Shamanism is not an organized religion, but an ancient spiritual healing practice still flourishing today.  Unlike many formal religions, there is no code of laws applied to practitioners of Shamanism.  It is instead a variety of spiritual practices which can be applied to and used in conjunction with all parts of life, including organized religions.

Shamanic healing is used to help cure patients of all sorts of ailments.  After or while a shaman is in a state of altered consciousness (frequently entered into while listening to drumming sounds), he uses the information he has received from the spirit world to ameliorate or otherwise improve the life of the person who has sought his help. A shaman, literally, “one who sees in the dark”, is able to retrieve information from other realms based on relationships he has formed with others in different parts of the spirit world, as well as make changes in those realms which will directly impact his subject in positive ways. What differentiates a shaman from a medium or psychic is that while the latter two are able to connect with other realms, they are not able to effect change within those worlds in order to benefit those in this world. Only a shaman is able to mediate between those in the physical world and those in other realms. A shaman also has the ability to enter in and out of altered states of consciousness extemporaneously and as he sees fit.

Shamanic healing may be used in many different ways and for many different ailments, both physical and mental, and is usually used in conjunction with other therapies or remedies, including changes to diet or daily routines.  Shamanic healing appears to be making strides in its popularity and has become more familiar to those formerly aware only of Western medicine practices. Increasingly, those affected with maladies unsuccessfully treated by traditional Western medicine are finding their way to the world of shamanic healing in hopes of being cured through this ancient practice since modern medical treatments have failed them.  That said, there is no reason shamanic healing may not be used in conjunction with modern medicine as well as homeopathic or holistic remedies, and frequently a multidimensional approach is taken when treating a patient.

While some believe that shamanic healing is most successfully applied to disorders which originate in the psyche or brain, such as depression, PTSD, or other mental afflictions, there are many who subscribe to the school of thought that physical conditions often have a psychological basis.  It is therefore beneficial to treat the psychological or emotional issue which may be at the root of the physical problem in order to ultimately heal the corporeal condition.

Much like the practice of Western medicine, shamanic healing consists of two components: 1) Diagnosis and 2) Treatment.  Shamans believe that all ailments of the human body, both physical and emotional, are rooted in some sort of spiritual imbalance. Generally, the diagnosis in shamanic healing consists of determining the imbalance of energies which are the cause of the ailment in the subject.  It may be that there are energies present which should not be which are causing the imbalance.  It can also be a lack of presence of the correct energies.  The treatment then consists of the restoration of required energies and/or the elimination of energies which are negatively affecting the patient’s health.

Shamanic Healing Methods Including Power Animal Retrieval, Psychic Surgery, Extraction Healing, Energy Healing, Rhythm Healing, and Soul Retrieval

Power Animal Retrieval

Each of us has “helping spirits” which bestow upon us their gifts of guidance, support, and protection. Establishing deep connections with our power animals allows us to live happier and more fulfilled lives. How do we know when we have lost our power animals? When we are experiencing a feeling of powerlessness or malaise, or seem to be undergoing a period of overall “bad luck” and nothing seems to be going right for us, we have lost our power animal and a power animal retrieval will help us to get back on track. A shamanic healer will go into the spirit world on your behalf and “retrieve” or reconnect your power animal to you, restoring your power as a result. Once you have re-established the connection between you and your power animal, it is important to maintain that connection by reinforcing the presence of the animal in your daily life.  This may include displaying a picture of the animal where you will see it frequently, or going to areas where you are likely to encounter the animal.

Extraction Healing

Extraction Healing is the shamanic method of removing or reallocating misplaced energies from the body. This misplaced energy may have taken root there as a result of negative emotions or hurt feelings a person has experienced, or due to physical injury. The goal of the shaman during an extraction healing is not to determine the cause of the misplaced energy, but merely to establish its presence and remove it. Once the shaman has determined it is there, he unites with guardian spirits and power animals to increase his power and ability to remove the misplaced energy and replace it with healing energy. To prevent taking on misplaced energies in the first place, it is important not to allow negative thoughts to build up within yourself. To rid yourself of these thoughts, and avoid transferring them to others, try to visualize the thoughts leaving your body via a stream of light and turning into positive energy. Some practitioners of shamanism also believe that certain stones and crystals may help protect your spirit from taking on misplaced energies.

Energy Healing

Shamanic energy healing consists of a subset of healing modalities including chakra balancing, reiki, and aura clearings, among others. The goal of all these techniques is to restore order to the energy in the body, and each technique may be appropriate at various times. Using chakra balancing, we can ensure that our bodies have a free flow of energy from one channel to the next.  If one (or more) of our chakras are blocked, this can cause our energy to become stagnant or stuck.

The ancient Japanese art of Reiki is also known as the “laying on of hands”. The word is derived from two words: “Rei” which means “God’s wisdom or the higher power” and “Ki” which means “life-force energy”.  The concept of Reiki is to transfer life-force energy from one person to another, resulting in the restoration, or healing, of the life-force energy of the person upon whom hands are being laid.

Auras or energy fields can sometimes become intermingled with the auras of others, resulting in an imbalance in our energy. Aura cleansing is a technique used to remove parasitic energies and restore energy and alignment to the chakras. It is often used in conjunction with chakra balancing in order to determine which chakras require the most focus.  Chakra alignment is checked and rechecked throughout the aura cleansing process to see which chakras are in alignment and which still require attention.

Sound Vibrational Therapy or “Rhythm Healing”

In sound-vibrational therapy, rhythmic drumming patterns arranged to reflect and stimulate the internal rhythms of the human body are employed. The techniques of sound healing have been used for thousands of years to connect to the human body through resonance and vibrations which are said to open certain of the body’s chakras which may have been blocked due to emotional trauma. Although there are many drumming patterns, it is important that the shamanic healer choose the one which will resonate most with the person he is treating and with their particular needs, and often new and unique rhythms are created to suit each individual patient and his specific situation.

Soul Retrieval

As humans, it seems trauma is a natural part of the human experience.  These traumas can leave a lasting mark on our souls, however, and even cause part of our souls to leave as a form of self-preservation. This can often happen in childhood when we are at our most vulnerable. This can result in a person feeling a disconnect or void, which they may try to fill through addictive or self-destructive behaviors. A soul retrieval is a process of locating the lost part of the soul within the spirit world and bringing it back to reunite with the rest of itself. This reunion and restoration of the soul are one of the most powerful and important parts of shamanic healing.

Shamanic healing consists of many different techniques and modalities, and while it has evolved over thousands of years, it has also remained remarkably consistent in its practices, and the same techniques have been used on every continent, by indigenous tribes as well as modern-day practitioners.  It is clear that the ancient art of shamanic healing will continue to thrive and grow as it becomes used more and more frequently alongside modern medicine.