The Shamanic Experience

 

As I begin to write this article, I find myself sitting outside in a beautiful garden with the sound of the raindrops playing in the background. From my balcony, Apu Pitusiray, the sacred mountain in Calca, with it's ice-capped peaks tower over me. The pace of life here in the mountains is a great contrast to that of which I grew up in. In the city, you are surrounded by noise from cars, engines, police sirens, traffic, polluted air, densely populated areas and the never ending fast-paced caffeine and alcohol fuelled modern day world. Waking up to the sound of an alarm bell, always seeming to be in a hurry, and never reaching a deep fulfilment no matter what the social norms could provide, I could very early on in my life sense that this road was a bottomless pit leading me into a dystopian future. When you're out in nature, you can very quickly start to feel a different pulse to life. Nature's impact is felt directly into your nervous system. You are allowed to slow down. To 'stop and to smell the roses'. 

So then what in the world is the shamanic experience you ask? It is just that, a communing with nature and getting in touch with the natural order of life. The word Shaman itself, has its roots from the Siberian, ‘Saman’, which means ‘the one who knows’. Therefore the Shaman or the one practicing shamanism is any individual that is actively pursuing the path of knowledge. But when we are speaking about ‘knowing’, what is this knowing that separates the ordinary lay person from these individuals who seem to have more special powers than we do? In the East, the seers and visionaries were known as the gnostics. Interestingly enough, the word 'gnostic' from Greek, means ‘to know’. So who really is a shaman? And who are the gnostics? A shaman is the one who is in touch with the pulse of life, with nature, and who uses various psycho-technologies of ecstasy which are available to them in order to put themselves in touch with the organic world. But before we dive deeper into this subject, perhaps we can take a look at the current state of the western world through the lens of spirituality.

The prime access point to the world of Spirit in the west is through the main-stream religions. Take your pick, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism and so forth and so on. And while religion at its core is not inherently evil since it's main function is to relink you back into the divine source, however in modern day times the main-stream religious groups have fallen victim to Chinese whispers. The fundamental teaching and perennial philosophy which was known by all mystics and sages since time immemorial, “The God Within”, this fundamental message has been lost and forgotten. And since this core message has been forgotten, then what we are seeing today in religious groups is a tip toeing around Truth creating superficial gurus and a marketplace full of charlatans who practice only exoteric rituals and forget the inner and occult teachings. In other words, religious organisations are more concerned with protecting their doctrines, rituals, customs, sacred texts and songs than they are concerned with preaching the Truth. One could also argue that nowadays the core message is deliberately hidden from the masses since once you realise the God-Self within, what need do you have for mindless doctrines and established orders . And again, since these religious practices are not inherently evil per say, the truth of the matter is that since the emphasis was so strong on protecting the customs, the essential doctrine of the teachings has long been forgotten. That is to say, the knowledge of Your very own, “Buddha-cognition, Christ-consciousness and Jiva-Atman” has fallen asleep. It seems as though Graham Hancock was right when he most famously said that humanity has become ‘a species with amnesia’.

Since the essential teachings have long been forgotten in the west, the current practice of spirituality has merely been reduced down to complicated belief systems and repetitive lip-service; “The blind leading the blind who will both fall into a ditch”. The reduction in the spiritual experience down to the level of regurgitations and monkey see monkey do practices, have robbed the individual of the direct mystical and spiritual experience. This therefore is the primary work of the Shaman. To bring oneself and the people whom they serve into a state of direct knowing. NOT BELIEVING. The one who knows need not believe anything. The Seer and the Knower experience life just as it is. The sun is the sun, the moon the moon, the stars, the plants, the rivers, the oceans. All of creation is available to the knower from the perspective of their very own personal experience. So in this case belief systems have become irrelevant to them. This kind of knowledge is called empirical knowledge. It cannot be refuted. It is self-evident. Sure we can speculate about the origins of the Universe, sure we can debate about what stuff is made of and discuss lost civilizations, however surely there is an objective truth that we can all agree on. This Absolute Truth is the home of the shaman. As in the words of the famous mystic and poet Rumi, the shaman is the one who has “sold his intelligence, and bought bewilderment’.

 

 

So to bring this article around full circle. The shaman is the one who utilises natures gifts in order to bring themselves into the shamanic experience. Here in Peru, the shamanic traditions have for centuries been based around the use of sacred plant medicines. These sacred plant teachers are commonly known as Ayahusaca, the sacred tea brewed in the Amazon jungle and Huachuma (San Pedro), which is the master teacher cactus of the Andean mountains. Both are different plants and both have different traditions around their use depending on which part of Peru they come from. In saying that, both plants are considered Master Teachers and although they have different effects on the body, they both lead the individual to the top of the same mountain which is direct spiritual knowledge.

It almost sounds hard to believe in particular for the western mind. I grew up in that system and have a Bachelors Degree in the Health Sciences from The University of Sydney so I can totally relate to the skeptical western mind. And for sure you do need to have a healthy level of skepticism in this world. Naivety and gullibility wont get you too far. However since we are dealing in the realm of magic, there is a certain point beyond which the mind cannot reach. And it is at first hard to believe until you have finally had the actual experience. Afterwards, the experience itself becomes your Truth. No matter what science or religion tell you about their personal ideologies, your spiritual and direct experience of Truth is always yours. No-body can take that away from You. Then you begin to wake up and realise that magic is real. You will also come to realise that magic is not a new phenomenon. What is happening is that the magic of life has always been alive and available to you, but it is you who was the one totally asleep to this profound realisation. I have a good feeling that this is a primary reason why ancient shamanic cultures from around the world have deliberately been destroyed and cut off from their ancestral roots. It is because they had the keys to Self-knowledge. And what was once a sitting around the fire sharing dreamtime stories drinking plant medicine under the night sky, has now become a profitable multi-billion dollar a year big pharma socialist regime. Not to mention, the word ' pharmakeia' from Greek, means "potions or spells'. Now do you see the curse?

Whilst I do not have anything against modern medicine per say and I do recognise its utility particularly in these troubled times, I also believe modern medicine does not have all the answers they claim to have in helping humanity to heal from deeply seated psycho-somatic illness which are the root causes of disease. The shamans say that the western world is sick because of their way of life. So let's face it here, taking a pill is not going to CURE your problems, it will only help to TREAT the symptoms. Which is really not much help at all. This is where I believe a coming together of ancient plant healing technologies and the advancements of the west can certainly create a great symbiosis for the future.

And so this is what we do HERE in Peru. We take you beyond belief systems and into a direct spiritual connection with the Divine. Not a divine that lives in the sky, but a Divine in which you live and move and have your Being. We help to heal you on a more deeper emotional and spiritual level. And all the meanwhile bringing joy to your body and mind in ways that you could never have imagined before.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, literally, and a path that you are ready to explore, then feel free to read about our RETREAT'S HERE and come to visit us in the heart of the Sacred Valley.

Good medicine is waiting for you!

All the best from Peru