![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.depthpsychologylist.com\/Resources\/Pictures\/shamans-Yacutsk-26742155-pd.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
According to historian\u00a0\u00a0philosopher Mircea Eliade,\u00a0\u00a0has been around for millennia, practically as long as humans have existed.\u00a0In recent decades, the archetype of\u00a0\u00a0has experienced a rebirth. With growing consciousness, more\u00a0\u00a0more individuals are recognizing spontaneously\u00a0\u00a0consistently what our indigenous ancestors knew: that there is a divine intelligence at work in the universe, a life force of love\u00a0\u00a0light, of which, by nature\u00a0\u00a0birthright, we are an integral part.<\/p>\n
Anne Baring (2007), psychologist\u00a0\u00a0author, notes that C.G.\u00a0\u00a0himself commented on the capacity of humans to respond to this greater force, saying:<\/p>\n
The archetypal image of the wise man, the saviour or redeemer, lies buried dormant in man’s unconscious since the dawn of culture; it is awakened whenever the times are out of joint\u00a0\u00a0a human society is committed to a serious error…These primordial images are \u2026 called into being by the waywardness of the general outlook. When conscious life is characterised by one-sidedness\u00a0\u00a0by a false attitude, they are activated\u2026”instinctively” \u2026 in the dreams of individuals\u00a0the visions of artists\u00a0\u00a0seers.\u00a0(Read a great post on\u00a0Alchemy\u00a0\u00a0the Hermetic Tradition: Mircea Eliade here<\/a>).<\/p>\n In her article, “Sacred Plants\u00a0\u00a0the Goddess”, Susana Valadez quotes the late Mazatec shamaness, Maria Sabina, who says, “There is a world beyond ours, a world that is far away, nearby,\u00a0\u00a0invisible.\u00a0\u00a0this is where God lives, where the dead live, the spirits\u00a0\u00a0the saints, a world where everything is known. That world talks. It has a language of its own.<\/p>\n By contrast, modern humankind in western consumer-based societies seems destined to live our lives in a sterile box, limited on all sides by stark white walls, traveling forward in one direction\u00a0\u00a0marking progress by the number of strides we take in any given day. Little do we know there is something that surrounds us, a force that supersedes our wildest imaginings; a creative wellspring that, if we were to partake of it, would allow us to fulfill our greatest potential\u00a0\u00a0to remember once\u00a0\u00a0for all who we really are.<\/p>\n We can taste that supernal realm through ritual, trance, chanting,\u00a0\u00a0calling upon energies that inhabit that realm,\u00a0\u00a0by using the mala as a map to locate our self in relation to the sacred realm\u00a0\u00a0to create a practice that will sustain us\u00a0\u00a0allow us to grow\u00a0evolve. If we can but learn to surrender, to offer our lives as we know them in spontaneous offering to the powers that be, to make a mixed feast for the hungry ghosts, we will gain entry into the world beyond\u00a0\u00a0that will give meaning to the lives we live.<\/p>\n Ritual is a critical aspect of\u00a0. Vicki Noble (Motherpeace, 2001) says, “ritual happens,\u00a0\u2026creating the space for it to happen is really all one has to do.\u201d The magic of ritual lies in its structure\u00a0\u00a0ability to channel energies in a direction of focused intention\u00a0positive growth. In other words, if we will but open ourselves\u00a0\u00a0create space in our lives\u00a0\u00a0then be observant, regarding the magic around us, it will unfold.<\/p>\n Our ancestors have known for millennia the power of ritual. They observed that natural rhythms of nature\u00a0\u00a0paused to honor the subsequent openings of the window between our perceived reality\u00a0\u00a0the reality of the spiritual realm which occurred naturally on specific days of the year based on the lunar calendar. Solstices\u00a0\u00a0cross-quarter days (like the one coming up on February 2nd!) offer up age-old opportunities to tap into the magical realm of power when the veil is thin. Specifically, Imbolc (also known from its Celtic roots as St Brighid\u2019s Day or Clemas) is the day halfway between Winter Solstice\u00a0\u00a0the Spring Equinox. Thus it is a powerful day of prophecy\u00a0transformation, a time when ritual celebration of healing\u00a0\u00a0rebirth can bring us renewed life\u00a0\u00a0wholeness. Through dedicated ritual, we can approach the portals that connect this world with the one beyond\u00a0\u00a0allow the beauty\u00a0\u00a0creativity to shine through\u00a0\u00a0give meaning to our lives.<\/p>\n Musician Gabriel Roth describes the state from which humankind must break away if we are to experience the ecstasy\u00a0\u00a0knowledge of the spiritual realm. “The soul starves,” she says. “Our bodies get locked into patterns. We get stiff with repetition. Our hearts also become rigidified into automatic routines. We’re soon numb, insensitive to what we really feel.\u00a0\u00a0our minds are quickly blinded by unquestioned assumptions, guiding attitudes that don’t allow us to see what’s out there, let alone explore the world’s fullness” (p. 13). She speaks of “awakening the shamanic dimension of ourselves” through movement\u00a0\u00a0dance.<\/p>\n Black Elk, a Lakota Sioux medicine man, suggested: \u201cPeace comes in within the souls of men when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe\u00a0\u00a0all its powers,\u00a0\u00a0when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan Tanka [The Great Spirit],\u00a0\u00a0that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.\u201d\u00a0, too, believed in individuation, a coming into wholeness with the self, a feat made easier, perhaps, through alignment with nature\u00a0\u00a0forces greater than our every day ego selves.<\/p>\n If you have an interest in shamanic practices\u00a0\u00a0ways in which you can be more truly yourself while honoring ancient practices, delve in. Two of the best books I\u2019ve read which correlate\u00a0ian psychology\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0are \u201c\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0in Dialogue: Retrieving Soul \/ Retrieving the Sacred<\/a>\u201d by C. Michael Smith, Ph.D,\u00a0\u00a0\u201c\u00a0\u00a0the Psychology of C.G.\u00a0: The Great Circle<\/a>\u201d by Robert E. Ryan. You may also have interest in an essay of mine entitled \u201cThe Shamanic Perspective: Where\u00a0ian Thought\u00a0\u00a0Archetypal\u00a0Converge.<\/a>\u201d There are also many shamanic practitioners\u00a0\/or therapists who integrate shamanic work into their practice listed here onDepthPsychologyList.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" According to historian\u00a0\u00a0philosopher Mircea Eliade,\u00a0\u00a0has been around for millennia, practically as long as humans have existed.\u00a0In recent decades, the archetype of\u00a0\u00a0has experienced a rebirth. With growing consciousness, more\u00a0\u00a0more individuals are recognizing spontaneously\u00a0\u00a0consistently what our indigenous ancestors knew: that there is a divine intelligence at work in the universe, a life force of love\u00a0\u00a0light, of which, by nature\u00a0\u00a0birthright, we are an integral part. Anne Baring (2007), psychologist\u00a0\u00a0author, notes that C.G.\u00a0\u00a0himself commented on the capacity of humans to respond to this greater force, saying: The archetypal image of the wise man, the saviour or redeemer, lies buried dormant in man’s unconscious […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,24,6,1,7],"tags":[56,58,36,59,57],"class_list":["post-357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archetypes-2","category-carljung","category-culture","category-depthpsychology","category-shamanism","tag-ancestors","tag-consciousness","tag-individuation","tag-mircea-eliade","tag-ritual"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.depthinsights.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.depthinsights.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.depthinsights.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.depthinsights.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.depthinsights.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.depthinsights.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":359,"href":"https:\/\/www.depthinsights.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357\/revisions\/359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.depthinsights.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.depthinsights.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.depthinsights.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}