The revival of shamanistic practices began in Europe and America in the 60s of the last century.
Anthropologist Michael Harner was one of the first to become interested in shamanic healing techniques. He took part in expeditions to South America, and studied the culture of the Indian tribes who inhabited these places.
The scientist was especially interested in the shamanistic practices of two tribes - Conibo (Peru) and Hivaro (Ecuador). Having thoroughly studied ancient beliefs, Michael Harner became the founders of a new direction - neoshamanism. The researcher outlined his worldview in the book The Way of the Shaman, which has been published in many languages, including Russian.
Anthropologist Michael Harner (1929 -2018).
One of Harner's followers was the Italian historian Anna Soden. While researching shamanism, she met the famous Siberian shaman Ai-ChurekOyun and invited her to Italy. Considering that there are no accidents, Anna Soden asked a Tuvan shamaness to explain why a tragedy occurred in the Mont Blanc tunnel on March 24, 1999: a fire broke out and people died.
How could something happen that, according to all engineering calculations, should not have happened? What forces created the chain of coincidences that caused the death of nearly four dozen people?
After talking with local spirits, the shaman explained that people are to blame for this tragedy. Having made a tunnel, they disturbed the sacred mountain Mont Blanc and its main spirit. And to correct the situation, you need to create a sacred place and negotiate with the spirits. Moreover, Mont Blanc is not just a sacred mountain, its spirits keep the whole of Europe.
Mount Mont Blanc, Alps.
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This is how the ovaa was built - the Temple of Nature. Such sanctuaries resemble stone mounds, in the center of which there are several poles or a dry tree, to which ribbons or strips of fabric are tied. This is an ancient ritual - after making offerings, people show their respect to the forces and laws of the Universe.
So in the north-west of Italy, in its smallest region of Valle d'Aosta, a sanctuary appeared, which can be found in Siberia and Altai.
Ay-Churek came to Aosta (the main city of the autonomous region of Valle d'Aosta in Italy) every year and not alone. She brought with her shamans and relatives who performed rituals with her on the ovaa.
Anna Soden was so imbued with the spirit of shamanism that she even received from Ai-Churek the right to conduct shamanic rituals.
Anna comes here together with her Tuvan eeren - an embroidered doll, a repository of family patron spirits. She often brings with her everything necessary for an offering to the spirits: milk, which she sprinkles with a nine-eyed Tuvan ritual spoon, rice, which she scatters around the ovaa and ties strips of cloth.
The rituals of Tuvan shamans and their deep conviction that they can calm such a powerful spirit as the "Spirit of Mont Blanc" made an indelible impression on the locals. And although Ai-Churek is no longer alive, the ovaa is still maintained in perfect condition. People keep coming to this sacred place.
They don't know how to behave, how to tie ribbons correctly. But they feel that this place is not easy and they unconsciously carry ribbons, coins, dolls, beads to the shaman's sanctuary. And this is a symbol of belonging.
Shamanism still remains a mysterious phenomenon, but, probably, its methods can really help if psychologists have already begun to apply some of its methods.
This is what the Russian psychologist Alina Leonidovna Slobodova, who was trained by Michael Harner, tells about it.
“In society, I position myself as a psychologist-communicator. The word "shaman" has very different connotations, and this must be taken into account. Many people are bombarded with the theme "who is not with us is against us" - I try not to communicate with such people. And psychologists have now turned to the study of shamanic practices. This is no accident - we often have to deal with the fact that the standard arsenal does not work.
All the reasons, and the environment remains - the problem returns. Therefore, we teach these practices, which then allow you to increase your personal strength yourself, replenish resources.
And the soul of each object, like the soul of a person - for a shaman a phenomenon close to material, is felt as something really existing. Even commodity markets have a soul. There is such a hypothesis about the existence of seven bodies, only one of them is the physical body of a person. All the rest are more subtle, and happiness, success, and health depend on how and how the physical body is linked to other shells.
You need to strive for your spiritual Self, you need to immerse yourself in it, and not stay all the time in the material world, "you need to think about the soul." For some reason, many people start thinking about the soul when it’s too late.”
Some of the readers will agree with the words of Alina Leonidovna, some will not. However, it is difficult to argue with the fact that there is a lot of unknown and unknown in our life. And by studying such ancient practices as shamanism, you can learn a lot of interesting things about the world around you.
Author: Viktorya Nekrasova
