Shamans and Religious Folks

The old gods are dead or dying and people everywhere are searching.

- Joseph Campbell

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Once upon a time a spell was cast upon people across the land.

The spell made people believe we are separate beings with no connection

with each other and no connection with nature or the rest of life.

The spell continued with the belief that anything we could not

see, hear, feel, smell, or taste with our ordinary senses did not exist.

And the spell caused people to believe that only humans

had a soul which a punishing God judged the nature of.

Happiness only came from financial gain, collecting material objects,

and having power over people, the animal world, and all of nature.

The spell also set the belief that individuals were not creative

and their role was to behave and conform to society.

The effect of this spell put people to sleep.

They forgot about the beauty of life and their own soul’s purpose.

The light went out of people’s eyes as the old knowledge

of how to talk to nature was forgotten.

Empty gazes and looks of fear and desperation replaced the light.

The veils between the worlds closed down.

Magical thinking was replaced by reductionistic thinking.

The magic was gone along with people’s souls.

These were dark times indeed.

If this spell sounds familiar it should.

It was cast upon the human race before our parents’ lifetime.

It has caused great despair, violence toward each other,

and a dishonoring of life and our environment.

- Sandra Ingerman

I grew up in a Pentecostal family and witnessed speaking in tongues and dancing in the spirit. As a young child I would sit in church thinking, "this is really crazy stuff." I didn't like it at all and certainly did not feel closer to any Gods. Being anywhere else would have suited me just fine. Unfortunately, my mother dragged me to church on a regular basis. Kneeling and saying prayers to begin the day also made me anxious as I was usually late for the walk to school. There were some memorable moments though, such as being present at a "hell-fire and brimstone" tent revival when a storm hit and knocked down the tent, sending God-fearing people running to escape the clutches of hell.

Later, when I was more in control of my destiny I became a Baptist. Here I learned that it was not nice to sit in the pews that others had sat in for years or you would get dirty looks and "under the breath" comments slung in your direction. You had also better be dressed in your finest in order to compete with the other contestants.

The nail in my Baptist coffin was a deacon friend of my ex-wife inviting me over to his house to pick out a watermelon. When we arrived, he proceeded to pick out one of the smallest melons and hand it to me. It was so small I thought about eating the entire thing on the spot. I don't know about you, but where I come from you would be invited to pick any melon you wanted and if you needed the shirt off my back, you could have it also. Oh, wait. There was also the assistant Baptist pastor who refused to marry me and wife number two because we must have committed some sin by being divorced. This guy had just received his doctorate in religion and I guess he was way up there. Anyway, the pastor of the church (who had his doctorate for a long time) stepped in, performed the ceremony and said, "this is the first time I've ever eaten cake at a wedding." I know for a fact that he had two pieces. He was even allowed to cut his own cake, as large a slice as he wanted. I should tell him that we've been married 20 years now.

My spouse and I became Methodists after moving to Colorado and visiting several churches of different denominations. The Methodists had a better marketing strategy and when that homemade apple pie showed up on our doorstep, we were instant Methodists.

I really have little problem with religious folks even though they are a little off track. You see I have questions. Haven't many, if not most wars been started due to religious folks? Why do religious folks feel the need to approach other people and cultures, and inform them that they are going to hell if they don't convert to the "one and only true God?" I get so confused. Why did you converters destroy so many cultural practices? Why didn't you stay home and preach to those who came to you of their own free will?

I guess I'll never get answers. It doesn't really matter I suppose now that I've discovered the truth. My shaman teacher, who is also a psychologist and medical anthropologist, points out that the Western Judeo-Christian culture is the only one that that has a story that says we were kicked out of the Garden. Eve really messed things up for some, but not for me!

Now that I know that I was never kicked out of the Garden paradise but I'm a steward of the Garden. I now live in balance with Mother Earth and do not have to worry about the impossible task of trying to control her nor all the critters that walk upon her. I am so relieved to tap into the energy of the Earth, to feel her rhythms, the spirit of all that depends on her, and not have to go through the "middle man" church. Whew, I feel better already.

I could wax on un-poetically, but just a few more comments. Peter Calhoun, former Episcopal priest and now shaman and author of "Soul on Fire," says he had to "leave the church to find out what it had lost." Peter also says, "Shamanism is not another religion or system of belief; it is a way of perceiving and relating to the wondrous world around us. It is the original source out of which all religions and systems of knowledge evolved. I awoke to a way of knowledge and power that is rooted in the remote past."

So wake up religious folks! If your beliefs developed out of shamanism why are you concerned about us? It's like you're kicking your own grandmother. Or riding a horse and here comes Henry Ford to tell you that you are going down the wrong path. Here's Peter one final time - "...the elemental forces have provided a direct path to God that no organized religious system of our time could have possibly duplicated."

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