The Veil is Way Thinner than We Think

Shamanism is not a religion. It is a spiritual practice with roots reaching back tens of thousands of years in cultures all over the globe.

What do I mean, a spiritual practice and not a religion?

Once I got a failing grade on a paper in university for not recognizing that religion has a transcendent aspect, something that raises our consciousness or soul above and beyond this earthly existence.

If we accept that transcendence is necessary to religion, then shamanism doesn’t quite fit.

Shamanism, at least in my humble understanding, isn’t about transcendence. It is about bringing us back into relationship with the Sacred within us and all around us. Right here, right now. Dancing in a vast cosmos of ensouled beings. As David Abram might say (I’ve mentioned this before), we are part of a more than human world. Part of. At one with. Not sovereign over.

Mind blowing, hmm?

Thich Nhat Hahn invites us to walk upon the Earth as though we are kissing her with our feet.

Imagine…could it be, as Celtic shamanist Frank MacEowen suggests, that the Earth herself is alive, and aware of our every step? Is it possible that she—Mother Earth—stewards us, and not the other way around? Hosts us? That she gives us breath, feeds us, and sustains us from her own body?

This notion is not new to indigenous peoples. It is a way of life, an ancient path of honouring, respect, and compassion. The Earth, sacred. All beings everywhere, sacred. And we humans, with our place, our part in this. Not as overlords, but as participants. Children. Family.

All the world’s a stage—and we are merely players. Right, Bill. You nailed it.

Remarkably, our culture of materialism, project management, concrete, and bitcoin trading has lost touch with this. We bulldoze our rainforests, the very lungs of the earth. Post traumatic stress, depression, and feelings of isolation are as much an epidemic as COVID-19. Our necks and spines are becoming distorted from hours spent gazing at screens.

As a living spiritual practice, shamanism invites us back to Nature, and back into our true natures. Not to proclaim ourselves shamans, but to learn from and practise in a spiritual tradition that has profound roots. To walk a path of discovery, healing, wonder, humility, and gratitude. To renew ourselves and rediscover the power and magic of the Earth that carries us on her body.

I offer this out for your consideration today, as you walk out shining your light on an Earth that is aware of your every step. So much peace to you.