Many definitions of “Shaman” exist

Anthropologist Michael Harner is the founder of the Foundation for Shamanic studies. Through his study of different cultures, tribes and shaman he developed a list of things he found to be prevalent with all Shaman. He called these the Principles of Core Shamanism ...

The principles are:

1) You are called to be a Healer rather than choosing this path on your own

2) Shaman have the ability to function in both worlds

3) They all have a shared concept of the Otherworld

4) They may access the spirit world through an altered state or consciousness

5) They all have sacred objects

6) They all feel they have a responsibility to the community in which they find themselves

• “A person prepared to confront the greatest fears and shadows of the physical world.” And depending on the results: “A healer who has experiences the world of darkness and who has fearlessly confronted his own shadow as much as the diabolic of others, and who can successfully work with the powers of darkness and light.” (J. Sams, 1988)
• “Indigenous healer who deliberately alters his consciousness in order to obtain knowledge and power from the world of the spirits in order to help and cure the members of his tribe” (S. Krippner, 1990)
• Among the Ojibway, speaking of the Midewiwin, a Secret Ojibwa Medicine Society: “It is the person, man or woman, who experiences, absorbs, and communicates a special form of support, of healing power” (A. Grimm, 1987)
• “He who knows the archaic techniques of ecstasy” (M. Eliade, 1972)
• “A person to whom special powers are attributed for communicating with the spirits and influence them dissociating his soul from his body. The spirits help him do his chores which include discovering the cause of sickness, hunger and any disgrace, and prescribing an appropriate cure. They are found among the Siberians and other Asiatic people; his activity also evolves among many other religions and with other names.” (The Cambridge Encyclopedia,1990)
• “Person of any sex who has a special contact with the spirits (understood as forces not easily put into evidence) and capable of using their ability in order to act upon those affected by the same spirits.” (M. Harner, 1989)
• “Indigenous healer who deliberately alters his con sciousness in order to obtain knowledge and power from the world of the spirits in order to help and cure the members of his tribe” (S. Krippner, 1990)

The Shaman is a survivor, one who has passed in one way or another through Pain, Disease and Death.

One might be ‘called’ as a Shaman. A person may become seriously ill, physically or mentally, during this call and come to realize or be informed of their calling. Once the person accepts their calling and begins their training by the Spirits they will be freed from their illness. This calling is not a request, but rather a Divine Command. Most shamanic cultures believe that rejecting a call is a fatal mistake. Surviving the call is what gives the Shaman the experiences to heal others.

Jung believed that a malady of the soul could be the best possible form of training for a Healer. The pains and burdens one bears and eventually overcomes is the source of the great wisdom and healing power for others. The wounded Healer understands what the patient feels because he has gone through the same pain.The Healer's experience is what makes him a brother of the patient, rather than his master.

Sources:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/34502910/Activation-of-the-Shaman
htt p://sped2work.tripod.com/shaman.html