Ove Kåven

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Jenny L.M. (2024-08-16 15:44:38), category: shamanism
This might be a dumb question, but does the shamans themselves have an understanding of the foundations of their work? I’m asking this because of your example with driving a car, and what your stance about not getting involved with shamanism without being under supervision of a shaman.
In general, no, at least not in the sense I’m interested in. Shamans function as conduits between the physical world and the spirit world. To open the channel, most shamans have to get into a trance in some way, but most of the actual work is done by the shaman’s helping spirits. The shamans just need to follow the instructions of their helping spirits, and do not need to know what that does. Over time shamans will of course learn what works best for them, ways to get into deep trance, best practices, how to deal with various issues, which spirits can do what, etc, but they don’t need to know the physical mechanisms behind it, or what spirits actually are.

But it’s still not a good idea to try it without the guidance of an experienced shaman. Attempting to become a conduit without guidance and spiritual protection opens you up to various forms of danger, including things like traumas, mental issues (schizophrenia etc), and even bodily harm in some cases.