Shamanism
Shamanism is a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit world and channel this energy back into this world. A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into a trance state during a ritual, and practices divination and healing.Shamanism refers to ancient native spiritual and healing practises and as such each region has its own variation of shamanism. Variations include North & South American, Russian, Siberian and Mongolian shamanism.
Shamans are said to treat ailments/illness by alleviating traumas affecting the soul which in turn restores the health to the physical body. Shamans may visit other worlds/dimensions to bring guidance to misguided souls and to ameliorate illnesses caused by foreign elements.
Some common benefits that shamans provide in their healings include the removal of attached negative entities in our aura, a form of past life regression called Soul Retrieval and the communal sweat lodge. A sweat lodge is a ritual in a closed tent with a fire at the centre. The shaman leading the sweat lodge adds water onto the fire to create steam as well as chant, drum and contact spirits to guide the participants for healing and a self-discovery journey during the sweat. Particularly famous in South America shamanism is the use of Iowaska, (Ayahuasca) which is an Amazonian plant mixture used to induce altered states of consciousness where the person undertakes a journey of the soul under the guidance of the shaman.