"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.

The Shaman's Rattle

The shaman's rattle is used to invoke the assistance of power animals and helping spirits. It is also possible to direct energy with rattles, much like a magician with a magic wand. Healing energy can be mentally transmitted through the rattle and out into the environment or into a patient's body. Prayer and intention can be broadcast to the spirit world. Moreover, you can create sacred space by describing a circle with the rattle while shaking it.

Among Iroquois medicine societies of present-day central and upstate New York, the gourd rattle is described as the sound of Creation. The creation stories tell of the first sound, a shimmering sound, which went out in all directions; this was the sound of "the Creator's thoughts." The seeds of the gourd rattle embody the voice of the Creator, since they are the source of newly created life. The seeds within the rattle scatter the illusions of the conscious mind, planting seeds of pure and clear mind.

In South America, the shaman's rattle is a most sacred instrument. The rattle is believed to embody the sacred forces of the cosmos through its sounds, structural features, contents, and connection to shamanic trance. The various parts of the rattle also symbolize the structures of the world. The handle is the vertical axis that ascends into the Celestial Realm. The Upper World is represented by the rattle's great head-gourd, which contains spirits. Joining the head of the rattle to the handle symbolizes the joining of masculine and feminine elements in the universe, an act of fertilization that bestows the sound of the instruments creative shamanic power. From a shamanic perspective, caretaking the rattle and playing it properly during ritual fulfills the destiny of the human spirit -- to sustain the order of existence.

Rattles and drums work well together. The repetitive sound of the rattle, like that of the drum, helps induce trance states. The shaking of rattles creates high-pitched frequencies that complement the low frequencies of drumbeats. The high tones of rattles resonate in the upper parts of the body and head. The low tones of drums act primarily on the abdomen, chest, and organs of balance, while stimulating an impulse toward movement. Rattles stimulate higher frequency nerve pathways in the cerebral cortex than do drums. This higher frequency input supplements the low frequency drumbeats, thereby boosting the total sonic effect. Try a rattle and drum shamanic journey.

The Shaman's Drumstick

Drums are an essential part of shamanic work; we use them for journeying, healing and celebration, both for ourselves and for the community. Additionally, the shamanic techniques of divination, extraction and soul retrieval and can all be performed with the drum. It can be used as a spirit boat and carry souls inside it during soul retrievals. The drum may serve as a purifying tool, a spirit-catcher or the shaman's mount.

The drumstick or beater is also a significant shamanic tool and has a powerful spirit and sound of its own. The best drumsticks are made of strong hardwood with a padded, leather covered head. They are usually decorated with fur, feathers, bead work or engraved with sacred symbols. Different beaters work better with different drums to bring out the tone qualities. By using different parts of the drumstick to play on different parts of the drum, different timbres can be produced for transmitting different meanings. There are hard beaters, semi-hard beaters, soft beaters, and rattle beaters, which are simply beaters with a rawhide or gourd rattle attached to the base of the handle opposite the head. The clicking of the rattle adds not only an interesting sound effect, but also produces an offbeat, which adds a new dimension to the sonic experience.

Furthermore, the shaman's drumstick has certain uses independent of the drum. In Tuva (southern Siberia), the rattle beater or orba, with its spoon-shaped head covered with animal fur and metal rings attached for rattling, is in part for practicing divination and drawing the attention of the spirits. The snare sounds associated with metal, stone and bone rattlers attached to beaters and drum frames are described as "spirit voices." When Tuvan drums were being confiscated and destroyed during the times of Soviet repression, some shamans used only their orba for rituals.

Among the Altaians of Siberia, shamans use the orba to invoke helping spirits, collect them into the drum and purify sacred space for ritual. According to M. A. Czaplicka, author of Shamanism in Siberia (2007, p. 171), when the shaman summons the spirits, "His tambourine sounds louder and louder, and he staggers under the burden of the vast number of spirit-protectors collected in it. Now he purifies the host, hostess, their children, and relatives by embracing them in such a way that the tambourine with the spirits collected in it touches the breast and the drumstick the back of each. This is done after he has scraped from the back of the host with the drum-stick all that is unclean, for the back is the seat of the soul."

Thus, drumsticks and drums are used in a variety of ways in shamanic rituals. The first step in learning how to work with these shamanic tools is to connect with the spirits of the instruments. By journeying to connect with the spirits, each shamanic practitioner can find out what a particular drum or drumstick is best suited for, such as divination, journeying, extracting, etc. When you meet the spirit of the instrument, it may teach you some special ways you can use it for your shamanic work that you did not know before. It may have a specific name, purpose or type of energy. Be open to the possibilities.

If the initial communication with the spirit of the instrument is not very clear, that's OK. Journeys like this can be repeated a number of times, in fact it is a good thing to do just to develop an ongoing relationship. You can journey to connect with the spirits of your instruments as often as you like. To learn more, read "Waking the Drum."

The Landscape of Shamanic Knowledge

Anthropologist Benedikte Møller Kristensen lived among the Duha Tuvan reindeer nomads in Northern Mongolia, researching the relation between landscape and shamanic knowledge in post-communist Tuvan society. Duha Tuvans conceive their clan histories and their current problems through the landscape, and they continually create and re-invent the landscape through cosmological symbols, narratives and ritualized experience of space. In spite of violent repression during communist rule, shamanism among Tuvan people has survived up until today, and is now increasing in the Mongolian forests and in the Tuvan cities. The key to its viability seems to be the flexibility inherent in shamanism, where knowledge gained through ritual engagement with spirits in the landscape, rather than a strict cosmological doctrine, is seen as the core of shamanism. Shamanic knowledge of the landscape is used to confront, understand and challenge the turbulent changes which are taking place in this corner of the post-Soviet world. Read more.

Drum Circle Etiquette

I cannot emphasize enough the responsibility you take on as a drummer in a shamanic drumming circle. Your drum's voice at the circle touches the heart and soul of every person present and spirals out into the resonating circle of life. That is no small responsibility, and it's one that should be taken very seriously. There are three basic rules of etiquette in shamanic drumming circles: honor, respect and gratitude. Each circle is different, but the following is some basic protocol:

1. Come with the intention to serve each other through love;

2. Enter sacred space with respect and leave your ego at the door;

3. Honor the rules of the circle as established by the circle keeper;

4. Ask permission before playing someone else's drum;

5. Play at a volume that blends with others for harmonic results;

6. Adjust accordingly to the ebb and flow of energy in the circle;

7. Play in unison with the lead drummer, which facilitates shamanic trance and entrainment;

8. Seek harmony and accord with the collective intention of the circle;

9. Give thanks to the spirits, the circle keeper, and the participants for their gifts;

10. With all of the above in mind, allow your spirit to soar!