Shamanism and transcendence

Shamanism and transcendence

Typically, transcendence means experience beyond the normal and ordinary. It can be assumed that things such as "near -death experiences" are classified as an example of transcendence. In general, transcendence means that one has gone beyond the ordinary limits of physical reality, i.e. involved in a spiritual state. For the shaman, this means the possible connection to a certain spirit in nature, in universal energy fields, areas and / or parallel universes.

A lot was written about the use of hallucinogenic and shamanic trips. Not all shamans take drugs. They use sound and like hallucinogens as it was said about it. When I talk about shamanic transcendence, I mean a significant awareness that goes beyond what is called normal for humans, especially one that has been changed.

For me, this shamanic transcendence really means a self -transcendence. This in turn means becoming part of what is greater than yourself. I do not speak of the development of a "God complex". This is about leaving the everyday world, the world of repeating routine, and accepting things as they are. The researcher Pamela Reed suggested in 2003 that the individual combines "with dimensions that are beyond the typically recognizable world". At this crucial point, the shaman combines with these other worlds. These worlds, which are often referred to as the upper kingdom, medium kingdom and the lower empire, cannot be equated with some religious concepts of heaven, purgatory and hell. At this point it doesn't matter for the shaman, which is greater than that. The shaman's concern comes after the shift from the usual time has been moved at the unusual time. Then the shaman with his spirit guide or helper pursues the answers to his healing questions, questions in connection with the patient's problems.

In Canto XXV of the Dhammapada we find this wise advice, which is most important for transcendence: "Empty your boat ... if it is emptied, it is easy."