Continuing now from Saint Lawrence 6 7-7-25
Most, if not all realms are guarded by some kind of creature. It could be a lion, dog, ear, serpent, dragon, unicorn, most anything at all. However a spirit guardian will not just let anyone pass. The person, the shaman, must be in a state of spiritual purity.
Many times guardians are dragons. Dragons are used as guardians to filter out the cowardly. Only the pure and the courageous will have what is needed to pass by a dragon. A sin creates a weakness. If a spirit traveler attempts to pass into another realm weakened by sin, he will not be able to enter in. For one reason, his weakened state. And for another reason, the guardian spirit will not allow him to pass.
Many times the initiate is banished to the wilderness. He is instructed and taught by natural forces and creatures. However in modern, civilized, society other people interject themselves between the initiate and natural powers. The novice is then initiated through the persecution of his fellow men. Jesus identified and commented on this reality. “Rejoice when men persecute, and speak against you falsely for my sake, for great shall be your reward in Heaven”. Nevertheless, a shaman, or saint will receive powers from being persecuted just as if he were facing the natural elements.
Chanting and dance are tools that should be used universally to worship and expand consciousness. Dance is an ancient form of worship. Dance in praise to God will bring strength and awakening. Strength to the heart and guts especially. Also, when a person is ill, dance can destroy the power of an illness. Dance can be used with music, rattles and drums are sufficient. It is good to have instruments played in every frequency range.
Sacred weddings have occurred in Catholicism, and many other realms. A saint may marry Christ, as did Saint Catherine.
For most, even saints, visions do not happen often. A true apparition, with a message, is a rare experience. The visions to the children at Fatima were to warn the world that it would be destroyed by sin, in the form of war, if man did not repent and pray.
The text records the highest shamanic powers as capable of escorting the dead to another world. It is amazing to realize that some shamans actually perform the service of post mortem travel service.
The shamanic initiate, at some point, will receive a song. It is a song of power, and a song of joy. It wells up from deep within. It washes clean, empowering the inner man. It truly is healing brought to the world. It is a peak experience, a state of ecstasy. +
Ecstasy and song are basic needs of men. God bless the unfortunate soul who becomes a slave of the government psych system. For the psych system will keep the initiate enslaved until both the joy and the song are buried. To consider the shaman as owning a key to Heavenly powers of a psychic nature, supernatural strength, faith healing, and joy is a good metaphor. The mature shaman will know how to invoke these powers when needed. And he will know how to put these powers aside until they are needed again, and enter the “real world”.
The most joyous songs celebrate union with our creator. Drunken on God, the master will spread sacred intoxication with his songs, inebriating, and healing, bringing peace.
Drugs are used by the initiate and by the master as well. They exist as a cornerstone of social tradition and sacred teaching.
On hallucinogens, a person can easily see the cosmic consequences of both positive and negative actions.
There is much to be gained by the judicious use of hallucinogens. There is a system, even a science, to successful drug use. This system is like a crystal, with many facets. Implemented as prescribed, it is very likely the drug experience will be rewarding, with the possibility of great advances.
An issue exists regarding the illegality of being high. Regardless of whether the high is from prayer, singing, or drugs, anything at all. The persecution exists in part because the government does not want its greed exposed. If people were allowed to achieve enlightenment, the corrupt power of the state would be challenged. The first is arrest and prosecution for possession. The second is the incarceration of all who achieve a high. Hence persecution enters in the guise of medical knowledge.
There is one more issue to discuss: No question exists regarding the ability of certain drugs to open the mind to another reality. That is well known. My question is, are hallucinogens sacrilegious?
Barring arrest by the psych police, or by regular police officers acting on behalf of the Office of Mental Health, are fasting exhaustion, meditation, concentration, and extreme temperatures purer ways of achieving an enlightened state?
Either way, a single diligent seeker, in applying psychic technique can raise the level of consciousness of an entire community. On a much larger scale, a single seeker can transport the entire planet, even if on a small way, to a higher level.
The author, Holger Kalweit, has written, “the therapeutic effect of psychedelic drugs is the most radical and complete form of healing known to us”.+
The shaman is one who scorns and leaves society all its accepted conventions. Ideologically and physically separated he achieves special powers. Rejoining society, these powers become beacons of teaching, prophecy and healing.
The shaman’s powers were not freely given. They were won in psychic warfare, and physical sickness.
Anyone who sets foot on the spiritual path remains under obligation. This obligation may take him through many trials. Through trials, insights and powers are won. These powers are then used to guide and heal others.
However, those who lack the courage necessary to begin the spiritual path may lose their soul to damnation. But, not all are called to the deep sacrifice of the shaman. But all must show honor to God, one way or another.
Deep in the underground Heavens,
partaking of the endless dance,
the Buffalo, and the Lunar moth,
lending strength and elegance.
Dancing, twirling, stomping,
my body turns to energy,
in a flash,
now gone.
Resurrections’ endless light.
It is fascinating to consider that an open minded person walking in the woods might come upon a white wolf that talks, or an elf, or a starship. It is interesting to consider that doubt could destroy the possibility of any of these encounters. There is a mythical realm. It is not however, easily accessible. The mythical realm lies on the far side of genius and valiant morality. This explains the great suffering of the shamanic path. The terrible trials of the shamanic initiation place the initiate in a dimension beyond morality. A super morality is established, where the initiate travels way beyond the normal realms of sacrifice.
Creating light is really just a matter of common sense. Light is achieved by the rigorous application of prayer, fasting, reading scripture, physical and mental exertion.
It is commonly noted that man uses only about one tenth of his mental capacity. No one, as far as I know, has mapped out what lies in the other ninety percent. To begin with, there would be a perfect memory. Then would be the ability to efficiently abstract. Precognition, clairvoyance, and telepathy would lie in the unused portion of the brain. As would many forms of genius. Musical, artistic, mathematical, scientific and literary genius lies in the latent ninety percent. Excellent physical coordination too would lie in the unused sphere. Outstanding athletic ability also lies therein. As does the ability to see mystically, and perhaps, the ability to gain great wealth.
This unused portion of the mind is tapped by self disciplines like meditation and intense study, often with great suffering.
Abraham Maslov’s insights here warrant a moment’s thought: The self actualized person is not manipulative, non interfering, non abstracting, without expectations or demands. He has great love for the world, seeing it without distortions. He is free of strategies, fear, defensiveness, and inhibition.
The text makes a point that offerings, rites, and ceremonies free us from greed, lust, and egocentricity.
Man craves the transpersonal experience. Many people measure their self worth by how many spiritual-psychic experiences they have.
In conclusion:
Until science discovers fully the worls of mystical power, the shaman stands as priest and teacher. Here the scientist is but a child. The shaman is aware of what power is, how it is accessed, and how it is used. The scientist, in the study of non-ordinary states is like the newborn, barely opening his eyes.
Western medicine and science has definite limitations. These limitations could be eliminated with the use of the powers of the shaman.
Obstacles of tradition and ego often block the growing and learning process. The seeker of knowledge, in his finest moments, may discover what others have known for thousands of years. And at the same learn that there are no limits to knowledge and power for those who truly seek.+
Here we are continuing to type out book reports from material I covered in college. I was in college from 1988 to 1993. This next book was again on shamanism. It’s title is “Dreamtime and Inner Space”. The author’s name is H. Kalweit.
Men and women who seek paranormal powers , healing and prophecy, often go through enormous inner struggles and great sufferings.
Shaman. One who learns to heal and foresee as he readies himself for life after death. “The whole of life is a school for spiritual growth”. “The experiences of humanity, the world over, are the same”.
In the shaman’s view, the individual is harnessed to a universal energy field, in which even the most fleeting thought causes the whole universe to tremble. The spoken word kills your neighbor. And common sense is annihilated by ecstatic communion with the environment.
Shamanism goes beyond the scientific observation and communion based upon sensory perceptions. The shamanist experience is trans- psychic. All life, physical and spiritual, is interrelated.
Definition: syncretism. The blending of diverse ideas. Modern science is now confronted with the task of identifying , comprehending, and explaining the whole psychic, transpersonal realm.
Understanding the spiritual, and divesting ourselves of materialism is needed for our survival.
PART ONE. THE RELIGION OF THE TWICE BORN.
Plato’s final words were “prepare to die”. The shamans stand at the frontier of the understanding of death. The near death experience, NDE, is very similar to the shamans voyage to the realm beyond.
The bright light of the NDE washes away all guilt and leads to a profound spiritual transformation. Hell, as well, can be experienced in an NDE.
The “other land” exists in timelessness, with lovely spirit-creatures, joy, and infinite knowledge. But entrance to this land is based upon judgment. Those who experience NDEs most often desire not to return to the earthly world.
Shamanic initiation is often marked by passing into another realm, and returning with special powers.
Scientific skeptics attempt to disregard the reality and importance of the NDE.
PART TWO. LIFE BEYOND BIRTH AND DEATH.
The simplest and most dramatic way to change someone’s state of consciousness is to kill him or her, or bring him close to death. The Netsilik Eskimos actually kill their initiates. For example, holding one under freezing cold water for five days. The initiate emerges from under the ice both dry and warm. The greater the suffering the shaman takes upon himself durian training, the greater his powers will be.
The shaman sees life as an illusion and the body as a mere container of life. This idea is most important. The idea of the existence of the soul is most important, while reality is like the images on a movie screen.
The idea of the animating principle behind the physical world has been preserved throughout history.
The shaman, the technician of the sacred, the specialists of the Beyond. The classic investigator of the realm of death.+
The shaman undergoes several years of hard training, and learns to induce within himself a state of death, by which his soul exits his body, and enter the realms beyond.
What is called cultural progress is merely alienation from our primal and primordial powers.
Rather than an anachronism, the shaman should be considered a most progressive psychologist.
Socially repressive attitudes toward shamanism represent society’s materialism, and a denial of the inevitability death. Tribal medicine men act as sage and healer in both the preindustrial and postindustrial cultures.
“The conscious and deliberate penetration into the realm of the death by the shaman must be accounted among the greatest achievements of man. For this reason shamans are universally accepted.
The shaman allows himself to die, and to travel the realms of death. This, however, can be dangerous.
A medicine man may be capable of telepathy, clairvoyance, or precognition. But he will remain incomplete and in need of further training as long as he has not entered the post mortal realm/ able to communicate with the powers that lie beyond.
The shaman, then, is a master of death. He actually dies, and is reborn. He lives constantly at the edge of extinction. Demons, other sorcerers, and sirens of beauty may hinder his return to his physical body.
It is often very difficult for the shaman to relate his experiences in words the non-shaman can understand. One reason is that on the level of soul life is closer to experience of being pure energy.
Ars moriendi- study of the art of dying.
Modern scientists lack the ability to create an appropriate intellectual context to comprehend the shaman’s description of his experiences.
The author predicts a decline in materialism and scientific (Cartesian-Newtonian) thought.
PART 3. THE REALITY OF THE SOUL.
The author, from eclectic sources, attempts to validate his belief in the existence and immortality of the soul.
The Eskimos say the Moon Spirit has revealed to them that the passage from the life to death is just a moment of dizziness, and then one reemerges in another world.
The author states how tribal explanations of life are superior to modern psychology, because along with a body and a psyche, they believe in a spirit and soul.
Ideas about the nature of the soul are similar throughout the world.
Tribals believe the cause of illness resides in the soul. Therefore healing must take place on the spiritual level.
Shamanic cultures believe all material creation has a soul, in this way, all things are related.
By altering the structure of their consciousness, people of all cultures acquire access to knowledge of a soul body, to the Beyond, and to a non-material cosmic reservoir of energy.
PART 4. SOUL JOURNEYS AND TEACHINGS ABOUT THE BEYOND.
The O.B.E., similar to the N.D.E. , shows certain consistencies. There is a definite and expectable pattern to these phenomena.
The soul, through sickness, or perhaps just the will of the spirit, separates and travels to other worlds. Beyond the black river, to where all are healthy. The black river is hell for those caught there.
The message given to the Indian seeker, Handsome Lake, was that people who drink whiskey, and make use of evil sorcery, love potions, and medicines that cause sterility or abortion must pay for their transgressions.
Handsome Lake became a spiritual guide for his people. Meeting Jesus, he is told that Christianity, white man’s religion, is bad for the Native Americans. He, journeying, comes to a fork in the road. One way, the broad way, leads to hell, while the narrow path leads to paradise. He sees the suffering of hell, as well as his heavenly mansion. The mansion, however, he is not allowed to enter, lest he be unable to return to earth.
Seer Essie Parrish, through her spiritual voyages states that “once one learns the truth of life, heaven and hell, guiding others to the right road becomes very important”.
An O.B.E. can be preceded by a vision of the world tree, which symbolizes a breakthrough to a new level.
Australian aborigines see the white physician and the native healer similarly. Both fly in, open the body, perform an operation, and then close the body.
PART 5. THE SPIRIT BODY CONNECTION
In soul travel, there is often seen a thread connecting the traveling soul with the physical body. The “silver thread” connecting the shaman to other worlds is ubiquitous, everywhere present.
Healing is effected by the shaman while he is in communion with the celestial God.
At the start of an O.B.E., the connecting cord is strong, but get thinner with increasing distance to the body, until it becomes invisible.
CHAPTER 6. THE OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCE
The O.B.E. not only occurs in a trance like or comatose state, but in activities like riding a motorcycle, making a speech, or singing a song on stage. Activities that require complete attention.
The mastery of the ability to concentrate intently is necessary for the shaman. An O.B.E. can be induced by sickness, stress, or physical trauma, as well. Causing in the subject astonishment and amused surprise.
Some experienced 360 degree vision, were able to see through solid objects, and perceived things over long distance. Omniscience and omnipotence. They also felt they could traverse the whole universe in a flash. Intelligence is enhanced as well. 56% of those tested after an O.B.E. reported enhanced wakefulness and concentration. There exists a fear, however, of not being able to get back into the body. There is absolute certainty that the experience was not a dream.+.
An O.B.E. is marked by flat alpha wave activity, normal heartbeat, and the absence of R.E.M. There is a drastic interruption of biological functions in some cases. The text states that the out of body state is a prerequisite for the experience of the consciousness in the beyond.
CHAPTER 7.
“We are beginning to consider it possible that mankind can have access to a spectrum of spiritual psychic possibilities exceeding our wildest hopes”. The scholar now approaches the shaman in humility, as a pupil, for the shaman’s experience is more profound, and of greater range and value. Today, tribal people are considered to be the true custodians of the mystery of consciousness.
In one tribe, a part of salvation is based on attending regular toloache rituals. Toloache is a narcotic plant. The text suggests that psychedelics help a person prepare for death. +. Hallucinogens are used with religious rituals to prepare a soul for a successful journey into the Beyond. A naughty child is given a dose of a hallucinogen so that he or she can see the cosmic consequences of negative behavior.
The land where the dead go, and to where the shaman visits is very similar in the mythology of diverse cultures. Rivers of fire, crashing rocks, specters, demons, etc. There is a suggestion that salvation in the afterlife is based on psychic maturity. Fearlessness and concentration.
The best way of handling the fears of the land beyond, whether in death or spiritual voyage, is with relaxed attentiveness. The center of the traveler remains in prayer, meditation, to empower and direct the passage.
“Death occurs almost unnoticeably. The body collapses, and the consciousness moves on without it. The body, the carnal sheath, is shed by the spirit”.
The N.D.E. is usually pleasure filled and enlightening, while death is filled with suffering. Visits to the beyond are usually short, fun and informative. While life in the beyond may be an eternity of suffering.
In some cultural models there are many heavens, and many hells. There are descriptions of endless evolution of consciousness. Of which people learn through the N.D.Es. of those who have returned.
Anthropologists, thanatologists, and psychologists, all working together, are attempting to map the worlds beyond. Open minded research may provide a working knowledge of the geographies and formalities of the worlds humans may experience after death.
Unfortunately for us all are the judges and physicians who foolishly believe themselves beyond judgment. “Those who block the road to Heaven, and entereth not in themselves”.
Psychic and physical sufferings have remained unacknowledged as a means of altering consciousness, personal transformation, and transcendence. In recent years, however, there has been a reevaluation of consciousness, with a more positive attitude toward altered states. Science has begun to reassess the sacred knowledge of past cultures and traditional societies. Societies that believe sickness and death are part of an eternal, internal, sublime wisdom. Sickness is a call for self realization, development, and sometimes shamanic initiation.
He who is seized by the shamanic call, and does not begin his to practice shamanism must suffer badly. With loss of mind or life.
The man chosen for shaman hood is first recognized by the black spirits, the spirits of dead shamans. They make the chosen one ill, and force him to become a shaman. Seven years of illness is a repeating pattern. The Soyot tribals of Siberia call the time during which a future shaman is sick “albys”.
I just heard an inner voice. It said,” It’s going to last, I love you”.
There are stories of initiates being initiated by wolves, through sickness, and “wise ones”. Wise ones would be fully initiated shamans. The novitiate learns to heal through the laying on of hands. He becomes a “chosen one”, with open eyes.
The call to shamanism is sometimes indistinguishable from insanity. When the monks cannot cure the craziness, the initiate is apprenticed to an experienced shaman. The initiatory symptoms can be brought on by the loss of a lover, sickness, accident, any emotional or physical trauma, or intense spiritual experience.+.