Shamanism in the Modern, Western World. New Podcast Episode!

New Podcast Episode! Shaman Sister Sessions #138

Shamanism in the Modern, Western World

Practicing Shamanism in the modern, Western world is fraught with challenges:

Is it okay to practice Shamanism as a Western person?

What is the most integrous way of working with our Shamanic practices?

What is Shamanism asking us to confront in ourselves?

As modern, Western people working with Shamanism, we must consistently ask ourselves these questions (and more) to ensure our greatest integrity. Pursuing a Shamanic path is often at odds with Western culture of white supremacy, patriarchy and extractive entitlement. Practicing Shamanism in the modern, Western world means confronting our own conditioning and traumas (and those of our lineage), and rigorously living according to the values of Shamanic practice, including right relation with Gaia and with our spirit allies.

If you’re practicing or exploring Shamanism or even just exploring your spirituality, this episode is for you. Michelle and Katherine dive into their decades of Shamanic study and practice and share powerful insights and invitations for those walking the path of Shamanism in the modern, Western world.

(Available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Please follow and leave us a review!)

What Is Shamanism? New Podcast Episode

New Podcast Episode! Shaman Sister Sessions #137

What Is Shamanism?

What is Shamanism? Where does Shamanism come from? What does the word “Shaman” mean?

Those called to healing and spiritual development often brush up against Shamanism but don't know how to contextualize it within their journey.

Michelle and Katherine get back to their Shamanic roots and explore some of the foundations of Shamanism as an animistic and mediumistic practice. They discuss some common misconceptions as well as some common ways in which people engage with Shamanic practice including utilizing trance and rituals, working with spirits, shamanic journeying, incorporated mediumship and being of service in their community.

Are you called to Shamanic practice? Are you going through a Shamanic awakening or cultivating your Shamanic skill development? Enjoy these powerful insights and invitation from the Shaman Sisters to guide you on your path.

(Available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Please follow and leave us a review!)

The Door of Initiation

How do we interact with our initiatory experiences?

Many times, until we learn to recognize them, we don't recognize our initiatory experiences until well after the fact. We perceive them as struggles, losses, challenges and opportunities, yet it is usually not until after we have passed through the "door" that we realize the true significance of crossing the threshold.

A lot of the people I work with come to me after they have experienced an awakening initiation: they have stepped through some sort of doorway (sometimes consciously, sometimes not) and now find themselves in unfamiliar territory where the world is not the same... and neither are they.

These doorways of initiation and awakening appear in all forms: job opportunities, death of a loved one, relocation, kids growing up, new people appearing in our lives, financial losses or failed careers, or even just waking up in a different reality.

How we interact with our initiatory experiences usually depends on whether or not we're aware that we are currently crossing a life-altering threshold. Sometimes it takes everything we have to choose to step through that doorway, and sometimes it feels as though we are dragged through it, kicking and screaming.

I have found myself in both of these positions: taking a breath to center myself, then deliberately crossing a threshold into a new way of being--sometimes with excitement, sometimes trepidation, usually both--and also, I have cried, howled in pain and clawed tooth and nail to try to get back through certain doors of initiations in the Shadow.

I feel inspired to share these thoughts today because we've all been here. And we will all be here again. Every single one of us has felt the squeeze, the uncertainty, the discomfort and growing pains associated with an initiatory experience. Learning to recognize them makes it easier to approach with purpose and resolve, rather than dread.

What would it feel like if you knew that your current experience was an initiation in disguise? How would you interact with it then?

Journal prompt:

"What door is appearing to me now? How do I feel about stepping through it? How have I interacted with my past initiatory experiences? How can I claim and recognize them in the future?"

Don't overthink it, just write and see what happens!

The Door of Awakening

AWAKENING is the door you don’t notice until you’re ready.

It’s the door that’s always been there, unobtrusive, in the wall that you walk past a hundred times a day without ever registering its presence. Maybe you’re too busy. Maybe you’re preoccupied with your job, your family, your finances, your everyday life. But still, the door to your Awakening has always been there, waiting for you.

One day, you walk by the door and notice it for the first time. You’re suddenly startled, because you’ve passed this wall a thousand times and could have sworn there was nothing there! As you gaze in wonder and disbelief at this revelation of a door, the edges start to glow from the blinding light on the other side.

You have a choice. Here on the Earth plane, we all have the same choice. Are you going to open the door and walk through it, or go back to pretending the door was never there?

What if you choose not to open the door? Maybe you go back to your life and forget all about it, but the door still appears in the space between dreaming and wakefulness. Maybe you try to avoid that section of wall, but always find your steps leading you back to pause in front of the door-that-isn’t-there. Maybe you work so hard to numb yourself to its existence that you numb yourself to all things—your feelings, your family, your dreams, the essence of your joy…

But what if you did choose to open the door? What if, blinded by that omnipresent glow, not knowing what would happen, you stepped through anyway?

What if you claimed your AWAKENING?

What might you discover about yourself? What deep soul purpose would reveal itself to you? How might you come into remembering of who you truly are, and activate within you your own, infinite potential and vibrant nature?

There’s only one way to find out.