Going Deeper With Shamanic Drum Circles

Shamanic circling is a demanding practice, but it is a meaningful practice that deepens our connection to spirit. The deeper we go in our relationship with spirit, the closer we get to what we need. To go deeper and become more effective, many drumming circles close the circle to new members for a period of time. This builds a community of trust, allowing members to deepen in the knowledge and skills of shamanic practice. The shamanic work becomes more focused, building the power and integrity of the circle. The consistency of a closed circle allows members to explore more advanced practices or methods. Circles also benefit when members expand their shamanic skills outside the group and then return to share with the circle.

 

Shamanic circles can use intentionality to go deeper in their spiritual practice. Intention can be aligned with process rather than with a specific outcome. By setting the intention to go deeper, uncover more, and expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, circles can harness the power of group intention. Intentions are more likely to blossom if everyone participated in creating them, and feels truly invested, and if there is an acknowledgment of collective responsibility.
 

Effective intentions are supported by a mutual understanding of the group's purpose. Intention and purpose drive the circle process. Many circles use a shamanic visioning process to imagine future possibilities for their group. Shamanic visioning is a technique that uses imagination to create mental pictures in a multidimensional way by using all of the senses. Members collectively envision the future state they would like to see in their group using sound, smell, taste, touch, and sight, as well as emotion, which energizes the vision. That future state vision then becomes the basis of the intention of the circle. The members may not know how to get there, but they have a shared vision of where they want to go.
 

If a circle is to fulfill its potential, members need to commit to an ongoing relationship with the people in their circle and extend the intentions of the circle into daily life. At a minimum, a commitment within a shamanic circle means that you are fully present to everyone inside the circle to engender trust and caring among them. When that kind of commitment is consistent, a drum circle becomes a practice arena for the ways we want to engage the world. Extend that caring to people outside the group, to the Earth, and to the environment that we share by practicing the skills developed within the circle in daily life. Extending that authentic way of being outside the circle has a ripple effect in the world around us.