Classic Inca Shamanism & Soul Retrieval

Classic Inca Shamanism & Soul Retrieval
by Richard Bassil

This article was originally posted on The Inca Medicine Wheel Shamanic Awakening, a website featuring Richard Bassil's articles and workshop announcements. Richard can be reached at bassil@shamantours.com )

What is shamanism? The word shaman was originally an anthropological construct, a pan tribal term that denoted either a man or woman with specific knowledge or power.The authority of the shaman comes from a personal experience of the unseen, the spirit or energetic realms,from beyond the intellect.The shaman knows how to move between the worlds. The healing force of the shaman comes from a direct energetic connection to,and knowledge of,the forces of nature...the wind, the lightning, the rivers,the mountains. There develops a partnership. The Inca term for this is Ayni (eye-nee) meaning reciprocity or divine exchange. These forces of nature(archetypes) teach the shaman how to meet power directly, to embrace it and to claim it. Shamanism is a path of knowledge, power and service, the foundation upon which the healing and awakening process is based.

The eminent psychologist, Carl Jung, spent a great deal of his life shaping a coherent view of the human psyche and psychic processes, one of his concepts was that of the shadow... the unconscious, rejected aspects of the self or in his words,"the inferior self". He believed that the only way to attain wholeness, or balance, is by going into or through the shadow, into ones own fear and darkness and by embracing and reintegrating those lost or rejected soul parts. As previously stated, the shaman has a personal experience of the unseen and travels to the lower world, the Uhu Pacha( uhu = lower and pacha = earth ), to retrieve the lost or rejected aspects of self.

In the Inka tradition, the Uhu Pacha or lower earth, is the domain of Huascar ( wascar ), one of the Ancient Ones or archetypes.Huscar is not a "being" in our sense of the word but an organizing principal, a germinating, mulching, and gestating force... a place of darkness where seeds can sprout and grow,this is a stark contrast to our Judaic-christian model. The shaman develops and awakens the luminous or energy body. This is accomplished through years often decades of work and development,all shamanic training is an extension of inner purification. The shaman,literally, learns to travel in the awakened luminous body to the domain of Huascar . There in the lower world or unconscious are found all disowned or rejected aspects of self.

The luminous or energy body called the Wiracocha,(weedacocha),is informed by nature,the wind,lightning,rain, trees,sun,moon and stars.The Wiracocha in turn informs the physical body and carries or encodes the template of our health, how we live and how we die. It also carries or holds heavy energy(trauma),those repetitive and destructive patterns that continually haunt us and reside in our luminous field.The shamans task is to journey via the awakened luminous body,to the lower world or uhupacha,the domain of Huascar, to retrieve the lost or fragmented aspects of ones life,ones self.Actually,the shaman must return with a gift from Huascar,an energetic gift,to replace back into the torn fabric(the torn luminous threads) of the energetic body. This a gift of power for those who are being healed.

It may take the client some time to fully incorporate the lost aspect,or aspects,of self into psychic wholeness. However,it is important to continue the work of integration because on the energetic level the introduction,of the lost aspect of self back into the energetic field,is instantaneous. When we engage the realms of the essential,the soul we are calling upon heaven and earth to guide us,we are operating in a larger context of how we perceive ourselves. This is the ancient lattice of our being and great care is needed to create the sacred space that is necessary to do this type of work.As in all intense and in depth personal work it takes time to fully catch up and integrate (into our energetic fabric)those fragments of self that may have been lost for years,decades,maybe lifetimes.Hence, it is understanding that naturally follows experience.

Shamanic traditions predate recorded history and are rooted in the natural cycles of the earth and sky,(sun,moon and stars). We as homo sapiens have lived 99% of our time on earth in small tribal groups or bands,and only 1% of our time in modern culture.We have literally been slammed into this "modern" rootless existence,and out of the tribal matrix that connects us to these universal energies or archetypes. We have been separated from these processes,(this vast body of knowledge),and therefore disconnected from our ancient healing pathways. Granted, no one wants to give up the comforts of 5,000 odd years of cultural and technological development,but on the other hand, we don't have to be slaves to our technology and be blinded by "false gods". We need the shamanic perspective to remind us of our true heritage,of what is possible and the vast body of knowledge that can be accessed. This will give us a counter weight to the frenzy of our cultural dictates and then,maybe, we can truly find balance to take our place as caretakers of the earth.

The shamanic context or world view is rooted in a lineage. The Inca tradition is a 100,000 year old body of knowledge,an ancient lineage of healers,midwives and spirit practitoners,both in the physical and the spirit realms,who over thousands of years developed the shamanic body of knowledge. They,the shaman,became vessels or containers of the forces of nature; lightning,wind,mountains,rivers and rain. Their luminous or energetic bodies are sourced and fed by these forces,these awesome and ancient energies and thereby was their connection to knowledge,power and healing.

One of the hallmarks of western culture is a sense of disconnection,of rootlessness. In fact much of modern psychology is devoted to ameliorating these diseases of the mind and spirit. By contrast, the shaman is never rootless or disconnected. On the contrary,the shaman is surrounded by nature and the lineage...all the spirit healers, midwives and guides. the shaman is always in rapport with community not just intellectually but literally,energetically and experientially. This forms a connective pathway in the soul retrieval process. In other words a shaman with a developed luminous or energy body,with the assistance of many other healers,within the connective lineage,can come through to facilitate healing.

We all have the ability to access the shamanic or indigenous mind, it's in our cells in the trees in the rocks,the rain,the air and all around us.This is the shamanic community not only of people but all of nature,all of life. The shaman sees the world past the filters of the conceptual mind.This is the world of perception, of seeing,not looking,with the inner eyes cleansed,unencumbered. For us in the west this is the Work,to clear and awaken the luminous body,to remove those repetive and destructive patterns...our cultural dictates. This is the challenge for us,a challenge that must be meet and the shamanic or indigenous mind can be accessed for us to precieve and connect to this magical,unfathomable world we live in. As mentioned earlier,the Inca word Ayni(eye-nee)is one of divine exchange, interchange or reciprocity. All Inca ceremonies are based on the idea of "feeding",nurturing and gestating. This is how the umbilical cord connection to the Pachamama (Great Mother) is kept vital. This is how the shaman is in turn nurtured and fed.

My mentor,Alberto Villoldo, emphasized over and over again that when you unite your vision with your intent the universe will ACTIVELY conspire with you. "Miracles happen when you work in the domain of the sacred."

Richard Bassil has been a professional musician for most of his adult life. Several years ago he became interested in the mysteries of Peru and the healing power of shamanic techniques, as well as, the Andean region and culture. This journey has been paralleled by his study of Classical Five Element acupuncture in which he was recently certified. Richard brings together the physical and ethereal through his acupuncture skills and his musical talent.