"A Shamanic Perspective of Life's Purpose"

Jade Wah'oo Grigori

by Jade Wah'oo Grigori

The Shamanic perspective of life's purpose is radically different than the psychotherapeutic or metaphysical way of looking at things.

Try this on...
I would bet that you look at life as being a school, a place in which you are here to learn? Correct? Let's say you were going to a University in order to learn something, a particular skill set. You ace the tests, get your diploma, yada yada. The U offers the exact same class next year. So do you repeat the class? No, of course not! You got what you went there to learn, so you are outta there! Next example: Maybe you have, or know someone who has gone into a relationship in order to learn...to learn how to share, to be giving, accepting...whatever. What invariably happens to that relationship once you have 'gotten' what you went in to it to learn? Yep...it is over. You got what you went to learn, so it no longer serves a purpose.

Ok, now the biggie...stay with my logic of examples... Do you hold that you are here in this life to learn? If so, What? "I am here in this life to learn ______." Fill in the blank, it matters not with what...compassion, acceptance, finding your true self...whatever. Now...what will happen once you learn that? (Stick with the flow of examples/logic progression I provided!) That's right, you are outta here. And what does 'outta here' in regards of life equate with? Yep...death.

Here's the rub...we each have an instinct for self-preservation. Its sole purpose is to keep us alive. Instincts are pre-conscious, and as such are incapable of rational discourse. You cannot argue or convince an instinct that you will not die just because you have moved into completion of your belief of what your purpose in life is. All that the instinct knows is that when you are nearing the achievement of what you are here in this life to learn, death will soon follow. The instinct for self-preservation then will do anything and everything in its power to keep you from 'getting it'. It will derail, destroy and sabotage all further attempts to succeed. The end result is that whatever the ideal is that you have been thinking you have to learn in order to succeed...fails.

The effective way of contending with this is rather simple, really, but it requires of you an absolute, across the board paradigm shift. It is this: We are not here in this life to learn. We are here for the EXPERIENCE of life.

When, in the example, say, of the relationship, we are present in it not to learn, but for the experience of relationship, when, of necessity must that relationship end? Right...never! And during the course of that relationship we will, of course, learn much. But we are not setting ourselves up to learn, we are there for the experience of relationship. Even if that relationship should end, that becomes a part of the experience of relationship...not an end in and of itself.

Now, apply this to Life. If we are NOT here to learn, but rather are here for the experience of Life...when does that end? Again, never. Even death becomes, not a consequence, but a part of the experience of life itself! And, therefore, that instinct for self-preservation does not kick in, as the experience of life does not lead to completion and death.

Get it? Ok then... Now, the task is to apply this to EVERY situation in life. Rather than asking, in a situation where you have suffered or been betrayed or whatever: "What do I have to learn...or what is the lesson for me here" (the answer, BTW, is going to be "Nothing!"), ask instead, "What can I learn from this experience of life?" Doing thusly moves the onus from one of doing one's damnedest to pass the test that some external authority (God, Karma, etc) has placed before you, to one of owning your own creative intelligence and power in the situation you are experiencing. There is no set up. There is no test. Life is not a school of learning. This is the real thing. Live it, experience it in all its weirdness and awe. Live and experience life with gusto and passion and an acceptance that you will never figure it all out, nor do you have to.

In summation: Release the belief that we are here in this life to 'learn'...that somehow life is a school, or that some deity is testing you, and if you please the deity with your deeds and supplications that deity will reward you with an easier life. Or that you are suffering from karma,...and if you just are good enough you won't have to suffer karmically (next lifetime!). Embrace life as experience. Oh, you will learn along the way. Probably you will learn lots. The reward comes from the results of your authentic and passionate engagement of Life...not from outside yourself!

Jade Wah'oo Grigori is an American Shaman who mentored me in shamanic drumming and helped me to find my own path of rhythm. Please visit his website to learn more.

10 Reasons You Should Develop a Spiritual Practice

A spiritual practice is the regular performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of inducing spiritual experiences and cultivating spiritual development. A spiritual practice is something you do every single day that facilitates deeper self-awareness, empathy, and connectedness with others. Regular spiritual practice produces feelings of insight, understanding, integration, certainty, conviction, and truth, which surpass ordinary understandings and tend to persist long after the experience. Personal practice 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. It is important to remember that each person is different and so what works for one person may not work for another. The key is to choose an activity that makes you feel calm, centered, and relaxed. A spiritual activity might be gardening, hiking, running, dancing, drumming, chanting, painting, meditating, praying, doing yoga or tai chi. Here are 10 good reasons why you should develop a spiritual practice:

1. To integrate the body, mind, and spirit into wholeness and balance. Through reintegration of self, we come to understand who we truly are. 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.

2. It connects you to your inner truth. It is necessary to still the mind and quiet the emotions so that your personal truth can emerge. Inner stillness quells the ego and reconnects you to the guidance of your own intuitive knowing. Intuition reveals appropriate action in the moment for a given set of circumstances. So long as you follow your intuitive sense, your actions will be in accord with the true self and ultimately the cosmos.

3. To explore and develop the "inner life." Spiritual practice helps make us more fluent in the language of the inner life, which is where meaningful healing, transformation and insight arise. Being mindfully present with our thoughts, feelings and sensations is a journey into deeper self-awareness, heart awakening and embodied liberation. Regardless of what you call it -- personal growth, personal development, self-actualization or finding yourself -- this journey is you exploring and developing who you truly are.

4. It affords a holistic perspective of your life on a macrocosmic level. Spiritual practice is a valuable tool for stepping back and getting a balanced and ordered perspective on the broader picture. Through regular spiritual practice, we gain the perspective needed to move with the ebb and flow of change with grace and ease.

5. To achieve joy and bliss. A daily spiritual practice is the surest path to Joy. Joy is our song, which we share with the universe. Every living thing has a unique song, a pulsing rhythm that belongs only to it. Within the heart of each of us, there exists a silent pulse of perfect rhythm, which connects us to the totality of a dynamic, interrelated universe. This silent pulse is ever-present within each of us, but our awareness is rarely in sync with it. Awareness of perfect rhythm is not possible until we relinquish the desires and manipulations of the ego.

6. In order to cultivate the attention required to complete your tasks. Precision and awareness become elevated in whatever you choose to apply yourself to. Attention is our most important tool in the task of improving the quality of experience. It is through our attention that we influence and direct the aspects of our experience and the world around us. Those aspects of our experience that are most enduring are the effect of habitual expectations and beliefs. What we pay attention to becomes what we know as ourselves and our world, for energy flows where attention goes.

7. It cultivates equanimity or steadiness of mind. Equanimity is the capacity to remain poised and calm even when under stress. The kind of equanimity required must be rooted in the insight that we create our own reality. Nothing that happens to us comes from an external source outside ourselves; everything is the result of our own thoughts and deeds. Because this knowledge frees us from fear, it is the foundation of equanimity.

8. To develop divine qualities. We are all sparks of the same one Divine Source. Over time, spiritual practice helps to dissolve our mind and through it we gain access to Divine consciousness. This closeness to Divinity allows us to assimilate divine qualities and evolve spiritually.

9. It clears the mind of illusions and obstructions, transforming thought patterns of confusion to reveal inherent clear mind. The fire of clear mind is ever present within each of us, and to remove any obstruction of its clarity is the duty of all people, so that each may find the way to unity and harmony. Through the insight and understanding of illuminated mind, we can bring enlightenment to the world!

10. To ground ourselves fully in the present moment. The present moment is all you ever have. When you aren't present in the moment you become a victim of time. Your mind is pulled into the past or the future, or both. Make the Now the primary focus of your life. The present moment is the fundamental ceremony of life. When we bring ourselves fully into the present moment, our life becomes the spiritual practice.

Buryat Shamanic Prayer Poles

Photo by Simon Matzinger

The Republic of Buryatia is home of the Buryats, a people of Northern Mongols. The republic is located in the south-central region of Siberia along the eastern shore of Lake Baikal. Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake by volume in the world, containing roughly 20% of the world's unfrozen surface fresh water. For Buryat Shamanists and Buddhists, Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal is a sacred and holy place. Along Cape Burkhan on Olkhon Island there is a very important pilgrimage site -- Shamanka (shaman) Rock, one of the nine holy places of Asia. If you walk along Cape Burkhan, you will come across serges -- ritual poles swaddled in cloth and ribbons left by pilgrims. It is custom to tie a ribbon to a serge and make a prayer to promote peace, compassion, and wisdom. Pilgrims believe the prayers will be blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into all pervading space. Different elements are associated with different colors -- a blue ribbon symbolizes the sky and space, white symbolizes the air and wind, red symbolizes fire, green symbolizes water, and yellow symbolizes earth. According to Buddhist tradition, health and harmony are produced through the balance of the five elements.

"Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World"

Rumble is a feature documentary about the role of Native Americans in popular music history, a little-known story built around the incredible lives and careers of the some of the greatest music legends. With music icons like Charley Patton, Link Wray, Oscar Pettiford, Mildred Bailey, Peter Lafarge, Jimi Hendrix, Jessie Ed Davis, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Rita Coolidge, and Robbie Robertson, Rumble will show how these gifted Native musicians helped shape the soundtracks of our lives and, through their contributions, influenced and shaped American and international popular culture. Rumble tells the story of a profound, essential, and until now, missing chapter in the history of American popular music. To learn more, visit Rumble.