Shamanism

Shamanism by  REV. KURT FONDRIEST

     Reading the various lessons on shamanism enabled me to understand how this form of consciousness has evolved throughout the years.  It also had a profound impact on how I view my own metaphysical- christian faith.

     Shamanism for me is a connection made by an individual and his or her relationship to the environment on a physical, spiritual and mental level.  It is expressed through various rituals and symbols that become part of one's daily life.  It is an opening of one's awareness of the various elements of earth and our relationship with our earth mother.

     As a Metaphysical Christian I can see certain historical figures fulfilling the role of "Shaman", however the most prominent one would be St. Francis of Assisi.  This figure has always been a spiritual role model for me.  The connection that St. Francis made with nature is more then just historical but more metaphysical.

     This gentle man finds the spirit of all within the wild of an untamed nature.  The church at the time saw him as a heretic. He  left the ornate structures of religion to discover inner faith among what religious society found unacceptable.  He challenged the way his contemporaries viewed the hand of God.

     The church cast Francis  into exile for his belief "That God is all".  He builds his basilica not out of the prestige bricks or stones, but rather out of mud , rocks and sticks.  His congregation is not that of the wealthy but that of the animals of the forest.

     In many ways, St Francis becomes a spiritual Robin Hood.  He understands that the "EGO" is what causes the fall of ones faith.  He communes with nature to discovered where faith truly is " Everything in nature" including man himself being nature.  This was not accepted by the church leaders, that heaven exists in the realm of nature.  Francis saw that nature was the physical attribute of heaven.  This understanding could enlighten the symbol of the trinity which are physical, mental and spiritual.

     His order of the Franciscan priests and nuns, still exists today as a testament to the belief of the awareness in the "NOW".  I truly believe this priest was in essence the definition of shamanism.

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