Dan Mitchell wrote:
> Moose wrote:
>
>> http://moosemystic.net/Gallery/Others/DanMitchell/P5191193.htm
>>> Excellent shot, Dan,
>>>
>> Yes, it certainly is! And the person "makes" the shot, hence the title I
>> gave it. (Although it could be sunrise, for all I know.)
>>
>
> You're correct, it's sunset. Also, possibly, 'mediation' is a bit
> optimistic; the small black thing to Julia's right is a beer bottle..
>
Successful practice of Shamanism doesn't require any book learning. And
no amount of book learning can make a Shaman.
Nevertheless, like most contemporary Shamans in the developed world, I
have a bit of book learning, in addition to my practical training and
OJT, and a small library on the subject. One thing I've learned is that
ethnographers and other traveling busybodies found that pretty much
everywhere that there was an entheogenic substance to be found in
nature, or made from nature, the indigenous peoples discovered it and
used it as part of their spiritual practices, generally by or under the
direction of a Shaman*. Beer included.
The interior/OBE processes called by so many names by various groups
that draw lines between themselves do not, in my experience, have any
such borders**.
So, the title still works for me. So does having a beer, sitting
watching a beautiful sunset, being present to that moment and... ;-)
Moose
* These peoples did not, of course, all use the term "Shaman" for the
people performing these jobs in their groups. Terms meaning 'twice born'
seem to turn up a fair bit. Mircea Eliade borrowed the name used by the
Tungus peoples of Siberia for the folks who did that job in their
society, added 'ism' and so titled his seminal work on the subject.
Unfortunately, but predictably, as we all bring our own prejudices to
our work, he applied a bias to the ethnographic material he used that
distorts his description some parts of practical shamanic practice and
experience in troublesome ways. But that's another story for another
place and time.
There is a fun story/myth from the Tungus about why the Shaman's drum is
thin and has only one head..... Somewhat archetypically related to the
story of Daedalus and Icarus, I think, but with a better outcome.
** The capital "J" Jungians try to keep things under their control by
defining Active Imagination as only occurring under the supervision of
one of their licensed therapists and other groups have similar
strategies. *
*
==============================================
List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================
|