Overview of Shamanic Counseling

• Definition: Shamanic Counseling utilizes electronic techniques to access nonordinary realities, employing ancient shamanic problem-solving methods.

  • Reference: Shamanism 11[2]:40

• Techniques Used:

  • Students utilize portable stereo cassette players and headphones to listen to recorded drumming.

  • Students record their own narratives during their journeys into nonordinary reality.

• Role of Shamanic Counselors:

  • Harner Method Shamanic Counselors are facilitators, whereas the real counselors encountered in journeys are considered wise teachers from nonordinary realities.

  • Emphasis on personal success in contacting power animals or teachers before attempting the practice.

Harner Method Requirements

• Prerequisites for Students:

  • Students must be confident in their journey skills and have success in engaging with power animals during their practices (Shamanism 11[2]:39).

Foundation for Shamanic Studies

• Mission of the Foundation:

  • Beyond providing workshops to Western audiences, it aims to support non-Western shamans and encourage preservation of indigenous practices.

• Urgent Tribal Assistance Project:

  • Established in 1993, which seeks to provide financial help to tribal shamans.

  • Notable recipients include practitioners from various indigenous cultures:

  • Camaiurá (Brazilian rainforest)

  • Yaminahua (Peruvian Amazon)

  • Tibetan (Nepal)

  • Two shaman from Siberia

Notable Experiences and Exchanges

• Cultural Exchange:

  • In 1996, a Siberian member of the Foundation exchanged shamanic methods with Harner workshop graduates.

  • In 1998, a group of Tuva shamans shared their practices during an event in California.

  • Demonstrations of shamanic healing techniques took place in Austria and Switzerland (Shamanism 11(1):31).

Beliefs of Harner and Followers

• Core Beliefs:

  • Belief in the presence of guardian spirits among individuals, termed as power animals and wise teachers.

  • Acceptance that souls can journey outside the body to explore a nonordinary universe populated with supernatural beings.

• Role as 'Psychopomps':

  • They help distressed souls transition after death into the appropriate realms where they can find contentment.

• Personal Testimonies:

  • Publications feature intense stories reflecting recoveries from serious conditions such as illnesses, addictions, and violence.

Empirical Observations

• Harner's Approach:

  • Claims that his experiences of soul journeying align with empirical observations that science accepts.

  • One disciple offered soul retrievals and shamanic healing as part of services contracted with local health maintenance organizations (HMOs). (Shamanism 11(1):5)

Critique of Shamanic Practices in Modern Context

• Concerns Raised:

  • Ethical implications of commodifying shamanic techniques and teachings under a label that may homogenize diverse cultural practices.

  • Questions regarding the appropriateness of offering a simplified, romanticized version of shamanism to Western audiences for significant financial gain.

• Cultural Appropriation:

  • Selling these techniques under the guise of "genuine shamanism" could imply a need for royalties to the original creators (Siberian developers).

  • Tensions surrounding the teaching of indigenous beliefs in a miscontextualized manner.

• A Case for Authenticity:

  • Advocates for a more respectful engagement with the complexities of shamanic cultures rather than enabling a superficial understanding as an alternative for Western spiritual practices.

  • Critique of presenting simplistic objects, like a chicken bone with feathers as power objects.

  • Challenges the notion that a mental journey defined by Western practices is representative of the primordial spirituality of indigenous cultures.