I started to call this portion of what I do, “Shamanic Healing”. When I began to dialogue with other shamanic practitioners and with the spirits I realized that “coaching “seemed a more appropriate term. The truth of the matter is, I do not heal people or other beings. At best, I am a hollow bone, a vehicle for Spirit to work through. The more I do my own work, the clearer I am for Spirit to move through me. I teach people how to avail themselves to the Spirits so that they can heal themselves. People need to be given their power back, and their responsibility for their own well being. I can not heal anyone, but I can teach you how to heal yourself.
And along with that, it is important for you to read the note from Sandra Ingerman. I took this, with her permission, from the Shamanic Practitioners website (www.shamanicteachers.com). It is really well written and to the point. It addresses what shamanism is, that it is a spiritual practice and not a replacement for traditional medicine, whether it be physical or psychological, but it can be an effective addition to these other modalities. Sandra’s words also give you a guideline for choosing a shamanic practitioner, so if you don’t resonate with me, you have other options. You can go to the Shamanic Practitioners website, and find someone who is a better fit. To read the note from Sandra, click here. To go to the Shamanic Practitioners website, click here.
At the top of this page, there is a list of shamanic practices that I may use to help you to restore your power and well being. You may click on these practices to get a description of what they are. If you decide to contact me, please be aware that I work in partnership with my helping spirits. My helping spirits do the diagnosis and advise on what healing ceremony should be done. To go back to the list of shamanic practices, click here.
I also want to make the point that these practices work well with children too. In fact, sometimes they work better with children, because children don’t have the belief systems in place that limit their ability to receive.
Not long ago, I went to see the movie What the Bleep Do We Know. There was a scene in it, that lasted maybe all of two minutes, that keeps playing in my mind. It is well documented that when Columbus sailed into the Caribbean Sea, the native peoples literally did not see his ships. Eventually, the Shamans were able to see the ships, and because the people so trusted them, they were able to convince their people and they were eventually able to see the ships too. There are three questions that keep running through my mind.
1. Why weren’t the people able to see the ships? It appears that with the way our minds work, we have to have a point of reference for our minds to able to recognize objects. For example, I have laid on my back, and watched the clouds over head. My mind almost forces me to recognize each cloud as some shape I already know. “There goes an angel, and that one looks like our dog. Oh, and there goes the head of an elephant.” The people in the Caribbean had no point of reference to recognize Columbus’ ships, so their minds let them see what was supposed to be there: the clear ocean.
2. Why were the Shamans able to see what their people could not? The shamans saw ripples in the water. They knew that something was making those ripples, and they kept working with it, until their minds finally opened up, and they saw the ships. Shamans typically work to see things that the regular person doesn’t see. Shamans work with their “eyes” to see in the world of non-ordinary reality. They work with their minds to see things as they are, to not have their minds look for that point of reference. With the point of reference, the mind will fill in the missing lines of a drawing, making it something recognizable. Shamans work to see the drawings, with the missing lines, and work to be comfortable not being able to recognize things, not being able to name them.
3. And this one is the big one for me. So, what else is out there that we aren’t seeing? I know that there is so much more available to me in this world because I have witnessed the miracles. I have seen so much in non-ordinary reality, with my shaman’s eyes. But those ships were in ordinary reality. There must be an amazing amount available to me in ordinary reality that I don’t recognize. I am now working to see things as they are, with the missing lines, and hope to one day be able to see the “ships”, all of those things that are available to us now.
And this is what I would offer to you. First, we have to encourage people to think outside of the box. We have to keep the arts in our society, and in our schools, because that is where we expose people to their creativity, and creativity is about living outside of the box. Outside of the box is where we will find our “ships”. And the second gift I would offer, is Shamanic healing. Suspend your disbelief, if only for a moment, and receive the healing that is waiting for you. Let this be the next step on your path to finding the “ships” that are waiting for you.
I wish you the very best on your journey. And if you have questions, please contact me.
Shilo