Shamanism to see into the hidden

I described before how mysticism might be a mode of knowing; altering one’s state of consciousness in order to access divine knowledge. The week after that I described how working with the unseen and trying to unveil what is hidden as seen in occultism is another way of gaining knowledge. Practices that combine both are shamanic traditions.

Shamanism alters one's state of consciousness in order to access a higher reality and allows us to work with this otherwise hidden and unseen layer of reality, as Michael Harner describes the Shaman in The Way of the Shaman “A shaman is a man or woman who enters an altered state of consciousness - at will - to contact and utilize an ordinarily hidden reality in order to acquire knowledge, power, and to help other persons.” There seems to be more of a focus on community and helping others than that I have encountered in mysticism, which is mostly a way of discovering true reality and our true nature, but does not seem to have a direct application to this world the same way shamanism has. And although shamanism does not seem to have a focus on divine reality the way mysticism does, it sometimes does encounter it in the use of psychedelic medicinal plants used for shamanic rituals in different cultures. Yet shamanism does not only rely on medicinal plants to achieve an altered state of consciousness, it also employs other techniques to come into a trance state, such as drumming.

Shaman is a word from the language of the Tungus people in Siberia and is now applied to all kinds of cultures that have practises related to acquiring knowledge and healing through non-physical means. Shamanism is thus not one coherent system, but an umbrella term. Shamanic cultures can be found all over the world, from Australia, to hundreds of separate amazon tribes, to siberia and inuit. Basically in every pre-modern culture. Their practises and descriptions of shamanic journeys where they need an entrance in the ground to enter into the underworld, the spiritual realm, are strikingly similar. Which might suggest that after a long time of practise and error they all came to somewhat the same conclusions.

It would be impossible for us, and very ignorant of us, to dismiss their reality as superstition or the like. It has been practised all over the world for thousands of years, featuring striking similarities across the globe, and along with life changing experiences of modern day practitioners it should be clear that it is worth investigating this and to take it seriously as a way to access a higher realm of knowledge and healing.