- Earth: Walk barefoot on grass, tend a garden, or touch a tree to feel grounded.
- Air: Take conscious breaths before a meeting or open a window to let fresh energy circulate.
- Fire: Light a candle to spark creativity or release old emotions by carefully burning a piece of paper with words you wish to let go.
- Water: Drink mindfully, bless your water, or take a cleansing bath infused with herbs or salt.
Sunday, October 5, 2025
Practical Ways to Use Shamanism Every Day
Sunday, September 28, 2025
The Ecology of Drumming for Transformation
Drumming as a Natural Force
The drum is often referred to as the "heartbeat of Mother Earth." Its pulse mirrors the rhythms of nature: waves washing the shore, winds rustling through the trees, raindrops striking the soil, and the steady beat of our own hearts. This resonance with natural cycles is no accident. Long before words shaped our stories, rhythm bound us to the living world.
When we drum, we align with patterns far older than humanity. Scientific studies show that repetitive drumming can alter brainwave states, moving us into alpha and theta frequencies associated with relaxation, creativity, and visioning. But beyond neuroscience lies something ecological--the recognition that we are participants in a greater symphony of life.
The Drum as Ecological Teacher
In many cultures, the drum is understood as a sacred teacher. Its construction itself is ecological: wood from a tree, hide from an animal, sinew or rope to bind it together. Each drum carries the spirit of its materials and the ecosystems from which they came. To strike a drum is to honor the lives that contributed to its creation.
When approached with reverence, drumming can become a practice of ecological gratitude. Each beat acknowledges our interdependence with the natural world. In this way, the drum becomes more than an instrument--it becomes a reminder of our responsibility to the Earth.
Drumming as a Tool for Transformation
Transformation often requires a shift in consciousness, a breaking open of habitual patterns, and an invitation into new ways of seeing. Drumming supports this process on multiple levels:
- Physiological Transformation: The steady rhythm regulates breath and heart rate, calms the nervous system, and reduces stress. This creates the physiological conditions necessary for healing and renewal.
- Psychological Transformation: Drumming bypasses the analytical mind and awakens deeper emotional layers. Trauma, grief, or stagnation can be moved through rhythm, unlocking a sense of freedom and possibility.
- Spiritual Transformation: Across cultures, drumming has been used to enter altered states, journey into spirit realms, and commune with ancestors. It creates a portal into mystery, offering visions and guidance.
- Ecological Transformation: When drumming is practiced in connection with land, waters, and non-human beings, it fosters ecological consciousness. It re-establishes relationship with the Earth as a living system that responds to our rhythms.
Collective Transformation Through Drumming
While solitary drumming can be powerful, the ecology of drumming is amplified in community. Group drumming weaves individual rhythms into a collective heartbeat. This unity reminds us that transformation is not just personal but communal.
When people gather in a circle, each person becomes a voice in a larger dialogue. A single rhythm emerges, created not by one but by all. This mirrors ecosystems, where diverse species contribute to the balance of the whole. Group drumming demonstrates how transformation occurs when many work together, each contributing their unique rhythm without overpowering others.
Drumming and Ecological Healing
In our current age of ecological crisis, drumming offers a way to reconnect with the Earth. Some practitioners use drumming at sacred sites, near rivers, or in forests to honor and "sing back" to the land. The vibrations of the drum are carried through air and soil, reminding the Earth that humans still remember their role as caretakers.
There is also a reciprocity here. Just as drumming can be used to heal human communities, it can also be used as a form of offering to the more-than-human world. A drumbeat given in gratitude is a vibration that nourishes unseen realms. In this sense, drumming becomes an ecological ritual--one that acknowledges both the wounds of the planet and the possibility of regeneration.
The Ecology of Rhythm
At its essence, ecology is the study of relationships. Drumming reveals these relationships through rhythm. Each beat is connected to the one before it and the one after. Each player in a circle must listen to others to stay in sync. This interdependence mirrors ecological systems, where water, soil, plants, and animals exist in dynamic balance.
Rhythm teaches us resilience: there are moments of emphasis and moments of rest, times of intensity and times of quiet. Transformation happens when we learn to ride these rhythms rather than resist them. Drumming embodies this ecological wisdom, showing us how to flow with change rather than cling to static patterns.
Practicing the Ecology of Drumming
If you are drawn to explore drumming as a path of transformation, here are some practices to consider:
1. Drum Outdoors: Connect your rhythm with the rhythms of nature. Notice how birdsong, wind, or water respond to your playing.
2. Honor Your Drum: Acknowledge the materials that created it. Offer prayers or gratitude before playing.
3. Play in Circle: Experience the transformative power of collective rhythm. Allow yourself to listen as much as you play.
4. Drum as Offering: Use drumming as a gift to the Earth, ancestors, or spirits. Drum not only for yourself but for the wellbeing of the whole.
5. Follow the Rhythm of Change: Notice how drumming shifts your state. Let it guide you into transformation rather than forcing an outcome.
Becoming Rhythm Keepers
The ecology of drumming for transformation reminds us that rhythm is not just sound--it is relationship, reciprocity, and renewal. Through drumming, we remember that we are part of a living Earth, that transformation is both personal and communal, and that healing comes when we find our place in the larger song of life. In a world longing for reconnection, the drum offers a timeless path. Each beat carries us deeper into the heart of transformation, where we rediscover that to be human is to be a rhythm keeper for the Earth.
Sunday, September 14, 2025
The Impact of Drum Circles on Mycelium
One of Stamets' more fascinating perspectives is the idea that mycelial networks are sensitive to sound frequencies, particularly low, long-wave vibrations. This insight opens the door to a profound intersection: the science of fungi, the ancient practice of drumming, and the collective energy generated in drum circles. Could it be that the rhythmic pulse of drums not only alters human consciousness but also strengthens and harmonizes the very fungal networks beneath our feet?
The Living Intelligence of Mycelium
Before diving into sound, it's important to understand why mycelium is so remarkable. Beneath the soil, these fungal filaments weave vast, web-like structures that can extend for miles. Through these connections, plants share nutrients, send distress signals, and regulate ecosystem health. Stamets has called mycelium "the Earth's natural internet," emphasizing how fungi play a role in resilience and communication within forests.
What makes mycelium even more extraordinary is its sensitivity. Mycelial cells respond rapidly to changes in moisture, temperature, chemical gradients, and electromagnetic fields. They adapt, reroute, and communicate in ways that suggest a living form of intelligence--one not centered in a brain but distributed throughout a network. It is within this context that sound enters the picture.
Sound as Vibration, Energy, and Pattern
Sound is not just something we hear; it is vibration, energy made visible when translated into waveforms. Long-wave or low-frequency sounds--such as those created by drums, didgeridoos, or gongs--penetrate deeply into matter. Unlike high-pitched sounds that dissipate quickly, long waves travel further, shaking the ground and resonating with structures both large and small.
Experiments in cymatics--the study of visible sound--have shown how vibration organizes particles into geometric patterns. Sand on a vibrating plate, for example, arranges itself into mandalas when exposed to specific frequencies. Stamets has speculated that mycelium, too, may respond to these vibratory forces, perhaps strengthening its hyphal connections or even altering growth patterns in resonance with sound.
Mycelium and the Drum
Drum circles, long practiced in Indigenous and spiritual traditions worldwide, create exactly the type of low-frequency, repetitive sound environment that mycelium might respond to. When dozens of people strike drums in synchrony, the earth beneath them literally vibrates. The soil, the roots of trees, and the fungal webs intertwined with them all experience these rhythmic pulses.
Stamets has suggested that the repeated, long-wave tones from drums could stimulate mycelium, encouraging more robust growth. Just as plants have been shown to grow faster when exposed to certain sound frequencies, fungi may thrive under vibrational nourishment. In this way, drumming becomes not just a human bonding ritual but an ecological act that supports the living networks sustaining forests.
Indigenous Wisdom and Science Converge
What is striking about this theory is how it resonates with Indigenous perspectives. Many cultures have long viewed drumming as a way of communicating with the Earth, calling forth spirits, and harmonizing with nature. Shamans and medicine people have used drumming to open channels of communication with unseen realms, including the plant and fungal kingdoms.
Stamets' biological lens lends scientific credibility to this ancient wisdom. If sound vibrations indeed stimulate mycelial activity, then drum ceremonies are not just symbolic--they may be materially nurturing the fungal webs that make life on Earth possible. This convergence of science and spirituality reflects Stamets' broader vision: that fungi are teachers guiding humanity toward ecological balance.
Human Consciousness, Mycelium, and Resonance
The parallel between mycelium networks and human neural networks is well known. Both are decentralized, adaptive systems that process information and respond to stimuli. Drumming, too, is known to entrain brainwaves, inducing states of relaxation, visioning, or heightened awareness.
When humans gather in a drum circle, their brainwaves synchronize, their hearts beat in coherence, and their collective energy field becomes more unified. If, at the same time, the ground beneath them is vibrating in resonance with these rhythms, we can imagine a kind of multi-level alignment: human minds and bodies entraining with one another, while the fungal networks beneath them are simultaneously stimulated by the same vibratory patterns. This could represent a literal "joining of networks"--the mycelium below, the human community above, all bound by rhythm.
Implications for Ecology and Healing
If Stamets' theory proves true, the implications are profound. Imagine ecological restoration projects that incorporate drumming as a means of stimulating fungal growth in damaged soils. Picture communities gathering not just to heal themselves through rhythm but to support the health of forests, grasslands, and gardens by energizing their fungal allies.
On a personal level, this perspective invites us to see drumming not only as a spiritual practice but also as a collaboration with the unseen life beneath us. Every beat becomes an offering, every rhythm a signal of partnership between humans and fungi. The Earth is not a passive stage for our rituals; it is a living participant.
A New Way of Listening
Paul Stamets often says that fungi are the "grandmothers" of ecological wisdom, organisms that remind us of our interconnectedness. The idea that they respond to the beat of our drums is both humbling and inspiring. It suggests that our music is not only for ourselves but also for the greater web of life
When you next sit in a drum circle, imagine the waves moving downward as well as outward. Picture the mycelial threads pulsing in response, strengthening their bonds, and carrying the rhythm further into the soil. Perhaps the fungi hear us in their own way, and perhaps, through vibration, we are already engaged in dialogue. To learn more, look inside my book Shamanic Drumming Circles Guide.
Sunday, August 31, 2025
Taking Care the Spirit World
We live in a time when the material world is often mistaken as the only reality. Productivity, consumption, and measurable progress dominate how we value life. Yet, in the rush to master the physical, many have forgotten that life is upheld by invisible threads--the ancestors, the spirits of the land, the energies of dreams, the pulse of the earth. When these are neglected, a sense of emptiness creeps into our lives, manifesting as anxiety, alienation, and disconnection. Prechtel reminds us that remembering, honoring, and feeding the spirit world restores the sacred reciprocity that sustains us.
The Spirit World as Kin
In many Indigenous traditions, the spirit world is not abstract or distant--it is kin. The land, animals, ancestors, winds, rivers, and even stones are recognized as living relatives who hold their own intelligence and agency. To take care of them is to treat them with the same respect and attention one would offer to beloved family.
This care takes many forms: offering prayers, leaving gifts of food or flowers at sacred places, singing songs of gratitude, or remembering ancestors with stories. Such acts are not superstitions but essential gestures of acknowledgment. They keep the relationships between human beings and the unseen realms alive and reciprocal.
Prechtel writes about how, in the Mayan village where he lived, neglecting these obligations would be unthinkable. Without tending the spirits, people believed crops might fail, children could fall ill, or the community would suffer. By contrast, when the spirits were fed and remembered, abundance and harmony returned.
The Poverty of Forgetting
Modern culture often suffers from what could be called a "poverty of forgetting." In the rush toward progress, many have cut ties with ancestral traditions, lost rituals of remembrance, and neglected offerings to the unseen. As a result, the spirit world grows hungry. This hunger appears in subtle ways:
- A sense of being rootless or adrift.
- Disconnection from place, nature, or community.
- A gnawing emptiness that material success cannot fill.
- A collective grief that has no name.
When the spirit world is ignored, the balance of reciprocity is broken. Just as neglecting a friendship eventually causes it to wither, so too does ignoring the invisible realms weaken the flow of nourishment and blessing in our lives.
Feeding the Spirits
So what does it mean to "take care of the spirit world"? The answer is not found in one prescribed ritual, but in an attitude of reverence expressed through acts of beauty and offering. Some ways include:
1. Gratitude as Offering: Speaking words of thanks to the land, sky, ancestors, and elements each day is a form of spiritual nourishment. Gratitude acknowledges the unseen forces that allow us to live.
2. Creating Beauty: Prechtel emphasizes the importance of beauty as food for the spirits. Singing, painting, dancing, making altars, or tending a garden are all ways to feed the world beyond the visible. Beauty is not frivolous; it is necessary sustenance.
3. Ritual Remembrance: Lighting a candle for ancestors, leaving offerings of food or flowers, or telling old stories keeps the dead alive in spirit. By remembering them, we feed their presence in our lives.
4. Reciprocity with Nature: Planting trees, caring for water, honoring animals--these are acts of spiritual reciprocity. To give back to the earth is to give back to the spirits who animate it.
5. Living Generously: Acts of kindness, generosity, and compassion also feed the unseen world. Spirits are nourished when humans live with open hearts.
How the Spirits Take Care of Us
When the spirit world is cared for, life feels different. We find ourselves moving in harmony with unseen currents. Opportunities unfold, synchronicities arise, and a deeper sense of belonging infuses daily life. The spirits respond to our offerings not in transactional ways but through mysterious, life-sustaining gifts.
Prechtel writes that when the spirits are remembered, they bring sweetness to life--what he calls "honey in the heart." This sweetness is not about avoiding suffering but about feeling supported, connected, and held by something greater than ourselves. It is the taste of living in a world that is alive, reciprocal, and enchanted.
Reweaving the Sacred
The call to take care of the spirit world is especially urgent today. Our planet faces ecological crises, social fragmentation, and spiritual disconnection. Yet beneath the chaos lies the possibility of reweaving our relationships with the unseen. Each act of reverence, each offering of beauty, each word of gratitude helps mend the frayed threads between worlds.
To begin, we do not need to appropriate rituals from other cultures. We can start with what is near: the land beneath our feet, the ancestors who walk with us, the simple acts of gratitude that remind us we are not alone. Prechtel reminds us that beauty, offerings, and remembering are universal languages.
A Way of Life
Ultimately, "take care of the spirit world and the spirit world will take care of you" is not a slogan but a way of life. It asks us to live in reciprocity, to recognize that the invisible is as real and vital as the visible. It calls us to live not as consumers of life but as participants in a web of mutual care.
When we feed the spirits with beauty, gratitude, and remembrance, we restore balance. In turn, the spirits feed us with guidance, protection, and sweetness. Life becomes infused with meaning. The heart grows honeyed. And we rediscover what it means to be fully human: a being woven into both the visible and invisible worlds, responsible for keeping the threads strong.
About the Author
Martin Prechtel's life, well documented in his books, has taken him from the Pueblo Indian reservation in New Mexico, where he grew up, to the Guatemalan village of Santiago Atitlan, where he was the student and eventual successor of a powerful shaman. Eventually Prechtel became a principal member of the village body of spiritual leaders, responsible for introducing the young people to the meanings of their ancient stories and guiding them through their long rituals of initiation. Today Martin Prechtel lives once again in his native New Mexico and is active as a writer, teacher, speaker, musician, and healer. Using ceremony, language, and story, he helps people in many lands reconnect with a sense of place, a sense of the daily sacred, and their search for the Indigenous Soul.
Sunday, August 24, 2025
Getting Started with Shamanic Journeying
If you've ever felt the call to explore your inner worlds, meet your spirit helpers, or tap into a more intuitive way of living, shamanic journeying can be a profound and empowering path. Here's how to begin.
What Is Shamanic Journeying?
In shamanic traditions, reality is understood as having multiple layers or planes of consciousness:
- The Lower World -- a place of earth energies, animal spirits, and ancestral roots.
- The Middle World -- the spiritual dimension of our everyday reality.
- The Upper World -- a realm of higher wisdom, teachers, and celestial energies.
A shamanic journey involves entering a light trance state--often through rhythmic drumming, rattling, or chanting--to travel into one of these realms. While your body remains still and grounded, your consciousness "journeys" in search of guidance, healing, or insight.
Why People Journey
People turn to shamanic journeying for many reasons, including:
- Personal healing -- working through emotional, mental, or spiritual blocks.
- Receiving guidance -- asking spirit allies for insight on life's challenges.
- Reconnecting with nature -- deepening relationship with the living Earth.
- Self-discovery -- uncovering gifts, purpose, or hidden strengths.
- Ancestral connection -- learning from those who walked before us.
The practice is both deeply personal and universally accessible. You don't need to belong to a particular culture or follow a specific religion to journey--only an open mind, respect for the process, and the intention to use it for good.
Preparation: Creating Sacred Space
Before journeying, preparation helps you align body, mind, and spirit. Here's a simple approach:
1. Choose a quiet place: Select a location where you won't be disturbed. This could be a meditation space, a comfortable corner, or even outside in nature.
2. Clear the space: You might burn sage, cedar, or palo santo, ring a bell, or simply visualize the area being filled with light.
3. Set your intention: Be specific. For example: "I seek to meet my power animal" or "I ask for guidance on a decision I face." Clarity of purpose helps focus the journey.
4. Gather tools: While not essential, many find it helpful to have a drum recording, rattle, blanket, or eye mask to deepen focus.
The Journeying Process
Here is a beginner-friendly method to get started:
1. Get comfortable: Lie down or sit in a relaxed position. Cover your eyes to block visual distractions.
2. Use rhythmic sound: A steady drumbeat of about 4–7 beats per second is ideal. This rhythm has been shown to help shift the brain into the theta state, associated with deep meditation and dreaming.
3. Enter through an "opening": In your mind's eye, imagine a natural entrance--such as a hollow tree, cave, or tunnel--that leads to the spirit world. This becomes your gateway.
4. Travel with awareness: Follow your inner vision without forcing it. You may meet animal guides, ancestors, or other beings. Observe, listen, and interact respectfully.
5. Ask your question or seek guidance: Once connected with a helper, state your intention and be open to responses that may come as words, images, feelings, or symbols.
6. Return consciously: When it feels complete--or when the drumbeat changes to a "call back" rhythm--thank your helpers, retrace your path to the entry point, and re-emerge into ordinary reality.
7. Ground yourself: Move your body, drink water, or eat something nourishing to fully return.
Recording Your Experience
After journeying, immediately write or record what you experienced. Even if it feels dreamlike or symbolic, details may hold meaning later. Over time, patterns may emerge--such as recurring guides, places, or symbols--that deepen your relationship with the spirit world.
Common Spirit Allies
While everyone's experiences are unique, many beginners encounter:
- Power Animals -- animal spirits that protect, guide, and empower you.
- Teachers -- wise human or spirit beings who share knowledge.
- Nature Spirits -- rivers, mountains, plants, or elemental forces that offer connection and perspective.
Trust what comes, even if it surprises you. Spirit often speaks through imagery that resonates on a symbolic or emotional level.
Tips for Beginners
- Practice regularly -- even 10–15 minutes a few times a week builds skill and familiarity.
- Release expectations -- each journey is different; avoid comparing to others.
- Respect the process -- this is a sacred practice, not a casual game.
- Stay grounded -- balance spiritual exploration with practical, everyday life.
- Seek guidance if needed -- working with an experienced practitioner can help you refine your technique and interpret your journeys.
Ethics and Respect
Shamanic journeying is powerful and should be approached with humility.
- Always ask for permission before working on behalf of someone else.
- Use the practice for healing, insight, and connection--not manipulation or harm.
- Remember that different cultures have their own ways of journeying; be mindful of cultural appropriation by honoring the roots of the practice and acknowledging your sources.
The Gifts of Journeying
Over time, shamanic journeying can transform how you see yourself and the world. You may feel more connected to nature, more in tune with your intuition, and more able to navigate life's challenges with clarity and courage. Many discover a renewed sense of belonging--not just to their personal story, but to the great unfolding story of the Earth and cosmos.
The journey begins with a single step--or in this case, a single beat of the drum. Approach it with openness, respect, and curiosity, and you may find that the worlds you visit are not "somewhere else" at all, but woven into the fabric of life that surrounds and sustains you.
Shamanic journeying is not about escaping reality; it's about seeing reality more fully. By traveling inward, we awaken to the living connections all around us--and to the wisdom that has always been within.
Sunday, August 10, 2025
How Does Shamanic Drumming Affect the Brain?
The Science of Rhythm and the Brain
The brain is a rhythmic organ. It generates electrical impulses known as brainwaves, which are categorized based on their frequency: beta, alpha, theta, delta, and gamma. Each type corresponds to a different state of consciousness. For example:
- Beta waves (13–30 Hz): active, alert, problem-solving state.
- Alpha waves (8–13 Hz): relaxed, calm, meditative state.
- Theta waves (4–8 Hz): deep meditation, creativity, dream-like states.
- Delta waves (0.5–4 Hz): deep sleep, unconsciousness.
Shamanic drumming, especially when played at 4–7 beats per second, naturally encourages the brain to synchronize with the rhythm through a process called entrainment. Entrainment is the phenomenon by which biological systems align with an external rhythm. In this case, the external rhythm of the drumbeat nudges the brain into a theta state, which is associated with vivid imagery, intuition, and non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Entering the Shamanic State of Consciousness
In traditional shamanic practices, the drum acts as a bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds. When a shaman begins to drum at a steady tempo, it induces what many refer to as the "shamanic state of consciousness"--a deeply focused, trance-like state that allows for journeying, visioning, and spiritual healing.
This theta-dominant state is neurologically similar to what we experience during deep meditation, hypnosis, or REM sleep. It is a highly creative and receptive brain state in which the subconscious mind is more accessible. In this altered state, individuals often report:
- Vivid visual imagery
- A sense of timelessness
- Heightened intuition
- Connection to spirit guides or power animals
- Emotional insights or healing experiences
The Drumbeat as Auditory Driving
The steady, monotonous rhythm of the shamanic drum is not designed for entertainment. Rather, it functions as a form of auditory driving, a technique that uses rhythmic sound to shift states of consciousness. Studies in psychoacoustics (the study of the perception of sound) have shown that continuous drumming can alter activity in various brain regions, including the thalamus and limbic system--areas associated with sensory processing and emotion.
Auditory driving through drumming can bypass the analytical, rational mind (associated with beta waves) and activate the intuitive, sensory parts of the brain. This is why people often feel as if they have entered a dream or vision-like state during a drumming session.
Neurological Benefits of Shamanic Drumming
In addition to altering consciousness, shamanic drumming has been shown to offer a range of psychological and neurological benefits:
1. Stress Reduction: Rhythmic drumming has been found to lower cortisol levels, the hormone associated with stress. A study published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that group drumming sessions significantly reduced anxiety and improved mood among participants.
2. Emotional Regulation: Drumming stimulates the release of endorphins and endogenous opiates, which can help regulate mood and create a sense of well-being. The rhythmic pattern can also serve as an emotional anchor, helping individuals process and release trauma.
3. Enhanced Focus and Attention: Paradoxically, while shamanic drumming induces a trance-like state, it can also increase focus and attention. This is particularly true for people who struggle with overactive thoughts. The repetitive beat creates a focal point, helping quiet the mind and reduce internal chatter.
4. Neuroplasticity and Healing: Emerging research in neuroplasticity--the brain's ability to rewire itself--suggests that rhythmic activities like drumming can help re-pattern dysfunctional neural pathways. For trauma survivors, engaging in rhythmic drumming may offer a non-verbal pathway for healing that bypasses cognitive resistance.
Cross-Cultural Consistency
Interestingly, the use of repetitive rhythm to enter trance states is consistent across many indigenous cultures. From the frame drums of Siberian shamans to the ceremonial drums of Native American and African traditions, the power of rhythm transcends geography. The fact that such diverse cultures discovered similar methods independently points to a universal human capacity for rhythm-based transformation.
This cross-cultural consistency supports the idea that shamanic drumming taps into a fundamental neurological mechanism common to all humans. It is not tied to belief systems, rituals, or specific traditions alone--it works because of how our brains are wired.
The Drum as a Neurological Tool
While the spiritual significance of the drum should not be diminished, it is fascinating to consider the drum as a neurological tool. Modern practitioners often use recordings of shamanic drumming to facilitate meditative states, personal journeys, or even creative inspiration. Whether used in sacred ceremony or personal practice, the drumbeat becomes a functional mechanism for shifting consciousness and activating inner wisdom.
Integrating Science and Spirit
Science has only just begun to scratch the surface of what indigenous shamans have long known--that the drum is not merely a musical instrument but a tool for transformation. By understanding the brain-based mechanisms behind shamanic drumming, we gain new respect for ancient practices and how they align with modern therapeutic principles.
This fusion of ancient wisdom and neuroscience opens up exciting possibilities. Could shamanic drumming become part of trauma recovery protocols? Could it be used in therapeutic settings for mental health or addiction? As clinical research expands, the therapeutic and transformative potential of rhythm continues to be affirmed.
Final Thoughts
Shamanic drumming is far more than a rhythmic activity. It is a profound tool that interacts with our brain's natural rhythms to induce healing, insight, and altered states of awareness. Whether approached as a spiritual ritual or a neurological technique, its effects are undeniable. As we rediscover the science behind these ancient rhythms, we are reminded that the journey inward often begins with a simple, steady beat--a reminder that healing doesn't always require words, only rhythm, intention, and a willingness to listen.
Sunday, July 20, 2025
Reiki Shamanic Healing
The Essence of Reiki
Reiki, a Japanese word meaning "universal life energy," was developed by Mikao Usui in the early 20th century. It is a hands-on energy healing practice in which the practitioner channels life force energy into the client to activate the body's natural healing processes. Reiki is gentle yet powerful. It works through the chakra system and aura to dissolve blockages, reduce stress, and restore energetic balance.
Reiki does not require belief or affiliation with any religion. It is intuitive and heart-centered, guided by the principle of allowing energy to flow wherever it is needed. Practitioners often describe the energy as intelligent and unconditionally loving, addressing not only the physical symptoms but also the root emotional and spiritual causes of dis-ease.
The Roots of Shamanism
Shamanism is one of humanity's oldest spiritual traditions, with roots reaching back tens of thousands of years. It is not a religion, but a practice--a way of connecting with nature, the elements, and the spirit world to gain insight, power, and healing. Shamans act as intermediaries between the visible and invisible worlds, using tools like drumming, journeying, soul retrieval, and plant medicine to address issues affecting individuals and communities.
Shamanic healing is holistic by nature. It views illness not just as a physical problem but as a sign of imbalance in the energetic or spiritual realms. The causes of suffering may include soul loss, ancestral trauma, intrusive energies, or disconnection from one's true path. The shamanic practitioner works with spirit guides, power animals, and elemental forces to restore harmony and wholeness.
The Union of Reiki and Shamanism
Reiki Shamanic Healing combines the gentle energy transmission of Reiki with the deep soul-level diagnostics of shamanic work. Together, these systems offer a multidimensional approach to healing that can reach areas traditional methods often cannot touch.
In a Reiki Shamanic session, the practitioner may begin by channeling Reiki energy to establish a calm and safe energetic container. This opens the client's field and prepares them for deeper work. With this foundation in place, the practitioner can then access shamanic techniques such as:
- Journeying: The practitioner enters an altered state of consciousness to connect with spirit allies and receive messages or instructions for the client's healing.
- Extraction: Removing energetic intrusions or blockages that do not belong in the client's energy field.
- Soul Retrieval: Recovering parts of the soul that may have fragmented due to trauma, grief, or shock.
- Ancestral Healing: Clearing inherited patterns and unhealed trauma passed down through generations.
- Power Animal Retrieval: Reconnecting the client with an animal spirit guide that brings strength, guidance, and protection.
Throughout these processes, Reiki energy continues to flow, soothing the client's nervous system, integrating the shifts, and supporting a sense of peace and safety.
What to Expect in a Session
Every session is unique, guided by the energy and needs of the individual. Some clients experience visions, memories, or emotional releases, while others simply feel relaxed and deeply at peace. Sessions often include intuitive insights, messages from spirit, or ritual elements like feathers, crystals, rattles, or herbs to support the process.
Because Reiki Shamanic Healing works on the subtle levels of being, it can create ripple effects long after the session ends. Clients may notice changes in relationships, new opportunities, heightened intuition, or a clearer sense of purpose. It is not uncommon for chronic conditions to ease or for deep emotional wounds to begin healing.
Benefits of Reiki Shamanic Healing
The benefits of this integrative healing approach are wide-ranging:
- Emotional Release: Helps release long-held grief, anger, fear, or shame.
- Spiritual Connection: Reawakens a deep sense of connection with Spirit and purpose.
- Physical Relief: Supports the body in healing pain, fatigue, tension, or illness.
- Energetic Balance: Clears stagnant energy, realigns the chakras, and restores harmony.
- Clarity and Guidance: Offers insight into current life challenges and next steps.
- Trauma Healing: Gently uncovers and heals the roots of trauma, often without the need for verbal recounting.
Who Can Benefit?
Reiki Shamanic Healing is suitable for anyone on a path of healing, self-discovery, or spiritual growth. It can be especially helpful for those who:
- Feel stuck or disconnected from themselves
- Are dealing with chronic illness or unexplained symptoms
- Have experienced trauma, loss, or significant life transitions
- Are exploring their intuition, spiritual gifts, or soul purpose
- Seek a deeper connection with nature and the unseen world
It is also a powerful tool for healers, empaths, and sensitive individuals who need to clear and recharge their own energy fields.
An Invitation to Wholeness
Reiki Shamanic Healing is ultimately an invitation to return to your original wholeness. It reminds us that we are not broken, but simply out of alignment with our true nature. By weaving together universal life force energy and earth-based spiritual wisdom, this practice offers a sacred bridge back to ourselves.
In a world that often fragments and disconnects us, Reiki Shamanic Healing acts as a luminous thread, stitching together body and soul, earth and spirit, seen and unseen. It honors the ancient truth that healing is not something done to us, but something awakened within us.
If you feel the call to experience this kind of healing, trust it. Your soul may already be walking toward a deeper remembering--a homecoming to your sacred self.
Sunday, July 13, 2025
The Healing Power of Shamanic Journeying
What Is Shamanic Journeying?
At its heart, shamanic journeying is a meditative, trance-like experience facilitated by rhythmic sound--often drumming, rattling, or chanting--that alters consciousness and enables the practitioner to enter the non-ordinary reality. Unlike dreams, which are passive experiences, shamanic journeys are intentional and guided, often beginning with a clear purpose or question.
In this altered state, the journeyer typically visits one of three realms: the Lower World, the Middle World, or the Upper World--each holding unique energies and spirit guides. These realms are not physical places but are experienced symbolically and spiritually. Power animals, spirit teachers, ancestors, and nature spirits often appear as guides or healers within these journeys.
Healing Through Connection
The most potent aspect of shamanic journeying lies in its capacity to heal--emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. From an indigenous perspective, illness arises not only from physical imbalance, but from spiritual disconnection. When one is disconnected from nature, community, spirit, or one's true self, illness can manifest.
Shamanic journeying restores these connections by:
- Retrieving lost parts of the self (soul retrieval)
- Releasing blocked or intrusive energies
- Receiving guidance from helping spirits
- Re-establishing harmony with nature and the unseen world
Journeying into the Subconscious
Modern psychology and shamanism often intersect in fascinating ways. Where depth psychology explores the unconscious mind, shamanism interacts with it directly. The images, symbols, and narratives encountered in journeying act as mirrors for inner truths. By engaging the subconscious through metaphor and vision, shamanic journeying helps surface unresolved wounds and insights that might remain hidden in talk therapy alone.
For example, a journeyer may encounter a wounded animal trapped in a cave--a symbolic representation of a buried trauma or forgotten memory. By rescuing and healing this animal in the journey, emotional release or integration can take place in waking life. This symbolic action has real, tangible emotional impact.
Personal Empowerment and Guidance
One of the reasons people are drawn to shamanic journeying is its empowering nature. Rather than relying solely on external authorities for healing or answers, journeyers become active participants in their own healing processes. By cultivating relationships with spirit guides or power animals, they receive direct insight and support tailored to their unique path.
These spiritual allies often offer practical wisdom. They might suggest lifestyle changes, creative solutions to emotional issues, or symbolic gifts that represent qualities the journeyer needs to embrace--such as courage, compassion, or boundaries. Over time, these journeys foster self-trust and inner resilience.
Community and Collective Healing
Though journeying is often a solo practice, it also has profound implications for community healing. Many indigenous shamans journey not for personal insight, but to diagnose and treat the spiritual ailments of their communities. Today, group journeying circles are emerging where people gather in sacred space to drum, journey, and share together. This collective ritual fosters a deep sense of connection, belonging, and mutual support.
Furthermore, journeying can help heal intergenerational wounds. By connecting with ancestors and spirit lineages, practitioners can clear old patterns of trauma, addiction, or disconnection. In doing so, they liberate not only themselves, but their descendants and communities.
Modern society often separates the sacred from the everyday, but shamanic journeying reawakens the awareness that everything is alive and interconnected. The stones, rivers, animals, and winds are not merely background scenery, but active participants in the web of life. Journeyers often speak of receiving teachings from trees, or feeling the presence of the Earth herself as a nurturing, conscious being.
This reconnection with nature is deeply healing, especially in a time of ecological crisis. When people remember that the Earth is sacred and alive, they naturally shift toward more respectful and sustainable ways of living. Shamanic journeying thus becomes not only a path of personal healing, but a catalyst for planetary awakening.
Getting Started with Shamanic Journeying
Shamanic journeying is accessible to anyone with openness, respect, and intention. While working with an experienced guide can be invaluable, many people begin with self-guided journeys. Here are a few simple steps:
- Create sacred space by lighting a candle, burning sage, or sitting in nature.
- Set an intention or question: What healing do you seek? What guidance do you need?
- Use a steady drumbeat or recording (typically 4-7 beats per second) to enter a trance-like state.
- Visualize a portal--a hollow tree, cave, or tunnel--and journey through it to the spirit world.
- Trust what comes--images, feelings, and sensations--without judgment.
- Return and reflect, journaling your experience and integrating the insights into daily life.
The healing power of shamanic journeying lies in its ability to reconnect us--to spirit, to nature, to the hidden aspects of ourselves. It is a sacred bridge between worlds, a dance between the seen and unseen, the ancient and the now. As more people rediscover this practice, a deeper wisdom reawakens--one that knows healing is not about fixing what is broken, but remembering what is whole.
In a world hungry for meaning and soul, shamanic journeying offers a time-honored path home. Home to the self. Home to the Earth. Home to the sacred rhythm of life that sings beneath the surface of all things. To learn more, read Taking the Shamanic Journey.
Sunday, June 29, 2025
The Science Behind Shamanic Drumming
- Beta waves (13–30 Hz) – alertness and active thinking
- Alpha waves (8–12 Hz) – relaxed, calm awareness
- Theta waves (4–7 Hz) – meditative, trance, and dream states
- Delta waves (0.5–3 Hz) – deep sleep and unconsciousness
Sunday, June 22, 2025
What Happens During a Shamanic Journey?
- The Lower World is often accessed by descending through a cave, hole, or roots of a tree. It is not a place of darkness or evil but a realm of power animals, ancestral spirits, and deep Earth wisdom. Here, seekers might find animal allies, recover lost soul parts, or retrieve healing messages from the subconscious.
- The Middle World reflects the energetic layer of the physical world. It is used for spirit tracking, healing, and communication with nature spirits. It's the realm where the shaman may travel to help someone else--retrieving information about illness, trauma, or spiritual imbalances.
- The Upper World is typically accessed by climbing, flying, or moving upward through clouds or a beam of light. This realm is populated with ascended teachers, deities, and cosmic archetypes. Journeys here often bring expanded perspective, divine messages, and spiritual initiation.
- Power animals are spiritual protectors and guides that embody qualities the practitioner needs. A bear might offer strength and grounding; a hawk, vision and clarity. Once met, these allies can be called upon in daily life for support and guidance.
- Spirit guides may take on ancestral or angelic forms. They often serve as teachers, healers, or gatekeepers, helping the seeker navigate the spiritual realms.
Sunday, June 8, 2025
FeedSpot Top 10 Shamanism Blogs
2. Shamanic Drumming: The Internet's only blog devoted to news and commentary related to shamanic drumming, music and arts. Michael Drake launched this site in 2010 in order to share the healing power of rhythm with like-minded members of our global shamanic community. His mission is to create a vibrant international community devoted to shamanic drumming as a vehicle for healing, consciousness expansion and community building.
3. The Wired Shaman: Explore the many benefits and treatment types of Shamanic Healing. Read about the experiences of others who have benefited from Shamamisn. Learn more about healing methods from the Wired Shaman.
4. Sharon Ramel Shamanic Blog: Our mission is to offer transformative spiritual shamanic courses online to help you discover your unique pathway to support your personal learning pathway.
https://sharonramel.com/shamanic-blog/
5. Shamanic Journey: Trained as a computer scientist, my rational approach never prevented me from keeping an open mind and being interested in many spiritual traditions. This desire to progress, to improve, to explore, finally brought me to Peru, to meet the shamans of the Amazon. For more than ten years now, I have regularly returned to Peru to continue my initiation with shamans, with the intention of bringing back a part of this ancestral wisdom, in order to share it and to benefit those who wish to explore this magnificent medicine.
7. Shaman Durek: Shaman Durek is a 6th generation shaman, and author of the best seller, 'Spirit Hacking: Shamanic Keys to Reclaim Your Personal Power, Transform Yourself, and Light Up the World.' Read Shaman Durek's blog where he shares valuable shamanic wisdom.
8. Reiki Shamanic Healing: I'm Alessandro Ferrari, a Shamanic Reiki Practitioner. I work with the powerful healing energy of Reiki combined with the ancient shamanic practices of South America. I can help you through the connection with the sacred spirits of Rape and Sananga, and with the powerful knowledge of Amazonian Forest Oracles.
9. Therapeutic Shamanism: A regular blog exploring the links between shamanism, animism, counseling and psychotherapy, ecology, and much more.
10. Shamanic Spirit Medicine: Our Vision is that our Work to Contributes Positively to the Healing and Preservation of the Web of Life. Shamanism is a Gift for All People, a gift for everyone who wishes to use this Medicine in Right Relationship with the Intention of making a Positive Contribution to the Healing & Preservation of the Web of Life.
Sunday, May 25, 2025
What are Spirit Helpers?
Whether you realize it or not, you have always had helping spirits. Helping spirits are like family and friends, and each has a unique personality. Basically, a spirit helper is a coherent energy pattern that may take form as an animal, plant, ancestor, deity, element, or even a mythical creature such as a unicorn or dragon.
Mythical creatures manifest in our conscious, mythic awareness because they still exist in the Lower World. The same holds true for creatures that lived in the past and that are now extinct. A group archetype or oversoul of each extinct species continues to exist in the Lower World, so a person may have a dinosaur or mammoth as a power animal.
All helping spirits are extensions of the "one spirit" that pervades all existence, whom we could call God, the Tao, or Great Mystery. Spirits are a natural manifestation of human consciousness. They manifest in two main categories: those who have physical form and those who do not or no longer do. Those helping spirits that have a physical form are known as elementals and may include representatives of the plant, animal, or mineral kingdoms, or an element such as air, water, fire, earth, sun, moon, planets, stars, and so on.
Spirit helpers that do not operate out of the physical realm may include ancestors who choose to be of service to us or divine archetypes such as angels and devas. In the cultures of the past, these typically were the gods and goddesses of the Upper World. These helping spirits can take on a human form temporarily and act as intermediaries between us and the powers of the universe. They may include great spiritual teachers such as Jesus, Buddha, Lao-Tzu, and so on.
Trees and plants also manifest as helping spirits. Plant spirits are one of the major allies of shamans for healing, seeing, dreaming, and empowerment. Shamans heal using their knowledge of plant spirits as well as the plant's medicinal properties. When the shaman does not know what plant medicine to use for a sick person, the spirit of the plant tells him.
Power Animals
The majority of helping spirits take animal forms called power animals. Power animals are also called guardian spirits, spirit allies, totem animals, and tutelary animals. A power animal is the archetypal oversoul that represents the entire species of that animal. It is actually the spirit of one of the First People, as they are called, who at the end of mythic times turned into the animals as we know them today.
The mythology and creation stories of all Earth peoples speak of a primordial, but now lost paradise--a Garden of Eden 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, and all living things.
Animal characters played a prominent role in mythology. They were often portrayed as essentially human in bodily makeup, but possessed the individual characteristics of animals as they exist in nature today. Thus, Coyote is distinguished in the tellings by its mischievous behavior and Eagle by its great vision and ability to fly high into the sky realm of the Creator. Then, according to various cultural myths, the animals evolved into the forms in which they are found today. Raven, for example, is embodied in each individual member of the raven species, but Raven himself still lives in mythic times.
In the worldview of the shaman, power animals or animal archetypes such as Eagle, Coyote, and Bear represent and protect their entire species. When you connect with a power animal, you align yourself with the collective strength and wisdom of the entire species. One of the most important gifts that animal allies offer is protection and guardianship to the shaman during arduous shamanic tasks. Without this alliance, it is widely accepted that it is impossible to become a shaman.
Power animals are themselves great teachers and shamans. In many shamanic cultures, the knowledge imparted by a power animal is considered more important than the practical guidance of a master shaman. Power animals are valuable allies who can help you navigate through life's challenges and transitions. Many animals will come to guide you, some briefly and others throughout your life.
Power animals offer humans a much needed medicine. They remind us of what is innocent and truthful. Animals subsist from the heart, with a deep instinctual knowing that is always connected to the web of life. They live from the heart and are not entrapped by their reason. Humans, on the other hand, tend to live from the head, trying to figure everything out. But the energy that comes in from the source is directed through our hearts. We come into our own power when we learn to live from the heart. The heart attunes us to the flow of a dynamic, interrelated universe, helping us feel connected rather than isolated and estranged.
Shamanism is a sacred call to build relationship. A skillful shamanic practitioner works in sacred partnership with helping spirits--the power animals, the benevolent ancestors, and the sacred elements. Spirit helpers are the caretakers in the unseen world who want to support the earth and her inhabitants at this time. They are here to teach us how to gather wisdom from the spiritual realms, the natural world, the past, the present, and the future in order to give birth to new ways of being.
The shamanic relationship between humans and helping spirits supports our spirit's quest for self-realization. Helping spirits, if engaged regularly and skillfully, offer flexibility, creativity, and perseverance in fulfilling our own unique path. The spirits are here to teach us to be better humans. They come to assist us in doing the principal unique thing we have come here to do in a way that benefits all living things.
Sunday, May 11, 2025
The Power of Shamanic Energy Healing
What Is Shamanic Energy Healing?
Shamanic energy healing is based on the belief that all living things are interconnected through an invisible web of energy. When this energy--often referred to as life force, chi, or spirit--becomes blocked or distorted, illness or emotional unrest may follow. Shamans, often considered "spiritual doctors" or "energy healers," work to identify and remove these energetic blockages, retrieve lost soul fragments, and restore the client's energetic integrity.
This form of healing is not just about treating symptoms; it addresses the root causes of dis-ease by accessing spiritual realms, ancestral wisdom, and the client's own inner guidance. This approach enables individuals to break through barriers that traditional medicine alone may not address, offering relief that spans physical, mental, and emotional dimensions.
A Brief History of Shamanism
Shamanism is one of the oldest known spiritual practices, dating back over 30,000 years. It has existed in cultures across the globe--from the indigenous tribes of the Amazon and Native North America to the shamans of Siberia, Mongolia, and Africa. Despite their geographic distance, these cultures share similar cosmologies: belief in a spirit world, the concept of a soul, and the role of the shaman as a mediator between worlds.
Traditional shamans enter altered states of consciousness--often through drumming, dancing, chanting, or plant medicines--to communicate with spirits, animals, ancestors, and other non-physical entities. Their goal is to bring healing, insight, and guidance to the people they serve. Modern Shamanic Energy Healing adapts these age-old practices to contemporary settings, often blending them with principles from psychology, energy work, and trauma-informed care.
Core Principles of Shamanic Healing
Shamanic healing operates on several foundational beliefs:
1. Everything is Energy: At the heart of shamanism is the understanding that everything--people, animals, plants, even thoughts and emotions--consists of energy. Illness or imbalance arises when this energy becomes stagnant or fragmented.
2. Spiritual Dimensions Exist: Shamans believe in a multidimensional universe comprising the lower, middle, and upper worlds. These spiritual realms are inhabited by guides, power animals, ancestors, and other helpers who can offer insight and healing.
3. Healing Comes from Spirit: Shamans do not consider themselves the source of healing. Instead, they serve as conduits or facilitators, calling upon spiritual allies and the wisdom of nature to support the client's healing journey.
4. Soul Loss and Retrieval: Trauma, grief, or intense stress can cause parts of the soul to "detach" as a protective mechanism. This is known as soul loss, and it can result in feelings of emptiness, disconnection, or chronic depression. A central aspect of shamanic healing is soul retrieval, the process of bringing back these lost fragments.
Common Shamanic Healing Techniques
Shamanic energy healing can take many forms, depending on the practitioner's lineage, tools, and training. Some commonly used methods include:
1. Energy Clearing: The shaman identifies and removes energetic intrusions or attachments using hands-on healing, feathers, rattles, smoke (like sage, cedar or sweetgrass), or sound.
2. Soul Retrieval: Through journeying (often accompanied by rhythmic drumming), the shaman travels to non-ordinary reality to locate and return lost soul fragments to the client.
3. Power Animal Retrieval: Power animals are spiritual allies that offer strength, protection, and guidance. A shaman may help a client reconnect with their power animal to restore vitality and purpose.
4. Extraction Work: If harmful energies or entities have lodged in the client's energetic body, the shaman will extract them through ritual and spiritual intervention.
5. Ancestral Healing: Shamans can work with the ancestral line to resolve inherited trauma or patterns, freeing the client from generational burdens.
6. Plant Spirit Medicine: In some traditions, shamans work with plant spirits--ranging from herbal remedies to entheogens like Ayahuasca or San Pedro--for deep healing and transformation.
What to Expect During a Shamanic Healing Session
Shamanic energy healing sessions focus on rebalancing the body's energy field, clearing emotional and spiritual blockages that contribute to illness. Each healing session is unique, but most follow a similar structure:
- Intention Setting: The session begins with a conversation about what you're seeking--whether it's emotional release, clarity, or physical healing.
- Energetic Assessment: The practitioner may scan your energy field using intuition or physical tools like feathers or pendulums.
- Journey or Ritual Work: The shaman may enter a trance state to retrieve guidance, perform a soul retrieval, or clear blockages.
- Integration: After the energetic work, the practitioner will share insights and offer tools or rituals for continued healing (journaling, ceremony, grounding practices).
- Follow-Up: Healing continues after the session. Some practitioners recommend follow-up visits, especially if multiple issues are being addressed.
Sessions can be done in person or remotely, as energy transcends physical space.
Benefits of Shamanic Energy Healing
The benefits of this healing modality can be profound and far-reaching. Clients often report:
- Greater emotional clarity and resilience
- Relief from anxiety, grief, or depression
- Increased energy and vitality
- Spiritual connection and purpose
- Resolution of chronic patterns or ancestral trauma
- A sense of wholeness and empowerment
It's important to note that shamanic healing is not a replacement for medical or psychological care but can be a deeply supportive complement.
Is Shamanic Energy Healing Right for You?
If you're feeling stuck, disconnected, or curious about your spiritual path, shamanic energy healing may offer the insight and support you need. It's especially powerful for those who:
- Have experienced trauma or loss
- Feel fragmented or emotionally numb
- Seek spiritual growth and self-discovery
- Want to heal ancestral or karmic patterns
- Are open to non-traditional and intuitive methods
You don't need any prior experience with spirituality or shamanism--just a willingness to be open and present.
Choosing a Shamanic Practitioner
Because this field is unregulated, it's important to choose a practitioner with integrity, experience, and proper training. You can find a shamanic practitioner at the Society for Shamanic Practice. Look for someone who:
- Has studied with reputable teachers or indigenous elders
- Respects cultural traditions and ethical boundaries
- Provides a clear explanation of their methods
- Creates a safe, inclusive healing space
Trust your intuition when choosing someone to work with. The right practitioner will make you feel safe, seen, and supported.
Final Thoughts
Shamanic energy healing is a timeless and powerful practice that bridges the gap between the seen and unseen, the physical and the spiritual. It invites us to connect with the deeper aspects of ourselves, clear the energetic residue of trauma, and reclaim our vitality and wholeness. In an age of disconnection, this ancient path offers a return--to nature, to spirit, and to the true self.