Friday, January 11, 2008
Shamanism offers a way for people to become aware of their potential, and begin to explore their spiritual relationship to the universe, to other forms of life, and to each other. The experiences which come from shamanism help a person to evolve a deeper bond and respect for all of creation, and from this perspective you are likely to lead a life which is vibrant and full in harmony and balance, and which encourages understanding and optimism. The Shamanic path is a way to experience this expanded view of universe.
One of the central practices of shamanism has been defined as the Spirit or Trance journey. One of the ways to embark on this experience of expanded consciousness is what is called ‘the shamanic journey’. In this Journey the shaman journeys to the Spirit world, (commonly referred to as Upper & Lower Worlds), to directly commune with the spirits who reside in the other realities. This is done for many reasons, for example to receive guidance for healing, maintaining both our own and by extension our communities spiritual wholeness.
There are a number of ways to embark on a Spirit journey; these can be through dance, dream, using teacher plants, and by assuming certain specific physical postures. The latter is known as Shamanic Trance Postures, and are a method for achieving ecstatic trance and entering that place of both personal and collective vision.
The word ecstasy and ecstatic is used in its original meaning, which is based on the Greek ex-stasis, meaning 'outside of yourself', outside of the everyday world. The ecstatic trance brings with it a shift in our perception, a way of becoming aware of a reality outside of the world of the ordinary, and the mundane. The trance makes us able to perceive the continuum of life, from what has been called non-ordinary reality, a reality which has been known to co-exist with our physical reality throughout time. Black Elk, the Lakota medicine man and great visionary whose life was recorded by John Neihardt in the 1930's, tells of "the world where there is nothing but the spirits of all things. This is the real world that is behind this one, and everything we see here is something like a shadow from that world".
There are certain works of ancient art, glyphs, carvings, rock paintings which are more than creative expressions of their culture. They are visual teachings for a specific ritual. These paintings and statues from the ancients depict people adopting distinct bodily postures. Many of these bodily postures are ways to an altered state of consciousness, visionary experiences, and a way to embark on a spirit journey. There is an extensive geographic distribution of the Trance Postures, and indications are that they belong to all cultures and traditions. These postures have been rediscovered by Dr Felicitas Goodman after years of extensive research, and a full account has been documented in her truly outstanding and remarkable book 'Where the Spirits Ride the Wind'.
When a person adopts a specific posture as shown in one of the ancient artefacts, with an accompanying rhythmic sound e.g. Rattle or drum, the person may experience a vision which although is personal , is also specific to the posture. It is as if, however personal the vision, it will conform within a consistent framework.
Ritual has great power in this reality; it is a way of combining, the heart, mind, spirit, and body in a single physical action and intention. Religions from all over the world have long recognised the importance of ritual. Ritual is a means of communication between the Spirits and ourselves, it is a way that the Spirits can cross over from their world into ours. In Western society we have forgotten that the ordinary and other reality belong together, they are two halves of one whole.
Ritual is a way to empower and enhance the trance state, and is a gateway to contain, translate, and safely guide an altered state of consciousness into a spiritual experience. Another way of saying this would be that a ritual carries an innate intention, a purpose.
Each of the Shamanic Trance Postures is in itself a ritual, and it is a ritual with such intrinsic qualities of exactness and power, that its objective is achieved outside the original cultural setting. This means that we in contemporary Western society can also successfully participate in the Shamanic Trance Postures.
To understand the Shamanic Trance Postures they should be directly experienced, no amount of words can compensate for this. The best place to experience the ecstatic trance states is in a workshop environment. This brings with it the guidance and support of the workshop facilitator, and the collective energies of the group. The power of the group is important in that it helps in terms of the focus of the ritual, and provides indirect and direct feedback. Feedback is the way to obtain the ineffable quality of trust. Trust is one of the pillars of this work, and the group provides validation of your own experience. Another important factor is that the power of the trance postures is magnified, as each person supports and is a part of the collective visionary experience.
An Exercise – The Grandfather Bear Trance Posture.
A powerful Healing posture.
You may experience, great energy, certain colours, a feeling of being supported and contained in a loving and gentle way.
Stand with your feet parallel , about six inches apart, and your toes aimed straight ahead. Your knees should be slightly bent, removing any strain on your lower back that would occur if your knees were locked. This stance is consistent for most of the standing postures.
Gently roll both your hands , as though you are holding a small egg in the palm of each hand. Position your hands so that your folded fingers form a tall triangle over your navel. The first joint of the index finger of each hand should touch to form the apex of the triangle, with your thumbs resting one in front of the other, not one on top of the other. Your upper arms can rest easily at both sides of your body, so that your elbows are not sticking out. With your eyes closed, lean your head back as though you are looking at a point just above the line where the wall meets the ceiling. There may be a strained feeling in the muscles at the back of your neck.
Comments from people who have experienced the healing Trance Posture known as 'Grandfather Bear 'on workshops.
"I have been having a sore and painful throat for some time. As I started the posture, I very quickly felt that I was being cradled from behind by a warm energy, which I saw in my mind as a large bear. I felt the bear rip open my throat with its claws, and pull out heavy, thick mucus like material. This went on for a few minutes, and then the bear blew warmth into my throat, and I began to see flashes of violet-blue colours around me. When the trance posture ended, my throat felt clear, and my body felt as if it was glowing."
"My back felt as if it was being opened, and metal plates which covered my spine being levered open and dragged out of my back. When we finished, my back felt so much more flexible, I could even touch my toes, which is something which I have not been able to do for quite some time. I had forgotten how stiff my back had become."
FURTHER READING: Where the Spirits Ride the Wind - By Felicitas Goodman
Howard G. Charing, is an accomplished international workshop leader on shamanism. He has worked some of the most respected and extraordinary shamans & healers in the Andes, the Amazon Rainforest, and the Philippines. He organises specialist retreats to the Amazon Rainforest He is the author of the best selling book, Plant Spirit Shamanism (Destiny Books USA), and has published numerous articles about plant medicines. Website http://www.shamanism.co.uk
He was there when I needed Him!
I was feeling very down. But it was the season of celebration, and I cannot let my feelings spoil the joyous mood for the other members of my family. It was the 1st day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, a very auspicious day for the Chinese Community. This was the time when all the members of my family will gather together at my parent's house for a family reunion to renew our ties and where we will exchange the latest news about the goings-on with cousins, uncles, aunts and so on.
Unfortunately for me, it was during this time that I was suspended from work. Some charges had been made against me by my Section Manager and I had to be suspended pending the outcome of the investigation by the investigating officer.
To me, all the charges against me were very minor, hardly the stuff that warrant suspension from work, domestic enquiry and termination from work. But all these were carried through by the Section Manager as a legal means to remove me from her job section.
She knows how it works. According to the local labor laws, in order to terminate an employee, the company must be seen to act reasonably towards the employee, giving him/her a chance to change before giving him/her the final boot.
I must say she was a very determined and creative person when she carried out her plan.
She started to monitor my every movement. And so the sequence started. At the very first opportunity that presents itself - when I left the worksite when a machine has developed a fault - she initiated a charge against me. The show cause letter that I was issued with requires me to reply within 2 days. I did reply to that letter giving my reasons.
As it turned out, she was not even aware that there were standby machines available when she made the charges against me. Naturally, the charges had to be dropped. But the damages had been done - a lot of time wasting paperwork and ultimately, negative comments added to my personnel file. She did achieve her target - to let the process run its course - from verbal warning, written warning, domestic enquiry, to finally termination.
So as time went on, the Section Manager did manage to pick up more incidents that she can creatively classify as violations. Everybody in the department was expecting this but nobody dared to say anything, because after all, we did sign a declaration on our Job Description with a catch-all phrase, "to follow all other instructions from the Superior that may arise". This means she can charge me with "insubordination" whenever I did not follow her instructions to the letter. It was so easy for her to pick on me.
The day finally came when she managed to initiate a domestic enquiry, and I had to answer to her ridiculous charges. I was suspended from work. The date for the domestic enquiry was fixed and the end of my career at the company was drawing to a close.
At that time, I remembered our Lord Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane, just before his passion, fully aware that His hour of suffering and death was approaching fast. Even though my experience was relatively mild, the feeling was sickening. I knew that there was nothing much I can do against the "authorities" - the appointed Domestic Enquiry Panel members who were managers themselves. I can only speak the truth and hope that they can accept my point of view, but I knew my chances of winning the case was slim - even my witnesses dared not speak up for me for fear of repercussions later on.
I can fully understand their concerns. I do have a family to feed too. But losing my job is frightening and worrying. But I trusted in the Lord that he will see me through, maybe not with this job, but others...
Back at my parent's house, my relatives were beginning to sense that something was disturbing me. Then we received a telephone call. It was from my 4th aunt and she said she will be coming to visit us in a few minutes time.
That was a real surprise. She is staying overseas! Now she said she will be with us in just a few minutes!
I must confess that I have not been keeping in touch with her all these years and so I was not really close to her. I was not really excited when she said she was coming. I was expecting just a normal, boring "getting-to-know-you" session full of shallow polite conversations of absolutely no importance. But I was in for a surprise. The Lord had a mission for her!
My 4th aunt is strong in her Christian faith and the Lord used her to bring me some cheer. She was in her 70's, but what I found was a dynamic person, full of energy, simple and humble, approaching me and sharing her own work experience. She shared about the difficulties she faced in her business, how a well-known professional responded positively to her business partnership, how her life was changed and so many other details of her life that made a difference, all because of her faith in the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.
When the time came for us to bid each other goodbye, I felt that I had known her for a very long time. It was a very emotional moment of departure and I felt very sad.
I can recognize the Lord in her. His spirit was there. The Lord was leaving and I felt very sad. And yet, I felt thrilled that I have met the Lord and I have spoken to him personally and he has comforted me tremendously. I felt so full of awe at how the Lord uses his servants to encourage me to stand firm in times of trouble.
Footnote: As it turned out, I went through the domestic enquiry, and as I had expected, I was found guilty by this "kangaroo court". But that was not the end of my career. Much to the surprise of the Section Manager, and everyone else, including myself, I was reinstated by the General Manager, who was somehow moved to take this unprecedented step! Praise be to God!
Thomas Yoon specializes in cartoon illustrations that will make an impact on people's opinions. Subscribe to TechMarketing Ezine. More information on engineering at Marine and M & E Engineer.
The Falwellian View of an Orwellian World
One of America’s sharpest and most skillful writers and raconteurs Ms. Ann Coulter said in an article on The World Net Daily, May 16, 2007 “From the news coverage of Falwell's death, I began to suspect his first name was "Whether You Agree With Him or Not." Without reservation Ms. Coulter added that she is one that did agree with him.
I along with millions of others also agree with him. I don’t agree with him because the millions joined with me, or I with them. I believe what he said because I trust his source.
The Bible is far more than a book of dandy moralisms that we can randomly sift through at our leisure. It is history, revelation, presentation (of the Savior) and an outline of things to come. For over 40 years now I have taught that prophecy is merely pre-written history. Its ancient prophecies pre or post exilic were never wrong. That is a promise that prophecies having to do with the modern era will not be wrong either.
Yes, there is no apology required when we say that the Bible says there is an ongoing “judgment of sin.” Apart from the final judgment of every individual at the close of their lives the Bible promises that the harder we sin as a nation or as an entire world civilization the tougher the consequences. No, God does not follow behind each and every one of us so he can cause us to stub our toes each time we say a harsh word. He is not that insignificant.
Perhaps Rev. Falwell did not know for sure if 9/11 or other calamities were a direct result of our nations backsliding. He could have only known that by direct revelation from God, but even with that, would we have believed him? The answer here is “not likely.”
While his specific knowledge of why the events took place may come into question it does not change the promise that more sin produces more judgment even if God likes to retain the specifics to him self.
In the twenty eighth chapter of Deuteronomy fourteen verses of scripture are utilized to pronounce blessings on people who heed God’s directions. Contrarily, fifty four verses cite what will happen if God is ignored. Those calamities or judgments include crop failure, sickness, failure in war, invasions, mental disorders etc. Many of the judgments promised in answer to collective sinning are no more or less than those things Rev. Jerry Falwell said were the result of our own national penchant for sin.
Should we manage to relegate the warnings of Deuteronomy to the ancient past to neutralize them then we must still face similar warnings of future judgments. When asked about the conditions that would prevail just before he was to return to earth Jesus spoke of a faithless generation that would have to endure the worst calamities ever imagined. He spoke of wars, earthquakes, disease, pestilence and a flow of ever changing events that men would find so difficult to assimilate that many would suffer heart failure trying to do so.
The portents Christ described are so far in excess of anything Rev. Falwell ever said that it would seem that his apology was proof only of the Reverend’s benevolence rather than an error in his judgment.
Most of the criticism laid on Rev. Falwell was because of who he blamed for the events of 9/11. With some liberals now willing to say it was the President or the government and with a few Hollywood celebrities offering to help the furtherance of that notion, Rev. Falwell’s assessment doesn’t seem all that extravagant by comparison. No apology was demanded nor offered by the few that have put forth this latest contrivance adding credence to the character and care for people’s feelings that Rev. Falwell was graced with.
There is somewhat of a parallel in the Bible to the destruction of the Twin Towers on 9/11. It too was a tower and it fell on eighteen people in the town of Siloam. When Christ’s disciples asked him about it he gave them an answer that could very well apply to the events of 9/11.
Jesus carefully and skillfully steered their attention away from who caused the collapse of the Tower of Siloam and drove it right back to the questioners. His answer may have seemed a bit harsh but it is nevertheless timeless. Yes, that does mean that it applies to this time as well. Take a look?
Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Luke 13: 4-5
Rev Bresciani is the author of two books. He also is a columnist for several online sites and magazines. His articles are read throughout the world. For more articles and news from around the globe visit "The Website for Insight" http://www.americanprophet.org
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