I live in an area that is well know for it's retreats and ceremonies. People seem to come from all over, to "heal" themselves. I put heal in inverted commas, because I'm really not convinced, that is what they are doing. It's big business really, this whole Healing industry. Where money can literally buy you anything, even the role as a healer or shaman, a title that many around here like to use. This aspect really really gets to me. People come looking for help and instead end up lining the pockets of these so called Healers.
Of course there are legitimate healers, but you won't find them dressed in expensive hippy clothes, walking around dripping with ego and a sense of importance. The real healers, tend to do their work quietly, with no desire for fanfare. They are humble, the ones who know what it is like to actually suffer and struggle in life. They have had a taste of the dark and have learned to accept it, embrace it. I'm all for light work, but it is nothing without first facing the dark within.
Yesterday I spend a rather lovely evening with some wonderful friends of mine. One of my friends brought her Archetype cards and we each pull three. The middle one, being what we need to focus on, the first what we receive and the third what we gift to others. My third card, was the Healer, which brought all of the above thoughts to mind. I believe we all are healers, our own healers. But when it comes to healing others, well that is more like a calling, a gift, certainly not something you should be able to buy into.
Traditionally, shamans, was not a role that one sought out, but rather, something that befell upon them after they experienced a near death experience, after they had undergone a lot of suffering. Who have taken a walk on the dark side and learned to embrace their shadow self.
Everyone wants to chase the love and light, to sit together in song and heal, to take substances that take you away to far away places and get you high. Most of which bypass the real pain that lays trapped within. I have not found many people that are interested in getting down to the raw, gritty, hidden parts of themselves. To face all those decisions that left them feeling uneasy, the decisions that they regret. It's easier to bury them.
I'm not talking about re walking those paths, those decisions, but instead accessing the pain that we buried with them, the ugly side of life. Exploring ways in which we can release them, using our voices, but not in some shanty shanty way. I want to see people explore movement that is not going to be pretty to look at, to use their voices to connect with the guttural sounds that are scary. To switch off our logical mind and connect with our wild, animal side.
Here's where my irritation with some modern day healers begins, the whole shanty shanty side, keep people chasing highs, whilst they continue to line their pockets. A few years ago, a young man came to this area to take Ayahuasca, he paid his money and took part in the ceremony, during which he began to freak out. Instead of the so called Healer/Shaman supporting him, he was send away. He then went missing and unfortunately was found dead in the mountains a couple of weeks later. That poor man, he must of been so scared and suffered so much. He wandered off, with no water, no food, making his way higher and higher up into the mountains.
It's sickening really, that things like this are allowed to happen. And yet it still continues, anyone can take part in these ceremonies, as long as they pay the fee. In the past, it was the Shaman that would take Ayahuasca for the person seeking help, today, there are people who use it like it's a recreational drug. With no respect for the plants or the actual role of the authentic Shaman.
What's kind of funny, is that I also chose the Judge card, so I'm letting it all out today, judging some of the healers.
I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts on this.
( Photos used in my post are mine. )
