MUSINGS OF A SUBTLE SHAMAN ©
by Rod Ellis, PhD, CMSW
I’m writing this essay as a part of a journey of self-exploration. It represents the “current” status of my thinking about where I fit, and don’t fit, in the magical world. Ask me again in a couple of years and you’ll probably get a slightly different, hopefully more evolved, answer. That is, I think, as it should be.
I have no idea whether this will be helpful to others. But, it is my thought that perhaps it may. Perhaps some folks who, as do I, usually experience the mystical only spontaneously, or, on rare occasion at the direst of need, or in the subtlest of fashions, may wonder about their work and place as I have wondered about mine. I, for example, have learned that Spirit moves through me in ways that are so subtle and frequent, I have had difficulty recognizing them for what they are. Perhaps others have similar experiences, and can benefit from what I have recently learned.
I tried for years to be more mystical. I’ve launched way more shamanic journeys that didn’t get out of my chair than those that took me to the Otherworld. I’ve tried to meditate consistently and find that it works well sometimes, leads no further than the backs of my eyelids at other times, and induces the most blissful of naps at others. I’ve tried to see spirits, made repeated efforts to talk to them, and, with no sight of them other than a perception just behind my eyes, have befriended a few.
Sometimes I have had those experiences that led beyond the physical realm and into other worlds. These have nearly always been spontaneous. I’ve been able to induce such experiences infrequently, and then only in a situation of dire need. For me, the subtle seems to be inevitable, the deeper a consistent challenge.
Interestingly, the many “failures” and few successes have, over time, lead to a deeper belief in the reality of such entities and experiences. One might expect that faith would wane in the presence of such inconsistent results. Rather, it has grown and with it an understanding of the way I interact with Spirit that has come to satisfy and comfort me. It has also allowed me to be much more effective in the lives of people and communities I try to help.
In recent months I have learned that my contact with Spirit can be nearly constant, but is very subtle as compared to the expectations I’ve had in the past. Looking back, I’ve had the ability to build and create and benefit others for most of my life. I see things (such as opportunities and partnerships and people’s strengths and capacities) in ways that many others are not able to see them. At times my mind opens, then focuses on a problem or an issue or a person, and comes away with answers. I have also, I believe, experienced the occasional journey, although they are often subtle and never with a loss of awareness of the physical world. Sometimes, when I see clients in my mental health practice, I suddenly simply realize what their core issues are and find the right things to say or ask them to do. Sometimes as a result of those insights and their hard work, a shattered person becomes whole. I wonder then, even though I have not made a formal journey, whether soul retrieval has not occurred.
I was introduced to a helpful concept recently while reading The Way of the Shaman, by Roger Walsh. In it Walsh quotes Ken Wilber as describing four different varieties of spiritual states, referring to them as: gross, subtle, causal, and non-dual. In the “gross” state one is very aware of the physical world. At the subtle, sensory experiences are quieted and one becomes aware of the inner world (and, perhaps, the other worlds). As one moves through the causal and non-dual states sensory experiences first vanish, then reappear but are clearly seen as projections of consciousness. Implicit within this model is the implication that one may be more or less aware of the physical world, and still be very much involved in some level of conscious interaction with Spirit.
In reflecting on these spiritual states I have come to realize three important concepts. First, I have realized that spiritual experiences may be spontaneous, or at least appear to be spontaneous. Next, I have understood that such experiences may be subtle, that I need not consciously fly through darkened tunnels and meet face to face with the Fae (although I would love to do so someday). Third, I have come to see that no spiritual experience, regardless of its subtlety, is any less valid than another. If healing is done, if wisdom is gained, if roads are opened between the worlds, then the experience has both Power and Meaning.
The same, I believe, is true of knowing. I mentioned earlier that I sometimes simply “know” something about a situation or person that turns out to be helpful or healing to them. There’s no ritual, no use of printed symbols, no cowries or crystal ball. Still, I know, and the knowing is rarely wrong. Yes, if I am dealing with a client or a situation in the community, I always assess the situation to verify that my “knowing” is not mistaken and that I will do no harm with my intervention. Still, with remarkable consistency that which I “know” to be true is true, and by addressing the things known, positive life change can occur for others (and sometimes for me as well!). Over time and through reading I have come to regard this “knowing” as a form of “kenning”, in the Celtic (or at least Gaelic) tradition. I know because I ken. When I ken I have delved into the world of Spirit, subtle no doubt, but effective, and, indeed, not inferior to any other kind of knowing.
Healing can also be very subtle. I was about to write that I can make no claims of being a physical healer. Before I could write those words, however, I realized that I was wrong. When the mind is healed it often helps to heal the body. Body, mind, and soul are intimately entwined. The cutting edge of Western medicine is looking more toward integrated care where psychological and medical issues are viewed holistically. Mental health practitioners are being recruited to practice in primary care physicians’ offices, recognizing the prevalence of somatization and importance of uniting medicine and psychology to address the whole person. True, some have not yet acknowledged the place of soul in this “whole-y trinity”. Yet the recognition of the relationship of two of the three by traditional medicine is extraordinarily hopeful. Perhaps we can look forward to the day when the three will be recognized as one. As I write these words I realize that this is already occurring in multi-cultural settings, where physicians and psychologists and social workers and curanderos and shamans work side-by-side to help and to heal.
So, at my current place in my journey, I have come to recognize the value of my work, and to recognize the place of Spirit in it. Some may say that I am not a shaman. Truthfully, I can understand that. I have said the same in the past. Certainly, to agree with them allows me the freedom of avoiding the absurdity of the argument that one must be of a Siberian tradition to be shamanic. I find it incredible that persons of the mystical ilk can be so rigid as to insist that a word is the same for now and forever. Meanings change, languages change, people change. As someone much more insightful than I has said, “the fact that everything always changes never changes”.
So, at this point in my life, I am content to be called shaman, or content not to be called at all. I have become aware of the subtlety, yet the reality of my work. I will persist in trying to meditate my way past the backs of my eyelids but, should the Shining Realms continue to elude me in this lifetime, there will be others. In the meantime, I’m happy to see myself as I do now … a subtle, but effective shaman.
Rodney A. Ellis, Ph.D., CMSW (Rod) is an associate professor of social work and a clinical social worker. He has written four books and a number of articles for scientific and professional journals on subjects including child welfare, juvenile justice, social welfare policy analysis, effective interventions for juveniles, and cultural competence. He resides with his son on a small farm in central Tennessee and can be reached at rodellis@twlakes.net.
Musings of a Subtle Shaman copyright © 2008 by Rod Ellis, all rights reserved. Used with permission. Top of Page
Earthsongs: International Journal of the Society of Celtic Shamans copyright © 2008 by Elder Grove Press and content providers. All rights reserved. International copyright laws prohibit reproduction of or distribution of this page by any means whatsoever, electronic or otherwise, without first obtaining the written permissions of the copyright holders. We retain legal counsel to protect our copyrights.