Core Shamanism Chronicles: Drumming and Singing for the Animals and Land

The devastation wrought by the fires in Australia left me wondering what I could do. Taking to heart the words of a teacher: search out ordinary reality actions in addition to shamanic work, I proceeded. With a heart still heavy with sadness and grief, I wondered, “What more?” Soon after, a helping spirit in the form of one of the animals from that land appeared to me.

So I journeyed to this helping spirit to ask what I could do with permission. This is what it said: For now, drum for those needing and seeking help and support, and sing if song were to arise. It conveyed that the animals and pockets of land affected that are in need of help and seeking it, would tap into what I was asked to do—that this would also help with the transitions of the animals seeking help to move on.

I did as asked, offering the drumming and song to those seeking help, and saw that, indeed, this was helping animals transition. I then invited a shamanic practitioner friend to join me after checking in with the helping spirit from that land, and with permission, we both drummed and sang for the animals and the land in need. We both had similar experiences: that the drumming and spontaneous singing were helping those wanting to transition. This experience is yet another reminder to me that the helping spirits are there for us all. As I struggle with an extremely difficult situation or reality, help is available. I just need to pay attention to the helping spirits.

RG, FSS Three Year Program graduate


Core Shamanism Chronicles logo ©2019 Foundation for Shamanic Studies
FSS Core Shamanism Chronicles features brief personal shamanic healing accounts and practical applications of shamanism in daily life. By sharing our inspiring stories with each other, we hope to reveal the power, effectiveness, and beauty of shamanic practice.

If you have a core shamanic practice story to share, please send as an email attachment to INFO@SHAMANISM.ORG and put “Chronicles” in the subject line. Submission guidelines: No more than one page is recommended. Accounts should offer a specific personal example of healing or applying core shamanism methods in everyday life. As always, keep in mind ethical standards of confidentiality and permission: Ask your clients for permission before sharing and do not reveal their names. If your submission is selected for inclusion in the Chronicles, you may use your name or choose to be listed as anonymous.

Core Shamanism Chronicles: Formulated by the Spirits

I was praying after doing my shamanic journey work. My thoughts were about wanting to help those in pain, especially chronic pain like individuals with fibromyalgia – like those that I had treated so often as a massage therapist. As I walked from my barn to the house, one of my helping spirits started dictating a list of ingredients to me. This ended up being a complicated, all-natural formula that would help with almost all types of pain, including extremely difficult cases of muscle and joint pain, shingles and fibromyalgia, just to name a few. I didn’t know a couple of the ingredients, so I asked my spirit to spell them and to my amazement, he did. Then, it just kept repeating like a song stuck in my head until I wrote down all the ingredients. We took the formula to an FDA approved facility to have it made on a large scale. Wonderfully, 90% of the people who try our cream, purchase it.

Paul Amoroso, FSS Two Week Shamanic Healing Intensive graduate


Core Shamanism Chronicles logo ©2019 Foundation for Shamanic Studies
FSS Core Shamanism Chronicles features brief personal shamanic healing accounts and practical applications of shamanism in daily life. By sharing our inspiring stories with each other, we hope to reveal the power, effectiveness, and beauty of shamanic practice.

If you have a core shamanic practice story to share, please send as an email attachment to INFO@SHAMANISM.ORG and put “Chronicles” in the subject line. Submission guidelines: No more than one page is recommended. Accounts should offer a specific personal example of healing or applying core shamanism methods in everyday life. As always, keep in mind ethical standards of confidentiality and permission: Ask your clients for permission before sharing and do not reveal their names. If your submission is selected for inclusion in the Chronicles, you may use your name or choose to be listed as anonymous.

Core Shamanism Chronicles: Honoring Tree Spirit

As first-time home buyers, we were apprehensive about this new experience. The house in the San Francisco Bay Area was more than 100 years old and several families had lived here before us. Even though the structure is old, it felt alive with fresh possibilities and welcoming when we moved in a couple years ago. We sought shamanic help from a local core shamanic practitioner to see what the house and land needed, to remove any problematic “energies,” and to work with us as we improved the property and settled in. The shaman did some work as requested, gave us some direction, and brought back a power animal guardian for the land and home. We also learned what plants the property desired and how to serve the birds that frequently visited.

There was huge tree in the backyard with a large hollow in its trunk. The tree was about 80 feet tall and the base almost 5 feet across. We were concerned about the hollow weakening the trunk, and the tree falling over onto the house or an adjacent building. We asked the shaman to communicate with the tree to find out if it could remain standing for a long time more, and thus our communication with the tree started.

The tree identified itself as a mother, and seemed to indicate that it had many years to live. But within a few months, the tree grew mushrooms along its trunk, speaking to us directly that she was indeed dying. I think the tree wanted to tell her stories and have her life recognized before leaving this world. We had a shamanic ceremony recognizing the life of the tree, and thanking the tree for growing mushrooms and talking to us. Cutting the tree revealed that a catastrophe was averted, as the interior trunk was indeed rotting. The same morning the arborist came to cut the tree down, a squirrel fell out of the heights of the tree. We had never seen a squirrel fall out of any tree ever before. So we felt confident that the large tree would be safely removed, because any “accident” energy was absorbed and dispelled by the squirrel. The tree was removed with care and her wood distributed to a local mill, bowl carvers, spoon makers, and wood artists. We feel content that we honored the tree and are grateful that her spirit lives on in the many beautiful creations her body will provide.

Elma Kim, FSS student


Core Shamanism Chronicles logo ©2019 Foundation for Shamanic Studies
FSS Core Shamanism Chronicles features brief personal shamanic healing accounts and practical applications of shamanism in daily life. By sharing our inspiring stories with each other, we hope to reveal the power, effectiveness, and beauty of shamanic practice.

If you have a core shamanic practice story to share, please send as an email attachment to INFO@SHAMANISM.ORG and put “Chronicles” in the subject line. Submission guidelines: No more than one page is recommended. Accounts should offer a specific personal example of healing or applying core shamanism methods in everyday life. As always, keep in mind ethical standards of confidentiality and permission: Ask your clients for permission before sharing and do not reveal their names. If your submission is selected for inclusion in the Chronicles, you may use your name or choose to be listed as anonymous.

Core Shamanism Chronicles: Shamanic Healing, Neck Injury

I had received a call from a client who requested healing for her neck. She had been in a car accident two years prior and had sustained an injury to her neck. Despite going to various doctors, chiropractors, and physical therapists, she still suffered from pain and was unable to turn her head very far to the right. After journeying to my helping spirits, I was told to give her power and to do a healing for her using specialized drum beats provided by the helping spirits. After passing power to her I started the drum healing. Several minutes into the healing there was an audible snap from my client. It was her neck which made the noise and for the first time in over two years she was amazed to be able to turn her head and her pain was gone.

Scott Williams, FSS Two Week Intensive & Three Year Program graduate


Core Shamanism Chronicles logo ©2019 Foundation for Shamanic Studies
FSS Core Shamanism Chronicles features brief personal shamanic healing accounts and practical applications of shamanism in daily life. By sharing our inspiring stories with each other, we hope to reveal the power, effectiveness, and beauty of shamanic practice.

If you have a core shamanic practice story to share, please send as an email attachment to INFO@SHAMANISM.ORG and put “Chronicles” in the subject line. Submission guidelines: No more than one page is recommended. Accounts should offer a specific personal example of healing or applying core shamanism methods in everyday life. As always, keep in mind ethical standards of confidentiality and permission: Ask your clients for permission before sharing and do not reveal their names. If your submission is selected for inclusion in the Chronicles, you may use your name or choose to be listed as anonymous.

Core Shamanism Chronicles: Shamanic Healing & Autism

The biggest impact to my life has been the healing of my daughter’s symptoms of autism. At three and four years, my daughter had some major challenges, which I recognized as symptoms of being on the autism spectrum. I had just started learning about shamanism through the Foundation’s courses. After finishing the Two Week Shamanic Healing Intensive, I decided to try some of the healings on my daughter. To my relief, she started improving. But what was so absolutely beautiful, was that over the next year-and-a-half, my spirit helpers showed me specific healings to give to her and other children with autism and ADHD. Now I use these and the information I have learned to help other families dealing with autism or ADHD experience relief, joy, and connection as their children’s symptoms decrease. My daughter is now almost nine and she has no visible symptoms of what she experienced when she was three. She is still a sensitive child, but doesn’t have to struggle like she did before. She is happy and thriving and these healings and knowledge have been the greatest blessing for us as a family!

Tina Bishai, FSS Two Week Intensive & Three Year Program graduate


Core Shamanism Chronicles logo ©2019 Foundation for Shamanic Studies
FSS Core Shamanism Chronicles features brief personal shamanic healing accounts and practical applications of shamanism in daily life. By sharing our inspiring stories with each other, we hope to reveal the power, effectiveness, and beauty of shamanic practice.

If you have a core shamanic practice story to share, please send as an email attachment to INFO@SHAMANISM.ORG and put “Chronicles” in the subject line. Submission guidelines: No more than one page is recommended. Accounts should offer a specific personal example of healing or applying core shamanism methods in everyday life. As always, keep in mind ethical standards of confidentiality and permission: Ask your clients for permission before sharing and do not reveal their names. If your submission is selected for inclusion in the Chronicles, you may use your name or choose to be listed as anonymous.

Core Shamanism Chronicles: Negotiations with Ants

For me, part of shamanism is trying to live in a fair and honest manner with “all my relations.” That includes the carpenter ants that invaded my house. So I visited the ant queen and paid my respects. I told her I wanted to avoid conflict. She agreed to withdraw her troops and I agreed that I would not kill them for several days to give them time to evacuate. I was clear that I would eventually establish a natural chemical barrier around my home but would not harm her nest.

For three days, I honored my word and so did the queen. The number of ants in the house steadily went down. On the fourth day we saw none.

As with all shamanic things, I have no way to prove cause and effect. This just feels like a better way to live.

FSS Three Year Program graduate


Core Shamanism Chronicles logo ©2019 Foundation for Shamanic Studies
FSS Core Shamanism Chronicles features brief personal shamanic healing accounts and practical applications of shamanism in daily life. By sharing our inspiring stories with each other, we hope to reveal the power, effectiveness, and beauty of shamanic practice.

If you have a core shamanic practice story to share, please send as an email attachment to INFO@SHAMANISM.ORG and put “Chronicles” in the subject line. Submission guidelines: No more than one page is recommended. Accounts should offer a specific personal example of healing or applying core shamanism methods in everyday life. As always, keep in mind ethical standards of confidentiality and permission: Ask your clients for permission before sharing and do not reveal their names. If your submission is selected for inclusion in the Chronicles, you may use your name or choose to be listed as anonymous.