It is time to heal
  • Home
  • Services
  • About Miriam Danielle
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Links to Amazing Friends
  • Reflections
  • FAQs
  • Events & Workshops

MUSINGS

And then..The Majesty of Love...

10/16/2017

0 Comments

 
The majesty of Love allows us to
view our lives with truth and honesty.

Touching the inner essence of each moment,
past or present
with an embrace of
compassion, kindness and grace.

Love does not judge
but...
She is discerning;
allowing us to stand naked in our human nature,
to view ourselves clearly
without the protective mask of ego...

and Love then affords us,
in those moments of clarity
Her ability to adjust our perspective of
and on any given situation.

Love allows us to change our minds
again and again and again in Her favor,
about those ideas,
those mere thoughts
we once, for some reason
usually unknown to us,
grasped on to and perceived to be
absolute truth.

Love encourages us to accept those things
we believe to be unlovable...
and then Love, with all her strength and splendor
provides the passion and the courage necessary
to transform them within our own hearts and minds
into something beautiful.
​-Miriam 2012
0 Comments

Paqo or Shaman; Clarifying the Difference

10/7/2017

0 Comments

 
 In regard to my practice, I felt the need to clarify the difference between a Shaman and the Andean mystical tradition of the Paqos (Peurvian priests and priestesses).
Today, I feel the term "Shaman", is misused and overused. It has become a catch-all phrase, diminished by weekend workshops, that create "Shamans" like Hershey's creates chocolate bars. So, because of this, I have been troubled lately describing my practice as  "Shamanic Healing Services".

The more I study the Andean Paqos and Shaman from indigenous cultures, the more I understand that although the work I do involves shamanistic journeying, plant spirit medicine and mystical techniques from the Q'ero, this does not make me a taditional shaman, any more than someone who plants a garden could call themselves a farmer.  Even though I am
 a Mesa Carrier, in the Andean Paqo tradition, (which is a great honor and responsibility), this also does not make me a traditional Paqo.

I am an energy healer, who has been trained in multiple modalities.  I am not a  Shaman in the traditional sense, even though I have trained rigorously and have years of experience with many tecniques of the traditional shaman. 

On a personal note, even though I
do align spiritually closely with and practice the "mystical way of being" or "the beauty way" of the Paqos, I am also quite aware that I am a white woman from the Northeastern part of the United States who has been given a gift of healing which has deepened tremendously by integrating this beautiful way of being, as best I can, in my daily life.   This gift that I am both humbled and astounded by.    

So, as I stated earlier I wanted to write about this conundrum I have been experiencing. And as I researched it, I came across Joan Parisi Wilcox's blog regarding this very subject. She is so knowledgeable and her book Masters of the Living Energy has been so instrumental in my life and practice, I felt that I could only defer to her expertise. She explains it so clearly.  I emailed her and received permission to post her article here. I added a link to her blog posts at the bottom.  Please check out her  informative blog. 

Andean Mysticism or Andean Shamanism?
By Joan Parisi Wilcox, 
Author of 
Masters of the Living Energy: The Mystical World of the Q’ero of Peru
 - Used with permission

When I teach the Andean tradition through the lineage in which I was taught, I make it clear that what I am sharing is a mystical tradition rather than a shamanic one. I have a lot of experience with both mystical and shamanic practices, and as a former academic am rather a stickler for the historical context of such concepts, so this is not a trivial distinction to me. To my mind, if you are going to engage a tradition and its practices, you would want to know what it is you are doing, right?
So let me make the case that Andean practices are mystical, and not shamanic, by starting with generally accepted definitions of the concepts mystic/shaman and mysticism/shamanism.
The Cambridge English Dictionary definition of shaman is: “In particular religions, a person who is thought to have special powers to control and influence good and evil spirits, making it possible for them to discover the cause of illness, bad luck, etc.”  Merriam-Webster’s definition is: “A religion practiced by indigenous peoples of far northern Europe and Siberia that is characterized by belief in an unseen world of gods, demons, and ancestral spirits responsive only to the shamans.”
What do some academics and authorities have to say about the meaning of shamanism or what a shaman is? Let’s look at a couple. Carlos Castaneda, an academic who was perhaps the most instrumental practitioner and purveyor of Yaqui shamanism in American popular culture, taught that shamanism is the ability to enter, at will, “non-ordinary” states of reality.  Another academic, Roger Walsh, in his book The Spirit of Shamanism, writes, “Shamanism can be defined as a family of traditions whose practitioners focus on voluntarily entering altered states of consciousness in which they experience themselves or their spirit[s], traveling to other realms at will, and interacting with other entities in order to serve their community.”
Walsh makes an important point at the end of his statement: “to serve their community.” If you read the historical and academic literature, especially world authority Mircea Eliade, you will learn that no one calls themselves a shaman. It is a title conferred upon someone by the community in recognition of that person’s skills and talents. Shamans traditionally played multiple roles in their communities, acting as peacemaker and arbiter, psychologist and priest, intuitive and visionary, helper and healer. Their primary way of accessing information by which to carry out these roles were shamanic—that is, using altered states of consciousness or non-ordinary ways of accessing information and insight.
Depending on the culture, a shaman usually undertakes an arduous training to learn various ways to shift to a non-ordinary or altered state of consciousness: psychoactive substances, fasting, trance dancing, drumming, chanting or singing, and so on. Once in an non-ordinary state of consciousness, the shaman can shape-shift into non-human forms, travel inter-dimensional realms, meet beneficent spirit beings for counsel or do battle with evil spirits, among other endeavors. Because he or she is always working on behalf of the community, the shaman undertakes this journeying to non-ordinary realms for a specific purpose: to divine where the best hunting is, to discern the cause of an illness, to predict when the rains will stop or start, and so on.
Of course there is so much more that could be said, but the points I have made provide a broad overview of what it means to be a shaman and what a shaman does.
Let’s now turn to the mystic and mysticism. The Cambridge English Dictionary definition of a mystic is: “A person who tries to communicate directly with God or other forces controlling the universe.” Merriam Webster’s says that the mystical means “having a spiritual meaning or reality that is neither apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence. Involving or having the nature of an individual’s direct subjective communion with God or ultimate reality.” A mystic is, generally, speaking “a person who seeks by contemplation and self-surrender to obtain unity with or absorption into the Deity or the absolute, or who believes in the spiritual apprehension of truths that are beyond the intellect.”
Whereas shamans are able to enter non-ordinary reality at will and through specific practices, mystics generally do not use ceremonial or proscribed practices, instead seeking an immersion in and direct apprehension of nature. Generally speaking, a shaman is seeking to leap beyond the human world, whereas a mystic is immersing him- or herself in the natural world and by doing so sometimes is able to transcend to the world-within-the world. Generally, mystics are seeking a solitary and deeply personal experience and pursuit, although they may work with healing and on behalf of others. However, their practice, unlike the shaman’s, is largely invisible. They are “non-doing,” using practices such as focused attention, contemplation, and meditation, by which they may experience perceptions of oneness and of timelessness and infinity, loss of the boundaries of the self and integration with the “other” (be that a tree or God), ecstatic joy, and more. Well-known mystics include Rumi, Meister Echkart, and St. Teresa of Ávila.
I think you can see, from this discussion so far, that Andean practices are much more mystical in nature and form than they are shamanic. The core of the definition of a shaman is someone who can alter his or her state of consciousness at will or through a practice such as drumming or singing. Paqos are not altering their consciousness. They are working in “normal” states of awareness, albeit energetic ones. They don’t preform much ceremony (usually only the despacho), instead practicing ayni, which is energetic reciprocity with the living cosmos through the power of their intention. They are seeking conscious evolution for themselves and others. Can Andeans receive counsel from the “spirit realms”? Yes, but they receive that counsel through contemplation, through listening—through ayni, which is purely intentional and energetic. They don’t have to perform preparatory or elaborate ceremony or travel to non-ordinary realms to do that. And since the natural world is made only of sami, they never have to do battle with evil spirits.
One of the points of confusion, I think, is that the word “shaman” has entered the popular vocabulary and been co-opted by so many different groups with differing belief systems and practices that it has lost the distinction of definition it once had. I remember having a conversation with one scholar of shamanism, Timothy White, who was the founder and editor of Shaman’s Drum magazine. He was a stickler for terminology, and he insisted that modern practices in Western countries must be called “shamanistic” only. That is, they resemble certain aspects of the indigenous practices historically associated with shamanism. I think that is a wise distinction. When a word can mean anything you want it to, it is bled dry of any meaning at all. There is a world of difference between saying you are a shaman and saying that you practice shamanistic techniques. I don’t think I am splitting hairs here. . . .
Juan Nuñez del Prado, my primary teacher in the Andean tradition, says that his masters told him one the several things a fourth-level paqo must know is his or her lineage. There are shamanic and shamanistic practices in the traditions of the North Coast of Peru and the Amazonian regions, but there is little evidence there is in the Andean tradition (which means the tradition of the Andes mountains). Our lineage of paqos were, and still are, much more mystical than shamanic. And using these non-shamanic practices, they are able to perform all of the things a shaman can. Of course, you are free to call yourself and what you practice anything you want, but I hope that this discussion has at the very least provided some information by which you can better understand those of us who do make a distinction.

Link to Joan Parisi Wilcox's blog:
https://qentiwasi.com/2017/08/08/andean-mysticism-or-andean-shamanism/

0 Comments

    Author

    Miriam Danielle Allen

    Archives

    June 2020
    March 2020
    November 2019
    November 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017

    Categories

    All

 Kind Words from Others

/

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
​Miriam is a truly gifted healer. The first time I worked with her, and every time since, I immediately felt safe and secure in her presence. Her senses and allies guide her to a deeper knowing of the individual she is working with and she works intuitively to shift the energetic patterning from there. She listens beyond words and sees beyond the physical body and through time. She reflects honestly and reminds each person of who they really are at their core. I have felt her work resonate powerfully within me and the ripple effects of positive shifts in my life as a result of returning to my own essence. I cannot express how grateful I feel to have had the opportunity to work with Miriam

Devon W

/

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

/

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
​"Part of what I love​ the most about Miriam’s spiritual healing and energy clearing is that she is so accurate and so compassionate. She is able to detect things that other practitioners miss or aren’t able to clear.  Miriam has been able to clear my energy every single time. I am a fellow shamanic healer and it is very important for me to manage my energetic state. I always experience immediate relief and a boost in my energy. Everything that she tells me, after the session, resonates completely and is super helpful.
​Your sessions with Miriam will leave you feeling refreshed, whole, and with your feet firmly on the ground. Her work is so priceless and I recommend her to anyone who is feeling like they want to return to themselves.

Stephania Sciamano, N.D. 

/

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

/

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
​There are so many people in this world who walk the path of a healer, however I've never met one quite like Miriam. Her down to earth attitude immediately gives whomever she is working with permission to be themselves. Through our sessions and teaching her work has allowed me to trust, heal, and unlock parts of my understanding of the world I couldn't see before. Miriam's humor and deep understandings of the human spirit creates a healing space that is quite powerful. Her work has granted me a deeper understanding of myself and for that I am truly grateful for

Sarah F.

/

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

/

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
​"I can honestly say, Miriam helped me through one of the toughest times in my life. She taught me about energy and helped guide me to find my own abilities."

Katie Damian

/

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

/

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
​It is not possible for me to speak highly enough of Miriam as there are no words to express how much of a blessing she has been in my life.  I have been working with Miriam for several years now, doing energy work, learning reiki, receiving the Munay Ki rights, and she even officiated my wedding last July.  Her holistic, person-centered approach to care is present in all that she does.  The healing I have received from her over the years has balanced me in a way I couldn’t have imagined before meeting her.  Miriam truly cares about each individual person she works with, and has a deep passion to spread her light throughout the world.  I consider Miriam to be part of my family, a mentor, a spiritual guide, and I continue to be inspired by her on a regular basis.  I would recommend her loving care and healing touch to anyone looking for a more balanced, and centered life.  Miriam is a true angel and I sincerely look forward to my continued connection with her.
Emma Sheldon 

/

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

Contact Miriam
  NY     518-504-0190



Locations

​
Saratoga Springs, NY 


​
​Call or email to schedule a private session
  • Home
  • Services
  • About Miriam Danielle
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Links to Amazing Friends
  • Reflections
  • FAQs
  • Events & Workshops