The Necessity for the Capacity to Process Psychologically in Shamanism (i.e. Where is the Shadow)?

Saturday, December 13th, 2014

Spiritual evolution and psychological development is a process involving both the body and the mind. As many of us who begin to follow a shamanic path in our culture are aware, there is a societal “pull” to focus on growing a persona (or ways of showing up in the world), with an emphasis on cognitive development to achieve success, which can lead to becoming disconnected from our hearts and bodies. Living in a culture that promotes individualism through competition causes many of us to begin to feel alienated, with a lack of meaning in our lives. As humans, most of us long for connection, to belong through relationship.

In an effort to discover a sense of deeper connection with the living world around us, some of us learn ritual and ceremony from indigenous cultures who live closer to nature to find our way back home. In this process, many of us rediscover lost parts of ourselves and remember the wonderful experience of belonging. When we experience a method of connecting to something greater than ourselves, we learn how to move into deep states of ecstasy – and suddenly remember what it is like to feel alive

Although learning the process of connection through practices of ritual and meditation can be invaluable, sometimes the regulatory pendulums of our psyches get seduced by the influx of energy, and ultimately swing too far in the opposite direction. Our conscious ego awareness of who we are becomes overtaken by the power of archetypal experience. We can inevitably become caught up in the “magic” of participation mystique – where what is “hoocha” or bad energy becomes concretized and gets projected “out there,” causing us to lose a sense of what is “ours” and what is “theirs.”

When this happens, we lose our psychological equilibrium, and “spiritual bypassing” occurs. As a Jungian analyst and psychologist, I have frequently witnessed this phenomenon in groups which – more often then not –  becomes both destructive and dangerous. When we look back through history, we can observe that this has been the  cause of most religious wars. By not coming to terms and facing aspects of our own shadows directly, a collective power shadow develops.

Developing the capacity for self reflection, enabling us to differentiate between what is our shadow and what is “out there” is essential in maintaining balance and harmony as an individual and in community.

 

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