Shamanic Healing

Shamanic Healing and Counselling

Shamanic healing is a multi-faceted and flexible modality in all cultures because it begins and ends with the shaman consulting with God and the Spirits. The shaman strives to be a clear vessel for God, the Mother, Father and Creator's love and power to manifest to the client, helping them return to harmony with the Sacred.

While shamanic healing can have physical effects, these can't be guaranteed. The primary goal is to restore the client to union with the Sacred, and harmony with creation. The underlying philosophy behind this goal is that, as Irish theologian Eriugena said, the only true source of suffering is separation from the Sacred. Even experiences of pain or illness can be borne without suffering if held in awareness of Spirit. Then, what happens in the world can hurt but never harm us. We can more readily transcend even the transitory experience of pain when we hold it in spiritual awareness.

Shamanic Healing Methods

Shamans don't see the soul as a solid chunk of stuff, but as a malleable energetic entity. The soul is an individuated divine essence that is also always in flowing motion with everything else, in the same way that light is both a particle and a wave. Our health, in shamanic terms, is the result of our empowerment, or lack of it. It is the result of our ability or inability to tap into the flowing light of creation.

We can take on more power, becoming more than we were. We may do this through establishing a connection with a totem animal, a spirit that acts as a kind of "step down transformer" for the Creator's power, making it into something accessible to us. We may also grow spiritually through pilgrimage, through connections to a holy place or through union with another spiritual or physical being.

Conversely, we may develop power problems. Shamanism sees illness not primarily as a set of psychological or physical problems, but rather, as one or more energetic problems. Because the soul is malleable, a person may lose power as well as gain it. For example, part of a person's soul may "splinter off" in a moment of trauma, as I'll describe further below, or they may have spiritual intrusions, draining them of power.

The Three Processes of Shamanic Healing

Shamanic healing can be broken down into three essential processes. First, bringing in power that should be there but isn't; for example, when the shaman restores a soul-part lost in trauma. Second, removing power that is there and shouldn't be; for example, when the shaman extracts a spiritual parasite, or severs a draining energetic tie with an abusive ex-lover. Finally, the shaman may work to harmonise the power of the client with the power of the Spirits, helping them align their body, mind and spirit with the Sacred.

Restoring power that should be there and isn't

The shaman may do a totem animal retrieval, bringing the client the life-giving protective force of a totem who can become a companion and helper in times of need. The client will be taught how to undertake the spirit journey to connect with the totem. The shaman may also infuse the client with power transmitted through them from the Spirits.

One of the most powerful techniques at the shaman's disposal is soul retrieval. Soul loss occurs when part of a person's soul "splinters off" in a moment of trauma. A spiritual defence mechanism prevents their full being from experiencing the trauma. Say someone's driving a car when a big truck comes at them head on -- at that moment, part of them says, "I'm out of here." They wake up later in hospital remembering nothing -- a clear sign of soul loss. The part of them that remembers has gone. For their healing to be complete, the broken soul has to be treated along with the broken bones.

Before anything can be restored, of course, the obvious question is how the client or shaman knows it's missing. The way a client speaks of past traumas may hold a clue. Do they say, "I was never the same after the boat accident" or the surgery, or the robbery? Alternatively, do they say, "When my boyfriend left, he took a piece of me with him"? This can be literally true when one or both parties resist a relationship ending. Soul loss doesn't always occur through violent trauma. If a person "dies a little" each day at work, they may be having soul-loss. Soul-loss is a death -- a partial version of the total soul loss (from the body) experienced at physical death. More positively, soul return is a rebirth. Sandra Ingerman's work with victims of childhood abuse convinced her of the power and efficacy of the method. You can read more about the specifics in her book, Soul Retrieval.

Removing power that is there and shouldn't be

A power intrusion can take many different forms. It can be a "spiritual parasite" in the client's energy field. The shaman may see these spiritually as insects, debris, or dark energy clouds. The client can also be "intruded upon" by souls of the dead, clinging to physical reality, especially relatives. This is dealt with by guiding the relatives or other spirits to the Otherworld. Lastly, a client can be pestered by a demonic entity, calling for an exorcism. Exorcism is very seldom the all out hammer and tongs affair depicted in the famous film. More often, it encompasses ceremonies of blessing and release and follow up counselling, because no one is ever possessed involuntarily. In all cases of demonic possession I am aware of, the client is aware that they said yes consciously to something they knew was evil. They do it for a perceived higher good, such as having a romantic relationship to "save" someone already possessed, or to gain some kind of personal power.

Counselling is an important follow up to ensure that the client becomes aware of what precipitated the possession and finds ways of coping with the needs or desires that made them vulnerable in the first place. The Celtic tradition I grew up with doesn't believe in a "God" God and a "devil" god — that is, we don't believe in a power of evil that can overthrow creation. The polarities of Celtic tradition are more along the lines of chaos and order than good and evil. We believe that evil entities are essentially spiritual powers with free will who have chosen a negative course of action, as any being can. We don't believe that they, or any being, can exist as separate from God, because God moves through all creation, and made the cosmos out of Him/Her/Itself.

Harmonising power within the client with the Sacred

This may involve dissolving energy blockages from old injuries, spiritual or physical, and doing other kinds of energetic work. It may also involve giving the client certain practices of chant, prayer or meditation to do on their own. This can be a one or two session job, or may involve regular counselling over a longer period. The goal is always to empower the client, however, not to foster a dependency on the practitioner, so shamanic counselling tends to be very focussed on solving the presenting problems and working with the Spirits to co-create a life where joy is a practice, not an event.

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