Shamanic Drumming

Siberian Shamanism and the Western Imagination

2012-02-29T09:27:00.000-08:00

Information on Siberian shamanism is sparse and often filled with cultural biases. In Shamans: Siberian Spirituality and the Western Imagination, historian Ronald Hutton sifts through first-hand accounts and scholarly studies in order to present the reader with a comprehensive work representing the entire body of research on Siberian shamanism. From what he's able to derive from various sources is that traditional shamanic practices can be reduced to three essentials: there must be identifying ritual dress, such as a robe or animal skin; the shaman must use a supportive musical instrument, usually a drum or rattle; and the shamanic performance must be public. Shamans is a prized work for scholars in Siberian shamanism, folklore, and cultural studies.

"In Search of Traditional Shamans"

2012-02-21T20:48:00.000-08:00

Susan Grimaldi, M.Ed., Field Associate for the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, and John Lawrence, Ph.D. videographer and photographer, recently undertook an expedition seeking Daur Shamans in northern Inner Mongolia, China, and to the Tsaatan nomadic reindeer herders in the East Taiga of northern Mongolia. In both places, they observed shamans working and witnessed their ceremonies, interviewed and filmed them. Here is Susan’s report: "In Search of Traditional Shamans"

Shamanism and Grief

2012-02-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

Sandra Ingerman, author of Awakening to the Spirit World, offers insight into moving through stages of grief in a recent article, "How to Deal With Grief." Her approach to coping with grief could be applied not just to the loss of loved one, but to distress following any life transition. As Ingerman puts it, “Every change in life is some form of death which leads to an ending that can create a state of grief for us as something familiar dies. We might change jobs, move, get divorced, experience a change in how we feel as we age, a life threatening illness or the death of a loved one. Death is not an end, rather it is a new beginning. And the experience of grief is important for our growth and evolution." Read more.

Transfigurations: The Visionary Art of Alex Grey

2012-02-03T09:43:00.000-08:00

Every once in a great while an artist emerges who does more than simply reflect the social trends of the time. Such an artist is able to transcend established thinking and help us redefine ourselves and our world. Today, a growing number of art critics, philosophers, and spiritual seekers believe that they have found that vision in the art of Alex Grey. Transfigurations, the follow-up to Grey’s Sacred Mirrors--one of the most successful art books of the 1990s--includes all of Grey’s major works completed in the following decade. His portrayals of human beings blend anatomical exactitude with visionary depictions of universal life energy. Grey’s striking artwork leads us on the soul’s journey from material world encasement to recovery of the divinely illuminated core.

"Plant Spirit Shamanism"

2012-01-30T08:29:00.000-08:00

In Plant Spirit Shamanism, Ross Heaven and Howard G. Charing explore the use of one of the major allies of shamans for healing, seeing, dreaming, and empowerment--plant spirits. From their years of in-depth shamanic work in the Amazon, Haiti, and Europe, the authors present the core methods of plant shamanism used in healing rituals the world over: soul retrieval, spirit extraction, and sin eating. They explain the techniques shamans use to establish connections to plant spirits and provide practical exercises as well as a directory of traditional Amazonian and Caribbean healing plants and their common North American equivalents so readers can explore the world of plant spirits and make allies of their own.

Shamanism as Evolutionary Psychology

2012-01-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

Shamanism has achieved a dramatic modern resurgence. A recent study by one of the foremost scholars on shamanism today reveals that the contemporary world still hungers for transcendent experiences because the shamanic narrative is hard-wired in us all. In his 2010 book, Shamanism: A Biopsychosocial Paradigm of Consciousness and Healing, Michael Winkelman presents the shamanic paradigm within a biopsychosocial framework for explaining successful human evolution through group rituals. According to Winkelman, shamanism is based in innate functions of the brain, mind, and consciousness. Shamanic experiences such as trance states, soul flight, and death and rebirth are natural manifestations of human consciousness rooted in psychobiological structures. The psychobiological basis of shamanism provided it with functional roles in survival and cultural evolution, producing an evolved psychology that has applications in relatively intractable modern problems such as the treatment of addictions and in addressing the consequences of violence, trauma, alienation, and disconnectedness. Read more

"Catastrophobia: The Truth Behind Earth Changes"

2011-12-31T12:30:00.000-08:00

In her book Catastrophobia: The Truth Behind Earth Changes, Barbara Hand Clow examines legendary cataclysms and the fear they have instilled in our collective consciousness. Scientific data reveals a great cataclysm occurred only 11,500 years ago, which geology calls the Late Pleistocene Extinctions and theologians call the Flood or the Fall. According to Clow, this collective trauma has not been processed, afflicting our species with an intense phobia of catastrophes. Crippled by fear of an impending disaster, people do not care for the Earth and its inhabitants. Moreover, we project our collective fears, creating a coming apocalypse as a self-fulfilling prophecy. This occurs, because consciousness creates the material world.

The disaster, however, already happened! It is the past, not the future. Scientifically speaking, although there are periodic asteroid impacts and severe climate changes, an event as great as the Cataclysm of 9500 B.C. occurs about every 30 million years in our solar system. Instead of the world ending in December 2012, Catastrophobia explores the probability that the stage is set for a major evolutionary breakthrough -- a great spiritual and intellectual awakening. Clow asserts, "We are a wounded species on the verge of recovery, and we're poised to undertake the brave journey back to our previous brilliance."

"Your Homunculus Is A Liar"

2011-12-29T17:29:00.000-08:00

The person who lives inside your head may seem rational and honest, but who is fooling who? If you are fortunate there is only one voice and if you are sober the voice should be sensible. Or so we would like to think. Two recent studies suggest otherwise. As it turns out, our homunculi are unrealistic optimists and veritable liars. While this may sound calamitous, it isn’t. There are good evolutionary reasons for lying to ourselves and being cheerful about it. Read more

The Azure Dragon and the White Tiger

2011-12-20T12:40:00.000-08:00

by Michael Drake

The 2011 Winter Solstice will occur at 05:30 (or 5:30am) Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on December 22, 2011, when winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere. Solstice means "Standing-Still-Sun." At Winter Solstice, the Sun journeys farthest south in its orbital path and for the next three days it rises and sets at virtually the same place on the horizon, appearing to stand still, and then it slowly returns north.

Like the sun, my journey south has ended. I am returning north to rest in my Oregon home. Compelled by Mother Earth's birthing pangs, I left home to shamanize the meridian system of her numinous web. Earth, human, and solar processes are interwoven through a vibrational resonant network around the planet. These energy ley lines contain a two-fold element, a male and female, positive and negative, expanding and reverting breath, resembling two magnetic currents--the azure dragon and the white tiger. At the intersection points of the planet's energy web exist holy places, power spots, or acupuncture points. Like acupuncture needles, humans are capable of maintaining the harmonious flow of the planetary energy meridians by making an Earth connection at power places.

The Hollow Bone Teaching

2011-12-14T12:41:00.000-08:00

Frank Fools Crow was a revered Lakota Holy Man who taught that you must become like a "hollow bone" to be a great healer. He believed that to become a conduit for the source of all creation fulfills the destiny of the human spirit: to sustain the order of existence. According to Fools Crow, "We are called to become hollow bones for our people, and anyone else we can help. We are not supposed to seek power for our personal use and honor. What we bones really become is the pipeline that connects Wakan Tanka, the helpers and the community together." In his becoming a hollow bone, Fools Crow believed that he went through four stages:

Shamanic Drumming Workshop in Mammoth Lakes

2011-11-11T11:34:00.000-08:00

Power Animal Drumming Workshop
Facilitated by Michael Drake
Wednesday December 7, 2011
6 to 8 pm in Mammoth
Workshop Fee: $69.00 per person
Scholarships Available

In this two hour workshop we will learn the art and practice of power animal drumming. Power Animal Drumming is a shamanic way to evoke and internalize animal archetypes. An animal archetype represents the spirit and attributes of the entire species of that animal. Shamanism is the endeavor to cultivate ongoing relationships with power animals to gain insight, healing methods, and other vital information that can benefit the community. Learning to shift your consciousness, to align with and adapt your energies to power animals, opens your heart and mind to the wisdom and strength of the animal world.

The Birth of a Shamanic Drum

2011-11-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

The birth of a shamanic drum adds a new branch on the World Tree/Tree of Life, which links the Earth and Sky. This central axis exists within each of us. Through the sound of the drum, which is invariably made of wood from the World Tree, we are transported to the axis within and conveyed from plane to plane. When you make or acquire a new drum for shamanic work, ask each of the six powers/directions to bless your drum. Thank the animal spirit for giving its hide for your drum head. Thank the trees for your drum’s wooden rim and ask that the drum’s hoop be connected to the World Tree which enables all trees to sing your prayers while drumming.

My Journey

2011-10-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

Spirit is calling me. Mother Earth is birthing a new beginning. She is dissolving the existing order and fashioning a new arrangement from the pieces. The earthquakes, erupting volcanoes, tsunamis and climate changes are the birth pangs of this new world. As her birth pangs grow stronger and stronger, I feel compelled to travel to the sacred sites that beckon me. I travel with my drum, medicine bundle and helping spirits. As I travel, I am overwhelmed by the beauty and power of nature. Each holy site is a portal to the womb of the sacred mother where I am reborn again and again. I do not know where my journey will take me or when it will end. I am currently performing ceremonials and workshops near Big Pine, CA. To learn more or to participate, click here. To view my Picasa photo travelogue click here.

Bagby Hot Springs Journey Tubs

2011-10-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

by Michael Drake

One of my favorite sacred sites is Bagby Hot Springs located about 67 miles southeast of Portland, OR. I make periodic pilgrimages to Bagby to soak and journey in the hollowed-out cedar log bathtubs. The cedar log tubs symbolize and embody the "World Tree," which is the central axis linking the three inner planes of consciousness: the upper, middle, and lower worlds. Moreover, the thermal waters of Bagby are a link between the lower world and the middle earth plane. Like the classic Steppenwolf rock song, a shamanic journey here is nothing short of a "Magic Carpet Ride." Though I savor the divine natural sounds of Bagby, the profane human sounds can be distracting. I recommend that pilgrims bring shamanic journey music and a portable audio device with headphones to support your journey:

I like to dream yes, yes, right between my sound machine

On a cloud of sound I drift in the night

Any place it goes is right

Goes far, flies near, to the stars away from here

--"Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf

Seeing With the Eyes Shut: Ayahuasca Visions

2011-10-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

The hallucinogenic brew Ayahuasca has been used for centuries by South American rain forest shamans as a religious sacrament. The "spirit vine" facilitates mystical visions and revelations, and is believed to have healing properties. Though there have been very few studies of its effects on brain function, a Brazilian research team reports one of the very first functional neuroimaging studies of the drug's effects. Results indicate that Ayahuasca visions stem from the activation of an extensive network involving vision, memory, and intention. In the primary visual area, the effect is comparable in magnitude to the activation levels of natural images with the eyes open. By boosting the intensity of an inner image to the same level of a natural image, Ayahuasca imparts a valid sense of reality to inner experiences. Read More

"Tribal Drum: The Original Instructions"

2011-10-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

According to Ojibwe author, poet, painter, sculptor and computer artist, Turtle Heart, the "Native American Tribal Drum has status as a 'person;' not as an 'object'. Its makers and keepers are expected to understand the original instructions. The North American Indian drum is not one drum, it is many drums." Read More

Mongolian Youth Revitalize Shamanism

2011-09-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

While traditional shamanism continues to decline around the world, it is currently undergoing a revival in

Mongolia

. Mongolian youth are leading the revitalization effort, sometimes guided by authentic former shamans. Mongolian shamanism has the longest recorded history in the world. The word Böö "shaman" first appeared on oracle bones from the late Shang Dynasty (1600-1050 BCE). Read More

The Dances of Manchu Shamans

2011-09-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

Many of the dances Manchu shamans perform are offerings to animal deities. The shaman first performs an invocation dance, sometimes carrying two drums (the so-called "grabbing" and "carrying" drums), and then the shaman enters a trance state, alternatively referred to as the act of "contacting the deity". The shaman embodies the deity, behaving in a manner characteristic of the animal summoned, often emitting calls. For example, "when the ‘Spotted Leopard Fire God’ enters the shaman’s body, the shaman immediately drops to the ground and begins to walk on all fours. Sometimes he puts his hands in his lap in order to look around, and may roar loudly. The shaman’s helpers then hold up some burning coals which the shaman puts in his mouth. At this moment all the lights go off. The shaman’s cheeks are burning red and he spits sparks, some of which are over a meter long. Puffing and blowing sounds are heard emanating from the shaman." Read More

Power Animal Drumming

2011-09-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

© 2011 by Michael Drake

A shaman or shamaness, by definition (vide Prof. Hutton, Shamans, Hambledon & London, London 2001), is "someone who works with spirits to help others." Shamanism is the intentional effort to acquire and nurture ongoing relationships with personal helping spirits to gain wisdom, healing techniques, and other vital information that can benefit the community.

What I mean by the term spirits is all the material and immaterial forms of life energy that are all around us. We are woven together into a net of life energies that are all around us. These energies can appear to us in different forms, such as spirits of nature, animals, or ancestors. The spirit world is the web of life itself.

Whether you realize it or not, you have always had helper spirits. Helping spirits are like family and friends, and each has a unique personality. The majority of helping spirits take an animal form, most commonly a mammal or bird. Not everyone experiences helping spirits as animals. In cultures where there are no indigenous animals or even birds or insects, the messengers of spirit are experienced through representations of the elements: air, water, fire, earth, sun, moon, planets, stars, and so on.

Global Dismemberment Through the Shaman's Eye

2011-09-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

Streaming live on the Co-Creator Radio Network on Tuesday, September 20, at 11 a.m. Pacific time/2 p.m. Eastern time, on her show "Why Shamanism Now?: A Practical Path to Authenticity," Christina Pratt talks to Richard Whiteley, author of The Corporate Shaman, who answers the question so very many are asking these days: What is happening around us? We see severe weather, colossal oil spills, and species dying off. We see corruption in banking, politics, and religions around the world. We see riots, anger, and hopelessness in our communities. According to Whiteley, this is "shamanic dismemberment": the experience of being pulled apart, eaten, or stripped layer by layer, down to the bare bones on a global scale, allowing for a shift of awareness and transformation of collective consciousness. And perhaps more importantly, Whiteley shares why he feels there is reason to be hopeful and how we can participate with spirit in the Remembering so that the world we co-create is different than before. Prior episodes from "Why Shamanism Now" can be downloaded for free from the iTunes library.

The Symbolization Process of the Shamanic Drum

2011-09-10T17:18:00.000-07:00

In her scholarly article "The Symbolization Process of the Shamanic Drums Used by the Manchus and Other Peoples in North Asia," Lisha Li establishes a universal framework describing how the drum as a symbol transmits symbolic meanings among shamans, people and the spirit world. She provides an in-depth analysis of the symbolic functions of the drum from an ethnomusicological point of view. All elements of drum music such as timbre, rhythm, volume and tempo play an important role in Manchu shamanic ritual. By using different parts of the drumstick to play on different parts of the drum, different timbres can be produced for transmitting different meanings. Different rhythms transmit different meanings and enable the shaman to contact different beings in different realms of the cosmos. Volume and tempo arouse feelings in the listener and communicate symbolic meanings directly as aural sense experience. The drum is also a visual symbol loaded with symbolic meanings. Read More.

Coast Salish Shamanic Spindle Whorls

2011-09-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

The spindle whorl, once an indispensable tool for aboriginal weaving, is no longer just a museum artifact, but a symbol that has been reborn as an icon to globally identify the cultural lineage of the Coast Salish people from the Pacific Northwest Coast. Salish women were unrivaled in their ability to produce beautiful textiles that had social and spiritual significance. Many Salish spindle whorls have sophisticated and powerful carved designs -- human, animal and geometric. The whorl was placed on a wooden spindle to add the weight needed to maintain the spinning motion, and to prevent the wool from falling off the rod as it was being spun. As the whorl turned, the designs would blur together into a swirling kaleidoscope, entrancing the spinner. This shamanic trance state was considered vital: it gave the spinner the ability to create sacred textiles imbued with spirit power. To learn more read: "Coast Salish Spindle Whorl: From Practical Use to Present Day Art," The Spindle Whorl: An Activity Book Ages 9-12, and visit Coast Salish artist Susan Point's website.

Shamanic Music: Sounds of the Soul

2011-09-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

Shamanic music is traditionally performed as part of a shamanic ritual, however it is not a musical performance in the normal sense. The shaman is focused on the healing intention or spiritual energy of what he or she is playing, to the point that musical considerations are minimal. Shamanic music is improvised by the shaman to modify movement and change while actively journeying into the spirit world. It is a musical expression of the soul, supporting the shamanic flight of the soul. Sacred music is directed more to the spirit world than to an audience. The shaman's attention is directed inwards towards communication with the spirits, rather than outwards to any listeners who might be present.

Shamanism and Google Consciousness

2011-08-25T17:57:00.000-07:00

The ™Media Mandala

Multimedia shaman Rome Viharo is a musician, filmmaker, and founder of Media Social. In a recent TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) Talk titled "Google Consciousness," Viharo made the correlation between Peruvian shamanism and Google search -- two contradictory models of consciousness that share a share a metaphor in common -- collective problem solving. In the talk, Viharo draws a parallel between how Peruvian shamans access plant consciousness and how memes or ideas spread from person to person within a culture. Viharo says, "It essentially refers to an idea that spreads virally called Google Consciousness that plays with the idea that the Internet could become sentient, meaning conscious -- aware. The Google algorithm, especially the way we use it, is now actually a contender for being conscious. We use it as a metaphor for a collective intelligence or a collective consciousness with the participation between technology and people using the Web. What is more bizarre to consider: intelligent plants or intelligent computers?" View the TED Talk video "Google Consciousness," based in part on Daniel Dennett's model of consciousness in his landmark book Consciousness Explained.

"Shamanic Journeys Through Daghestan"

2011-08-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

In his book, Shamanic Journeys Through Daghestan, gifted storyteller Michael Berman brings to life the shamanic traditions and folk tales of the tribal clans of Daghestan, an isolated mountainous region of Russia to the North of the Caucasus Mountains along the west shore of the Caspian Sea. These 32 distinct ethnic groups, each with its own language, culture, customs, and arts, are now connected through Islam, but their ancient stories and oral traditions reveal their shamanic roots. Quests, journeys, spirit helpers and shape-shifting are common motifs within what Bergman terms "shamanic stories." Bergman argues for the introduction of a distinct genre in academia - shamanic story - that has either been based on or inspired by a shamanic journey, or one that contains a number of the elements typical of such a journey. Shamanic stories bring people directly into immediate encounters with spiritual forces, integrating healing at physical and spiritual levels. This process allows them to connect with the power of the universe, to externalize their own knowledge, and to internalize their answers. Furthermore, through the use of narrative, shamans are able to provide their clients with a language, by means of which unexpressed, and otherwise inexpressible, trance states can be expressed.

Awakening into Dreamtime

2011-08-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

In her essay "Awakening into Dreamtime: The Shaman's Journey," Wynne Hanner explores the Australian Aboriginal concept of Dreamtime as a source of and guide to transforming our own world view. According to Aboriginal mythology, Dreamtime is a sacred era in which ancestral Spirit Beings formed The Creation. Indigenous Australians believe the world is real only because it has been dreamed into being. Hanner explains, "The Aborigines embrace the concept of 'reality dreaming', with reality and Dreamtime intertwined. Reality can be illusion, deception, learning, perception, experience, and is the evolution of consciousness in the alchemy of time. Reality shifts and changes like the flow of the collective unconscious, and is in constant motion creating new spiral patterns of experience. Reality, in its illusion, is the dream from which we all awaken. To understand and work with these concepts is to awaken into the dream." Read Awakening into Dreamtime and support your Dreamtime explorations with Didgeridoo for the Shamanic Journey.

"Places of Peace and Power"

2011-08-07T22:30:00.000-07:00

Martin Gray is an intrepid National Geographic photographer whose work I have been following since meeting him in 1993 at the Earth and Spirit Conference in Portland, Oregon. Over the course of 25 years, he traveled to 120 countries on a photographic Vision Quest to sacred sites all over the world. In his travels, he recognized that the sacred places he visited were repositories of many of the world's greatest artistic and cultural treasures. But because of their outdoor locations and resulting exposure to industrial pollution, these structures do not receive the protection given to paintings, sculptures, and other museum art. To draw attention to the precarious situation of the world's sacred sites, Martin published Sacred Earth: Places of Peace and Power, which bears beautiful testimony to his life's mission and to his deep connection to Spirit. Hundreds of full color plates capture the essence of these great pilgrimage shrines. Prior to taking each picture Martin offered up a prayer to the Spirit of the place asking them to, "fill my photographs with such feeling and power that people may one day look upon them and be magically transported to these places." It is more than evident that those prayers were answered. Martin says, "I personally consider these photographs to be telescopes through which you may peer across time and space into enchanted domains of sublime beauty."

Journey into the Cave of Consciousness

2011-07-31T17:40:00.000-07:00

Caves are akin to the classic inward journey of the shaman, which transforms the individual as well as the culture. In his 2010 documentary, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Werner Herzog gains exclusive access to film inside the nearly inaccessible Chauvet Cave in Southern France, capturing the oldest known pictorial creations of humankind. It's an unforgettable cinematic experience that provides a unique glimpse of pristine artwork depicting archetypal shamanic journey themes dating back over 30,000 years. View the trailer.

"In the Light of Reverence"

2011-07-28T22:03:00.000-07:00

The award winning documentary, “In the Light of Reverence” explores three places considered sacred by American Indians: Devils Tower in Wyoming, the Colorado Plateau in the Southwest and Mount Shasta in California. The native peoples who traditionally care for these areas still struggle to co-exist with mainstream society. The film contrasts perspectives of Hopi, Wintu and Lakota elders on the spiritual meaning of place with views of non-Indians who have very different ideas about land, culture and what is sacred. The continuing degradation of sacred sites stems not only from colonial attitudes about the lands where native people live and worship, but also from prejudice and disrespect for native religions. Indian religious freedom is an environmental issue, and the destruction of sacred sites is the ultimate environmental racism. Watch the trailer or rent the DVD from Netflix.

Wild Sanctuary

2011-07-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

Bernie Krause is an American musician, soundscape recorder and bio-acoustician, who coined the term biophony, which refers to the collective sound vocal non-human animals create in each given environment. Long devoted to sound and music, he has led an amazing life of exploration and innovation. From a classical musical background, to pioneering the use of the synthesizer in pop music and film, to his current explorations into the world of natural soundscapes, Krause continues to innovate new ways of perceiving and valuing the aural world. His company, Wild Sanctuary has produced over 50 environmental record albums and created environmental sound sculptures for museums and other public spaces. Google Earth uses Krause's sound layering technology to allow people to hear soundscapes from all over the world.

Krause's mission is to help connect people to the wild by presenting, preserving, and protecting the voice of the natural world, which is being lost due to increasing habitat degradation and human noise. Krause explains, "Natural orchestrations, the sounds of our unaltered temperate, tropical, arctic, desert and marine habitats, are becoming exceedingly rare and difficult to find. The keys to our musical past and the origins of complex intra-species connection may be learned from the acoustic output of these wonderful places. We are beginning to learn that the isolated voice of a song bird cannot give us very much useful information. It is the acoustical fabric into which that song is woven that offers up an elixir of formidable intelligence that enlightens us about ourselves, our past, and the very creatures we have longed to know so well." Read More

Photographing the Essence of Healing

2011-07-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

Smoke and Mirrors: A Journey to Healing Knowledge

by Vance Gellert, PhD

"While the term smoke and mirrors is often pejorative when applied to some activity, suggesting something that is deceptive or fake, to me it is magic. Here it refers to the unexplained magic of healing that is part of the healer-patient relationship. As a pharmacologist I believe that in-depth studies of plants used for healing in indigenous cultures will provide the best source of finding new medicines. My strategy has been to not engage in documentary photography, but to interview healers and then observe and participate in their healing rituals. This portfolio is a story of my journey to healing knowledge that starts at the spirit of place and proceeding through the various facets of traditional and indigenous healing to how art and photography can lead to innovative ways of knowing." Read More

Sami Musician Johan Sara

2011-07-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

Johan Sara, the son of a reindeer herder, is one of the world's most famous Sami musicians. His CD, Transmission is hypnotic and trance-inducing, reminiscent of the Sami shaman's joik. His is the sound of the icy wind blowing across the frozen tundra. It is the call of the wolf and the reindeer. The creative muse for this genre-free innovator is his people's archaic traditions and their Artic surroundings. Sara explains, "I learnt early in life the way of my people's joik. One's joik, is one's way. One's way of doing things, one's way of living and singing and making music." Read More

Breitenbush Hot Springs

2011-07-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

by Michael Drake

For the past week, I have been camped near Breitenbush Hot Springs, adjacent to Mt. Jefferson, the great sacred mountain and second highest peak in Oregon. Since discovering the tranquil hot springs in 1980, I have made periodic pilgrimages to Breitenbush to "take the waters." I have visited sacred sites throughout North America, but Breitenbush is the most enchanting nirvana I have ever experienced.

"The Calling"

2011-06-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

An excerpt from the forthcoming book, Shamanic Drumming: Calling the Spirits
Copyright © 2011 by Michael Drake

Though the subtitle of this book is Calling the Spirits, it was the spirits who first called me. I do not know why I was chosen. I ceased making such queries long ago. Over the years, I learned to just "go with the flow." The how and why of my circumstances became less important to me than the lessons that I was learning along the way. As time passed, I began to see how my life experiences honed me into the artist I am today.

Free Shamanic Music Download

2011-06-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

Sacred Songs & Chants by Michael Drake

A collection of 14 multicultural and original songs and chants sung by Michael Drake. Singing and drumming are extremely powerful tools for restoring the vibrational integrity of body, mind, and spirit. When coupled together, they move us to a level of awareness beyond form, a place where we discover our own divinity. Each song and chant on this recording has a specific purpose for invoking or paying homage to spirit beings and deities. Each one creates a vibratory resonance that allows these forces to be called forth. Tracks: Introduction, Eagle Chant, Hummingbird Chant, Coyote Chant, Bear Chant, Buffalo Chant, Horse Chant, Earth Chant, Rainbow Fire Chant, Raven Song, Forest Song, Cherokee Morning Song, Wolf Chant, Song to the West, Sedna Song. Download Sacred Songs & Chants at Archive.org. See more of our Free Downloads

"The Last of the Shor Shamans"

2011-06-24T11:37:00.000-07:00

The Last of the Shor Shamans focuses on the fundamentals of Shor shamanism from interviews with the few remaining authentic shamans from the Shor Mountain region of Siberia. The authors Alexander Arbachakov and Luba Arbachakov are themselves indigenous Shors, which only substantiates their study even more. The book provides details surrounding shamanic practice, spirit communication, and shamanic drumming. It examines how the shamanic drum is constructed, how it is played, and the role it plays in shamanic ceremony. In short, the reader gains insight into the meanings behind every component of the drum and performance methodologies. This much needed book may be the only way the vanishing indigenous Shor people are remembered. It is a prized work for scholars in Siberian shamanism, folklore, and cultural studies.

Can Archetypes Be Heard?

2011-06-21T19:29:00.000-07:00

When we hear a melody, a rhythm or a mere sound, we sometimes feel an emotion that goes beyond mere sensory perception, but is not necessarily limited to an aesthetic emotion. A touch of the arcane together with a certain feeling of uneasiness can help us define this sensation as a 'primordial' emotion. At these moments, one is projected into the world of the symbolic by means of sound and music.

Shamanic Skiing

2011-06-14T18:49:00.000-07:00

by Michael Drake

I love to ski and shamanize. For the past two weeks, I have been camping and cross-country skiing in the mountains of sunny Central Oregon. The spring skiing has been excellent at the Mt. Bachelor Nordic Ski Center. I camp most nights a few miles below the Nordic center at the Virginia Miessner Nordic Snow Park. Meissner is a great place to camp because the ample parking area is free of snow and has vault toilets, along with a 30 foot diameter warming yurt. I sleep like a monk in a mummy bag on a mattress inside a fiberglass canopy mounted on the back of my pickup.

Each morning, I arise early to greet the sun with song and prayers. I then cook a simple meal of oatmeal with dried cranberries, chopped almonds, and green tea. After breakfast, I am ready to begin shamanic skiing; my offering to "all our relations." As I kick and glide along the groomed trails, I sing songs to the forest and mountain spirits. I sing to the plants, birds, and animals. I pause to touch and connect with the elder mountain hemlocks along the trail. I thank them for the oxygen that I breathe and send out prayers of gratitude to the tree of life. I thank the Thunder Beings for sending down a glorious white blanket of snow to totally neutralize the harmful causes of disease.

"Transcultural Collisions"

2011-06-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

"Music and Shamanism in Siberia"

Tim Hodgkinson is an English anthropologist and member of the music ensemble K-Space. After making a series of trips to Tuva to perform and study shamanism, Hodgkinson has published a personal perspective of his musical encounters with shamanic culture. Hodgkinson explains, "At the heart of Tuvan artistic imagination is an image of nature as a totality, as a cosmos. It is towards this cosmos that an artist strives to open. Artistic skill is knowing how to work this opening towards the cosmos into sound by revealing the inner nature of sound. Thus the emergence of xoomei throat singing from a background of shamanic belief seems quite logical when understood as deriving from a cultural tendency to want to unveil the hidden inner character of a phenomenon, rather than to manipulate its exterior. By filtering and amplifying the upper harmonics of a fundamental vibration we are unveiling its hidden life. Tuvan melody is the unfolding of the inner nature of a single sound because it is made completely of these upper harmonics." Read More

"White People Also Dream"

2011-06-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

The Shamanic Journey of a Sangoma

Through the experience of a young woman, this South African documentary provides a rare, insightful glimpse into the lives of Xhosa sangomas (or shamans). Sangomas, like the voodoo-adherents, practice a religion where one worships the ancestral spirits to implore protection, prosperity and healing. Sheila Dorje's growth from a troubled woman to a sangoma begins with distressing dreams that lead her to believe she is destined to be a traditional healer. But even though she discovers the root of her unsettling dreams, she still must struggle to become a sangoma. She begins the rigorous training to become a sangoma and is given a Xhosa name, Nobuyile, which means "She who has returned". Watch the trailer

Timeless Wisdom for Changing Times

2011-06-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

An Interview With Thaayrohyadi, Toltec Wisdom Keeper

by Leslee Goodman

Dabadi Thaayrohyadi is a spiritual leader and lineage keeper of the Otomi Olmec Toltec Teotihuacan Tradition. In 1999, Thaay's elders received the message that it was time to reinstate the 8,000 Sacred Drums ceremony, which had been a tradition of his people for some 4,000 years, until the arrival of and persecution by the Spanish. The ancestors knew that the time would come when indigenous knowledge would again be needed and foretold that the Great Healing of the Earth and of our relationships with all our relations would begin when the sound of 8,000 drums was heard in the Otomi Toltec region again. Since 2004, participation in the annual ceremony, which takes place during the spring equinox--which is also the Otomi New Year--has been building.

Thaay is currently on a year-long pilgrimage to call "all brothers and sisters, light workers, peace keepers, earth keepers, wisdom keepers--all our relations--o come together" in Toluca, Mexico, the week of March 14-21, 2012. He says, "The earth is in distress, yet people have the power to heal and alleviate this distress. This is the power of intention, of energy, of prayer and vibration. When the sound of 8,000 drums is heard together, we will begin healing of the Earth and our walk together on the path to Sacred Peace." Read More

Healing the Warrior: One Beat at a Time

2011-06-03T16:00:00.000-07:00

According to Mr. Sadhu Singh Khalsa, founder of the Healing the Warrior Program (HTWP) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, "true lasting healing must include the body, mind, and spirit." He states that approximately 30% of the Armed services veterans coming back from Iraq and almost 80% of the National Guard are experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. According to Khalsa, "there are 26 million veterans in the United States from all wars. Medicine today focuses primarily on symptom abatement. But we need to get to the core and address the spiritual aspects of the healing process." Read More

"The Beauty of the Primitive"

2011-05-31T08:33:00.000-07:00

"Shamanism and the Western Imagination"

Andrei A. Znamenski's illuminating book The Beauty of the Primitive explores how shamanic ideology was gradually transplanted from Siberia into Western humanities and social sciences and developed into the neo-shamanic movement. It discusses the sources that inspire Western neo-shamans such as the following quote from an Altaian shaman regarding the power of the drum, "One strike of a drumstick at a drum will turn over all your life. The sick shall be cured, the weak shall be powerful, the unlucky ones shall catch their luck, the poor shall become rich, an enemy shall turn into a friend, the unhappy shall recover their happiness, and the helpless shall be the mighty. Like a deer, the shaman drum will carry you over all the worlds, where you shall see all your past and future incarnations, acquire the gift of telepathy, and will be able to read people's thoughts at a distance knowing in advance if they bring you good or evil." With its interdisciplinary approach and clear language, the book is designated for anthropologists, historians, psychologists and all readers who are interested in shamanism. Read the Free eBook The Beauty of the Primitive.

"Altered States During Shamanic Drumming"

2011-05-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

A Phenomenological Study

by Anette Kjellgren & Anders Eriksson, University of Karlstad

"This study investigated the experiences gained from a 20-minute shamanic-like drumming session. Twenty-two persons participated and made written descriptions afterwards about their experiences. A phenomenological analysis was applied which generated 31 categories that were organized into six themes: 1) The undertaking of the drumming journey, 2) Perceptual phenomena: visual, auditory and somatic, 3) Encounters, 4) Active vs. Passive role, 5) Inner wisdom and guidance, and 6) Reflections on the drumming journey. A multitude of detailed experiences were described such as visual imagery, hearing sounds, encountering animals, as well as gaining insights. Participants generally appreciated the drumming session and few negative effects were noted. The conclusion made is that shamanic-like drumming can be a valuable supplement to other psychotherapeutic techniques." To learn more read the Shamanic Drumming Study and listen to Shamanic Journey Drumming.

Why is Music an Essential Part of Life?

2011-05-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

The critically acclaimed documentary, "Intangible Asset No. 82" reveals this without implicitly telling us the answer. We discover it through a viewer's participation in Australian jazz drummer Simon Barker's quest to find an elusive Korean shamanic drummer. After hearing a recording, Barker made a commitment to find and learn from the master drummer. Yet despite his official designation as one of

South Korea

's cultural treasures or "82nd intangible asset," Kim Seok-Chul remained elusive. Barker's seven year journey becomes a rite of passage, as he has meaningful encounters with the engaging and eclectic characters who will eventually lead him to the enigmatic shaman only days before the master's death. To view the trailer visit "Intangible Asset No. 82" or watch the documentary instantly at Netflix.

"Intimate Apprenticeship"

2011-05-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

Streaming live on the Co-Creator Radio Network on Tuesday, May 24, at 11 a.m. Pacific time/2 p.m. Eastern time, on her show "Why Shamanism Now?: A Practical Path to Authenticity," Christina Pratt talks to Paula Denham, founder and Director of the Sacramento Shamanic Center, who shares her experience with local and intimate apprenticeship. Working with the guidance of her helping spirits, Denham has cultivated an ongoing system for teaching and apprenticeship that steps out of the workshop format and back into the power of the circle, of community, and of the personal growth and accountability inherent in authentic shamanic practice. Prior episodes from "Why Shamanism Now" can be downloaded for free from the iTunes library.

Tuvan Art and Shamanism

2011-05-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

Tim Hodgkinson is an English anthropologist, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Hodgkinson, along with Scottish percussionist Ken Hyder and Tuvan master shamanic musician and throat singer Gendos Chamzyryn, comprise the electroacoustic improvisation trio K-Space. After making a series of trips to Tuva to perform and study shamanic culture, Hodgkinson has published an essay exploring the relationship between art and shamanism. In the abstract Hodgkinson explains, "Tuvan art invokes a particular construction of 'nature' (and of an experience of nature) as a total cosmos embracing both 'this' and 'other' worlds. The concept of küsh (spiritual energy or force) bridges the boundary between art and shamanism, but does not abolish it. Both art and shamanism set in motion a movement of the imagination that extends beyond everyday modes of representation. They diverge, finally, in three ways: first, by the degree to which occasion is determinative: second, by the direction of movement between material and imaginary planes (being there/being away with the spirits): third, by the specific role given to the shaman in relation to the imagined."
Read more of "Musicians, Carvers, Shamans" published in Cambridge Anthropology Vol 25.

Siberian Shamanic Drumming: Drum and Space

2011-05-17T18:43:00.000-07:00

Ken Hyder is a percussionist and member of the British-Siberian experimental music ensemble K-Space. The electroacoustic improvisation trio was formed in Tuva, Siberia in 1996 and has released three CDs, including Infinity (2008), which is a new, revolutionary album which is different every time you play it. Infinity will not work in a standard CD player and requires a computer to play it. Each time the CD is played, supplied software remixes source material located on the disc and produces a new 20-minute musical piece. The music produced by the CD is eclectic improvising that is deeply rooted in Siberian shamanic music. John Cavanagh of The Herald in Glasgow said in a review of the album that even though he knew each listening was the result of a "computer triggered sequence," it always sounded like a "cohesive musical work, as though it was meant to be that way."

Hyder, who has studied with Siberian shamans, has published a very informative guide to the dungur or Siberian shamanic drum. The essay examines how the dungur is constructed, how it is played, and the role it plays in shamanic practice. In shamanic performance, musical considerations are minimal. The focus is on the spiritual intention or the energy of what is being played. As Hyder explains, "My approach to music making changed decisively following my experiences in Siberia. For me it starts with the dungur and the expanded possibilities of variation arising from its superficially apparent instability. And it continues to open up with other musicians being equally free in themselves and in the context of a group. That opening up has the capacity to expand and expand further making the playing fresh, different and spontaneous each time." To learn more, read Drum and Space (PDF).

Shamanism and the Spiritual Warrior

2011-05-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

Streaming live on the Co-Creator Radio Network on Tuesday, May 17, at 11 a.m. Pacific time/2 p.m. Eastern time, on her show "Why Shamanism Now?: A Practical Path to Authenticity," Christina Pratt explores how the shamanic relationship between humans and helping spirits supports our inner warrior. Humanity has offered many paths to support the spirit warrior's quest for self-realization, but most of these paths are unreachable by the ordinary contemporary individual. Pratt tells listeners that helping spirits, if engaged regularly and skillfully, offer flexibility, creativity and perseverance in fulfilling our own unique path. Prior episodes from "Why Shamanism Now" can be downloaded for free from the iTunes library.

The Last of the Chukchi Shamans

2011-05-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

Yuri Rytkheu (1930-2008) sailed the Bearing Sea and explored the Arctic on geological expeditions. The son of a hunter, he was born in the coastal village of Uelen on the Siberian Chukotka Peninsula. Considered to be the most significant indigenous author in

Russia

, he wrote over a dozen novels and collections of short stories describing the unique ecological and cultural wisdom of the Chukchi people. His novel A Dream in Polar Fog was a Kiriyama Pacific Rim Prize Notable Book in 2006. The most recent English translation of his work is The Chukchi Bible, a collection of the myths and tales of Rytkheu's own grandfather, the last of the Chukchi shamans. The stories describe both a moving history of the Chukchi, who traditionally lived as hunters and nomadic reindeer herders, and the training of shamans; the passing on of rituals and healing skills. Rytkheu's poetic prose and vivid imagery bring out the best and worst of life on the Arctic coast. In a short introduction Rytkheu explains, "The book is not just the story of my lineage, and not just the story of our clan, but also the genealogy and the root of all my books." Essentially, Rytkheu himself becomes the last shaman, who as a writer magically revives Chukchi culture. Read an excerpt from the book as well as the short story "The Safekeeping of Names," a tale of the Shaman Kalyach.

Shamanism and Music in Tuva

2011-05-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

Valentina Suzukei is one of Tuva's leading ethnomusicologists and the author of three books on Tuvan music. She recently published the results of a multifaceted study of Tuvan music culture. Suzukei's article takes a closer look at the Tuvan musical phenomenon and the revolutionary transformation of Tuvan musical life in the twentieth century. Tuvan folk music is deeply rooted in nature and shamanism and considered a unique contribution to the evolution of human culture. It is an artistic expression of the nomads' experience of acoustical immersion in the sounds of their natural environment. Images of nature occupy a central place in the artistic creations of the Tuvans. Singing a holographic picture of the natural environment is a unique shamanic art form. To learn more read Valentina Suzukei's article "Tuvan Music and the Twentieth Century."

"Power and Responsibility"

2011-05-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

Streaming live on the Co-Creator Radio Network on Tuesday, May 10, at 11 a.m. Pacific time/2 p.m. Eastern time, on her show "Why Shamanism Now?: A Practical Path to Authenticity," Christina Pratt talks to Jonathan Horwitz, co-founder of the Scandinavian Center for Shamanic Studies, about the relationship between shamanic power and personal responsibility. Traditionally, shamanic practice requires significant and constant personal sacrifice, not so much to gain power, but to become the person who can wield that power with responsibility. To learn more read Jonathan Horwitz's article "Power in Your Hand: A Short Introduction to the Rattle." Prior episodes from "Why Shamanism Now" can be downloaded for free from the iTunes library.

Bullroarers, Infrasonics and Trance States

2011-05-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

The bullroarer is an ancient ritual musical instrument that dates back to the Paleolithic period. It is a thin feather shaped piece of wood, which when whirled in the air by means of an attached string, creates a loud buzzing/humming sound or "call." Universally linked to thunder and spirit beings in the sky, these roaring sticks are probably the most widespread among all sacred instruments. In the mid-1980s, acoustic scientists determined that bullroarers produce a range of infrasonics, extremely low frequency sound waves that are below the human auditory threshold. Thunder, earthquakes, waterfalls, waves, drums, gongs, and chanting all generate infrasonics. These waves are picked up by the cochlea (labyrinth) of the ear and stimulate a wide array of euphoric, trance states. To learn more, read Bethe Hagens informative article "Bullroarers" and/or download my Free 15 minute recording, Bullroarer for the Shamanic Journey at archive.org.

Shaman of the Lower East Side

2011-05-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

American poet, publisher, photographer, film maker, and self-described multimedia shaman, Ira Cohen has died at the age of 76 in New York. NY Arts Magazine in 2008 called his life "a sort of white magic produced by an alchemist who turned his back on the establishment in order to find God, art and poetry." Michael Rothenberg, editor of Big Bridge magazine, said in an interview, "Ira was a major figure in the international underground and avant-garde. In order to understand American art and poetry post-World War II, you have to understand Ira Cohen." Read More

Drumming the I Ching

2011-05-04T08:51:00.000-07:00

by Hilary Barrett

For some 3,000 years, people have turned to the I Ching, the Book of Changes, to help them uncover the meaning of their experience, to bring their actions into harmony with their underlying purpose, and above all to build a foundation of confident awareness for their choices.

Free Didgeridoo Guide

2011-05-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

Listen to the Didgeridoo

Joe Cheal has written a very informative guide to the didgeridoo. If you're interested in the didgeridoo, you're going to love this book!

"To hear the Didjeridu is to hear the Universe calling. To play the Didjeridu is to answer the call."

--Joe Cheal

Read or Download the Free eBook The Didjeridu: A Guide (PDF).

The Two Horses of Genghis Khan

2011-04-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

The documentary "The Two Horses of Genghis Khan" leads the viewer on a journey of musical initiation through Outer Mongolia. The film follows renowned Mongolian singer Urna Chahar Tugchi's trek across

Mongolia

to recover the missing verses of a traditional "Long Song" believed lost and perform the folk song in Ulan Bator. The "Long Song" exists only in

Mongolia

and arose from the adaptation to life on the steppes. It is a technique of singing for hours while on horseback. Read A Look Inside the film, an Interview with Mongolian filmmaker Byambasuren Davaa, and view the trailer The Two Horses of Genghis Khan.

Contemporary Research on Shamanism

2011-04-28T15:03:00.000-07:00

Thomas A. DuBois is a folklorist, researcher, and author of An Introduction to Shamanism. He recently published a scholarly review on the most recent developments and trends in shamanic research and the neoshamanic movement. DuBois's insightful overview is supported by an extensive bibliography to stimulate further research. Read Trends in Contemporary Research on Shamanism (PDF).

One World... One Breath

2011-04-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

World Healing Day is a global event held in hundreds of cities in over 65 nations, the last Saturday of April each year (April 30, 2011), at 10 am local time worldwide. All events are free, open to the public and take many forms. Individuals can find local existing events or they can organize their own. The only rules organizers have are that the events are open to everyone, and that they have a calm healing intention and aspect. Read more

The Inuit Drum: Heartbeat of the Artic

2011-04-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

The Inuit people across the Artic have a rich musical heritage centered on drum dancing. In the drum dance, voice and drum blend to create a mood, tell a story, or entertain. Rhythms are played on a large drum, coupled with chants or narrative songs. The qilaut or wind drum was traditionally made by joining pieces of bone, antler, or flotsam to form a frame. An animal skin was dampened, stretched over the frame, and lashed with sinew. It would often have a handle, like a paddle drum. A beater was used to strike the rim of the drum. Today, frames are made by soaking and steaming a piece of wood, then bending it into a hoop. Most modern drum heads are synthetic fabric. To learn more visit the Pulaarvik Kablu Friendship Centre and/or watch the videos The Qilaut and How to Make an Inuit Drum.

Silent Drum

2011-04-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

Christine Stevens is a music therapist, social worker, and founder of UpBeat Drum Circles. She is the author of The Art and Heart of Drum Circles. After hearing renowned sound healing expert Jill Purce say 'The purpose of sound is silence,' Stevens asked herself the question, "What could meditation and drumming possibly have in common?" She answers this question and offers "some tips on how to drum your way into silence." Read More

The World Drum Project

2011-04-24T16:46:00.000-07:00

The World Drum is a traditional Sami (indigenous people of

Norway

) shamanic drum. It is a symbol of the circle of life and the manifestation of a vision that we are all one. The World Drum Project was launched in Oslo,

Norway

with the ceremonial initiation of the World Drum in front of the Norwegian Parliament in October 2006. That was the beginning of a global healing journey that continues to this day. The World Drum travels from country to country, person to person and from hand to hand, binding the web of life. Visit the World Drum Project site and/or view the World Drum Video.

Vortices, Drumming, and Standing Waves

2011-04-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

In the introduction to Vortices: Altered Consciousness at Newgrange and Knowth Passage Tombs, Elizabeth McCormack, MFA, MA reveals that, under the guidance of ceremonial leaders, passage tombs may have provided communities direct access to the realm of the dead. These ritual monuments provided an ideal environment to induce ecstatic trance and bridge the abyss via sound. Inside the stonebuilt chambers, sound waves form a vortex or tunnel to the spirit world. McCormack cites an ethnographic study of Chukchi shamans who used the architecture of sound itself to create unusual auditory phenomena; "it was found that in a crowded, confined room, the shaman is able to direct his voice and drum sounds to different parts of the room. The source of the sounds is lost, the song and drum shifting around the room seemingly on their own. This is accomplished through the use of standing waves. Standing waves are acoustic phenomena caused by the reflection of sound waves between solid walls, producing zones of low or high intensity of sound as waves either cancel or combine. The sound may seem to expand and move about the chamber or room. Different sounds can be heard in different parts of the room." Read more of Vortices (PDF).

The Shaman-Priests of Casas Grandes

2011-04-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

by Christine S. VanPool, Ph.D.

Casas Grandes, or Paquime, in northern Chihuahua,

Mexico

, was home to a religious system that swept across northern

Mexico

and the southern

United States

between AD 1200 and 1450. It was a world centered on shamanic practice and shamans wielded immense power and influence. The shamans journeyed into the spirit world on behalf of the community; called upon horned serpents to bring rain, the lifeblood for farmers living in the Chihuahuan desert; and performed important rituals to perpetuate water and fertility. These findings challenge long-held beliefs about Southwestern religion and force a reconsideration of the importance of shamanism in the development of social differentiation in societies around the world. Read the article in American Antiquity or the book Signs of the Casas Grandes Shamans, VanPool's scholarly evaluation of recovered artifacts.

Shamans and Stories

2011-04-21T09:19:00.000-07:00

Kira Van Deusen is an author, storyteller and musician who has done extensive research on the oral traditions of Siberian indigenous peoples and the Canadian Inuit. Her in-depth books include Singing Story, Healing Drum: Shamans and Storytellers of Turkic Siberia, The Flying Tiger: Women Shamans and Storytellers of the Amura, and Kiviuq: An Inuit Hero and His Siberian Cousins. Van Deusen's books are a must-read for those interested in northern cultures, shamanism, oral storytelling, and cultural change. Read More

Earth Day 2011: Medicine for the Earth

2011-04-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

Though it can be argued that each day is an opportunity to take steps toward caring for our planet, April 22 was officially designated Earth Day in 1970 through the efforts of Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson. The grassroots movement has gained momentum in the decades since, and each year, groups, organizations and individuals worldwide have come together to demonstrate their commitment to environmental protection and sustainability. Earth Day reminds us that even in this time of unprecedented environmental challenge, every person has the power to affect change on a local, national and global level. From a shamanic perspective, the greatest challenge is learning how to change our inner environment; the thoughts, attitudes and belief systems reflected back to us in the outer world. To learn how you can get involved visit the Earth Day Network and Medicine for the Earth.

Riding With the Spirits

2011-04-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

by Michael Drake

For six months in 2005 I worked as a medical transport driver, assisting clients to and from doctor appointments. The work was very rewarding and I met interesting people from all walks of life. I am truly amazed at how people cope with their illnesses and disabilities. The human spirit is simply irrepressible.

Weather Shamanism: What Weather Teaches

2011-04-18T10:28:00.000-07:00

Streaming live on the Co-Creator Radio Network on Tuesday, April 19, at 11 am Pacific time/2 pm Eastern time, on her show "Why Shamanism Now?: A Practical Path to Authenticity," Christina Pratt welcomes Nan Moss and David Corbin, authors of Weather Shamanism: Harmonizing Our Connection with the Elements. Pratt talks to Moss and Corbin about and the intimate relationship between our inner states, the weather and our ability to transform the damage humans are doing to the environment. Prior episodes from "Why Shamanism Now" can be downloaded for free from the iTunes library.

Rock Art of Siberian Shamanism

2011-04-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

In the introduction of Rock Art and the Material Culture of Siberian and Central Asian Shamanism, Ekaterina Devlet writes, "In Siberia and Central Asia - the 'homelands' of shamanism - there is no ancient tradition of written language, and consequently no direct descriptive data on the lifestyle and belief systems of the prehistoric population. Valuable insights can be however gained from the comparison of rock art images with ethnographic material, which indicate that a shamanic world-view was fundamental for the complex symbolism of the Siberians." A common feature in rock art is the portrayal of the shaman's drum. Even though there are different types, shapes, and images painted on the shamanic drum, it is clearly depicted in the rock art. The range of decoration used on the drums varied from simplistic to innately elaborate. The resemblance is remarkably illustrated, "In the Altai region, images depicted on historical shamanic drums demonstrate a striking similarity with what is shown on the rock engravings" (Devlet 47). Read More

Spirits of the Air

2011-04-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

The Nature and Culture of Birds

by Shepard Krech III

Krech, a renowned authority on Native American interactions with nature, reveals as never before the omnipresence of birds in Native American life. From the time of the earliest known renderings of winged creatures in stone and earthworks through the nineteenth century, when Native southerners took part in decimating bird species with highly valued, fashionable plumage, Spirits of the Air examines the complex and changeable influences of birds on the Native American worldview. Read more

Shamans of Mongolia

2011-04-15T08:44:00.000-07:00

Over the last twenty years Donna Todd has built a career as a photographic artist, primarily a portrait artist. Her work is seen around the world in magazines and exhibitions and she has gained international recognition, winning over 80 prestigious photographic awards over the last five years. One of Todd's recent projects was photographing the shamans of

Mongolia

. A photographic essay (PDF file) of her sojourn among the nomadic Tsaatan reindeer herders can be downloaded for Free at Shamans of Mongolia.

Making a Shaman Drum

2011-04-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

by Steven Kauder

Making a shaman drum is an involved process. You have to consider the quality of the hide. How tightly can you lace it? Does it have any weak spots? Are you making the drum for a dry environment or a humid one? Read more

Drumming as Communication in Mammals

2011-04-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

by Jan A. Randall

"An amazing variety of mammals produce seismic vibrations by drumming

a part of their body on a substrate. The drumming can communicate multiple

messages to conspecifics about territorial ownership, competitive superiority, submission, readiness to mate, or presence of predators. Drumming also functions in interspecific communication when prey animals drum to communicate to predators that they are too alert for a successful ambush. Footdrumming patterns are species specific and range from single thumps to individual footdrum signatures." Read the entire Oxford Journals Article

The Light Inside Dark Times

2011-04-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

by Michael Meade

"News of financial downturns and economic collapse resonates differently to the ears of the soul than it does to the antennae of the mind or the aspirations of the spirit. Spirit seeks "peak experiences" where soul would lead us down, past the "bottom line" into the real depths of life. Soul would make us deeper in order to make us wiser about the world. And, soul would have us each find our path in life even as the world around becomes more troubled. The soul is the light inside the growing darkness, the hidden quintessence secretly holding things together inside each of us and within the world." The Light Inside Dark Times

View the Video by Michael Meade, Listen to Interviews with Michael Meade

Spirit Teachers and Better Humans

2011-04-11T16:38:00.000-07:00

Streaming live on the Co-Creator Radio Network on Tuesday, April 12, at 11 a.m. Pacific time/2 p.m. Eastern time, on her show "Why Shamanism Now?: A Practical Path to Authenticity," Christina Pratt tells listeners: "The spirits are teachers, not therapists. They are here to teach us to be better humans." According to Pratt, "the helping spirits are here to help us sort out how to live well in our time. Even Death and the Trickster--along with plants, animals, and the elements--are part of this cast of compassionate characters who are tirelessly committed to teaching us to be better humans. The spirits do not come to assist us for self-help or enlightenment; they come to assist us in doing the precious, unique thing we have come here to do in a way that is good for all living things."

Prior episodes from "Why Shamanism Now" can be downloaded for free from the iTunes library.

Shamanic Sound Healing

2011-04-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

The Power of Awareness

by Scott J Simon

Shamanic sound healing utilizes sound healing frequencies in order to strengthen and/or heal the energy body. It does this in two primary ways: through the sounds themselves and through inducing trance states to access non-physical realities or what shamans call spirit worlds. Read more

Shamanism 101

2011-04-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

by Dean Young

Poet Dean Young is widely recognized as one of the most energetic, influential poets writing today. Strongly influenced by the New York School poets, and Surrealists such as Andre Breton, Young’s poetry is full of wild leaps of illogic, extravagant imagery, and mercurial shifts in tone. Read more

Altai Shamans Restore the Sacred Web of Life

2011-04-09T11:45:00.000-07:00

The Altai people of southern Siberia, like their indigenous brothers and sisters from all corners of the Earth, face many social, cultural and ecological challenges, including climate change. Local shamans are convinced that only through restoring their reverential relationship with the sacred and spiritual realms can Altai people and the rest of the world restore the balance of the Earth and its climate. Read more

"One Spirit" Drum Circle

2011-04-08T07:57:00.000-07:00

Madge Peinkofer facilitates the "One Spirit" Drum Circle this Sunday, April 10th, and on the Second Sunday of each month at Woodland Chapel, 582 High St. NE, Salem, Oregon. Everyone is welcome, donation requested. The intent for this circle is 'Awakening Consciousness'. For information, contact Madge Peinkofer "White Cloud Feathers" homecenter2@concast.net. Growing in popularity around the globe, drum circles are used for journeying, celebration, stress relief and more. Find a Drum Circle near you.

Shamanic Drumming

2011-04-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

by Jade Wah'oo Grigori

In that time before there was Time, there was Grandfather Fire. Around Grandfather Fire sat the Circle of Animal Brothers, who, speaking in that Sacred Language of Spirit, told their Tellings. Through these Tellings Grandfather Fire gave rise to Creation...

The Healing Drum

2011-04-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

A Shamanic Counseling Case Study

by Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.

In almost all shamanic cultures, both past and present, we see the drum being used as an instrument of healing. Shamans use the drum to address any number of issues and physical ailments including depression, phobias, addiction, and chronic health problems. Additionally, the shamanic techniques of soul retrieval, depossession, and extraction can all be performed with the drum. Read more

Make Your Own Shamanic Didgeridoo

2011-04-05T08:42:00.000-07:00

Matt Newby has created a web page describing how to easily make an affordable didgeridoo from 2" Schedule 40 PVC piping. Matt even worked out the formulas for calculating the length of a pipe to produce a fundamental of a specific note. I used Matt's guide several years ago to make my didgeridoo. Make your own Didgeridoo, Didgeridoo and Meditation, Didgeridoo for the Shamanic Journey

Shamanism and the Trickster

2011-04-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

Streaming live on the Co-Creator Radio Network on Tuesday, April 5, at 11 a.m. Pacific time/2 p.m. Eastern time, on her show "Why Shamanism Now?: A Practical Path to Authenticity," Christina Pratt explores the ways that we unwittingly cut off the Teacher in our lives, relying instead on old, soul-killing patterns of judgment, control, and distrust. Yet even when we are at our most wretched, positional and righteous in our suffering, the Teacher--usually in the guise of the Trickster--is there to open the way back to balance and wholeness. Prior episodes from "Why Shamanism Now" can be downloaded for free from the iTunes library.

The Two-Sided Shamanic Drum

2011-04-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

by Nicholas Noble Wolf

A shamanic drum is a sacred article that is used for journeying to help oneself or to help others--typically for healing. While medicines (spiritual helpers) such as the spirit of Horse, can be used in conjunction with the drum to make journeying easier and faster, even in its own right, the drum will carry you. In the following, I offer a "technical" explanation of how the drum, itself, works to carry one into the dream for journeying.

Rhythms of the Earth

2011-04-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

by Morwen Two Feathers

"The rhythms of the Earth have been expressed musically in a wild variety of different patterns, timbres, and levels of complexity in many distinct cultures around the world. Are these differences the direct expression of the Earth’s voice in those particular places, or reflections of human social arrangements that are rooted in those places? From Gaia’s perspective it matters not at all, for these are the same thing. Indigenous people have communed directly with the rhythms of the land that is their home, evolving stable repertoires of traditional rhythms and songs that express fundamental relationships between the people and their environment. When a group of people takes root in a particular place on Earth and stays there for generations, a specific rhythmic musical tradition appears and develops." Read More

Spirit Of A Healing Drum Circle

2011-04-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

by David Johannes

What is a healing drum circle you may ask? You might say that all drumming provides healing benefits and all drum circles provide the opportunity to also experience the group energy of drumming together in community. In this article though I am speaking of my personal experiences in a circle whose intent is less musical, and more spiritual in focus and intention.

Global Water Healing Ceremony

2011-03-31T08:09:00.000-07:00

Dr Masaru Emoto is Calling for a Global Prayer Ceremony:

To All People Around the World

Please send your prayers of love and gratitude to water at the nuclear plants in Fukushima,

Japan

Erecting a Prayer Tree for World Peace

2011-03-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

by Sarangerel Odigon

The barisaa, prayer tree, is an important site of worship in Siberian/Mongolian shamanism. This ritual brings peace and reduces violence in whatever place it is performed in. It needs to be done in as many places as possible, especially in places that were sites of deaths from war or violence. It also calls the nature spirits to bring inspiration, calm peoples' hearts, and create thoughts of peace and love.

Drumming Out Suicide

2011-03-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

Cama'i, a Yup'ik word meaning "welcome," is a three day native dance festival held each year in Bethel, Alaska. Dance groups, native craft vendors, and people from all over the state come to share in a weekend of native dance and culture. On the final night of Cama-i 2011, all the drummers from every dance group, numbering over a hundred, participated in drum circle for the purpose of healing suicide. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents and young adults aged 10-34. Read More

Chöd: An Advanced Form of Shamanic Practice

2011-03-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

I highly recommended the following link to information on Chöd, a practice that helps people heal their unconscious fears. Chöd is a blend of the Buddhist path to enlightenment brought from India, and an ancient form of Shamanic ritual that was native to Tibet. Chöd has long been a way of seeking direct and personal experiences of mind and divinity outside of conventional and institutional frameworks. It is an essay from the Dharma Fellowship; Chöd: An Advanced Type of Shamanism. This essay says it all. In Tibetan Chöd practice, the practitioner journeys into the night world--the dangerous regions of ghosts, spirits and the damned, to bless all souls lost for a time on the wheel of existence. It is practiced today primarily by yogis in their quest to gain Enlightenment by the shortest possible path.

America's Ancient Cave Art

2011-03-27T14:27:00.001-07:00

Deep in the Cumberland Plateau, mysterious drawings, thousands of years old, offer a glimpse of lost Native American cultures and traditions. Read More

Drum Therapy for Cognitive Development

2011-03-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

Drum Therapy and the DAD Program help the special-needs population with cognitive development and cognitive restructuring by replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Children with learning disabilities often develop negative thought patterns--and rather easily, I might add, because they are aware that they lack the same abilities that their non-disabled peers have. As a result, they often compare themselves to others and rate their own level of ability, or lack thereof, to that of their peers. This can cause the special-needs child to easily develop depression and/or anxiety.

2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl

2011-03-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

by Daniel Pinchbeck

"In my book, 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, I developed the hypothesis that we are undergoing a transition to a new realization of consciousness, which will be embodied by a new fundamental paradigm that takes into account what Carl Jung called "the reality of the psyche," along with new social, political, and economic systems that mesh with this realization. I see the rapid evolution of technology as an expression of this unfolding of consciousness. The acceleration of planetary crises can either incite a planetary awakening and a shift into a regenerative planetary culture based on sustainable principles, or a destruction of human civilization in its current form, and perhaps extinction for our species." Read more

Creating a Web of Light

2011-03-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

"Imagine. Before you were born you were just a little spark of light connected to the creative force of the universe. You looked down on this great earth. What a beautiful planet filled with wondrous life forms. You started to ponder the possibilities of life on earth. Reader, do you remember the preciousness of life and that all life was created to experience love, light, joy, harmony, peace, equality, and abundance for all? If you can feel this in your bones, then you know it is true. If you cannot, do not despair for I will help you to remember. We are a community of people who can gather our spiritual light and energies together to remember and to create a wondrous life for all living beings. We must remember our vision and then focus on it and hold the vision together. This is how we thrive together in changing times." Excerpt from How to Thrive in Changing Times by Sandra Ingerman. Read More

Shamanic Journeying to Explore Grief

2011-03-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

Daniel Potapshyn, M.A. and Roland Hulstein, M.S.W. have been teaching Home Hospice volunteers and staff how to journey and how to use these methods in their work of bereavement and self-care. Daniel is the Bereavement Program Coordinator for Sutter VNA & Hospice in Emeryville, California. Roland has been a bereavement counselor at Sutter VNA & Hospice for the past three years. Daniel and Roland's training in shamanism has included workshops with the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, Carol Proudfoot Edgar, and Larry Peters. Lanz Lowen, M.S., interviewed the two hospice professionals for the online shamanic newsletter Spirit Talk . Spirit Talk Newsletters can be viewed at the Shamanic Circles web site, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering global shamanic community.

How Do I Become a Shaman?

2011-03-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

Streaming live on the Co-Creator Radio Network (www.co-creatornetwork.com) on Tuesday, March 22, at 11 a.m. Pacific time/2 p.m. Eastern time, on her show "Why Shamanism Now?: A Practical Path to Authenticity,” Christina Pratt explores what someone should do if they feel the call to become a shaman and the three steps to becoming a shaman: the Call, Training, and Initiation. Prior episodes from "Why Shamanism Now" can be downloaded for free from the iTunes library.

Vernal Equinox: Return of the Thunder

2011-03-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

by Michael Drake

Throughout human history, people in the northern parts of the world have celebrated the Rites of Spring, marking the end of earth's winter sleep and the start of spring when everything is reborn. Spring arrives when the earth is tilted so that the sun is directly over the equator. In the Northern Hemisphere, the first day of spring is on or about March 21. This is the day of the Vernal Equinox. Vernal means spring; Equinox means equal night. Night and day are the same length, each lasting exactly twelve hours on this day. It is at this time when light and darkness are in balance. The forces of feminine and masculine energy, yin and yang, are also in balance at this time. The 2011 Vernal Equinox will occur on Sunday, March 20 at 4:21 pm Pacific time (23:21 GMT).

Drumming for Development

2011-03-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

How Drumming Helps Children with Special Needs

Kimberly Sena Moore has written an informative article on using drums for a child's social, emotional, motor, and cognitive development. In the Psychology Today article, Music therapist Bill Matney shares the many reasons why drumming can be useful as a therapeutic tool, "Drums and percussion instruments are progressively accessible, physical, sensory, portable, socially interactive, expressive, cultural, and offer a unique aesthetic experience. Someone who has never played a musical instrument in his/her life can pick up a shaker and participate in a drumming experience." Read More

Songs and Freedom in West Papua

2011-03-16T16:20:00.000-07:00

In West Papua, singing is a way of life, and the means by which people greet, flirt and protest. And, as Jay Griffiths reports, it is used as a potent form of communication around the world. Read More

8,000 Sacred Drums Ceremony

2011-03-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

World Gathering for the Healing of Mother Earth and Peace

"When 8,000 sacred drums sound together, a powerful healing of Mother Earth and all people will begin" --500 year old Otomi Toltec prophecy

At the time of this writing, Otomi Toltec Elder Thaayrohadi ("Thaay") is traveling to the four directions for the healing of Mother Earth and all people. He is raising awareness of the 8,000 drums prophecy and calling for drummers to gather at the Otomi Ceremonial Center in Temoaya,

Mexico

this Spring Equinox, March 20th, 2011. He is also calling for people everywhere to join the drumming and chanting on that date regardless of where they are. Please visit 8000drums.com for more information.