Subject: Have You Ever Seen A Shaman? April 18, 2008.
Here we have a person who claims to be a Shaman
explaining what a Shaman is.
......................................................
......................................................
What is a Shaman?
Introduction
I am using the word shaman because of its
popularity: shamans have their own names for
themselves depending on their background and
location.
I call myself kupua, which is a Hawaiian
word for a shaman found among the traditions
of Polynesia. A kupua focuses on the essence
of a tool rather than it's ritual.
There are many definitions of shamanism,
but few mention the core of shamanistic belief
that I learned from my teachers. Most
definitions describe what shamans do rather
than what shamans believe.
Shamans use whatever tools they know that
seem appropriate for the circumstances. A
listing of these tools doesn't constitute
a precise meaning of the limits and
uniqueness of shamanism.
Almost all books on shamanism, both
scholarly works and popular books written
by "shamans", are about shaman tools and
descriptions of so-called shamanistic
ideas are presented in a very
unshamanistic way: shaman ideas are
described as if shamans believed them.
This limited view of shamanism is
understandable since shamans, when talking
to non-shamans and beginning students,
avoid frustrating attempts to discuss the
unreality of reality.
Much nonsense has been written about
shamanism. To quote just a few of many
examples: "The basis of shamanism is an
animistic view of nature"; "The main
principle of shamanism is the attempt
to control physical nature"; "A shaman
uses symbolic m-gic and a form of
fetishism [where power rests in the
power of the shaman and rather than the
object]".
Observations like these are based on a
confusion between what a shaman "believes"
and what a shaman decides will be
effective in a certain circumstance in
one particular moment. Animism, used in
the sense of the belief that "s-irits"
are everywhere is different than using
a useful tool where the shaman is merely
acting as if everything has a sp-ritual
nature.
A warrior shaman may act as if he is
controlling "physical nature" (whatever that
is), but to a shaman who is more than an
apprentice, that is only a game: the belief
is unimportant only the results are important.
And finally, to a shaman, symbolic ma-ic
and fetishes are only tools, not statements
about reality.
A popular scholarly viewpoint is, "A shaman
enters altered states of consciousness and
travels to other realms." A shaman may even
actually say this if he is using the terms
of a scholar's view of reality: "altered
states" and "other realms" appear to be
reasonable terms to a person who believes
that "ordinary" reality is one thing and
"non-ordinary" reality is another; and that
each can be described as an absolute thing. A
shaman's world is filled with a sense of the
actuality of that world, but in a way that is
both the same and the opposite of a dictionary
definition of the word "reality".
Philosophers have struggled with questions of
reality throughout history. And every time
someone fancied he was getting close, there have
been other philosophers lurking in the shadows,
ready to gleefully discover assumptions beneath
the original assumptions: philosophy had an
informal "peer-review" thousands of years
before it became fashionable in science (with
all its virtues and faults), although a
scientific peer-review is never concerned with
basic assumptions about reality after
centuries of labor even philosophers seldom
find that a worthwhile path.
Some shamanic ideas are found in expected
and unexpected places. Some of these ideas
make sense to many people the ideas sometimes
"feel" right and they sometimes seem to agree
with experience. I have often read that a
"kahuna" is a "Hawaiian shaman". (JW I once
had an oportunity to go the Hawaii on a vacation.
I had previously read a lot about the Kahunas
of Hawaii. The first thing I did while over there
was to go to a M-taphysical Book Store and ask
how I might come in contact with a Kahuna. The
people running the store didn't think I would be
able to accomplish this on a short notice but
did give me the area where Kahunas were said to
have been seen. I went out to the area by car
with my friends but they didn't want to get
out, so I didn't meet any Kahuna.) There are
and were kahuna shamans, but they are two
distinct traditions. There were Druids
also that were shamans, but in both cases
they were rare. And, as might be guessed,
there were (and are) shamans in Polynesia
and Celtic areas that are not kahuna or
druids. A shaman is a healer but there are
few shamans among healers; today and even
in the distant past.
Collections of ideas like "huna", or
whatever anyone prefers to call the Hawaiian
esoteric tradition, have some shamanistic
ideas, but like similar traditions around
the world, are not shamanism. Shamanic ideas
are found in works like the B-ble, the
Kalevala, some Star Trek Television episodes,
among many other works. What separates these
works from shamanism is that the ideas are
perceived and presented as The Way Things Are,
while a shaman views All ideas as simply
useful or interesting. A shaman treats
beliefs as tools.
In this discussion, I describe shaman tools
only as they relate to shaman ideas. I have
chosen to present shaman ideas in an
unshamanistic way since I am trying to define
shamanism, not write about how to become a
shaman. Definitions are all made up. That
should be obvious to everybody, yet some
people imagine they have solved a problem
when they've stuck a label on something or
someone ("Understanding is the key.").
Definitions are not statements of reality,
they are tools of communication.
If I were writing a formal article on
philosophy, I would have defined some
statements more precisely. But since I am
writing a definition of shamanism, I didn't
want to obscure their general meaning by
adding hundreds of words of explanation.
Other statements I have added for their
emotional effect: I describe shaman ideas
by choosing words that will offend as many
people as possible a reaction to words
can start a person thinking through a
desire to prove the author is talking
obvious nonsense.
Yet, behind the words, the ideas
themselves are the fundamental core of
shamanism, I just hope shamans from other
traditions will still be able to recognize
their own ideas after I have reduced them
to their essential meaning! If you ask a
bunch of shamans what a shaman is, you will
get a bunch of answers. I am trying to
condense the essence all of those answers to
a common core.
I also hope to show you a way of looking
at things that you may find helpful. A
viewpoint that is not just a way of looking
at shamanism, but one that may increase the
peace and effectiveness in your life.
I worked as a systems analyst for over 25
years. During most of that time I called
myself a shaman. I became aware of how
close and related the study of the nature of
systems is to the study of shaman ideas. That's
why I have chosen this peculiar approach.
However, shamanism isn't an intellectual
exercise: it's a game involving body, mind,
and heart. We base our world on what we have
experienced; it isn't created by logic.
Years ago, Napoleon Hill wrote a book read
by millions called "Think and Grow Rich".
(JW I read that book many years ago and enjoyed
it very much.) If he had known, he would
have written a more useful book called "Feel
and Grow Rich".
Many shamans play a game of developing
power and insight through conflict and control
of personified things (the so-called way of the
warrior). Other shamans act as if power and
insight can best be achieved through love and
cooperation. These shamans de-personify things
and work with the effects of things and
conditions (what I call the way of harmony).
If a person tries to learn about shamanism
by studying what a shaman does, many things
will seem to be inconsistent and illogical,
especially if the person is a product of
Western thought. On the other hand, I have met
shamans (who may or may not call themselves
that) who do not have a clear conscious idea
of the core beliefs of a shaman, but are
successful at applying their own unconscious
core beliefs. Calling yourself a shaman doesn't
make you one. A shaman isn't created by some
sort of "initiation" or recognition or
acknowledgment, or by experiencing some "state
of consciousness".
"Shaman" isn't a title or a state of being, it
is a skill.
What is a Shaman?
Exploration
Thousands of years ago someone looked at his
or her beliefs and reduced them to a few
"self-evident" core beliefs about the world. A
person's world view is the collection of all
the logical (and illogical) extensions of these
self-evident "facts". Mathematicians call this
an "axiomatic system".
The vast majority of these axioms and
extensions are taught to us: some by other
people, some by the "world" we perceive
around us. Some are our own ideas. The
extensions are ideas "about" things, not
"what is".
But in every case we made a choice along
the way to accept or reject them: we are
responsible for who we are.
No one can prove their own axioms to anyone
else if the other person has a different set of
axioms.
With an axiomatic system, by its very nature,
the best that we can hope for is to make it
"internally" consistent and "internally"
complete. In practice, this only works for
relatively limited systems.
When we try to make inferences "external" to
the system, we are no longer in the realm of
logic. This is a frequent problem, since it is
difficult to notice when we are crossing the
edge, we then start questioning the
intelligence of someone who disagrees with us.
Part 1.
John Winston. johnfw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Have You Ever Seen A Shaman? Part 2.
April 19, 2008.
This discusses the statement that you can't
disprove a negative.
...................................................
...................................................
Our beliefs are what we consider possible ("what
is"). So "all" that "is" is our world view. This
"defines" and "limits" our personal universe. We
all can conceive a universe beyond what is, but
"only" with our imagination. We perceive what is
possible, with maybe a big or little m-racle or
two thrown in along the way. For some people,
mi-acles happen because of our limited knowledge
(delusion), Television would have seemed a mir-cle
in the 19th century. Others see mira-les as
Divine Intervention. But in both cases they seem
like mira-les because they are beyond our ideas
of what is normal.
The limits of our ideas about "what is" limit
our perception on a very basic level; those
perceptions are "within" the scope of "what is".
We perceive what is real and that realness
allows us to deduce what is. It all goes around
in a circle.
The problem with assuming these "self-evident"
assumptions are THE TRUTH is that, if these
axioms and ideas "Determine" our world view,
our perceptions and observations will "prove"
the underlying TRUTH.
In other words, our axioms determine our
world view; our world view determines our
perceptions. If it looks like an elephant,
walks like an elephant and feels like an
elephant, it must be an elephant!
If someone says, "But, look at the world out
there, it looks real to me!" That person is
starting to think like a shaman!
Shamanism isn't about trying to prove that
rationality is unachievable.
Or about proving that our beliefs determine
and confirm our world, that's unnecessary: the
shaman "acts" as if there "are" "no" proofs".
The problem for someone who has a Rational
view of the world is to prove that what we
experience "isn't" a result of our beliefs,
No "self-evident" truths allowed! You can't
prove or disprove an assumption with another
assumption. Inductive logic doesn't help here
either, since we are talking about the basis
for perception itself. If you can't "disprove"
this, you can't "logically" say the world is
such and such, Or even say the world "out
there" is out there.
If you decide to ignore this challenge and
still masquerade as a Rational Man, that's
okay with me, if you are not ashamed of
convincing yourself with voodoo.
But, "You can't prove a negative." Who
knows where this college freshman, "law of
logic" folklore originated. Certainly not
from the logisticians. The "Law" is probably
a confusion of the saying that you can't
Inductively prove something doesn't exist
because you can't prove you know everything
about everything ("negative existential
judgements").
If you can't prove a negative, then the
negative logical statement "You can't prove
a negative." is unprovable. So it's an
illogical thing to say.
(Actually, every negative statement entails
a positive, so there are no purely negative
logical statements.) Anyway, I am not asking
anyone to "prove a negative" I am only saying
that no one can call himself a rationalist
without "disproving" that our beliefs determine
our world.
Why should you waste your time answering a
trick question when all you have to do is
look around and see that the world obviously
doesn't work that way? You won't be the first
person who has been able to reconcile
incompatible beliefs; shamans do it all the
time; humans have a talent for it; but a
shaman is aware of doing it.
Until a Rational Man has disproved this,
he can't "honestly" call himself a rational
man. He can't intellectually hold a rational
view of the world. Each `Thinking' person `Must'
ask "Am I being intellectually honest with
myself or am I only blindly following the
Doctrine of some unnamed C-urch of Rational
Thought?" `Anyone' who takes a rational view
of the world without disproving that our beliefs
determine and confirm our world is living in a
dream world.
A shaman says exactly that: the world is a dream.
Everyone has to take his or her axioms on `FAITH'
that's all we have there are no other options even
for people who dislike the word faith.
If our axioms are accepted on faith, there is
no difference between "reasoned" faith and blind
faith: there is only blind faith. If you prefer
to call it reasonable faith, that's okay, but
recognize it for what it is: an emotional
preference. Many people say that blind faith is
the only desirable kind. Others feel the very
nature of man allows us to pick the true
assumptions (the world out there is really
there and we can know it), that may well be,
but that is another assumption.
Although I am using the term "belief" in
its intellectual sense, a shaman often views
reality as if it is the result of our beliefs,
expectations, intention, desire, focus, love
and fear. I am not just presenting the idea
that our beliefs "create our reality". I am
simply implying that it is often effective
to view the world as if it is the result of a
few primary Causes. Practically all non-shamans
focus on a bunch of Effects and call that
"The World".
A shaman is not saying this is the way
things are. He is only saying that some things
are more important than what he believed
yesterday or what he will believe tomorrow.
In describing shaman beliefs I am not saying
the world isn't what you think it is. A
shaman friend of mine says it this way: "The
world is what you think it is." All I am
saying is we may have to admit the
possibility that at some time in our life we may
have accepted some of our ideas without
sufficient proof (actually, I am talking about
`all' of our ideas, of course.) A corollary
might be: give people a break when we disagree
with them they may not be stupid, but just
working with different assumptions. Judgement
is an emotional reaction, not a sign of
superiority.
Of course this way of thinking can lead to
belief in Nothing (nihilism). But the shaman
doesn't travel down that path. The shaman says
that things are actually very real for the
person who believes they are real and that
personal reality is `not in any way inferior' or
less desirable' or `less "real" than some
"Cosmic Truth". Is there such a thing as Cosmic
Truth beyond personal truth? You are free to
decide, based on what you emotionally feel
comfortable with.
If something is real for us, we will think
and experience and act in a way that reflects
that reality. The shaman decides not to play
the game of "What is Really going on?" since
the answer depends on faith. He accepts reality
based on his faith along with his power to
change his mind when he feels like it.
If all this seems too simplistic to be true,
consider that it `is' simple and that the
concept pertains to all "knowledge": no matter
how complex our perceptions of reality and
how those perceptions agree with our other
perceptions, who can say that they are
independent of our beliefs? Who can say what
a perception actually is anyway, independent
of other perceptions? Any definition of the
concept of perception itself is based on a
logical process starting from a set of
assumptions.
If all this violates common sense and goes
against the way you feel things are (faith),
try kicking a box with a hidden brick inside
and say, as Samuel Johnson once said, "I
disprove it thus!"
Lobachevski, Riemann, and other
mathematicians demonstrated alternatives to
Euclidean geometry and mathematically proved
that there is no way to choose between them.
It wasn't just geometry that was affected.
The problem goes beyond the question: Is
Euclidean geometry true? Or is Riemann
geometry true? It asks: If there is no way to
choose, how can we know what is real?
Poincaré gave a shamanistic answer: the
question has no meaning. All of our concepts
are only `convenient' definitions, some more
interesting than others. Einstein, in true
shamanic fashion, chose Riemann geometry to
describe space… and space complied.
All this won't come as a surprise to many
people: it can all be gleaned from any college
course in Philosophy of Science even though
most scientists think this is a lot of hog
wash (if they have thought about it at all),
they, and most other people, have an `emotional'
attachment to their World View. It gives them
stability and power. Shamans don't take things
so seriously, they are comfortable in a
changing world because they don't rely on it:
they find power from within.
I don't want to give the impression that
shamans are anti-science. Actually I suspect
most shamans have always viewed scientists as
kindred s-irits and look on science as a
fascinating and useful game. A game with
arbitrary fixed methods and rules (from a
shaman's point of view) such as repeatability,
double-blind experiments, `reducio ad absurdum',
etc. If you are playing a game of chess and
decide to make any move you want, you may have
fun, but you are no longer playing chess. The
game of science has its place in the scheme of
things and its Basic rules Have changed over
its history and (hopefully) will continue to
evolve.
Part 2.
John Winston. johnfw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Have You Ever Seen A Shaman? Part 3.
April 19, 2008.
This talks about how new ideas are brouht forth.
....................................................
....................................................
Since we have chosen to play the scientific game,
most of the time we have to sail in safe waters in
order to return to our familiar port.
Psychiatrists used to lock up people who
ventured into unknown waters and lost their way
back, now they give them d-ugs to deaden their
awareness (put their brain chemicals back in
"balance" and allow them to "cope").
Most of us seem to have a fear of sailing into
the uncharted sea of irrationality. Author Robert M.
Pirsig called it flat earth reasoning, "If you
sail too far, you'll fall off the edge!", it's
scary stuff.
Logic can be one of our most valuable tools. If
you are playing a game, it is often useful to
follow the rules. It's not hard to find people who
expound theories that are inconsistent or
incomplete `within the axiomatic system they are
using'. There is no law that says you can't use
your head. To scientists, logic is crucial to the
game. They don't have much sympathy for those
who don't use their heads. Some scientists see
p-eudo-scientific theories as a dire threat to
the well being of an ignorant misguided public
that needs to be protected from Nonsense before
damage is done. The damage sometimes happens,
but the scientist's emotional response is
weakened by his lack of understanding of the
basic assumptions behind his "facts". The shaman
is trained to play with assumptions and can't
help looking for assumptions behind a logical (or
illogical) statement.
One tenet of the scientific method that
scientists sometimes try to follow is to not
decide on an answer before you start suspecting
an answer is different than expecting an
answer. This isn't practical for a shaman since
he pretends that beliefs precede perception.
Science takes a conservative approach to
phenomena. Something is suspect until the
mechanism for its existence is known. This
helps eliminate "false" data and places the
burden of proof on the observer. It also
tends to eliminate innovative ideas.
I won't insult your intelligence by
pointing out the obvious logical flaws in
such pop-science homilies as "Occam's Razor",
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary
evidence", etc. (as they are usually applied).
You can find many discussions exposing the
fallacies of these ps-udo-scientific methods
if you care to look.
A shaman doesn't take these recreational
scientific games seriously: explanations are
only models, shamans are interested more in
the value something has.
How fast a belief becomes generally accepted
depends on the generally accepted authority of
the people who already hold the new belief. The
acceptance usually starts within the scope of
a specialized field and spreads out from there.
If an unusual phenomenon is observed by more
and more people, belief in it may increase
until the normal world view includes the
phenomenon. (JW An example of this is the fact
that people now believe that this world is round.
In the past people just knew that the world was
flat. A lot of people were put to d-ath for
trying to bring out that point. Another example
is that people used to say that the Sun comes
up in the morning, when in actuality the Sun
doesn't come up, it stays relatively still and
the Earth rotates so it looks like the Sun
comes up. The last example that most of you will
not believe is that the Sun has planets inside
of it. These planets affect the Sun spot activity
during the 11 year cycles that come about. These
planets have people on them. At least two to
these people came to Earth in the past and were
instrumental in establishing the Japanese ra-e of
people. We'll just have to wait around and see
if those facts are ever accepted as being true.)
Many years ago people just knew it was Science
can then stop rejecting the unusual observation
and start explaining it in ordinary ways.
"Obviously, the world was that way all along."
History is a handy tool for confirming our
beliefs.
A shaman realizes these ideas about the way
the world works are only arbitrary points of
view. A self-proclaimed Rational Man has no
difficulty devising other explanations. We
choose different viewpoints based on emotions
("It feels right") or faith ("It IS") Unless,
of course, you are the first Rational Man in
history who has honesty answered my challenge
and has disproved the shaman's whimsical
point of view that what we experience is a
result of our beliefs.
A shaman is the ultimate practical person
since he has no emotional attachment to his
ideas: a shaman will use any method that
produces the desired result. It's the results
that count, not some S-cred Method. But note,
one of the many meanings of the Hawaiian word
"pono" is harmony. It implies that the means
determine the end (not - the end justifies the
means!): if you want a peaceful loving outcome,
use peaceful loving means.
What the shaman thousands of years ago did
with this understanding of belief systems was
subtle and surprising: if our belief system is
unprovable, can we change our core beliefs
and Construct another world view?
Once the shaman gets over the psychological
block that "this is somehow cheating", the
shaman finds it is possible to change one's
world view. The first shaman probably went no
further than this; changed to another world
view and stayed in that other world.
Some time in the e-olution of shamanism
someone observed that different world views
have different advantages, some belief systems
are more effective under some conditions than
other systems.' This shaman may have asked
something like, "Would it be 'cheating' if
I were to change world views based on how
effectively they accomplish what I want to
do?"
This person was the first true shaman'
Don't get the idea that a shaman is
"pretending", although this can be a good
way to start in a desired direction.
Pretending is a power of the intellect to
get results, the shaman must `Know' in the
present moment that the world is really "this
way".
To the shaman this isn't just an intellectual
exercise if our beliefs determine our perception
of the world, then those perceptions obviously
are' what is "out there". The concrete
unchanging world changes in step with the
accepted thoughts of the people who make up
that world.
Surprising new discoveries don't reveal
previously hidden facts about the world, they
reveal a shift in beliefs. If the concrete
unchanging world, as we KNOW it to be, proves
our world view, who can tell the difference
between a view of the world and the real world
"out there"?
We build a Model or we accept someone else's
model and make it part of ourselves. We don't
recognize the model for what it is, just a model.
We confuse it with "reality". The model acquires
a life of its own and we build logical
skyscrapers on a mound of "facts". Sometimes
the results can be tragic: the Inquisition
had the glorious goal of saving a person's
Immortal S-ul at the expense of that person's
unimportant mortal body.
Sometimes the result only affects ourselves.
Sometimes we accept the teachings of people who
sound Wise when they talk or write about their
own logical skyscrapers. The teaching, whether
temporal or sp-ritual, may have its own share
of wisdom, but it's only a model.
To a shaman, reality is what we make it to
be. A shaman will accept a particular reality
at some particular moment, but a part of
himself will retain the view that it is only
a model. He is then able to view that reality
from a more universal point of view. A shaman
looks at things in a relativistic way. This
can widen his viewpoint and allow him to
discover assumptions hidden from a person who
looks at his beliefs in an absolute way. This
viewpoint has the advantage of helping the
shaman perceive the value and limitation of
that model. It allows him to substitute aspects
of other models into his current model without
shame.
Jainism has a technique that someone
described as "peeling away the layers of an
onion": ask "Who am I?"; answer, "I am ";
then "I am not that!"; ask again; ever
getting closer to the core. Try looking for
the assumptions behind one of your beliefs;
reduce the assumptions to a few core beliefs;
then look at your surface belief with new
understanding.
You may be surprised.
Things that start with "The" are not
shamanistic ways of thinking.
Sometimes these things are described as
"The Law of "... Thermodynamics, K-rma, etc.
The law is logical and useful or people
wouldn't bother with it. But to a shaman it
is limiting. It involves placing power outside
of yourself and makes you more helpless: "It
is The Law and since that is the way things
are', we have to work with it."
"But something either exists or doesn't
exist, right? There are no other options."
If this seems reasonable, perhaps you need to
become more aware of your world view. Not all
questions can be answered yes or no. An
indeterminate question can have a value of
its own.
A shaman tries to become more effective by
increasing his ability to use inner power. To
a shaman, the source of inner power is
infinite and abundantly available to everyone.
We don't need to increase or "build up"
something that is infinite, we need to discover
our freedom to consciously use it. Power is
the ability to accomplish something. In
physics, it is the rate of doing work. For a
shaman, it is an `Effect' of confidence and
authority. The Hawaiian word for this is
"mana", a word that is often confused with
"energy". A better, common meaning of "mana"
is "d-vine power", not in the J-deo-C-ristian
sense, but in the sense that everything is
di-ine. It's only a definition and all
definitions are only attempts to avoid
confusion.
Part 3.
John Winston. johnfw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Have You Ever Seen A Shaman? Part 4 of 4.
April 20, 2008.
This talks about Ki.
........................................................
........................................................
Work is the effort applied in accomplishing
something: force is applied to transfer energy. We
transfer energy with our intent and focus. Energy is
the strength or capacity to do work. In Hawaiian,
the words "ki" or "ti" have an inner meaning of
energy. Compare the word "ki" to the Japanese word "ki"
or the Chinese word "chi". Polynesian kupua (shamans)
thought of "ki" in a way similar to what some people
call "life force". To physicists, energy, force, work,
and power are related to each other as a result of
these interactions, and the universe is the result of
a small number of metaphors they call primary "forces"
(gravity, electro-magnetism, and strong and weak atomic
forces). A shaman thinks of things and the relationship
between things as an interaction of the metaphor of
the one primeval "force" that he/she calls "energy".
Becoming aware of these interactions is the path
to using inner power.
I leave it to you to speculate on what effects
changing a world view might have for someone's personal
reality and what value might be gained from it, notice
I avoid saying what is or is not "true". Everyone's
world view is unique; the differences come in all
colors, shapes and sizes. You might consider that a
new world view implies creating a new personal
universe. Or assume that something is left behind after
such a universe has been created: Can you visit other
universes created by shamans, or other people, or
yourself, or "others" in the near or distant past?
I am using "past" here as a term of convenience and
not stating that time does or does not exist. (I
am adding these interruptions to the flow of the
text not to irritate you, but to remind you to
think like a shaman.) Consider the idea that our
shared, familiar and "normal" universe may be
continually branching into different, perceived
shared universes usually shared only among the
inhabitants of their own particular universe.
(Do you choose which branch you take?) This is a
shamanistic viewpoint that has an echo in modern
science. This may get you started, you can dream
as many dreams as you want but don't pretend you
know that this is a waste of time until you have
tried it. You may have noticed what I have
implied already: the "reality" of the existence
of any universe including our own "normal" one
is not necessarily a part of the `value' someone
receives from a personal experience. To a shaman,
the only relationship that value has to "reality"
is what we make it to be ... so why make
"trueness" such a big deal?
Escape on a voyage of fantasy using your
imagination (one of the few true powers we
possess). You may experience some surprising
things. By sailing off the edge of the flat
earth you can look back and see its "true"
shape. Just don't tell your friends or they
will try to heal your madness, or roll their
eyes and snicker behind your back, after all,
this isn't some primitive stone age society,
we have advanced beyond that, haven't we?
If you think you have a rational mind, you
need to become more aware of the mind games
that are always playing inside ourselves. A
rational approach to things is often a very
useful tool. But becoming more aware can give
you the freedom to choose which tool you want
to use. If you aren't aware of any valid
options, you have no choice. You are stuck with
one tool. Think about listening to music: you
can think about counterpoint, harmony,
structure; or you can dance; or be carried away
with emotion; or just feel the beat. All are
valid, useful and enjoyable ways of listening
to music. You have a choice.
The most effective world view is often the
world view of someone the shaman is trying to
help, a shaman is a healer of mind, body and
circumstance'. Observe the different tools
shamans use in different societies. A shaman
often finds power in accepting the world as it
"exists" rather than trying to change it.
A person can have shamanistic ideas about
"reality", but without a commitment to healing,
that person is not a shaman. The word "sorcerer"
is sometimes used to describe someone who
changes world views to obtain personal power.
A shaman views health as a creation of the
patient. A shaman, M.D., counselor, therapist
or whoever, can only `assist' a patient: h-aling
comes from within. The most important part of a
he-ler's job is to convince the patients that a
hea-ing is actually taking place through
shamanic journeying, surgery, pills, counseling,
or whatever. The other part is assisting the
patients -eal themselves, through journeying,
surgery, pills, counseling, or whatever. Some
shamans may say the "convincing" part is the
only part beliefs precede reality and a shaman
is a realist (as a shaman defines it). Other
"realists" would say shamanism is far removed
from "realism". Other healers may have their own
ideas about their role. One h-aling technique
sometimes used by shamans in some parts of the
world is what is now popularly called "s-ul
retrieval". A shaman views the world in several
ways. One effective way is to view the world as
if everything is separate. This is the way most
people view the world. "So-l retrieval" can
only take place in a world where things are
separate. A sou- can't be separated in a world
where things are connected or things share a
"oneness". But a shaman may think of this as
a useful tool when the patient is convinced
that his or her soul needs "retrieving". An
effective shaman would never suggest this as
a new concept for the patient unless this is
the only he-ling technique you know, why create
additional problems?
To a shaman, hea-ing is more than helping
unhealthy people. It sometimes seems as if life,
things and events all strive towards their Own
idea of perfect health. A shaman tries to
become aware of the goals of anyone or anything
he or she is trying to cooperate with.
A shaman has a background that can't be
completely discarded. A shaman has a f-ith in
something that he or she can't or doesn't want
to change.
We `all' have fa-th in our own g-ds (our
ideas), or fa-th in Go- (theist), or f-ith in
the non-existence of -od (atheist), or faith
in our lack of fa-th in G-d (agnostic). Atheist
are fond of saying that they aren't saying that
Go- doesn't exist, they are saying that they
don't believe in -od either way they are
professing their fai-h. An agnostic is basically
saying, "I don't know." or even, "No one knows."
That is the convenient intellectual camouflage
we often use to conceal fai-h in our basic
beliefs from ourselves. Some would include with
agnostics, those who instead of professing their
-aith, imagine themselves as rational believers
("Here is the Evidence"). Many would say that
at some inner level we are all theists.
Explore the assumptions beneath "I don't
know." Or "Who knows?" There are many ways to
learn. To discover the most valuable things,
we don't need teachers we all know more about
things than we think we do.
A shaman doesn't completely switch world
views. To be effective, a world view only has
to be adopted to the extent `that results
change'. Everyone can observe this and notice
how many people pass by with smiles when you
are happy and how many have frowns when you are
grumpy. It's easy to explain: "It's only our
perception."
Is our shared physical world real? To a
shaman, our normal world holds a legitimate
and influential place among many other real
worlds as the result of so many people
experiencing it. A shaman doesn't think of the
"physical" world as illusion in the sense of
what some Eastern philosophies call a veil or
maya. A shaman often does not even distinguish
between "physical" and "sp-ritual": so it is
meaningless to say one is "better" than the
other.
Usually shamans view the world as if we are
all connected. As a result, everyone's world
view is affected by everyone else's beliefs.
After all, if a baby rolls off the couch, he
or she will land on the floor: it doesn't seem
to matter what the baby believes about gravity,
it only seems to matter what the observer
believes. That's why a shaman has better things
to do than try to fly. Doing things like trying
to fly is a lot of work (most people believe in
gravity) and indicates you have some need to
prove your power if you have power you don't
have to prove it to yourself (you already know)
or prove it to someone else (important only if
you lack real power).
However, by shifting into different worlds, a
shaman finds freedom; our choices are only
limited by ourselves. The shaman doesn't worry
about this being delusion: we call people
deluded when they break our rules. If we could
just give up the emotional attachments to our
ideas, we wouldn't take things so seriously.
What is a Shaman? Definition
Starting from a knowledge of how a shaman
views the world, the tools a shaman uses are
seen as logical applications of that world
view. You can test my definition of what a
shaman is: the things that a shaman does,
follow from working with different world
views. Try this by looking at what shamans
do from the perspective of belief systems
and you won't have to take my word for it.
So here's my arbitrary, simplified
definition of shamanism: A shaman is a
he-ler who changes world views in order to
become more effective.
All of this information can be found at:
http://www.seri-worldwide.org/shaman.html
Part 4 of 4.
John Winston. johnfw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Louise And Mount Shasta. April 20, 2008.
I met Louise Jones when she lived in the housing
community called Shastina, a few miles North of the
mountain called Mt Shasta. She now lives at another
place. When she showed up in her home the people from
inside of Mt. Shasta came in their spacecrafts and
were in the air just above her house to welcome her
to that area. The following information is written
by her about Mt. Shasta.
........................................................
........................................................
By Aurelia Louise Jones
Mount Shasta
The Lemurian Age took place approximately between
the years 4,500,000 BC to about 12,000 years ago. Until
the sinking of the continents of Lemuria and later of
Atlantis, there were seven major continents on this
planet. The lands belonging to the gigantic continent
of Lemuria included lands now under the Pacific Ocean
as well as Hawaii, the Easter Islands, the Fiji
Islands, Australia and New Zealand. Also lands in the
Indian Ocean and Madagascar. The Eastern coast of
Lemuria also extended to California and part of
British Columbia in Canada. For a very long time
before the fall in consciousness, the Lemurians lived
in a fifth dimensional frequency or dimension, and
were able to switch back and forth from fifth to
third at will, without any problem. It could be
done whenever it was desired, by intension and the
energies of the heart.
The Lemurian r-ce was a mixture of beings that
came mainly from Sirius, Alpha Centauri and a
smaller number of them from other planets as well.
Eventually, as these ra-es mixed together on Earth,
they formed the Lemurian civilization. To say the
least, it was quite an awesome mixture. Lemuria
was really the cradle of civilization on this
planet, the `Motherland' who assisted in the
eventual birth of many other civilizations.
Atlantis came about at a later time.
The continent of Lemuria thrived in a state
of paradise and m-gic for a few millions years.
Eventually, as a result of w-rs between the
two major continents, great devastations took
place on Lemuria and on Atlantis. Twenty five
thousand years ago, Atlantis and Lemuria, the
two highest civilizations of the time were
battling each other over `ideologies'. They had
two very different ideas about how the
direction of other civilizations on this planet
should go. The Lemurians believed that the other
less e-olved cultures should be left alone to
continue their own ev-lution at their own pace
according to their own understandings and
pathway.
The Atlanteans believed that all the less
evo-ved cultures should be brought under sway
and controlled by the two more evol-ed
civilizations. This caused a series of
thermon-clear wa-s between Atlantis and
Lemuria. Later on, when the -ars were
over and the dust had settled, there
were no winners.
During these devastating w-rs, people
who were highly civilized stooped to quite
low levels, until they eventually realized
the futility of such behaviors. Ultimately,
Atlantis and Lemuria became the victims of
their own aggression, and the homelands of
both continents became greatly weakened by
those wa-s. The people, through the
priesthood, were then informed that within
less than 15,000 years their continents would
sink completely. In those days, because people
lived an average of 20,000 to 30,000 years
commonly, they understood that many who have
caused the havoc would live to experience the
destruction.
In the time of Lemuria, California was part
of the Lemurian land.
When the Lemurians realized that their land
was destined to perish, they petitioned the
Shamballa-the-Lesser, the head of the Agartha
Network, for permission to build a city beneath
Mount Shasta in order to preserve their culture
and their records.
In order for them to be granted the
permission to build a city and becoming part of
the subterranean Agartha Network, they had to
prove that they had learned their lessons of
wa- and aggression.
They also had to prove this to many other
agencies such as the Galactic Confederation of
Planets. They also had to prove that they had
learned their lessons of peace in order to be
accepted again as members of the Confederation.
When permission was granted to build their
city, it was understood that this area would
survive the cataclysms. There was already a
very large dome cavern existing within Mount
Shasta. The Lemurians constructed their city,
which they called Telos, who was also the
name of this whole area at the time, including
California and a major part of the U.S. we
now call the South West. Telos also included
the lands North of Mount Shasta along the west
coast, up to part of British Columbia. Telos
means Communication with S-irit, oneness with
Sp-rit, understanding with Spi-it.
When Telos was constructed, it was meant to
contain a maximum of 200,000 people. When the
cataclysms started, only 25,000 people made it
on time into the mountain and were saved. This
number is approximately what was left of the
Lemurian culture in the third dimension.
Already the records had been moved from Lemuria
to the underground city of Telos and the
temples had been built. When the blast that
destroyed the continent manifested, it came a
bit earlier than anticipated, and this is why
so many people did not make it `on time' inside
the mountain. It is known that Lemuria, the
beloved Motherland, went down overnight. The
continent sank so quietly that nearly
everybody was totally unaware of what was
happening.
Practically all were sleeping during the
occurrence. There was no unusual weather
condition that night. According to a
transmission given by `Lord Himalaya in 1959
through Geraldine Innocenti', El Morya's
twin flame, he explained that a great part of
those of the priesthood who had remained
faithful to the Light and their sacred calling,
like captains on a sinking ship, kept their
posts, and fearless to the end, they sang and
p-ayed as they went down beneath the waves.
`Before the Lemurian continent sank, the
priest and priestesses of the Temples were
warned of the coming cataclysmic changes, and
various Focuses of the Sacred Fire were
transported to Telos, and others were
transported to other lands which would not be
affected.
Many of these Flames were taken to the
continent of Atlantis to a specific location
and were sustained there for quite a period
of time by daily s-iritual applications.
Just before Lemuria sank, certain of these
priests and priestesses returned to their
homes on that continent and volunteered to
go down with the land and Her people, giving
the assistance of their radiation and
extending comfort and fearlessness. They
offered this help to counteract the fear,
which always comes with cataclysmic action.
These loving benefactors, by the radiation of
their G-d controlled energies and their
sacrifice, literally surrounded the auras of
the people in a blanket of peace and assisted
in creating a freedom from fear so that the
etheric bodies of those lifestreams would not
be so severely scarred, thus saving those
people in future embodiments, from having to
experience greater tragic consequences'.
From Lord Himalaya to the `Bridge to
Freedom' dispensation in 1959 said': `Many
members of the priesthood placed themselves in
small groups strategically in various areas
and they pr-yed and sang as they went down
beneath the water. The melody they sang was the
same as is known today as `Auld Lang Syne'.
The idea behind this action was that every
horrifying experience leaves a very deep scar
and trauma in the etheric body and cellular
memory of the people, and it takes several
embodiments to h-al. Through the action and the
sacrifice of those of the priesthood, choosing
to stay together in groups and singing to the
very end, much fear was mitigated, and a certain
level of harmony was maintained. This way, the
damage and trauma to the s-uls who perished
was greatly diminished. It was said that those
of the priesthood, along with the musicians,
sang and pra-ed until the waves and the water
had risen to level of their mouths. It is
then that they also perished. During the
night, while the masses slept, under a starry
blue sky, it was all over; the beloved
Motherland was submerged beneath the waves of
the Pacific Ocean. None of the priesthood had
left their post, and none had evidenced any
fear. Lemuria went down with dignity!
Auld Lang Syne” was the last song ever heard
on the land of Lemuria.
The song they sang, some people on Earth
have brought this song forth again through
the Irish people, and very prophetic words have
been put into it such as. `Should auld
acquaintances be forgot'. Indeed, we are these
old acquaintances reuniting again, those of us
from the physical realm with those of our
beloved ones, former friends and family members
of Telos, `yet invisible' to our present sight,
and hopefully, not for too much longer.
Hear this well in your heart my friends,
these next couple sentences. Before our Beloved
Lemuria sank completely, it was prophesized that
one day, in some far distant future, many of us
will gather again as a group and sing this song
again, with the absolute knowingness that the
`Earth's Victory' is won. The time we are now
living in brings the celebration of this long
awaited day, and the fulfilling of that
incredible prophecy. We are now initiating the
beginning of the long awaited `Reunion'.
It is almost with tears in my eyes that I am
letting you know from Adama that many of you
reading those words were among those brave
so-ls who sacrificed your life for the great
benefit of the collective. Lets applaud your
bravery then, and now lets rejoice for our
return together, once again, to continue our
great Lemurian mission of assisting the planet
and humanity into her glorious ascension.
Part 1.
John Winston johnfw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Louise And Mount Shasta. Part 2 of 2.
April 21, 2008.
This tells what is going on inside Mt. Shasta.
........................................................
........................................................
In Telos, one aspect of their mission has been to
keep the balance and energies of ascension
consciousness for the planet until such a time that
surface dwellers can do this for themselves. Now the
time has come for our two civilizations to do this
together as `One Heart'.
Earth after the Sinking of the two Continents
At the same time Lemuria was going down, Atlantis
started shaking and loosing parts of its land, and it
continued for 200 years, until the final stage, where
the rest of the continent completely sank.
For 2,000 years after the Lemurian and the Atlantean
catastrophes, the planet was still shaking. For the
Earth to loose two large land masses within 200 years,
plus the planet was still witnessing the effects of the
thermo-n-clear weapons, the Earth had suffered such a
major setback and trauma, that it took several
thousands years to balance out again and be hospitable.
For hundreds of years after the destruction of both
continents, so much debris had been thrown into the
atmosphere that the Earth never became bright in
daylight.
The atmosphere became very cold because the sunlight
was not able to penetrate properly through the thick
toxic atmospheric debris and very little food could
grow. A large percentage of the animals and plants
perished.
Why is there so little evidence today of the remains
of these two great civilizations?
The reason is that the cities on the planet that did
not sink were shook to rubbles, or were wiped out by
earthquakes or by huge tidal waves that would often go
as far as 1,000 miles inland and destroy most cities
and habitations in their pathway. The human conditions
in the civilizations that survived those cataclysms
became so harsh and difficult by this constant earth
activity and people became so frightened that the
quality of life of those civilizations deteriorated
very fast.
For those who survived all those calamities, hunger,
poverty and disease were their legacy.
The original height of mankind on this planet was
approximately 12 feet tall. The Hyperboreans were and
still are 12 feet tall and none of them live on the
surface at this time. By the time Lemuria sank, the
Lemurians were reduced to 7 feet tall and still are 7
to 8 feet tall to this day. And there has been still a
further lowering of height on this planet, for most of
us on the surface are 6 feet tall or less. As our
civilization e-olves, this will be restored.
Even now, people on the surface of this planet are
becoming much taller than they were only 100 years ago.
G-vernment of Telos
In Telos, there are two forms of go-ernment. The king
and queen of Telos, Ra and Rana Mu, ascended masters
who are also twin flames, form one aspect of the
go-ernment of Telos.
They are the ultimate rulers of Telos.
The second form of gov-rnment is the local Council,
called the Lemurian Council of Light of Telos,
consisting of 12 ascended masters, where 6 men and 6
women serve on the council to balance the d-vine
masculine with the di-ine feminine. A thirteenth
member, the head High Priest of Telos, at this time
Adama, officiates as the leader of the council to make
the final decision when there is an even vote in the
decisions made by the council.
Members of the council are selected according to the
level of s-iritual attainment they have reached, inner
qualities, maturity and area of expertise. When a
member of the council decides to move on to another
level of service, the vacancy is made known to our
people and those who desire to take a seat on the
council may apply.
All applications are carefully studied by the
council, by the members of the priesthood and the king
and queen of Telos. The king and the queen have the
final word about who is chosen among the applicants to
be on the council.
The City of Telos
Telos is a fairly large city, there are approximately
one and one half millions of us living here. Also we
are not divided in several villages and we all share
the local go-ernment, many of us live in various areas.
What we call the city of Telos is divided in 5 levels
of several square miles beneath Mt. Shasta.
The first level: The large percentage of our people
live beneath the dome on the first level. This is also
where the administrative and public buildings and
several temples are situated. In the center of this
level stands our main temple, called the temple of
MaRa, a pyramid shape sort of structure. It will seat
10,000 people at a time. This temple is dedicated to
the priesthood of Melchizedek. The pyramid is white,
with the capstone, called the `living stone' donated to
us from Venus.
The second level: This is where all the production
and manufacturing for the need of the people and the
city takes place. It is also an area for several
schools for the children and adult classes. Many more
of our people live on that level as well.
The third level is consecrated totally for our
hydroponic gardens where all of our food supply is
grown on about 7 acres of land, producing a diet that
is very interesting and fun, offering much variety. Our
methods of gardening are so effective that seven acres
of land is all that is needed to grow abundantly a very
large variety of food to feed one and one half million
people, creating strong, healthy bodies that do not
age.
The hydroponic gardens are able to produce crops on a
constant basis. We can grow food much faster, using
advance hydroponic technology with very little soil and
much water without the use of chemicals like you do on
the surface. Our food is totally organic with the
highest vibration. Our form of gardening does not need
fertilizers and does not deplete the soil. We do place
organic minerals into the water for the plants. Our
crops are also enhanced and quickened by the great
light, energy and love vibration of Telos. This is the
ma-ic of our 5th dimensional consciousness that you
will soon discover, most likely in this decade or early
on in the next.
The fourth level contains some hydroponic gardening,
some manufacturing and a large area for nature, park
like setting with small lakes and fountains.
The fifth level is totally consecrated to nature.
There are tall trees, lakes, park types atmosphere and
this is the place where we keep all our animals. In
this nature level, many plants and animals have been
preserved that you no longer see on the surface. Our
animals are all vegetarians and do not eat each other.
They live side by side in total harmony, without fear
and without any aggression towards people and towards
each other. Telos is really the place where the lion
and the lamb lay side-by-side and sleep together in
total confidence.
The New Lemuria
To all of you reading these words, let us say to you
that Lemuria has never been totally destroyed as it has
been perceived in your present timing. It still exists
to this day in a fourth and fifth dimensional
frequency, not yet visible to your third dimensional
vision and perception. As the veil between those
dimensions continues to become increasingly thinner, we
want to assure you that in a not too distant future,
your beloved Lemuria, in Her new Splendor and Glory,
will reveal Herself to you in a very physical and
tangible way.
As you open yourself up to a higher conscious way of
living and purify yourself of all distorted and
erroneous belief systems you have embraced in the last
millennia, you will be able to perceive your beloved
Motherland, once again, and eventually be allowed to
step in to be received by Her with all the Love and
Splendor She has now to offer. You will be invited to,
once again, join us very tangibly in this place of
paradise. At the time of the blast, Lemuria and what it
represented to this planet was lifted into a 4th
dimensional frequency. It continued to thrive and
evo-ve to the level of perfection and beauty it has
now reached with those who were able to come
along at the time.
If this information brings tears to your eyes
and opens your heart to h-al those pains that have
been buried within you for so very long, let it
flow, let it flow. Allow the flow of your tears to
bring hea-ing to every part of your being. Allow
yourself to really feel it, and embrace it in
the heart through the breath. Allow all
remembrances and pains to be felt fully without
suppressing any.
This is how you will bring forth your h-aling,
increment by increment. As you inhale it through
the breath, your G-dSelf will dissolve and he-l
those imprints forever. Ask your Higher Self to
assist you in uncovering those records that are
holding you back from unfolding your new glorious
reality.
In your daily meditation, we ask you to do this
work faithfully until you feel a completion.
Connect with us and with our Love heart to heart.
You may ask for our assistance, and we will be
there with you as you do this most important
inner work. All of us in Telos are very eager
to assist all those who will reach out to us in
your heart. We are a civilization who has
achieved great heart openings, and our vibration
pulses with the Heart of the Di-ine Mother.
Gradually, the deep-seated pains will be
lifted and you will be much lighter. The
clearing of this pain will also assist you in
perceiving much more of who you really are.
It will allow you to make giant leaps into
your full spir-tual, emotional and physical
resurrection.
The New Day, the New World is just about
to be born. Many of us have learned our
lessons of Love and the New Lemuria, the lost
paradise, is just about to unfold again.
Lemuria, the part that remained faithful to
the Light and Her sacred calling was lifted up
to the 4th dimension at the time of the
cataclysm. It was never really totally
destroyed, only the 3rd dimensional aspect
of it was.
Lemuria continued to thrive and evo- ve to
a fifth dimensional awareness to this day, and
exists fully in the higher dimension, And Telos,
our beloved Telos and all the wondrous people
who live there, are our `Doorway' to this
wondrous place.
To purchase the Telos Books series:
telos- volume 1 -
Revelations of the New Lemuria
Telos - volume 2 - Messages for the
Enlightenment of a Humanity in Transformation
Telos - volume 3 -
Pr-tocols of the Fifth Dimenslion
by Aurelia Louise Jones - C-annel for Adama
of Telos.
Mount Shasta Light Publishing
http://www.mslpublishing.com
Copyright 2003-2006 Aurelia
Louise Jones. All rights reserved.
Part 2 of 2.
John Winston. johnfw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
|
