Shamanism is humanity's oldest and most enduring spiritual practice. It has existed since the development of conscious cooperative communities, or tribes, extending back to the first offerings of flowers upon the graves of Neanderthal peoples. The primary reason that shamanism has been with us as an integral part of our evolution is because it works and does what it is intended to do: re-establish balance and harmony within ourselves in relationship to the natural order of creation.

There is nothing mystical about shamanism. The shamanic time-honored practices are founded upon the spiritual application of physics, just as the technological developments and perspectives of material culture are based upon the scientific application of physics. In fact, the principles upon which all shamanic practices are based are found in quantum physics. This elder of spiritual forms is in the forefront of today's rapidly expanding field of healing and spiritual awakening methodologies. There is a coherence and consistency with the underlying principles of natural law that enables shamanic practices to be readily observed, understood and replicated.

The unique initiation of the shaman is that of death-by-intent. Shamans-to-be undergo a full physical cessation of life, pass to the other side, receive a vision of creation and a particular power inherent within that vision. While maintaining full awareness, the shaman must then return to the physical body and use the gifted power to revive the body, healing it of that which brought about one's death. Literally, the shaman dies, goes to the other side and then reincarnates in the same physical body. This enables we shamans to remember who we are, from whence we came and to know our spirit's purpose. The power is then dedicated to the worldly fulfillment of the vision, which is always one of integrative benefit to humanity.

My own relationship to shamanism began at five years of age when I died as the result of a broken neck. Moments later -- after an eternity on the other side -- I returned to life after healing the fatal injury. From that moment forth, I began an intensive understudy with the ancestral spirits of my family and those of my Mongolian heritage learning to work the weather, communicate freely with the spirits of the earth and sky, 'seeing' (spiritual diagnosis) and healing, among other practices.

In 1974, at 24 years of age, I was in the midst of my life as a nomadic hunter/gatherer, living on horseback in the Southern Rocky Mountains. I met an old man who was to become my adopted grandfather and mentor. Juan Pena, an elder of the San Juan Pueblo, lived in the hinterlands of the Southern Ute Reservation, the land of his wife's people. He had been told by Eagle Brother/First Shaman that someone would come to his door on a specific day and offer him assistance. Grampa Pena was to pass on to that individual the Caretakership of 'the Ways', as he referred to the Shamanic practices. He then acknowledged that I was that person. Thus began my formal apprenticeship, an intensive period of training and further initiations which lasted for the next eight years -- the last eight years of my Grampa's life. With Grampa's passing in 1982, at 104 years of age, the Caretakership of 'the Ways' became my sole and lifelong responsibility, as a sacred trust on behalf of the peoples.

Since those formative experiences of my youth, the subsequent decades of practice have led me into many realms of Spirit, earned me an understanding of the underlying principles of reality and the effective utilization of that knowledge to carry forth the instruction which Eagle Brother/First Shaman gave me as my own mission: to bring 'the Ways' forth to all peoples. The time of secrets was over. The reason for their being held in reserve was to insure that they would still be here in the time of the Purification. That time is now and we -- you and I -- are the purifiers of this era. In humbleness, I carry these teachings forth to the people who would receive them with sincerity, and that through their application we each might find assistance to fulfill our path of self-realization.

First and foremost, the practices of shamanism are to assist the individual in bringing a closer relationship of the body/mind consciousness with the awareness of spirit. It is where there is a gap between the two that dysfunction, disease and discord reside. The methodologies of shamanic ceremony narrow and even close that gap. As a consequence, debilitations tend to disappear; though this is considered to be a secondary phenomenon, the primary being that of the reestablishing balance and harmony in the life of the individual.

Where myth is the reality of the soul, and history the reality of the mundane world, the intent of ceremony constructs a bridge that spans the barriers we have created between our life and soul, allowing the free traverse of our soul into conscious embodied life and the movement of our attention into the realms of the soul. Ceremony is the vehicle to bring about integration for a fuller function of our multi-dimensional selves.

There are many ceremonials that facilitate the integration and healing of our spiritual condition. Soul retrieval is called for when the individual is experiencing difficulty with dreams and where there is memory dysfunction and lack of energy. Soul cleansing is the ancient shamanic practice of drawing an egg over the body of the person, withdrawing emotional congestion, malevolent influence or invasive presences from within the person's body, mind and soul.

Another highly effective treatment is the extraction of entities transmitted by the perpetrator of abuse upon the client. Here, the deep understanding of the bio-physical responses of our instinctual body to the presence of these entities, or 'spiritual parasites,' reveals the cause of our moving into states of separation and withdrawal, both socially and sexually, from the world, sabotage of our intimate relationships, sliding into states of depression, anxiety and panic attacks, alcohol and substance abuse, disrupted health, especially immune dysfunction, and suicidal thoughts. These conditions are all symptoms of the presence of spiritual parasites that can be removed by means of shamanic treatment. When the spiritual parasites are removed, there is nothing left to trigger the instinctual response of self-destruction, which is an attempt to rid ourself of the danger posed by these parasites to the loved ones around us.

Other shamanic ceremonials, such as the Spirit Horse ceremony, provide each participant the means of actualizing a journey of spirit to clear the path within of all obstacles and impediments to the manifestation of our true heart's desire. This ancient and powerful ceremony has been passed down for over 7,000 years from my Mongolian ancestors to the present.

The consequence of shamanic ceremonial healing is freedom! Shamanic ceremony is a living, breathing dance in response to an alive and aware creation. It is this open responsiveness which prevents shamanism from getting bogged down in dogma and doctrine, allowing 'the Ways' to meet an ever-changing set of circumstance, society and need.