How To Become A Shaman?

A wise man once told me that a great way to test a man’s level of consciousness is to have him sit in a room for two

months. Huh! I balked. I could do that. I could sit and search the Internet, make a few phone calls, read some

books, watch a few good movies. My list went on and on describing a myriad of things I could do in my room alone.

No, a man needs to sit in his room alone, with nothing, just by himself. He then clarified. Well, that was different.

If someone asked me to sit in a room by myself for two months, I would probably go crazy. Then, I thought about all the odd stories I heard about Shamans being dropped off on a mountain with no food and very little water for

seven days.

Then, I thought about all the spiritual leaders who fasted and went on hunger strikes. Yes, these men had a

considerable amount of control over their bodies and minds. I suppose this was the real secret as to how to become a shaman. Just think about it, even medicine

men in traditional communities had to go through rigorous rituals and even life and death situations to

become shamans.

In modern times, these ceremonies might seem archaic, even barbaric, but necessary. If a shaman survived seven

days on a mountaintop, he was considered a God. If a spiritualist could spend two months meditating in a room, he was considered enlightened. And rightly so, these are people who have battled against nature and won. Which

isn’t a very easy thing to do. How many of us eat when we’re hungry, rest when we’re tired, and drink when we’re

thirsty?

What is most important is that these people have mastered themselves. They have no if any desires for worldly gains or conquests. They’ve experienced death. Death had knocked on their door several times and they aren’t afraid of it. Our

ancestors knew what they were doing when they put a shaman in charge. They wouldn’t let just any guy take the wheel. No, they had a series of conditions, of rituals, and

regiments that they had to master in order to become shamans.

I think that we should have a national referendum, where we ask all people claiming to be shamans to sit in a cave for two months. We can ask them to fast for seven days. We can ask them to give away all of their possessions to charity. Or we can ask them to do something a little more humble. Maybe going to a developing country, they can pick one in Africa, South East Asia, or the Middle East. And live amongst the

Natives.

No, they can’t go there and stay in a Western style four-star hotel. They need to go and live with Natives, drink out of their cups, sleep in their tents, so they can understand what true suffering and poverty really is. They can then understand how it feels to be exploited

and live a life where there is no hope,

or opportunities, or possibilities for change. Then, they can test their skills to try and help people who really need to be helped. By doing this, they can look death, disease, and oppression in the eye and know that they survived the ultimate shamanic death. Besides, this is what being a shaman is really about.