Urbani, Pagani and Hellene

In my last blog I wrote a little bit about the difference between pagani and hellene and more about being pagani in an urbani setting.  That is, bring nature into  our lives even when we live in urban settings.  I think that those of us who live in urban settings need to make a more conscious effort to incorporate nature into our lives.  In addition, because we may live in a concrete jungle rather than the Amazon jungle or even in a rural setting, finding ways to connect with nature is even more important for us.

Finding that connection with nature brings us the idea of being hellene, or in modern vernacular, being pagan.  Those of us who proudly consider ourselves to be pagan don't follow one of the three book religions.  Our spiritual lives lie far from orthodoxy.  You too might be pagan or have pagan tendencies (oh no, not that) if, for example, you:

• Feel closer to the divine when you are on top of a mountain (or in a forest, standing next to a lake, or watching the sun set over the ocean) than you ever did sitting on a pew in church,
• Feel that if there really is an old man in the heavens looking down at you, that he must have a wife standing next to him telling him to chill,
• Feel that the real Source of All isn't a masculine energy but rather that it is a nurturing female energy,
• When someone asks you if you have found god, you answer, "Which one?"
• And I could go on, and on, and on but I hope you get the idea.

Shamanism isn't a religion if you believe Wikipedia which defines a religion as, "a cultural system of behaviors and practices, world views, sacred texts, holy places, ethics, and societal organisation that relate humanity to what an anthropologist has called 'an order of existence'". Just for fun, let's take that definition apart and see how shamanism stacks up.

• Cultural system of behaviors and practices -- Yup, shamanism is a cultural system, it expects certain behaviors like honesty and respect for all of creation, and has lots of practices like drumming, and shamanic journeying.
• World view --  Yup again, we have an expansive world view that includes the upper world, the middle world, and the lower world,
• Sacred texts -- Nope, unless you consider reading signs in nature or rune to be a way of "reading" sacred texts.  In fact, by interacting with Spirit you can write your own sacred text, or consider your life to be your "sacred text".
• Holy place -- How about all of nature? 
• Ethics -- Yes, review the three Inca Laws here.
• Societal organizations . . .  -- Nope, and that is maybe the biggest reason why I don't consider shamanism a religion.  We don't have a priestly hierarchy that intercedes between us mere mortals and the divine.  In fact, shamanism gives us the tools for personal revelation.  

Shamanism may not be a religion but it can be a spiritual path, one that brings you closer to Spirit and humanity.  In fact, if you want to really practice shamanism then you have to do more than read about.  You must develop your own personal relationship with Spirit.   The best way to do that initially is through shamanic journeys to meet your power animals.  They are representations of the divine, the energy of the divine directed towards us in a form and frequency that we can interact with and understand.  The messages that you receive from your power animals are personal revelation.  The heavens are open, we just have to learn to listen.

Find Spirit on your path.

Dr. Dave

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