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The Shaman.
"Today, when we are threatened by global disaster as a result of our manipulative contempt for the Earth the way of the Shaman shows us how we may hope to find validity again, both within us and without- (Moorey '99 p.5).
Shamanism is the use of Shamanic practices within a Shamanic value system. When the earth was green, and manipulation of the land was hundreds of years away, Native North Americans began their journey to seek an understanding and relationship with both land and nature. Shamanism, or the use of a Shaman in religious practice, is humanity's oldest form of relationship to Spirit (Savinelli '02 p.4). As such, it is the underpinning beneath all religion. But Shamanism is not a religion. It is a complex set of practices, beliefs, values and behaviors that enable the practitioner to elect a shift from ordinary consciousness into a trance state with a specific goal in mind, such as healing, obtaining information, power, vision, divination, contacting the spirit of the deceased, soul retrieval or guidance for right action. .
Shamanic work is done with the aid of helping members of their tribe that are also well versed in Shamanic ritual and practice. A Shaman is more than someone with experience; however, he or she is a trained initiate. Usually years of learning and training under a mentor precede becoming a functioning Shaman. Second, a Shaman is not just an initiate who has received inner and outer training, but is a master of Shamanic journeying and techniques (Shamanic ecstasy). The Shaman and his/her helpers' work together as a cooperative team, with the group being an intermediary between different levels of reality and the Shaman, an engineer of altering states of consciousness. . Unskillful and uneducated acts of going into this trance state can cause harm, or even be life-threatening, to the practitioner as well as others. Shamanism deals with power and power can move in many different ways.