I am a follower of Jesus Christ and right or wrong I tend to be skeptical of concepts that I believe are not based on biblical principles. Not wanting to have a closed mind, I began to read the chapters on Shamanism and I found them to be absolutely intriguing!
On the first day of class Dr. Kearney gave us the freedom to explore the questions that we may have about the course subject matter. So, when I read about shamanic ecstasy and the souls’ ability to experience flight and journey to other realms, I thought to myself – come on this is ridiculous! I believe Walsh to be correct when he says that belief in this phenomenon depends on one’s own worldview.
The claims of Shamans meeting and interacting with animals and the sprits that inhabit them, again is a new concept for me. I do question that these individual can see the cause and cure of patients’. If this was truly the case why are thousand of people struck with disease and other maladies on daily basis? I am interested to read Walshes’ answer to some of these philosophical questions…
The concepts illustrated in the chapter titled Central Principles and Practice of Spiritual Life helped me identify the spiritual qualities of different philosophies. Many of the seven central practices echo concepts seen in Christianity and are essential to many spiritual traditions. I especially enjoyed the section on wisdom and redirecting motivation, these are concepts that are being lost in society. Wisdom is more than knowledge it is understanding and that is what I hope to attain during this course as we explore enlightenment and altered states of consciousness in its many forms.
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