Portrait of the shaman as a young man
Our society is extremely alienating and dysfunctional.
Yes, you say, so what? Everyone knows that. But what I am thinking about here is the way we treat the spiritually gifted. The fact is, we don't treat them at all. We ignore them. We can't even recognize them.
It is no coincidence that all religious cultures decend from mystical, nature-based roots. There is a fundamental sense of magic and connectedness with the universe that subsists in all of us. The ancients by and large recognized the importance of this connection, and had a special place for those who had an affinity for feeling it and expressing it. These were the shamans. They were recognized as youngsters, given special training to bring out their unique abilities, and eventually took positions of special honour and trust in the community - positions which recognized and took advantage of their nature.
In our modern world, the shaman no longer exists. Those of us born with extra spiritual sensitivity have no reference point for understanding what we experience. We may go through our lives thinking we are a little crazy, wondering why we care about and feel things that no one else ever mentions. We may end up as misunderstood artists, mistrusted psychics and energy workers, or marginalized hippies. Or we may chose to ignore the inner calling, putting on a mask and "fitting in" as lawyers, doctors, tradespeople, homemakers - but all the while feeling like we are missing an entire dimension of life.
For myself, I have awoken in a sharp and shocking manner. The call hit me over the head with a sledgehammer one day, flooding my body with intense energies. Over the ensuing months, my perception of the world turned upside down. Colours became more vibrant, people became more transparent, and the world as a whole became a gigantic living thing, breathing and oozing with presence and sacredness. Suddenly my life as a government lawyer paled in comparison and lost all of its meaning with what I was witnessing. And suddenly I felt extremely, utterly alone.
I was lucky. I managed to find teachers fairly quickly, and a community where my new found perceptions were accepted, if not truly understood. But the signs were there all through my life. This crisis and awakening could have been predicted, even fostered and properly midwifed, by a culture that understood the ways of the shaman and mystic.
We could grow vastly and profoundly by developing our mystic culture, embracing the talents of those who have special connections to the mystery, and educating them to use their abilities and understandings for the benefit of all.
Yes, you say, so what? Everyone knows that. But what I am thinking about here is the way we treat the spiritually gifted. The fact is, we don't treat them at all. We ignore them. We can't even recognize them.
It is no coincidence that all religious cultures decend from mystical, nature-based roots. There is a fundamental sense of magic and connectedness with the universe that subsists in all of us. The ancients by and large recognized the importance of this connection, and had a special place for those who had an affinity for feeling it and expressing it. These were the shamans. They were recognized as youngsters, given special training to bring out their unique abilities, and eventually took positions of special honour and trust in the community - positions which recognized and took advantage of their nature.
In our modern world, the shaman no longer exists. Those of us born with extra spiritual sensitivity have no reference point for understanding what we experience. We may go through our lives thinking we are a little crazy, wondering why we care about and feel things that no one else ever mentions. We may end up as misunderstood artists, mistrusted psychics and energy workers, or marginalized hippies. Or we may chose to ignore the inner calling, putting on a mask and "fitting in" as lawyers, doctors, tradespeople, homemakers - but all the while feeling like we are missing an entire dimension of life.
For myself, I have awoken in a sharp and shocking manner. The call hit me over the head with a sledgehammer one day, flooding my body with intense energies. Over the ensuing months, my perception of the world turned upside down. Colours became more vibrant, people became more transparent, and the world as a whole became a gigantic living thing, breathing and oozing with presence and sacredness. Suddenly my life as a government lawyer paled in comparison and lost all of its meaning with what I was witnessing. And suddenly I felt extremely, utterly alone.
I was lucky. I managed to find teachers fairly quickly, and a community where my new found perceptions were accepted, if not truly understood. But the signs were there all through my life. This crisis and awakening could have been predicted, even fostered and properly midwifed, by a culture that understood the ways of the shaman and mystic.
We could grow vastly and profoundly by developing our mystic culture, embracing the talents of those who have special connections to the mystery, and educating them to use their abilities and understandings for the benefit of all.
posted by Dr. J at 16:07
1 Comments:
Very Well said. At last someone who understands. I do understand what you say, have been through it too. Luckily a Master walked into my life and decided to do the sledgehammering. I did not even make the least effort!!
Every word you have said here its born of experience.
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