New Age, Alternative,
Metaphysical Publication
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Urban Shaman

By Thomas R. Lake

A shaman can be female or male, can be young or old. They may be from an ancient culture within the darkest forest or from the confines of a city apartment block. Within their communities shaman were the doctors, priests, social workers, visionaries and mystics. Shaman were intermediaries or visionaries who crossed the boundaries of reality and moved between worlds. To our Paleolithic ancestors they were important members of society, but with the rise of organized religion some believed shaman to be possessed by the devil or mentally ill. Shamanism is not a religion.

Throughout history shaman assisted their people in calling the animals to ensure a good hunt and they were instrumental in the survival of their community. The Lascaux caves bear silent witness to the ritual enterprise of the shaman and their followers. The shaman was instrumental in bringing balance to their community by explaining the occurrence of natural phenomena such as: storms, floods, pestilence, lunar/solar eclipses, illness and the scarcity of animals to hunt. When seals or whales were scarce, the Inuit shaman would be called upon to take a hazardous spiritual journey down into the depths of the Arctic sea to find the goddess Sedna, and only after carefully untangling and combing her long hair would she grant the return of the sea animals.

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Shaman could be thought of as visionaries, tapping into energies not readily perceptible to the community as a whole. The visionary acts as interpreter or translator, just as the artist interprets and defines. In this exhibition, artists have been asked to go both within themselves and into the natural environment to create the art of the 'Urban Shaman.' Most Shaman follow four basic steps in all that they do: Intention, Purification, Protection and Grounding.

Spirit Animals: During the initial phase of becoming a shaman, or while using shamanism as a spiritual practice, the shaman will be joined by an animal, who will present itself as both guide and helper as they wander the unseen worlds. Humans and animals have lived together as friend and/or foe for thousands of years. The animal has been immortalized as a spiritual representation, mythologized and demonized. Some animals remained our best friends.

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