Shamanism: Towards Inner Strength and Freedom Without Plant Teachers or Drugs
Category: Media. Magazine: Regenerace. Author of the article: JITKA MANDALAM. Date: October 2024.
SHAMANISM: A PATH TO INNER STRENGTH AND FREEDOM WITHOUT PLANT TEACHERS OR DRUGS
In the realm of individual human development, shamanism has always held a vital place—and this remains true today. It is often associated with the use of so-called "plant teachers" (consciousness-altering plants) or other substances. However, there is also a form of shamanism known as the Medicine Path, which focuses on developing personal power as inner medicine—where medicine is understood as the strength within.
Many people feel a longing for something beyond ordinary, everyday existence. They're drawn to adventure, mystical herbs, and the promise of experiencing the unimaginable. Some travel to places like Peru or Bolivia in South America in search of this. Conversely, many shamans leave their homelands and tribes to meet rising demand—traveling even to Europe.
In today's world—particularly in our Western culture—there's a deep yearning to reconnect with nature, and through nature, with the self and one's inner power. The Medicine Path and similar approaches teach that you don't have to go anywhere far to access shamanic insight. It is available anytime and anywhere in the world—literally at every step. Wisdom finds those who are ready, no matter where they are.
What You Give Is What You Receive
Modern shamanism can be cultivated through our own inner keys, in connection with nature and all that surrounds us. The Medicine Path teaches inner freedom by guiding individuals to listen to their own hearts (rather than external authority) and follow their Sacred Dream. It helps to overcome fear and loneliness, to develop a deep relationship with oneself and everything around. It is a "path of beauty"—nonviolence—toward healing all relationships, and through this, the gaining of personal power—medicine.
This modern, drug-free, authority-free approach to shamanism highlights the importance of connection with nature. Nature mirrors what's happening inside us. Nothing around us happens by mere chance. Everything we think, say, or do reflects back into our reality—in what Indigenous teachings call the Circle of Life. All of it reverberates and shapes who we are. We are the creators. We are what we see, what is, and what happens around and within us.
If we send out beautiful thoughts, speak our truth to others, and act in harmony with the laws of nature, we will receive the same in return. The world around us will fall into harmony—and life will begin to align with our Sacred Dream. This is the law of resonance.
A Shamanic View of the World
Our world is often perceived as static. From early childhood, we learn to label and thus "freeze" it into forms: this is this, that is that. We begin to believe we cannot change it. For instance, most people see a stone simply as matter—something inanimate and unmoving.
But shamans perceive the world as energy taking many forms. Everything is energy—therefore everything is alive, including the stone. Using special techniques of perception, they can animate this seemingly static world, slow it down, or "pin it" into a particular form—like a Medicine Wheel—through ways of seeing known as sight or visioning. Things aren't always what they seem. Everything can start to move. Every person has this ability, but we're rarely raised or taught to use it.
Find a quiet place in nature—perhaps near a rock—and gaze at it for a while. This technique requires a different kind of seeing than we're used to. It's about softening the physical eyes and unfocusing from what Indigenous peoples call first attention—our normal way of looking. Gradually, you'll move into second attention, where your third eye may open—or even a fifth eye (found in the heart), and more. Some shamanic teachings speak of up to ten eyes.
You'll finally begin to see—or perceive, as some say. The still stone may begin to tell its story.
Through this teaching, we come to realize that nothing is merely static. Everything is alive. Everything is energy—an ocean of it. Then we can even experience ourselves not as fixed beings, but as events in motion. We are part of the ocean of energy, inseparable from everything that surrounds us. And thanks to this fluidity and flexibility, we can shape our lives into what we truly wish—through our intention and focused attention.
Then, we become free—and creators of our own reality. Our own Circle of Life.
CONTINUED BELOW (In Czech).