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Shamanic Awakening
Copyright
Mellissa Seaman 2004 All Rights Reserved
“What’s
happening to me?” and “Am I crazy?” are often the top two questions of a
person who is awakening spiritually or shamanically.
Now, lots of people right now are awakening spiritually.
That category is huge. Yoga,
meditation, alternative (actually ancient) healing that effects the energetics
of the body directly instead of using medications
as a go-between. These are all
signs of this time of expanded awakening. Some
of the traditional religions are opening their arms wider to embrace this new
perspective of energetic awareness, and others are closing their restrictions
tighter, forcing the awakening people within to leave their beloved traditions
for a more accepting community.
Shamanic awakening is a term I’m using to particularly describe those
who have a shift in their life and become intuitively and intensely attracted to
the symbols, stories, and rituals of shamanic earth-based traditions.
Shamanic traditions include those of the Native nations of North and
South
America
, the
Aboriginal people of
Australia
, the
Siberian tribal societies, the ancient Celtic traditions of the
British
Islands
, and
many more. Shamanic tradition is
characterized by the honoring of the connectedness of all things, beings, and
peoples, and the use of all of these animals, plants, ancestors, spirits and
personalities to symbolize an aspect of the divine.
Natural elements are honored, and natural tools are used – rocks,
feathers, found objects are all holy and hold their own specific energetic
gifts.
These are ancient traditions, and they are becoming extinct in their
traditional practices due to global industrialization and over-population.
There are very few shamanic cultures intact in our present age,
practicing their own traditional form of shamanism in the context of earth-based
living. Yet the symbols and
energies that these cultures tend to share are popping up in the dreams and
imaginations of modern people everywhere.
It is not rare to encounter someone in this country who would say
“I’ve always felt drawn to Native American symbols and rituals.”
And with the memories and haunting guilt of the widespread massacre of
native people in this country in recent history, many of those who feel drawn to
shamanic symbols and ritual feel as if they are stealing more Native property,
as if the gifts of Spirit that come unbidden in the dreamtime, or the lessons of
other peoples which are crafted and held by Spirit could be owned and stolen.
So they quietly attend pow-wows and read books and gather feathers, in
the hopes they might find a bit of connection with a community they feel is
their own, and yet feel completely disconnected and guilty towards.
Some
of the Native peoples see these awakening ones and have a similar sentiment.
“Why should a white kid from the burbs get to suddenly take advantage
of years of tradition and wisdom tha
t m
y
people have suffered and fought for?” Other
Native teachers are completely open in their sharing of wisdom from their
cultures, offering teachings up to whomever will show interest and respect in
what seem like revolutionary concepts to modern Americans, in the hopes of
feeding the opening, the awakening, and the healing of Mother Earth and all her
children.
It is no wonder we are all confused, concerned with who owns Wisdom.
We have been living in an age of duality, conflict, and violence.
We are wounded. We are full
of anger and hurt. Our violent past
has wounded both aggressor and victim alike, and we have been trading off these
roles for centuries.
But the violent age, if we are to believe the prophesies, is dying.
And our challenge is to open ourselves to the new energies of forgiveness
and openness. We are to truly
embrace the concept of All My Relations – the globally held shamanic view that
we are all one, that the Earth, our bodies, the plants, the animals, the rocks
– all are embodiments of Spirit – and that every thing we choose in our
lifetime should take the Highest Good of all these into account at all times.
And so we see the phenomena of young modern people dreaming of being eaten
by packs of wolves, or being chosen by a bear, or being followed by hawks - or
they find themselves unwittingly drawing ancient Mayan symbols on their
notebooks. People of all ages and
backgrounds are dreaming the ancient ways into modern life.
They are awakening an old memory, but the memory often comes back in new
forms – ways that the modern person can connect with.
Nothing is being stolen here. The
old ways are being remade – not
by any one person, but by Spirit speaking through the modern man – native and
immigrant alike. Spirit has
returned through the earth, through the feminine, through the elements.
And no one can stop this process. Synchronicity
is leading the way. There is no way
to avoid the awakening when it is time to awaken, except perhaps to go into deep
denial and escapism (which we humans are pretty good at, unfortunately).
And with the awakening comes deep change – often very fast change –
in relationships, in career, in family relations, in Life.
The largest difficulty with the awakening happening thus far seems to be
loneliness. People are awakening
inside themselves. It is, at first,
a solitary journey. Spirit asks the
awakening one to follow the signs, to delve deeper, to open to the workings of
Spirit. If the person is open, the
awakening process can be quite dramatic. Awakening
people often get a big upgrade in their psychic vision.
All of a sudden, they are seeing spirits – usually just briefly or in a
fuzzy way, but it is a surprise, and it can bring up fear and resistance.
Sometimes, people who used to hear a vague voice responding to them in
prayer may find that voice becoming crystal clear, or they may experience that
voice coming to them in the form of a guide or angel.
Unlike our days of living in tribal societies, modern society is not so
supportive of visionary experiences.
We modern people have been taught that seeing spirits and guides and
angels is a sure sign of mental illness – something to be feared and fought.
But this time, when the visions come, they are not escapist fantasies,
but rather experienced clearly as the presence of the Divine.
This is a subjective experience, and hard to describe in detail.
But those who have experienced the voice of God or one of God’s helpers
find it hard to miss. And no, I’m
not saying that everyone who hears voices is perfectly sane and healthy.
I am saying that some of the sanest and healthiest people walking the
face of the Earth today see visions and hear voices… a lot.
Community becomes crucially important to people in the process of
awakening. The dreams, feelings,
visions, and messages work their way from the private dreamtime and secret
prayer life of the person into a hunger for others who can understand the
transformation that is occurring. The
awakening person may feel drawn to experience shamanic ritual such as sweat
lodge or to travel to holy sites of their land’s native people, to soak up a
sense of community and connection. They
may connect with others on a similar path and form a circle or group that meets
to study and pray together. This is
how San Diego Circle Shamanic Healing Arts Center was born.
Whether it is meeting with just one friend who is open and supportive of
the awakening process, or connecting with a traditional group, or with a magical
community that is open to your work, community support is important to an
awakening person.
The awakening process is not all visions of roses.
Awakening requires a deep clearing of the old restrictions, dogmas,
fears, hatred, and imposed rules which no longer serve your Highest Good.
Awakening is, in great part, a healing process – led by your Guides.
It can be intense.
Our Western Culture is not knowledgeable about the natural processes of
healing. Our medicines are designed
to treat symptoms, but Spirit’s Medicines are designed to Transform the old
into the new. And transformation
requires the destruction of the old in order to bring in the new.
This often translates into strange physical symptoms such as nausea or
headaches that seem to have no “real” cause, and often do not respond to
western medication.
Fortunately, modern society now has access to more energetically-aware
systems of healing such as acupuncture and Chinese herbology, fasting,
nutrition, and homeopathy which see these nausea and headaches for what they are
– symptoms of a healing process in motion.
And the natural systems know how to support this healing process so the
body can release the imbalances that underlie the discomfort. They understand
that sometimes discomfort is a necessary and important phase in cleaning and
healing the body permanently, and they provide moral and physical support for
people enduring such a process. This
flies in the face of everything consumerist
America
is
teaching us, but for the Awakening person, there is no other option but to seek
alternatives to prescription medications. They
just don’t work to aid them in the process at hand.
Emotional and relationship difficulty also often arises during Awakening.
As the person awakens, there is often a deep realization of betrayal –
a feeling that many of the things they were taught were not true, and not told
them in support of their Highest Good. There
is a re-examination of Beliefs and Relationships in light of the Truth they are
downloading from Spirit. As the
awakened person becomes more aware of energy, both negative and positive, he/she
becomes more aware of situations and people in life which do not hold healthy
energy patterns.
Although the process of awakening can be difficult, lonely, and create
upset in relationships, there are not too many awakening people I’ve met who
would change their path. Awakening
is just a name for a divine process of intense transformation, opening, and
empowerment. In a world of illusion
and superficiality, the Awakening happening today among individuals is
effectuating a greater Awakening of this culture and of the world.
We are privileged to be living in this time.
May we continue to embrace our Spirit, our Paths, our Awakening – and
allow this to bring us closer in connection to All That Is.
***********************
Mellissa Seaman is a co-founder
of San Diego Circle
and founder of Heart
Wisdom and Divine Ravishment. She provides profound energetic healing sessions, teaches
workshops, leads rituals, and writes articles on spiritual awakening, healing,
and sacred living. Reach Mellissa at info@heartwisdom.net.
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