Simply put, an Intuitive Shaman is someone who is mostly ‘self-taught’ via their intuitive, psychic abilities in harmonious conjunction with their personal connection and communication with their spirit teachers, ancestors, guides or allies from beyond ordinary reality to work for the betterment of all. Intuitive Shamans are here to assist with the harmonious interactions, healing and well-BEing of others and our Mother Earth.’
~ Lynn Solang / Rainbow Starfire 2016
It all started back in my early childhood with a great big White Pointer Shark circling under my bed. The stuff of nightmares some may say – for me, the 1st hints of the amazing Intuitive Shamanic journey that is my life path. So, you may well ask, what is an Intuitive Shaman and how did I become one?
For me, an Intuitive Shaman is a person who [usually from a very young age, but not always] readily uses their other sensory abilities*; experiences & interactions with other BEings, Realms and/or Worlds; & works with energies/frequencies as a ‘natural’ part of their daily life. To an Intuitive Shaman, this is normal, natural, real and ever present, though we are able to ‘switch it off’ – sort of – by focussing more on the here and now around us. Being grounded is a very necessary tool for an Intuitive Shaman! As are good strong healthy boundaries of self-love & knowing who your spiritual team & allies are.
Intuitive Shamans understand that we are ‘walking between worlds’, that these worlds or realms do overlap and parallel this earthly world. For instance, when we’re together, whilst I’m conscious of you, and our conversation, I am simultaneously aware of, and being shown, other energy beings around us, perhaps that your aura appears a certain colour or shape, and that there’s a flow or stream of ‘discussion’ that yours or my guides wish to share. This awareness also occurs when I’m having phone calls, doing Skype sessions or tuning in to do readings and healings.
We Intuitive Shamans tend to be every day folk who naturally use our other sensory abilities*, which we call the Clairs:
- clairvoyance (psychic vision)
- clairaudience (psychic hearing};
- clairsentience (psychic feeling/sensing, including empathy);
- clairtangency (psychic touching or psychometry);
- claircognizance (psychic knowing);
- clairgustance (psychic tasting);
- clairalience (psychic smelling)
as readily as the ways which other folk rely on ‘normal’ ways of communicating, processing information and living in the everyday world.
An Intuitive Shaman consciously & respectfully works with these energies, psychic abilities and the BEings we have as our spiritual team or allies, for the greater good as healers, wayshowers, teachers, guides, & as the simple everyday folk that we are.
In many Indigenous cultures, medicine people or shamans are recognised and identified at an early age, and will typically receive training from the women and men who’s calling it’s been to be a medicine person or shaman. Usually these shamanic teachers have been working for their community for years, providing healing, guidance, advice on ceremony and maintaining traditions etc. So when a child brought up in an Indigenous culture is recognised as having this potential, they will typically start their shamanic or medicine training very young, and continue their education in this way until their teacher deems them ready to go out on their own to work for their village or community.
By contrast however, many of us brought up within the structures of Western Culture, or where our cultural/tribal traditions, wisdom and teachings have been buried due to colonisation, this ready access to supportive, knowledgeable teachers and guides is often not available.
In these circumstances, folk like myself who are naturally and intuitively drawn to the shamanic pathway, find that whilst our sensory abilities are switched ‘on’, these natural abilities are often not understood by our families/peers, we may be ridiculed for them and/or actively discouraged from using them.
I remember clearly as a little girl being told that I was just ‘having bad dreams’ or that it was ‘all in my imagination’ – it wasn’t! I could see, hear, feel and sense these others around me. I had premonitions. I experienced ‘dead people’ appearing before me, often scaring me [as there was no adult in my family who felt comfortable, or knew how, to teach me to work with them].
Consequently, I ‘shut down’ the ability to be a medium [one who works and communicates with those who’ve passed over] and it’s only been within the past decade that I’ve opened up to my mediumship ability again, because for me, it was too scary in my childhood. Nowadays, I have healthy rules and boundaries regarding working with the souls who come to visit and I am comfortable working with them.
With regards to communicating and working with BEings and energies from the other realms, I find this a natural everyday thing to do. The goal for me in my youth was to learn all I could about this, since I wasn’t around folk who practised Shamanic Ways, I found myself exploring what was available to me, including religious traditions with the hope of finding someone who could teach me more, as my thirst for knowledge and practical application of what I was experiencing was something I was very eager to develop and use. As I didn’t have access to a physical, shamanic teacher in my youth, and because I found the church too bound up in constricting ways and misinformation, I turned inward. I ‘knew’ to ask for guidance directly from Spirit/Creator/Goddess.
Over the years, my Intuitive Shamanic practices have grown and evolved in a myriad ways. I started, randomly at first, and then with more precision and accuracy: developing my personal relationship with my guides; discovered spiritual practices & teachings which enabled me to explore and expand upon what others knew in ways that were personally meaningful and applicable; finding teachings from traditional cultures & meeting folk who really spoke to my heart. The BEings of the plant, animal and mineral kingdoms all across Pachamama and within the Lower, Middle and Upper Realms are there to help and guide us when we take the time to contact, connect and communicate with them. All of this, plus my own intuitive, channeled practices have enabled me to establish and build my own ‘well of intuitive shamanic wisdom’ which I can access anytime, anywhere.
This land I am born to, Australia, has been one of my greatest sources of intuitive shamanic learning and experiencing the other worlds and those BEings who inhabit them. This land is Ancient in the deepest sense on all levels of consciousness. She is in my blood, my bones and my breath – I resonate with Her on a visceral level and an holistic one, and I am definitely a ‘work in progress’ learning what I can, when & where I’m guided to be through Her.
As I got older, and once my children were grown, I was able to really immerse myself in my Intuitive Shamanic self & pathway. Even though I’ve never been one for attending lots of workshops or events, or following gurus or spiritual teachers, there were some I was called to which were great sources of discovery for me. From those physical teachers who’ve been in my life, I learnt so much about working with all aspects of the inner and outer self & not to get enmeshed in others ego trips.
Meeting & working with an Inupiat elder taught me so much about energy, drums, drumming and sacred dance – a pivotal turning point in my life. Then there are the wonderful Aboriginal folk who’ve shared so much with me and introduced me to Dadirri – the deep listening to, and being present with, the Now. My Cherokee family in the USA listened to and answered my questions about the Medicine Wheel which enriched my overall understanding of the ways of medicine animals and plants [like tobacco, cedar, sage and sweetgrass] and working respectfully with these.
And all the while, weaving in and through all of this, my inner, Star BEing, witchy goddess-self taught me about the inner and outer Wheel of Life, which I call the Rainbow Labyrinth. I’ve found that by downloading directly from Source, or using ‘proven’ shamanic breathing techniques or via drumming or meditating, by practising Dadirri and walking with awareness, that my Intuitive Shaman self has naturally evolved and grown.
Today, when I’m asked to do a healing or reading, to ‘walk the land’ or communicate with animals or loved ones, I’m employing all of my intuitive abilities* as I simultaneously and consciously move through the other realms to discover the information I seek. Sometimes I use my drums or rattle, mostly however, I simply turn my attention inwards to do this. At other times I have like a transparent ‘overlay screen’ that appears before me and on that screen I will see & hear what I need to know. I’m equally comfortable using shamanic breath to traverse to another world or realm to meet with my spirit guides [power animals, plants or crystals, Devas, Star BEings, Ascended Masters etc] to get clarity, guidance, information & tools/techniques to use, etc.
I hope that whichever way you walk this EarthWalk that you find it enriching & enabling for you. Each of us must discover the way which most uplifts and sustains us.
& as Bear once said to me: ‘6 Billion+ people on the planet Lynn, 6 billion + ways to walk with Creator‘..
in Lak’ech Lynn Solang ~ Rainbow Starfire