Grofians Unauthorized
Discussion Group
Grofian Peyotists
The Shaman's Way - Part II
The following excerpts are from
THE STORMY SEARCH FOR THE SELF
(Grof, C. & Grof, S. 1990)
http://www.erowid.org/library/books/stormy.shtml
--excerpts from Chapter 6:
The Shamanic Crisis
"Let us now take a closer look at the aspect of shamanism that is the most significant for the concept of spiritual emergency--the stormy beginning of the career of many shamans all over the world. This is a profound emotional and psychosomatic crisis that many Western anthropologists and psychiatrists refer to as 'shamanic illness.' This term reflects the bias of our culture against nonordinary states of consciousness, as well as the strong disease orientation of contemporary psychiatry.
In some instances, the 'shamanic disease' can be triggered by a psychological crisis; there are stories about Siberian or Eskimo shamans whose initiation occurred when they were afflicted with smallpox or some other infectious disease or were recovering from a severe injury. At other times, no obvious precipitating factors are present and the entire episode seems to be of a purely psychological and spiritual nature.
Within hours or days, the future shaman develops a deep alteration of consciousness during which he or she loses contact with the everyday reality and may appear to external observers to be dying or going crazy. These changes can take many different forms. Sometimes, these people appear to be agitated, move around at a hectic pace, and make strange grimaces and gestures. At other times they may behave in an opposite fashion, withdrawing and spending hours in a reclining position, completely self-absorbed, or even in a condition approaching loss of consciousness and stupor. The speech of the novice shaman can become incoherent and incomprehensible. He or she might appear to be possessed by evil spirits or may seem to communicate with deceased people, whom he or she may believe to be former shamans who want to instruct and guide the shaman-to-be during this initiation.
The spectrum of visionary experiences during a shamanic crisis is very rich. In the course of this inner journey, the novice shaman experiences visits to other realms of reality, many of which are fantastic and mythological in nature. He or she has to brave icy winds, burning forests, stormy rivers, and bloody streams. During these visits, the involuntary traveler experiences encounters with ancestors, spirit guides, deities, demons, and other beings. Among these, 'power animals' play a particularly significant role; they are spirits or nonordinary aspects of various animal species who can become guides and helpers of the shaman. During these adventures, the initiate learns the rules and taboos of the inner life and the laws of the higher natural order. Guardian spirits in animal and human form appear at different times to offer guidance through funerary landscapes--dangerous and terrifying regions of the underworld.
The experiences of the shamanic crisis vary in detail from culture to culture but seem to have a basic core with three characteristic phases. The visionary adventure begins with a gruesome journey into the underworld, the realm of the dead. This is followed by an ecstatic experience of an ascent into the celestial regions and the acquisition of supernormal knowledge. The final stage is a return and the integration of the extraordinary adventure into everyday life.
During the visionary journey into the underworld, the future shamans experience attacks by vicious demons and evil spirits who expose them to incredible tortures and cruel ordeals. . . . The tortures culminate in the experience of dismemberment and total annihilation. In some cultures this final destruction is mediated by an initiatory animal who tears the novice apart or devours him. . . .
This experience is followed by a sequence of rebirth or resurrection. . . . Feeling reborn and rejuvenated, he or she experiences an ascent to the Upper Worlds. The symbolism of this phase again varies from culture to culture and from one historical period to another. One can have an experience of being abducted by an eagle or another bird traditionally associated with the sun, or of being actually transformed into such a creature. The ascent can also take the form of climbing the World Tree--an archetypal structure that connects the lower, middle, and upper worlds of the visionary realm. In some cultures, a mountain, rainbow, or ladder plays a similar role. This phase often culminates with a sense of reaching the realm of the sun and fusing and uniting with its energy. . . .
Whatever specific symbolic form the shamanic journey takes, the common denominator is always the destruction of the old sense of identity and an experience of ecstatic connection with nature, with the cosmic order, and with the creative energy of the universe. In this process of death and rebirth, shamans experience their own divinity and attain profound insights into the nature of reality. They typically gain an understanding of the origin of many disorders and learn how to diagnose and heal them.
If this process is successfully completed and the extraordinary experiences are well integrated into everyday consciousness, the result is dramatic emotional and psychosomatic healing and a profound personality transformation. The individual can emerge from this crisis in an incomparably better condition than when he or she entered it. This includes not only an increased sense of well-being, but also a highly improved social adaptation that makes it possible to function as a venerated leader of the community."
(pp. 117-120)
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