I’ve been doing a lot of shamanic healings in my practice this month. Well, okay, I’ve asked my guides and/or my client’s guides to conduct quite a few healings. A shamanic practitioner’s role is to ask for healing on behalf of our clients and hold that intention throughout the journey.
Today, I thought I’d ask my guides if there’s any sort of shamanic healing practice each of you could do on your own. For yourself or others. I’m aware of a couple techniques, but my blog isn’t about me being a talking encyclopedia. It’s about telling stories!
So, I set my intent to learn about a basic shamanic healing anyone could do without any formal training.
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As I opened my eyes to non-ordinary reality, I found myself standing in a lush green forest. A low-hanging mist clung to the tops of the trees, letting the diffuse glow of the sun gently spread out across the forest floor. And this wasn’t just any type of forest. I was surrounded by spruce trees.
So, it was hardly a surprise when my spirit guide Spruce (the oversoul of every spruce tree that ever was or will be) walked up beside me, gazing at the same peaceful view of the forest. Side note – spirit guides can appear however they choose to us. Spruce appears to me as a young blonde woman in a white outfit, though never the same outfit twice. She’s constantly reinventing her style. 😎
I explained the purpose of my journey to Spruce, and she took my hand and led me further into the forest. After a moment we came to a small grassy clearing amongst the trees, and sat down facing each other.
“Put your hands in the earth,” she told me. So I did, easing my fingers into the damp ground, working my fingers through the soft soil. I felt the slightest spark of energy ‘zap’ back into my fingers. The energy of the earth itself.
“Breathe deeply,” Spruce continued, “just focus on your breath, letting the tension flow out of your body.”
This is a standard meditation technique, but something about having my hands at the top of the bare earth… it just felt easier to let go of my thoughts, my stresses, and let my breath flow.
“Now all you have to do is ask Mother Earth to infuse you with healing energy.”
“Oh sure, just tell him all my secrets,” I heard another woman’s voice tease, just a few feet away from us.
Opening my eyes, I saw a middle-aged woman with long brown hair standing at the edge of the clearing, smiling at us as she poked at the grassy earth with her right foot.
And, as often happens in my journeys, I just ‘knew’ this was Mother Earth.
Spruce, still sitting across from me, eyes shut in a meditative state of calm focus, cracked a slight smile but continued on as if she hadn’t been interrupted. By the whole damn planet.
“Picture a white halo, a glow, around you as you ask Mother Earth to send you healing energy,” Spruce told me as I promptly resumed my own meditative position. “Or you can picture the white halo around another person, a family member, friend or a pet. And ask Mother Earth to offer them her healing energy.”
Now, I really do need to emphasize something here. Shamanic ethics 101 says you never impose a healing on someone else without their permission. We mere mortals can’t see all the variables. Can’t fully understand what another person needs. It’s not our place to decide for them, no matter how noble our intentions.
There are exceptions, such as with pets that can’t speak (in ordinary reality… long story…) or people who aren’t in a state to provide consent. But notice the word Spruce used. Offer. Not send. Offer means you’re leaving the recipient with a choice to accept or reject the healing at a subconscious level.
After Spruce finished taking me through this demonstration, Mother Earth walked over to us, sensing my thoughts about consent. She explained that they were showing me this technique because she, Mother Earth, is acting as an intermediary for the healing request. She’s able to discern who is willing to receive her healing energy, and who isn’t. Something I found very comforting, coming from the spiritual essence of the world we all live on.
But it never hurts to just ask someone’s permission for a healing if you can. 😊
Still, doing a basic shamanic healing for yourself, or offering it to someone else is as simple as this:
- connect with the earth,
- focus on your breath to calm your thoughts, and
- visualize a white halo around yourself or another being and ask Mother Earth to infuse them with healing energy.
Easy peasy!
Mother Earth also explained to me that you don’t have to be in a forest to do this. Being in a spruce forest is where I feel most at home and relaxed. For you it might be a grassy field. Or your own backyard. What matters is being in a peaceful place where you can connect with the ground, without concrete or steel in the way of the connection.
Having learned this new technique, Spruce and I stood. I looked at her and Mother Earth, wondering if there was anything else they had to tell me.
Which is when the trap door opened under my feet.
Like it always does. Almost every damn journey.
There should be a law.
But I wasn’t putting up with it this time. Oh no! As I careened down the tunnel, roots sticking out of the damp clay and soil, I pushed my legs out into a V-wedge, my feet digging into the earthen tunnel walls, stopping my fall.
I looked up the tunnel and shouted a defiant, “Ha!” Just in time for a big clot of earth to land smack in my mouth.
Figures.
Wiping (and spitting) the muddy earth from my face, I saw Spruce and Mother Earth looking down at me from the tunnel opening. And Spruce had a shovel in her hand. Seriously?!
“What are you doing??” I hollered at her.
“Shoveling the hole shut, dear,” she said, trying to suppress a grin. “Anybody could fall in.”
“Somebody damn well did fall in,” I muttered to myself.
“Just go down to the bottom,” she encouraged me, “it’s good for you.”
Easy for her to say. She doesn’t keep falling down these stupid things. But there wasn’t anything else for it, so I unstuck my feet and let myself fall. At least I’d controlled my descent this time, so I landed solidly on both feet after a few more seconds.
I looked around myself, and saw tunnels heading away from me in multiple directions. I also noticed I wasn’t alone. There were people… well, beings… well…
Yeah, they were Mushroom People.
Big mushroom cap heads with eyes, on top of humanoid bodies.
Not sure what else to do, I started walking down one of the tunnels. A few of the Mushroom People started following me, while I passed more lining either side of the tunnel. More and more… Mushroom People.
Soon enough there were about 50 of them surrounding me, not doing anything, just staring at me. And I thought to myself, why mushrooms? In a healing journey… ahhh, nope!
“Okay, listen up everyone,” I announced, projecting my voice throughout the tunnel, “I’m not a licensed medical professional. I am not going to be recommending magic mushrooms to my readers. Nor freaky fungus, or any other clever pun you’ve got up your… …you don’t have sleeves, do you? Well it doesn’t matter! I’m not getting sued for recommending any psychedelics on my blog!”
Feeling I’d established a firm boundary between myself and any impending lawsuits, I just stood there, waiting.
“We just wanted to say hi,” one of the Mushroom People to my left said quietly.
Oh.
Well. That’s different I suppose.
“We don’t get no respect down here,” another one called out.
I wasn’t feeling guilty for my outburst at this point. Not really… ish.
“Yeah, you all think we’re gross fungus,” another one called out at me.
“Except morel mushrooms,” a fourth one said, “they’re really good in stew.”
This led to a lot of mushroom-capped head nodding and humming of agreement. Gourmand mushrooms, commenting on where they taste best. Typical journey…
But it turned out there was a point to all this. I’d been aware before this journey that fungus create interconnections between the roots of trees, feeding information and nutrients between them to sustain forests.
What I didn’t know is that fungus/mushrooms create energy channels across the surface of the entire world. So if you’re asking Mother Earth to offer a healing to another being, they’re the ones who transfer the energy.
More importantly, they want us to know how supportive they are of our healing and personal growth. That they’ve got our backs. And to stop thinking of fungus as gross, given all that. 🙃 Seems like the least we could do.
I expressed my gratitude for their help and support, which seemed to satisfy them. They’re a pretty nice bunch of people, actually. And they even gave me a gentle push home, back to my body in ordinary reality.
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So there you go! A basic shamanic healing technique, should you choose to try it. And hopefully a new appreciation for mushrooms. Which you should buy from a store – some are poisonous if eaten, so don’t go pick them yourselves! [Another lawsuit averted 😉]
Until next time,
Eric, your shamanic guide… into the unknown.