Forum: Spiritual Journeys

Hi ReaderRo,
There are actually several schools of thought about how one becomes a shaman.
Some people believe that a person must be born into or receive the rights through heredity in order to be a shaman. Others believe that one receives a spritual command, typically during a serious physical illness, and then after this the person goes into shamanic training.
Other people believe that one can choose to become a shaman and then receive training and mentoring from an experienced instructor. Some cultures believe this type of shaman to be unacceptable or less powerful.

But if a person chooses to become a shaman it's important to remember that it's a way of life and can be very demanding. It's highly important to receive quality instuction and guidance. You might find it helpful to visit the Society for Shamanic Practitioners at http://www.shamansociety.org/what.HTML to find some more information about shamanism and training. A word of caution though, people should avoid places that charge outrageous fees or claim to be able train someone to be a shaman in one weekend.

I'll be interested to hear the responses of other forum visitors too.

ReaderRo wrote:

Wow! I had no idea it was this involved. Thank you for the link, too. I checked it out and I'm even more intrigued now. It's all so fascinating, isn't it? So would you say that a shaman who is born through a lineage of shamans would be gifted,even if they don't use their gifts in practice?