Healing— Alternative Ideas from Shamanism

Healing is transformation. Shamans don’t see healing as fixing what broke, eradicating a bug, or going back to a state of health before the illness. From a shamanic perspective healing is letting go of what was so that a higher state of health can emerge. A human is a relatively stable energy pattern, manifesting physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. When that pattern no longer supports the soul and it’s purpose in the world, energy stagnates and the pattern must transform. This is why we need rest to heal. The whole body must engage in transformation and reorganization for a new pattern to emerge and stabilize. It takes loads of energy to heal. And the body does know how to do it. The shaman assists by retrieving needed energy or removing old energies that are using the energy the person needs to heal. We often “get sick” when we are really healthy, because the body finally has what it needs to move the pattern to a higher state of health and well-being.