Study of Shamanism, 7th Conference

Contents

Article

PP.

Science and Shamanistic Ritual

26-47

Psychic Attack

50-63

Dark Side in Prime Relationships

71-83

Evil Forces in Bali

93-8

Concepts of Evil

98-109

Bigfoot or Sasquatach

158-64

Spiritism in Haiti, Puerto Rico

164-71

Shamanic Statements in Garhwal

172-9

Siberian and Hawaiian Shamanism

180-202

Manchu Shamans; Manchu Mythology

202-8

Spirit after Death

275-83

Shaman’s Drum

328-40

Medicine-Path

348-54

Big Sister’s Sacrifice

368-76

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pp. 26-47 William C. Gough : "Exploring Relationships between Science and Shamanistic Ritual".

p. 32 twistors

"An intrinsic property of twistors is non-locality, a term signifying that a quantum connection exists between objects and events which may be separated by great distances. Thus, disconnected events in space-time, for example, synchronistic events, can appear as a single connected event in twistor space. ... There, in that twistor space of the void, s/he can with skill plant the seeds that lead to the creation of a series of apparently unrelated events in space-time responding to his/her intent."

p. 34 inhaerent sequence for alphabet in <ibri^

"Stan Tenen has been able to able to recreate letters of the Hebrew alphabet in their appropriate sequence by projecting two dimensional shadows from a three dimensional form using a rotational algorithm."

p. 35 inhaerent meanings of phonemes in <arabi^

"a new linguistic and cognitive theory that treats individual letters of the alphabet as having inherent meaning. The meanings of words is built from the meanings of this original letter[s]. ... Readware was invented by Dr. Tom Adi of Management Information Technologies, Inc., Washington, D.C.

He developed also the theoretical foundation from ... Arabic ... .

{"In his chapter, "A Theory of Semantics Based on Old Arabic", Tom Adi develops a theory of semantics using as a foundation his findings on the investigation of the meaning of short words in Old Arabic language. According to these findings, all Arabic vowels and consonants are equivalent to signs referring to abstract objects. He mapped 28 consonants and 4 vowels of Arabic to a 4x8 matrix of interrelated abstract objects and showed that, as a consequence, word roots could be seen as structured signs referring to structured abstract objects. On the one hand, this constitutes a theory of semantics for Old Arabic. On the other hand, Arabic

roots provide an abstract set of concepts which any language could use to render reality." ("S&ISD")} {"We then manually assigned tens of thousands of words from English, French and German to the set of original root words we chose from Ancient Arabic" ("RGAS").}

The technology was patented ... . ... The software performs an Idea Search in contrast to a Keyword Search. It is the first software program in the world that understands human languages without dictionaries ... . The computer program uses two algorithms, one that computes the content of information about reality from the letters of a word, and other that computes the amount of common information content between two arbitrary words."

Tom Adi : "The Readware Framework for Knowledge Processing"--Part I. 2004. http://www.bcngroup.org/beadgames/generativeMethodology/Part1-v2.htm

T. Adi & O. K. Ewell : "Letter Semantics in Arabic Morphology". 1987.

S&ISD = Ricardo Gudwin & João Queiroz : Semiotics and Intelligent Systems Development: An Introduction. http://www.dca.fee.unicamp.br/projects/artcog/files/Preface-SemioticsandIntelligentSystemsDevelopment.pdf

"RGAS" = "Readware -- General Application Specification" http://www.readware.com/Specs.html

p. 41 mind-matter connection

"A feedback model for the mind-matter connection has been proposed by Robert Shacklett. ... the twistor connection forms a bridge between the physical world of space/time that includes particles and the "vacuum" and the spaceless-timeless "void," the realm of mind and morphogenetic fields and patterns".

p. 42 acupuncture-meridian circuit; planets are conscious

"Research using laser light {i.e., monochromatic light} has shown that in the human body light is conducted along the meridians and enters/exits the body only at the acupuncture points. The light will only propagate between points of the same acupuncture circuit (Pankratov, 1989:22-23)." {Do the acupuncture-meridians (of the aitheric body) act as optical fibres (for aitheric light in the aitheric web)?}

"the sun, moon, and planets are "conscious," i.e., they are large and nearby matter/informational systems ... with which we interact." {"interact" = ‘telepathize’?}

Pankratov 1989 = Sergei Pankratov : "Meridians Conduct Light". RAUM UND ZEIT (English language edition), vol. 1, no. 1 (April-May 1989).

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pp. 50-63 Shelley Thomson : "Psychic Attack in Modern Shamanic Practice".

pp. 55 thought-forms; diagnosis; reversing-technique

"thought-forms may be generated and sent out to attach themselves to the target ... . When this is done, one sees well-formed energy which does not resonate with the client but is embedded in his/her aura.

One of the simplest diagnostic techniques for this form of attack is the protective circle found in Dion Fortune’s Psychic Self-Defense. ... I instruct the client to form this circle and report on its appearance."

"The most effective and satisfying defense is to reverse the technique. The procedure returns to malevolent energy to the attacker and serves notice to him/her".

pp. 55-6 common fallacies; what not to attempt & why not to

p. 55

"It is commonly believed that the only way to defend oneself against psychic attack is to start throwing curses oneself. This is untrue."

 

"Note that the "remedies" do not include affirmation, white light, sending love, and so forth. These behaviors do not constitute useful defenses ... . They ... may put the person into a vulnerable position. ...

We do not handle the problem of toxic waste by volunteering to eat and transmute the bad

p. 56

chemicals. The preferred way of coping with psychic attack is to strengthen one’s boundaries and expel noxious energies from the aura.

 

[incorrect popular beliefs] Here are some popular beliefs about psychic attack :

it can only happen to people who believe in it;

it can only happen to people who invite it;

if true, nothing can be done about it;

there is no way to tell for sure whether it is really happening;

all negativity comes from within.

 

If such belief system would be applied to any other human problem – to disease, for instance – we would consider it unresponsive. We would see that it embodies a profound rejection of the person who is suffering and offers reasons {excuses} for not alleviating his/her distress. I suggest that this is an avoidance behavior ... .

To deal with these assertions, I think disbelieving in psychic attack is not a defense. In fact, many powerful modes of psychic attack rely on the target not knowing the attack has occurred. ... The attacker often finds it easier to carry this off if the individual blames him-/herself for his/her troubles. ...

Victims of psychic attack do no more to invited [t]their situation than the victims of any other violent crime. Psychic attack can succeed whether the target believes in it or not; and the defense can succeed whether the attacker knows the technique or not, but the most effective measures are those that come as a surprise to the other party. I advise my clients never to tell anyone exactly what defenses they used."

pp. 56-7 symptoms of a psychic attack

p.

symptom

56

"difficulty in grounding"

 

"persistent bad luck"

57

"persistent disagreeable fantasies and waking dreams"

 

"bizarre coincidences"

p. 57 contagion of psychic attack

"There is a tendency for the attack to spread to persons who sympathize with or help the target. The counselor will begin to experience some of the problems the client has been complaining about. Moreover, most cases of psychic attack have a dire and loathsome aura. It is very unpleasant to have this energy in one’s space. That feeling by itself is evidence that an attack is genuine."

pp. 57-8 attack by an evil spirit

p. 57

"a demonic attack is an attack ... by an entity with a cabalistic name. {viz., by a qlippah} ... This type of attack is characterized by

a peculiarly dreadful and hateful aura, such that one feels an immediate intense aversion to the victim;

psychokinetic events;

severe disturbances of the mental life, like unpleasant waking dreams;

bad luck; and finally,

should you sympathize with the

p. 58

victim and entertain the idea of helping, these effects will immediately and unmistakeably start to occur in your space. Demonic attack is transferrable.

 

[100 "6"s] When I wrote the above passage ..., I turned away for a moment ... . Much to my surprise I found that all the above sixes had appeared on the terminal [computer monitor] ... ." {I have also noticed the tendency of the computer (Word document program) to become suddenly temporarily inoperable at the instant when I am able to type a passage disclosing activity by spirits.}

p. 60 vortex of consciousness

"In normal consciousness, there is a visible vortex around which ... elements swirl; in an enlightened person, the vortex contains a brilliant light."

"I picked out a collection of the better bits ... and created a vortex to hold them in place. It was stable ... . I left it in place."

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pp. 71-83 Peter & Mary Ann Skaife : "A Model for Dealing with the Dark Side in Prime Relationships".

p. 73 "Shamanic Tantric Medicine Wheel" of 8 basic energies [starting at top and proceeding clockwise]

symbol

meaning

sun

"your dream energy"

tear

"loss of the dream"

pig

"addictive energy"

skull

"death"

black hole

"direct action toward one’s dream"

"rainbow circle"

"healing"

yin/yang

"abundance"

birds

"freedom"

double-heart with 3 feathers [at centre of diagram]

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pp. 93-8 Donald Sandner : "Rituals for Dealing with Evil Forces in Bali".

pp. 94-5 one shamaness, of Abienkapas nigh Denpasar

p. 94

"one day, while she was in the temple, she was entered and possessed by a god who became her spiritual mentor and guide. ... When she sees a patient, ... she feels suddenly hot or cold inside; Then her inner guide becomes active, and while she is in a trance, the guide contacts an ancestor ... of the patient. She said, "It’s like a shadow. I can contact it easily if someone wants to know something. The patient must ... ask the ancestor to come to me. ..." ...

p. 95

For each patient she goes quickly and easily into a trance, using only incense, some betel nut, prayers and holy water (tirta). {Is this useress of tirtha (tirta) a Tirthankara?} She prays for guidance before seeing each of the patients."

p. 95 another shamaness, from Batusari nigh Denpasar

"She uttered spine-tingling cries and shrieks when she went into a trance, and dispensed a great deal of holy water ... for which she was famous. Her inner powers often directed her in prescribing herbal medicine."

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pp. 98-109 Lewis E. Mehl : "Native American Concepts of Evil". [Lakota]

p. 103 myth of origin of gambling

Lakota

Maha-bharata

When, disguised as Wazi, Iktomi was "teaching them how to gamble", "Yata cheats to win."

In gambling, Duryodhana cheated in order to win.

"Iktomi tricks the brother ... as they journey toward the south."

Then, those defeated in this gambling traveled to the south.

p. 104 rabbit-skin & fire

Lakota

Tsalagi (Cherokee)

Iktomi carried a "rabbit skin" under his garment.

Rabbit went "leaving his own" skin on the occasion of the "rain-king fire" ("RSOC").

For Iktomi "the friction started the wood burning on his back."

Waterstrider carried fire on its back.

"RSOC" = http://www.ilhawaii.net/~stony/1197lore.html

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pp. 158-64 James A. Swan : "The Bigfoot or Sasquatach".

p. 160 shamanic significance of Sasquatach

"(1) If a person dreams of Bigfoot or sees one ... as a vision ..., the Bigfoot is said to be a guardian spirit;

(2) some shamans are supposed to be able to appear in the shape of a Bigfoot; and

(3) many shamans assert that Bigfoot is a natural guardian of sacred places

(Swan, 1990:94-96)."

Swan 1990 = James Swan : Sacred Places : How the Living Earth Seeks Our Friendship. Santa Fe` : Bear & Co.

p. 161 the 3 types of praeternatural beings who dwell in the forest

"(1) large, hairy ape-people who have a strong musky odor, can cast energy that can make people go crazy, have large feet, and carry sticks that can knock down trees;

(2) ogre women who sometimes catch and eat children; and

(3) smaller elf-like creatures. These beings are generally said to live underground, many have a fondness for ... marshes and swamps. They may become allied with shamans who may see such creatures on spiritual quests for power

(Suttles, 1979:42)."

Suttles 1979 = Wayne Suttles : "On the Cultural Track of the Sasquatach". In :- Roderick Sprague & Grover Krantz (edd.) : The Scientist Looks at Sasquatach. Moscow (ID) : U Pr of ID. pp. 39-73.

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pp. 164-71 Stanley Krippner : "A First-Hand Account of Spiritism in Haiti, Puerto Rico, and Cuba".

p. 166 dessounin (funeral ritual) at Port-of-Prince

"a gourd was broken; after examining the pieces, the mambos and houngans determined that the soul of the deceased had left its body and begun its travel to the lower world. After a year and a day in those realms, the soul could become a minor loa, returning to give advice and comfort to the naga (living humans)."

p. 167 European spiritist religions

religion

is based on the writings of __

a __ philosopher

Scientific Spiritism

Alan Kardec

French

Trincadismo

Joaquim Trincado

Spanish

p. 169 a spiritist in Puerto Rico

"Felix Rodriguez ... practices "Scientific Spiritism" with his clients. ... Don Felix has published a book about his work, claiming that its contents were dictated by the spirits through "automatic writing" (Rodriguez, 1973). Don Felix’s spirit guide, working through him, assists with diagnosis as well as treatment plans. These may include ... magnetic passes, hypnotism, and suggestions. ... Frequently, Don Felix will use a wooden knife to "direct the healing energy.""

Rodriguez 1973 = Felix Rodriguez : Luz de la Verdad Espiritual. Buenos Aires : Kier.

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pp. 172-9 Alok Saklani : "An Analysis of Shamanic Statements in Garhwal". [Nepal]

pp. 172, 178 consultations with bakia

p. 172

"In order to develop faith in their clients, bakias begin a consultation with divining the purpose of the person’s visit, also describing his/her circumstances in life (size of family, property holdings, etc.)."

p. 178

"bakia statements are both specific and potentially paranormal, thus ... they (the bakias) may follow a method which is ... authentic. ... However, bakias ... say that whatever is spoken during a session is the "word of the deity." Some bakias confess ... that the household deity of the person assists during consultations. ... some bakias also mentioned that the possessing deity "which hold consultations through their bodies" is like a current which keeps fluctuating".

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pp. 180-202 Larissa Vilenskaya : "Siberian and Hawaiian Shamanism : Preliminary ... Comparisons".

p. 181 a dream

"In my dream, I saw a beautiful woman, with slightly dark skin, large eyes, long hair, in white attire. She suddenly appeared before me and told me in a soft voice, "remember, my name is Pele and I come from fire." she said she was the goddess of Fire and continued telling me about my purpose in life, and my spiritual development. Suddenly her white attire became golden and acquired the color of flame and she disappeared".

pp. 184-5 kahuna-s

p. 184

"Rodman (1979:11) lists ... divisions of ... spiritual kahunas ... : ...

"Kilo-kilo, divination."

"Nana-uli, the art of prophesying the weather."

"La>au lapa>au, an order of healing priests who ... healed broken bones".

"Kahu-kuhi pu[>]u-one, locators and designers of "heiau," or temples."

"Makani, a wind priesthood with powers over mystic spirits."

"Ho[>}o-noho-noho, an order of priests within the makani priesthood who were dispensatories of the spirits of deceased persons".

 

"what the Hawaiians call ">ike," spiritual power, ... can be transmitted to others (Bray, [1959]:4 ...). Similarly, Yakut shamans are believed to possess a special shaman-soul, su:r, that

p. 185

distinguishes them from non-shamans. This shaman-soul can be given to the future shaman at birth or received from Ulu-Tojon, the god of thunder (Holmberg, 1964:498-499). The Buryat believe that most important for a future shaman is the possession of a shaman ancestral spirit, called utxa (Krader, 1978:195)."

Rodman 1979 = Julius Scammon Rodman : The Kahuna Sorcerers of Hawaii, Past and Present. Hicksville (NY) : Exposition Pr.

Bray = David K Bray : The Kahuna Religion of Hawaii. 1959.

Holmberg 1964 = Uno Holmberg : Finno-Uric and Siberian Mythology. NY : Cooper Sq Publ.

Krader 1978 = Lawrence Krader : "Shamanism ... in Buryat Society". In :- Dio`szegi & Hoppa`l (edd.) : Shamanism in Siberia. Budapest : Akademiai Kiado. pp. 181-236.

p. 185 training to become a kahuna

"He learned through a process of "mental absorption," observation, close contact with the spiritual forces ... . Some of his practices were based on the Polynesian theory that through constant invocations, using the same words and tone of voice, eventually the deities become accustomed (ho[>]omau) to the calls, and will respond readily willingly, and promptly (Kenn, 1949:20-22)."

Kenn 1949 = Charles W. Kenn (Arii-Peu Tama-Iti) : Fire-Walking from the Inside. Los Angeles : Franklin Thomas.

p. 186 assistance rendered by an >aumakua

"the Hawaiians believe that the <aumakua, the intermediary between the living and the dead, help them to contact a place of darkness called Milu and a place of light called Wakea. ... (Beckwith, [1940]:160)"

Beckwith = Martha Warren Beckwith : Hawaiian Mythology. 1940.

pp. 188, 198 multiple souls

p. 198, n. 3

"Hawaiians ... perceive

>unihipili as a detached spirit,

>uhane as a ghost, and

>aumakua as an ancestral spirit

(see, e.g., Pukui et al., 1975)."

p. 188

"the Nanai also insist on the existence of man’s three souls, omja, panya, ane uksuki (oksaj) ... .

 

Omja is the child’s soul that gradually turns into a panja.

{In the dreams of a young child, the witnessing self hath no dream-body, which cometh into operation later.}

 

During sleep a panja leaves our body and roves as freely as it pleases, while we dream.

{Ordinary dreams are sometimes defined as "partial projections" by experiencers of out-of-body projections.}

 

Uksuki or oksaj does not leave the body (Smoljak, 1978:442)."

Pukui et al. 1975 = Mary Pukui; E. W. Hartig; Catherine Lee : Nana i ke Kumu. Honolulu.

Smoljak 1978 = A. V. Smoljak : "Some Notions of the Human Soul among the Nanais". In :- Dio`szegi & Hoppa`l (edd.) : Shamanism in Siberia. Budapest : Akademiai Kiado. pp. 439-448.

pp. 189-90 fire-goddess

p. 189

"In their prayers, the Ostiak call the fire "Fire girl" or "Fire woman," as to the Chermiss and other Volga people. The Mordvin say, "The Fire Mother ‘flames,’ " the Ostiak speak of "many-tongues Fire Mother," and in the Cheremiss prayer we hear, "Fire Mother, thou ... whose tongue is sharp" (Holmberg, 1964:235-236 ...). Among the Nganasan, ... Tu-njami, "Mother Fire," ... was a female divinity who protected the home, assisted in childbirth, chased off diseases, and purified people who violated some sacred establishment. ... Mother Fire was imagined as a woman who continually gave birth to girls in the form of tongues of fire (Simcenko, 1978:510). The Enet[s] and Nenet[s] especially worshipped ... tu e (Enet) or tu nebe (Nenet), "Fire’s Mother."

 

"She warms the fire as the mother warms her child," the Enet[s] explain (Vasiljev, 1978:435).

{Fire which is not warm may be witnessed in dreams.}

 

Because of its numerous flames, Altaic shamans call fire the "thirty-headed mother, the forty-headed virgin-mother." ...

p. 190

In Yukagir beliefs, Mother Fire looks like a naked small girl. ...

Hawaiians believe that the fire-goddess Pele "has been seen as a woman covered with flames, or even as if she were flame in the shape of a woman" (Mullins, 1985:32)."

Simcenko 1978 = Yu B. Simcenko : "Mother-Cult among the North-Eurasian Peoples." In :- Dio`szegi & Hoppa`l (edd.) : Shamanism in Siberia. Budapest : Akademiai Kiado. pp. 503-13.

Vasiljev 1978 = V. I. Vasiljev : "Animistic Notions of the Enets and the Yenisei Nenets". In :- Dio`szegi & Hoppa`l (edd.) : Shamanism in Siberia. Budapest : Akademiai Kiado. pp. 429-37.

Mullins 1985 = Joe Mullins : Hawaii’s Volcanoes. Honolulu, 1985.

pp. 190-1 fire-immunity

p. 190

"In Manchuria, on the Russian-Mongolian border, the shaman initiation ceremony included the candidate’s walking over burning coals. ... Eskimo shamans also had to prove their powers by demonstrating their insensitivity to fire (Eliade, 1964 ...:112-113, 476). A Siberian shaman could reportedly walk over red-hot coals , take red-hot iron in his hands

p. 191

and put red-hot metal in his mouth without being burned (... Drury, 1989:12).

Firewalking is also practiced in Hawaii, but ... the islanders prefer hot ... volcanic lava (as soon as the lava is hard enough to bear a person’s weight). Hawaiian kahunas are known to demonstrate their mastery over fire, not only walking on the ... lava themselves, but also extending their power to protect others {from being burned while walking likewise over the hot lava} (... Long, [1948]:31-37)."

Drury 1989 = Newville Drury : The Elements of Shamanism. Longmead, Shaftesbury (Dorset) : Element Bks.

Long = Max Freedom Long : The Secret Science Behind Miracles. 1948.

p. 192 soul-travel : out-of-body experiences

[myth about Pele (praesumably based on actual experiences of shamanesses)] "Her spirit went from where she slept ... . Over the sea her spirit body ... went to the Island of Kauai (Colum, 1937:26-27). ... "He tried to grasp her and hold her, but ... her spirit body floated away, leaving the house, leaving the island, crossing the sea, and coming back to where her body lay in the cavern" (Colum 1937:27). ... Then Hiiaka went to Pele’s body and chanted over it. And the spirit body that had been hovering over the prostrate body entered into it ... (Colum, 1937:28-29)."

[Lapp & Yurak Samoyed (Nentsy) actuality] "A person asks the shaman to report that everything is well in his distant home, and the shaman is demanded to show his reliability by telling his client where in the house the latter keeps his ring. The shaman does not, correctly (Hultkrantz, 1978:54)."

Colum 1937 = Padraic Colum : Legends of Hawaii.

Hultkrantz 1978 = Aoke Hultkrantz : "Ecological and Phenomenological Aspects of Shamanism". In :- Dio`szegi & Hoppa`l (edd.) : Shamanism in Siberia. Budapest : Akademiai Kiado. pp.27-58.

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pp. 202-8 Shi Kun : "Manchu Shamans; Manchu Mythology".

p. 204 myth of origin of humans

"The Guar’jia clan worships the goddess Hehe Mani (... hehe means "female genital organs") who was created from the body dirt of the goddess Ai Hehe (Sky Mother). Hehe Mani scratched a piece of the blue sky to make a drum and removed a mountain to make a drum whip. When the sky and mountain crashed into each other, out of the earth-shaking drum came the first man and woman and other living beings on earth."

p. 205 cosmogony

[myth about Abkai En-duri (Sky God)] "In the beginning, the sky and the sea were connected. The Sky God created the first man and woman and put them in a jar above the water. When the jar became full of people, the Sky God

created the earth and had it rest on three giant fish.

{In Shinto cosmology, the earth is a giant catfish.}

When the land was overpopulated, the Sky God felled the largest tree in the sky and linked it to the earth. Then the people developed along the branches (of the World Tree)".

p. 205 cosmology

"There are seventeen layers of the sky and nine layers of earth."

"Mounting the cloud heavens /

Ninety-nine layers /

Countless gods dwell in every layer."

p. 205 mythic origin of shamanic drum

"The shaman’s drum is called wendun in Manchu, meaning "vast space." ... all the layers of the universe are connected by a hole, which is covered with a cloud of white mist. The Sky Mother tore a sheet of the mist to make a drum for the white shaman on earth; so the shaman’s drum is round like a hole and white like a cloud. The cosmic drum makes it possible for the shaman to fly, to call thunderstorms, and to hear the voice from all the deities and spirits in the universe."

p. 206 lightning myth

"The ... myth, Battles in the Sky, describes the coming of Abkai Hehe (from lightning). She later controlled three hundred goddesses of the Jurchen."

{cf. the Vajra-yana (‘lightning career’) entailing vulva-worship.}

p. 206 willow myth

"Goddess Anchula was punished for eating the forbidden offerings. After she was sent down to earth,

{For eating the forbidden fruit, H.awwah (together with her husband) was sent down to earth.}

she happened to eat none pieces of (willow) leaves and gave birth to nine calabashes. Out came nine young women who later produced nine tribes in the Anchula area.

Willow leaf (hehe) ... designs are also engraved on the cosmic box (made of birch bark) which is the residence of Abkai Hehe."

p. 206 the epic Wubuxiben Mama

"At the time of creation the Sky Mother sent down her eagle-headed maid servant Wuledun Mama to become the first shamaness on earth. When the shamaness began to dance and drum, the first five beats created the blue sly, the yellow earth, water, sun fire, and human beings and animals. Overjoyed about the creation, the shamaness drummed three more beats and awakened the demons in the underworld. From then on she had to continuously beat the drum in order to summon the gods and goddesses for help. All present-day shamans ... must follow her example in beating the drum to save the world from evil forces."

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pp. 275-83 Jean Millay : "What Happens to a Spirit after Death".

p. 275 a being of light

"people ... know me as a "medium" or "channel." ... I discovered that people who had recently died came to "talk" to me or

to ask me questions about why they still had questions instead of "nothingness."

{If a supernatural apparition were to ask me such a "quaestion", I might tend to regard it as likely to be joking.}

From that first "conversation with a spirit" over 30 years ago, I have examined several questions of my own, e.g., what happens to the spirit after death? ... I found a spirit guide to ask such questions. However, at the time,

I thought it was only the manifestation of the higher mind of group energy as we held hands in a circle.

{A divine being might well be attracted by the "group energy" of people in a pious prayer-circle.}

When we all focussed on a light in the center of the group, a Light Being would begin to speak through me. We gave it the name "Ronak" to make it easier to talk to a light energy form.

"He" didn’t seem to have a sense of humor, but

{Or was any humor simply misunderstood?}

"he" did seem to upgrade the questions that were asked. I didn’t always know what was being said through me, though the members of the group seemed to appreciate the answers."

pp. 275-6 curing of epileptics and of spastics in Brazil

p. 275

"I had the opportunity to go to Brazil and spent some time with espiritistas. ... One of their ideas is that epilepsy occurs when a spirit guide is trying to get in touch with you and you are not paying attention.

 

In his clinic at Sa[~]o Paulo, Dr. Mendez uses ... mediums. He puts his hands on both sides of the head of three mediums as well as [of] the patient which puts each of them into a trance. Then he asks them to lie on the floor with their heads together at the hub and their bodies at right angles to each other in the four cardinal directions. The patient is in the north and the three mediums are in the south, west and east positions, respectively. While the patient lies still, the mediums take on ... each of them ... a different role in the dynamic of the patient. ...

p. 276

The most amazing moment came when a spastic became still after being placed in trance while one of the mediums in his healing group began to take on his spastic movements."

p. 276 a pair of beings of light

"During the time I was in Sa[~]o Paulo, I was invited to a sunrise meditation meeting involving twenty mediums ... . ... In this circle I experienced two separate beings of light in front of me. ... The doctor who had brought me there ... surprised me by saying, "... I saw two spirits who bowed in front of you. These are very important things for us"".

pp. 277-8 a jocose spirit at a particular se’ance

p. 277

While officiating as medium in a se’ance at San Francisco, "I asked that the chairs be placed in a circle in the center of the room and that cut roses be placed in each of the four corners. I burned some sage. ... I decided to play ... by Raphael, "Music to Disappear In" ... . ... I asked the guests to hold hands in a circle, the seance began

p. 278

and ... we continued the request for spirit communication. The next thing I knew was this deep voice coming through me ... . ... He made up obscene and funny verses to popular songs. "My Blue Heaven" ... became in his version the name of a local brothel. ... He had an eternity to dissolve himself in Heaven and he didn’t think there was a sense of humor there. ... He preferred the company of people who are still alive. ... His religion was to tell jokes, sing funny songs and make people happy. ... If the hotel really wanted to communicate ..., they could celebrate ... by having ragtime music with dancers in costumes of the period."

p. 279 memories of praevious incarnations

"Small children sometimes remember parts of their former lives – where they have lived and their former parents. This memory is usually lost after the age of four or five, it may reappear again when an individual becomes twenty or thirty years old."

p. 280 souls of the dead who come to se’ances; effect of soul of the dead on their significant others

"A person may not know that s/he has died, because the end came abruptly. Or someone who knows s/he has died and expects the consciousness to end is often bewildered by the continuation of thought. They go to a medium (or anyone who is willing to be aware of the presence of an unresolved consciousness) asking for guidance or simply recognition. ... Many do not return to "talk" to us, some are surprised to find that they still can.

... some will continue to channel Love through the heart chakra from the cosmic realm to their significant others. To the living, the power of such cosmic love can feel like a pain in the heart. ... When, however, the pain is identified with love energy from the departed, the experience can become transcendental ... as the heart chakra opens to this new energy."

p. 281 necessity to honor the "Devil" after death

"an ageless Tibetan demon ... chases spirits back into reincarnation in the dust world if they don’t recognize both Self and Him as part of the original creation. ... Buddhists are prepared for Him by his teachings. The Christians mat think that the Devil is after them and will choose a new body to hide from such a thought form. The thought form will burst through the dreams of the fugitive during the next life."

p. 282 karman & dharma

"Dean Brown’s definitions apply here :

karma = free will;

dharma = Acts of God."

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pp. 328-40 Mickey Hart : "Shaman’s Drum : Skeleton Key to Other Worlds".

p. 328 author’s book

"the shaman chapter of my upcoming book, Drumming, At the Edge of Magic (San Francisco, CA : Harper and Row, 1990)."

pp. 336-7 H^akass shaman’s drum

p. 336

"The Khakass shaman does not make his own drum. In a trance {dream?} he receives special instructions from the "masters of the holy mountain," which he then imparts to the members of his tribe who are responsible for building the drum. These instructions ... include the

location of the tree that is to furnish the wood for the drum’s body,

how the animal that will furnish the skin is to be killed,

what sort of design is to be etched upon this skin,

what sort of pendants are to be fastened to the drum, and

how the handle is to be fashioned.

It is vital that the wood for the body of the drum and handle be procured in such a way that the trees that furnish them are unharmed. ...

The Khakass make their shaman drums from crimson willow. ...

On either side of the drum’s handgrip, which comes from a birch tree, hang four bronze bells with iron rungs as clappers, plus five metal cones and six curved iron plates, all arranged to clash together when the drum

p. 337

is shaken. ...

The bells are the shaman’s messengers; they also help in the recitation of the songs.

The cones are to drive away the bad spirits from the body of the sick person ... . ...

The drum skin is made from horsehide, which is stitched to the body with tendons.

The birch handgrip is called mars, meaning tiger, and it represents the master spirit of the drum. Six pairs of holes are drilled in the handgrip. These are the eyes of the tiger. It is through these eyes that the shaman’s spirit allies enter and depart from the drum. ...

Once the drum has been fashioned, ... the drum must be played by a young child for three days, right before bed time. This "lightens" the drum.

Next, the drum is decorated with symbols of the shaman’s world map. The surface of the drum skin is divided into two parts, one representing the upper world, the other the lower world. ...

Once the world map has been drawn, the shaman ... begins seeking the soul of the animal whose skin now cover his drum. He searches in the animal’s favorite grazing spots, even locates the place where the animal was born, and eventually he captures the wandering soul. ...

Then he goes into trance and rides to the World Tree to show his drum to the Lord of the Universe, who in turn makes sure that all his instruction have been carried out. If the drum is approved, then the Lord of the Universe assigns the shaman his animal allies. He also tells the shaman how many drums he will play in his lifetime".

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pp. 348-54 Royal E. Alsup : "The Medicine Path : the Healing Power of Love".

p. 349 God within us (according to C. G. Jung)

"Jung asserts that the archetype of the self is indistinguishable from ... the likeness of God imprinted in the human soul at creation (Jung, Psychology of Religion, 1959:157). ...

The experience of the self is said to be the experience of the ‘God within us’ " (Jung, Two Essays on Analytical Psychology, [1953]:250)".

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pp. 368-76 Lewis E. Mehl : "Big Sister’s Sacrifice". [Lakota]

pp. 374-5 origin of galaxy from fragments of dead woman’s bones

p. 374

After being rescued in the sky-world by a wolf regenerated from its tooth, then out of that world, a young woman "jumped down. For two days she fell. Finally she hit the ground ... . ... But the eagle ... went over where there were ... tiny bones everywhere. ... She was dead. ... On the next hill, a beautiful woman appeared, all dressed in white buckskin. She ... picked up every single bone,

{In Aztec mythology, from pulverized bones of the dead, a god (Xolotl or Quetzalcoatl, each sometimes depicted with wolf-features) made a new race of mankind.}

p. 375

saying, "... I am going to put them in the sky. I am going to make a road out of these bones ... . ... This young woman ... will be the road. She will be one of us, one of the sacred beings." ... If anyone wanted to get a message to the Creator, they gave it to their sister and she put it right through."

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE STUDY OF SHAMANISM held at San Rafael (CA) in 1990. Independent Scholars of Asia, 1990.