Shamanic Healing

by Rhonwen Watson

Joy. Freedom. Peace. Love. Isn’t that what most of us crave more
than anything else in this world? No matter what we think we want,
day to day, when faced with the reality of our short existence on
this earth what we most value are those attributes - or something
close to them. Imagine a world where there is nothing in your
mind in the morning when you wake up other than gratitude for
the beauty of the world and calmness in facing what needs to
be done each day? Imagine a world where there is no shortage
of love, where the time you spend is invested in activities which
bring you joy?
So if that’s what we crave as humans, why do we find it so
difficult to feel joyful, free and peaceful, living lives filled with
love? Different traditions answer this question in many different
ways – but what is common to the majority is that as long as we
forget that we are spirit/soul having an earthly experience, and
continue to associate only with the physical body and world, we
are limited by that world. The first step towards creating the life
we want is to recognise that we are more than just the sum of our
physical body, thoughts and emotions.
Shamanic practices around the world have for thousands of years
negotiated both the seen and unseen worlds, accepting both as
‘real’. They have understood the need for balance and harmony
- for individuals as well as for our relationships with others, and
for larger communities and nations. But this need for harmony
extends beyond what the physical eye and brain interprets, to the
realms of energy and spirit. And it is in these unseen worlds that
shamanic practitioners most often look for clues to what blocks
our ability to fully experience joy, love, peace - and ultimately the
freedom to live the life we would choose to live.
How often do we find ourselves subject to behavioural patterns
we wish we could stop repeating, or experience strong emotional
reactions which we struggle to explain or to correct? How often
have we heard people described as brave for ‘daring’ to follow
the promptings of their hearts? What fears prevent us from doing
the same, from looking closely at our lives and from making the
changes (big and small) that we wish to make? And on a physical
level, how many of us wish we could shake that family ‘weakness’
that makes us susceptible to the same ailments year after year?
When looked at from a different angle, these are all promptings
from deep within us and represent opportunities for growth and
healing. The patterns we repeat without wishing to, keep representing
themselves to give us a chance to deal with them
and move on, less burdened. The strong emotional reactions are
bringing our attention to something which needs to be looked at.

And our apparent inability to make
the changes we want to make in
our lives is also providing us with
a chance to heal an underlying
block to greater self-fulfilment and
happiness.
In many traditions and schools of
thought, including the shamanic
ones, it is accepted that living things have an energy body which influences all that happens with the physical body. It is this energy body which carries the effects of past trauma and of family, and other, histories. And it is at the
level of this energy body that most shamanic healing takes place.
By clearing imprints in the energy field carried from previous trauma, we are freed from repeating the patterns originating from thesecircumstances. In some cases, the previous trauma may not have been consciously experienced - and, in retrospect, may not have been that ‘serious’ an issue (e.g. events experienced as children, before we have the ability to
respond appropriately, can sometimes have greater effects than
we might expect). But unfortunately, some trauma is well-known
and beyond the individual’s attempts to heal alone.
While clearing and rebalancing the energy body is a crucial part of
shamanic healing, there are also other healing ‘techniques’ used
to address more complex issues. Frequently, a traumatic event
can result in part of an individual going into ‘hiding’, leaving the
person with a sense of not being quite themselves, of not being
open to experiencing certain emotions, or of not being able to
fully engage with the world. In shamanic terms, this is referred to
as soul loss - with part of the soul retreating from the conscious
world, frequently to protect itself from further hurt. When part of
us leaves in this way, we also lose the gift that this part holds
for us - whether it’s our ability to feel joy, to be open to love, or
some other fundamental aspect of ourselves.

An essential part of a shamanic healer’s work is to recover these
missing ‘soul parts’ and to help individuals to re-integrate them
into their lives. This work can have a profound affect on someone’s
life, returning their emotional integrity and supporting their ability
to fully engage with their lives.
People come to Shamanic Healing for a variety of reasons. Some
have very specific emotional or physical issues they want to work
on that have been difficult to address through other therapeutic
approaches. Others come with a vague sense that things aren’t
quite right, but with no sense of where the problem lies. And there
are also those who feel drawn to it as a way of supporting them
through their own life journey, particularly at times of change or
through a desire to make change.

The Journey Beyond Death
Apart from supporting the healing of individuals, and assisting
them with their life journeys, shamanic practitioners also help
to prepare those who are facing the
journey from this life to the next. The
transition beyond this world is part of all
our journeys, and the ability to make that
transition smoothly is a blessing for both
the departing soul and for the family and
friends that are close to them at this time.
Guiding the individual facing this transition,
or helping those who are supporting them,
is a beautiful gift to be able to offer at this
time.

Rhonwen Watson works as a Shamanic Practitioner
and Energy Healer at the Shamanic Centre at
Oscailt, 8 Pembroke Road, Dublin 4. She is joined
there by two colleagues - Ash Matthews and
Maria McSweeney. More information on Shamanic
Healing and the three practitioners can be found
on the Oscailt website: www.oscailt.com (Shamanic
Centre). Rhonwen can be contacted by email at
rhwatson@eircom.net or at 087-2639863.