Ever wonder about how shaman's perform rituals to heal people? Some of their practice can be learned. One key teaching is revealed in this article.
For an Anthropology class I had to write a paper and do a fieldwork project. My subject was "The Science within the Shaman's Pouch".
For this project, I explored the healing work of shamanism. My original intention was to investigate the use of plant materials by a shaman, or medicine man/woman based on my interest in ancient medicine, herbology and historic use of essential oils. My personal interest was to review scientific studies which test/verify/invalidate the use of these remedies for their intended application to determine which plant based remedies are proven by science to work. In the process, I was introduced to the spiritual aspect of shamanic healing, which is an equally important element of the shamanic healing process as the use of plant materials.
Fieldwork: Participate and observe a shaman ceremony. Perform additional investigation regarding the herbal medicines some shaman’s have used, and correlate some widely herbs used by shamans around the world to scientific studies.
PART ONE: PARTICIPATION IN A SHAMAN CIRCLE
“Shaman” has become a generic word to describe people who use traditional folk medicine, earth-based medicine, and spirit work to heal themselves and others. Their central role is to take care of the physical and spiritual health of their community.
My observation: I wondered “How do I observe a shaman?”. I wasn’t sure how I would be able to do this since I live in Silicon Valley. I Googled “Find a shaman near me”. Google provided a Huichol Shaman who is less than an hour away who does Community Circles. I participated in this event on November 1, 2017 at Ananda Yoga in Santa Cruz. The event was held for the public by Shaman Brant Secunda.
The event had participants arranged in a circle, with the shaman seated at one point (top) of the circle. There were about 30 people who participated, mostly middle aged men and women with 2 children (toddlers) who were brought by their parents. Folding chairs and floor cushions were provided based on whether the participants could get up and down off the floor or not. Some people had health issues, which may have been why they were there, so they sat on chairs or in a wheelchair. Our event was photographed by the organizers, and was sent to participants. I have circled myself in the photo below.
Details of the event:
Introduction: The event started out with an introduction by Shaman Secunda. He provided a brief introduction of himself, his work, and his son (aged ~ 30) who was there. The shaman runs Dance of the Deer Foundation at Shamanism.com. He became acquainted with his teacher when he broke down on a road in the middle of the desert in Mexico. The shaman, saw him in a vision, and initiated a rescue of Brant. They found him on the road and brought him to their village. He was immediately drawn to them and spent the next part of his life becoming a shaman under the teaching of Don José Matsuwa. He described his experience learning to be a shaman which is paraphrased below.
From his website (https://www.shamanism.com/).
“Brant Secunda’s initiation into the Huichol Indian tribe was a five-day vision quest, a period of isolation in the wilderness without food and water, in a sacred cave in the Huichol Sierras known to the Huichols as the Cave of Grandmother Growth.
Other rites of passage included capturing and releasing a wild rattlesnake with his bare hands to face his fear of death, enduring a fourteen month fruit fast to enhance his sensitivity to the natural world, and surviving a nine-day vision quest so that he may, according to Huichol cosmology, learn the language of the gods. The nine-day vision quest, considered lengthy by Huichol standards, along with several other five-day vision quests, helped to establish him as a respected initiate within the Huichol nation.
Brant’s apprenticeship culminated in a village ceremony in 1978. During this ceremony, Don José honored Brant with the gift of his ceremonial belt, which was given to Don José by his teacher. He then publicly announced that Brant would take his place in the world and certified him as a Huichol shaman and lineage holder. Over the course of his apprenticeship, Brant Secunda became the close companion and adopted grandson of Don José Matsuwa.”
Gratitude Song: The people in the circle got rattles and the shaman and his assistants got ceremonial drums. The shaman taught us a song in Huichol language about giving gratitude to Mother Earth. It was done in form of he says, audience repeats.
Circle Dance: The participants were taught how to do the Huichol dance. It is a simple step-bounce while shaking the rattle. We did the dance on the outside of the circle. The custom is that once someone yells (can be any participant) the direction of the circle turns around and dances the other direction. We went around about 6 times, 3 in each direction.
Blessing of Objects: The shaman put an indian blanket in front of him and blessed it as a shrine. The audience was invited to put objects to be blessed on the blanket. People put jewelry, keys and other small items on the blanket. I put my keys and a healing stone bracelet onto the shrine. At this point we did another circle dance, while the shaman sang and chanted for around 10 minutes. We did the reversal upon the “hiya” scream. After this, we were invited to retrieve our items.
Closing talk: The shaman discussed the fact that everyone has power and that we all can access our power by focusing our thoughts and connecting to Mother Earth.
“Take this opportunity to clear your mind and refocus your energy. Through drumming, rattling and sacred chanting, we strengthen our connection to Nature and tap into the life force Mother Earth has to offer.”
The most memorable part of the closing was this thought: people tend to assume that shamans are magic. The work of the shaman isn’t magic, it is the ability to tune into intuition (which we all have) and use our intuition to heal and transform. Shaman’s have done work to sharpen their intuition and to strengthen the connection to the energy around us. Everyone has this ability, but we do need to have time and focus and develop the ability to tap into the unseen.
**Shaman circle teachings: **
Reconnect with the Earth
Shamanism by definition is a way to develop a relationship with nature: to go out and experience the wind on your cheeks, to appreciate the beauty and sound of a stream, or to draw in the incredible colors of a sunrise or a sunset. These are ancient tools of transformation that are available to each and every one of us. Even if you live in the middle of a city, the earth is beneath your feet, emanating her power of love. A simple exercise that enables you to shift stress and generate positive thoughts and feelings is to walk slowly outside, and with each step visualize love coming into your body from Mother Earth.Draw in the Light
Another power of nature is light. The sun has light, a candle or fire has light, the stars have light, and we as human beings are made up of that same light. But sometimes the light that is in each cell of our bodies can feel overshadowed by negative emotions like fear, anger or jealousy. If you find yourself feeling like that inner light needs to brighten up a bit, go outside and visualize the light of the sun streaming into your body through the top of your head (at the fontanelle). Sit in front of a candle or fire and breathe that light into your heart. Simple but powerful, these effective tools that come from ancient times will quickly bring a positive focus and a sense of well-being to your soul.Laugh
Laughter is medicine for the soul. It relaxes an over-burdensome sense of self-importance or self-responsibility that assumes we need to have everything in order before we can be happy. In fact, often the opposite is true. When we can simply laugh or make a joke about something that is troublesome, we experience a sigh of relief. Then, we can regain trust that everything will work out in life.Move your body
The Huichol have a very active lifestyle, walking through the Sierra Madre Mountains to gather firewood, water, and grow their corn. They understand the regenerative effect of walking and are fortunate to have this as a byproduct of their earth-based lifestyle. Many of us lack this simple luxury and suffer from the side effects of a more sedentary lifestyle, especially a reduction in the naturally occurring “feel good” hormones that are released when we move. If your attitude needs a shift, try a simple walk or hike as a way to regain your balance.
Conclusion: I am very glad I had the opportunity to attend this shaman circle. This is not something I would have know about if I didn’t take this particular Anthropology class. I found the emphasis on intuition and on appreciation for Mother Earth to be the most meaningful parts of this experience. I can honestly recommend going to the website and looking around to get inspiration. You might be compelled to find a shaman near you...