Why Shamanism Now - A Practical Path to Authenticity

“Our times call for the transformation of rallies, protests, and marches into massive, intentional sacred healing rituals, in which we ally ourselves with all humans, the compassionate spirits, the ancestors, and the spirit of the earth and stars.” This is the vision of our guest, Lenore Norrgard, shamanic healer and social alchemist. Lenore will discuss her journey from revolutionary social activist to profound social healer and share her experiences leading social healing rituals from the White House to inner north Portland where she lives. For shamans ritual is not mindless habit or rote actions, but the means by which we engage the spirit world to assist us in changes we are unable to do alone. Lenore explains that, “Through ritual we remember our oneness with all things, even our opponents, and find our way past oppositional stances to a place where we create collective healing for all and profound social change.”

“Throughout shamanic cultures worldwide there exists a deep respect and understanding of our connectedness and indebtedness to our Ancestors. It is the duty of the living to live in such a way that brings healing to our Ancestral lines.” These are the words of Martin Brennan, who joins us again this week as we explore Ancestral Helping Spirits. In shamanism it is the role of the Ancestors to remember the role of the living to heal and change, and where necessary, to live differently. In a healthy shamanic relationship the Ancestors are available to the living sharing not only what they learned from living, but their perspective on their choices now that they are part of the Great Oneness. We will explore the critical difference between an Ancestor and a ghost. Why funeral practices are critically important. Brennan, a contemporary American dislocated as many are from their roots, will share his expertise in finding and cultivating a powerful working relationship with his Ancestors.

“One of the most important and powerful skills an individual can become aware of, cultivate, and practice is the ability to hear and follow Spirit’s call.” These are the words of Martin Brennan, our guest for this week. Join host Christina Pratt in a lively discussion about receiving The Call from Spirit. Brennan is a student of life and believes everyone must be willing to experiment with his or her life. Furthermore, if you expect to listen to Spirit’s guidance then you must be open to the unexpected and the illogical. And you must be willing to be scared every day and do it anyway. Find out how Mr. Brennan got from divinity school to dancing on the bar in Las Vegas to training corporate leaders all as an expression of his shamanic practice. What do you do when the knowing in your body and your “truth cord” lead you far, far away from your comfort zone?

Shamans look at “health” as well-being and balance in the individual physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, communally, intimately, and personally. Shamanic healing works because the relationship between the shaman and the spirits enables the shaman to “see” the root of the dis-ease as it is manifest in the invisible world and attend to it there. In other words though your symptoms may be presenting physically your shamanic diagnosis is that you experienced soul loss at 7, which is the cause of lingering issues that block you from the community connections you need to truly live your soul’s purpose so you have settled for a job that allows you to avoid community, but lies far from your purpose. And that is making you sick. Shamanic remedies usually include the removal of energies or soul retrieval or other retrieval of energy. Ultimately shamanic healing is then performed through ritual (to create change) or ceremony (to realign with higher beliefs and values).

the heart. Everything is One. Everything affects everything. Everything is sacred. A listener asked, “if that is true then what is my accountability for everything?” That is the question we will explore this week. What is our responsibility to the sacredness in everything, especially those things that really don’t seem sacred at all? How can we live in a health way when we are connected to everything and there is a lot around us that doesn’t seem real healthy? How am I part of war, greed, and hatred? And most important, how am I part of the transformation of war, greed, and hatred into energies that support life on Earth?

Authenticity emerges from our soul. But that soul message is not always as clear as we would like it to be. Explore the many ways shamanic skills enable us to augment both the clarity of our inner voice and our ability to hear that voice over the internal chatter and distraction of today. How do we reliably engage a little Divine help for these important life decisions? First we need to make sure we see reality accurately. We need to release the assumptions we are making that distort reality. Next we must get clear: what do we really want to know? The path to wealth or the path to true personal power? The path out of loneliness or the path into our true passion? Are you looking for short-term relief from fear or a leap along the path of your soul’s evolution? Once we have a message from the Divine we must ask, “What is spirit actually saying?”

What was shamanism and what is it today? Join host Christina Pratt in an exploration of what shamanism is and what it isn’t. What answers do the ancients offer us for these challenging times we live in? Pratt suggests that they don’t have the answers, but the means by which we could get answers that will—if acted on—change our lives. At the core of true, authentic shamanism is a live, direct, working relationship with spirit. This two-way communication characterizes a shamanic relationship with spirit and it is your birthright. You can draw comfort, guidance, clarity, inspiration, and healing directly from this relationship. And most importantly shamanism helps us to make better quality decisions—decisions that actually solve the problem at hand without creating three more, decisions that move beyond divisive politics and self-service, and finally decisions that will serve the next seven generations.