Allergies…have you been affected by them at some point in your life? Have you had to curtail outdoor activities during certain seasons lest you suffer with watery eyes, runny nose, coughing, sneezing or other discomfort? Does contact with animals transform you into a sniffling, itchy blob? Are your friends and family members impacted by your allergies? Your symptoms might be as mild as sniffles or as serious as anaphylaxis and they have prevented you from enjoying life completely and fully. You’ve likely explored different treatment options, traditional and non-traditional, without relief. It is possible that shamanism might be perfect for you either under these circumstances or as a lifelong practice. Shamanism may offer what other modalities could not…. a release of your allergies!
This ancient practice spans across all cultures and is based on the knowledge that all things are connected by threads of energy, creating the “All That Is”. When these threads are weakened or broken, they can be restored by shamanic practices which honor the partnership existing between all things on the physical and the energetic spiritual planes. An energetic weakening or tear might manifest in many ways, including as an allergic response.
I first try to determine why my client had energetically disconnected from those plants, animals or substances causing distress. The reasons this disconnect occurs are as varied as the lives of the people who are affected. Thus, my exact approach will vary from person to person.
I might guide a client on a shamanic journey into non-ordinary reality, an energetic realm comprised of three levels: the lower world, the middle world and the upper world. Achieving theta brain wave states is desired, a level of consciousness associated with dreaming and creativity, and is usually done through the beat of a drum or rattle. There I would assist the journeyer in reconnecting energetically to those things from which he/she had become separated. It is a simple and enjoyable process, even for first time journeyers.
In some situations, I could journey on someone’s behalf and ask that plant or animal why the separation occurred and if it is willing to once again work in partnership with that person. That energy would be retrieved, and I would blow or “camay” it back into the client’s energy field. Circling around them in traditional fashion, I would seal in this essence by using the vibration of a rattle or drum to complete the reunion.
Sometimes a fear or phobia will accompany an allergy, especially if the trigger is an animal. An extreme or irrational phobia of an animal may be caused by a past-life memory stored in the subconscious mind. Although the physical body is a different body, the subconscious mind carries all the experiences from all time. The subconscious can recreate a familiar experience, including the physical or emotional trauma associated with that experience.
So, if one’s final experience in a past lifetime was of being killed by a tiger or other wild animal, that fear might create an energetic imprint. This imprint might present in the form of a fear, phobia or an allergic response to a similar type of animal such as a domestic house cat. If the allergy is to a food, it’s possible that exposure to or ingestion of a substance in a previous lifetime led to death. For some, exposure to an allergen can result in a present life-threatening situation, such as anaphylaxis. It is imperative that an appropriate and effective plan be implemented. Physical and emotional emergencies should be treated as such and appropriate medical care should be sought.
If exploration of past lives is the method chosen to release the allergic response, the shamanic approach would differ from hypnotic regression therapy. Hypnotic regression requires that the client be guided via hypnosis back through time to the origin of the problem. Although I have found remarkable success using this hypnotherapy technique, it is not always appropriate. If a shamanic approach is better suited to that individual, a shamanic ceremony could be performed, inviting the spirit of the plant or animal to join and celebrate the reunion. Often a soul retrieval could be the chosen process to retrieve lost soul essence cause by past trauma.
Tremendous healing has been documented by shamanism alone or when partnered with other modalities. When addressing allergies, as with all other imbalances, the shamanic intention is to strengthen and restore the powerful energy threads of the “All That is”. What varies is simply the approach used to restore a sacred union.
Joyce St. Germaine, M. Ed., CHt., RYT-200 is a Certified Shamanic and Shapeshifting Practitioner, Spiritual Counselor, Certified Hypnotherapist and Past Life Regressionist, Registered Yoga Teacher, Mentor and Artist. She hosts and produces “The Sacred Journey” TV show and officiates nature-based weddings and ceremonies as a CT Justice of the Peace. Owner and director of The Sacred Journey Center for Spiritual Studies in Burlington, CT, Joyce offers private sessions, workshops and study groups for adults and children. She can be reached at (860) 675-9706, jsgermaine@aol.com, or www.thesacredjourney.biz. Ask about upcoming Shamanism, Yoga, or Intuitive Development Retreats to Belize or Costa Rica.