What is the Shamanic view of illness?

Shamans view illness holistically. They assess the health of a person by tracking their alignment of Mind, Body and Spirit.

Rather than trying to cure a symptom, which is the tradition of western allopathic medicine, the shamanic viewpoint is to look at the whole system, and track the symptom to its source. Shamans believe that all illness has a spiritual origin, which is based in some trauma that the patient has experienced. The trauma energetically imprints that person, and if left unhealed or untended, can develop into a chronic emotional, mental or physical condition. Therefore, shamans heal the spiritual origins of illness, so the imprint of trauma no longer forms our reality, and we can return to a state of Grace.

Loss of Power: From birth, we each have had helping spirits who protect us and give us personal power. If a helping spirit leaves, the person may experience a run of illness or bad luck. The shaman’s task is to find a helping spirit that is willing to help the person.

Soul Loss: In trauma, a part of the soul may break away from the person as a vital survival strategy. Though most soul parts return on their own, if they get “lost,” the person may experience feelings of emptiness or incompleteness. The shaman’s task is to find the lost soul part, and return it.

Intrusion: An energy form that attaches itself to a person is itself neither good nor bad, but can cause illness, because it is incompatible with the person’s own energy. The shaman removes, or “extracts,” the intrusion.