Indigenous peoples around the world were cosmocentric: a vision of reality that places the highest importance in the universe or nature, as opposite to an anthropocentric vision, which strongly focuses on humankind as the most important element of existence. Indigenous myths take place at a time when the Cosmos' multiple entities shared a collective human condition and were thus able to communicate with each other. The mythology and creation stories of all indigenous peoples speak of a primordial, but now lost paradise in which humanity lived in harmony with all that existed. The Cosmos had total access to itself. There was but one language for all creatures and elements. Humans were able to converse with animals, birds, minerals; all nature's creations.
As respected Nakoda elder John Snow puts it, "We talked to the rocks, the streams, the trees, the plants, the herbs, and all nature's creations. We called the animals our brothers. They understood our language; we understood theirs. Sometimes they talked to us in dreams and visions. At times they revealed important events or visited us on our vision quests to the mountain tops." (Excerpt from These Mountains Are Our Sacred Places, pg. 3)
While in the primeval times, all beings were perceived as human and nonhuman simultaneously, or in a state of constant transformation into one or another of these forms. Mythical animal characters were commonly portrayed as essentially human in physical form, but possessed the individual characteristics attributed to the various types of animals as they exist in nature today. Myths describe how, at some point, this generic human condition undergoes severe disruption, resulting in the transformation of the many types of humans that existed -- already differentiated by the physical or behavioral characteristics of the nonhuman beings they would eventually become -- into the different present-day species of animals, plants and other kinds of beings.
After the cosmic rupture, the shaman became essential as he could reconstitute the mythical paradise. In our day, as in times past, the shaman is able to access the mythic realm of reality through techniques of ecstasy. Shamanism is based on the principle that other species and realms may be contacted through the inner senses in ecstatic trance induced by shamanic practices such as repetitive drumming. The drum provides the shaman a relatively easy means of controlled transcendence. Researchers have found that if a drum beat frequency of around three to four beats per second is sustained for at least fifteen minutes, it will induce significant trance states in most people, even on their first attempt.
The act of entering an ecstatic trance state is called the soul flight or shamanic journey, and it allows the journeyer to once again communicate with animals, plants and all living things. Shamans believe that this direct communication is possible because the entire universe exists within human consciousness. The capacity to enter a range of trance states is a natural manifestation of human consciousness. Our journeying ability is part of our human heritage. The ability to enter trance states makes us a human, not a shaman. What makes shamans unique is their mastery over an otherwise normal human trait. It requires training, practice and devotion to master any expressive art. Shamanic practitioners master the art of ecstasy to see the different realities of the universe.
As respected Nakoda elder John Snow puts it, "We talked to the rocks, the streams, the trees, the plants, the herbs, and all nature's creations. We called the animals our brothers. They understood our language; we understood theirs. Sometimes they talked to us in dreams and visions. At times they revealed important events or visited us on our vision quests to the mountain tops." (Excerpt from These Mountains Are Our Sacred Places, pg. 3)
While in the primeval times, all beings were perceived as human and nonhuman simultaneously, or in a state of constant transformation into one or another of these forms. Mythical animal characters were commonly portrayed as essentially human in physical form, but possessed the individual characteristics attributed to the various types of animals as they exist in nature today. Myths describe how, at some point, this generic human condition undergoes severe disruption, resulting in the transformation of the many types of humans that existed -- already differentiated by the physical or behavioral characteristics of the nonhuman beings they would eventually become -- into the different present-day species of animals, plants and other kinds of beings.
After the cosmic rupture, the shaman became essential as he could reconstitute the mythical paradise. In our day, as in times past, the shaman is able to access the mythic realm of reality through techniques of ecstasy. Shamanism is based on the principle that other species and realms may be contacted through the inner senses in ecstatic trance induced by shamanic practices such as repetitive drumming. The drum provides the shaman a relatively easy means of controlled transcendence. Researchers have found that if a drum beat frequency of around three to four beats per second is sustained for at least fifteen minutes, it will induce significant trance states in most people, even on their first attempt.
The act of entering an ecstatic trance state is called the soul flight or shamanic journey, and it allows the journeyer to once again communicate with animals, plants and all living things. Shamans believe that this direct communication is possible because the entire universe exists within human consciousness. The capacity to enter a range of trance states is a natural manifestation of human consciousness. Our journeying ability is part of our human heritage. The ability to enter trance states makes us a human, not a shaman. What makes shamans unique is their mastery over an otherwise normal human trait. It requires training, practice and devotion to master any expressive art. Shamanic practitioners master the art of ecstasy to see the different realities of the universe.
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