I'm about to drop something heavy on the spirituality readers. I hope you can handle it, no one else seems to be able to respond intelligently. . .
The truth doesn't need to be believed. . . Ghandi once said, “I used to think God was truth, Now I know that truth is God.”
That Shamanism has a real history is supported by many anthropologists and historians. Kilton Stewart studied the Senoi in Malaysia(1935). They still practiced old rituals and traditions in the mountains. They walked in dreams, and used them for healing and social guidance. Other natives in all hemispheres use remarkably similar ideologies and methods. In modern man these old and disparate beliefs may have solidified into mythology and orthodox religion(Stephen Larson). The Senoi in particular are notable in their comprehensive dealings with dreams. The Senoi Halaks describe a subconscious and human psychology reminiscent of Freud and Jung(see Stewart or Larson).
Examples of Shamanic practitioners include the Toltec(see Carlos Castinadea(a dubious reference I am well aware) or Don Miguel Ruiz), Maya, Sioux, Iroquois, more natives of both North and South America from the Inca in the Andes mountains to the Inuit/Eskimos above the Arctic Circle, Aboriginal Australians, New Guinea Chiefdoms, many Austronesian Islanders, the Senoi of Malaysia, Siberian tribes still persisted at least until the turn of the last century. Surely there are dozens more locales with practices analogous to Shamanism.
There is a real pragmatic way to follow the guidance given by dreams and everyday symbolism. The illusory dichotomy between those awake or still asleep in the 21st century is all in how attached to materialism and the fantasy world of modern entertainment(What about Gaia?). The wakening are beginning to remember that we are just the now of an entire universe unfolding. There is so much mystery and majesty all around. Awe is the only appropriate emotion when presented with the brutal totality of reality.
It is this global dispersal in disparate cultures and civilizations that leads to the conclusion that Shamanism may be among the oldest religions or belief systems still being practiced. Potentially many of the worlds peoples could be from an ancestry of shamans. Also the New age movement in the modern west has shown many the way of the warrior, or the path of knowledge (see Castinadea and Ruiz). Although it is not hierarchically organized, or statistically analyzed like many other religions, Shamanism is a pragmatic way of viewing life and reality that has been and is currently followed by many individuals globally.
I have made many bold statements. I'm very busy and don't have much time to reply to every complaint about semantics or the legitimacy of all my claims. Any mistakes in facts or what-have-you I take full responsibility for. If you want more than an academic view of Shamaism read some of the authors mentioned. Anyone can follow the river of life through the temple of their dreams. . .
Reality: Resurrection!
relax with us
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