Identity

Identity in simplest terms is the mental model of who we are. As we develop, we become attached to certain aspects of our experience. Be they physical or mental traits, ancestry, personal experience, status, or countless other factors that we (in the moment) deem relevant, and carry forward with us. Over time we begin to define ourselves by these concepts. Together they form what we call identity, and we believe this is who we are, and what life is. It’s not truth though. No more than a map is the place it depicts

The shamanic path is essentially the process of dissolving and releasing our attachment to identity so that we can commune with nature less obstructed by distortion or belief. Rather than experiencing life through the lens of a filtered, and judgmentally developed model, we glimpse the experience of life more closely to what it actually is. We experience Nature in greater complexity. Briefly we exist outside the model we have constructed, and can assess it’s validity. Often the model of who we are is built on flawed perceptions that were originally conceived and solidified when we were too young to really understand what was happening to us, or around us. Then future identifications are tied to, and built upon that foundation. Through mystical experience of connection to Nature (since nature is the only unbiased source of truth available to us), we can begin to see the flaws in our model and potentially dismantle them. Then by integrating the new information we’ve glimpsed, begin to bring new awareness into our model, thereby expanding it, and potentially our experience of life

The Shamanic path is always a path, rather than a goal. Truth is vast, and beyond the limits of our comprehension, but because our mind is a mechanism of categorization, prediction, and definition we will base our perception on a limited model of truth in order to navigate through life. We try to define and categorizes everything even when we can't. We are conditioned in modern culture to lead with our mind, rather than our heart, or embodied awareness but this is not the default, or even necessary. Incarnation in the human experience requires a basic level of abstraction, but the mind is meant to be one tool of many, rather than the primary tool in our box