What Does a Metis Shaman Do?

by Charles Lightwalker

     All Shamans work with the spirit. They heal illness at the core level. They gain knowledge and insight from working with the spirits of nature such as rocks and trees, the land, and they gain knowledge from working with spirits of animals and humans such as their ancestors. For the shaman everything is alive and carries information, you can call this spirit, energy, or consciousness.
     The Metis shaman is no different in their healing work, than other shamans except that he or she may use different cultural shamanic practices in their healing work. In order to communicate with the spirit or consciousness of these things, the shaman will shift his or her own state of awareness. Shamans can do this through various means, such as meditation, repetitive sounds such as that of the drum or rattle, or through the help of plants. The shaman will then "see" through a new set of eyes, they will see what is going on with you on a spiritual level.
     The shaman's practice is also characterized by the soul flight. The shift of consciousness that the shaman makes, which allows the free part of his or her soul to leave the body. The shaman can then go retrieve information for your healing and growth. They can retrieve healing power, or things that you have lost along the way in living your life. During the soul flight the shaman is both in the room, and going on this "journey" so that he or she has an awareness of both at the same time.
     The shaman sees illness as a lack of power because it was lost somewhere in your life. In order to heal you the shaman returns your power to you. She or he may perform a power animal retrieval. A power animal is a protector, similar to a guardian angel, which protects you from harm and helps you with your spiritual growth by lending its power to you. The negative emotions you may feel, or the negative emotions that another can send at you are seen by the shaman to be stuck or stored in various parts of the body. This can be seen with the example such as how stress causes ulcers or back pains. The shaman will re-empower you by removing the energy that does not belong within your body. This is called a shamanic removal; other healing modalities in addition to shamanism practice this in various forms. This energy is not bad, it is just misplaced.
     Because it does not belong in your body, it is seen as causing illness that then shows itself in a physical way through pain or sickness. Because in the shamanic system part of the soul is free to leave the body, it is also believed that soul parts of each individual will leave the body in order to protect itself from trauma. This is considered a positive protection mechanism. For instance, if someone were to be in a car accident, part of the soul would leave the body to protect itself from the trauma of the impact. The soul does not always know how to return, however, and if it has not returned for whatever reason this is referred to as soul loss. That is when the shaman would become involved, in order to assist with returning this missing piece of yourself. The healer would perform a soul retrieval.
     In indigenous cultures this was performed quite regularly. In these modern times it can be the case that a person has gone a long time feeling like a part of them has been missing. Soul loss would be comparable to the psychological concept of disassociation.
     Other activities which shamans have traditionally performed, in addition to healing people, also involved healing the land. By using their ability to communicate with the consciousness of land, bodies of water and other such natural features of their landscape, shamans for centuries have been involved with earth healing. Whether it be determining why crops would not grow in a certain location, or reasons for draught; working with growing things, the weather, and the land has been a traditional activity for the shaman. They would also communicate with nature to find plants to heal illness.
      Many South American shamans are responsible for discovering the healing property of certain plants, which later formed the basis for specific medicines we use in the western health system today. In most cultures, even in current times, it has been the case that a shaman will be particularly gifted working with one or another some shamanic activity. A shaman may be more called to do soul retrieval, extraction, to work with death and dying, or to work with the land to name a few. Some will specialize in one particular activity; some will be gifted in several areas.
     The effectiveness of a shaman is generally measured by the results they are able to achieve. It is believed that unless the shaman is able to call power totems (animals) and spiritual guides to help her or him, they will not be effective. Indeed they could not be called a shaman. The teaching of detachment, and letting go of one's ego is a central lesson for the shaman. If they cannot let go of pride and self-interest, they are not considered to be a good healer, and may not be able to enlist the spiritual guides & totems necessary for effective healing.
     Most of the techniques of a shaman are particular to the individual or culture. Whether a rattle, drum, tuning forks, or other healing tools, are used is not considered an essential difference for effectiveness. The shaman must do whatever he or she finds effective to call forth the energy for healing. Whatever the shaman does to shift her or his consciousness, must only achieve the results of shifting consciousness. The trappings of what the shaman does is comparable to how a star athlete prepares for a game, whether they do calisthenics to prepare, or simply rub their lucky sock, these preparations are just the trappings around the work itself. Once again it is the results that measure the skill level.
     Therefore there can be a wide variety of tools (both modern and ancient) and techniques used by shamans, although certain tools/techniques appear frequently. Percussion instruments such as rattles or drums, plants, water, stones, fires, and singing often accompany shamanic work - but what is specifically used will vary with the shaman, who must achieve the shift of consciousness, receive information being communicated, and be able to direct the healing by whatever means are most effective for him or her. The same applies to whether the shaman uses hawk medicine or bear medicine, although all of these things may change the texture or feel of the shamanic work, one is not better than another. I for one use the Bear medicine, as I am a Bear born in the month of September.

Charles Lightwalker is a Metis Shaman, medical intuitive, and healer. For more information on Charles or Metis shamanism call 509-389-7290 or visit the website www.thefamilyoflight.com