NeoShamanism is not my "creation." However, I have developed my version of it blending "traditional" shamanic practices with spiritual psychology. Here is my version of NeoShamanism and some of my early work around its application to contemporary life.

To learn more about the elements of NeoShamanism, visit The MeWe Tree , a metaphor illustrating how we as indiduals view ourselves as separate from one another but are actually all part of the same. We start at the top of the tree of life, working our way to Mother Earth in which our roots are firmly grounded.

"It is as simple as this, leave everything you know behind…"
From Tilicho Lake by David Whyte

Welcome to NeoShamanism. It is a resource for anyone seeking spiritual evolution. If you are not sure if this page offers anything to you, consider the following questions:

Do you have yearnings around the fullness of your life? This state is often revealed in the question, "Is this all there is?"
Do you experience conflict, stress, and strife in your life?
Have you achieved material success in life and still feel that there is more available beyond what money can buy?
Have you had experiences that defy scientific explanation and perhaps rejected them as delusions or flights of fantasy?
Are you fearful of death?

Do you sometimes think that the way you are in the world is not who you truly are? Is your life a collection of roles that you easily move between yet feel that none of them reflect the real you? Are you a different person as a professional, child, parent, spouse, partner, sibling, or friend?
Do you wonder about the existence and nature of God?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then perhaps there is value for you here. I invite you to browse the contents of this site and see if anything resonates with you. If so, please explore to your heart's content.

The origins of my practice of neoshamanism
Spiritual psychology
Shamanic psychology
Blending spiritual and shamanic psychologies

The origins of my practice of neoshamanism

Neoshamanism is a blending of spiritual and shamanic psychologies. Psychology, from its Greek roots, means "study of the soul." The purpose of Neoshamanism is the enablement of two simple necessities of spiritual evolution of the soul: awareness of and the reconnection with the Divine that is within everyone. These are loftiest goals to which any human can aspire. Neoshamanism is not THE only method to accomplish these two goals. It is simply one of thousands of paths that have come forth over the ages. The goals remain the same: awareness and reconnection.

Spiritual psychology

Spiritual psychology speaks directly to "study of the soul" by having the following foundational principles:

The Earth is a school.
We are all enrolled.
Life is the curriculum.
We will all graduate.
The only variable is time (which may take several lifetimes).

These principles infer that there is something for us to learn in the process of living. Many thinkers and writers delving into this question conclude that the most we can know about this learning is that it involves love-of Self, God, the Earth including our fellow humans. We begin a life in a fully loving, Divine state and then something happens that distracts us from that state, usually traumas of some sort quite early in life. From that we learn that there exists a state of "not love" and spend a lifetime defending ourselves from experiencing "not love." The problem is that the defenses do not really work.

These defenses become who we are, an ego, a personality, and are the personas that we present to the world. This collection of behaviors and roles is not who we really are. Underneath all of our defenses we are still the Divine beings that we were in the beginning. Spiritual psychology is about rediscovering that essential Self and reconnecting with it. The approach of spiritual psychology is external to internal, i.e., it begins with what is not working in one's life (external behaviors) and works inwardly to identify and resolve the defenses that veil our true Self.

Shamanic psychology

Shamanic psychology is also a "study of the soul" and has many traditions that reflect different cultures and environments. Central to most traditions are these principles:

The Universe is an integration of all of the entities contained within it.
The common denominator of the Universe is energy. Everything is a manifestation of energy.

Humans have the gift of influencing energy to manifest both material and non-material results therefore possessing an ability to "create" that is limited only by one's own power.

To access one's own power it is necessary to embrace the entire Universe by both merging into it and recognizing one's own uniqueness.

These principles depict a world in which everything is related to everything else. Accessing anything is via understanding, accepting, and melding with the energy of whatever we wish to access and influence. For example, if I wish to create a breeze to cool myself, I first understand that there is a "wind" energy; second, I accept that energy as complementary to my own energetic being; and third, I merge with the wind energy to physically bring it to me by releasing my energy as intention and attracting the wind energy to me.

The approach of shamanic psychology is to achieve integration with the energetic nature of all things and create what is in the person's highest and best interest. The shaman both teaches how to do this and also employs his own knowledge on behalf of others who have not yet gained that level of mastery. In contrast to spiritual psychology's "external to internal" approach, shamanic psychology is the opposite, i.e., its approach is "internal to external." By beginning with the foundation that humans are energetic beings connected with all other energetic entities, the shaman's way is to move outward from the individual's energy to all of the energies in the Universe.

Although the personal defenses that attempt to protect us from experiencing "not love" described in the definition of spiritual psychology are still present, shamanic psychology's approach is to understand, accept, and meld one's own energy with all other energies. In doing so, one automatically returns to the state of love of Self, God, the Earth (Universe), and other humans. Shamanic "healing" can thus be global and does not need to deal with individual "issues." Individual issues can be addressed within shamanic psychology if needed to bring the person's level of awareness to the point where the acceptance of universal energy is possible. This type of technique is often referred to as "soul retrieval."

Blending spiritual and shamanic psychologies

NeoShamanism is a blending of spiritual and shamanic psychologies, and as such, these principles form its foundation:

We are energetic beings who have free will and choice with respect to our actions.
Our actions and thoughts influence how we lead our lives.

We are born into life as fully loving beings.
We experience some form of primal abandonment early in life and begin doubting our worthiness to be loved.
We fear future abandonment and expend much effort protecting ourselves.
These efforts are largely futile.
We become trapped in a cycle of behaviors that prevents us from being in touch with our true Selves.
The cycle can be broken through awareness then reconnection with our divinity.

Divine reconnection can be initiated either externally, internally, or both. Successful Divine reconnection leads to harmony and fulfillment, heaven on Earth.

NeoShamanism recognizes the understanding that there is no "one" way of doing anything. It is a cliché that there are many paths to enlightenment (reconnecting with our divinity), and it is nonetheless true. It is in this spirit that Neoshamanism blends spiritual and shamanic psychologies together to offer a unique and expanded path of spiritual evolution that while unique is not presented as "the only path."

The benefits of NeoShamanism to the practitioner are many. (By the way, a "practitioner" is anyone who adapts the principles and practices to everyday life-one does not have to formally become a shaman although the avenue is open to anybody!)

Achieving balance and harmony in everyday living
The virtual disappearance of conflict and stress
Happiness
Fulfillment
Physical well-being
A sense of purpose and the means of accomplishing it

NeoShamanism has two goals. The first is to awaken awareness of who a person truly is: the loving Self that is the Divine that is in each one of us. The second goal is to remove the obstacles to reconnecting with that Divinity that is in each of us.

A fuller explanation of how to use NeoShamanism as a "way" or basis for healing is contained in my book, A Tao Of God.

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