“What’s happening to me?” and “Am I crazy?” are often the top two questions of a person who is awakening spiritually or shamanically.  Now, lots of people right now are awakening spiritually.  That category is huge.  Yoga, meditation, alternative (actually ancient) healing that effects the energetics of the body directly instead of using  medications as a go-between.  These are all signs of this time of expanded awakening.  Some of the traditional religions are opening their arms wider to embrace this new perspective of energetic awareness, and others are closing their restrictions tighter, forcing the awakening people within to leave their beloved traditions for a more accepting community.

 Shamanic awakening is a term I’m using to particularly describe those who have a shift in their life and become intuitively and intensely attracted to the symbols, stories, and rituals of shamanic earth-based traditions.  Shamanic traditions include those of the Native nations of North and South America , the Aboriginal people of Australia , the Siberian tribal societies, the ancient Celtic traditions of the British Islands , and many more.  Shamanic tradition is characterized by the honoring of the connectedness of all things, beings, and peoples, and the use of all of these animals, plants, ancestors, spirits and personalities to symbolize an aspect of the divine.  Natural elements are honored, and natural tools are used – rocks, feathers, found objects are all holy and hold their own specific energetic gifts.

 These are ancient traditions, and they are becoming extinct in their traditional practices due to global industrialization and over-population.  There are very few shamanic cultures intact in our present age, practicing their own traditional form of shamanism in the context of earth-based living.  Yet the symbols and energies that these cultures tend to share are popping up in the dreams and imaginations of modern people everywhere.

 It is not rare to encounter someone in this country who would say “I’ve always felt drawn to Native American symbols and rituals.”  And with the memories and haunting guilt of the widespread massacre of native people in this country in recent history, many of those who feel drawn to shamanic symbols and ritual feel as if they are stealing more Native property, as if the gifts of Spirit that come unbidden in the dreamtime, or the lessons of other peoples which are crafted and held by Spirit could be owned and stolen.  So they quietly attend pow-wows and read books and gather feathers, in the hopes they might find a bit of connection with a community they feel is their own, and yet feel completely disconnected and guilty towards.

 Some of the Native peoples see these awakening ones and have a similar sentiment.  “Why should a white kid from the burbs get to suddenly take advantage of years of tradition and wisdom tha t m y people have suffered and fought for?”  Other Native teachers are completely open in their sharing of wisdom from their cultures, offering teachings up to whomever will show interest and respect in what seem like revolutionary concepts to modern Americans, in the hopes of feeding the opening, the awakening, and the healing of Mother Earth and all her children.

 It is no wonder we are all confused, concerned with who owns Wisdom.  We have been living in an age of duality, conflict, and violence.  We are wounded.  We are full of anger and hurt.  Our violent past has wounded both aggressor and victim alike, and we have been trading off these roles for centuries.

 But the violent age, if we are to believe the prophesies, is dying.  And our challenge is to open ourselves to the new energies of forgiveness and openness.  We are to truly embrace the concept of All My Relations – the globally held shamanic view that we are all one, that the Earth, our bodies, the plants, the animals, the rocks – all are embodiments of Spirit – and that every thing we choose in our lifetime should take the Highest Good of all these into account at all times.

 And so we see the phenomena of young modern people dreaming of being eaten by packs of wolves, or being chosen by a bear, or being followed by hawks - or they find themselves unwittingly drawing ancient Mayan symbols on their notebooks.  People of all ages and backgrounds are dreaming the ancient ways into modern life.  They are awakening an old memory, but the memory often comes back in new forms – ways that the modern person can connect with. 

 Nothing is being stolen here.  The old ways  are being remade – not by any one person, but by Spirit speaking through the modern man – native and immigrant alike.  Spirit has returned through the earth, through the feminine, through the elements.  And no one can stop this process.  Synchronicity is leading the way.  There is no way to avoid the awakening when it is time to awaken, except perhaps to go into deep denial and escapism (which we humans are pretty good at, unfortunately).   And with the awakening comes deep change – often very fast change – in relationships, in career, in family relations, in Life. 

 The largest difficulty with the awakening happening thus far seems to be loneliness.  People are awakening inside themselves.  It is, at first, a solitary journey.  Spirit asks the awakening one to follow the signs, to delve deeper, to open to the workings of Spirit.  If the person is open, the awakening process can be quite dramatic.  Awakening people often get a big upgrade in their psychic vision.  All of a sudden, they are seeing spirits – usually just briefly or in a fuzzy way, but it is a surprise, and it can bring up fear and resistance.  Sometimes, people who used to hear a vague voice responding to them in prayer may find that voice becoming crystal clear, or they may experience that voice coming to them in the form of a guide or angel.  Unlike our days of living in tribal societies, modern society is not so supportive of visionary experiences.

 We modern people have been taught that seeing spirits and guides and angels is a sure sign of mental illness – something to be feared and fought.  But this time, when the visions come, they are not escapist fantasies, but rather experienced clearly as the presence of the Divine.  This is a subjective experience, and hard to describe in detail.  But those who have experienced the voice of God or one of God’s helpers find it hard to miss.  And no, I’m not saying that everyone who hears voices is perfectly sane and healthy.  I am saying that some of the sanest and healthiest people walking the face of the Earth today see visions and hear voices… a lot.

 Community becomes crucially important to people in the process of awakening.  The dreams, feelings, visions, and messages work their way from the private dreamtime and secret prayer life of the person into a hunger for others who can understand the transformation that is occurring.  The awakening person may feel drawn to experience shamanic ritual such as sweat lodge or to travel to holy sites of their land’s native people, to soak up a sense of community and connection.   They may connect with others on a similar path and form a circle or group that meets to study and pray together.  This is how San Diego Circle Shamanic Healing Arts Center was born.  Whether it is meeting with just one friend who is open and supportive of the awakening process, or connecting with a traditional group, or with a magical community that is open to your work, community support is important to an awakening person.

 The awakening process is not all visions of roses.  Awakening requires a deep clearing of the old restrictions, dogmas, fears, hatred, and imposed rules which no longer serve your Highest Good.  Awakening is, in great part, a healing process – led by your Guides.  It can be intense. 

 Our Western Culture is not knowledgeable about the natural processes of healing.  Our medicines are designed to treat symptoms, but Spirit’s Medicines are designed to Transform the old into the new.  And transformation requires the destruction of the old in order to bring in the new.  This often translates into strange physical symptoms such as nausea or headaches that seem to have no “real” cause, and often do not respond to western medication. 

 Fortunately, modern society now has access to more energetically-aware systems of healing such as acupuncture and Chinese herbology, fasting, nutrition, and homeopathy which see these nausea and headaches for what they are – symptoms of a healing process in motion.  And the natural systems know how to support this healing process so the body can release the imbalances that underlie the discomfort. They understand that sometimes discomfort is a necessary and important phase in cleaning and healing the body permanently, and they provide moral and physical support for people enduring such a process.  This flies in the face of everything consumerist America is teaching us, but for the Awakening person, there is no other option but to seek alternatives to prescription medications.  They just don’t work to aid them in the process at hand.

 Emotional and relationship difficulty also often arises during Awakening.  As the person awakens, there is often a deep realization of betrayal – a feeling that many of the things they were taught were not true, and not told them in support of their Highest Good.  There is a re-examination of Beliefs and Relationships in light of the Truth they are downloading from Spirit.  As the awakened person becomes more aware of energy, both negative and positive, he/she becomes more aware of situations and people in life which do not hold healthy energy patterns. 

 Although the process of awakening can be difficult, lonely, and create upset in relationships, there are not too many awakening people I’ve met who would change their path.   Awakening is just a name for a divine process of intense transformation, opening, and empowerment.  In a world of illusion and superficiality, the Awakening happening today among individuals is effectuating a greater Awakening of this culture and of the world.  We are privileged to be living in this time.  May we continue to embrace our Spirit, our Paths, our Awakening – and allow this to bring us closer in connection to All That Is.