Shamanic Best Practices: Ethics and Integrity
The following is adapted from an article by Dr. Steve Serr who states:
With the last few decade’s resurgence of shamanic interest, some very thoughtful and experienced shamanic practitioners have started facing the importance of ethics and integrity with respect to their field as well. Several years ago, I sat down to write this letter and list with the hope that shamanic practitioners contemplate the ethics on which we stand and the integrity with which we maintain it.
So he has come up with a Shamanic Best Practices: Ethics and Integrity template that is available over on ShamanPortal.org. And he encourages all practicing shamans to adapt this to suit their own particular practice. So here below is my version of the original which doesn’t veer too far from what what originally written. So here you have …
Patrick John Coleman’s Shamanic Best Practices: Ethics and Integrity
As a shamanic practitioner,
I promise to the best of my ability,
1. To work in sacred alliance with the Spirits.
The shaman cannot do her or his work alone. It is entirely by teaming with spirit helpers that any shamanic healing or divination can be done at all. This is essentially, a humble reminder to help thwart an urge to grandiosity and claim that it was the shaman who was the powerful one. This also helps those who seek shamanic help to not laud the shaman with unnecessarily high payment and gifts.
What does it mean to work in sacred alliance? Even though they are a team, there are broad and crucial areas that only the shaman, and not the spirits, can effectively address. Because he or she is a human being and not a spirit, it is the shaman who can understand and make appropriate decisions regarding:
- The limits of human capability in general or that of a specific client
- The specific intentions and situational conditions of and surrounding a particular healing or divination effort, and
- Decisions involving matters of human ethics. Though both the shaman and the spirits can individually veto any action, it is the shaman who must, in addition to their other specific skills, maintain responsibility over these three areas in particular.
Though the shaman and their helping spirits make up a team, the shaman has the power to veto anything that the spirits suggest. Of course, the wise practitioner is always consulting with their spirit helpers, yet in this sacred alliance, it is because of their veto power that the shaman must carry the burden of ultimate responsibility for any work they are involved with.
2. To recognize the wholeness inherent in each person, group or circumstance that comes for healing.
Here is a capsule summary of the essence of the shamanic paradigm: the effort to restore wholeness. Whether it is a split or drained part of one’s power, or a split part of the soul, the shaman and spirits work together to restore what is the whole of a true self.
3. To honor whatever form pain is presented.
What is painful to one may not seem so for another. When one suffers, their suffering is to be honored, respected, and accepted as it is. All symptoms of pain need to be heeded as indications that something is not well. Our role is to approach our spirit help to discern what the unwellness might be, and receive guidance in how to proceed towards its healing.
4. To be mindful of speech, thought, and action and their impact on building relationships.
Simply because someone is practiced and capable of teaming with spirit help to bring healing and information, does not mean that he or she can ignore the sensitivities of beings in need. A strong working relationship with other human beings as well as the spirit world is the only way shamanic work can be accomplished. As speech affects others and thoughts affect action, so the shaman must be mindful of all of these, as they all affect the world in some way.
5. To be respectful of clients and colleagues, even in differences.
Reminiscent of Carl Rogers, this is a posture towards clients and colleagues of unconditional respect that leaves the door open for good work to be done and a good influence to be extended.
6. To work with compassion and non-judgment.
‘Judgment’ refers to the presence of a practitioner’s personal opinions. Where unbiased assessment is needed, personal opinions extinguish any hope for the neutrality from which good assessment derives. When it comes to shamanic practice, personal ideas, expectations, hopes, opinions and feelings, are even more detrimental, for they are precisely what clogs the ability to clearly access the wisdom and healing capacity of the spirits. The shaman must maintain the ‘hollow bone’ through which they have any hope of accessing the specific information or helping to catalyze the kind of healing for which they are specifically trained. Compassion, on the other hand, is a posture of understanding, awareness, and sincere service.
7. To set personal interests or concerns aside so that efforts are focused on my client’s well being.
Personal interests or concerns only impede professional care-giving. There is no cunning, manipulation, or ‘what’s in it for me?’ in a shaman who maintains ethical integrity. However, shamans are people too, and just like government officials, businessmen and women, police, accountants, and representatives from any other field of practice, shamans have been known to approach their work unethically and without integrity. Which, is precisely why promises of integrity like these are created.
8. To strive to the best of my ability, to do no harm.
If you cannot do well, at least, do no harm. However, ‘doing well’ to a shaman is resolution to do one’s best. The passionate strength of the practitioner’s intention to be successful is one of the key factors that actually makes for practitioner success.
9. To never engage in sexual or business misconduct and abuse client trust.
It is easy and natural for a client to want to express their appreciation for good work. The shaman, as with many other public figures, may have become elevated, respected, and trusted… perhaps loved. Thus, it is probable that at one time or another, a practitioner is offered money, sex, gifts or power from clients and families that are all too eager to demonstrate their affection and gratitude for what they see as the shaman’s work. Of course, what most observers don’t see is that it was actually the spirits who did the work, and that the shaman merely went to them for their help. However, clients are not typically so well informed and may be unaware that the shaman is actually only a secondary, and even minor conduit by means of which in any healing or divination might take place.
Moreover, clients can easily blur the boundaries between the shaman as a professional, and the shaman seen as a potential friend, lover, associate, etc. It is incumbent as a professional practitioner to always retain such boundaries, especially when the client fails to do so. Only in this way will the practitioner retain the public’s trust and respect.
10. To maintain clients’ right to privacy and confidentiality.
The shaman deals with particularly intimate and sensitive matters. In order to garner and retain client trust, a client must always know that their concerns will be held sacred and private by the practitioner. The only exception to this is when a client is a credible risk to their own safety or that of others, in which case the professionally responsible and legally entrusted authorities need to be contacted.
In return, I expect the client to keep my personal affairs private and not make specific details of the practice public. I do not need to hear about how another spirit worker before me worked and I will shut down any such talk. Each spirit worker works in a specific way so any discussion, whether positive or negative, about other spirit workers will not be a part of my practice.
If a client works with me, I will advise them to keep it to themselves. While clients may choose to reveal that they are working with a shaman, most clients I’ve worked with won’t reveal that they have. I do not have a page of testimonials but if you would like to refer someone to me, that is appropriate. Revealing specific details is not encouraged and to do so may break the energetic ties formed. Not treating it as sacred or personal to the client is also grounds for ending the working relationship.
11. To be honest with clients and other practitioners and truthful in how one presents him or herself personally, in public relations and in advertising.
Honesty is always the best way to gain and maintain a community’s respect and trust. Without honesty, it is impossible to maintain one’s own integrity.
12. To offer fair and appropriate fees.
Clients who do not pay do not get the full benefit. I have tried all sorts of ways to offer services for free but those who refuse to pay cause an energetic imbalance. Those who have not paid tend to have a negative experience because of this imbalance. When clients pay, they tend to take it seriously. And those times when I have worked very hard,often at my own expense have not gone well for me or for the client.
Making sure the shaman is cared for is of great benefit for the client. Make sure that the shaman is fed, rested and comfortable so that the job can be done. You are paying for my time and also the associated costs of materials. We will decide in advance what the payment will be and it must be paid before any work is done.
A practitioner’s time and training is valuable and needs to be respected and honored. On the other hand, shamanic training does not give one the right to abuse people in need. Though I have not actually counted, I can fairly estimate that there are not nearly as many shamans available in the world generally, for instance, as auto repair persons. We know how much auto repair can be.
How much more leverage has historically been available to the shaman! The abusive shaman has in many instances earned the reputation of demanding exorbitant compensation for healing or divination services. Unfortunately, even shamanic teachers have occasionally put greed above standards of best practice by charging much more than was fair and appropriate.
The establishment of a fair and appropriate fee for shamanic service is a matter of balancing compassion with fairness. Actually, many caregivers are quite willing to under-charge for their work. Businesses built around some form of care-giving may actually be taking advantage of difficulties compassionate employees have with accepting remuneration for compassionate work, by paying them less!
The shamanic practitioner is performing a valuable and difficult function for which many years of training and experience may be needed and he or she deserves to be compensated in a fair manner.
13. To keep my own life and personhood in balance to the best of my ability and seek assistance when needed.
It is very easy for many caregivers to follow their care-giving passion, even to the detriment of their own self-care. It is also the case, that the strength of one’s ability to care for others is directly influenced by the balance in one’s personal life. What goes into a balanced life? What makes for a vital, thriving person? We are encouraging this in others, should we not apply this as well to ourselves?
I love rewriting the anecdote about the respected caregiver who was giving a series of much anticipated talks about the process of providing care to a large group of caregiving professionals. Those present represented many fields: rehabilitation specialists, physicians, counselors, psychiatrists, hospice workers, social workers… there was even a shamanic practitioner or two present. They had just finished a huge meal and were pushing back their chairs to hear another of the speaker’s presentations.
The speaker asked them to pull out a piece of paper and a pen and jot down ten things that as a professional, they most readily recommended to someone who needed to take care of him or herself. Notepads and napkins spread out in a hurry, and they chuckled to themselves and grinned as they quickly wrote out their own, special lists of best self-care tactics. After all, this was their job.
Then, the speaker asked them, in a low, soft voice, to put a check mark next to the items on their lists which they had actually done for themselves over the previous six months. The room fell suddenly silent as nearly a hundred caregivers scanned their lists, reflectively realizing to their illuminated discomfort, that they had not applied the same wellness tactics to themselves. -Dr. Steve Serr
14. To consult with appropriate professionals and peers when I have questions about care, ethics or technique.
This is simply a matter of maintaining best practices in any profession. It is incumbent on a professional caregiver to seek peer consultation in cases where there is any question regarding the best approach or any other significant matter about which the practitioner is unsure. Professionals commonly establish an informal network of peer associates. Reach out to colleagues, former teachers, or other professionals to whom you know you can consult with confidence and confidentiality. In this way you gain another perspective, other experiences, and the possibility of dialoging towards the level of reasonable assurance you need to proceed.
15. Experimental Mode
As each shaman is specialized in their own areas of expertise I will clearly let the potential client know whether or not I can help them. In some cases a certain client will present with a problem I have not encountered before so that I may be trained in that particular area and that person may be healed of that trauma. The spirits are very efficient this way. If I encounter a situation that I feel is beyond my capabilities as a shaman, I will let the client know or I will ask them if they would like to enter an experimental mode to see what comes up.
16. Ending The Work Relationship
If we choose to no longer work together for any reason, I will encourage seeking the services of another shaman. Reasons we would end the relationship are if the client has blurred the boundaries, speaks publicly about me or starts to have negative feelings towards me. Not honoring the sacred work between myself and the client is also grounds for terminating the relationship. Once the relationship has ended, we will break all energetic ties and this might make both of us feel the loss. I will do my best to soothe this hurt. But if the client has developed inappropriate feelings towards me, I will let them know.
I advise every client that if they start to have negative or inappropriate feelings towards me to please express them. Sometimes a client might start projecting and that must be addressed. If a client ends the relationship prematurely without finishing the work, this must be agreed upon in advance. I will happily give a refund and allow you to express your feelings towards me if you feel I have not done an effective job. To date, only one person asked for a refund and I gave it to the client. If a client has a misunderstanding over the way work is performed they are encouraged to speak directly with me or with one of my trusted colleagues. I have no intention other than to help the client with what they have expressed needs work.
17. Grievances / Inheriting
Sometimes a client will come to me claiming that they have a grievance with another spirit worker. While I will not be able to speak to the teaching or healing methods of other spirit workers, I will have no interest, comment or opinion on what other spirit workers are doing or have done.
A grievance with a spirit worker ought never be aired publicly as each client has been informed that the work done in private shall remain so. I am quite aware that there are people claiming to be former clients or friends of spirit workers reporting unpleasant experiences. Every spirit worker is a public personality, and these claims must be viewed in that light. As we have a personal and private life, nearly anyone can claim to know a spirit worker or to have worked with one when they have not.
Stalking, harassing or airing a misunderstanding publicly has happened between clients and spirit workers and the motives of doing so are not immediately obvious. Clients are made aware that revealing personal information is not advised as any information provided could be used falsely. Largely the people who seek spirit work with are private people and do not wish for the slightest bit of attention so it’s quite unlikely clients would ever say anything either positive or negative about their experiences. Only those with an intense obsession would publicly air grievances with spirit workers. In general, most spirit workers will be honest and upfront with their clients. And most spirit workers will be happy to clear up any misunderstanding or misperception.
In summation, I take shamanism and my shamanic practice very seriously and it should be noted that this was last revised on 12/04/2018.
Much love from your friendly neighborhood shaman,
Patrick John Coleman
ALL THINGS GO: How I Became A Shaman
In April of 2013, Author Eric Durchholz had a near-death experience followed by a soul transfer. As a result, he died and was replaced by a new consciousness named Patrick John Coleman. A new soul in a full-grown body… much to the confusion of his friends and family. As the new age concept of a walk-in soul is relatively unknown to the mainstream, a growing army of walkins are coming to this planet in a “Divine Invasion” to set this polluted and hateful world back on a course towards peace. As Coleman struggled to find out where he came from and what happened to Eric, he turned to the great psychic researchers Edgar Cayce, Jane Roberts and Esther Hicks for answers. In doing so he found he had uncanny connections to them while also uncovering a plot by his family to keep him silent. The book also includes several hours of specially produced video footage including reenactments of key events linked via QR Codes so keep your smartphone handy and get ready for a mindbending, soul-expanding thrill ride. To Purchase, click here
