What Is a Shaman? What Is Shamanic Healing?

In modern-day terms, I would say a shaman is someone who embraces a path of personal healing and spirituality that brings her or him into direct relationship with spirit; who recognizes all of life from rocks to trees to animals to birds to snakes to insects to humans as having consciousness, wisdom and healing qualities; and who seeks to live in harmony with nature. Shamans are usually healers. Shamanic healing happens at the energetic level. Shamans understand that disease originates at the energetic level. They learn to sense the imprint of trauma in the energy field and to help their clients release these imprints and bring their energy field into balance and harmony. Shamans understand that when individuals experience a traumatic shock or other intense disturbance parts of their soul energy may split off and go where it can remain in wholeness and grace until it is retrieved to be integrated back into the psyche. This is what soul retrieval is about. Healing at the level of energy is instant. However, it takes time to incorporate new patterns, beliefs and so on into one’s life. So shamanic healing is an interesting combo of instant healing within a healing process that takes time.