Everything you ever wanted to ask a shaman

New age healing is all the rage. Palo Santo smudge sticks and crystals are slowly making their way into our wellness arsenal and Shamans are the new therapists. Meet Shaman Durek – the spiritual guide A-listers have on speed dial…

What is a Shaman?

A Shaman is a bridge between our world and the spirit world. Shamans travel through other dimensions through trances and talk to your guides and angels to bring back valuable information. A Shaman can also do healing on the body with the help of spirits by channeling ancestors and spirit guides. Using a Shaman as a method to find healing or help with a situation can be very different from traditional western medicine or therapy. A Shaman goes to the root of the problem and assists in taking responsibility for having a part in this development and helps you to face it.

How did you become a shaman?

I was chosen in my family by my ancestors when I was very young. The spirits start coming to you and asking you to do certain tasks without question. If you complete those tasks and do certain things that they require you to do to become a Shaman, they take you through various experiences. These can be very painful, uncomfortable, scary and profound. It enablse you to recognise the depths of yourself and what it takes to be of service to humanity and put the people first.

A Shaman has dedicated their life to being a spirit and being an ambassador for the physical world from the invisible planes. They teach people how to step into their power and recognise their strengths, to understand their weaknesses to develop them into strengths. The aim is to overcome obstacles that they’ve created both internally and externally.

A Shaman helps people into being a leader instead of a follower, to be able to think independently and stop being codependent. That way the person is able to access their powers and use their mind on an optimised level and allows them to live their best life. That is what being a Shaman represents – being an ambassador for unconditional love on the planet and what I like to call, a loving interruption.

Can anyone become a shaman?

Yes, I believe anyone can become a Shaman. I think the myth people have created is that you have to be born into a tribe to be a Shaman, but it’s not the tribe that chooses the Shaman, it’s the spirits.

What does a session look like?

A Shaman treats a person in many different ways. Everything from reading your pulse, looking at the dilation of your eyes, bone reading and soul reading. Also communicating to spirits in the realm of light, looking at where you are being affected by darkness and negativity, looking at how you treat your body, how you understand your emotions. A Shaman helps you build emotional intelligence and shifts your mental acuity. They do so with the help of energy, songs, movement, body manipulation and information. This lifts and shift your lower perspective of life to a higher perception of self to teach you to be self-sufficient instead of co-dependent.

How do you feel during a session?

Every session is different. The only thing you can really expect is that you are going to be supported and nurtured with love to see yourself, know yourself, and love yourself. You are never going to be judged on any level. You will be nurtured and loved unconditionally and supported to see your authentic self through your evolution and leave better than before you came in.

Is there anyone you can’t help?

The thing here is you have to define what ‘help’ means because when we think of help we automatically think of someone for example who is drowning and needs your help to save them, there are different levels of help we can give to someone. In Shamanism, I’m not the one who ‘helps’ people, they help themselves. I just create a loving container for them to see themselves, know themselves and recognise the power that’s inside of them. If they’re willing to do this, then they’re willing to receive the help that’s available to them.

What do you say to the cynical?

We’re living in a time right now where there’s so much possibility available. A cynical person is just someone who is cautious and afraid of being duped. For me it’s about showing people what’s possible and then letting them decide if this is something that supports them. To the cynics I say – the best way to learn anything and see if it’s real or not is to give it a shot. After that you can make your assumptions and your ideas based on the due diligence of your journey.

Can everyone benefit from seeing a shaman?

Absolutely! Shamanism is all inclusive, it’s not a religion, it’s a way of observing and living life from the authentic nature of your being. By learning about what that authentic nature is vs that which you choose to be, based on your guardians and authority figures that raised you, moulded the path and directed you to who you are today. A lot of the time people aren’t living an authentic life. They’re in the wrong relationships, doing the wrong things for the wrong reasons, all of these things create problems on many emotional, physical or spiritual levels. I have clients from all backgrounds and religions working with me and any person can benefit from Shamanism.

How can a shaman help people?

Shamans identify what’s going on behind the scenes. I mean the blindspots, the things you’re not willing to look at because you have belief systems in place that are limiting you, or you have fears of the unknown. All of these things get broken down very quickly when a Shaman begins to take you on and assist you in reaching your lit life – meaning living your life with happiness and joy.

For me in a session sometimes I’ll do bone readings, pulse readings, I’ll check your energy levels. I’ll teach you how to access your energy fields and change your energy fields at any given time. Sometimes I’ll speak to the spirits on your behalf. I’ll tap around your body, touch your muscles to communicate to certain organs. These things tell a Shaman a great deal about who you are, why you are and what you’re here to do. Elocution in tones of your voice tells us a lot about your emotional wellbeing.

How often should you see a shaman?

Some people come and see me weekly because they really want to upgrade themselves to a higher performance as a human being on earth. For example a CEO or analyst from Wall Street will come and see me because they want to be the best analyst they can be and see the things that they don’t catch now. A lot of people have to understand that there’s great benefit in the path of Shamanism. It really helps to love yourself into evolution and see yourself as a huge important aspect or evolution and to honour it with true love and respect.

What is Spirit Hacking?

Spirit hacking is a shamanic technique created with the focus of using mental, emotional, and scientific principles. It hacks into the body’s energetic system to make changes that are noticeable through verbal and non-verbal input and output thus creating a change in your health and well- being.

Shaman Durek’s new book is out now – so if you’re still unsure, that’s a good place to start. Spirit Hacking: Shamanic Keys to Reclaim Your Personal Power, Transform Yourself, and Light Up the World (published by Yellow Kite).

By Charlotte

This article was originally published in 2019

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