Because contemporary culture doesn't have a role for the
shamanic archetype, many people who grow up outside indigenous traditions may be shamans
and not realize it. Many naturally gravitate towards mainstream healing
professions, such as medicine, psychology, or life coaching. Others wind up
in professions where they may feel like they don't fit in at all. Even those
who enter the healing professions may feel out of place, because the systems of
Western medicine and psychology leave little room for a shaman to practice their
innate healing art. Many others will wind up in various forms of sacred
activism, healing the planet, for example, rather than healing people.
