Approaching the Shaman

Lisa asked me to post this excerpt  because people don't understand the Shaman and need to be informed. I welcome any questions or feedback.




Some people don’t seem to know how to approach the Shaman for help. In other societies, the student-master relationship is clearly defined. In India for example, the devotees or students come to the guru or master with humility on bended knee with offerings of food, money or flowers.

I remember going to see Ammachi, a holy woman from India who came to North America. It was at a large hotel in the convention room where hundreds of people lined up to receive darshan (blessings) from here. Before she even entered the room, there was chanting that put you in a calm, joyous mood. When the Holy woman entered, the energy escalated and people crowded close to see or touch the embodiment of the Divine Mother. The line-ups were often an hour long and we prayed and chanted the whole time. It was understood that we were in the presence of greatness.

Shamans on the other hand, do not require such a grand occasion. They are not celebrities or well-known public figures. They look and act like ordinary people, but you can tell them by the strength, courage, integrity and clarity that they emanate.

How do you approach a Shaman? Why would you seek out a Shaman?

I have noticed in Gatherings with our Shaman that everyone gravitates to the Lisa like moths to a flame. They often become quiet and more attentive. They hang on to her every word. She never gets a moment to herself. 

I remember one time that Lisa was sitting alone quietly during a break and a woman went to talk to her. Later Lisa told us later that the woman had nothing to say, she just wanted attention of the Shaman for no particular reason. People like to feed off the energy of the Shaman. But the Shaman will quickly put you in your place, bringing awareness of your intentions for what you do. It is good to have a clear purpose for using the Shaman’s time and energy.

Lisa said it was the Woman’s Moons (ego) seeking attention. Gerard, Lisa`s Sacred Partner, jokes that the Moons are 13 ways of trying to get attention. He also said that the Shaman is Earth energy and the Moons gravitate around the Earth. We need to be aware that we are usually in our Moons or ego when approaching the Shaman. It is one thing to ask for help, another to just dominate the Shamans time and energy to get your needs met without having the intention to learn, heal and grow. 

To the Shaman, we are all children, we are all in ego. You have to be ready for the consequences, willing to hear the truth and willing to do the work required of you when your imbalance, dysfunctions, illusions and ego are pointed out to you. The Shaman sees right through you, sees you better than you see yourself. You need to approach the Shaman with humility and find a way to give something back, by doing your work, offering tobacco or asking how you can give back if you don’t know.

The Shaman is a collective being and does not cater to individuals. When in a circle with the Shaman, I find that if I am patient and listen, that my questions often get answered without them being voiced out loud.  I can’t expect the Shaman to give me all her attention. I have to trust that I will get what I need in the course of events. And I always do! Often I get more than what I expected.

Other times, people get so nervous around the Shaman that they hide or avoid them altogether, especially when they are in their issues, in ego or nightmares or guilt or shame. 

Recently, I was explaining to people that you can’t just go and dump your crap at the foot of the Shaman and ask them to fix your life for you. They took this to mean that they couldn’t talk to the Shaman at all. It made me wonder if they didn’t know how to ask for help without dumping. My mother used to say, “Lay your problems at the foot of the cross”. This used to bother me. First we crucify Christ and then while he is dying on the cross, we add insult to injury by asking him to take on our problems.

The Shaman is not here to do our work for us. If we come to her or him withour problems, AFTER having done as much as we can on our own, we will get the feedback or advice we need. If we are stuck or frustrated, lost or confused, the Shaman will bring us back to balance, consciousness and clarity. A Shaman will guide us and give us hope. 

In the book, “Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah” by Richard Bach, a Messiah who tries to help humankind is frustrated because people just want him to perform miracles. They want magic and phenomena. They don’t want him to teach them how to grow or heal; they want him to fix their problems, to make them go away. If we understand the role or purpose of the Shaman is to guide, inform and bring awareness so we can become empowered, we would not be bringing our issues without having done everything in our power to help ourselves first.

Ideally, we want to bring the Shaman our abundance, our wisdom, the stories of our resolved issues.... and receive confirmation and blessings to bring us further into the dreaming, further along on our paths of beauty and abundance. We need to nourish the Shaman, nourish the collective and the Dreaming. The Shaman energy is a Wind, it is about facing challenges. The Shaman energy appears automatically when the other eight Roles are in place. What would it be like if we all were in our power Roles, if we knew our place on the Wheel and created a sacred space for the Shaman to come through the center?

If we can do our work on our Moons effectively and efficiently, then get back to our Medicine, or Power Roles, we can enjoy the true magic and purpose of the Shaman. We can get to the Collective dream space together where the Ancient Dreamers wait for us.