Are You Shaman?

Shamanism, the world's oldest spiritual path, is founded on the ideals of centering, personal responsibility, and loving respect for nature. Much like being a true artist or a genuine medical doctor, being shaman is an art.

To develop an authentic, shamanic path, one must not only accept the calling; one must also be recognized and trained by a shaman elder. Training involves a great deal of inner work and transformation and cannot be disseminated at a weekend workshop for a fee.

There is no CliffsNotes version for becoming a shaman. Just as anyone can walk into a martial arts supply store and purchase a black fabric belt, anyone can likewise call themselves shaman. A meaningless title, however, does not make a person a shaman any more than a black fabric belt makes someone a martial arts sensei.

For starters, shamans are born rather than made. Thus, being a shaman can often be as much of a curse as it is a blessing. Marks that signal a shaman’s calling include:

Having epilepsy
Seeing apparitions or UFOs
Surviving a fire or shipwreck
Having vivid and uncommon dreams
Having a sense of contact with Spirits
Parents who have paranormal abilities
Having been on the verge of drowning
The urge to learn how to become a shaman
Surviving a deep coma or an apparent death
Glimpses of the future or verifiable deja-vus
Being eccentric, “different” or a loner as a child
Experiencing and living through multiple snake bites
Falling sick from a serious or odd-symptomed illness
Meeting with the same animals repeatedly in this reality
Ability to relieve physical pain/illness by touch or prayer
Childhood urges to go into the wild alone for long periods
Being born with a caul, an impairment or extra fingers/toes
Dreams that depict the future or unknown, verifiable events
Encountering the same animal or teacher in different dreams
Being struck by a lightning or shocked by high-power electric

If you answer yes to 3 or more of the above life experiences, you may well have a shamanic calling. To verify your gift(s) and reclaim your empowerment, it is advisable to consult with a shaman elder who can tutor you in the art and practice of training and initiation.

Jack Alexander (“Golden Feather”) is a shaman elder. He lived on Water’s End reservation in Northern Nevada and trained for 16 months in the Lakota tradition as Chief White Feather’s last Caucasian shamanic initiate. It was Chief White Feather who named him Golden Feather. Learn more about Jack, yourself and shamanism at www.shaman.mosaicglobe.com or contact yohiel@yahoo.com / cell: 415-244-0445.

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