When I asked my guides how I should term what I do, the reply I received was "You're you. You define the role." Perfect response. It forced me to connect with my spirit on an even more deeper level, and stay connected, which is consistent with what I encourage those who come to me do for themselves. It makes sense that I would have to master that task first, before coaching others to do the same.
While it's uncommon for a healer to self-apply the term Shaman, I have personally felt its the best descriptive word for what I do, and it serves to differentiate between those who are spiritually focused and those who are involved with the medical model that's been gaining most attention. Frankly, I couldn't come up with a better term to describe what I do.
In indigenous cultures, the Shaman is a healer who lives on the edge of the village only to be invited in when things get desperate. The term applied to these healers in South American indigenous cultures translates to "clever fellow" because their separation from their culture allows them to see the group and individual dynamics more clearly.
The practice of shamanism pre-dates religion, and is about techniques used to obtain access to the Divine realms. Other techniques may include ordeal, celibacy, fasting, flagellation, etc. Of course, my speciality is applying a specific technique using mushrooms containing psilocybin as detailed in my Magic Mushroom Guide.
How does one become a Shaman? Well, for me, it began in my early childhood. I was conceived to be the replacement for a dying child, but was the wrong gender. My mother was in great distress whilst seeking medical treatment for her toddler's leukemia, then grieving the death at the age of five. My physical needs were met, but I was not included in the overall family dynamic. I can see an image in my mind's eye of myself sitting in my crib, holding space for a woman who was experiencing extreme emotion, which is exactly what I do now.
This separation from cultural conditioning has been necessary for me to see things more clearly, and prevented me from engaging in habits that were offensive to my spirit. Later in life, my path led me to healing the repressed memories of my childhood neglect, which then led me to the use of magic mushrooms to enter the divine realms where I met healing spirits who I introduce to those I guide through the same process. As detailed in the Magic Mushroom Guide, I took me about 80+ full-on shamanic journeys over about a four year period before my energy had been completely cleared and the ego to be burnt to a crisp. I was then told "Your healing is complete," then later "You've become the mushroom." Now, I can take high doses with nothing coming through for me, but do receive information to pass along to others during their own entheogenic experiences in the event they find themselves struggling. It also allows me to observe and point out instances where a person's spirit is in conflict with their culturally informed perspectives, behaviors, and habits. I expect this understanding will form the basis for a revised model for basic morality that is in alignment with the human spirit.
I've been shown my next steps are to hold space for very large groups of people in ceremony. I've seen the emotional energy they release during their journeys coming at me in a disorganized flow, entering into my body to be sorted out, then sent to the Divine realms as a form of "energetic prayer." That's a bold claim, right? Well, I've seen enough to know that I can trust what I've been shown, and I wouldn't make that claim unless I sincerely thought I could back it up. That said, I always reserve the right to be wrong. Either way, I'm just thankful that I've been afforded the opportunity to come out of the closet, which feels like a huge step in the integration of my personal entheogenic experiences.
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