Shamanism [antikvár]

Foreword The Mind and Soul of the Shaman JEAN HOUSTON Why is there so great a renewal of interest in one of the oldest forms of the religious life—the practice of shamanism? I believe that a good part of its fascination lies in the fact that it is prepolitical, for all religions begin as spiritual experiences which then become politicized and bureaucratized. Shamanism, in bo^ ' its most ancient and most modem forms, recalls the democratization of the spiritual experience, in which hierarchies are reserved for levels of experience rather than for priests and bisliop^. Each level and dimension of reality is available to the one who will make the effort to learn and practice the ways and means of the spiritual journey. Thiisi in shamanic practice one can have one's spiritual experience and revelation direct and unmediated by structures ordained by church or doctrine. This appeals immensely to those who seek autonomy in the spiritual journey. And what a journey it is! The shaman perceives a world of totd aliveness, in all parts personal, in all parts sentient, in all parts_ capable of being known and being used. This pan-animism yields to the practicing shaman its powers and principalities, and these in turn can be used for healing, for renewal, and for bringing into the profane world the transformational powers of sacred time and space. Additionally, the shaman's ability for self-orchestration on the continuum of states of consciousness enables him or her to serve as a bridge between ordinary reality and transpersonal realms. So vii