Tuesday, June 02, 2009
gems from The Shaman's Body/Arnold Mindell
even if you kill indigenous peoples, you cannot kill the indigenous soul. shamanism is immortal. you cannot kill dreamtime.
the Earth dreams.
our bodies dream...and transform mundane reality into a special place where life feels deep and meaningful.
the body wants more than wellness; it wants challenge, risk, personal power, freedom, danger.
the dreaming body is an ally. she wants to be complete and live as the universe lives...where ecstasy is not repressed. an ally is a ghost that spooks your neglected collective spirit, the shadow, the aspects of culture that will not abide...then prepares you for the task of recovering everything that makes you whole.
can't develop shamanic ability through effort, interest, or study. power belongs to the people and the world around us. learn to dream together.
modern therapeutic techniques are not adequate to address racism, homophobia, poverty, etc. shamanism will have to play a role in reshaping the helping professions. today's therapy supports the middle class worldview, the consensus white reality.
modern cultures have forgotten their indigenous origins so they anchor themselves in fundamentalism, heroic leadership, war, dictatorship...which are mirages of meaning.
modern folks go to discos and dance themselves into a trance in an attempt to dream together. football games, drinking, smoking, eating out at restaurants, donning costumes -- are all forms of trying to find dreamtime in cosmopolitan reality, all symptoms of loss and rootedness.
we need new shamans to go deeper into the altered states of oppression, pain, rage...who can lead us into a new kind of social activism that goes into personal and social healing.
war is a trance.
cultures of the future will have to reinvent, then own special methods of living with dreamtime, if they are to survive. heal the impotence of dealing with the direction of history.
the shaman in the city should learn to erase her personal history so that the thoughts of others will not kill her.
even if you kill indigenous peoples, you cannot kill the indigenous soul. shamanism is immortal. you cannot kill dreamtime.
the Earth dreams.
our bodies dream...and transform mundane reality into a special place where life feels deep and meaningful.
the body wants more than wellness; it wants challenge, risk, personal power, freedom, danger.
the dreaming body is an ally. she wants to be complete and live as the universe lives...where ecstasy is not repressed. an ally is a ghost that spooks your neglected collective spirit, the shadow, the aspects of culture that will not abide...then prepares you for the task of recovering everything that makes you whole.
can't develop shamanic ability through effort, interest, or study. power belongs to the people and the world around us. learn to dream together.
modern therapeutic techniques are not adequate to address racism, homophobia, poverty, etc. shamanism will have to play a role in reshaping the helping professions. today's therapy supports the middle class worldview, the consensus white reality.
modern cultures have forgotten their indigenous origins so they anchor themselves in fundamentalism, heroic leadership, war, dictatorship...which are mirages of meaning.
modern folks go to discos and dance themselves into a trance in an attempt to dream together. football games, drinking, smoking, eating out at restaurants, donning costumes -- are all forms of trying to find dreamtime in cosmopolitan reality, all symptoms of loss and rootedness.
we need new shamans to go deeper into the altered states of oppression, pain, rage...who can lead us into a new kind of social activism that goes into personal and social healing.
war is a trance.
cultures of the future will have to reinvent, then own special methods of living with dreamtime, if they are to survive. heal the impotence of dealing with the direction of history.
the shaman in the city should learn to erase her personal history so that the thoughts of others will not kill her.
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