OPEN MIND :: Shamanism (pron.: /????m?n/ SHAH-m?n or /??e?m?n/ SHAY-m?n) is a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit world. A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into a trance state during a ritual, and practices divination and healing.
Hocus Pocus!
That’s what I used to say when I heard people talking about Shamans, healers, and pretty much anyone overly spiritual. But gone are those days my friend. A new Patrick has risen from the skin of my former self. I am one who embraces (or is at least open to the idea of) spirituality in all it’s different forms.
Case in point, Shaun and I were recently part of a Shaman’s healing circle. I went into the experience with no expectations and without knowing what I was in for. I couldn’t have been prepared though for what went down that day.
To begin the session, we were all, about eight of us, one by one, smudged with sage and fanned with an eagle’s feather. Then we took our seats in a circle containing in the middle: our wedding rings, a large piece of coral, a candle and a singing bowl.
At first the conversation was light. Everyone introduced themselves, and shared why we were there (Shaun had been invited by the shaman and felt instinctively to say yes, then inviting me). We also shared recent experiences in our lives and how we dealt with them. At which point I thought ‘Okay, this feels like group therapy, maybe they won’t notice if I slip out the back door’, but before I could get out of my seat we were asked to think of a question to ask during the chant.
I actually had a burning question, one that has nagged at me daily for years that I wanted badly to get the answer to.
“Alright, this could get interesting,” I thought.
That question was – as always – top of mind as our spirit guide started using the singing bowl and then began speaking in tongues. He seamlessly switched from English to some ancient language I had never heard.
Then we were told to ask our question, so I did.
I waited.
And then, clear as day, the answer came. I’m telling you: the answer came!
I finally got the answer to my question! It was clear, it was concise and I knew as soon as it hit me that it was the right answer.
That’s the weird part. Maybe some spirit guide did plant the answer in my head. Or maybe the spirits just guided my thinking and helped me find my answer. Or maybe the answer was within me the whole time, and it took being in that circle for me to be able to access it. Whatever it was, I got my answer and for the first time in years I feel 100% satisfied closure on the subject.
If all of this sounds like hocus pocus, take it from a former expert in super cynicism about all this stuff, stay open to things that come your way. You never know how something might affect you until you try it.
– Patrick Marano is a life dabbler, set on experiencing as much as the world can throw at him.
