MASTER OF SHAMANISM FINAL ESSAY
I think Bishop Pat did a marvelous job on this course. It covered a great deal of information and I felt like I learned a lot. I knew very little about shamanism before taking this course.
I learned that a shaman could be a man or a woman and they could be either black or white. They have the spiritual ability to heal and work with energies and to see visions. They can work alone or in a group. A shaman has to be able to work with spirits. The shaman has been around for ages across the world.
A shaman is not a priest because that would mean he would be specific to a God, Goddess, Demigods or Demigoddess, who would act in behalf of that God. The shaman uses the power of the spirits, but does not control them. He must have their consent to work with them.
The shaman deals with the lower, middle and upper worlds. The lower world is entered by way of a tunnel. There the shaman has the ability to use many levels of that part of the world. There is no negative place like hell to the shaman. The Power Animals reside in the lower world as does so many of the healing forces.
Shaman is considered to be a primitive form of religion and is practiced in many places around the world. Most shamans use some form of dress. These include masks, coats, caps and breast plates with each tribe having their own style. The most important tool to the shaman is his drum, although some shamans may use a rattle or other type of instrument. The drum is said to have the power of transporting the shaman to the superworld and evoking the spirits by the sound. There are as many types of drums as there are tribes.
This course also covers animal spirits in a good amount of detail. It lists many of the power animals, and even how to find your animal totem. There are four different types of animal guides which are covered. A book Bishop Pat recommended (I read it and agree with him) is "The Magical Lore of Animals" by Yvonne Aburrow. It is a great book. I liked it so much I also bought one of her other books called "The Enchanted Forest: The Magical Lore of Trees".
This course teaches you (and it does take time and lots of practice) how to use self hypnosis to reach the trance state. It also covers what it's like taking a shamanic journey. Another book I would recommend if you're in any way interested in shamanic journeys is "The Way of the Shaman" by Michael Harner.
Bishop Pat also covers the shaman vs. Christians and the shaman vs. science. One special lesson drew my interest was on the Maya Shaman. It touches on the Maya calendar of 2012. Bishop Pat explains it very well, but if your interest is peaked by this lesson, like mine was you will love his book "Maya Cosmogenesis 2012". It is written under his name of John Major Jenkins.
This course was a definite plus to my knowledge of world religions. I highly recommend this course on Shamanism.
In love and Peace,
Rev. Nancy Rutledge
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