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Cederberg 2006

Shamanism and me - The Full Story

If you have not already read my story "Why I am a Shaman ~ The Testimony of a Rebellious Spirit", May I suggest you begin there. The following is a deeper dive into shamanism and my worldview and subsequent offering. A friend and fellow influencer recently posted " Success isn't measured by the amount of money you make but rather by the number of lives you impact." I wish this to be my epitaph. In my younger days, I made some money but found myself chasing my own tail like the image of the world serpent - Jörmungandr. When the internet became a household phenomenon, in the late 90's the icon for a page loading, the circular animation that frustrates us all if it takes too long, was a constant reminder of the pointlessness of living a mundane life, paying bills month after month and 'keeping up with the Joneses" As my story above explains, I came out of a home that was claustrophobically Christian, where I felt disconnected and unfulfilled. In short, my personal spiritual journey began by being prompted to start reading.

Malcolm X once said, If you want to hide knowledge from black people, put it in a book. Personally, I think this applies to 80% of the world's population. In an age where technology has brought us vast amounts of knowledge, (and misinformation I might add) most folk, choose not to educate themselves, but rather waste their days amusing themselves with trivial television, gaming, and voyeurism, in the form of social media. Often this leads to depression as most people on social media are so vain and egocentric, they only post the highlights that occur in their lives, some of which are even fabricated, to attract attention from friends and family and mostly random strangers. A truly meaningless exercise, for most. Contrary to some opinions, my shamanic journey is not a fabrication for sensationalism, but a systematic and often painful quest to scratch away at the layers of social conformity that demand we fit into a mold that others can interpret as predictable and thereby manipulate us with emotional blackmail, in relation to the template Westernism calls social etiquette. Along my journey and in my shamanic meditations and initiations, I have often been prompted to ask the Shakespearian question, " not what, but why and wherefore" do we do.

So I invite you to join me on this philosophical path less traveled.

A synopsis of our understandings

So let us begin at the beginning. Some might think, this would be what Genesis 1 describes, but since the 'Age of Reason" and the discoveries modern science has subsequently provided, the origins of life and the universe far outwit such fantastically childlike explanations. I should however begin by dissecting some Biblical fallacies because so many western people have never read the Bible properly, even though they call it their religion. Fewer have delved into philosophy, alternative religions, or epistemology. (A non-confrontational method of probing contemplations in conversation with another person, about the foundations and fundamentals of their belief systems, which often leads to profound realizations.) For example One of the first questions an epistemologist would ask is known as the 'the truth experiment" Imagine a box of smarties. If I said that in the box were several individual smarties. There must be, either an odd number, or an even number. If we were both to take a guess, and I said even and you said odd, and we counted them out, and there were twenty-three. One of us would be right and the other would be wrong, right? This exercise lays the foundation for fundamental falsehoods. The next question would be, for example, On a scale of 1 - 100, how certain is the interviewee, that the God they believe in, or the beliefs they hold are actually factual or true, and if they were born in another part of the world, say India, or Saudi Arabia, and are not just geographical coincidence. We are all atheists toward the thousand other gods that humans have and still do believe in through history and in different parts of the world. So how can we be certain, that the God we believe in is real, and the myths and stories about it/them are true? The answer is most often - faith, or childhood conditioning, i.e, this is what my family has always believed. The question is, does this make it a fact.

Of course, it does not. Whether you were born into a Christian, Muslim, Jewish or Hindu family, or country, is purely coincidence. Since these religions are all so vastly different and fervently believed, they cannot all be true. So which is it. On bias, we would all like to believe that it is ours, but is it? And if so, how can we be sure. If we say, there is a book, written by hostile Bronze age savages. The next question would be, are there not several of these books. The Bible is certainly not the oldest, or original by any means. There is the Epic of Gilgamesh, penned 3600years ago. Predating the earliest books of the Bible by at least a thousand years. This Epic was only written down centuries after it was first told and contains many of the allegories the Bible retells, like the Emuna Elish (The creation story) or the flood myth of Noah, in the epic, Noah is a character called Ut' Napishtim by the Babylonians and Ziasudra by the Sumerians. Their 'first man or men, were called Adamo. Now we know from science and evolution, which can be proven on several levels, that there never was a 'first man', since evolution is so gradual, that no species ever gave birth to a new species.

There is also the Mahabaratha, the Indian Vedas, which predate the Bible by hundreds of years. The Greek mythology of gods and demigods, and Greece was a great civilization long before the Israelites even existed. Not to mention the I Ching , or Tao Ji Jing (pronounced Dow te Jing) The Chinese and Japanese (Shinto) cultures had written scrolls 4000 years ago. Shamanism is the oldest of the belief systems, which is not technically a belief system in itself as it is eclectic and universal and therefore regional but holds many principles that are universal like exoteric supernatural concepts, blessing and cursing, metaphysical healing and so forth. But let us take a look at some Biblical allegories that do not bode well with our modern democratic state. A state we largely agree is for the good of all mankind. Like the abolition of slavery.

The Bible suggests God-given laws and guidelines for how we should treat slaves. What to do in the case of keeping Jewish slaves as opposed to non-Jewish or what befits a master who beats his slaves. Surprisingly lenient. Rape is also not particularly frowned upon, except that a rapist should pay the father 50 pieces of silver and then the woman is yours, forever. How to treat gay people or those who eat shellfish or wear polyester clothing. Now, modern evangelicals will argue these old laws of Deuteronomy away by quoting John 13 34-35, that jesus gave a new commandment that we love one another. But they fail to remember Matthew 15 17, I quote:

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew goes on to say in verse 10 :34, Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

The Gospel of Luke says;

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.

Keep in mind that gospel means 'good news' not truth as we use it in the modern sense.

It should also be noted that none of the named gospel writers, actually wrote those gospels, nor did anyone who wrote the Bible ever meet Jesus, since the first was only produced some fifty years after he apparently lived. (If you dispute this, or it is a surprise to you, go research it.)

I think it is also fitting to add these passages from Isaiah which strongly contradict the new Testament claims that Jesus was the son and mediator for God Almighty. As Isaiah clearly states that this is not the case.

Exodus 20: 3 OT

I am the Lord they God. You shall have no other gods before me.

John 14:6 NT

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me

Isaiah 43:11 OT

I, and I, only am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.

Luke 22: 69 NT

But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.

Isaiah45: 5-7 OT

I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you,

though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting, people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.

Matthew 26: 64 NT

You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Acts 7:55. NT

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

Isaiah 44 : 6-8

This is what the LORD says-- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and layout before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come-- yes, let him foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."

There is little room for interpretation or contextual interpretation here. These are clear commands and statements, from two different characters (of literature - I must add).

It is a known fact that the bible in its current form is not the Bible of the original form. Firstly, the Jewish religion and the Christian religion are two different religions. Jews do not accept Jesus as the son of God, nor as their Messiah. Noting that a messiah is not a spiritual or religious figure, but a civil redeemer. To redeem the Jewish nation in the face of their enemies, like a king would rise up and save his people from their enemies. The Old Testament says nothing about an afterlife ( again - a contradiction in terms)

Another verse that has always stood out for me personally, is Deuteronomy 32:8-9

When the Most High (’elyôn / El ) gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated humanity, he fixed the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of divine beings. For Yahweh’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.

This suggests that the original God, the God of Genesis 1, who apparently created the heavens and the earth is not the same as the lesser YHWH or Yaweh or YeHoWaH Jehovah, as inheritance suggests.

Genesis 1 reads in English "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." but in Hebrew, in the Torah is quite different. Quite : "B`reshit bara Elohim et ha`shamajim we et ha`arets. translated directly into English says; In the beginning created Elohim (plural for El ) the heavens and the land Israel.

You will never hear this discussed in church or Bible study. Only the apologists, attempt to explain these massive contradictions away. But when one contemplates the true magnificence of the universe, it is clear that men with no education wrote these words and definitely not any God.

1 Chronicles 16:30

Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.

Isaiah 11:12

He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.

Samuel 2 : 8

“For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s; on them he has set the world.

Isaiah 40:22

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,

Job 26:7

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.

Job 37:18

Can you join him in spreading out the skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze?

Matthew 4:8

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.

Psalm 75:3

When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.

Psalm 104:5

He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.

Rev 7:1

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.

Genesis 1:6-8

God set his dome, which we call the firmament or sky to separate the waters above from the waters below.

Joshua 10:13

And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.

Ecclesiastes 1:5

The sun rises, and the sun goes down and hastens to the place where it rises.

Shamanism

Along my path, I have read many books, ancient and contemporary. I have reviewed the Tibetan and Egyptian Books of the Dead,( The Bardo Thordol and Papyrus of Anu) Some of the Hindu Vedas, including reading the entire Bhagavad Gita (A Hindu poem about the way to live. Which teaches about the 3 Gunas. The best English interpretation would be attitudes or states of being.

Sattvas is Balanced and clean,

Rajas fiery and aggressive and

Tamas, Lethargic and bland.

In this epic the god Krishna, instructs his overzealous nephew as they enter into battle. A battle Arjuna regrets entering on seeing the might he is up against. Much like Enkidu, Gilgamesh's friend and nemesis and then mentor, advises him not to enter before heading into the cedar wood to attach the demon Hambaba, in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Many of these allegories are universal and can be found in all the ancient books, including the Popul Vuh.

The Mayan book of the people, also links up strongly with the Sumerian Tablets and speaks of bearded winged gods, much like the Anunaki. Interesting considering that beards are not associated with South American tribes.

All these books contain theories on how humans should live and conduct themselves in civil society.

Five hundred years before Jesus was supposedly born, three great men also gave secular instruction, devoid of gods. Socrates, Buddha, and Confucious. All three at around the same time, in different parts of the world, began to talk humans oy=ut of believing in supernatural forces. the Buddha's famous koan (proverb) If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him, suggests that God does not reside outside of oneself but within, and we should avoid making up supernatural fantasies. All three of these men could be called the fathers of philosophy, but it was Socrates who brought western civilization out of superstition when he noted that volcanoes and tempests were not punishments from the gods, but random events in nature, and that we should leave the beliefs of our parents behind us to avoid remaining ignorant.

To be continued...