"Shamans" are people through whom healing and sustenance flow from helpers and guides in the Spirit World to those who come seeking his or her help. As you read this introduction and some of the other entries on this site, consider whether what I do could likewise bring you self-healing, understanding and peace. You can also visit my blog site at The 4HAWKS Blog. This blog contains over 200 of the earliest of my 800-plus shamanic journeys, but takes you out of this site. Many of my later journeys have yet to be published due to privacy concerns.
Also, please read the very first two entries (Jan 8, 2001 and October 19, 2001) before delving into the Journeys themselves..these demonstrate in great detail why I am on this Sacred Path.
Shamanism has been practiced across every pre-Western culture, and for thousands of years...and is now flourishing again across our world, as traditional religious organizations fall short in helping some people reach full spiritual health, and achieve their spiritual destiny.
Despite a total lack of regional connection, each shamanic culture came to essentially the same conclusions, and performed similar rituals and ceremonies, in communicating with and honoring the Spirit World. This Spirit World, although the basis of all existence and therefore life itself, is woefully unexplored by most modern cultures and religions. It is hinted at by asking one to have "faith" that it is there, but most can only hope that it is, and really have no first-hand experience of it (except for unexplained events of selves, family and friends).
A shaman has learned to visit this World at will, and to deal with and get help from spirits who live there. The spirits are always waiting to bring answers, help and healing to us who are living in this existence/reality...just one of many, by the way. Hence, "hope" and "faith" are replaced with certainty, what some shamanic specialists, myself included, call the "knowing." In fact, the word "shaman" translates to "one who knows" in its original language.
While some would argue that nothing can be universally true (to me a very disempowering and dangerous position in this existence, for there is no basis for morality if everyone can define their own ultimate truths), shamans reject that notion. Spirit and love, for example, come from the Creator Consciousness outside our energy/matter world, and are eternal...there to create and guide the universe.
WHAT IS A SHAMAN?
A shaman is a man or woman who has been called in one way or another to learn how to interact with the Spirit World to bring about healing, good fortune, blessing, etc. for the people or a person. This involves first adopting a centered existence, in which all life and every thing are honored as sacred extensions of the Great Spirit, as opposed to being tools for one's own status-advance and wealth-building. One learns the "language of nature", through which the spirits can reach us all the time...when we listen. In fact, I have realized that all my hundreds of hours spent outside every morning welcoming the day, early in my path, trained my right, intuitive brain to be as strong as my left, ego-based side. This made journeying to the Spirit World very easy for me when the time came.
Then, the shaman trains to perform the duties required to become the "channel" or "hollow bone" for the spirit helpers to work through. For in all cases, it is not the shaman who brings healing or correction. It is the helpers working THROUGH the shaman, who serves as their intermediary, who give the knowledge to the person in need, whose healing mechanism can then be activated to achieve the all-powerful self-healing.
A Shaman can: retrieve lost/forgotten/future information (i.e., "fortune telling", although the accuracy is usually quite weak because chance and choice operate freely); contact deceased loved ones or friends; locate lost objects; analyze and alter energy states in those who have fallen ill physically, mentally, emotionally and/or spiritually; restore missing soul pieces; remove spiritual Intruders, etc. Again, much illness and unease derives from at least one problem in a person's spiritual state, be it an intrusion of foreign energy or a loss of a part of one's soul.
In Western cultures, the predominant "seeing is believing" mentality leaves people wide open to all sorts of unseen spiritual maladies that are simply not healed by physical and/or psychological interventions. Even though the symptoms may be eased or eliminated (simulating the cure), the root cause remains and the problem returns. Shamans, however, can see into a person's spirit body and ascertain what the root cause of illness is, and then attempt to remove it. Sometimes shamanic intervention is not allowed, though...more on that below.
WHY AM I ILL?
Shamans know that in many Cases, true healing (versus "curing") comes from removing spiritual "dirt", damage or invasion, which often later manifests as a physical, emotional or mental ailment. Moreover and most importantly, all healing comes from within. Most "miracle" or "spontaneous remission" cures of modern days are the result of the ill person achieving a self-induced cleansing of their spirit being, which works up through the emotional/mental and finally physical States. Interestingly, this cleansing is often the result of complete acceptance of the condition without judgment.
This is accomplished through changed thinking and the discharge of toxic thought patterns and/or beliefs, arrived at through activation of the link to the spirits, usually through an exact pin-pointing and erasure of the "source wounding". Shamans can cleanse people of these spirit illnesses, allow them to experience that spiritual link, and this usually leads to healing in all other aspects as well.
Other times, illness is caused by a person's losing a part of their soul, due to a traumatic event in their youth or even recently...or even a past life. These soul parts flee to a safe place in the Spirit World. The shaman goes out to find and retrieve it, and then restore it to the person, who is then restored to wholeness. This restored spirit state leads to healing in many more instances than people in the West ordinarily achieve by themselves. Re-integration of a missing soul piece can cause temporary disorientation in the receiver's life, and the Shaman watches over the results to help guide the person back to wholeness. I discuss the structure of the soul in more detail below.
Sometimes illness is caused by more simple problems, such as a messed-up chakra. At the bottom of this intro, I discuss these a bit. Finally, of course, many illness and conditions are simply there as a result of viruses and bacteria, defects in our health, immune deficiencies, etc., and can be dealt with by physicians...part of our Earth Walk. Having said that, though, it is well-established that "toxic thinking" lowers the immune response. Shamanism is all about achieving a balance among all healing opportunities. Therefore, a trustworthy shaman will NEVER tell you to avoid western medical care...only you can decide if and when to do that.
It's worth mentioning again here how important thoughts are. Many believe the Great Spirit (Christ Consciousness, The All, the Source) has thought, and continues to think, the entire universe, ourselves included, into being. This insight is most prevalent among Incan shamans, but the concept shows up over and over in modern western "self-help" books and programs. It is also the basis of the Tao De Ching, and I totally concur!
One's own thoughts likewise have creative power. It has been described thus: "thoughts have weight." They are energy forms, released into the universe as soon as you have them. Whatever you think, you are right. Thoughts tied to emotion and/or belief (i.e., INTENT), become physical creations if left to "percolate" long enough. Some Shamans, Jesus included, were and are able to produce objects seemingly out of thin air, or to change one object to something else (when a Shaman takes on a different appearance, using this same power, it is called "shape-shifting"). Many of history's most prominent people knew of, or at least functioned with, this ability, usually summing the effect up by saying, "I didn't know how I was going to do it...I just knew I would."
If, however, your thoughts are based in limitation, restriction, cultural pressures (i.e., "brainwashing"), others' beliefs about you...then you are creating a life for yourself that does not express who you truly are...a recipe for unhappiness and even illness. It takes GREAT dedication to this belief to make it happen, though, for the beliefs of your surroundings (i.e., universal intentions, friends, family, coworkers, movies, media, churches, etc.) are usually working just as intently against your breaking free of their dominance.
To sum up this concept: Incan Shamans have known for millennia that one can literally "dream one's world into being" with enough power of intent. Even Western culture is full of many successful people who have done just that. You can manifest all sorts of success and healing, or failure and illness, into your life with your thinking. Therefore, the less you think, the better. The true power lies in realizing it is not, "I think, therefore I am", but rather, "I am, therefore I think."
This is why the "knowing" is so crucial. What you think about the people, places and events of your life can have a profound influence on how those things effect you. I always used to tell my children that nothing anyone says to you can hurt you unless you let it. Accepting all things and events as invaluable and neutral teachers, as opposed to aggravants or "bad luck", is key. Knowing of the true nature of the All helps you think in ways that strengthen your spirit being, and bring beauty to others through your thoughts. I recently worked with a woman who was being pursued by a dark spirit, thought into being by herself in a prior life!
THE THREE WORLDS/ASTRAL PLANE
The Upper World is the place of guidance, where your "higher spiritual self" and many high shaman spirit ancestors reside. There are also the Master spirits, who know much and also us better than we know ourselves. My visits to this world have also revealed that there are numerous other universes living aside ours, and that each of us has a set of spirit parents that have been guiding us through each of our lifetimes. Buildings in this world, when there are any, tend to be outlined in and/or made of gold, a high spirit color. This world also houses and renews the "Upper World Soul" (genealogical in nature...links to blood ancestry) called the Ami (pronounced "em") in Mongolian-based shamanism. We have a link to our eternal soul essence (that higher self) which resides in this world through our uppermost chakra. This essence reincarnates over and over as we progress spiritually through succeeding lifetimes.
The Middle World is where we live now, and our soul piece here is called the Suld ("soold"). It remains here after death to help those left behind, and eventually merges into nature as a helper spirit. There are many such spirits here (sometimes referred to as "ghosts") in the "spirit world version" of our world. There are also many shamanic helper spirits here as well. Unbeknownst to most Westerners, the animals, trees, rivers, mountains, stones, etc., also have their own spirit essences that have much to offer. Our world is FILLED with spirits, helpful and otherwise, and yet how few of us accept this as reality...and often pay the price.
Some have witnessed that the "spirit" middle world runs parallel to ours, with quite a few variations at play. This would explain dreams we have in which things seem almost right, but then have weird changes ongoing, where there seem to be no limitations of time, gravity, speed, etc. Most of my visits with deceased loved ones involve visits to the Middle World, for this is where the essence of this life remains strongest.
The Lower World is the place of empowerment and the past, and houses,, and cleanses for reincarnation, the soul part known as the Suns ("soons"), which carries past-life Information. This world also houses peoples' "Power Animals", actual spirit beings who take the form of an animal (bird, insect, etc.) to bring to you the strengths and abilities of that particular animal, that you may be weak or lacking in. Everyone receives a Power Animal at birth, but in Western cultures most people lose them...because they don't even know they are there. Shamans journey to retrieve peoples' lost Power Animals and restore these needed strengths to people.
This World looks very much like ours. There are "walled-off" areas of the Lower World where the darkest of souls are kept, for they wreak too much damage in their earth Lives and are not allowed to return to Earth again after leaving a trail of pain and death. The worst of these dark souls, and this is confirmed in Egyptian spirituality, are simply eliminated. This also tracks with Christian metaphor, in which the seed that falls on dry ground is simply destroyed. Yet we have to accept that even these Beings are manifestations of the same Great Spirit who has manifested as everything and everyone else.
All three Worlds are mainly beautiful and lush...I have seen is no evidence of the fire/torture-driven Hell promulgated by some Western religions in my journeys. Again, the Upper and Lower World souls reincarnate/...but the Middle World Soul does not. Most Middle World souls help those they have left behind and after several Generations become a more broad-based Spirit, or merge with Nature, as I've said. Upper and Lower World Spirits usually return to their respective Worlds for cleansing, and await their Reincarnation. Again, the "worst" Souls, who have gone totally "negative" (farthest from Love and their true Soul Purpose), are usually not allowed to reincarnate, as they are too disturbing to the Sacred Balance.
Trouble occurs when Middle World souls from people who have died, or Lower World souls that come back up here illegitimately (or refuse to "go home" in the first place), attach themselves outright to "our world.". These spirit invasions can occur when either the after-death Middle Soul or Lower World soul latch onto a person or place where it does not belong. The invasions can be by either relations' souls, or total strangers' souls. Shamans will intervene to ask these spirits to stop their interference, and in isolated cases actually force their removal for the client's sake, with permission. All this is done, however, with peace, love and caring for the spirit involved.
There is also an "Astral Plane", where raging, confused and temporarily dangerous Earth Souls go to cool off, or await eventual extraction and healing by a shaman...an in-between place wrought with danger, and the Earth-based Ego tends to survive here. I try not to go there unless absolutely necessary. This is probably close to the concept of "Purgatory" in Christian thinking. It is not a place that Earth souls want to be, and I have retrieved at least one suicide-soul from there.
Troubles can also arise if people offend spirits living in their area with actions that dishonor nature. During a journey, the shaman sees these souls and tries to bring things back to balance. There are also those dark entities that simply must be dealt with, some quite dangerous. The worst of all dark spirit beings are usually "dissolved" prior to becoming threats again.
THE SACRED BALANCE/YIN YANG
In manifesting itself, the Great Mystery has taken forms that run the gamut from light to dark, "good" to "bad", "positive" to "negative"...in an effort to achieve Sacred Balance (also called Yin/Yang) while experiencing "All That Can Be" for itself... and allow us, as "representatives". to attempt to do likewise. So, there is plenty of what I call "dark being energy" out there that can cause illness. This energy is often able to be transmuted to ""good" or "rainbow" energy, so that the effected person can return to living with normal, manageable and balanced amounts of "good and bad". This balance is the key to a successful life.
No-one is perfect, but striving to cancel a debilitating "darkness" with the empowering "light", and then add a bit more light, is the goal. The shaman is skilled at transmuting this dark energy...that is, removing it and returning it to the spirit world for conversion to good energy. Or, at least, walling it off from the affected person. Peruvian Shamans view this interplay of energies in terms of "heavy" (Hucha) and "light" (Sami). They see Hucha as being the product of humans exclusively. We have the power to remove this Hucha, they say...and once it is all gone, the person lives in joy and total balance. This does not mean life goes with no challenges or sorrow...but it does mean the person can deal with these issues with love and inner joy, without anger, judgment, or need for revenge.
Events in this or a prior life that were very emotionally challenging can also "imprint" into one's spirit body and become a source of Illness. Villoldo (see the book section at the bottom) goes into this with great detail. Our energy bodies (the Aura) easily absorb energies from any source, so if one is unaware of an intrusion of negative energy, one can liken this imprint to rubbing your eyes after touching a germ-infested surface...the illness enters and grows initially in Secret. These Events can also cause partial soul loss, and the shaman then journeys to bring this soul piece back to the effected person. These imprint events can be closely related to Chakra problems.
SHAMANIC TOOLS
One of many tools, the shaman's journey involves honoring the helper spirits and then using, in many cases, a steady drum- or rattle-beat to reach AND REMAIN AT the brain-wave Levels (lower-Alpha, Theta), where the spirit of the shaman can leave his or her body and venture out into one or more of the three spirit worlds (Upper, Middle and Lower) for guidance (by the way, one Intent per Visit only). All people pass through these brain-wave states on their way to and from sleep, and so many spirit appearances occur for them "accidentally" at this these times.
Shamans have learned to stay at this intermediate level of consciousness for minutes, and indeed hours on end. Dancing and drumming together are also employed, especially in the cultures of old. And while I have never tried, or had to try, certain sacred plants known to Amazonian, African and other shaman cultures to reach this altered state, some people can do it ONLY with these plants. As these consciousness-shifting/freeing substances are illegal in the US (wonder why?), many people travel to countries where these shamanic practices (having occurred for millennia) are still legal and state- protected, to have their experiences.
Many journey results come in metaphor form, and are therefore best interpreted by the one being helped, working with the shaman. Keep in mind, then, that EVERY Image produced has been designed for the seeker, not the shaman, but has been "imagine-ated" by the shaman's image-set. Sometimes the events are not shown as they happened exactly..or even close, but the underlying wounding energies that were/are present are accurately revealed. I have never received erroneous information from the helpers. The Shaman is there to help with a lot of the imagery not readily understood in our culture.
Shamans have many tools beyond the spiritual journey given them by their spirit helpers, but always rely on help from one or more higher spirits that are working with the Shaman. These helpers often appear at first in the form of totem animals, such as Owls, Hawks, Deer, etc. Humans often relate better at first to these forms than they would the spirit itself, and can use the qualities of that totem animal in their shamanic work as well. Ken also uses stones, feathers, crystals, coins, die, herbs, Arshaan fluid, intent oils, breath and even the hands in ritual healing work. Some of the other tools he uses include antique Mongolian "Toli" (brass shaman "Mirrors"); tarot cards, and the I Ching and Sabian Oracles. He also recently acquired some Peruvian Chumpi Stones for chakra cleansing/balancing.
Shamans can move through time and space instantaneously, going into the "future" or past. They can change (shape-shift) into other types of beings, such as birds. In fact, in the center of existence where shamans go to at the journey's beginning, all of time and space, from all realities and universes, meet at that one point (known in Physics as a "Singularity" and in Mongolian Shamanism the "Gol" (pronounced "goal")). From there, the Shaman can go anywhere in space or time, again nearly instantly. Fire from a candle is usually the main physical representation of the Gol, and so we always have one lit while working.
If a Shaman happens to end up alone in a bad situation while in the spirit world, he or she calls for help immediately...and it always arrives. Shamans usually journey with at least one guide or "Power Animal" for such strength and protection. Ken has many he relies on and honors. He once came very close to being taken from here while rescuing someone's soul piece. His main Helper pulled him to safety in the nick. It is WELL WORTH THE RISK, though, to restore someone to their intended personal beauty. It is VITAL that anyone who wishes to learn to journey to the spirit world likewise cultivate spirit helper-protectors before doing anything else. The Feeling of sinking toward death in the spirit world is quite fast and weakening...and without these helpers standing by to rescue you, one might well never Return to their body.
ANOTHER KEY CONCEPT: SACRED PATH
Because we are comprised of soul parts that reunite for each subsequent life, we each come here with a spiritual plan. This plan may involve a "wonderful" Life...or a life filled with suffering and early death. The goal is to be a stronger spirit when leaving than when we arrived. However, we forget this plan at birth and spend the rest of our lives either trying to remember...or not. Many never do, and live with an incompleteness that can be added to by spirit illnesses, either inherited or obtained while in this life. Even if we hear that "inner voice" calling us to the truth about ourselves, we can be dazzled by the culture we live in and go after its rewards instead. The effect of cultural pressures is very akin to brainwashing, which can eventually convince us that the "inner voice", spirits, etc., are old-fashioned myths...and hence the brain no longer acknowledges such things.
We still have choice in life, and the series of choices we make helps determine whether we approach, find or move away from our individual plan. Vital to remember: It is not all sweetness and light in this life even if we are dead-on our spiritual path...just ask people like Jesus...
Sacred path is supposed to be inviolable, and the responsibility of the person who owns it alone. We are to involve ourselves in another's Sacred Path only with their or the spirits' permission. Ken learned this Sacred Path concept most strongly in his study of Cherokee spirituality, who try to maintain it as a major societal dictum. Of all the shamanic concepts he has learned, this one flies most strongly in the face of Western culture, where interfering with another for their own good ("we know better"), without their permission, is almost a requirement. It is nearly impossible to live in the West and follow this "sacred path" precept to the letter, for everyone else around the situation will demand to know why you did not intervene when you had the chance, and then excoriate you for failing to do so.
I have read that in olden times, if a Cherokee saw a friend walking blindly toward a cliff, he would not warn that friend, as it was obviously his Sacred Path to go on. In today's world we cannot act with such restraint...if one sees someone about to step in front of a bus, one will act to save them. We leave it to the universe to decide if we we correct or not in acting so.
And yet, when there is choice, we must be very careful as we deal with the need or temptation toward "interfering for good" in another's circumstance. Do we have that person's permission to act? This does NOT mean we are to never do anything for anyone in life...obviously. We are here to advance ourselves spiritually and in the process everyone around us can be uplifted by our actions. We must still fulfill all our commitments and responsibilities with our very best effort..and we have to be able to live with the choices we make concerning others as well. But sometimes the lesson for the other in the choice they have made is more important than our "saving them from themselves."
The Tao De Ching expresses this Concept most beautifully. It maintains, and I agree, that we share creation duties with the loving C\consciousness that some call "God". Since we are co-creators of our "3-D hologram" called life, we should never act against it or attempt to change it...except out of unconditional love. You, as Tao at your core, already know (even though your Ego-mind does not) that what is happening is following the Tao's, and therefore the universe's, constant striving for perfect evolving. So no matter how "bad" something gets, it is the loving teacher needed for you to advance closer to your spirit destiny, and to a more perfect life expression.
Eckhart Tolle sums this viewpoint up succinctly: do not react emotionally, do not judge, do not attach. Tao says love EVERYTHING, for everything came out of Tao, which is love (or God, if you like)...so if you hate something in your life, you are literally hating a gift of this eternal love. The core concept here: "recirculate" Tao Energy...that is, since the world you live is was created for you by love, you must love it back in order for the best results in your life to manifest. P.S.: thanks to Naoto Matsumoto at TaoDeChing Decoded for these brilliant metaphors.
Bottom line: Unless it is your Sacred Path to live with a certain illness or situation, a shaman can fix it IF YOU are willing to be helped: remember, all healing comes from within. The shaman merely serves as the "go-between" for the spirits with the help, and you, the one who puts that help into practice.
In most cases, shamans do not journey for people unless they ask us to...we do not want to interfere with the Sacred Path of the individual until they themselves recognize something is amiss. Ken has, however, been allowed to journey for some folks out of love, and been given valuable Information to try to heal them with. However, since the person does not know of this help, they do not "own"and incorporate it, and the effects of the journey may therefore be considerable watered down...again, it depends of whether or not the person's Sacred Path included a behind-the-scenes intervention by a shaman or not.
Finally, a Shaman does not share by-name information with others unless the person being helped allows it.
KEY SOURCES:
Ken's over 1000 Journeys to the Spirit World; The many protector, helper and teacher spirits he has met there; 9-plus years of Experience; and these Readings, with an "*" indicating essential readings (Ken reviews many of these works at the Recommended Books, DVDs, etc page.):
- Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now" and "A New Earth"*
- Hillary Webb's "Exploring Shamanism"*
- Tom Cowan's "Shamanism as a Spiritual Practice for Daily Life"*
- Sarangerel's "Chosen by the Spirits" and "Riding Windhorses" *
- Alberto Villoldo's "Shaman, Healer, Sage", "Mending the Past and Healing the Future with Soul Retrieval" and "The Four Insights" *
- Kenneth Meadows' "Shamanic Experience: A Practical Guide to Psychic Powers" and "Where Eagles Fly" *
- Joan Parisi Wilcox's "Masters of the Living Energy"*
- Heaven/Charing's "Plant Spirit Shamanism"*
- Mary Dean Atwood's "Spirit Healing (version with Indian Story is more rewarding)"
- Jamie Sams' "Medicine Cards" and "Sacred Path Cards"
- Sandra Ingerman's "Soul Retrieval"
- Michael Harner's "The Way of the Shaman"
- John Perkins' works on Shamanism
- Ted Andrews' "Animal Speak", "Animal-Wise", "Nature Speak", and "How to Read the Aura" *
- Piers Vitebsky's "The Shaman"
- Stevens and Stevens' "Secrets of Shamanism"
- Eliot Cowan's "Plant Spirit Medicine"*
Plus about 50 other works..
