Shamanism is Dead! Just like punk rock!
And the next questions are natural: How/Why is it dead? And Who or What killed it?
First let me explain the title of this essay: "if you can read this, your language killed shamanism."
This concept has arisen in my life in two incidents. First, let it be known that I am a shamanic practitioner, neo shamanic priest, alchemist, and fluent English speaker(reader and writer). I also studied science, math, linguistics, and Asian philosophy in college. I became a yoga teacher before I was an ordained Shamanic Minister. The reason that I am so excited about Yoga as a path to free was that I experienced (in college for the first time), a concept of existence without words and thought outside of the languages i knew. This concept of thought outside of the language i knew, wasn't due to a lack awareness of language (remember I studies languages as my major) rather it was an awareness of something i didn't have words for. Meaning that words exist for whatever i was experiencing and they just weren't in English or any of the languages I knew at the time.
That's were Sanskrit came in. I mentioned that I was studying Asian philosophy and everyone who studies broad Asiatic philosophy from a western perspective, studies Sankrit vocab (even more came later when I left college to become a yoga instructor in a town called Encinitas). So Sanskrit had concepts of things expressed in the form of written and spoken words that English never had, but still i thought about those words in English and I applied English translations to them. Needless to say, I was scratching the surface.
The second instance was when I was introduced to DMT, a chemical that is isolated from plants and animals worldwide (in this case and more than likely from the wood of a Mimosa tree). This chemical when used in a SACRED and Spiritual way with ritual, dear friends and pleasant music produces a peak experience within a realm of indescribable visuals and breath and body less-ness. Again and need-less-to-say, English and the english-speaking thoughts in my head had NO IDEA and subsequently no expressions that fit this experience.
Back to the title and the topic: "Your Language Killed Shamanism. How/Why is it dead? And Who or What killed it?" English and other common languages are responsible for the beakdown of true spiritual concepts (the direct ecstatic experience of god through shamanism) as a result of the mutation by "higher-ups" in the caste system. Be aware that in most ancient societies people spoke more languages than the average American, and especially the class of priests whose job was to spread "the word." In that day in age, it was have been foolish to spread "the word" in a single language as many dialects and groups of people simply died off without a means of saving information as we have today.
Meaning that Latin and Sanskrit speakers (the ancient priestly languages) have influenced the sacred teachings and the handing down of the "god experience." This is expressed in the resulting low number of spiritual expressions or "concepts of ecstasy" that we have in modern English (especially American). The less access to creation or creativity through our first language we have, the less likely we are to "do" anything that exists outside The System, THE MATRIX, or the Machine. Neo, the character in the Matrix series, is initially told that is is not "The One" by the Oracle (The One is a title in the series to express that he could bend the Matrix world to his will and therefore be the one human to leverage the war against the machines setting us free as as race). This conversation sets into motion a design that will eventually allow him to believe in himself and his abilities until he "is killed" or as we say in shamanism "led through the death/rebirth initiation" experience. After dying, he comes back in a new concept of "the way things are" and he makes different and more free choices that are outside of the "rules of the matrix" program.
Additionally when you think about death and what may be on the other side of that door, there is no concept (in any language) of what that could be like and even having gone through that experience, it is more than doubtful that human language has the potential to express that which is ineffable. Another fundamental component of all created earthly-human languages is the tendency to focus on the material, the real, or that which "can be" expressed rather than the paradoxical (which science tells us is less than one percent of what's out there and yoga traditions tell us is illusion or "maya"). The experience of the inexpressible is a vital part of life and the first of many steps on the road to freedom or moksha (yoga liberation).
Only recently did this idea of thinking and conceptualizing in english hit me profoundly although my awareness of it has been with me since high school when i asked my Iranian friend Amir, "Do you think in another language?" I was reading the work of Terence McKenna entitled Flesh of the Gods and the concept struck me like a ton of bricks: "if i think in English as my primary function, then i conceptualize in English and if words don't exist in English for certain things that exist, then as long as i think in terms of English (a programmed way of thinking), I will NEVER think of those things." I felt like everything that was ever taught to be was just a distraction or some kind of magician's trick in a Vegas Show to keep me from paying any attention to other things. My brain instantly brought up data on the various methods "hiding of something in plain sight," the burying of an idea, straw-man concept OR the assassination of something by labeling or categorizing it not by it's actual content but rather in an arbitrary way.
SHAMANISM IS DEAD because it never existed in the first place. Shamanism is a word or better yet, it is a concentration camp that we created all the indigenous and channeled practices that exist so freely, that may result in altered states or that are simply inexplicable (in modern language).
Our primary english speaking culture really has no place for the meanings and usage of shamanism or shaman because those things mean different things to different people who have studied anthropology. In this Western society people are so disfunctional and greedy that they utilize Shamanism and Shaman (and to a lesser degree Alchemist and Guru) as JUNK terms that act like a buffet for the practices of peoples that Westerners view as less evolved and less technologically advanced. From personal experience of working with authentic peoples, the word “shaman” amongst American Indians/Natives is not used and it's even joked about as a white man's term.
Furthermore, the shaman isn't an accessible figure for our society as his primary function has been 'down sized' and devalued and even outlawed. The plants and the tools of the shaman is the West have been abused through disrespectful communication. A fundamental component of the shaman is his tribe...a tribe creates a shaman. Just as an artist designates a "thing" as art it is not qualified as art until it influences and affects the senses, emotions, and/or intellect of someone, a shaman exists to serve a family, a tribe, or a community. Additionally, a shaman cannot exist without a purpose (or a "calling").
Our society not only stylized the Shaman as the "show man" but it carries the expectation to be entertained. Modern Western culture expects to be tripped the fuck out, have profound visions, be exposed to weird incense, and hokey poky unity philosophies that more often than not are impractical. All of this stuff is unrealistic and forwards the hiding the truth in plain sight.
If creativity is limited through the mind and the word then the result is no less than bondage, servitude or slavery. The only thing with the ability to save us from our conditioning is that wild concept of soul, spirit, divine intervention or inspiration....I say that this isn't enough and therefore we must cultivate that which we have NO idea of. The practice of Yoga, Shamanism (the concept not the word or it’s English translations), ritual, and tantra along side with the natural mind altering paths and foods. My advocacy is towards freedom in the areas that the least of us might be aware of.
The concept from The Matrix arises as a reflection for our society not just through English but through legal and corporate business (a concept of a prison for our minds that we can't see or touch because it IS the world around us). Ever since those first experiences outside the realm of linguistic understanding, I have been searching for FREEDOM. Freedom of the mind and ideas. Freedom to create whatever it is that exists in the great myriad of things... the premise for this essay is to invigorate all who read this to pursue this level of freedom. Freedom exists in the concept and the realization of all things and paradoxical fullness of emptiness that is all around us.
How many other things were killed in the advent of language and more specifically the invention and application of the English language?
All Language is a system of conditioning and manipulation...in order words: mind control. Ask yourself these questions: What language am i thinking in? When was the last time that you had a thought outside of the language in your head? If you have the concept of thoughts (or symbols) that exist outside the limit of your current thinking language then you are touching the aspects of life, oneness, shamanism, and psychedelics. Places that most of use are afraid to visit or conditioned to misunderstand and treat as less valuable than "other things" that exist within societal standards.
When you start to trip-on this concept, then naturally you shall find that with any language that was controlled by a previous language and a group of people that engineered that language to "have first choice over" the expressions of all who would use the language hence forth...
AN EXAMPLE of this is President George W. Bush. His family has probably spoken English for many generations and for some generations his family has been in the business of controlling people and their opinions.
Well someone told George W's parents how to act in the world, and someone told that person, and someone told that person, and someone mentored that person...most likely all in English (at least 5 generations back). Then before the Bush family learned English (from someone who learned it elsewhere), there was a group of people (such as the Illuminati or the new world order, or the Catholic Church)who created English or manipulated pre-existing languages such that the expression were specifically phrased to prevent people from thinking of things that English has no-concept for....if you don't believe this then study Old English :P
Walk away from this reading with these:
1. All things that you know are hiding the truth in plain sight.
2. Learn a Language.
3. Realize there are things that you couldn't possibly know exist because you have no practice in believing.
4. The visual consensual reality is minuscule in comparison to the power of language.
5. Don't go searching for telepathic abilities in the form of words. (Rather choose symbols)
6. Language is a stepping stone to god.
"Ultimately all things are known because you want to believe you know." -Zensunni Koan (Chapterhouse Dune)
Peace,
Trevahr Ryan Hughes
760-713-6710
WakingWithin@gmail.com
And the next questions are natural: How/Why is it dead? And Who or What killed it?
First let me explain the title of this essay: "if you can read this, your language killed shamanism."
This concept has arisen in my life in two incidents. First, let it be known that I am a shamanic practitioner, neo shamanic priest, alchemist, and fluent English speaker(reader and writer). I also studied science, math, linguistics, and Asian philosophy in college. I became a yoga teacher before I was an ordained Shamanic Minister. The reason that I am so excited about Yoga as a path to free was that I experienced (in college for the first time), a concept of existence without words and thought outside of the languages i knew. This concept of thought outside of the language i knew, wasn't due to a lack awareness of language (remember I studies languages as my major) rather it was an awareness of something i didn't have words for. Meaning that words exist for whatever i was experiencing and they just weren't in English or any of the languages I knew at the time.
That's were Sanskrit came in. I mentioned that I was studying Asian philosophy and everyone who studies broad Asiatic philosophy from a western perspective, studies Sankrit vocab (even more came later when I left college to become a yoga instructor in a town called Encinitas). So Sanskrit had concepts of things expressed in the form of written and spoken words that English never had, but still i thought about those words in English and I applied English translations to them. Needless to say, I was scratching the surface.
The second instance was when I was introduced to DMT, a chemical that is isolated from plants and animals worldwide (in this case and more than likely from the wood of a Mimosa tree). This chemical when used in a SACRED and Spiritual way with ritual, dear friends and pleasant music produces a peak experience within a realm of indescribable visuals and breath and body less-ness. Again and need-less-to-say, English and the english-speaking thoughts in my head had NO IDEA and subsequently no expressions that fit this experience.
Back to the title and the topic: "Your Language Killed Shamanism. How/Why is it dead? And Who or What killed it?" English and other common languages are responsible for the beakdown of true spiritual concepts (the direct ecstatic experience of god through shamanism) as a result of the mutation by "higher-ups" in the caste system. Be aware that in most ancient societies people spoke more languages than the average American, and especially the class of priests whose job was to spread "the word." In that day in age, it was have been foolish to spread "the word" in a single language as many dialects and groups of people simply died off without a means of saving information as we have today.
Meaning that Latin and Sanskrit speakers (the ancient priestly languages) have influenced the sacred teachings and the handing down of the "god experience." This is expressed in the resulting low number of spiritual expressions or "concepts of ecstasy" that we have in modern English (especially American). The less access to creation or creativity through our first language we have, the less likely we are to "do" anything that exists outside The System, THE MATRIX, or the Machine. Neo, the character in the Matrix series, is initially told that is is not "The One" by the Oracle (The One is a title in the series to express that he could bend the Matrix world to his will and therefore be the one human to leverage the war against the machines setting us free as as race). This conversation sets into motion a design that will eventually allow him to believe in himself and his abilities until he "is killed" or as we say in shamanism "led through the death/rebirth initiation" experience. After dying, he comes back in a new concept of "the way things are" and he makes different and more free choices that are outside of the "rules of the matrix" program.
Additionally when you think about death and what may be on the other side of that door, there is no concept (in any language) of what that could be like and even having gone through that experience, it is more than doubtful that human language has the potential to express that which is ineffable. Another fundamental component of all created earthly-human languages is the tendency to focus on the material, the real, or that which "can be" expressed rather than the paradoxical (which science tells us is less than one percent of what's out there and yoga traditions tell us is illusion or "maya"). The experience of the inexpressible is a vital part of life and the first of many steps on the road to freedom or moksha (yoga liberation).
Only recently did this idea of thinking and conceptualizing in english hit me profoundly although my awareness of it has been with me since high school when i asked my Iranian friend Amir, "Do you think in another language?" I was reading the work of Terence McKenna entitled Flesh of the Gods and the concept struck me like a ton of bricks: "if i think in English as my primary function, then i conceptualize in English and if words don't exist in English for certain things that exist, then as long as i think in terms of English (a programmed way of thinking), I will NEVER think of those things." I felt like everything that was ever taught to be was just a distraction or some kind of magician's trick in a Vegas Show to keep me from paying any attention to other things. My brain instantly brought up data on the various methods "hiding of something in plain sight," the burying of an idea, straw-man concept OR the assassination of something by labeling or categorizing it not by it's actual content but rather in an arbitrary way.
SHAMANISM IS DEAD because it never existed in the first place. Shamanism is a word or better yet, it is a concentration camp that we created all the indigenous and channeled practices that exist so freely, that may result in altered states or that are simply inexplicable (in modern language).
Our primary english speaking culture really has no place for the meanings and usage of shamanism or shaman because those things mean different things to different people who have studied anthropology. In this Western society people are so disfunctional and greedy that they utilize Shamanism and Shaman (and to a lesser degree Alchemist and Guru) as JUNK terms that act like a buffet for the practices of peoples that Westerners view as less evolved and less technologically advanced. From personal experience of working with authentic peoples, the word “shaman” amongst American Indians/Natives is not used and it's even joked about as a white man's term.
Furthermore, the shaman isn't an accessible figure for our society as his primary function has been 'down sized' and devalued and even outlawed. The plants and the tools of the shaman is the West have been abused through disrespectful communication. A fundamental component of the shaman is his tribe...a tribe creates a shaman. Just as an artist designates a "thing" as art it is not qualified as art until it influences and affects the senses, emotions, and/or intellect of someone, a shaman exists to serve a family, a tribe, or a community. Additionally, a shaman cannot exist without a purpose (or a "calling").
Our society not only stylized the Shaman as the "show man" but it carries the expectation to be entertained. Modern Western culture expects to be tripped the fuck out, have profound visions, be exposed to weird incense, and hokey poky unity philosophies that more often than not are impractical. All of this stuff is unrealistic and forwards the hiding the truth in plain sight.
If creativity is limited through the mind and the word then the result is no less than bondage, servitude or slavery. The only thing with the ability to save us from our conditioning is that wild concept of soul, spirit, divine intervention or inspiration....I say that this isn't enough and therefore we must cultivate that which we have NO idea of. The practice of Yoga, Shamanism (the concept not the word or it’s English translations), ritual, and tantra along side with the natural mind altering paths and foods. My advocacy is towards freedom in the areas that the least of us might be aware of.
The concept from The Matrix arises as a reflection for our society not just through English but through legal and corporate business (a concept of a prison for our minds that we can't see or touch because it IS the world around us). Ever since those first experiences outside the realm of linguistic understanding, I have been searching for FREEDOM. Freedom of the mind and ideas. Freedom to create whatever it is that exists in the great myriad of things... the premise for this essay is to invigorate all who read this to pursue this level of freedom. Freedom exists in the concept and the realization of all things and paradoxical fullness of emptiness that is all around us.
How many other things were killed in the advent of language and more specifically the invention and application of the English language?
All Language is a system of conditioning and manipulation...in order words: mind control. Ask yourself these questions: What language am i thinking in? When was the last time that you had a thought outside of the language in your head? If you have the concept of thoughts (or symbols) that exist outside the limit of your current thinking language then you are touching the aspects of life, oneness, shamanism, and psychedelics. Places that most of use are afraid to visit or conditioned to misunderstand and treat as less valuable than "other things" that exist within societal standards.
When you start to trip-on this concept, then naturally you shall find that with any language that was controlled by a previous language and a group of people that engineered that language to "have first choice over" the expressions of all who would use the language hence forth...
AN EXAMPLE of this is President George W. Bush. His family has probably spoken English for many generations and for some generations his family has been in the business of controlling people and their opinions.
Well someone told George W's parents how to act in the world, and someone told that person, and someone told that person, and someone mentored that person...most likely all in English (at least 5 generations back). Then before the Bush family learned English (from someone who learned it elsewhere), there was a group of people (such as the Illuminati or the new world order, or the Catholic Church)who created English or manipulated pre-existing languages such that the expression were specifically phrased to prevent people from thinking of things that English has no-concept for....if you don't believe this then study Old English :P
Walk away from this reading with these:
1. All things that you know are hiding the truth in plain sight.
2. Learn a Language.
3. Realize there are things that you couldn't possibly know exist because you have no practice in believing.
4. The visual consensual reality is minuscule in comparison to the power of language.
5. Don't go searching for telepathic abilities in the form of words. (Rather choose symbols)
6. Language is a stepping stone to god.
"Ultimately all things are known because you want to believe you know." -Zensunni Koan (Chapterhouse Dune)
Peace,
Trevahr Ryan Hughes
760-713-6710
WakingWithin@gmail.com
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