As you know, the subject of this course is Shamanism but, we will touch on a lot more than that. Shamanism is a craft and a way of life, not a religion. It can be practiced anytime, anywhere because shamans work with their minds, bodies, and with whatever nature provides. The true nature of shamanism is that while you are learning the craft you heal yourself and, as you heal the self, you also heal others. Learning takes place everywhere; not just in the classroom but from friends, animals, books, spirit guides and life itself.

It is our hope to facilitate your learning process by giving you reading assignments from the text books and from sites on the web. The two required texts are: Michael Harner's The Way of the Shaman and John Matthews' The Celtic Shaman. You're reading assignments and any internet sites will be posted. Please read the assignment and direct any questions for discussion to the One List. You may also contact Strix with any issues, ideas, or problems.

1. Read the Introductions of both texts.
2. Visit the following site on mediation
3. MEDITATION

The Onelist discussion will focus on the following topics this week. A brief introduction of students and teachers so that we all get to know one another a little better. So tell us about yourself and why you joined the course. Voice any questions or concerns you may have to begin with.

Read thru the material below and answer the questions in a post to the list. What do you think Shamanism is?

Shamans have always been the caretakers of their clan and/or village. Shamanism is one of the oldest spiritual societies in the world. Shamanic variations include: Celtic, Norse, American Indian, African, and Australian, just to name a few. You will find as you read and study more about them that they are all basically the same other than language differences.

The shaman's only real role is that of a healer. Naturally, they do more than that, but it is their primary function. Secondary roles are that of student, teacher, observer, and trickster... all bearing in mind that everything the shaman knows is geared towards healing the self, others, and the community. You Journey, seek totems and spirits, and you develop your mental, physical, psychic, and spiritual abilities to heal the self, others and your community. This is what we mean when we say that shamans are healers.

Shamans have a very rich spiritual, psychological, cultural, and practical heritage. We are only going to present a small part of it in thirteen weeks. Shamanism is the intentional effort to develop a relationship with your personal helping spirits by journeying into the realms where they dwell. The reason one seeks to develop this ongoing relationship is to increase personal power and healing ability by gaining their knowledge and understanding.

Shamanism is a way of perceiving the very nature of the universe. We are the world's caretakers. We take care of our families, our clan, our village, our community, and the world which has gifted us with all we need for life. We are pro-active in protecting the rights of others and all inhabitants of the Earth.

Shamans work in both the spiritual world, which we will discuss later, and nature, i.e. herbs, animals, minerals, etc. You will, in the process of this course, learn how to work with the earth's energy. (You will not learn to control it but to work with it) Shamans ask, they do not take. We learn to work with the spirit world and nature; we do not demand anything; we ask for assistance.

Some of the things you will learn are:

To develop these abilities you will have to face certain things about yourself. Doing this is called going to the Cave of Care. This is where you face your darkest fears and deal with them and this is the object of the self-work that shamans do. Because the only way to grow, move forward, and to put the past to rest, is by dealing with it. To do this requires the ability to mediate and visual.

Meditation and Visualization both take practice. You have been given an excellent site for mediation so now let's talk about about visualization. Practice the following exercise this week. The more you practice, the better you'll get. And the more success you'll have with future assignments.