A Shamanic Way:

PROLOGUE

Welcome to our book, A SHAMANIC WAY: Rituals, Rattles, and Recipes for Awakening Your Inner Spirit. We would love for you to have an optimum experience using this Shamanic practice guide developed with our own experiences and mistakes over our years of practice.

WHAT IS A SHAMAN??

It is known that a Shaman is a person who has the ability to travel to the Spiritual World at will becoming a bridge or a messenger between the physical world and the Spiritual World.

HOW DOES THIS HELP??

One of the primary guiding principals for the Shaman is that any problem, illness, or disharmony in the physical world relates directly to the soul. Therefore, problems of the soul can be treated in the Spiritual World. The healing that takes place in the Spiritual World is reflected in the physical world. The role of the Shaman is to bring back pertinent information to the client, work in the Spiritual World to heal a person’s soul, and thus assist healing on the physical, energetic, emotional, and mental levels.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE SHAMAN IN THE MODERN WORLD??

In this millennium a Shaman is not usually the spiritual leader of their community as it was in ancient time. A modern Shaman is working on behalf of her/himself, family, pets, household, friends, community, and ultimately globally. This means living life in A Shamanic Way is a healing practice entered into with purity of intention, without ego aggrandizing, and without expectations of recognition. In some circles the term “I am a Shaman” is frowned upon. This is strictly a personal choice in the topic of “labeling”.

The first thing to tell you is that living life in A Shamanic Way is that of NOTICING, or to be aware. In noticing you will find that you are more easily accessing the “NOW” or the “PRESENT”. You may have heard the expression “the Present is a Present because that is all there is; the here and now.” However, without noticing or being aware of the world around you, you will miss it as you live your life ruminating over the past or in worry about the future. The Shaman is a person who lives in conscious awareness of the NOW or the Present. Our book will teach you how to do just that.

How to use this book? The second thing we would like to share with you is that the information in this book is not the end all, be all to learning A Shamanic Way. We encourage your independent investigation of the truth as it is for you personally. The information we are sharing is what works for us and is intended as simply a guide or a jump off point for you to develop your own style and techniques. In our book you will find recipes, rituals, and lessons that illustrate the salient points we are trying to impart.

Ixtoii is a fictional Shaman in training from rural México who moved to the United States. Her stories serve as illustrations to create a more vivid understanding of the different aspects of Shamanic practice. She is a quite the character; full of energy, stubbornness, and naivety. The name Ixtoii is from a dialect in rural México and roughly translates to a wild rose bud. In other words, she has the potential to grow into a fully bloomed rose.

The third thing we need to share is living life in A Shamanic Way requires a high level of ethics and integrity. A Shamanic Way of life is one of working with energy which has no boundaries. As such it is a healing work. Working with energy in A Shamanic Way for your self is a very personal endeavor. Once mastered the urge to help others in A Shamanic Way may tend to move you into the realm of being a Shamanic Healer. Despite any awakened yearnings to help others in this

Way; permission must always be asked and granted prior to working with another’s energy in any way.

You will notice as you develop in A Shamanic Way your intuition or psychic ability will increase. You may sense things about a person and want to be helpful. This is well and fine but take care in how you phrase your observation. No one wants to believe they can be read like an open book and a well intentioned phrase such as: “I sense you are unsettled”, may cause your friend to feel unsafe with you. Phrasing such as “How are you?” or “What’s going on with you nowadays?” allows that person to retain their privacy if they should not care to share with you what is going on. Your desire to help is noble but the person to b