A Shamanic Experience
A Shamanic Experience
by James Hallock
A few days ago I had the pleasure of experiencing a genuine Shipibo Indian Shamanic ceremony. I will try to convey what occurred but there are so many layers to it that it may at times seem confusing, although during the experience it was anything but.
Let me set the scene. There were fifteen of us in total. Two shamans, a husband and wife team, two or three helpers, and the rest seekers. We were all around a small room on mats. It began in the early evening and continued for about six hours in actual ceremony, but the effects still continue now a day later. The room was dark with just some light coming in around the blinds, and occasionally from candles or other smoke generators, pipes and cigarettes.
The shamans sat at the front and the helpers would float around the room assisting and bringing those in need to the front for assistance.
I went to this ceremony with two basic intents. Firstly to shed a lot of crap that I no longer needed and secondly to get assistance in opening the doors of my inner experiences wider.
The Shipibo use Ayahuasca as their medicine of choice and have a very developed sense of respect for the power of the plant and the medicine, believing it to be a portion of consciousness and having awareness of its own.
The first thing was a short talk of what would be done and what we could expect. Then the “medicine” was passed around to each person. For this evening I was “James” rather than “Jim” as there were three Jims and I was the last to join. At least I think that was what occurred but on a deeper level it could be something entirely different as “James” is my “official” name, for business and so forth, while Jim is the me of now.
We sat and addressed the medicine with the intent we had and respect for it as a helper. Then we ingested it.
It was very quiet for about 45 minutes as everyone let it work.
Then the singing started! There was an immediate change! The song resonated throughout my body. It was electric! The woman started and the man chimed in harmony. The show was on.
Throughout the evening I would sit, lay down, or assume other postures as I felt the need to. I learned later that this was not the normal way and some shamans insist that you sit through the whole thing. This felt contrary to the inner guidance I received as the night progressed so I guess I picked the right ones for me to experience with. Imagine that?
The range of the woman singing went from soprano to almost bass with changes in texture and force throughout. She was amazing. The man’s singing was more of a singsong but also powerful in its own way. As the night progressed the energy grew into something almost solid. It was also very cohesive. Generally, in any group there is at least one spirit that is a little grating or divisive. There was none of that this night.
Next were the drums. After a few songs two of the helpers came out in the middle with hand drums and started drumming. Until you experience this it is not describable in words. They each were similar but just a little bit different in tone and very deep and resonant. It was only the beginning. There were more songs and then the assistant came out with what I later found out was a wind wand. This simulates the bullroarer of the Aborigines and also has some of the Didgeridoo.
More singing and then the rattles! This was so powerful and consuming. It was a combination of singing and the rattles but the words are so puny next to the experience. I was gaining a very profound respect for the tools of what we consider the “primitive”.
More songs and then drumming again.
The evening went on like this and throughout the helpers were visiting each person, taking those in need to the front, using whatever musical instrument was appropriate for the time, sending smoke or rattles to the appropriate thing, and generally just helping the flow.
As it started to wind down and quiet the flute came out and it was so right for the moment. Quiet and peaceful, bringing everyone down to a comfortable level.
The ceremony was called finished for the time but there would be a completion ceremony in the morning, this was about two thirty in the morning. There was a general release and chatting for about an hour and then we all settled in for sleep.
I know, that’s the overall story but what are the details? You have to have the setting to understand the rest.
I will relate the different things I experienced but not necessarily in order. There were so many layers to the evening I will try to convey what “I” saw and experienced. Remember that a lot of this is going on at the same time but I tried to put some of it in sequence to make more sense to someone not there in the moment.
I received my dose of medicine and contemplated my intent for the evening and then ingested it. It was a long time sitting quietly in the dark and I really didn’t feel much at all. Suddenly this voice started out of the darkness and it was a shock! Everything changed. Then another joined and the experience really began.
Throughout I was questioning what was happening and comparing to my “normal” meditation experiences. It would be best described as slightly “elevated” from what normally happens.
I went on in this manner and about an hour and a half into it one of the assistants came by to see how I was doing. I had earlier told him the effect I had and that it now seemed to have faded and I was on my normal abilities, but still seeing much of what was going on in spirit; colors and energy flowing as cleansings and healings were done, and that sort of thing. He explained that first time users have a tendency to mild experiences and inquired if I wanted a little more. He cautioned it could be overwhelming and tried to get a sense of my ability to remain in touch and not lose focus. I agreed to try a little more and he continued around the room, checking others, and seeing how many would need more.
He made an announcement that he would prepare more for those who requested it and that we should proceed, one at a time, into the other room for our medicine. After he left I suddenly had to vomit. One second fully in control, the next spewing into my container. The effect was so immediate! I had to think again whether I wanted to try more but decided to continue.
I guess this is the place to explain the properties of Ayahuasca. It is mind altering and also a purgative. Vomiting is a part of the experience and everyone had containers for this purpose. I had done well (I thought) and held it for quite some time. They had instructed us to try and keep it for at least half an hour.
It was my turn and I quietly went for my dose. I came back and went through the same procedure as earlier and this dose accelerated immediately. I had much more awareness of me and what was happening around me. It wore down rather quickly but I became aware that I had gained some of that opening I was seeking.
One of the assistants had his seat next to mine and I followed him as he made his rounds and did the different instruments. He was the one with the wind wand, rattles, flute, and also one of the two drummers.
I watched as he was talking to someone else and he came back for his eagle feathers and went back to do a cleansing. I watched as he flicked things away with the feathers, and noticed he didn’t pay attention totally. Some of what he had pulled off the individual he had flicked, and it was now stuck to his left foot. Was he aware of this? Guess not as he finished and came back to put away the feathers looking like someone with TP stuck on his foot.
What should I do? Tell him? See if he saw it? Do I intrude on the creation of someone else? I told him.
He first thanked me and then took the feathers and removed the stuff from his foot.
I had an interesting interaction with him throughout the whole thing and into the next day. I had trouble keeping his name and felt he was Webster. Then I saw this picture of a man from the civil war period, in that genre of picture. He was rather stout, had bushy sideburns, long kind of curly flyaway hair, and a kind of gruff expression. I knew this was Webster. After awhile I told him this when he was resting next to me. He was intrigued and again thanked me.
I continued to watch him and noticed as he got up from assisting someone that he seemed to have problems with his lower back. I had conflicting impulses at this time. How do you offer healing to someone in the middle of a ceremony that includes healing by others? I asked about it and he explained he had hurt it and had chiropractic treatment but still had some pain. I nodded and continued to watch. As he went away Webster came into view and I understood the connection now. He was focused on Webster for whatever inner purpose he had, and Webster had back problems. He was bleeding through and this was the cause of the current problems. When he was next sitting I told him this, and he was pleased and said he would pursue it and see what was going on.
I learned in the morning that he was a published author and had several friends who were among my favourites starting with Ray Bradbury. I thought how neat to encounter someone with ties to my favourite form of reading, and some of my friends of like mind would be tickled.
The next topic is the songs of the woman and how they affected me. I already mentioned that she was powerful and her initial song kicked off the actual start of what was happening. She had many tones of delivery; from soft and feathery to loud and demanding, from soprano almost to bass, in texture from smooth and comforting to coarse and grating, all necessary for different purposes in different songs.
As she started the first of her power songs, it was just below soprano and very loud and forceful, I immediately had to come back to a sitting position from reclining. This went right to the core of my chest and resonated throughout my body from there. Each time she sang in this tone and manner I had to again sit up and participate in that manner.
Then there was one even more special. As she went into this one I had to again change position. Back against the wall, feet pulled up tight against my butt, knees up, and my arms resting on my knees going straight out. She was pulling on my healing energies! Initially my palms were down and I slowly turned them to face each other. As I did I could feel the energy coming up to meet between my hands. When I do healings I normally rub my hands together, feel the energy between them and let it grow to a point where I can feel it between my hands and compress it, until I have a ball the size of a softball or larger. During this time it can feel like a sponge, growing denser and harder as the energy builds. When it is a foot or so between my hands is when I generally start. At this time I can feel solidity to it but it is still compressible.
Not so with this energy she was calling. It was wider than the space between my hands and I had to open my legs to allow it to grow. And it was also very solid. As I tried to compress it, it only moved about an inch and was rock hard! As it settled it started to rise into an arch and then extended out to encompass the two of them. I watched, totally in awe and completely happy that I was helping! I saw the person she was working with in a brilliantly white shirt, it glowed in the dark, and very short cut black hair. I learned later when I saw him in the light and talked that he had long dark brown hair, and the shirt was off white with a very distinctive design on the side that faced me as he was being healed.
The connection also came into play later in the evening. This individual also has some Shamanic training and asked if he could sing. They allowed it and I got some very distinct visions as he did.
At first I saw a very dark, mountainous scene, with this blazing white spirit light, almost like lightning but not flashing or jagged, just continuous and smooth. Next came a clipper ship in a storm surging through a wave. Then there was something else but I don’t remember it now and didn’t when I discussed it with him after. The song continued to its end but I had no further pictures.
Then there was what I saw watching the shamans themselves. As each of them, one of the helpers or anyone else, got into healing mode they glowed with a fluorescent green/yellow color very similar to what you see on vests or equipment used to make road workers, firemen, and others stand out. This same color is very prominent in the Shipibo craftwork.
At times as the man was working he would be brushing and fluffing the person to remove unwanted things from the body. As he did this I could see it show up on his back, in different colors depending on what he was pulling and removing, and then it would vanish. A very cool insight into how the healing was being accomplished.
As the evening progressed I saw my fat man dwindle to a stick figure but I still didn’t have any opening from the shamans, or so I thought. I watched as others were called, getting smiles from the man at different times as if to say I know what you want. But I never did get called. I thought I would, but as I watched I realized (the great AHA moment) that I came here to do this and “I” had to do it for myself. I had chosen this time, place, and the people to experience it with, and with the assistance of the energy, atmosphere, and general feeling of comfort I was doing it. I looked over at the shaman and saw this big smile looking at me and just grinned. So I did accomplish what I wanted by coming here and also gained further insights into who and what I am.
The next morning after everyone was awake we gathered around in a circle. The leader showed a drumstick and explained that this was the talking stick. Whoever had it had the floor to talk as long as they wanted. When they were finished it was passed to whoever was ready next and it flowed around, across, or wherever, as each one talked. We told of what we had experienced during the ceremony, not necessarily in detail as some were not for everyone to know, but in general what we did, what our intention was, whether it was accomplished, and whether it had helped or not. At the end the leader talked last and the ceremony was declared at an end. We all broke up and breakfast was made, we congregated, made friends, compared notes, and just generally chilled. It was good.
I have new friends, new things to follow up on, a new awareness of things I had previously discounted, and a general feeling of satisfaction.
As with all things this drew to a close and I had to get on the road home. It was an amazing trip. The roads were clear, I almost flew, made the return in almost half the time as the journey down, and I rode with my tunes cranked, singing loud, a new appreciation of sound and its effects, my voice raw by the time I was home.
It continues today even as I write this. I am in a heightened state, the energies flowing, my ears ringing and clicking, my hands bright with the red energy I get from doing this, (from the experience of channelling my dragon focus, I guess I’ll have to bite the bullet and let him talk; it will take practice) and just a general clarity of mind that is nice.
I had to leave in the middle of this and run across town on an errand, again with my tunes cranked, singing like crazy, and chills of verification as I had different thoughts about what had, is, and will continue to come from this experience.
To any who read this if you get a chance to experience this… DO IT!
Notes
The link below is a video of a Shipibo woman singing a traditional song or “Icaro”. She either doesn’t have the range and power of the one I experienced or it doesn’t come through in the video. Either way it is some slight form of what I experienced. I hope it helps you on your journeying as it did me.
