Another important and characteristic feature of shamanism is the so-called “shamanic illness”, seizures, dreams and hallucinations, which immediately decide the issue of the shaman’s future work.
Thus, among the Selish Indians, a young shaman, who fell ill with a shamanic disease, withdrew from people for four whole years, fasted and subjected his physical and spiritual strength to other tests, which caused him to have visions in which he communicated with spirits. At this time, the shaman learns controlled ecstasy. The three stages of trance among the Chippewa (Ojibwe) Indians are characterized by N.A. Alekseev as “the directed effort of the shaman to come into contact with the world of spirits.”
An ordinary person falls ill with this disease before becoming a shaman. Its symptoms, in general terms, consist in the fact that a person rethinks his existence and perception of the world. At this time, a person often behaves like a madman or lies as if in a coma for several days. The actions and impulses of such a person are incomprehensible to the people around him. Tradition says that the longer a person suffers from this disease, the more powerful a shaman he becomes.
The period of shamanic illness, namely: initiation by spirits and subsequent “recovery” - training - is not an expression of a neuropsychic disorder, as is often thought. These actions are socially and culturally programmed, they are expected by society and prescribed by its worldview. All shamans go into ecstasy and communicate with spirits. The state of ecstasy, or trance, is caused and controlled by the shaman himself; he brings himself into this state consciously, using self-hypnosis, exertion of will, and sometimes using hallucinogens, for example, certain types of mushrooms, dope or mescalite. All this testifies against the popular belief that shamans are mentally ill people. They are no more sick than creative individuals in our society - poets, musicians, actors.
One of the Yakut shamans said that the future shaman usually “dies” and lies in a yurt for three days without water or drink. In former times, on such occasions, the “dismemberment” ceremony was performed three times.
According to other stories, every shaman has a Mother Bird of Prey. It looks like a large bird with an iron beak, curved talons and a long tail. This mythical bird is shown only twice: at the spiritual birth of the shaman and at his death. She takes his soul, takes it to the underworld and leaves it to ripen on a spruce branch. When the soul reaches maturity, the bird returns to earth, tears the candidate's body into small pieces and distributes them to the evil spirits of disease and death. Each of the spirits devours the piece of body given to it. This provides the future shaman with the ability to treat relevant diseases. This ritual talks about such a part of magic as sympathetic, or the magic of similarity, eaten by some kind of disease, the shaman becomes one with it, as it were, which allows him to understand the deep cause of this disease and gain power over it. After eating the whole body, the spirits leave. Mother Bird puts the bones back in place and the candidate awakens as if from a deep sleep.
Sometimes the initiation of a shaman goes like this: evil spirits take the soul of the future shaman to the underworld and lock it in a separate house for three years (for those who become a lower shaman - only for one year). It is there that the shaman undergoes initiation. The spirits behead him, put his head aside (so that the candidate can see his dismemberment with his own eyes) and tear the body into small pieces, which are then divided among themselves (spirits of various diseases). Only under such conditions does the future shaman acquire the ability to heal. His bones are then covered with fresh meat; in some cases he also receives new blood.
According to one Yakut legend, shamans are born in the North. A huge spruce tree grows there, on the branches of which there are nests. The great shamans are on the highest branches, the average ones are on the middle ones, and the smallest ones are at the bottom. According to some, the Mother Bird of Prey, with an eagle's head and iron feathers, lands on the Tree, lays eggs and hatches them. For the birth of great shamans, three years of incubation are required, medium - two, small - one year. When the soul comes out of the egg, Mother Bird gives it to be trained by the devil shaman, who has only one eye, one shoulder and one bone. She cradles the soul of the future shaman in an iron cradle and feeds it with congealed blood. Next, three black “devils” appear, who tear his body into pieces, drive a spear into his head, and scatter pieces of meat in different directions as a sacrifice. Three other "devils" tear off his jaw: a piece for each disease he has to cure. If in the end one of the “devils” lacks a piece, then one of the shaman’s family members must die to replace it. Sometimes it happens that up to nine relatives die.
According to another legend, the “devils” hold the candidate’s soul until he masters their knowledge. During this time the candidate is ill. His soul is turned into a bird or another animal, or even into a person.
Throughout their lives, shamans keep their power in some secluded place.
... The power of the shaman is stored in a nest hidden in the foliage of a tree, and when shamans fight with each other - in the form of animals - they try to destroy the nest of their opponent...
It is important to note that in all these cases, the main thing is that the shaman is reborn in the world of spirits, which gives him the opportunity to permanently access their world. As a rule, with the beginning of shamanic practice, the shamanic illness ends.
Healing is a lifelong journey, and more often than not one, but tens and hundreds of incarnations on Earth and on other planets. Living nine lives on planet Earth, the human soul accumulates a store of spiritual and practical healing knowledge necessary to help other people and creatures, for example, animals, plants, as well as entities of the unmanifested world, which for some reason linger between heaven and earth.
None of us now, in the era of Aquarius, are surprised by the concept of what “action” means in Sanskrit, and samsara - the idea of the reincarnation of a person after death into a deity, a person, an animal or a stone. So why are we still not just surprised, but shocked by the spiritual crises that invariably accompany the healing call? Probably the fact is that not everyone knows that before becoming, you need to go through a transformation of the soul, through highly moral spiritual experiences, and sometimes not only through unbearable physical, but also through mental pain.
I will give several examples from real life showing how the healing path began.
Kate. At the age of fifteen, she fainted for the first time and found herself beyond the realm of reality. The mermaids sat on boulders in a shallow pond and asked the young girl to stay in their beautiful and carefree world. Beautiful tailed maidens with chocolate-colored hair frantically whispered the same thing: “It’s better here than here,” and so on until the girl returned to the real world thanks to the smell of ammonia. She was greeted by the frightened eyes of her loved ones and a headache for which no pills could help, which lasted two days. Subsequently, fainting and passing into other worlds became a difficult reality for Katya. After them she was always sick.
Galina. The woman was barely thirty-five years old when doctors decided to undergo surgery to remove a stone from her gall bladder. During the operation, Galya saw a long black tunnel with a bright light at the end. Pictures from her own life ran past, like a film reel, but the woman was drawn there, to the light, to grace, to peace, and there were no thoughts at all about children and her husband. Galina had almost reached her cherished goal when people in black robes with hoods on their heads hiding their faces, seeing the woman, consulted with each other and stated: “It’s too early! It’s too early for you to go there now.” The woman’s life after the clinical trial, which the doctors stated, changed radically over the course of several years: she became interested in spiritual practices and, as a result, remembered everything that her grandmother-healer told her in childhood.
Vasya. The boy was four years old when, in a very strange way, according to his mother, he began to howl all day long. Some primitive sounds burst from the child’s mouth, pressing on the psyche in the most unusual way. “We need to take the child to a psychiatrist,” the mother decided. The boy was dragged around to doctors for a long time, until one day he simply stopped singing strangely. And only thirty years later Vasily revealed to his mother that it was shamanic throat singing, which he had not forgotten.
And Vasily, and Ekaterina, and Galina - they all became healers. Vasya is a shaman. Ekaterina is a Reiki Master Teacher, a follower of various energy practices and a part-time psychotherapist. Galya is a dream solving specialist, herbalist, medium - a person who communicates with the other world, a hereditary healer.
You won’t be able to tell them apart from other ordinary people in a crowd - they dress just like you, go to work (some of them get their main income not from treating and helping others) and rarely advertise their services in newspapers. And most importantly, in my opinion, they do not hide behind regalia and diplomas. They just help. And first of all, they treat human souls and only then bodies. It just so happens that the real cause of any disease in the human body is in.
Each of the healers once asked the question: “Why?! Why me and not someone else?!” And the answer was silence. The silence in which, several years later, they realized the call of their own soul. Healing call. The shamanic healing practice, as one of the most ancient, the roots of which go back to the Paleolithic era, tells in detail about what a healing call is. Shamanism in its various forms is practiced in Africa, Polynesia, Asia, Australia, North and South America and, of course, in Europe, including Russia. But the point is that a shamanic spirit call has descriptions similar to any other healing call.
Physical illness and mental suffering are a type of shamanic initiation(initiation into shamans), that is, processes of physical and mental transformation and self-healing. It is believed that during a serious illness or tragic internal experiences, the death of the ego occurs and a strong connection is established with (by analogy - with Angels, Higher Powers), which subsequently help the shaman (healer) in treatment. If someone is possessed by a shamanic disease, and he does not respond to the call of the spirits to shamanize (heal others), then this person begins to suffer greatly. For example, he may begin to show signs of insanity or severe pain of various types.
As for a person who is far from shamanic practice, but who has a goal in this incarnation on earth - to heal others, problems of social imbalance may occur in his life: the impossibility of finding a job, the desire to go deeper within himself and forever forget about the existence of the external world. In this state, the main task of a person destined for the path of healing is to return to normal life in society, despite the fact that the duty of a healer will distract him from everyday worries and responsibilities at home and work. Usually, complete and unconditional acceptance of one’s destiny as a healer makes a person’s life much easier in all his life plans.
However, the appearance of visual or auditory hallucinations in itself does not indicate that a person has gone crazy or that he has a shamanic calling. At first, it is simply unclear what is happening to a person: whether spirits communicate with him through visions and auditory clues, or whether the person’s psyche has suffered a significant breakdown, and, accordingly, he has become crazy. The experience of leaving one's own body, visiting various unprecedented places together with creatures from other worlds, dramatic dreams, and battles in them - all this is only a small fraction of what happens to the future shaman (healer) during the illness of his soul or.
And only when the “patient” sings his shamanic song, it becomes clear that he is a Shaman, and not a person who has lost his mind. The period during which the shamanic illness lasts is approximately seven to ten years. Moreover, all this time the patient can lie in bed, not having the strength to get up, and become delirious. Of course, not everyone who cannot find a vacant job for a long time or has a serious physical illness is a future alternative medicine doctor.
There are three ways to begin the path of healing:
1. Apprenticeship with the Master of Secret Knowledge (Initiate);
2. Being born into a family of healers and passing on knowledge through the family;
3. An internal desire, which can mean that a person was chosen by spirits (in shamanism), and that in his past lives the person had a connection with the occult sciences.
It is also possible to combine all three points.
As for the transfer of knowledge by family, it can occur not only through direct communication in life, for example, between grandmothers and granddaughters, but also after the death of an older relative. The latter may come to a granddaughter, who may not even remember her grandmother, in a dream and ask the granddaughter to accept all the knowledge of the family, that is, to become a healer or. If the girl agrees, then she is given a certain sign: a crystal, for example, or a medallion. Most often, the crystal being transferred breaks off from a crystal that the grandmother has. Naturally, this action takes place in an altered state of consciousness or in a dream.
My personal opinion is this: without experiencing suffering at one time (by analogy with shamanism - without descending to the lower worlds), the healer will not be able to understand the suffering of another person and, accordingly, will not be able to provide the necessary and full help (that is, he will not be able to have a connection with the higher worlds ). “But we all suffer to one degree or another while living on earth,” you will note. To this I will answer you this way: most likely, in order to become a healer, you need some kind of mark of God, or a choice of spirits that has fallen on a person, as they say in shamanism.
And if you have an inner feeling that you should heal others with alternative methods, then turn to those who have already gone through the path of becoming - practicing healers. They will tell you whether your thoughts are true, whether they are a figment of your imagination and ego. Believe me, it is very difficult to accept the Path of Healing prepared from Above. But healers, healers, physicians have always been, are and will be. They come to this world to give people the Light of Divine Love. Help them help you!
There is a concept - “ Shaman's disease "when the spirits of the ancestors (Ongons) , begin to convey to their “chosen” descendant an understanding of the existence of a parallel Higher power and the decision they made, to whom they intend to transfer their knowledge and the power of healing, whom they have determined to become their representative on earth.
Few people have experienced and are experiencing joy from such news, resisting in every possible way and trying to get away from the heavy burden. In reply Ongons“break” his consciousness, sending illnesses and troubles, preventing any undertaking to an ununderstanding descendant. Descendants, as a rule, refuse to accept the gift (initiation) until a certain point, realizing that, having taken on the role of a spiritual guide, he will no longer belong to himself. He bears a heavy responsibility before the Spirits for people, for their weaknesses and actions. He must contribute to the well-being of his relatives, protect them from harm, and selflessly help everyone who needs help.
Vision Ongonov(divine spirits of ancestors) and prediction, protracted illness, the diagnosis of which is not established by doctors, irritability and unreasonable aggression, manifestation of superhuman strength and loss of memory at the time of such aggression, causing horror and fear in loved ones and relatives, in a word, not natural human behavior, all this signs of a shamanic disease, which can be found in both men and women at different ages.
Chosen by the spirits of his ancestors, the shaman learns about his election either directly from his Ongonov, or due to a serious illness from which he almost dies, but is cured after receiving initiation. In other cultures, a person with the makings of a shaman is identified in early youth, trained, and then put through a rite of passage.
One of the most common forms of election of a future shaman is a meeting with the spirits of ancestors, who appear to him in reality, during illness or under other circumstances and inform him of his “election” and incline him to initiation.
Confirmation of the “chosenness” of the shaman can be any distinctive sign on the body - tengariin temdeg (divine mark): unusual mark on the skin, cloven fingers, strange behavior. It is believed that a true shaman has tengariin temdeg , or an extra bone and that only people whose souls learned shamanic literacy in the next world will achieve high degrees and become good shamans.
In traditional societies, where shamanism is a tribal tradition, “shamanic disease” can begin at any age - at 10 or 45 years old, there are no age restrictions for it. Regardless of the selection method, the candidate is recognized as a shaman only after the initiation ceremony.
No living person can become a shaman with only one desire. Going through the initiations of initiation into shamans, the development of extrasensory and healing abilities in any person outside of the divine will, inevitably leads to a serious price for invading an invisible sphere closed to human consciousness!
Have you ever wondered how one becomes a shaman? Familiar with general concepts shamanism they know that these are people just like you and me. They are born, grow old and die. They have a family, children, grandchildren, and apart from certain abilities, nothing speaks about their magical nature.
Shaman by inheritance or?..
Sooner or later, the Shaman makes his last journey in earthly life and passes into another existence, becoming a Spirit. As a rule, one of the relatives becomes the shaman’s heir, but it can also be a complete stranger who is not even aware of the destined path.
A potential Shaman has a basic ability - sensitivity, that is, sensitivity. Scientists have proven that such people are not fiction, but individuals whose right hemisphere of the brain is more developed than its left logical part. The spirits of the old servant cannot remain without a mediator and seek one among the inhabitants of the community that their former master/guide served.
When such a person is found, the Spirits begin to introduce him to other worlds, and such entry does not always go smoothly. The term was even introduced - shamanic disease, which characterizes a person’s state close to insanity, inadequate states and other mental disorders.
Is it that much of a disease?
At some point, Spirits come to the Chosen One and begin to introduce him to the world of dreams. These creatures are either his patrons from the upper world, or helping Spirits from the middle and lower worlds. Being in a state where reality and the subtle world are perceived simultaneously, the future unprepared Shaman cannot always adequately react to those around him and to what is happening to him. The problem is complicated by the fact that outside observers do not see what he touches, and the shaman himself does not understand that he is not understood
This condition has entered the scientific literature as a “shaman’s disease.” Over time, the Shaman learns and gets rid of this “disease”. There are two ways:
- Together with the Spirits, he independently explores all the acquired properties and begins to manage them through trial and error.
- If the young Shaman’s condition does not improve and he cannot cope with it on his own, fellow villagers go for help to an experienced Shaman from another community so that he can teach the uninitiated.
Help with shamanic illness
In order to learn to distinguish between the worlds (real and the world of spirits) as quickly as possible, the Chosen One learns ritual. As soon as the Spirits come to him, he begins ritual actions. A more experienced Shaman helps his follower make a tambourine (or gives his own), rattle or khomuz. When the Spirits approach, the Chosen One begins to beat out a rhythm on a musical instrument and intensifies the state of trance. This helps to separate the two worlds in the mind and learn to control the ability to enter a trance. Gradually, the brain becomes accustomed to the vibrations and rhythm of the tambourine, and it takes less and less time to enter a trance state.
The end of the ritual means a return to reality.
What is beyond the “shamanic disease”?
During training, that is, the course of the shaman’s illness, the Shaman is shown paths along which he can walk, introduced to different worlds and corners of these worlds. He learns to control and call upon Spirits-helpers, to communicate with patrons from the upper world.
In practice, there are no impossible tasks for an experienced shaman. It can get rid of diseases, return a person’s soul or his lost vital energy, and solve life’s problems. All this is given with permission and with the help of Spirits of different levels. So the Shaman asks the Guardian Spirits which god he should turn to in a specific situation, and based on the answer, he sends his Helper Spirits to the desired world or part of the world.
The main thing in all training is the ability to control transitions from one state to another. It is this control that distinguishes the Chosen One from a not very healthy person. By and large, a Shaman is a very strong and self-sufficient person who knows how to find the right way out of any situation. Learning is not easy, but dissolution in nature, the ability to catch all the vibrations of the surrounding world help to overcome any barriers.
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