Neoshamanism

Neoschamanismus (sometimes Neuschamanismus ) refers to a modern spiritual movement that receives perspectives and methods of shamanism of indigenous peoples of Asia and the Americas and integrated into one for members of the Western culture rezipier and applicable form. The parts of the very heterogeneous movement in this case have both characteristics of esoteric groups as well as the so-called " new religious movements " on. The total Neoschamanismus is often classified as part of the New Age movement historically.

History

The development of Neoschamanismus or the " modern Western shamanism " began in the 1960s and is associated with a growing interest in non-Western Spirituality, the advent of environmental thought, turning away from the church and the search for existential alternatives. " Traditional " shamanic practices have been reinterpreted in the sequence in a western, urban context. This development was influenced by Mircea Eliade romantic colored interpretation of shamanism as a global phenomenon and its assumption that humanity find by contact with original myths back to harmony with the Holy, which came under the spiritual seekers of the New Age movement with great interest.

Central to the development of Neoschamanismus were the publications of the anthropologist Carlos Castaneda, the study of " non-European interpretations of reality and finding deepened knowledge of the contexts of the Cosmos " describes in the description of his shamanic teacher Don Juan Matus. Castaneda's work attracted thousands of people in search of spirituality and replaced by a new religious movement. In the academic debate, however, the authenticity of Castaneda's reports and the existence of Don Juan was doubted. Irritated, part of the academic world of Castaneda's popular scientific literature delineated, while " new ethnography ", which deliberately took up fiction and subjective coloring in scientific representation, welcome bade him other in the context of the emerging "Writing Culture " debate as an example of.

A second important work for the Neoschamanismus was Michael Harner, " The Way of the Shaman: A Guide of Power and Healing" (1980). The anthropologist was introduced at various Indian groups in the shamanic world and was unlike Castaneda prove that he was actually there. Harner made ​​it in due course to the task of forwarding his shamanic knowledge to Western audiences. Based on our own experience as well as comparative studies, he tried to find the common denominator of the various shamanic traditions, which he referred to as Core Shamanism. Was institutionalized in the " Harner Method" by establishing the Foundation for Shamanic Studies (FSS ) 1979, which became the most important center of neo- shamanism.

While it was the independence of cultural backgrounds in the following years to a basic idea of ​​Neoschamanismus, but was able to demonstrate, among other things, the Swedish anthropologist Galina Lindquist, that this was not only created for a Western audience, but is also deeply rooted in the Western tradition. In keeping with the tight time budget of the Western socialized people you can neo- shamanic practices acquire relatively quickly and without hassle. In traditional shamanic training, however, is associated with a long and potentially perilous apprenticeship. The exercise of shamanic activities should generally serve the good of all society, whereas the neoschamanistischen techniques are mainly used for individual self-realization and self-help.

Also in this context is to see the appropriation of shamanism and the figure of the shaman in the 20th century; so, for example, popular artists such as Jim Morrison and Joseph Beuys referred to publicly as shamans ..

Main concepts of Neoschamanismus

The neoschamanistische scene is not a homogeneous field with uniform concepts and methods. The American Harner and its center, however, were mainly in Europe to a kind of central instance of modern shamanism, in America itself there is a slightly wider range. Boundaries are often due not only to aspects of content, but also to the increasing competition of different groups in a competitive market.

Closely related to the Harner'schen method is also the Scandinavian Centre for Shamanic Studies. Lindquist, who analyzed the shamanic courses of the center with anthropological participant observation, described the following concepts as central to the discourse neoschamanischen:

• " Democratic nature" of shamanism: Everyone basically has the ability to shamanic journey. However, this may be hidden due to cultural patterns and must therefore be rediscovered.

• " Not everyday reality," spirit - helpers and power animals: the objective is an authentic experience of contact with the self. It is important to discover a spiritual world that is parallel to the physical world and its own existence has. This world is filled with personal, energetic spirits, for example, show up in the form of power animals and can be asked for help. Power animals are animals that are associated with particular qualities and represent as "natural" symbols of their own culture. In contrast to descriptions in many traditional cultures in which spirits of the whole community, are known they exist in Neoschamanismus personal images belonging to the individual.

• Imagination and shamanic journey: In Western discourse, the concept of imagination is indeed often used to negate extraordinary events. Just the imagination but it is required to make the spiritual world visible. In Neoschamanismus is the imagination, which involves not only seeing, but all senses, used as a source of information to make the everyday reality not a part of life. The shamanic journey begins - accompanied by drums and rattles - through the visualization of places that are thereby a concrete realm where the Neoschamane can occur. In many courses, these imaginations are reproduced later in a narrative through which they are actually experienced, enter into the personal experience and receive transformative power.

• Healing: role of the shaman is not only the experience of the self, but also the healing of the sick. The prerequisite is to rediscover and return to restore the balance of energy lost power animals.

This healing is explained among other things by the placebo effect, based on the fact that thoughts affect the body and the patient can be cured by changing his thinking ( intellectual approach). The symbolic approach of Lévi- Strauss ( 1958), however, stressed that the shaman makes the patient a new language that allows him to understand the conflicts of the underlying disease, express and transform. This approach is illustrated in the psychoanalytic approach of shamanism.