Shamanism,
Oppression and Social Justice Work
by tomás
| Shamanism
is humanity's oldest expression of spirituality and as such, is the underbelly
of all of modern religion. In the course of his-story, as European and
United States colonialism and the arrogant work of missionaries spread
through out the world, shamanism has been marginalized, oppressed and
in some cases, violently annihilated, its practitioners put to death.
It is important that modern students and practitioners of shamanism realize
the persecution that their shamanic ancestors had to face, and that indigenous
shamanic cultures still face today.
It is also important to remember that shamanism has always been a practical endeavor. The shaman would journey into the Mystery with the help of their totem ally with clear intention to get something from the journey that they would return with and use to help people of the tribe. Every journey had its practical, helping purpose--to find power, a lost soul, to connect with ancestors, or to find wisdom guidance for a challenging problem facing an individual, a family or a community, be it human or be it animal, plant or spirit. The shaman was thus concerned not just with individual gain or accomplishment, but with the health and welfare of the entire community--both human, ecological, and spiritual. When something was amiss on any of these levels, shamanic intervention might be called on to intervene thus helping to restore harmony and balance. In the modern world of today, especially in the west with its emphasis on materialism, individualism and an exploitive economic system, it is very easy for shamanic practitioners to loose sight of their broad-based shamanic roots, I.e., being aware, concerned and involved in the conditions of their surrounding environment--societal and bio-cosmic. As users of shamanic psycho-spiritual technology, to be in integrity we need to be actively involved with what is going on around us. We need to be aware of people and planet being oppressed, marginalized, persecuted and discriminated against by prejudicial attitudes and exploitive behaviors. And, we need to be involved doing something about these conditions. It is important to honor the truth that when one group is singled out and treated in a prejudicial manner, any group can be so treated. In other words, no one is really free until all are free-- the vow of the Bhodisatva in Buddhism, or "tikkun olam" in Hebrew--the responsibility to repair the world. Modern practicioners need to know the history of the countries in which we live and travel, who has been exploited, when, by whom, and what is the impact of that today and what is being done about it to heal and rectify and promote justice, fairness and equality for all? What needs to be done? What are you doing? What can you be doing, you and your community? The following editorial from The Nation, speaks to one primary concern of healing the genocide perpetrated against the people from Africa abducted forcefully from their homes and then subjected to slavery, racism and discrimination here in the Americas. There is much to be done to dismantle the legacy and practice of racism still alive today. This article presents an important perspective addressing the need for healing and how to do it. Thanks
for listening. [NOTE:
For an excellent article on this subject PLEASE follow the link and
read Randall Robinson's piece on this matter calledl America'sDebt
to Blacks, published in the March 13, 2000 issue of The
Nation -- tomás]
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