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The Luna brothers
and members of the Quechua Tribe
prepare for an adoption ceremony.
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A Shaman learns to heal in stages - as an herbalist, as a healer, and finally as a Shaman. First, as a small child, the Shaman-to-be learns to be alone in the jungle, to be comfortable and at peace with the animals and the natural world. As a five-year-old, he or she will be left in the jungle without food or water for three days to learn this lesson, a ritual that is repeated every year throughout childhood. The next lessons for the Shaman-in-training are about the various plants that his/her parents gather and the methods they use to prepare them as medicines. With this knowledge of plants, the child can be considered an herbalist. As time goes on, the child learns to use the plant preparations to heal physical ailments. At this stage, the child is known as a healer. Only later does the child learn what he/she needs to know to become a Shaman.
Sometimes healers are confused with Shamans but the two are quite different. Healers do not participate in the World of the Spirits as Shamans do. Shamans live in the supernatural world. What does this mean? Shamans have the ability to understand the transcendental world. They have powerful visions and dreams. They receive power from the animals. They travel in time. They perceive subtle energy - spiritual energy - and can manipulate and move it in order to heal. Healers do not have these attributes.
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Children of friends from
the Quechua Tribe of the Amazon
receive healing in a ceremony at Cochasqui.
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The Shamanic healing process is based on the Shaman's connection with the four sacred elements - fire, earth, water, and air - and on the ability to move spiritual energy in the body of the patient. During this healing process, the Shaman actually removes negative energy that is causing dis-ease in the spirit of the one being healed and replaces it with positive energy. To do so, the Shaman uses his or her own energetic force to clean the points of energy (chakras) within the body of the patient and ensure that they are functioning properly. All the while, the Shaman needs to protect himself or herself from the negative energy that is being removed and to dispose of it in a safe manner. This work takes a tremendous amount of the Shaman's own energy. Controlling this flow of personal energy and replenishing it from nature in a healthy way is an important part of the Shaman's training. Without this control, the Shaman could be seriously injured in the process of healing.
The Llama came to see what was happening
during a healing ceremony at Cochasqui.
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In the Shaman's view of the universe, all that exists in nature has life, energy, and spirit, including rivers, mountains, rocks, plants, animals, and humans. To the Shaman, God the Creator is the center and source of this energy. The Shaman derives his or her healing energy from this divine source.
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Shamans use trance, an altered state of consciousness, to connect with and work within this realm of energy and spirit - a realm that is not without its peril. In addition to the hard work of moving energy, they must be prepared for supernatural encounters and battles with negative spirits while in trance, for many times negative spirits are the cause of the affliction of the patient. Of course, the Shaman is trained for such battles but, in addition, the two fundamental values of Shamanism are Shaman's best protection in encounters with demonic forces - love and respect for life.
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