Shamanic
Healing
What is modern-day contemporary shamanism?
The first image that comes to mind when we think of shamanism is of someone from an indigenous culture undertaking traditional and archaic rituals for the benefit of an individual or tribe. In my view the role of shaman has been with us from early times and has never left us. The human condition is evolving, and as such I use our contemporary culture as the basis of my practise; I use a new vocabulary drawn from numerous ways of thinking, to describe some of the same things that traditional shamans have done through the lens of their culture.
The basis of shamanic healing is the ability to ‘change the image or story’ that a person is living with. Often this story is unconscious or partly unconscious to the person in question. The shaman’s role is to act as a mediator between the seen and the unseen; the conscious and the unconscious, and by doing so catalyse a productive change in that story, leading over time to positive changes in ways that are sometimes hard to predict or explain. In this way shamanic healing can address all manner of issues, whether they be relational, financial, psychological or spiritual.
People nowadays known as shamanic healers have existed in all human cultures throughout time. One could call them the soul workers of our communities. I would count myself as one of them, but let me explain what I mean by this…
Although there are many ways to think about the word soul, for me it means all those facets of our being that are hidden from the five senses. The soul level for me therefore includes the feeling, the thinking, and the spiritual nature of a human. I imagine the soul level as the ‘roots’ of our being… although hidden from the light of our normal consciousness; the soul roots are vital to everything we encounter and experience in our daily lives. They provide essential nutrients, moisture, and stability that enable our lives to grow and flourish. Likewise if the roots are sick or could not develop well for one reason or another, they will define the limits of what we are able to achieve and how far we are able to grow towards the sun and reach for our dreams.
You may have tried various routes to find solutions but they remain elusive, or you may simply have ‘hit a wall’. You intuitively know that you are missing some pieces of the puzzle and feel a growing desire for change and renewal inside of you.
This is where our work together begins. My role (and the role of any soul worker) is to be a guide and concierge on your journey into your soul. We will embark together to find those missing pieces of the puzzle that will begin to make sense of the unfolding artwork that is your life story. I will explore with you the life areas of your concern through a deeper lens and discover their hidden meaning and purpose; from greater clarity comes the possibility to make empowered choices.
Like on any journey of adventure, we will encounter strange and wondrous inner landscapes. We will discover precious treasures long forgotten, and encounter helpful as well as devious inner characters along the way. Sometimes it may feel scary, at other times delightful but importantly, the journey is shared and a resulting shift can appear immediately or take effect over a longer period of weeks or months. You will know when it happens because something palpable and significant changes.
Put differently, my role is to facilitate you to safely and effectively reconnect with elements of your self that are essential to the unfolding of your life. These include hopes, dreams and inspirations that you may have written off or forgotten about altogether, they include past experiences that affect your life from behind the scenes without your knowing, they include new ways of feeling, and they may include wondrously beautiful parts of yourself that you never even imagined were there.
Ultimately the goal of our working together is always to make you feel more in touch with your self, and from this strengthened connection come all the answers, clarity, and direction you need to step forward with your life.
As somebody once said to me: ‘The work is to enable people to be 100% themselves’.
So what does a soul worker do then?
People usually call upon my help when challenges have appeared in life that feel difficult or impossible to overcome. You may observe a symptom in your life that tells you that something isn’t working; a repetitive negative emotion, a relationship problem, an unexpected crisis like the loss of loved one, or simply a life situation that is becoming intolerable.
The Nuts & Bolts of what I do
Stage 1
First we will simply talk to each other, allowing me to get a picture of your unique circumstances. As we start to relate, I also begin to get a sense of the unconscious elements in play, essentially via clairsentience and claircognizance, although i would simply call this a dialogue between your and my unconscious.
During this stage I also may use the tools of Tarot and Astrology to gain further perspective on the energies and archetypes at work in your situation.
This stage of the work is complete when we, together, have arrived at a new point of clarity as to what the crux of the matter is. This stage is like the loading up of your unconscious; new perspectives have led to a certain level of clarity, which results in a focusing of energy. Your conscious and unconscious self have come into more alignment and are now ready to work together more cooperatively towards a common goal.
Stage 2
We then move on to the second stage of the session in which we engage in more typical ‘shamanic’ work. You lie on a massage table (fully dressed) and we begin to work more fully in the realm of the unconscious. This stage includes hands-on healing, symbolic imaging work, the use of some shamanic support tools, and a dialogue with the spiritual dimension. I essentially act as a mediator for information and guidance that originates from the dialogue of our shared soul dimension. This has the benefit of bringing to light deeper aspects of the story that are relevant for you and for psychic healing processes to occur. This is the subtlest and yet potentially the most powerful aspect of the work.
Robin Rice describes this process very well: “You go in and alter reality in tangible ways, yet the work cannot be rationally explained. You have to be both exceptionally careful and rigorously ethical to be an asset to your community.”
Stage 3
After the deep work finishes, the session is concluded by briefly reviewing and integrating the key insights and experiences that have arisen, so that you will leave the session with your own sense of grounded clarity to take forward with you.
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As a renowned spiritual quote states “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear”. I had to be ready for Aquila to enter my life and I am eternally grateful that he did! He has been the catalyst for completely changing my life around.
When we met, I felt completely overwhelmed with the demands of my life. I was suffering with addiction, eating disorders, depression and anxiety. Each day was a struggle. Immediately, upon working with Aquila, the outcomes of each session were immediate and continuous. He is one of the gentlest, deeply intuitive and highly sensitive people I know, with gifts of inner wisdom and knowing. A true ’old soul’ with strong healing abilities. He is a warm, loving ‘guide’ who took me on a deep personal and transformational journey.
Michelle Firrisi - Canada