What Is A Modern-day Shaman?  What are some of the core beliefs of a person of power, wisdom and love? I will share a few of my beliefs on these subjects based on my experiences on the path of awakening. This includes 10 years apprenticing with a native elder & wise warrior woman Oh Shinnah Fastwolf – the one who calls herself “a confrontation to fixed reality”- and also includes 10 more years delving into the Dharma, understanding the mind, and battling ignorance. At this 20 year juncture of blending and incorporating teachings,  I bow to the Great Mother of All for the teachings, teachers, and the perfect and sometimes excruciating experiences of my “becoming” with deep gratitude.  I make no claims about myself, nor give myself any labels other than a servant of spirit and offer only one perspective.

I think it is important to realize that having a shaman's heart has nothing to do with skin color or even your heritage. My earthway teacher, Oh Shinnah Fastwolf, prefers to call herself a warrior woman. In her blood are mixed the traditions of the Tineh (Apache), the Mohawk, and the Scottish. In the book Legends of the Rainbow Warriors by Steven McFadden she says it best:   “There is a prophecy that states a time would come when Indians would reincarnate on this planet as part of the dominant society, which is white society. The Indians’ spirits would incarnate in the dominant society to change the attitude of that society. So learning native ways is very natural to them…This will also be a time when all the esoteric teachings of the world’s traditions will be revealed, so that there will be no secrets, no reason to fear each other or to be in conflict. This is clearly happening now…If a person has a sincere heart and wants to walk the path of the sacred, it should be accessible to them….As far as I am concerned it doesn’t have anything to do with the color of your skin. It is the way you live your life. The only thing we have to give is the way we live our lives. If you live on this land, and you have ancestors sleeping in this land, I believe that makes you native to this land….I was raised not to look at people racially. What I was taught is that we’re flowers in Great Spirit’s garden. WE share a common root, and the root is Mother Earth. The garden is beautiful because it has different colors in it, and those colors represent different traditions and cultural backgrounds.” ~~ Legend of the Rainbow Warriors by Steven McFadden

First and foremost a shaman lives in harmony with Mother Earth and Father Sky. A shaman understands that Mother Earth (mater, matter, the divine feminine aspect) is alive, that we are her children, and that all living things are our brothers and sisters. Because of this, a shaman never feels alone – one’s true family is all around you. Father Sky represents the vastness, the unseen, the unknowable, the great mind. Mind & Matter merge and we are born, sacred children along with all of creation. In this most fundamental way, we are related to “all that is.” This is the greatest harmony, the greatest connection and understanding you can have. You know your place in the universe, your true family, you see all with great respect and you have a deep love and compassion for “all your relations” in an unending way – beyond any boundaries, even of the earth.   A shaman understands the teachings and knows how to develop a heart connection and working relationship with the 4 powers (East, South, West, North) and the 4 elements (air, fire, water, earth). Combining this with the great above and below, (Mother Earth and Father Sky) and the center (our Sacred Self) comes the understanding of unity, oneness, the whole, the medicine wheel , the ever turning great circle of life.   From the development & embodiment of these understandings, comes understanding your place in the medicine wheel universe, how to walk it and use these teachings of balance. In this process, one can achieve complete acceptance of yourself as is, for you are a sacred child of divine forces.  You have a deep love and respect for these forces of the universe and you find that you are living in harmony with yourself, within and without, trusting and surrendering to that which is beyond our little egoic self.   A shaman lives in harmony with her surroundings. She recognizes that her surroundings are a reflection of who she is, and where she is at on many levels. If you are surrounded by beauty, then beauty is the way you live. If not, then there is your work.  A shaman is peaceful and accepts what is, yet is constantly trying to make a more beautiful peaceful healed world in all that she does. In this way, wherever a shaman goes, whatever a shaman does, she is leaving a trail of beauty behind her.    With beauty before me, and beauty behind me, and beauty all around me, beauty is the way I live. This is the motto of a shaman.

I have realized that a grounded centered shaman knows who she is, her place in the universe, where energy resides and how to use it correctly and with good intention.  He will continually strive to live in harmony and walk in balance. Harmony is the result of being accepting, being aversion-free, without extremes. Harmony means you understand how something “is” and  because you accept it, you can flow with it. Harmony means separate elements work/coexist together peacefully, each benefitting the other. If something is inharmonious (vibrating/existing in a way that is detrimental to your energy) then a shaman knows what to do to serve the greater good.       A core belief is that every thought, word, and action has an effect, and so for the future 7 generations to come, you think, talk and act positively. You “do” on their behalf -- it is the subliminal engine running your life. In this way, you generate merit. In this way, you are a bringer of great good to the Earth, now and in the future. With this motivation you serve humanity, just by your way of being.  When you recognize that your past actions have sown powerful seeds, that your present is a reflection of that,  then you can realize that the future is in your hands to create. At this point you are at the beginning of mastering your reality.     A shaman recognizes that power and energy is in everything and consequently knows how to work with the energy. The understanding first includes mastery of one’s personal physical and subtle energy centers and layers of the being. There is also the myriad ways of connecting with Spirit and developing a strong relationship with it in all its many forms. From this place of beautiful harmonious connection with Spirit and understanding ones own energy, a shaman  can effectively begin working for the benefit of others, shifting energy

A shaman has an understanding of the different dimensional realities that exist and can travel between the worlds for wisdom, healing of others and self, to teach, to rejuvenate, to remember. Time travel, spirit journeys, dreamwalking, prayers and rituals are all done on the behalf of others, in service. A shaman will serve his tribe, his community. A shaman is not a shaman for his self, for personal accomplishment, for a plaque on the wall, it is not a game where you play with drums and rattles and sit in a teepee – although these are wonderful tools.     A modern day shaman’s tribe is the whole world and includes all his ancestors that came before, all this worldly family, and all future generations. A modern-day shaman feels no separation and walks with deep appreciation between the worlds, one foot here, one foot in heaven, smiling, laughing, loving, and praying. And usually they sing.    Their eyes have cried a million tears and it has taken millennia to heal the wounds hearts of these peaceful warriors on the path of light, but the wounds were necessary in the training and refinement of the ones who serve. It is not a path to step on lightly, for there will be initiation after initiation along life’s journey. It is by moving through the fires that iron becomes steel.

Shamans come in every color from every country. What I have described above only touches an iota of what a true shaman is. What I have described touches on generic qualities, and those on the path may have more of one quality and less of others, and plenty other gifts I have left out. There is no ending to the process of becoming shaman, because as the universe is expanding, so are we and there is no ending to any of this. Shamans are never done baking in this process and so stay humble.   What I know for sure is that if you have read this far, you have a flickering shaman within you. I bow to the light within you. May it grow and shine bright in the universe! Rejoice in the beauty of who you are! In service, Antara Davis Aug 8, 08     “Like a tree deeply rooted in the Earth, We reach up to the Heavens To the Light, to the Vastness, We become bridges for Heaven on Earth, Merging our hearts, like a drumbeat, Into the Divine rhythm that carries us home to ourselves.” — Antara     ©2008 by Antara Davis