Introduction to CELTIC SHAMANISM

My mother told me that the difference between a shaman or psychic and a crazy person was the shaman intentionally alters her/his consciousness to perceive other realities. She said crazy people have no control at all, so they mis-interpret and mis-perceive and end up almost anywhere. I was thirteen years old then, and that is when I understood how important a sense of my Self was. Mom had me in yoga positions concentrating on a light bulb starting when I was age seven. She taught me self-hypnosis so I could get to sleep or clear my mind. I thought, at the time, my mother was absolutely insane.

Wasn't she wonderful though?

Celtic shamanism is a pathway to universal shamanism. One path of many. No matter which part of the world a shaman comes from, they can speak to another shaman from any other discipline because the language is the same - the deep soul travel glitter dust in their eyes say the same thing. They say, "there is so much more, and we know it, we've seen it, and you can only experience it to speak the language."

Shamanism is the oldest spiritual discipline on this planet. No matter what spiritual path, religious doctrine, dogma, tradition, myth, faerie tale, belief or faith you find - if you dig deep into the roots of that tradition until your fingers are covered with rich black soil, you will find shamanism there. It is the foundation of all everyone believes in. Proven fact. Why would anyone fear the rich fertile truth? I suppose every soul will have to answer that question at some time. Until then people may continue to limit themselves by encasing themselves in linear time barriers because of either fear of the unknown or guilt for surpassing the known...

 The word "shaman" in Celtic is "geilt" or "gwelt." Guilt. I am guilty. I chose to breach the self-imposed and society imposed glass ceiling to learn to see without seeing, hear without hearing, touch without feeling yet knowing I have indeed touched. I can breathe the air and hear from my breath what the wind has to say about where it has been. Every action is sacred, meaningful and filled with life that I didn't - wasn't able to - notice before. I was limited in vision. There is no separation between body and spirit. There is no superiority in the sexes, we are all equal. Creation is a totality of several parts, not divided into trinities - body, mind and spirit - and definately not divided into "inner" and "outer." And this leads to the deepest understanding of Oneness. It is all One. We are all related!

John Mathews (The Celtic Shaman) states: "The shaman is the servant of the sacred, rather than its priest."

This is work. This is discipline, a discipline on the vibration of love. Shamans continually strive to improve themselves in order to be of greater service to others. There is no other reason. The purpose is selfless service.

Grounding is always the first thing to learn and practice. After any exercise, after reading this page, ground yourself. You are not a body with a soul, you are a soul with a body. To remain balanced you need to ground back to this dear Earth since this is where your body lives. It will prevent most scattered or confusing energies after you stretch you soul to understand. Such exercise, such stretching, is good and healthy!

I have two methods that work the best for me. The first is to imagine a root of some kind extending out of my tailbone if I'm sitting, or out of my feet if I'm standing. I imagine this root stretching and growing downward through any structure beneath me. The root, still attached at my tailbone or feet, extends into the dirt of the Earth below me and spreads out for a good grasp. Like a plant, I receive nourishment of energy from the grounding.

If I feel unusually scattered or ungrounded, I will lay down and imagine myself actually lowering into the Earth, able to breathe. My entire body is under the Earth's surface - safe, protected, surrounded by compassionate loving energy - and definately grounded!

The key to shamanism, or any other discipline for that matter, is the conscious removal of resistance within the self. Resistance is self-imposed limitations, restrictions, social fears, self-deception, guilt, shame, etc. Once you realize all restrictions are essentially illusionary, you will need time to deal with your emotions about these issues. You will want time alone - solitude in which you can understand your self and your reactions. "Know thyself" is not just good advice - it is essential to your work. The result of this introspective observation is you will no longer feel "less than." You will no longer need other people's approval, and your inner strength will grow into total confidence in yourself and everything else that exists.

The word "shaman" means "to burn up, set on fire." Remember the Celtic word "gwelt" means "shaman." It seems obvious how the methods deployed by the Inquistion era came about, as well as the negative connotation to the word "guilt" carried to this day. In court a person admitting guilt is actually admitting knowing shamanic truths, and then are sentenced for it. Is it no wonder there is an adversion to this process?

 Shamans actually have the ability to work with the energy of heat. The body's heat rises as the shaman goes into an esctatic trance, plus the actual working with light can be likened to heat. This esctatic trance state is consistent with all shamans of the world. They may feel heat, cold, shaking, dark, light, any range of emotions and tears may come to their eyes.

John Mathews says there are 12 realizations to the shamanic experience:

1. The First Realization: An awakening to shamanic awareness.
2. Opposition: The difficulties encountered at the beginning of the journey.
3. Death: The first rite of passage in the making of a shaman. (Not usually an actual death experience.)
4. Awakening: The discovery of individual potential.
5. Meeting: The first encounter with inner reality.
6. Traveling: Passing within and exploring the Otherworlds.
 7. Totems: Discovering and learning from the totem beasts and power animals.
8. The Inner Shaman: Encountering an inner guide and teacher.
9. Spirit World: Learning to move at will through the place of the spirits.
10. Acceptance: Second rite of passage and the beginning of outerwork.
11. Vision: The ability to see into the inner realms and to divine future events.
12. The Second Realization: The integration of inner work into outer life.

What do you learn in this process? You learn you are related to all things. The Native Americans say "All My Relatives." Shamanism was never limited to Native American Spirituality. It's been around every race's ancestry with the same two results...

One is oppression. My personal lineage can be traced back to the Cimbre tribe in Europe. At first my people were stationary. Their holy people and leaders were female Priestesses who wore simple sky blue robes to signify their role in the tribe. When the missionaries came to demand they convert, they were killed and captured as slaves if they refused. Men, women, and children paid with their lives for refusing the strange religion that killed their own spirituality. These tribes of Cimbre honored the circle, the six directions, held ritual sweats, and greeting the rising sun with herbs similiar to the morning pipe ceremony. After the missionaries came, the tribe became a nomadic traveling tribe that eventually dispersed and died out. All peoples have been oppressed. I honor the Native Americans who hold the ancient truths. Ho!

The second result of shamanism is an enlightened realization. WE ARE ALL RELATED! All created beings - animal, vegetable, mineral - are all alive, all have spirit, and all interact with us whether we are conscious of it or not. The true beauty of shamanism is the conscious interaction between all spirits in this word...and other worlds.

You learn the same of the universe and multiverse and cosmos around you. You learn to talk in your spirit form with other forms of life and their spirits, as they learn from you. But you may be surprised at what they already know about you!

 There is a continual sense of wonder, of awe from the learned ability (or remembered...) to pass beyond this 3-D reality we see around us and view other realms of reality. These other realms can be proven if you journey with others in silence and come back to recount your adventure. It is unnerving at first since your physical bodies remain at the same location. Then it is a mixture of wonder, strange excitement, and yes, JOY, to discover that during the silence - maybe a drum beat in the background - you and others have experienced another world, the Otherworlds, and come back to recount the same experience.

You learn what your totem animals, power animals, and even power plants and rocks are. You learn to speak with them all. Then you learn to talk to them and follow them in order to help yourself, others,and the world around you. You learn to contact your Guides and the "Inner Shaman" and they take you to other stages of training that is highly personal and powerful.

The whole process is highly personal and powerful. If you choose to explore this further, the next pages are information and a few guided meditations. This will follow the Celitic pathway.

When the spirit of the Shaman travels to meet the spiritual realms, the spirits travel to meet the Shaman. An energy exchange, like a spark, transforms the man or woman sitting in their circle in wondrous ways. There are always emotions to come to terms with - in order to learn the center which is nowhere and everywhere. Disciplines such as focusing the mind and letting go of the ego-self will need to be mastered.

You will find out that to loose everything is to gain it all, and this way you find the truth.

 The identifying marks of Celtic Shamanism versus other shamanic paths are the mediations and procedure for the shamanic initiations. Each race has their own initiations, and they all lead to the same place.

The World needs Her shamans again. Shamans are healers, and the people, animals, and especially the Earth Herself needs healing desperately at this time. In healing our brothers and sisters of all nations, all species, and our Mother Earth, we will heal ourselves, and great lessons are learned in the meantime.

Written by: Cynthia Danielson