10 Ways to Connect with Power Animals

Great Horned Owl

A power animal is an archetype that represents the entire species of that animal. When we connect with a power animal, we align ourselves with the collective strength, wisdom, and archetypal energies of the entire species. Owl, for example, carries the archetype of the wise one, the seer, the prophet. Power animals are the gatekeepers to the deeper truths that exist in our collective consciousness. They are valuable allies who can help us navigate the inner planes of consciousness during shamanic journeys. Without this alliance, the practice of entering a trance to journey into the inner realms is risky.

With an earnest desire to connect, we can develop close, reciprocal relationships with power animals. We also discover through relationship with them that the animal spirits may have very individual and specific teachings for each of us. Similar to the way friendships develop gradually, our relationships with power animals grow and deepen based on repeated interaction and building trust over time. Here are 10 ways to connect with power animals:

1. Hang pictures of animals around your house or work area.
2. Read books about animals.
3. Observe an animal in nature to learn more about it.
4. Take time every day to meditate and tune into an animal.
5. Put on music and dance to help welcome the energy of a power animal into your body. Embody the power animal and move like it would move.
6. Give gratitude to a power animal whenever it shares a piece of wisdom or supports you in any way.
7. Simply visualize and call upon an animal. When you call or invoke the power of an animal, you are asking to be drawn into complete harmony with the strength of that creature's essence. Meditate with it. Ask what message it has for you. How does it want to be honored? What does it want to tell you?
8. Contemplate what it means if you're not comfortable with a power animal. If you dislike or are afraid of an animal, it's especially important to connect with it and learn its wisdom. The message it holds for you will be particularly meaningful. Power animals help us connect to the parts of ourselves that we've lost or denied, so it may be mirroring a trait or quality that is ready to come back to help you be in your wholeness.
9. Put items on your altar to honor a power animal and represent its energy.
10. Ritually feed and honor helping spirits with offerings such as cornmeal or a "spirit plate" with bits of food placed outdoors at mealtime. Cornmeal is a good offering because corn is a sacred gift from the beings that live in the spirit world. The one offering the cornmeal first breathes on the grains so that the spirits know who is offering the gift. To learn more, look inside my drum guide Shamanic Drumming: Calling the Spirits.

Playing Community Drums

Community drums are large drums that can be played by many people at the same time. A community drum symbolizes the heartbeat of a drum circle. Community drums are usually open to any participant who wishes to join in, however it is a "sign of respect" to ask permission before you sit on a drum. Each drum is different, but there is some basic protocol when you play on a community drum: Have respect for the drum and the drum keeper. Anything being passed at a community drum should be passed clockwise around the drum, never over, across or counterclockwise. Do not rest anything on top of the drum except for a drumstick or blanket when instructed by the drum keeper. Community drums are usually covered with a blanket when not in use.

Some drum circles like to open each gathering with a round of drumming on a community drum. One way to do this is to ask a community drum keeper to set up the beat, and then the rest of the circle will stand up and join in one at a time. When no more room is left to drum, the first drummer leaves to make room for another, and so on until everyone has drummed.

The community drum in the photo of this post is named "Rolling Thunder." She is a Taos cottonwood log drum with a bison hide head. She is the most powerful, healing drum I have ever had the good fortune to connect with. True to her name, she sounds and feels like rolling thunder! To learn more, look inside my Shamanic Drumming Circles Guide.

Creating Effective Ritual and Ceremony

Opening Sacred Space

Ritual and ceremony are essential for a healthy and balanced personal and communal life. Many persistent personal and social problems can be linked to the lack of ritual and ceremony. Rituals and ceremonies reduce tension, anxiety and stress, produce deeper self-awareness, and connect us to our community. They reconnect us with our deepest core values and our highest vision of who we are and why we are here.

Ritual and ceremony are two distinct practices used to engage the powers of the unseen world to effect specific changes in the visible world. Ceremony is a formal act or set of acts designed to celebrate, honor or acknowledge what is. Ceremony is used to strengthen or restore the status quo, grounding people in the natural order of things and/or deepening communal relationships. Ritual is a formal act or set of acts designed to cause a change in what is -- to change or transform the status quo.

Ritual and ceremony are a universal way to address the spirit world and provide some kind of fundamental change in an individual's consciousness or in the ambience of a gathering. They may involve prayers, chanting, drumming, dancing, anointing, as well as rites of passage. Both are designed to engage the spirit world in helping us to do what we are unable to do for ourselves. Without the connection to the powers of the spirit world, neither is an effective tool for initiating change. By creating effective ritual and ceremony, we can skillfully engage Spirit in the processes we are involved in like healing, therapy or actualizing our goals.

Potent rituals and ceremonies have similar foundational elements. Key elements of this foundation include:

1. Intention is the first element of effective ritual and ceremony. Without a clear intention or desired outcome, the energy created in the ritual or ceremony is poorly structured with little or no direction. This intention may be a new vocation, better health or world peace;
2. The creation of sacred space. Sacred space is that territory that we enter for spiritual and inner work. Preparing sacred space shifts our awareness from ordinary waking consciousness to a more centered, meditative state and structures a boundary that separates the sacred from the ordinary and profane.  There are no rules or restrictions governing this process, although tradition suggests that you begin by smudging. Smudging is the burning of herbs for cleansing, purification, and protection of sacred space. Consider setting up a centerpiece or altar that is appropriate for your reason for coming together. Although an altar is not essential, it provides us with a focus to pray, meditate and listen. An altar is any structure upon which we place offerings and sacred objects that have spiritual or cosmological significance. It represents the center and axis of your sacred space;
3. Invocations welcome and invite the archetypal spiritual energies of the seven directions -- East, South, West, North, Up, Down, and Within. Calling the spirits is an ancient shamanic rite that is practiced cross-culturally to access and honor the powers of creation. Inviting their presence, participation and assistance not only aligns us with their power, but also is a way of giving energy that helps revitalize these primal forces. The specific words of your invocation to the spirits do not matter. What matters is that your prayer comes from the heart. You must show the spirit world you have passion and heart. At this point, the process becomes either a ritual or ceremony depending on the intention;
4. Altered states of consciousness are induced through intense rhythmic stimulation such as drumming, chanting and dancing. An altered state of consciousness is any state which is significantly different from normal waking consciousness. Altered or trance states produce deeper self-awareness and allow us to view life and life's problems from a detached, spiritual perspective not easily achieved in a state of ordinary consciousness. This process allows us to connect with the power of the universe, to externalize our own knowledge, and to internalize our answers;
5. The closure of sacred space. It is important to conclude the process by closing sacred space. When you close sacred space, you again address the archetypal elements and spirit helpers, thanking them for their help, healing and wisdom during this sacred time. After expressing your gratitude to the spirits, send them off, releasing their energies to the seven directions. The event may be followed by a festive potluck meal in which the people rejoice that the spirits have brought the blessing of greater power to the community. To learn more, look inside my Shamanic Drumming Circles Guide.

How to Care for Your Drum

Drums should be cared for in a manner befitting their place in your life. It is a common practice to keep shamanic drums out of sight or wrapped in a cloth when not being used, as this will prevent careless handling of them or accidental disrespecting of the spirits of the drums by people unfamiliar with shamanism. Large community drums are usually covered with a blanket when not in use. The most important thing to remember is that shamanic drums are regarded as living, sentient beings and function best in the same conditions that humans find most comfortable. Basic care instructions are as follows:

1. Store your drum in a warm, dry place away from direct heat or sunshine. You can keep your drum in a water repellent nylon padded drum bag or simply wrap it in a special cloth or animal hide;
2. Protect your drum from moisture. When your drum gets wet, the wood swells and the rawhide sags. You can clean your drum by rubbing it softly with a slightly damp cloth;

3. Never leave your drum in the car for any length of time in extreme heat or cold as this can split the head. Leaving your drum in direct sunlight for any length of time can also make the drum's head split;

4. When the humidity is high, you can restore the tone of your drum by heating it slowly with a hair dryer, in front of a fire, or on a heating pad. Avoid heating the skin to a temperature that is too hot to touch. You can preserve the tone of a drum by putting it in a tightly closed plastic bag;

5. In high-humidity areas, some people put some kind of a natural conditioner on their drumheads once a year. You can rub a light coating of lanolin or neatsfoot oil into the back of the drumhead and on the cords. Your drum will stay in tune longer and absorb less moisture;

6. If a painted design on your drumhead is starting to wear away, you can touch it up with acrylic paint. After your paint has dried, apply a coat of clear acrylic sealer to the entire drumhead using a wide brush or spray the design with clear matte art fixative;

7. Should your drum ever require repair, consult the person who crafted the drum. If that is not possible, find another drum maker who works in a similar way. If you can find someone to teach you how to repair the drum, it's well worth the time to do so. 

With minimal care, your drum will last for many years as a trusted ally. The very first drum I made is over twenty-five years old and shows no signs of deterioration despite extensive use. The simplest way to care for your drum is to play it. A drum is not meant to be left hanging on a wall as a decoration. It is a sacred instrument that opens portals to the spirit world. Each time you pick up your drum, thank it, honor it, and express your gratitude for this gift from a greater being. To learn more, look inside my drum guide, Shamanic Drumming: Calling the Spirits.

How to Feed Your Drum

Honoring the Drum

In the shaman's world, all is alive. A drum is regarded as a living organism; not as an object. The drum has a spirit that can be awakened and if called upon, must be "fed." The spirits eat just as we eat. Shamans believe that if the spirits are not fed, the ritual may not go well. Shamans ritually feed their drums. Many use the head of the drum as an altar to offer blue cornmeal or tobacco to the spirit of the instrument.

Cornmeal is good "food" because corn is a sacred gift from the beings that live in the spirit world. The one offering the cornmeal first breathes on the grains so that the spirits know who is offering the gift. Offer the cornmeal to the four directions, and then to the drum itself so the spirit of the drum can eat it. The offering may be placed on the inside or outside of the drumhead. It is swished around the face of the drum for a few moments, and then left as an offering to the spirits of place -- the spirit and consciousness of every living thing in a time and place.

You can offer a pinch of dry tobacco in the same manner. The sacrament, tobacco, is the unifying thread of communication between humans and the spiritual powers. Tobacco feeds the drum and carries our prayers to the Loom of Creation, thereby reweaving the pattern of existence in accordance with those prayers.

Smudge smoke is also one of the foods for spirits. Cedar, sage and sweetgrass can be used for the smudging and feeding of drums. To smudge your drum, light the dried herbs in a fire-resistant receptacle and then blow out the flames. Smudge your drum by passing it through the smoke three times. Conclude the smudging by thanking the spirit of the plant whose body made the offering possible. To learn more, look inside my drum guide, Shamanic Drumming: Calling the Spirits.

Finding Your Power Song

Power songs are oral prayers spoken from the heart, expressing your true self and personal power. All shamans have at least one power song to call their helping spirits. It announces the shaman to the spirits and proclaims, "this is me … please help me." The song is usually sung near the beginning of any ritual and is often accompanied by drumming. Singing brings the heartbeat and body into resonance with the song similar to entrainment with the pulse of the drum. As the shaman's song invokes the intended spirits, the shaman comes into resonance with these spirit energies as well.

I recommend that you find your own power song to invoke your spirit helpers. The lyrics are usually just a line or two repeated over and over. The words of your song will have great power if they come from the heart. As ethnographer and author Gregory Maskarinec puts it, "In the shamanic world, words transform substance. Any medicinal properties of raw substance are trivial compared with the power of speech ...."1

To acquire a power song, begin your day with morning prayers to your helping spirits. Ask your guides to help you discover your personal power song. Do not eat breakfast and fast throughout the day. Plan to spend the day alone in an outdoor location that is preferably quiet and private. A wilderness or wild area away from the city is preferred.

Do not plan an itinerary -- be spontaneous. Just stroll quietly through the natural setting with the awareness that communication with natural elements is possible and be open to such communication. Nature is communicating with you all the time. Be aware of your surroundings. Look for synchronicities. They involve an internal psychological event that corresponds to an external observable event. Some aspect of a journey, vision, or dream may manifest in your ordinary reality. An animal, bird, or insect may bring you a message or guidance. When any animal shows up in an unusual way, or repetitively in a short period of time, it's critical to pay attention to the message. 

As you wander, discover what animal or bird you feel like. Take on its feelings, embody its spirit, and enjoy its identity throughout the day. As this is your first attempt to acquire a power song, you may only find the melody. If so, subsequent excursions will unveil the words for your melody.

When invoking your spirit helpers, repeat the song as long as you feel it is needed. I often start dancing and rattling while I sing my power song and bring my whole body into the act of calling the spirits. The more feeling or emotional energy you put into it, the stronger the invocation.

References
1. Gregory G. Maskarinec, Rulings Of The Night: An Ethnography Of Nepalese Shaman Oral Texts, (University of Wisconsin Press, 1995), p 187.

Top 10 Books on Shamanism

This is a list of the ten books that most influenced my path of shamanism. I have read many other informative books, but these are the books that most resonated with me on my shamanic path of learning and fulfillment. Shamanism offers a valid and effective path back to our soul and its purpose for being here. By engaging life from a shamanic perspective, we rediscover our core values and deep loves, find others who share them, and recommit our lives to living from what has heart and meaning. Listed in order of year of publication, my top 10 books are:

1. The Way of the Shaman: A Guide to Power and Healing (1980) by Michael Harner. Founder of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, Harner blazed the trail for the worldwide revival of shamanism and shamanic drumming with his 1980 seminal classic. This informative guide to core shamanic practice set me on a new course in life. From this guide, I learned to hone my skills of shamanic journeying. Harner teaches core shamanism, the universal and common methods of the shaman to enter "non-ordinary reality" for problem solving and healing. Particular emphasis is on the classic shamanic journey; one of the most remarkable visionary methods used by humankind to access inner wisdom and guidance by the teachers within. Learning to journey is the first step in becoming a shamanic practitioner.

2. Secrets of Shamanism: Tapping the Spirit Power Within You (1988) by Jose Luis Stevens. This was among the first books I read about shamanism. It is a useful introductory guide to personal shamanic practice. It is very easy to read and has lots of information. I keep a copy of this on my bookshelf for reference and recommend it to anyone interested in learning core shamanic techniques.

3. Urban Shaman (1990) by Serge Kahili King, Ph.D. Dr. King is the author of many works on Huna and Hawaiian shamanism. He has a doctorate in psychology and was trained in shamanism by the Kahili family of Kauai. Today he teaches people how to use shamanic healing techniques and uses his knowledge of Huna to help others discover their own creative power. Huna refers to a way of life, a way of being, that brings healing to the self and to the world at large. Uniquely suited for use in today's world, Hawaiian shamanism follows the way of the adventurer, which produces change through love and cooperation -- in contrast to the widely known way of the warrior, which emphasizes solitary quests and conquest by power.

4. The Spirit Of Shamanism (1990) by Roger N. Walsh, Ph.D. This scholarly text is a great addition to any library. Dr. Walsh offers an exciting look at the variety of shamanic practices and its basis in sound psychological principles from a thoroughly Western perspective. The timeless wealth of spiritual insights available through shamanic techniques are shown to the modern, non-tribal student.

5. Being and Vibration (1993) by Joseph Rael and Mary Marlow. Of the many books I have read on sound healing, none resonated with me more than Rael's beautiful treatise on vibration. Highly respected Ute healer and visionary Rael teaches that the nature of all existence is vibration. From human breath and heartbeat to the pulsating energies of subatomic particles, to expansion and contraction of stars and of the universe itself, there is pulsation-vibration inherent in all that exists. Rael's teachings show how we may experience spiritual reality in its totality through drumming, chanting, and vision quests. The book includes practical instructions and visualizations around breath, chant, and sound.

6. The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens and the I Ching (1994) by Terence and Dennis McKenna. This is a thoroughly revised edition of the much-sought-after early (1975) work by the McKenna brothers that looks at shamanism, altered states of consciousness, and the organic unity of the King Wen sequence of the I Ching. I discovered this visionary book while researching my 1997 book, I Ching: The Tao of Drumming. I was fascinated by Terence McKenna's theory that the King Wen sequence of the 64 hexagrams represents a wave model of time. I spent hours trying to decipher the complexities of the "Time Wave Theory" in order to write about it in my own book. Simply put, the King Wen sequence is a symbolic blueprint of the unfolding continuum of time in which events and situations recur on many different scales of duration. Each hexagram represents a unique yet integral wave cycle within the continuum. Many reputable scientists and physicists have embraced it. It has broken the barriers between esoteric philosophy and pragmatism.

7. Ecstatic Body Postures: An Alternate Reality Workbook (1995) by Belinda Gore. Anthropologist Felicitas Goodman discovered that specific yoga-like poses recur in the art and artifacts of world cultures, even societies widely separated by time and space. Goodman's hypothesis, therefore, was that these postures represented coded instructions on how to produce consistent trance-like effects. Goodman researched and explored ritual body postures as a means to achieve a bodily induced trance experience. She discovered that people who assume these body postures report strikingly similar trance experiences irrespective of their worldview or belief systems. With clear instructions and illustrations, Belinda Gore, one of Dr. Goodman's prominent students, demonstrates these shamanic postures and how to work with them. There are different postures that facilitate divination, shapeshifting, spirit journeys, and more.

8. Riding Windhorses: A Journey into the Heart of Mongolian Shamanism (2000) by Sarangerel Odigon. The first book written about Mongolian and Siberian shamanism by a shaman trained in that tradition. This is a great introduction to Mongolian and Siberian shamanic beliefs and practices. Sarangerel was an American of Mongolian descent. As an adult she returned to live in the place of her ancestors and studied Mongolian shamanism for many years. She was the author of two books on Tengerism (Mongolian shamanism). Both of her books are in my top 10.

9. Chosen by the Spirits: Following Your Shamanic Calling (2001) by Sarangerel Odigon. In her second book, Sarangerel delves more deeply into the personal relationship between the shamanic student and his or her spirit family. She recounts her own journey into Mongolian shamanism and provides the serious student with practical advice and hands-on techniques for recognizing and acknowledging a shamanic calling, welcoming and embodying the spirits, journeying to the spirit world, and healing both people and places. Sarangerel traveled across the globe passing on the teachings of her people to all who wanted to learn them. Sadly, in 2006 she passed into spirit.

10. Shamanism: A Biopsychosocial Paradigm of Consciousness and Healing (2010) by Michael Winkelman. Winkelman is one of the world's foremost scholars on shamanism. His groundbreaking book contains cross-cultural examinations of the nature of shamanism, biological perspectives on alterations of consciousness, mechanisms of shamanic healing, as well as the evolutionary origins of shamanism. It presents the shamanic paradigm within a biopsychosocial framework for explaining successful human evolution through group rituals. According to Winkelman, shamanism is rooted in innate functions of the brain, mind, and consciousness. As Winkelman puts it, "The cross-cultural manifestations of basic experiences related to shamanism (e.g., soul flight, death-and-rebirth, animal identities) illustrates that these practices are not strictly cultural but are structured by underlying, biologically inherent structures. These are neurobiological structures of knowing that provide the universal aspects of the human brain/mind." This book is a must read for any serious student of shamanism.

 

Affiliate disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Shamanic Drumming Circles Guide

I am pleased to announce the publication of the Kindle eBook edition of my new drum guide. The paperback will be available in a few weeks. This book is the culmination of twenty-five years of shamanic circling. Since 1989, I have been involved in facilitating shamanic drumming circles and hands-on experiential workshops nationwide. Many of the participants in my seminars were inspired to start or join drumming circles in their communities. Over the years, a number of these shamanic practitioners have shared the specific challenges and issues their circles experienced. This ongoing networking with other practitioners evolved into the Shamanic Drumming Circles Guide. This comprehensive manual provides guidelines for creating, facilitating and sustaining shamanic drumming circles.

A shamanic drumming circle is essentially a modern adaptation to an ancient form of cultural expression attributed to indigenous shamanic peoples. In indigenous cultures, the term "drum circle" would not be used. Rather, the term "ceremonial drumming" or "drumming rite" would be more accurate. 

The shamanic drumming circle is the most powerful way I know to connect with the spirit and oneness of everything. Everything has a rhythm, and that rhythm is circular. Drum circles provide the opportunity for people of like mind to unite for the attainment of a shared objective. There is power in drumming alone, but that power recombines and multiplies on many simultaneous levels in a group of drummers. The drums draw individual energies together, unifying them into a consolidated force that can be channeled toward the circle's intended goal. Look inside my new book here. View the YouTube book trailer here.

Solo Time in Nature

Trail through the Tatoosh Wilderness

When was the last time you took a hike into the forest or a walk onto the beach alone? When you go solo in nature, the entire experience is different than if you're with someone else. Hiking with other people, there is little hope of seeing any real wildlife and not much solitude. Solitude allows time for self-examination, relaxation away from the daily grind for awhile, and a chance to meditate, contemplate, or just zone out for hours at a time. The longer the solo immersion; the more transformational the experience.

I did my first solo in nature at the age of twenty (1974); backpacking for three days in rugged Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. That first trek challenged and inspired me to pursue more outdoor solo adventures. Many of my most memorable experiences took place during solo journeys into nature. My longest solo was a (1980) three week backpacking trek through the Salmon Mountains of Klamath National Forest in Northern California. It was an epic adventure and transformational experience that I will never forget. I recounted my backpacking adventure (and shamanic initiation) in my book Shamanic Drumming. At the age of 59, I still spend solo time in nature. I no longer backpack, but still like to go tent camping alone for days or weeks at a time. I always return home feeling spiritually renewed. My inner self is most nourished when I am immersed in nature.

Shamans have always gone solo in nature because they knew that the only way to recharge was to connect with nature's healing energy. What better way to reenergize than to sit in a deep forest, or next to a waterfall for a few days and nights? Shamans knew that some of that natural power could be gathered and stored using shamanic techniques and then applied later to their active endeavors. There is no reason why an ordinary person cannot learn and apply similar techniques to recharge, gather, store, and apply the renewed vitality gained from solo time. To learn more, read my journey into nature and shamanism, Shamanic Drumming: Calling the Spirits.

"Awaken the Inner Shaman"

Dr. José Luis Stevens, a psychotherapist and leading shamanic teacher, has published a new book, Awaken the Inner Shaman: A Guide to the Power Path of the Heart. According to Dr. Stevens, "the inner shaman is the wise one within each one of us....shamanically speaking, it's the one that's plugged into spirit." In this practical and informative guide, Dr. Stevens describes the human heart as the best place to access the inner shaman. The heart is a portal to the greater wisdom and knowing within -- and stepping into the power and responsibility we possess to shape and serve our world. In Awaken the Inner Shaman, Dr. Stevens challenges us to reclaim our lost power to heal, see truly, and fulfill our purpose in life. As Dr. Stevens writes: "The Inner Shaman, suppressed and ignored for centuries, can be discovered in the most obvious place possible -- within your own heart."

I also recommend Dr. Stevens's informative book Secrets of Shamanism: Tapping the Spirit Power Within You (1988), which was among the first books I read about shamanism. It is a useful introductory guide to personal shamanic practice. It is very easy to read and has lots of information. I keep a copy of this on my bookshelf for reference and recommend it to anyone interested in learning core shamanic techniques.

What is a shamanic drumming circle?

What is a shamanic drumming 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 post, however, I am speaking of a circle whose focus is on connecting with spirit and each other in ways that promote healing and learning. This is a place for shamanic practitioners to get together for learning, healing, and the direct revelation of spiritual guidance. It is a facilitated circle, but the leader is facilitating a shamanic ritual rather than a musical event. Unlike a free-form or polyrhythmic drumming circle, shamanic drumming is generally simple and repetitive, often considered as a form of prayer or method of trance induction, rather than as music or entertainment. Musical considerations are minimal in shamanic circling. The group's focus is on the spiritual intention or the energy of what is being played. The objective in shamanic drumming is for everyone to play in unison, which facilitates shamanic trance and entrainment, synchronizing each participant's heart and metabolic rhythm with the drum beat. Shamanic drumming circles serve many functions. Foremost among them are:

1. Providing a consistent, safe and supportive space to practice shamanism;

2. Acquiring shamanic knowledge through collaborative sharing and from helping spirits through direct revelation;

3. Deepening the participants' relationships with their helping spirits through shamanic practice;

4. Providing help, healing and support for individuals and for the community;

5. Developing key drum skills such as rhythmicity, ensemble playing and therapeutic drumming.

Click here to look inside my "Shamanic Drumming Circles Guide."

Calling the Spirits eBook Sale

Starting Friday, November 29, 2013, I am offering a Kindle Countdown Deal on my book "Shamanic Drumming: Calling the Spirits." The sale price will start at $0.99 and then slowly rise back to full price. Click on the preceding link between 8 a.m. Friday, November 29 and 8 a.m. Thursday, December, 5, 2013 to receive a discount. In "Shamanic Drumming," I recount my journey into shamanic practice and explore what someone should do if they feel the call to become a shaman. My shamanic training began under the tutelage of Mongolian shaman Jade Wah'oo Grigori. Jade's knowledge of shamanic drumming was most influential in putting together my first book. I founded Talking Drum Publications in 1991 with the release of "The Shamanic Drum." Soon after the book's publication, I began teaching workshops. My responsibility is to provide tools and techniques designed to bring the aspirant into contact with their helping spirits, securing a solid foundation upon which to build a spiritual practice. Once you have learned the basic skills, your helping spirits can provide you all the training you need. Click here to look inside my latest book.

An Invitation to Participate in a New Book

Today's post is a bit different from the usual; I am asking for your help with a project. I am in the process of writing a book titled "Shamanic Drumming Circles Guide." This book is the culmination of nearly twenty-five years of shamanic circling. Since 1989, I have been involved in facilitating shamanic drumming circles and hands-on experiential workshops nationwide. Many of the participants in my workshops were inspired to start or join drumming circles in their communities. Over the years many of these shamanic practitioners have shared the specific challenges and issues their circles experienced. This ongoing networking with other practitioners evolved into a manual which will offer some guidelines for anyone considering starting a shamanic drumming circle. The guidelines are also meant to help established drumming circles become more effective. If you have ideas for the book or want to share interesting insights that would be useful, either leave a comment below OR contact me via email and I'll get right back to you. I look forward to your thoughts. I'm excited about the prospects for this book. With your help, we can make it a truly-valuable resource for shamanic circles.

Post Update -- May 30, 2014: I am pleased to announce the publication of my new drum circle guide. I would like to thank everyone for their contributions and support. Click here to look inside my Shamanic Drumming Circles Guide.

What is Shamanic Drumming?

Shamanic drumming is drumming for the purpose of inducing a range of ecstatic trance states in order to connect with the spiritual dimension of reality. Ecstasy is defined as a mystic, prophetic, or poetic trance. It is a trance-like state of exaltation in which the mind is fixed on what it contemplates or conceives. The drum serves as a concentration device, enhancing one's capacity to focus attention inward. It stills the incessant chatter of the mind, enabling one to enter a subtle or light-trance state. Shamanic drumming carries awareness into the transcendent realm of the collective unconscious, the infinite creative matrix of all that we are and have ever been. It is an inward spiritual journey of rapture in which one interacts with the inner world, thereby influencing the outer world.

Practiced in diverse cultures around the planet, this drum method is strikingly similar the world over. Shamanic drumming uses a repetitive rhythm that begins slowly and then gradually builds in intensity to a tempo of three to seven beats per second. The ascending tempo will induce light to deep trance states, and facilitate the shamanic techniques of journeying, shapeshifting, and soul retrieval. Transported by the driving beat of the drum, the shaman or shamanic practitioner, will journey to the inner planes of consciousness. When ready to exit the trance state, the practitioner simply slows the tempo of drumming, drawing consciousness back to normal.

The drum, sometimes called the shaman's horse, provides 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. During shamanic flight, the sound of the drum serves as a guidance system, indicating where the shamanic traveler is at any moment or where they might need to go. The drumbeat also serves as an anchor, or lifeline, that the practitioner will follow to return to his or her body and/or exit the trance state when the trance work is complete.

     

The shaman's trance is an intentionally induced state of ecstasy. Shamanic trance is characterized by its flexibility, ranging from a light diagnostic state, to spirit flight, and to full embodiment by spirit. Shamanic practitioners use intention and discipline to control the nature, depth, and qualities of their trance states. Practitioners may progress through a range of trance states until they reach the level that is necessary for healing to occur.

The capacity to enter a range of trance states is a natural manifestation of human consciousness. The ability to enter trance states doesn't make you a shaman; it makes you human. What makes shamans unique is their mastery over an otherwise normal human trait. It requires training, practice, and devotion to master any expressive art. Shamans master the art of ecstasy to see the true nature of the universe. Shamanic drumming continues to offer today what it has offered for thousands of years: namely, a simple and effective technique of ecstasy. I invite you to try a shamanic journey and to look inside my book The Shamanic Drum: A Guide to Sacred Drumming (paid link).

Signs of a Shamanic Calling

Many people in today's world are being called by spirit to become shamans. A yearning exists deep within many of us to reconnect to the natural world. It is a call to a life lived in balance with awareness of nature, of spirit, and of self. We live in a culture that has severed itself from nature and spirit. Humans have lost touch with the spirit world and the wisdom of inner knowing. The spirits, however, have not forgotten us. They are calling us to a path of environmental sanity, to rejoining the miraculous cycle of nature.

Spirit calls us to a path of shamanism in many ways. It can be as dramatic as a life threatening illness or as simple as a dream. Some people receive signs of a shamanic calling through their dreams. Shamans frequently journey during their dreams, often flying through the air. Shamans may have recurring dreams in which they meet certain animal or teacher figures that are manifestations of the very spirits who are calling them. 

In Siberia, the homeland of shamanism, it is believed that certain characteristics are a sign that the spirits have selected an individual to become a shaman. Sometimes the shamanic candidate will have unusual marks or bodily characteristics such as being born with extra fingers or toes. Being born with a caul (thin membrane) covering your head is recognized worldwide as a sign that a person has a special relationship with the spirit world.

The more common signs of a shamanic calling are ones of personality, such as a desire to spend time alone in nature. Shamanic candidates tend to be loners and are often considered eccentric or "different." One of the most reliable signs of a shamanic calling is the urge to learn about shamanism. One of the things I have learned working with spirits is that they often prompt me through urges to do one thing or another. This is a common form of communication and instruction by helping spirits. The very fact that you are reading this article at this time is meaningful. It is the spirits themselves who are guiding you to search for information about shamanism. Your yearning to learn more about shamanism is a sign that the spirits are calling you. The call functions to awaken your own inner knowing and the yearning to express your true self through the artistry of the shaman.

In contemporary Western culture, people who have shamanic callings often don't understand what is happening to them, and may find themselves overwhelmed by fear of their non-ordinary experiences. To help potential candidates gain an understanding of these events, I have provided the following list of signs that you might have a shamanic calling. Have you had:

• An intense desire to spend long periods of time alone in nature
• Vivid flying dreams, prophetic dreams, or recurring dreams with the same animals or teacher figures
• Recurring encounters with the same animals in ordinary reality, possibly in unusual ways
• Frequent feelings of déjà vu
• Imaginary friends as a child
• Any physical, mental, or emotional abnormality that set you apart as a child
• An strong connection with plants or animals
• An awareness of subtle healing energy in your hands
• A near-death out-of-body experience
• Astute and accurate intuition and the ability to "read" other people
• A parent who has paranormal abilities, such as prophetic dreams or telepathy
• Ancestors who were healers, herbalists, or doctors
• An occupation in the healing arts
• Frequent clairvoyance, clairaudience, or other paranormal experiences
• Were you born with a caul (thin membrane) covering your head
• A life threatening illness, accident, or unusual event such as being struck by lightning, especially if this included a long recovery
• A strong inner urge to learn about shamanism

If it seems that these signs are very general and happen to a lot of people, it is because the spirits call many to work with them, but only a few may respond to the call. Choosing to ignore a calling may have undesirable consequences or none at all. For some, it can lead to depression and illness as the life force is constricted and thwarted. Those who choose to follow their shamanic calling may have no idea how to begin.

What do you do if the ancestral shamanic tradition no longer exists in your culture, but you still feel the call today? While traditional, indigenous shamanism continues to decline around the world, shamanic ideology has gradually entered Western humanities and social sciences and developed into the neo-shamanic movement. Neo-shamanism is a term used to describe the creation or revival of a shamanic culture. Most modern shamanic practitioners fall into this category. Neo-shamanism is not a single, cohesive belief system, but a collective term for many such philosophies. Neo-shamans use a variety of core techniques from different shamanic disciplines.

Mircea Eliade, a religious scholar, was perhaps the first to write about neo-shamanism. In his classic work, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy (paid link) Eliade discusses the three stages of becoming a shaman: the Call, Training, and Initiation. The first stage to becoming a healer, as described by Eliade, is that of the calling -- this call comes from the family, the community, or from the world beyond. Some are called, initiated and trained by spirit guides and/or human teachers from childhood.

Shamans are called, and then receive rigorous instruction. Training may follow an ordered tradition or take a spontaneous course guided by the shaman's spirit helpers. The function of training is to develop the skills and talents so that shamanic practitioners don't unintentionally hurt themselves or others. Though the spirits give shamans their healing powers, shamans must learn the technique of invoking them. Traditional shamanic training requires considerable devotion and personal sacrifice, not so much to gain power, but to become the person who can wield that power responsibly. Ongoing practice and learning are essential to perfecting any art or skill.

Where does one find shamanic training in the digital age? There are growing numbers of spiritual seekers who learn about shamanism from the internet or through reading the published works of individuals who have received shamanic training. Though a handbook is no substitute for an apprenticeship program, it can convey the fundamental methodological information. Authentic shamanic knowledge can only be acquired through individual experience; however, one must first acquire the methods in order to utilize them. Once you have learned the basic skills, your helping spirits can provide you all the training you need.

Then there is Initiation. Shamanic initiation is a rite of passage, connecting the apprentice shaman intimately to the spirit world. It is typically the final step in shamanic training, though initiation may be set in motion at any time by spirit's intervention into the initiate's life. Ultimately, shamanic initiation takes place between the initiate and the spirit world. It is the spirits who choose and make the shaman.

In my 2012 book, Shamanic Drumming: Calling the Spirits (paid link), I recount my own journey into shamanic practice and explore what someone should do if they feel the call to become a shaman. Working with the guidance of my helping spirits, I have written a guide to becoming a shamanic healer that encompasses the power of the drum, of community, and of the accountability inherent in authentic shamanic practice.

How does someone embark on the shamanic path? To be an effective shamanic healer, one must go through the three steps. The first step is to acknowledge the calling.

© 2013 by Michael Drake

Chosen by the Spirits

Buryat shamaness Sarangerel wrote Chosen by the Spirits: Following Your Shamanic Calling as a guide for both the beginning shaman and the advanced practitioner. Although raised in the United States, she was drawn to the shamanic tradition, and in 1991 returned to her ancestral homeland in the Tunken region of southern Siberia to study with traditional Buryat shamans. Her first book, Riding Windhorses, provided an introduction to the shamanic world of Siberia. In Chosen by the Spirits, Sarangerel recounts her own journey into shamanic practice and provides the serious student with practical advice and hands-on techniques for recognizing and acknowledging a shamanic calling, welcoming and embodying the spirits, journeying to the spirit world, and healing both people and places. Highly recommended!

10 Good Reasons to Take a Shamanic Journey

Shamanism is based on the principle that innate wisdom and guidance may be accessed through the inner senses in ecstatic trance. Basically, shamanic journeying is a way of communicating with your inner or spirit self and retrieving information. Your inner self is in constant communication with all aspects of your environment, seen and unseen. You need only journey within to find answers to your questions. 

Drumming is a simple and effective way to induce this ecstatic trance state. When a drum is played at an even tempo of three to four beats per second for at least fifteen minutes, most novices report that they can journey successfully even on their first attempt. Transported by the driving beat of the drum; the shamanic traveler journeys to the inner planes of consciousness and back. You should always journey with a purpose, question or intention. Some of the top reasons people take a shamanic journey include....

1. To reconnect with your inner or spirit self: Shamanic journeying heightens the ability of perception and enables you to see into the deeper realms of the self. The moment you bond with your spirit is the moment your heart opens. The first time you glimpse your spirit self, you gasp and cry. You know who you are. That is the moment you begin to heal. Journey work reconnects us to our core, enhancing our sense of empowerment and stimulating our creative expression.

2. To gain insight into an issue that you want to know more about: You can take concerns into a shamanic journey in order to access personal revelation. Shamanic journey drumming stills the incessant chatter of the mind, allowing the journeyer to view life and life's problems from a detached, spiritual perspective, not easily achieved in a state of ordinary consciousness. 

3. To clarify life purpose: When we are unaware of our soul's true purpose or simply not aligned in our actions, we often experience a malaise of the spirit. We can engage the blueprint of our soul path through the vehicle of journeying. Shamanic journeying is a time-tested medium for individual self-realization. We can journey within to access wisdom and energies that can help awaken our soul calling and restore us to wholeness. Journey work reconnects us with our deepest core values and our highest vision of who we are and why we are here. It heightens our sense of mission and purpose, empowering our personal evolution. 

4. To access a higher power: Shamanism provides a secular approach to accessing a higher power. Shamanic methodology directly supports the introduction of spiritual factors found significant in the healing process. According to the American Journal of Public Health, "Shamanic activities bring people efficiently and directly into immediate encounters with spiritual forces, focusing the client on the whole body and 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; it also enhances their sense of empowerment and responsibility. These experiences are healing, bringing the restorative powers of nature to clinical settings."

5. To access personal help and healing: A shamanic journey can shed light on a health issue and provide clues as to what is needed for full healing to take place. Journey work is also an effective way to stimulate the release of suppressed feelings and emotional trauma in order to heal. Recent research reviews indicate that shamanic journeying reduces stress, accelerates physical healing, boosts the immune system and produces feelings of well-being, emotional release, and reintegration of self. 

6. To reconnect with benevolent ancestors: Your ancestors and the collective spiritual power of all those who went before you reside in the spirit world. When your own time comes to pass on, you will become part of this vast collective unconscious. If you embark on a journey with the intention of connecting with those who have passed, they may come to meet you. Keep in mind that spirits choose to come into relationship with the person seeking. You can seek ancestral spirits, but the spirits must choose.

7. To develop relationships with the helping spirits who dwell in the three inner planes of consciousness -- the Upper, Middle, and Lower Worlds: Shamanism is a sacred call to build relationship with the caretakers in the unseen world who want to support the earth and her inhabitants at this time. These helping spirits might be the spirits of nature, animals, plants, the elements, or ancestors. The reason for developing personal relationships with spirit helpers is to gain wisdom, healing techniques, and other vital information that can benefit the community. Similar to the way friendships develop gradually, our relationships with spirits grow and deepen based on repeated interaction and building trust over time.

8. To explore the Middle World, which is the spirit counterpart of the material realm and the inner region that is most like outer reality: Nicholas Black Elk, Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, spoke of the realm "where there is nothing but the spirits of all things." In this parallel world exist the spirits that are the essence of everything in the material world. The Middle World is so truly parallel to the world in which we live that we can journey across it and visit all the places, people, and things we know in ordinary reality. Spirit journeys in the middle world provide a means of travel and communication without cars, planes, or telephones. It is a means of exploring territory to find the location of healing herbs or game or to establish communication links over great distances. 

9. To traverse the Lower World: A spirit journey to the Lower World is generally undertaken to seek the help and guidance of an animal spirit, to recover lost power, or to find and return a sick person's wandering spirit. The Lower World is the realm of animal spirits and the dead; the place to which human spirits travel upon physical death. This underworld is not Hell as defined by the agricultural religious traditions such as Christianity. It is the place of tests and challenges, but also the realm where guardian animals or power animals are acquired. You can journey into this realm on behalf of another; however a "personal journey" will typically be the most powerful. That said, perhaps the most compelling reason to journey is...

10. To find ways to restore balance in the world: As anthropologist and author Felicitas Goodman points out, "One of the most pervasive traditions of shamanic cultures is the insight that there exists a patterned cosmological order, which can be disturbed by human activity." When harmony between the human realm and the original intended pattern is disturbed, the shaman makes a spirit journey to the Upper World to bring back the balance. Shamans also go there to acquire archetypal knowledge, to bring a vision into being, or to influence events in the material world. By interacting with the archetypes, the shaman interacts with their counterparts in the outer world. 

Try a Shamanic Journey 

To enter a trance state and support your journey, click here to listen to a track from my CD "Shamanic Journey Drumming." Reflect for a moment on the purpose of your journey, and then close your eyes. Focus your attention on the sound of the drum and feel yourself being carried away by the sound. If for any reason you want to return, just retrace your steps back. You will hear a call back signal near the end of the video, followed by a short period of slow heartbeat drumming to assist you in refocusing your awareness back to your physical body. Sit quietly for a few moments, and then open your eyes. 

After the journey, you must then interpret the meaning of your trance experience.  In some cases, your journey experiences will be clear and easy to understand. At other times, your journey may be dreamlike and full of symbolism. Interpret such journeys as you would any dream. Look for possible associations related to each symbol or image. The key is to observe whatever happens without trying to analyze the experience. Like developing any skill, journeying takes practice. Nothing may happen on your first journeys. You may only experience darkness. When this happens, simply try again at a different time. To learn more, read my article Shamanic Journeying. Step-by-step instructions for making shamanic journeys are also explained in my book, The Shamanic Drum: A Guide to Sacred Drumming.

The Shamanic Drum by Michael Drake - Book Trailer

Shamanic drumming is a form of repetitive rhythmic drumming. Its purpose is to induce ecstatic trance states in order to access innate wisdom and guidance. The essence of shamanism is the experience of direct revelation from within. Shamanism is about remembering, exploring and developing the true self. Shamanic practice heightens the ability of perception and enables you to see into the deeper realms of the self. Once connected with your inner self, you can find help, healing and a continual source of guidance. To practice shamanism is to reconnect with your deepest core values and your highest vision of who you are and why you are here.

Drawing from 30 years of shamanic practice and teaching, Michael presents the first practical guide to applying this ancient healing art to our modern lives. Through a series of simple exercises and lessons, he teaches the basic shamanic methods of drumming. The focus is on creating sacred space, journeying, power practice, power animals, drum circles and the therapeutic effects of drumming. There are no prerequisites to learning shamanic drumming. Whether you are an accomplished percussionist or a total beginner, this user-friendly book will help you harness the power of drumming.

 

The Shamanic Drum: A Guide to Sacred Drumming Reviews:

"This book is a valuable, well-researched, and well-written treatment of all aspects of shamanic drumming. The author weaves together both ancient and modern lore, from oral shamanic chants to modern physics and biology, along with personal experiences to illuminate the practice of sacred drumming. Included are step-by-step exercises, analysis of different beats and tempos, and chapters on cosmology, journeying, power practice, and healing the earth. Recommended to anyone seeking to connect deeply with the drum as a tool for personal, interpersonal, or group spiritual and healing work."

--Nowick Gray, Alternative Culture Magazine

"A clear and practical work."

--Julia Cameron, author of The Vein of Gold and The Artist's Way

"Apprenticeship would be the ideal way to learn shamanic drumming, however most of us will never be fortunate enough to have this experience. This book is definitely the next best thing."
  --Lisa DiPlacido, review editor for Friend's Review

Shamanic Drumming Online Interactive Flipbook

I always enjoy the irony of a digital version that mimics a paper product, so I smiled to myself when I saw this interactive flipbook created for me by Italian film director Angelo Giammarresi. The advantage of flipbooks for readers is ease of locating content which in turn results in a more pleasurable reading experience. Readers also get the benefit of a completely interactive document, which can be embedded with audio, pictures, and other multimedia features. Angelo has embedded audio from my albums Power Animal Drumming and The Shamanic Drum Instructional. If you're one who enjoys Amazon's "Search Inside this Book" feature or BarnesandNoble.com's "See Inside," then may I tempt you with this exclusive 3D preview of my new book Shamanic Drumming: Calling the Spirits? 

The Shamanic Drum Instructional

The Shamanic Drum Instructional is now available on iTunes and Amazon. On this companion recording to my book The Shamanic Drum, I instruct the listener in playing ten ceremonial drum rhythms, including those for invoking the seven directions. A 30 minute shamanic drumming is also performed, which listeners can use for shamanic journeying. This recording can be used independently or as an integral companion to my book. Listen to all of my albums on SoundCloud.