Xamanisom - Kenneth Meadows

Xamanisom - Kenneth Meadows

Originally written by Leo Artese

Kenneth Meadows (1925-2002) is internationally respected for his work in adapting shamanic wisdom to the contemporary context.

He was the author of several best-selling books, including Earth Medicine, The Medicine Way, Rune Power and Where Eagles Fly. He was the founder of the Faculty of Shamanism in England.

 

“Shamanism is experiencing the extraordinary while living a life or dining. Shamanic is a word I coined to describe a way to extend your awareness to new and exciting levels of awareness and improve your life in many ways. Its application will improve your vitality, balance your emotions, release your hidden potentials and stimulate your creativity. It will develop its internal powers, bringing them into harmony with the beneficial energies of Nature and the Cosmic forces of the Universe. Shamans are a modern expression of ancient wisdom and are the essence of the understanding of benevolent shamans - visionaries and "sages" of all races and cultures - who kept their knowledge of the 'mysteries' of life within their own oral traditions. until the time of revelation, which is now. Shamans raise the veil of hidden truths and express them in today's language, so that they can be easily understood, and adapt them to modern times, so that whoever responds to them in a positive way has an effective effect. ways of getting in balance with nature and establishing harmony within yourself. Shamanism is not a religion or a philosophy. There are no doctrines, no concepts to be discussed, no spiritual leaders who demand loyalty, no hierarchy demanding obedience, no guru to be followed. It goes beyond the limits of belief, as it is a process of achieving knowledge through the experience of doing. For the answers to some of life's most intriguing mysteries are beyond the restrictions imposed by the historical, social and political conditioning that every culture has has imposed on itself. Shamans identify an essence that runs through all of them and, by releasing it from a cultural, religious and racial context, brings that essence to the 21st century and makes it available for universal use and for the benefit of all. Nor is there any resemblance to mental training systems conditioned by methods and that require “adherence to a strict disciplinary code to be effective. Shamanism is not an exercise of the mind over matter, but a natural process that will allow you to take control of your own life through the Spirit and find meaning, purpose and fulfillment in it. Shamanism is a way to connect with Nature and what is inherent in your life, so it is not only the most natural, but also the most practical of all metaphysical systems. Although based on nature, it defends not a cult, but a tribute to nature. The real challenge of our time is to discover our own inner self; discover who and what we really are - a Spirit - and, as a result, give real meaning to our lives. Shamanics help us to understand again what it is to be truly "spiritual" - which is not the same as being religious. Being spiritual is a common activity concerned with practical practicality and has nothing to do with belief! It is effective even in the midst of intense activities; therefore, even a mundane task, such as preparing food or doing the dishes, shopping in a supermarket or fixing something, can have more spiritual value than repeating a prayer in a church, meditating in a church. domestic sanctuary, singing a mantra in isolation or performing a mystical ritual! For to be spiritual is to come into harmony with our natural Self, which is composed of the Spirit. Shamanism is bringing the mind into unity with the heart and the Spirit. It is a way of improving the life in which Body, Mind, Soul and Spirit are all cultivated, so that they can function together in a dynamic and harmonious relationship, in order to realize our own multidimensional nature. It is a process that is confirmed through practical experience and verifiable by our own perceptions. Shamanism can therefore be considered as a science of the spirit. The revival of shamanism in recent years indicates a resurgence of humanity's need to find attunement to Nature and the dormant powers that exist in it and make sense of our existence. But a regurgitation of the customs, rituals and traditions of indigenous peoples only serves to replace one condition with another and promote another cult.

We cannot progress by trying to live in the past, but by learning from the past, we can guarantee a better future through the choices and decisions we make in the present. A progression that goes beyond cultural limitations and traditions is necessary if we are to free ourselves from the conditioning that has isolated us from nature and prevents us from reaching a state in which a shift in consciousness can occur and elevate our nature to higher levels of consciousness 

Our civilization developed according to the principle that progress can only be achieved by manipulating and exploiting natural forces and other beings. It is at the heart of political, economic, scientific and medical thinking and, yes, also of religious attitudes. 

We have all been conditioned to suppose that we human beings are essentially thinking beings, that we have a superiority over all other creatures and an ability to change our environment to suit the power of thought. However, it was not our thoughts that brought about the difficulties we encounter personally and collectively, but our shamanic choices encourage a different approach - choosing to put our hearts in what we are doing. Make our choices according to the promptings of the Spirit - and choices that work towards harmony, rather than seeking to satisfy the Ego and its sense of self-interest. Self-interest is being dealt with primarily with our own wants and desires. It grants to the Ego and is reflected in selfishness, disregard, indifference, ignorance, intolerance, greed, dogmatism and domination.

It is not, therefore, the ability to feed thoughts and create ideas that have the effect of bringing about changes in our lives and in the lives of others. It is the ability to make choices. That is where true power resides. Our personal world, as well as the “bigger” world around us, is a direct result of the choices that have been made. We are all experiencing the consequences of our individual and collective choices. And that is part of what deals with life as a human being - learning through experiences created by our own choices and those of others.

The turbulence and disharmony in the world 'out there' is a series of choices that were made with the mind to the exclusion of the Spirit. If we consider that the world is a mess and the Earth is suffering from the pollution and exhaustion inflicted on it, it is because we are internally polluted and exploited by the conditioning imposed on us. The ‘out there’ world is just a projection of the world within each of us. If we yearn for a better world, we need to make the world within us a better place for our spiritual self. Transformation can only occur outside if we change our minds. The changes 'out there' begin 'here' - within us. We shamans, we make changes primarily with ourselves, as this is the natural path - the path of nature. The change comes first from within. The natural state is for harmony. Harmony can be defined as a combination of qualities that create beauty. When a Native American shaman urged his people to 'Walk in Beauty', he encouraged them to express their energies in natural ways that would bring beauty. Any word, thought, feeling, sound, vision, object or action creates harmony produces beauty, because harmony is what creates beauty. Beauty comes from within what is intrinsically beautiful. Ugliness, disharmony and chaos stem from what ignores the natural and imposes its own conditioned beliefs, which work from the outside in.

Most of us spend our lives not knowing what we want, but making sure that, whatever it is, we don't have it. Our appetite for material things has become insatiable, stimulated by a useless and disposable society and encouraged by a consumer-oriented system that sublime conditions us to obtain, obtain, maintain, keeping us in a state of desire, desire. Those who educated us, governed us and guided us spiritually, actually conditioned us to this state! The living Earth is now suffocated by pollution, devastated by exploitation, plagued by pain, embarrassed by the madness, ignorance, greed and lust of humanity and, not recognized as the Mother she is, considered only as an inanimate object to be 'used' .

A restoration of balance and healing of the Earth can occur only by freeing us from this conditioning and refusing to allow manipulators to have power over us, allowing our search for Truth to come from the heart in response to a cry from the Soul. The truth about our own spiritual nature is so valuable that no price can be paid. Offered for free, it can be discarded because it seems to have no value. Check if a price was charged, no one would have the means to pay. But what this light of truth reveals must be applied so that it can be understood. Therefore, it is not the truth itself that is so important, but its understanding. Understanding is the priceless treasure. Only when Truth is understood, can it really be valued.

You have in your hands the distillation of an ancient wisdom that works towards harmony and beauty. It was drawn from esoteric sources in the West, Taoist teachings from the East, the mystical traditions of the peoples of the North, the spirituality of the American Indians and the understanding of the Hawaiian kahunas, the Aboriginal naturalism of the South and the channeling of the inner planes of existence. Its aim is to help restore a dimension that is lacking in human understanding - a knowledge of our truth, the southern Aboriginal naturalism and the channeling of the inner planes of existence. The aim is to help restore a dimension lost in human understanding - a knowledge of our true identity that, once “lost”, is being recovered to enable a leap towards a higher level of human consciousness.

The veil of secrecy that once hid such knowledge, so that it could be kept for the exclusive use of an elite few, is now being lifted, by illuminating a number of apparently disconnected individuals and groups of all races and nationalities, so that it can be available to many whose hearts and minds are open enough to receive it. This is an apparent fulfillment of an American Indian prophecy that a revealing time would come when the sacred fires, to which the teachings were symbolically committed by tribal elders before the holocaust reached their peoples, would be revived in other lands, by peoples of different races. and tongues, and by the descendants of their oppressors. The story says that the revealing time would come when the Earth itself was in torment and when greed and selfishness were rampant. That time of spiritual revelation is now!

Spiritual truth is so elusive that you cannot prove it before you apply it, as you would in an experiment to test a scientific theory. The reason is that the truth you are trying to prove is not separate from you. It is not that you are an observer examining an experiment objectively from the outside. The truth is part of you and you are part of it. It's inside. You confirm the validity of a spiritual truth by the simple act of doing so!

All of these experiences have been tried and tested by many others and found to be powerful, enlightening and effective. The shamans, then, take you out of the endless streak of searching and following a path that allows you to experience the joy of finding. Find harmony with nature and with yourself.

Discovering that the Earth is a living being that nourishes and keeps you, and in doing so, experiences a relationship with all living creatures that share the Earth's environment with you.

Find ways to approach your Soul and integrate aspects of yourself that are functioning at different levels of your existence. Find your original "I", which is your True Self, and become "an awareness of the compound" You ".

Discovering that shamans are not a 'system' or a 'method', but limit a process - a process of transformation that changes your memory of life so that each day can be lived in joy was an anticipation you may have had as a child , when life was a great adventure of discovery.

In fact, the application of shamanism will transform every day of your life from now on into an exciting and wonderful adventure; it will transform your consciousness and broaden your understanding of yourself!

For All Our Relationships!

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