The Modern-Day Shaman

A modern shaman is a person who has gained the abilities of a shaman through the study and practice of traditional shamanism. This person may not live within a shamanic culture or have been born into a shamanic bloodline. Anyone who practices shamanism has standard methods to achieve altered states of awareness and healing; the shamanic journey defines shamanic practice throughout the world.

All shamans practice within the context of their culture. In shamanic cultures, the shaman is viewed as the primary spiritual advisor.  A shamanic practitioner may serve as a functionary to spirit with modern shamanism, but they're likely many more modern shamans than traditional shamans in this arena.

In every culture, some aspects of spirituality will be different. Each culture has their own prayers, rituals, song, and dances that honour and share the story in their own healing ways.

So... as far as the practice of shamanism goes; when working with a traditional shaman or a modern-day shaman, the journey is the same. Both are working with spirits, guides, and benevolent energies to promote balance and healing through accessing different realms of consciousness to gain information and bring about alignment and healing.

Many indigenous cultures select people to undergo shamanic initiation and training based on culturally vital elements. Those elements might include being born with congenital disabilities, struck by lightning, or experiencing a life-threatening illness. The selection may also be hereditary, being passed from parent to child or grandparent to grandchild.

Most traditional shamanic cultures recognize the shamanic crisis as an initiation or a rite of passage. The shamanic crisis is a life-altering incident related to one’s physical, mental or emotional health. The crisis is always traumatic and creates suffering. Being able to heal from the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wounds from trauma is essential to the spiritual disposition of the shaman.

In non-shamanic cultures, while anybody can sign up for courses in shamanic practice, most will not have the desire to continue beyond basic training. Most people who become shamanic practitioners who work on behalf of clients will have gone through a shamanic crisis of their own before going on to facilitate for others.

What Does It Take To Become A Modern-Day Shaman?

Modern day shamans are healers, coaches, and trusted advisors; they can be found all over the world. Some healers may even go on to teach others how to access these lessons, rituals and ceremonies on their own.

For me, the path to serving others has been quite long. I first came to shamanism to heal from a health crisis, I now recognize my illness began as a spiritual crisis. I began the journey into my own health at this time and later began helping others navigate their way through challenging times.  

I went on to complete several more years of training, initiations and rites of passage. I received specialized training in the teachings of the shamanic medicine wheel, soul retrieval, shamanic healing, cord cutting, entity removal and many other modalities. 

Morally, I think there is a core set of skills and a level of personal development that a person must acquire before becoming a shamanic practitioner. I would treat the training required like a university degree program. The training is more intense than that, but the time and dedication required are similar.

People seek out shamanism for many reasons. Maybe they are drawn to the magic and the mystery of it all, maybe they are called to share experiences with like minded individuals seeking self through tradition and ceremony.  Or perhaps it may even be a false sense of power, control and ego.  Often those  who are feeding their ego in this manner don’t have the endurance, stamina, emotional or spiritual depth necessary to withstand the practice of initiation needed to stay in the shamanic arena and live a life in service to others.

To be a good healer, a shamanic practitioner must hold themselves to a higher degree of moral and ethical standards. They must be willing to be dedicated and diligent in the work towards becoming a clear channel otherwise known in shamnic medicine as “the hollow bone” for spirit to communicate through.