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How to Awaken Your Inner Shaman

When you explore how to awaken your inner shaman, you open your life to deep spiritual healing and restore your connection to your ancestors, spirit guides, and Mother Earth.

Thousands of years ago, long before therapists and doctors were on standby, our ancestors turned to the Shamans. These ancient healers held the wisdom between the spiritual and the physical worlds. They carried on the knowledge of the ancestors, passed through the generations, of healing and connection with the self, Mother Nature, and the Divine.

But when we forget the Shamanic wisdom, we abandon our deepest spiritual needs. We lose touch with ourselves and our past. We forget who we are and where we come from. If you, like millions of people out there, feel a deep isolation and disconnection, it’s time to reconnect with your true spiritual self. It’s time to awaken your inner shaman.

Spend more time in nature

The great shamans of the past deeply worshiped Mother Earth, knowing that the connection to the spirit world began with her. But people today spend more time indoors than ever before. We tend to forget our deep soul connection with nature, Mother Earth, and the universe. 

Awakening your inner shaman begins with spending more time in nature. You can simply go for a walk each day, in a park or by the beach. Sit on the grass and feel the vibrations of the earth on your bare skin. Listen to the sounds around you. 

Remember that every rock and tree and creature has a spirit. Honor the elemental forces around you. Listen to the subtle messages of the wind, of the trees, of the water, of the birds, and the shaman within will start to come to life.

Learn about plant-based healing

Long before modern medicine, our ancestors turned to the village shaman to provide healing treatments. Back then, of course, they relied on what was around them: nature.

In fact, many of the medicines sold in the drug stores today come from shamans and their great knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants. You might take an aspirin to treat a headache. Well, the key ingredient of aspirin comes from a shrub called spiraea, and the shamans of Ancient Egypt and Greece were already well aware of this thousands of years ago.

In the Sacred Valley of Peru, plant medicine is still alive and well, too. The Q’ero Shamans are “Earth Healers, who turn to plant medicine from Mother Earth”. The Q’ero often lead plant healing ceremonies, with Ayahuasca, San Pedro, kambo, chuchuhuasi, rapé, cacao, which all naturally spring from the soil and provide unrivaled healing for the mind, body, and soul.

In Jamaica the Medicine Men and Women use many different herbs and plants to treat a wide variety of ailments - including psychological and spiritual issues Psilocybin and Cacao are two of the most revered medicines for helping to open the heart and release trauma.

When you want to bring out your inner shaman, spend a little time learning the healing properties of different plants (you might already have many medicinal herbs already in your kitchen). Try a few of these healing plants:

  • Ginzeng, usd in traditional Chinese medicine to boost immunity, brain function, and energy levels

  • Echinacea, used by North American tribes to soothe wounds, burns, and digestion

  • St. John’s Wort, used by the Greeks to treat depression and insomnia

  • Turmeric, used in India to reduce inflammation and prevent infection

Practice rituals

In the past, shamans would lead rituals for the community. These sacred ceremonies played an important role in setting intentions and communicating with the spirits. They led rain dances. They practiced purification and healing rituals. They used ceremonies to listen to the spirit guides.

You, too, can practice rituals to listen to messages from the spirit world. You can practice morning or evening rituals, to send gratitude to the universe and set good intentions for the day ahead. A women’s circle during the full and new moon cycles is a powerful manifestation ritual. Spending time in a sweat lodge, steam room, or a sauna can purify your body, emotions, and soul. Or, experience a true shamanic ritual and book a spiritual retreat with healing ceremonies led by real shamans. 

Connect to your ancestors

Thousands of years ago, shamans relied on the ancient wisdom passed down through spoken word from one generation to the next. They carried the wisdom of their ancestors and built upon this knowledge. They frequently honored the ancestors, by paying homage and giving thanks to all that they passed down to them.

Your ancestors live inside you still. You carry their wisdom and experiences in your body, soul, and spirit.  Their memories and wisdom lives within us, waiting to reawaken. You can hear their wisdom at any time, as long as you allow yourself to listen. 

You can connect to your ancestors by simply acknowledging them. Visit the gravestones of passed loved ones and leave them offerings, like flowers, sweets, or incense. Ask them for guidance. You will awaken your inner shaman, and reconnect to the wisdom within, by honoring your ancestors regularly.

Discover your tribe on a spiritual retreat

The shaman played a powerful role in bringing the community together. In ancient times, the shaman would call all members of the tribe to join in important rituals, to bury a loved one, to honor the ancestors, to pay tribute to the gods.

The soul has a deep-seeded need for connection. As spiritual beings in a physical body, we thrive by connecting to a sense of oneness in how we relate to ourselves, the universe, and all other beings. Through our tribe, we affirm that sense of oneness and community, by supporting, loving, and uplifting each other.

If you feel disconnected, a spiritual retreat provides the ideal place to find your tribe. Immersed in a sacred space, in a soul-stirring landscape, you connect with teachers, friends, mothers, and sisters. Together, you can discover how to serve your role in the community as a healer as you awaken your inner shaman.

We no longer live in villages like our ancestors. (Many of us hardly know the name of our neighbors!) Spiritual traditions have dwindled in modern life, and very few places still have a shaman to turn to for spiritual guidance.

It falls on us to rediscover the ancestral wisdom that calls from within. When you learn how to awaken your inner shaman, you remember the healing rituals and restore your connection with yourself, your ancestors, and Mother Earth. 


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