Frequently Asked Questions
The closer you come to knowing that you alone create the world of your experience,
the more vital it becomes for you to discover just who is doing the creating.
- Eric Micha'el Leventhal
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What is a shaman?
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Shamans are practitioners of ancient healing methods that have been passed down by indigenous peoples for millennia. Whereas a physician works at the physical level, and a psychologist works at the mental/emotional level, a shaman works at the energetic level.
Shamans believe that all “problems"—whether physical or emotional—have a source in energy. The job of the shaman is to locate the energy lying at a problem’s source and shift it, causing the symptoms of the problem to shift as well.
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Shamans believe that each of us have souls that have lived many lifetimes, and that this particular lifetime has a unique purpose and agenda. Determining one’s individual path in this life is aided by clarity and lightness, which a shaman can help you access.
Shamans watch and listen to an individual at ever-deepening layers until they identify the energy that needs attention; the shaman then works to remove heavy energy, add light, and shift the balance of a person’s system. This process can bring about healing at a foundational level.
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A shaman treatment has been called “ten years of therapy in one session,” and can be a powerful way to free oneself from repeating unproductive patterns.
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Why go to a shaman?
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A shaman's task is to help you reconnect with your own inner power and wisdom. A shaman facilitates your own inner journey into healing.
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Shamans understand that everything we perceive is a projection of an internal map that we carry within us. So, if we change the map, the reality changes. Otherwise, we keep running into the same projections over and over again—the same plot but with a different cast of characters or in a different setting.
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During shamanic practices, shamans support us in shifting our internal map with the understanding that we cannot change the map by changing our mind. We can only change the map by changing our luminous architecture, or our Luminous Energy Field (LEF). We have to shift our luminous architecture and shed all of our stories. We have to realize that we are the storytellers, not our stories, and then we can create a more original authentic story.
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Additionally, a shaman's basis of authority is that they have worked to heal themselves. A shaman has learned to transform the wounds that might have been sources of vulnerability, weakness, pain, shame and fear into sources of power and wisdom. Shamans know what it's like to hurt, and they practice from a place of compassion.
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What are some specific reasons to go to a shaman?
All disease originates from toxic emotions, and all toxic emotions come from trauma. Additionally, you cannot heal from trauma if you don't feel safe. If you are not in a safe space, you cannot go into those deep and sometimes frightening places where you need to go to heal. For the shaman, the finest of safe spaces are the ones created by stepping outside of linear time and into sacred time, which is at the core of shamanic philosophy.
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There are many reasons to go to a shaman: emotional depression, anxiety, PTSD, long-lasting periods of grief, anger, a sense of dread. Physical symptoms such as insomnia, recurring nightmares, sudden weight changes, addiction, or disease (especially stress-related illnesses or unexplained physical pain) are also problems one might bring to a shaman session.
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The cause of these problems may be obvious, such as a response to some sort of trauma. Distress emanating from relationship-based issues like divorce, infidelity, toxic family or work relationships, even the inability to get pregnant are also clear sources of pain. All of these can often be helped by a shaman.
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But often the reasons for felt pain are unknown to the sufferers. Many who seek out a shaman shoulder a simple but overwhelming sense of just being “stuck", with something unseen blocking movement forward. It is up to the shaman to find this energy source, setting into motion the shift necessary to alter problematic symptoms.
If a trauma is experienced, individuals are encouraged to schedule a session soon after the event. A shaman treatment is an important aspect of healing in these cases.
Children experience more trauma than adults because they confuse perceived and actual trauma, which can translate the same for them. Scheduling a shamanic session with anyone who is pushed to this is highly discouraged, even by the most well-intentioned friend or loved one. Coming to a shaman is a personal choice that feels right to the individual.
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*Importantly, in certain cases, shamanic medicine should be viewed as supportive and supplementary to—not as a replacement for—treatment by licensed medical practitioners.*
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What should I expect in a shamanic session?
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The first part of the session involves a discussion–you will simply sit and talk about what brings you to the session on that day. You will talk about your life, good parts and bad, whatever might have been hard on you during your life. Subjects might be recent events, or memories long-past. The “right” subject and information almost always comes up in this discussion period for the shifts that you want to make.
The second segment of the session is when the shaman will employ her shamanic techniques and tools to observe your energy from within. She will have you lie comfortably on a flat surface, working on the energy around your body. The shaman observes as energies unfold and present themselves during a healing session, and will take actions to align, remove or shift energies as needed. For most people, this part of the session is calming, restful, and restorative.
That’s all there is to the shaman session itself; the individual may feel little immediate impact, but the healing has only just begun.
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What should I do for care after my shamanic session?
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After a shaman treatment, you will go through a period of recovery—feeling tired and slightly “spacy” for a period of time after a session is normal. Rarely, you might detect a general ache, or at worst, experience modest nausea. Emotions after a session can be more pronounced. All of this can last a few days post-session, infrequently a few weeks.
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It is important to remember that the heavy energy, once loosened and removed, can be draining while your body works to recalibrate around the change in your system. Minimizing heavy meals, caffeine, tobacco or alcohol for the few days after a shaman session is highly recommended. Sleeping, drinking water or tea, hot baths or steam, massage, acupuncture, chiropractor, reflexology, reiki, yoga, or a juice cleanse can all be supportive of this work, and will help you recover from the shaman session. A trusted therapist can help process what is unfolding for you after a treatment.
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For months following, your life may shift in subtle or even dramatic ways—a result that shamans call the Mythic. Situations and relationships may change in subtle or dramatic ways. These changes will be coming from the shift in your energy and should be noted and held with care. These shifts can be painful, bringing grief for some, or be exciting and energizing for others, and everything in between.
Change is why you come to see a shaman.
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Occasionally post-session you may need some remote support to explain what is happening through this period of “recalibration,” and your shaman will be available to help.
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How many sessions will I need?
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In many cases, an individual usually needs just a single session to set into motion the shifts necessary to achieve sought-after changes.
Occasionally, more sessions are necessary, which should not be scheduled before 30 days in order to give your physical body the proper time to process each session.
A few are walking a longer spiritual path and may want to regularly visit a shaman to work on themselves. Listen to your instincts on what is right for you.