What is Shamanism?
Shamanism is an ancient practice of mind, body, and spirit dating back before written history. The aboriginal culture of Australia goes back perhaps 50,000 years, and contains practices of shamanism. The practice of shamanism existed across cultures and may date back further than 60,000 years.
It originated in the Paleolithic hunting cultures of Siberia where Mongolian shamans utilized the drum for both healing and inducing a trance-like state. Once the shaman achieved an altered state, they could go on spiritual journeys to the transcendent realms where they would encounter their helping spirits.
A shaman usually has many helping spirits and totem animal guides who share their wisdom and help them with healing. The shaman can easily communicate with all spirits. ​Shamanic practitioners access the assistance of helping spirits, and access other realms of existence to provide healing help. The ceremonies a shamanic practitioner might use will vary depending upon what the client needs.
Benefits
Through the practice of singing our soul songs, dancing, drumming, and Shamanic journeys, we are able to deepen our connection with our soul and thus expand our consciousness. Each time we move into non-ordinary reality states, we can
discover new possibilities for living a life filled with deeper meaning and joy.
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Energy Healing Benefits Include:
​~ Stress relief
~ Calming of the mind and nervous system
~ Promotion of good health
~ Easing of emotional trauma
~ Clearing blocked and stagnant energy.
~ Stimulation of the immune response in the body
~ Empowering yourself to create self-healing
"Shamanism is not a religion"
At least, it is not when viewed through the lens of traditional organized religion. Shamanism does not have any of these trappings:
​~ There is no doctrine. While there are many books about shamanism, there are no central religious texts.
~ There is no dogma. There are no rules set out by a central authority or expressed as divine directives.
~ There is no organization or central authority.
While there are some organizations for the study of shamanism, there is no central organizing body, and they do not serve to assert authority over practitioners.
A huge question:
Is Shamanism Cultural Appropriation?
To simplify, no - the practice of shamanism itself is not cultural appropriation. This is because shamanism does not belong to a single culture. There are Native American shamans, Scandinavian and Celtic shamans, African, and Australian shamans. Something like 79% of hunter-gatherer tribes studied have someone who fulfills the roles of shaman.
Shamanism belongs to no single culture and seems to spring up archetypally everywhere. It is part of the human fabric of symbolic and spiritual thought. Shamanism is part of what makes us human, and it most likely predates any existing culture.
Cultural appropriation becomes problematic when a person imitates, disrespects, or steals from a culture. However, many cultures openly share and welcome others to share their cultural knowledge. They may view spiritual truths belonging to all of humanity regardless of their parents, ethnicity, or birth location.
