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Neoshamanism and the Shadow: ‘The Soul’S Journey’

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Neoshamanism and the Shadow: ‘The Soul’S Journey’ Neoshamanism and the Shadow: ‘the soul’s journey’. Robert Edward Boyle Doctor of Philosophy 2007 University of Western Sydney Statement of Originality This research is original research. It has not been submitted for credit toward any other degree at this or any other educational institution. Signature…………………………………… Date: 17/3/06 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ………….…………………………………………….. i Abstract …………………………………………………………………….. iv Prologue…………………………………………………………………….. 1 Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………. 5 1. The topic…………………………………………………………………. 5 2. Neoshamanism……………………………………………… …………. 7 3. Personal context………………………………………………………… 8 4. Overview of thesis……………………………………………………… 16 Chapter 2: Literature review 1. Neoshamanism……………………………………………………… 20 a. Definitions……………………………………………………. 20 b. Traditional shamanism……………………………………… 23 c. Conceptualising shamanic consciousness………………. 30 d. Popularising or appropriating shamanism………………… 34 e. Training to be a shaman or shamanic practitioner………. 41 f. Questions of interest………………………………………… 47 2. The shadow………………………………………………………… 47 a. Jung and the elusive shadow……………………………… 47 b. Types of shadow……………………………………………. 52 c. The shadow and healing……………………………………. 58 d. Shadow integration…………………………………………. 60 e. The creative shadow……………………………………….. 66 f. Shadow, shamanism and religion…………………………. 67 g. Shaman and shadow, the unanswered questions………. 68 Chapter 3: Research methodology 1. Research approach………………………………………………… 69 a. Transpersonal research……………………………………. 69 b. Heuristic research…………………………………………… 72 c. Phenomenology……………………………………………… 73 d. Working with imagination and visual art…………………… 75 2. Research methods a. Participatory research………………………………………. 78 b. First person research ………………………………………. 86 Interlude: First person experience of workshops………………… 93 Chapter 4: Michael’s story…………………………………………….. 107 Chapter 5: Ewa’s story…………………………………………………. 124 Chapter 6: Lisa’s story ………………………………………………… 140 Chapter 7: Kaye’s story ……………………………………………… .. 158 Chapter 8: Bronwyn’s story…………………………………………… 172 Chapter 9: Peter’s story………………………………………………… 187 Chapter 10: First person research…………………………………… 205 1. The first image……………………………………………….. 206 2. Images of the shadow………………………………………. 208 3. My shadowgraph…………………………………………….. 220 4. Transformation of my shadow experiences………………. 223 5. Venture into imaginal story…………………………………. 225 6. Reflection……………………………………………………… 236 Chapter 11: Discussion: A journey in meaning making…………. 238 First phase meaning making – engaging with theorists and scholars 238 Transpersonal theories – Ken Wilber and Stanislav Grof. 240 b. The Jungian approach……………………………………… 247 1. Second stage meaning making – emergent themes……………. 248 a. Acceptance/rejection of spirit guides………………………. 248 b. Anxiety and self-criticism……………………………………. 251 c. Transformation……………………………………………….. 253 d. Anger and rage………………………………………………. 256 e. Qualities of spirit guides…………………………………….. 257 f. Relationship with shadowgraph…………………………… 260 g. Comparison with my own experiences……………………. 262 h. Response to shadowgraph…………………………………. 264 3. Third phase meaning making - ‘a time of doubt’………………… 269 a. Returning to the source: ‘deeper into the images’……….. 273 b. The journey of the human soul…………………………….. 277 c. Working with images………………………………………… 280 d. Guidance from recent dreams……………………………… 284 4. Implications for the theory and practice of neoshamanism……. 287 a. Motivation…………………………………………………….. 287 b. Ontology……………………………………………………… 288 c. Significance………………………………………………….. 290 d. Development…………………………………………………. 293 e. A deeper calling?…………………………………………….. 295 5. Revisiting the shadow……………………………………………. 298 6. Directions for future research……………………………………. 305 7. The journey continues……………………………………………. 309 Bibliography………………………………………………………………… 311 Acknowledgments I am very grateful for the many entities who encouraged and supported me during my Doctoral research. My supervisor Dr. John Cameron was a wise and diligent mentor who gave much of himself as well as his considerable intellectual capacity in offering concise and considered critiques along the way. He was, and remains, a steadfast beacon of wise counsel. I could not of completed this thesis without his compassionate encouragement. The participants deserve my whole-hearted thanks for their willingness to trust me and venture into an unknown exploratory process. They gave so much of their time and energy. Their stories are at the heart of this study. Thanks to my friends and colleagues who were interested enough in me and the research project I dwelt in to ask questions, and looked forward to reading my completed thesis. Thanks as well to my family, especially my mother Billie, who always believed in my capacity to accomplish anything I put my mind towards. The University of Western Sydney deserves my appreciation for their granting of a scholarship. I am especially thankful to the Department of Social Ecology. Their stimulating and evocative environment encouraged me to creatively engage in research. A thank you to the many imagistic beings and the subtle guidance of soul, both inner and outer. Deserving thanks are the ancestors of this land as well as the many creatures who shared their stories with me, the elements, and this fecund, fabulous earth. My thesis is embedded in their story. The biggest thanks goes to my marvellous partner Vicki Dean. She more than anyone understood the emotional complexities of the work I was doing. She supported me when I was down and never flagged in her belief that I would complete this project. Her soul and mine entwined along the way. Abstract This research investigates the shadow aspects of neoshamanic practice heuristically and phenomenologically using experiential workshops, image work and interviews. Neoshamanism, which is growing in popularity throughout Australia and the West, involves intentionally entering into Shamanic States of Consciousness (SSC) for the purposes of psycho-spiritual healing. According to neoshamans these SSC experiences are available to all. The research asks how neoshamanic practitioners understand their journeys into SSC, what the areas of commonality and difference between neoshamanic practitioners' experiences of SSC are, how image making in a workshop setting assists in revealing shadow manifestations, and what lasting effect shadow work and neoshamanic practice has in the practitioners lives? The study explores the lived experiences of seven participants – myself included – who engaged in a series of three experiential weekend workshops using neoshamanic practices and expressive arts. It consists of three main processes: the workshops, a series of semi-structured interviews over nine months with each participant, and individual journals used to record participant thoughts, feelings and images. The research is situated within the participants’ and researcher’s lives, rather than on the periphery. There is an 'expeditionary' chapter on each participant that records the deep-image work and neoshamanic journeying. The images graphically portray the trends, themes and nuances of emotionally powerful experiences. The chapter on first person phenomenology describes my deep-immersion process and produces spontaneous narratives to accompany the images drawn from SSCs. Neoshamanic practice is an egalitarian undertaking in contrast to the hierarchical structure of some psychotherapeutic and spiritual practices. The image work revealed rich, consistent and detailed answers to the participants’ deep questioning. The participants' journeys suggest that the SSC is an accessible and consistent phenomenon and is remarkably safe if approached within a positive environment. It is not a panacea for negativity nor a balm for shadow feelings of unworthiness; indeed the shadow work proved to be uncomfortable and disquieting for the ego. Neoshamanic practice is perhaps best understood as the soul's journey, providing a platform for soul recovery and living a life of authenticity. 1 PROLOGUE –THE PLACE OF THE RESEARCH My place is the Yarramalong Valley; it’s the place I’m from. On maps, you’ll see that Yarramalong is situated in the shire of Wyong about twelve kilometres to the west of the Wyong township on the Central Coast of New South Wales (K. Pry and J. Fenton 1998). Maps may provide a route to Yarramalong, but won’t tell you a great deal about the place I’m from; recorded history will tell a bit more. The word Wyong is of Aboriginal origin, although the precise meaning may never be determined. The only people who knew the meaning, the indigenous peoples, were decimated; many of their stories died with them. Edward Stinson, a man who has recorded more of the local (colonial) history than any other non-indigenous person, states that they left no explanatory record. However, he is referring to ‘our’ written records. There are also numerous ‘stories’ written by the indigenous peoples in caves and under rock ledges throughout the Central Coast. We just don’t have the ability to read them… yet.1 However, as I suggest in this thesis, new ways of ‘seeing’ are revealing stories that have previously thought to have been lost forever – stories held by the timeless caretaker soul of this land. The earliest recorded colonial reference to the word ‘Wyong’ is reported in the Australian newspaper, August 1, 1827: “Wyong, a district so called by the Natives, about twelve miles from Brisbane Water, is destined for small fifty acre farms” (Wyong Shire Council, 1994). Speculation on its original meaning range from
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