Shamanic Living Today: Glossary of Holistic Practices

WELCOME!

This is an ongoing US and global project to help enthusiasts, scholars, practitioners, and curious parties learn more about shamanic living in a contemporary culture. The space here is devoted to sharing info, experiences and opinions about all forms of shamanic expression covering shamanism's multiple permutations. Among subjects explored are traditions, techniques, insights, definitions, events, artists, authors, and creativity. You are invited to draw from your own experiences and contribute.

What is a SHAMAN?

MAYAN: "a technichian of the Holy, a lover of the Sacred." CELTIC: "Empower the people...by changing the way we think." MEXICAN APACHE: "Someone who has simply learned to give freely of themselves..." AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL: "...a teacher or healer, a wisdom keeper of knowledge... (who) takes people to a door and encourages them to enter." W. AFRICAN DIAGRA: "views every event in life within a spiritual context." HAWAIIAN: "...human bridges to the spiritual world and its laws and the material world and its trials..." QUECHUA INDIAN: "embodies all experience." AMAZON: "...willing to engage the forces of the Universe...in a beneficial end for self, people, and for life in general."

-- from Travelers, Magicians and Shamans (Danny Paradise)

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Glossary of Holistic Practices

This year's May/June issue of Asia Spa magazine contained a pretty comprehensive and concise A-Z of different holistic healing disciplines available to those interested. To view a pdf of the article, written by Nicole Chabot, go here.

While the chabot article provides a pretty good overview, and different elements of shamanism are reviewed, shamanism itself is ommitted from the article. I think this is a glaring problem and a shame. Even though shamanism may not always qualify as a spa-centered practice, it is an essential part of the mix of holistic options.