Thread: I am a shaman

Spoiler for My Worldview and Stuff:

Originally Posted by Nhuc

Since shamanism does derive from animism, it in itself should be limited. It isn't nearly as refined as say, Taoism or the like, and being such a primal ideology focusing on how it relates to the physical realm would probably be the best course of action. Even though in itself it is extremely spiritual.

Animism is a religious worldview (by my definition) and I have been impressed by the effects of seeing the world through those glasses at time. It has also helped me understand other religions, especially something my Krishna Consciousness teacher had told me. I think you are misunderstanding what I am saying since you say animism is not as refined as Taoism because this should not be relevant. Let me further explain... This is my personal philosophy. See this picture with the arrows:

Spoiler for Arrow Image:

Well, there's only one picture, just the way that there is only one truth in this world. However, we can either see black arrows pointing left or white arrows pointing right. You may just see one image first, and it will be harder to see the second image but if you try, you will. In the same sense, I think every worldview is like a perspective of this optic illusion. There are many worldviews. None is the truth. But all are part of it. And whichever way you see the world will affect how you behave in that world and how you feel within yourself.

So although I don't think animism is true in the sense that there literally is a soul in every object and animal, it does have real practical benefits when I view the world that way.

Now, in the case of shamanism. If you decide that you can only evaluate it in terms of science, well that seems impossible to me. Science is not a worldview, it is a compilation of repeatable observations that give us power of prediction. Spirituality is mostly introspection (I believe) and introspection is not considered science.

Maybe what you meant was to use a materialist worldview in which the world is solely made of matter and energy and that consciousness arises from that. Sure. It's a simple philosophy. I think it's the default philosophy I use when talking to people. It's easy to relate to because it makes very few assumptions. As far as I am concerned, I don't find many more benefits in it than that.

Anyways, to put all in perspective, I only started talking about this because B12 said we couldn't understand this thing a shaman said and then I assumed it must have been a non-scientific statement or else there would of been no reason not to say it. So I gave an anecdote of a religious person who shared the name of her god not to give understanding but to purify people. I was hoping B12 would share more of his knowledge, if he felt like he could purify us by telling us. Personally, it makes little sense to me that we would be purified by hearing any word, but I think that if people at least say something, there is more chance that we will ever understand it. And although I don't follow Krishna Consciousness, I have started repeating "Hare Krishna" sometimes because I like the taste of it in my mouth and the way it resonates in my ears. It's become a mantra that brings about a sense of self-awareness in me. And although I've tried to make myself a neutral mantra, it never works as well as this one, because this one has history.

Originally Posted by Nhuc

PS. If we are to talk about shamanism from a religious standpoint I feel like anybody not extremely knowledgeable on the point would feel confused. And it would all seem very odd to everyone involved lol.

I spoiler-ed this conversation because I'm not even too sure it is relevant to what you were saying. I completely agree with you, that you wanted to express how you felt, and there's no better place than the internet. Obviously, we all come off as arrogant on the internet, because we are mostly talking with ourselves in front of a computer. We talk differently than with real people. It's good. It gives us the ability to open up more. Too bad it's hard to see that when we read other people's comments and think how weird that would be if someone said that in real life. Obviously, I see why you would say that your experience does not rely on any religious belief. That makes total sense, I wasn't trying to say otherwise.

Being evil, I really don't care that people that aren't extremely knowledgeable on the point might get confused. The internet is very tedious. I can barely find any information about different worldviews on it. So if anyone on a forum is willing to give their complicated worldview, I will be excited to hear it. It's better than a crossword puzzle. If people don't get it, well too bad. (we can just re-explain if they truly want to understand).

To conclude I understand that you might not want to use another worldview than the materialist worldview to describe your experience to us since materialism is the reference worldview that everyone can understand without additional assumptions. However, if you are still feeling like venting and talking about yourself, I am genuinely interested to learn more about your exploration of mysticism. I would be interested to hear some experiences or even a worldview that you use to explain this to yourself. In any case, I might be able to use what you say as new glasses to see the world. I love collecting those perspective glasses. And yes, you might be scared to sound dumb but that's the consequence of writing on a forum. I know that what you will write will merely be a simplification of your experience so explaining your experience will in no way taint or blemish the truth of your experience, it will merely make you a better communicator of it. I invite you to tell us more, if you are comfortable. (And too bad for anyone who can't follow)

Originally Posted by Nhuc

Thank you for taking the time to comment and read and for the encouragement.

Thank you