The Sacred Beliefs Shamanism Explained

Shamanism does not refer to a specific religion or values. It is a broad term used to cover a range of practices and beliefs that are unified by convictions of practitioners known as shamans being able to transcend to a spiritual world. The shamans can do so by achieving some elevated states of consciousness. One of the reasons shamanism cannot be viewed as a religion in the traditional sense is the fact that it is not associated with sacred texts or revelations. Instead, it focuses on improving health and quality of life.

Facts To Know

Shamans

The shamans are the leaders, spiritually, of all the communities operating in spiritual worlds, usually as the healers as well as the mediators. It is believed that their actions in the spirit worlds have a significant impact on the human physical world. The shamans are responsible for taking all the problems of the community to the spiritual world, finding the best and most peaceful solutions, then bringing the solutions back the human world.

The spiritual essence of everything

According to shamanism, everything in the world has a spiritual existence. This includes all living beings as well as all inanimate objects that exist in the human physical world. Whatever form the object has, it is regarded as only a place where a spirit can act from while in the world. Animals, as well as spirits, can assume human form, even becoming warriors when need be.

Chukchi spirits

The existence of shamans is in quite many small-scale societies. The societies have similar beliefs, but they may differ in distinct worldviews. As an example, the number of existing spiritual worlds to which the shamans are said to visit and the locations of the worlds are different for some of the societies. The number of spirit classes in those worlds, according to the Chukchi, are three; invincible spirits that cause death and diseases to people, cannibal spirits, and the spirits found in the form of nature such as trees and animals.

Healing

The shamanism followers all believe that shamans do possess some form of healing powers. They believe that the physical body can be healed through the healing of the spirit, which is the imbalance or real problem to be resolved. The shamans perform some rituals to restore the spiritual order and consequently, the physical healing as well.