Shamanism and What is Sacred
When learning shamanism, a good course of studies will always help the student learn how to call in the directions. Here, a recent student described his experiences in learning this extraordinary practice, and I include it here because his thoughts bring up an important matter: what it is that is sacred in shamanism.
Student: "...you said if we (call in the directions) with another person that we should make it clear to them that this is a sacred space and a safe circle. This is wonderful and I agree. In the Q&A (question and answer part of each lesson) there was a question 'Should we close when finished?' and you said this is not necessary, as the directions are always open.
I like this.
In the practicing I have been doing this past year, when I call to the directions and open sacred space, I have done these as two separate intentions, albeit consecutively. I am doing this as it is performed in the Inca tradition, and have heard that to leave sacred space open invites contamination.
But in closing sacred space, then I feel it is necessary to open sacred space again before returning to this particular area of non ordinary consciousness lest I be disrespectful to the spirits. Which doesn't make sense to me as I sometimes find myself back in that same exact space through no provocation of myself, it's more of a spontaneous event.
Obviously I am not Inca and not trying to hi-jack their traditions, this is just what I have read and have been practicing. I'll say here that I'm glad to have found the concept of 'core shamanism', I am much more comfortable here. But I would still like clarity on calling the directions and sacred space. One in the same or different?
Something Alberto Villoldo said and I am learning to live by '...once again, intent is the issue, impeccability the prerequisite'."
Steve: I agree with the Inca that contamination indeed can happen, however, the contamination happens in the heart, not in the world around us, and it is in the heart that the work is focused. The world around us is already sacred. It doesn’t need us for its cleanliness: rather, we need to keep our hearts clean in order not to contaminate it.
It is very helpful to start with practices that have stood up to a broad practice record, such as the ‘Inca’ or ‘core’ shamanism, and then veer one way or another as we gradually discover that what is (or was) right for someone else, is or is not necessarily right for us and our own practice.
As it is a matter of the heart, I always like to start with a personal cleansing with sage. Then, calling in the directions is the further helping us to ‘open up’ a sacred heart. As cleansing with sage is not about cleaning the soil from our skin or the deposits in our cardiac arteries, calling in the directions is not about creating a sacred geographical space, but rather, sanctifying the heart of the one who is in that space.
Space – the Earth – is around us all the time and we humans bring our hearts to it, and it is these hearts that are clean or not. In calling in the directions, we are aligning ourselves more closely with the Earth and all her beings and in all her ways, orienting ourselves within the vast cycles of life on this planet, and remembering the things we can be grateful for. I have often seen people in tears during this ritual, and not from pain or sadness, but from the realignment with the Earth that brings with it such a sense of rightness, belonging, and fullness.
This, is sacred.