Tradition

Where does this practice come from?  What tradition? 

This point is probably going to be a long one.  Not to mention very heady.  :)


A lot of people have a faint familiarity with shamanic practice through loosely formed ideas about Native American practice.  So that is a good starting point for helping people to understand where I am coming from.  However, I want to take you into confusion to help understand just what is going on within the world of shamanism, and spirituality as a whole, and it's ongoing evolution in this country. 

I have been involved in Lakota and Toltec practices for a number of years, and my first immersion of shamanic knowledge during this lifetime came with the use of plant medicines several years prior.  Eventually, I found my way to the Foundation for Shamanic Studies.  The former practices are based on a traditional cultural lineage, whereas the latter has a more modern approach.  This approach is basically this:  Let's lay out as many shamanic traditions as we can on the table and look at their practices and insights.  Then, let's assimilate those that persist throughout the world into a structure that reduces as many cultural differences as possible.  This way, a bridge can be made for the discussion of inter-spiritual and cultural dialogue that has more understanding. 

Seeing the contrast between these two approaches has intensified my understanding of how people relate to truth in this life immeasurably.  I have a tremendous amount of respect for many traditions and the way in which they bring people together and cultivate wholesome qualities such as respect, generosity, humility, wisdom, etc.  At the same time, I have been given the opportunity to stand on my own two feet.  One of the many products you see with this explorative approach is going on right before your eyes. 

When talking about this work from a conceptual point of view, the terms ordinary reality and non-ordinary reality are sometimes used.  This is a very limited schema,  albeit helpful to gain a basic understanding for people newly introduced to the practice (one that I often stick with.)  This is using a very straightforward logic that we are accustomed to in this country.  At some point, when working with spiritual realities, a different type of logic begins to take place. 

The wild and wacky world of Transcendental logic!  With this logic, you inevitably end up with contradiction all over the place.  This contradiction does not mean that what is being talked about is not valid.  Rather the way in which you think, see, and relate with reality and communicate that understanding begins to change. You take in a wider perspective.  You begin to understand that this reality that we are in is not the only one taking place.  By this, I do not mean that there are aliens in some spaceship on some planet out there.  Rather, I mean beings exist in entirely different dimensions altogether.  Related to but separate from ours.  It is completely chaotic to the rational mind.  The reality of it?  Completely seamless...harmonious.  These realities all working with and complimenting each other.  It can be terrifying at first, beginning to understand that the phenomenal realities extend indefinitely, touched by emptiness at every point.  But they exist right here in this moment, as they always have and always will.  The question then becomes...How do you relate with this existence?

Shaman is a Siberian term that is given to a type of practice that involves working with the spirit world.  This term is used in a general manner and really covers a lot of ground.  At this point however, I am not aware of what an English version of this word would be.  Or if we even have one.  Most cultures have several different names to describe the different ways in which people work with the spirit worlds. 

If shamanism is considered only as a body of basic techniques to help get you accustomed to entering into other realities, then I believe this can be the beginning of a wonderfully rich practice that can help you understand who you are.

So where does this practice come from?  There is a tradition to be sure.  But it may not be your commonly accepted idea of what tradition is.  I have spent my life learning from many, many different teachers from all backgrounds.  I never focused on what tradition they were from.  Instead, I focused on whether or not I am being driven to learn from them as a student. 

There is a story in Buddhism about a man who is shot with an arrow.  Before he would let anyone take out the arrow, he wanted to know who shot him, from where, with what bow, what kind of arrow, etc.  Before he could get his answers he died. 

It is fun and enriching to try to cultivate the mind with this work.  But please, don't let the arrow rest in your body until you are satisfied with answering all of your questions.  Ultimately that is trying to find a reference point to feel comfortable.  You will walk away long before you experience any benefit from practice.  This work often can and will feel uncomfortable.  Freedom is an absence of warfare. 

With that, I can introduce the beginning of a new practice.  Non-dual mask work.