunnel, perhaps see what lies beyond and then return.
His instructions are to relax and lie comfortably on the floor and contemplate the mission. Close your eyes and visualize . . .
And so I did. I did a shamanic journey, using a drum recording that JanCarol kindly sent me.
And this is my journey for this exercise. I remembered seeing images of mountain top removal coal mining in a climate change documentary and this entrance into the earth was my way into the Lower World. It wasn’t what I thought it would be.
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– Journey moved to Private Journey Forum
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This journey, even though it’s about climate change and all of the horror, I still felt connected to the universe. I’m reminded of this talk by Alan Watts on YouTube:
Alan Watts: How Do you Define Yourself?
This is a beautiful, spectacular amazing video.
It wakes up old things – and makes me reach for new things.
In just 4:40 minutes!
Yes, that Alan Watts’ video is one of my favorites!
Watts is amazing with his ability to awaken and inform in only a matter of minutes. Wherever he is now, he’s been immortalized in YouTube. 🙂
Chapter 3
Shamanism and States of ConsciousnessIn this chapter, Harner explains that shamanic methods are at least twenty or thirty thousand years old, spanning hundreds of generations. And although they derive from all over the world – aboriginal Australia, native North and South America, Siberia and central Asia, eastern and northernmost Europe, and southern Africa – they all share commonalities.
It is this universality that speaks to a sort of spiritual open source documentation, ancient but consistent. Even though the cultures vary, as do their art, economies, and social systems, it is consistent, even though many of these diverse people never meet. So why did this stay so consistent? Harner explains simply, “Because it works.”
Harner writes, “To perform his work, the shaman depends on special, personal power, which is usually supplied by his guardian and helping spirits. Each shaman generally has at least one guardian spirit in his service, whether or not he also possesses helping spirits.”
In order to acquire a guardian spirit (usually a power animal) is to go on a spirit quest. This is done in a remote place in the wilderness. Interestingly, many – if not all of us – have had guardian spirits, as it’s thought that in order to achieve adulthood, we’d have to have them. So simply having a spirit helper does not make one a shaman.
The difference lies in how the guardian helper is used while in an altered state. According to Harner, “The shaman frequently sees and consults with his guardian spirit, travels with it on the shamanic journey, has it help him, and uses it to help others to recover from illness and injury.”
So what exactly does a shaman do to help others? He or she may help people regain their personal guardian spirits or even their soul. They may heal others from physical illness, adding beneficial powers and removing harmful ones. This is done by journeying back and forth between realities, sometimes by taking mind-altering substances, but this isn’t always necessary.
Note that it’s usually the shaman who takes the drug and not the patient. If that were the case with western doctors, western medicine would be a whole lot different! Another difference is the fact that shamanism is very experiential, whereas western doctors get their information from medical schools and the pharmaceutical industry and don’t seem to be able to think for themselves. Shamans are intuitive and wise. Western doctors are trained via teach-to-the-test and rarely speak outside the language of their textbook.
Harner explores the differences between shamanism and science. One difference is the fact that “the master shaman never says that what you experienced is a fantasy”. But their are similarities, such a the way they both are interested in the mysteries of the universe, believed to be hidden from ordinary view.
Harner goes onto state, “Neither master shamans nor master scientists allow the dogma of ecclesiastical and political authorities to interfere with their explorations. It was no accident that Galileo was accused of witchcraft (shamanism).”I found it interesting that being a shaman is only a part-time gig. The rest of the time is spent doing a regular, ordinary job, as well as raising a family. And being able to move between the different roles is seen as “evidence of power”.
In this chapter, Harner spends some time explaining how westerners need to learn the ways in which shamanic cultures speak about their experiences, since westerners may misunderstand. Shamans can talk about “splitting a large tree at a distance with his shamanic power, or that he saw an inverted rainbow inside the chest of a neighbor”. And they may do that within the same conversation about their daily, non-shamanic lives. While this would confuse a westerner who might think him or her quite mad, this is understood in shamanic cultures. They know the experiences in the SSC and those in the OSC.
Harner goes onto to explore how the use of a drum is important to the shaman when entering and exiting the shamanic state of consciousness. He states, “Laboratory research by Neher has demonstrated that drumming produces changes in the central nervous system.” Rhythmic drumming can induce an altered state of consciousness. The shaman’s assistant may dance with the bells and iron trinkets on his costume providing more rhythm to the drum. And the shaman may sing or chant. This may act in a similar way as yogic breathing exercises.
I really enjoyed reading about how “connected” the shaman is to nature. It’s not just respect, but also “reverence”, both in an altered state and fully connected to the real state. I’ll end with a poem from the book that paints this picture – this is an adaptation by David Coutier of a shaman’s poem from the Chuckchee tribe of Siberia:
Things a Shaman Sees
Everything that is
is aliveon a steep river bank
there’s a voice that speaks
I’ve seen the master of that voice
he bowed to me
I spoke with him
he answers all my questions
everything that is
is aliveLittle gray bird
little blue breast
sings in a hollow bough
she calls her spirits dances
sings her shaman songs
woodpecker on a tree
that’s his drum
he’s got a drumming nose
and the tree shakes
cries out like a drum
when the axe bites its sideall these things answer
my calleverything that is
is alivethe lantern walks around
the walls of this house have tongues
even this bowl has its own true home
the hides asleep in their bags
were up talking all night
antlers on the graves
rise and circle the mounds
while the dead themselves get up
and go visit the living onesCoda writes:
Note that it’s usually the shaman who takes the drug and not the patient. If that were the case with western doctors, western medicine would be a whole lot different! Another difference is the fact that shamanism is very experiential, whereas western doctors get their information from medical schools and the pharmaceutical industry and don’t seem to be able to think for themselves.
Aho! If the doctors suffered under their own medicine, they would not be so keen to inflict it upon others!
The shaman takes everything into himself, and “cleanses” it for the patient and the tribes use. An example of this is the use of Soma, the Amanita Muscaria mushroom. In Northern European, Egyptian, Siberian, and possibly even Vedic traditions, the shaman takes the mushroom (listed as a poison on most continents, albeit a mild one). In his/her body, the mushroom is purified, his/her urine is collected and distributed to the tribe for a long winter’s night communal journey. The urine retains the entheogenic nature of the mushroom, but all of the toxins are removed. The poison is transformed by the shaman into celebration.
I could go deeper into the folklore of this plant medicine, whole books have been written about this. Some say that the story of Christ is an allegory of the life cycle and enlightenment of this mushroom. I have also heard it described as the “burning bush” through which G-d communicated to Moses, or the manna which kept the tribes of Israel alive during their decades in the desert. Others say it is the reason that Santa’s Reindeer fly (they have an affinity for the mushroom), and the reason Santa wears red and white. You will note the prominence of this shamanic plant medicine in faery and folk art.
I believe that this prevalence in culture and art is a remnant, or symbol of its prior use as a shamanic plant.
You can learn more about the lore of this plant medicine, here: Ambrosia Society – Herb of Immortality or at Wikipedia – Amanita Muscaria (there is a lot of material available on this topic!)
That said, plant medicine is a vital part of healing in shamanic practice. The shaman recommends diet, fasting, and often bitter plant brews to purify and cleanse the body. But be assured the shaman will not give you anything s/he hasn’t tested on him or herself first! (unlike Western medicine)
Coda writes:
So simply having a spirit helper does not make one a shaman.
There are at least two schools of thinking on this.
One is that only the shaman of the tribe takes the training, does the apprenticeship, and is trained in the tradition of “Medicine Person” of their ancestors. This exclusive definition is that the Medicine Person is the Healer of the tribe, and dedicates their life to helping others.
The other is that we are so cut off from our tribal roots, that the practice of shamanism is available to all of us to reach our highest potential and goal. In this way, any who choose to partake of the Journeys are partaking of, and participating in shamanism.
“Am I a Shaman?” – my own prerequisites are as follows:
1. Have you been to the Lower World and received support from Helpers, Nedicine Animals, Power Animals?
2. Have you acquired solutions or created an effect in the Middle World?
3. Have you been before the Beings of the Upper World and drunk of their wisdom and transformation?
4. Are you able to link your Inner experiences with your Ordinary, consensual world ones?By my definition, if you have experienced the first 3, you are a shaman. The fourth one is a life’s work which, if you choose to pursue, will deepen and teach you the Path of the Shaman.
In my own healing journey, I have learned that as I heal myself, I become a greater asset to my tribe and community. As I learn to heal myself, I gain wisdom that will help others. It seems selfish and counterintuitive that we can help humanity by healing ourselves – but where else do we begin?
That said, plant medicine is a vital part of healing in shamanic practice. The shaman recommends diet, fasting, and often bitter plant brews to purify and cleanse the body. But be assured the shaman will not give you anything s/he hasn’t tested on him or herself first! (unlike Western medicine)
Thanks for your writing on this chapter, Jan. It’s helped clarify a few things and expand. And I loved the pictures!
We would ALL be a lot healthier if our Western docs tasted their own medicine.
4. Are you able to link your Inner experiences with your Ordinary, consensual world ones?
By my definition, if you have experienced the first 3, you are a shaman. The fourth one is a life’s work which, if you choose to pursue, will deepen and teach you the Path of the Shaman.
Would you consider a writer / poet to qualify, as they are able to link Inner experiences to the consensual world.
This made me think of this article:
5 SIGNS YOU MAY BE A NONTRADITIONAL SHAMAN
So I think of the Urban Shaman or the Post-industrial Shaman and the different jungles and wildernesses that must be traveled and explored, less trees and more concrete.
Less drum circles and more poetry and writings in blogs and Tweets that connect us in many ways, such as this website. 🙂
I’m I getting too far off subject here? Lol, I’ll try to reign it in.
In my own healing journey, I have learned that as I heal myself, I become a greater asset to my tribe and community. As I learn to heal myself, I gain wisdom that will help others. It seems selfish and counterintuitive that we can help humanity by healing ourselves – but where else do we begin?
Beautifully said.
Chapter 4
Power AnimalsThis is a very interesting chapter in which the reader is introduced to various power animals, going from the conceptual knowledge and history to being led on an exercise you can do at home to try and gain access to a spirit animal.
Harner writes, “Shamans have long believed their powers were the powers of the animals, of the plants, of the sun, of the basic energies of the universe.”
Later, he writes, “Millennia before Charles Darwin, people in shamanic cultures were convinced that humans and animals were related. In their myths, for example, the animal characters were commonly portrayed as essentially human in physical form but individually distinguished by the particular personality characteristics possessed by the various types of animals as they exist in the wild today. . . . Then, according to various creation myths, the animals became physically differentiated into the forms in which they are found today. Accordingly, the myths explain, it is no longer possible for humans and animals to converse together, or for animals to have human form.”
However, the animal-human unity is accessible by the shaman and the vision-seeker by entering the altered state of consciousness.
Harner writes that it’s not just animals that shamans can connect with in these altered states, but also to spirits in human form.
So how does a power animal help the shaman? Harner explains, “When possessed by a shaman, the power animal acts as an alter ego, imparting to the shaman the power of transformation, and especially the power of transformation from human to the power animal, as well as back again.”
This transformation could be done using hallucinogenic drugs or it could be done using drumming and dancing, which was actually more common. In this method, the alter ego is evoked and the shaman can become one with his or her power animal.
The transformation occurs during dance steps, as the drums evoke the altered state.
Harner cites a version of a grizzly bear song from the Tlingit tribe of the Northwest Coast:
Whu! Bear!
Whu
WhuSo you say
Whu Whu Whu!
You comeYou’re a fine young man
You Grizzly Bear
You crawl out of your furYou come
I say Whu Whu Whu!
I throw grease in the fireFor you
Grizzly Bear
We’re one!And so the shaman transforms into Bear.
These types of transformations and the belief of such occurrences lasted until the Inquisition, at which point many people practicing shamanism were labeled wizards, witches, and sorcerers, and persecuted. Harner mentions one person who was gifted which such abilities who wrote about it. His name was Giovanni Battista Porta who in 1562 wrote the book Natural Magick. Porta, by the way, was a colleague of Galileo. Porta left behind writings that described these experiences in detail.
I found Harner’s descriptions of the “vision quest” to be disappointing – I wish he would have spent a lot more time on this part. Vision quests in solitary wildernesses, journeying to waterfalls, etc. are mentioned, but not really described. He movies onto describing the use of hallucinogens to give children so they could “see”, a mild hallucinogen for babies and something a bit stronger for older children.
It’s interesting that these cultures understand the nature of children enough to assume that they have some protection from a guardian spirit in order for them to survive. I remember being a very curious and inquisitive kid, seeing forms and visions in shadows and in patterns of wallpaper and ceilings. These patterns and shadows would tell me their stories. And music always had the “lift of spirit” effect (which probably meant my nervous system was reacting to it the way it currently does to Shamanic drumming). And of course, finding stories and myths in clouds and stars. It was so much closer to us in childhood. Whether these events involved an animal or spirit guardian, I’ll never know. As Harner writes, “It is possible for a person to have, or to have had, the past protection and power of a guardian spirit without being conscious of it.” Lost memories would take these animals and visions away.
It’s sad the way we see children now. Drugging them for their curiosity (i.e. stimulants for ADHD), instead of encouraging it.
The last part of this chapter is an exercise in using a dance to “dance your animal” and make contact with your spirit animal. You can even make contact with past spirit animals, perhaps known to you only in childhood.
I’d like to try that exercise, but felt afraid without knowing if I should use a drum recording or something as a “call back”. But it does look like a really cool exercise.
Harner emphasizes that in order to maintain your shamanic practice, you have to “change into” one’s animal on a regular basis. So “dancing your animal” looks like a needed practice in between shamanic voyages, just to stay current, as spirit animals tend to leave every few years according to some beliefs, so you’ll likely go through several of them in your lifetime.
I smiled when I read this part: “Dancing is not the only way you can physically exercise your power animals and keep it willing to stay with you. Another way is to exercise it in the wilderness areas or, lacking that, remote areas of public parks. I remember one young Westerner trained in shamanism who worked weekdays in a bookstore and on Sundays went to a regional park where he took his Cougar for lopes over the hills. No one ever stopped him, and he found it more satisfying than going to church.”
Amen to that! For those of us in cities, there’s still hope to practice being a Shaman. But just make sure you don’t get caught. Odds are the passersby will not have a clue what is going on.
One final takeaway: “guardian spirits are always beneficial. They never harm their possessors. . . .no matter how fierce it may appear.”
Just reading this chapter made me appreciate and “see” animals and nature in a more open and meaningful way.
Wouldn’t it be great if Shamanism were being read in conjunction with climate change material? It’s clear that our distancing from our spirit animals has cost us so much more than we realize.
In fact, this disconnect is costing us our greatest Shaman source, Mother Earth.
Chapter 5
The Journey to Restore PowerIn the first part of this chapter, Harner explores the different facets of “power” within the shaman in the context of disease. In western culture, when someone gets sick, we think of things such as germs. But for shamanic cultures, the external forces are “harmful energies”.
A shaman is more resistant to such things, but only if he or she stays consistently in touch with power animals. According to Harner:
“A power animal . . . not only increases one’s physical energy and ability to resist contagious disease, but also increases one’s mental alertness and self-confidence. The power even makes it more difficult for one to lie.”
A shaman is much stronger psychologically. And who wouldn’t be if they not only believed themselves to be of sound body and mind, but so do the people in their tribes and villages. I really think that external validation is extremely important.
The chapter goes onto explore the specific techniques to use to make sure you still have your power animal.One of the techniques is to journey to the Lowerworld to retrieve the power animal.
This isn’t always a solitary experience. One journey is described involving rowing canoes into the Lowerworld, moving through the music of drums, rattles, and singing.
The journey to the Lowerworld is taken to cure someone of illness.
Other techniques do not involve a canoe or having to physically travel anywhere but rather, involve staying close with the patient. As Harner explains, “From the Jivaro I learned that a person’s guardian reposes primarily in the chest, although its power emanates throughout the entire body.”
The concept of Power Songs are explored. I really enjoy the amount of music involved in shamanism!
Here is a sample lyric from a Power Song:
My spirits
Are like birds,
And the wings
And bodies are dreams
I have spirits,
Spirits have I . . . .At this point in the book, it suddenly occurred to me how far we’ve lost our way. In shamanism, medicine involves working with animals.
But in western medicine, the role of animals is to be used as research animals. Vivisection and experimentation. Whereas shamans take the drugs, animals take the drugs first in western medicine to see if its toxic and deadly.
No wonder we are such a sick society!
The chapter goes onto to describe the journey that we in the western world can do to bring back a Power Animal. This draws on earlier concepts, such as “Dancing Your Animal” described in the previous chapter.
The Power Song is added in, the rattle shakes about 180 times per minute, you find the entrance into the Lowerworld. You (the shaman) enters the Lowerworld while your partner (the patient) has no responsibility and remains still.
So I have a question about this part. Is this done solely in the imagination?
You will recognize the Power Animal because it will appear at least 4 times and will come with you.
The shaman then blows the Power Animal into the chest of the patient. The patient then “dances with the animal” after hearing descriptions of the journey.
And then I’m thinking, is there a placebo effect going on? I’ve read in western medicine, how powerful the placebo effect is and many times works better than western medicine and it doesn’t carry the dangerous side effects that can cause more harm than good.
Harner says to not worry if you are not successful. In fact, he states, “Some of those with the greatest potential are slow starters.”
No wonder shamans become strong of mind and spirit – they aren’t crushed by a teach-to-the-test mentality. It’s creativity and drive that spears them on.
Through journeying in this way, the shaman meets all sorts of spirit animals and learns to treat many diseases.
The last section describes mental illness, but it cut too short and I didn’t understand enough to write about it. Perhaps it will make sense after reading the entire book.
Would you consider a writer / poet to qualify, as they are able to link Inner experiences to the consensual world.
Art is truth.
It can be music, poetry, writing, dance, community, ceremony, yoga.
Anywhere that synchronicity can make the connection between dream and manifestation.
Sometimes, you will get a command in the Lower or Upper World to make a thing. It might be a weaving, or a carving, a drawing, or a piece of music. It might be a poem or a song, a dance, a meal, or a body stretch. It may be making your grandmother’s recipe, and offering it to a tree. The requests of the Lower or Upper World are not always comprehensible – but often a creation is called for, a making, a doing. This too, connects the Lower or Upper world to the ordinary world.
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