Welcome to Ishaia's Shamanism Page

A shaman is a person who communes with the spirits of plants, animals or objects, or entities from other worlds or dimensions. This communication could be for many purposes: healing; divination; information gathering; calling animals for a hunt; dreams or visions; and so forth. Shamans in some cultures use a drug-induced trance state, while others use a form of self-hypnosis to achieve shamanic consciousness. Many use smoke or water for purification; rattles or drums may be used to induce trance state in themselves or persons requiring healing; feathers, bones, stones, crystals, herbs or other objects may have many different uses during a ritual.

Many people assume that all shamans are Amerindians, but such is not the case. The term "shaman" comes from an aboriginal people in Tuva, located in Siberia. It basically meant the same as we might think of "medicine man" or "healer," but could also mean "holy person." There are shamans all over the world, in every aboriginal culture, from Asia, to the Americas, Australia, Africa, even Europe. There is very little difference in what shamans do; however, there is a great diversity in how shamans from different cultures conduct their rituals.

I have read quite a bit about shamanism in general, and Native American shamanism specifically. It is interesting that some shamans call their practice "religion," while others avoid the term. I do not view my shamanic practice as "religious" in nature, but it is definitely a part of my spirituality. I have difficulty defining anything I do as "religion," in that I've not yet found a single organized religion which encompasses all of my spirituality.

My personal style of shamanic work is fairly free-form in nature. I have learned over the years that there is a benefit to learning ritual and its many forms and formulae. It helps to condition the mind and body to shamanic and psychic work, and teaches the discipline needed to undertake complex efforts. As I grew spiritually, I also learned that strict ritual is not necessary for an effective working. Many of my workings have employed minimal preparation and props. Some have happened only in my mind, while my body appeared merely to rest or doze for a few minutes. Even a quick, whispered prayer can be effective.

Although I have gathered a small collection of "working tools," I do not rely on these. They are but the trappings of ritual. My spiritual growth requires more than tools and ritual; it requires intent. Intention is the basis for all shamanic work, whether it be healing, information gathering, weather work, or any other kind of work. Intention is the difference between wanting to be a shaman, and actually being one. A shaman does not need to try to be a shaman; she simply knows that she is. She is able to create workings and execute them because she is told what to do by Spirit or her Guides. She listens, and grows in knowledge and wisdom. The more I learn, the more I understand how little I really know. I am but a humble servant of Spirit.

Some of the basic shamanic work that I practice includes Shamanic Journey. This is a form of Out-Of-Body-Experience (OOBE). This is where my visions come to speak to me, where my guides instruct me, where I become my totems, where reality bends and the rules of the Otherworld take over. There are many places I can go, and many ways to get there, once I am into my Journey. I was about 11 or 12 years old when I first discovered that I could "go places" in my mind. I called it "travelling." Now I realize that I have always had the gift of Shamanic Journey, though I did not usually travel to the Lower World or Upper World. As a child, I usually travelled out into the Cosmos, simply enjoying the wonders of the Universe. As I grew older, and learned more about what I was doing, I realized that there are many things to learn on my journeys, and began visiting places that exist only in the imagination. I have met many entities from other places and times, even other dimensions, on my travels.

When I was 18 years old, I was taking a nap one afternoon with a friend. Dreaming, I felt and heard lightning strike through the wall into the room between us. We both sat straight up, hearing the rumblings of the thunder die off. Looking around, we saw that the wall was solid, and nothing in the room was damaged. Getting up to look out the window, we saw that the sky was completely clear. Then we realized: we had both had the same dream! We supposed it was an attempted attack of some kind, probably psychic in origin. From that day, I was terrified of thunder for years. Even watching a fireworks display on the 4th of July became difficult. The loud bangs were just too much for me.

Then one day, while working with a teacher, I met a Thunder Being who explained to me that I had been chosen to walk a shamanic path, and that I am "Heyoka," which is kind of difficult to explain. It used to mean that a person had to do everything backwards: walking, riding a horse, say "hello" when he meant "goodbye" and "goodbye" when he meant "hello." For me it means that I am very intuitive, but my intuition works backwards from the normal way. I solve mazes and puzzles from the end to the beginning much faster than I do from the beginning to the end. This Thunder Being explained that the lightning in my dream from so long ago was my first call to the shamanic path. I already have many of the gifts typically associated with Shamans, such as healing, communication with spirits, ability to walk the worlds, and many others. All I had to do was to accept the call, so I did.

Becoming a shaman was not really a choice for me. Spirit called, and I had to choose whether or not to answer. One who has been called by Spirit may choose to ignore the call, but sometimes at great personal cost. Therefore, there was not much true "choice" involved in my decision to answer. It is not an easy choice. Spirit demands much of Its chosen ones. I suppose that a person could petition Spirit to become a shaman, and many do, but to me that's much like running for President of the United States. Who would want to do such a thing, knowing the extraordinary pressures that come with the job? It seems to me that only those seeking "power-over," as opposed to "power-within," would beseech Spirit for shamanic power. Spirit sometimes grants this Path to those who seek it, but be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. In fact, I know that many who seek shamanic power truly wish to help others. But be warned: it is NOT an easy path.

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