Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Shamans and Don Juan Matus

2014-01-14 Thread Richard Williams 
Shamanism

It might be a good idea for you to check the definition of 'shaman'.
According to Mircea Eliade, shamans don't have anything to do with South
Asian 'meditation' or Yoga techniques. A 'shaman' is someone who is
supposedly concerned with communication with the spirit world and
communicate with the souls of the dead. Shamans are sometimes thought of as
intermediaries between the human and spirit worlds,  communicating with the
supernatural world. Some anthropologists even doubt the existence of
'shamanism' as an ancient, unchanged, and surviving religion from the
Paleolithic period.

Shamanic imagery often includes being transported to the spirit world and
interacting with beings inhabiting the distant world of spirits, meeting a
spiritual guide, being devoured by some being and emerging transformed,
and/or being "dismantled" and "reassembled" again, often with implanted
amulets such as magical crystals. The imagery of initiation generally
speaks of transformation and the granting powers to transcend death and
rebirth.

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamanism

Work cited:

'Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy'
By Mircea Eliade
Princeton University Press, 2004




On Sat, Oct 12, 2013 at 9:52 PM, Richard J. Williams
wrote:

>  Apparently, the proto-Shiva discovered in the Indus Valey is the
> original horned god of world mythology, Lord of Animals. This tradition
> originated in South India about 4,000 B. C. and then spread to North India
> via the Indus Valley Civilization. By all accounts, this early South Indian
> tradition was Shamanistic in nature and Totemic in character, based on a
> belief in the Fertility and the Tree of Plenty, which was inherited from
> Southeast Asia.
>
> When the Vedic Aryans arrived in what is now Pakistan, having come from
> the steppes of Eurasia, by way of Asia Minor, the Aryan, that is, the
> Indo-European speaking people, adopted many traditions from the native
> population, such as the worship of the Shiva/Rudra, and worship of the
> Goddess of Fertility, the Bhairav/Durga nexus.
>
>
>
> On 10/12/2013 8:48 PM, nelsonriddle2...@yahoo.com wrote:
>
>
>
> Interesting observation that.
>  Did they turn red after they got here and, they must have all left
> together as there don't seem to be any left there from what I have heard.
>
>
>
>
> ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, 
> wrote:
>
>  They don't call Native Americans "Indians" for nothing, since they all
> came from Asia in the first place. Go figure.
>
>  According to what I've read, a recent study of a 40,000 year old skeleton
> from  China "showed that early modern humans present in the Beijing area
> 40,000 y ago were related to the ancestors of many present-day Asians as
> well as Native Americans."
>
>  So, what is a shaman anyway?
>
>  A shaman is anybody who contacts a spirit world while in an altered
> state of consciousness.
>
>  The idea is based  on the notion that the visible world is of the senses
> is pervaded by invisible forces or spirits which affect the lives of living
> people. Shamans can reach altered states of consciousness in order to
> encounter and interact with the spirit world and channel transcendental
> energies.
>
>  "For me there is only the traveling on the paths that have heart, on any
> path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge
> for me is to traverse its full length. And there I travel—looking, looking,
> breathlessly." - Don Juan Matus
>
>  Only known photography of Don Juan Matus:
>
>  [image: Inline image 1]
>
>
>
>
> 
>
>
>

Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Shamans and Don Juan Matus

2013-10-12 Thread Richard J. Williams 
Apparently, the proto-Shiva discovered in the Indus Valey is the 
original horned god of world mythology, Lord of Animals. This tradition 
originated in South India about 4,000 B. C. and then spread to North 
India via the Indus Valley Civilization. By all accounts, this early 
South Indian tradition was Shamanistic in nature and Totemic in 
character, based on a belief in the Fertility and the Tree of Plenty, 
which was inherited from Southeast Asia.


When the Vedic Aryans arrived in what is now Pakistan, having come from 
the steppes of Eurasia, by way of Asia Minor, the Aryan, that is, the 
Indo-European speaking people, adopted many traditions from the native 
population, such as the worship of the Shiva/Rudra, and worship of the 
Goddess of Fertility, the Bhairav/Durga nexus.



On 10/12/2013 8:48 PM, nelsonriddle2...@yahoo.com wrote:


Interesting observation that.
 Did they turn red after they got here and, they must have all left 
together as there don't seem to be any left there from what I have heard.




---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com,  
wrote:


They don't call Native Americans "Indians" for nothing, since they all 
came from Asia in the first place. Go figure.


According to what I've read, a recent study of a 40,000 year old 
skeleton from  China "showed that early modern humans present in the 
Beijing area 40,000 y ago were related to the ancestors of many 
present-day Asians as well as Native Americans."


So, what is a shaman anyway?

A shaman is anybody who contacts a spirit world while in an altered 
state of consciousness.


The idea is based  on the notion that the visible world is of the 
senses is pervaded by invisible forces or spirits which affect the 
lives of living people. Shamans can reach altered states of 
consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit world 
and channel transcendental energies.


"For me there is only the traveling on the paths that have heart, on 
any path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile 
challenge for me is to traverse its full length. And there I 
travel—looking, looking, breathlessly." - Don Juan Matus


Only known photography of Don Juan Matus:

Inline image 1

[FairfieldLife] RE: Shamans and Don Juan Matus

2013-10-12 Thread nelsonriddle2001 
Interesting observation that.
 Did they turn red after they got here and, they must have all left together as 
there don't seem to be any left there from what I have heard.
  
 

---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com,  wrote:

 They don't call Native Americans "Indians" for nothing, since they all came 
from Asia in the first place. Go figure.
 

According to what I've read, a recent study of a 40,000 year old skeleton from  
China "showed that early modern humans present in the Beijing area 40,000 y ago 
were related to the ancestors of many present-day Asians as well as Native 
Americans." 

 So, what is a shaman anyway?

 

 A shaman is anybody who contacts a spirit world while in an altered state of 
consciousness. 
 

 The idea is based  on the notion that the visible world is of the senses is 
pervaded by invisible forces or spirits which affect the lives of living 
people. Shamans can reach altered states of consciousness in order to encounter 
and interact with the spirit world and channel transcendental energies.
 

 "For me there is only the traveling on the paths that have heart, on any path 
that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge for me 
is to traverse its full length. And there I travel—looking, looking, 
breathlessly." - Don Juan Matus
 
 

 Only known photography of Don Juan Matus:

Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Shamans and Don Juan Matus

2013-10-12 Thread Richard J. Williams 
"Possession" by spirits, although documented in a great many shamanisms, 
does not seem to have been a primary and essential element. Rather, it 
suggests a phenomenon of degeneration; for the supreme goal of the 
shaman is to abandon his body and rise to heaven or descend into hell, 
not to let himself be 'possessed' by his assisting spirits, by demons or 
the souls of the dead; the shaman's ideal is to master these spirits, 
not to let himself be "occupied" by them" (320).


Work cited:

"Yoga : Immortality and Freedom"
by Mircea Eliade
Princeton University Press, 1970

On 10/12/2013 1:38 PM, s3raph...@yahoo.com wrote:


Re "It's not really about Castaneda":


OK - fair enough. The BBC docu I linked to is worth a look though. It 
briefly touches on Castaneda's life but concentrates on the 
disappearances (and presumed suicides) of his female fans Florinda 
Donner, Taisha Abelar, Amalia Marquez and Kylie Lundahl . Typical 
cult-like fall-out.




---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com,  
wrote:


It's not really about Castaneda - we already pretty much discussed 
that over on Usenet : alt.dreams.castaneda


And, it's more about Shamans than Don Juan Matus. It's more about 
Shamanism as a influence on the Siddha tradition in India, where an 
influence from the shaman substratum may be assumed.


Indian Elements of Shamanism:

1) Induced ecstasy through chanting
2) Recovery of lost souls
3) Flight to the spiritual sky
4) Use of the magical drum
6) Shaman as Psyhchopomp
7) The cosmic mountain as axis mundi
9) Use of fire and flame as magical heat

On 10/11/2013 7:02 PM, s3raphita@...  wrote:

I don't wish to be the bearer of bad news but if  Carlos Castaneda is 
a hero of yours you might want to watch this BBC documentary "What 
happens when anthropology goes bad? The last in this series of great 
yarns from the world of anthropology is a story of sex, drugs and a 
long-lost body in the desert."



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXl95ZaYe3Q



---In fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com 
,  
 wrote:


They don't call Native Americans "Indians" for nothing, since they 
all came from Asia in the first place. Go figure.


According to what I've read, a recent study of a 40,000 year old 
skeleton from  China "showed that early modern humans present in the 
Beijing area 40,000 y ago were related to the ancestors of many 
present-day Asians as well as Native Americans."


So, what is a shaman anyway?

A shaman is anybody who contacts a spirit world while in an altered 
state of consciousness.


The idea is based  on the notion that the visible world is of the 
senses is pervaded by invisible forces or spirits which affect the 
lives of living people. Shamans can reach altered states of 
consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit 
world and channel transcendental energies.


"For me there is only the traveling on the paths that have heart, on 
any path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile 
challenge for me is to traverse its full length. And there I 
travel—looking, looking, breathlessly." - Don Juan Matus


Only known photography of Don Juan Matus:

Inline image 1

RE: Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Shamans and Don Juan Matus

2013-10-12 Thread s3raphita 
Re "It's not really about Castaneda":
 

 OK - fair enough. The BBC docu I linked to is worth a look though. It briefly 
touches on Castaneda's life but concentrates on the disappearances (and 
presumed suicides) of his female fans Florinda Donner, Taisha Abelar, Amalia 
Marquez and Kylie Lundahl . Typical cult-like fall-out.
 

---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com,  wrote:

 It's not really about Castaneda - we already pretty much discussed that over 
on Usenet : alt.dreams.castaneda
 
 And, it's more about Shamans than Don Juan Matus. It's more about Shamanism as 
a influence on the Siddha tradition in India, where an influence from the 
shaman substratum may be assumed.
 
 Indian Elements of Shamanism:
 
 1) Induced ecstasy through chanting 
 2) Recovery of lost souls
 3) Flight to the spiritual sky 
 4) Use of the magical drum 
 6) Shaman as Psyhchopomp 
 7) The cosmic mountain as axis mundi 
 9) Use of fire and flame as magical heat
 
 On 10/11/2013 7:02 PM, s3raphita@... mailto:s3raphita@... wrote:
 
   I don't wish to be the bearer of bad news but if  Carlos Castaneda is a hero 
of yours you might want to watch this BBC documentary "What happens when 
anthropology goes bad? The last in this series of great yarns from the world of 
anthropology is a story of sex, drugs and a long-lost body in the desert."
 
 
 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXl95ZaYe3Q 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXl95ZaYe3Q
 
 
 
 ---In fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com mailto:fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com, 
 mailto:punditster@... wrote:
 
 They don't call Native Americans "Indians" for nothing, since they all came 
from Asia in the first place. Go figure.
 
 
 According to what I've read, a recent study of a 40,000 year old skeleton from 
 China "showed that early modern humans present in the Beijing area 40,000 y 
ago were related to the ancestors of many present-day Asians as well as Native 
Americans." 
 
 So, what is a shaman anyway?
 
 
 
 A shaman is anybody who contacts a spirit world while in an altered state of 
consciousness. 
 
 
 The idea is based  on the notion that the visible world is of the senses is 
pervaded by invisible forces or spirits which affect the lives of living 
people. Shamans can reach altered states of consciousness in order to encounter 
and interact with the spirit world and channel transcendental energies.
 
 
 "For me there is only the traveling on the paths that have heart, on any path 
that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge for me 
is to traverse its full length. And there I travel—looking, looking, 
breathlessly." - Don Juan Matus
 
 
 
 Only known photography of Don Juan Matus:

Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Shamans and Don Juan Matus

2013-10-12 Thread Richard J. Williams 
It's not really about Castaneda - we already pretty much discussed that 
over on Usenet : alt.dreams.castaneda


And, it's more about Shamans than Don Juan Matus. It's more about 
Shamanism as a influence on the Siddha tradition in India, where an 
influence from the shaman substratum may be assumed.


Indian Elements of Shamanism:

1) Induced ecstasy through chanting
2) Recovery of lost souls
3) Flight to the spiritual sky
4) Use of the magical drum
6) Shaman as Psyhchopomp
7) The cosmic mountain as axis mundi
9) Use of fire and flame as magical heat

On 10/11/2013 7:02 PM, s3raph...@yahoo.com wrote:


I don't wish to be the bearer of bad news but if  Carlos Castaneda is 
a hero of yours you might want to watch this BBC documentary "What 
happens when anthropology goes bad? The last in this series of great 
yarns from the world of anthropology is a story of sex, drugs and a 
long-lost body in the desert."



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXl95ZaYe3Q



---In fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com,  wrote:

They don't call Native Americans "Indians" for nothing, since they all 
came from Asia in the first place. Go figure.


According to what I've read, a recent study of a 40,000 year old 
skeleton from  China "showed that early modern humans present in the 
Beijing area 40,000 y ago were related to the ancestors of many 
present-day Asians as well as Native Americans."


So, what is a shaman anyway?

A shaman is anybody who contacts a spirit world while in an altered 
state of consciousness.


The idea is based  on the notion that the visible world is of the 
senses is pervaded by invisible forces or spirits which affect the 
lives of living people. Shamans can reach altered states of 
consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit world 
and channel transcendental energies.


"For me there is only the traveling on the paths that have heart, on 
any path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile 
challenge for me is to traverse its full length. And there I 
travel—looking, looking, breathlessly." - Don Juan Matus


Only known photography of Don Juan Matus:

Inline image 1

[FairfieldLife] RE: Shamans and Don Juan Matus

2013-10-11 Thread s3raphita 
I don't wish to be the bearer of bad news but if  Carlos Castaneda is a hero of 
yours you might want to watch this BBC documentary "What happens when 
anthropology goes bad? The last in this series of great yarns from the world of 
anthropology is a story of sex, drugs and a long-lost body in the desert."

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXl95ZaYe3Q 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXl95ZaYe3Q

 

---In fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com,  wrote:

 They don't call Native Americans "Indians" for nothing, since they all came 
from Asia in the first place. Go figure.
 

According to what I've read, a recent study of a 40,000 year old skeleton from  
China "showed that early modern humans present in the Beijing area 40,000 y ago 
were related to the ancestors of many present-day Asians as well as Native 
Americans." 

 So, what is a shaman anyway?

 

 A shaman is anybody who contacts a spirit world while in an altered state of 
consciousness. 
 

 The idea is based  on the notion that the visible world is of the senses is 
pervaded by invisible forces or spirits which affect the lives of living 
people. Shamans can reach altered states of consciousness in order to encounter 
and interact with the spirit world and channel transcendental energies.
 

 "For me there is only the traveling on the paths that have heart, on any path 
that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge for me 
is to traverse its full length. And there I travel—looking, looking, 
breathlessly." - Don Juan Matus
 
 

 Only known photography of Don Juan Matus: