You may not know it, but shamans are important to you. In fact, you encounter them every day without realizing it. Given the ascendancy of doctors and scientific practice in Western medicine, shamans and their therapies are dusmissed and/or ridiculed as so much pseudoscience like witches, faith healers, and the evil eye.
So, why pay any attention to them? What do they have to offer? What makes them so important? Before delving into that, it helps to know what they are.
Definitions
There are as many definitions of shamans and shamanism as there are indigenoous pagan religions in the world. Each has its own set of spiritual beliefs and practices that arise from them. Some form the basis of their community’s form of medical treatment; others constitute the basis of their religious practices, and some comprise a set of practices for leading a full and healthy life. A few even allow their practitioners to enter other people’s minds or the astral plane to communicate with their ancestors. Even the word “shaman” comes from the Russion word “saman” which derives from the Tangusic language of Eastern Siberia and has been applied by Western anthropologists as something of a catchall term for such practitioners.
To encompass the range of these differing philosopies is next to impossible. But for purposes of this blog piece, let’s borrow the relatively straightforward definition in the glossary of the second edition of my novel, Mission: Soul Rescue. It states there that a shaman is “a religious practitioner capable of entering the spirit world through altered states of consciousness to direct psychic energies into the physical world for healing, divination, or helping humans in some way.”
Examples of Why Shamans Are Important
Pretty heavy stuff, eh? But, as mentioned above, not as strange or exotic as you might think. One example: the practice of pharmacy evolved out of the practices of apothecaries and druggists during the late middle ages. Pharmacy shops began to appear in Europe as early as the twelfth century. At that time herbalists concocted the nostrums and remedies that cured the sick and healed the injured. Much of their lore reappears today distilled in the essences and formulas of our modern drugs and treatments. Atropine from atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade) is a prime example.
More to the point–examples of shamans pervade our culture through our books, TV, and our movies. If you’ve read the exploits of Marvel Comics First Flight (Shaman) or played the role of Nightwolf in Mortal Combat’s fighting game franchise, you’ve encountered a shaman. Rafiki (The Lion King) and Venus (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) are two more examples of shamans in popular culture.
Farther afield but within the realm of shamans-as–spiritual-mediums are the 1960s countercultural favorite, Mr. Natural and the 21st century’s Elsa from the movie Frozen. Even orthodox relgion has its share of fictional shamans. Father Joseph Dyer (Exorcist III) and DC Comics’ John Constantine come immediately to mind. Not all of these examples embody shamanism in the strictest sense defined above, but they indicate the depth to which shamanism pervades our cultural landscape.
What It Means
“So What?” some of you might be thinking. All of the above examples are fictional fantasies; they have no counterparts in ordinary reality. Or do they? Elon Musk and the people at Meta Platforms are working feverishly to create what CEO Mark Ruckerberg calls the first metaverse to “help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses.” A number of scientists including notables such as Heather Berlin are exploring the neural basis of consciousness, dynamic unconscious processes, and creativity. Science educator Isaac Arthur‘s YouTube videos focus on futurism, artificial intelligence, transhumanism and other related topics.
Now that the social stigma is gone, researchers are exploring the mental health benefits of mind-altering drugs such as Lysergic acid dimethylamide (LSD) and dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a compound commonly used by Shuar, curandero, and other shamans of Central and South America. in their spiritual rites and medical practices.
The accumulating evidence suggests that the divide between the explorations of material science and the spiritual journeyings of contemporary shamans is narrower than ever before. It took scientists over a half century to create the “magic” that imbued Spock’s tricoder and today’s smart phone. In similar fashion, today’s digital engineers are creating entryways that blend the material reality of the body with the unconscious reality of the mind into one cohesive fabric. With their history of venturing into the spiritual realm of the unconscious, shamans have a major role to play in shaping that integration for everyone’s benefit.
What do you think?
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