May 2005
Shamanism and the Evolution of Consciousness
by Gwilda Wiyaka

While "shaman" has as many different definitions and functions as there were cultures that had them, there are several things they all have in common.  The commonality we will be addressing here is the shaman's service as a bridge between worlds or states of consciousness.

There is the world where most of us reside.   We will call it ordinary reality.  Ordinary reality actually is created by our agreement and belief systems.  The shaman's role is to visit different levels of consciousness to bring back information and healing that transcends the limitations of our current mutually agreed upon reality.

What I find interesting is that most wars are the result of disagreement about realities.  We jealously guard our own reality while condemning and casting out those who do not line up with it.  Even our churches have become fragmented into numerous denominations over disagreement concerning reality or "truth". 

There is much dissention and discontent generated over debates as to who is right and what is truth. The resulting polarization effectively blocks us from evolving, in mass, to a higher or more enlightened state of consciousness.

It is not that anyone's reality is "wrong" it is their truth at the level they are at and needs to be honored and accepted as such.  It does not mean we need to accept it as our own and if we find it hurtful or damaging to us we certainly need to discern and maintain appropriate proximity from them.

It is important that more than one reality exists.  The reality of the heart cell is to pump while the reality of the liver cell is to filter.  Both realities, existing in different spaces within one body, are necessary for life.

The shaman's role has been to help different realities coexist in relative harmony, this is spiritual healing. When our realities are too far out of balance from the reality held in nature, we become ill and our lives dysfunctional. This is because we cannot draw upon our own Path Homes to sustain us in the circle of life.

This leads us to the current state of affairs.  We, as a culture, have gotten so far away from the way life works as to endanger our continued existence on the planet.  Our realities have become so skewed that we live in trauma and traumatize most things around us. This drops our overall frequency and further blocks evolution.

This is partly because we no longer have shamanic practices in our culture nor have we had for generations.  To compound this, the shamanic practices that we are starting to unearth and implement were designed for another culture at another time.  While profound and effective, they often don't translate well to our modern day lives.  Translation and understanding is imperative for integration of the healing.

The good news is that there are no shortages of gifted individuals suitable to serve as shamanic healers.  If you are drawn to read this article and interested in shamanic practices, you may well be one yourself.

All that is needed is a willingness to evolve through your own process and healing, solid training in the ancient practices, help accessing and wielding your personal gifts and consistent reliable connection to spiritual guidance.

My life purpose is to provide those very things to our gifted ones.  To train our modern day "bridges" so needed in these times of rapid evolution.  It is from this purpose I built Path Home Shamanic Arts School.  It is here the ancient skills are linked with our modern day practitioners to create the shamanic skills so needed by our culture today.

If you, or anyone you know has interest in entering into shamanic training please contact us.  Your service is desperately needed by a world askew. 

This training will not only change your life but it will also put you in a position to help change our world.