Bridging the Soul & Spirit Back in Psychology
I really feel deeply, & have for many years, that what psychology needs is spirituality. I have deep concern about the psychologizing of practices like yoga, breathwork, mindfulness & plant medicine, wherein the roots are removed & it’s packaged in this neat little evidence based clinical box. Devoid of the Spirt. Devoid of the roots & foundation. That is not the answer.
While western therapies are powerful, they are not always the answer, especially when we are deeply needing to address collective & communal healing. Individual therapy can help us do some deep & important work in the psychological and relational realms, but it doesn’t directly create multidimensional collective or ancestral healing. It doesn’t address the energetics of our trauma or acknowledge the deep interconnected webs of spirit & energy that just simple ARE.
This is where shamanic & spiritual practice are key. Working with the spiritual energies, the elements, medicines of the earth, Quantum clearing, addressing our consumption on all levels, subconscious work & soul retrievals, deep embodiment that is energetically & spiritually aware—all of these are key in deeper healing.
And if we really want to see change in our larger world in significant ways, we need to address the spiritual energies on collective & communal levels through communal rituals. Accessing the collective field together through powerful alchemizing rituals together as a community is essential. And western psychology just doesn’t address that.
I feel the best path forward in the future for psychology is for it to be infused deeply with spirit. We need to remember our collective indigenous roots & return to our energetic, cosmological, esoteric, & earth based connection to the realms of spirit. In the beginning they were not separated like they are today. They need to be brought back together.
Psychology can be a key for us on our spiritual journey—a bridge to help us access & remember our way home to Spirit. As we begin to search for who we are through our psychology, understanding our personality, psychological, behavioral & relationship patterns, & our deeper subconscious material, it is only naturally that this will lead us to the spiritual realms. As we dive deeper into the realms of psychology in pursuit of the questions: “Who am I?”, “Why do I do what I do?” & “What can I do to be happier?”—we will eventually realize that these are not just psychological inquires, but truly spiritual questions.
Of course, psychology is actually a dimension of spirit!
It’s not separate at all. Psychology is deeply related to & intimately intertwined with our experience of consciousness within & without.
Psychology is an important gateway from the world of matter back into the world of spirit through the portal of our own intimate multidimensional experience of the consciousness of self.
The danger is when we get caught up in psychology as an end in and of itself, & imagine it separate from consciousness & Spirit. That’s when we enter into egoic loops of endless self-inquiry & self-centeredness in the name of our own personal happiness. Rather than leading us to happiness, this often becomes it’s own kind of purgatory as we sustain ourselves on the crumbs of self-obsession, while what we really hunger for is the feast of the Soul.
We can witness this happening on wide scale with this fascinating cultural phenomenon that has been emerging: the Culture of Pathologizing. This is where folks claim their pathologies in long lists, clinging to diagnoses as identities, & wear them like badges of honor. In a world of deep uncertainty, with folxs awash in their own suffering, there seems to have become a certain amount personal and social value in proudly naming & deeply identifying with all that is “different” or “wounded” or “special”. Unfortunately, fiercely identifying to limited selves does not bring us happiness & instead keeps us trapped in a loop of our own design. It seems to only move us deeper & deeper into separation consciousness, & it steers us away from the deep truth of spiritual reality where our liberation from all this suffering actually lies.
When we bottom out in psychology without accessing the Soul, we forget that the self is only ever really a portal to the One Self That IS—which is really Who & What we are.
Shamanism & Psychology are actually deeply interrelated—and in fact need each other.
Psychedelics, interestingly enough, are an intersection point that reveal to us the interconnection between Psychology & Shamanism.
Let us begin with a break down of all of these terms.
When looking at the etymology of “psychedelic” the word itself refers to the the thing or process (ic) that manifests clarity (delic) in the soul/mind/spirit (psyche).
The etymology of “psychology” refers to the study or knowledge (ology) of the soul/mind/spirit (psyche).
The word “shaman” is derived from the Russian word šamán, which comes from the Manchu Tungus word samān from the indigenous people of Siberia which literally means “one who knows.”
Shamanism (as the academic & globally used term it is today) refers to different cultural practices of earth-based spirituality in which those who engage in it use the physical as a bridge to the spiritual. “Shamanism” is a cross-cultural global phenomenon of the indigenous way of life where it is understood that this world of matter is not separate from the world of spirit. While Shamanism takes on different forms through different cultures, it is at its core the first spirituality of humanity. We all have ancestors who lived a Shamanic way of life.
Shamanism is the indigenous, naturally occurring spiritual way of life for humans on the earth. It is the earth-based spirituality inherent to humans.
Psychedelics have been a part of Shamanic cultures since time & memorial. The one who knows (ie, the shaman, medicine man or woman, priest or priestess, etc) engages in practices that create a psychedelic state of consciousness in order to manifest the clarity of mind, soul & spirit that they need for their healing & divination work. This is accomplished not only though through entheogenic substances (ie ayahuasca, iboga, bufo, peyote, etc) but even more prominently cross-culturally through the use of breath-work, movement, dancing, music, rhythm, & ritual.
Psychology, could be understood as a process that can bring about the clarity of psyche—that is to say that psychology itself could be understood as a psychedelic—but truly only if it embodies the full etymology of its origin & embraces the spirit & soul in addition to the mind! When psychology does include the spirit & soul it naturally becomes an aspect of the Shamanic world view.
As such, there is no reason why Shamanic practice should not include some of the clarity of psyche that modern psychology has gained (specifically trauma informed care).
It would be wise for the Shamanic Facilitator to include psychology as an aspect of their practice in supporting individuals, communities & the Earth as a multidimensional whole. Likewise, it would be wise for the Psychological Practitioner to understand that Shamanism is the grounding rod for psychology that explains how human beings (individuals & relational system) are an integral part of the spiritual and physical health of the Earth.
More & more people in the Western World are seeking out psychedelics to help them in their healing—be it depression, anxiety, addiction, grief, post traumatic stress, or what is often the case a combo of some or all of the above.
Psychedelics are incredibly powerful & effective at helping to address all of these concerns.
Psychedelics unlock our ability to access our psychology & subconscious minds in ways that allow us to easily see & move through blocks. Indeed, with psychedelic medicines there is a multidimensional re-wiring of the neurology & psychology, as well as the clearing, cleaning & realigning of the physical, energetic & spiritual bodies.
With the new wave of psychedelic research in Clinical Psychology, an ever increasing amount of evidence is supporting the efficacy of psychedelics for a wide range of psychological concerns. As the field is flooded with supportive clinical studies, Psychedelic Assisted Therpay (PAT) has begun to be legalized in different states. And with that—the field of Clinical Psychology has begun positioning themselves as the most legitimate avenue for psychedelic use.
While on the one hand the legalization of PAT shows a great shifting of consciousness at the collective level, it is also an important point to pause. What is gravely distressing & even dangerous about this, is that while the psychological establishment is taking on the use & distribution of entheogenic substances, they continue to neglect the soul & spirit of these medicines.
They do not acknowledge or understand the multidimensional portals that they are opening through this work. Strictly Clinical Psychology Practitioners or acting PAT are guiding people through the deep terrain of the psyche—the soul, mind, & spirit—without acknowledging the soul & spirit, & recognizing all that it entails!
Of course, in Shamanism the realms of spirits are well understood. The psychedelic medicines of the Earth have long been understood & used by indigenous Shamanic societies for millennia. These Shamanic lineages have a vast & in-depth knowledge of the spiritual landscape of this work.
While Clinical Psychology has the backing of the evidence based research, Shamanic Facilitators have the backing of Shamanic lineages & countless centuries of spiritual knowledge.
However, the answer for how to move forward in the psychedelic revolution doesn’t simply lie in everyone needing to simply go sit with indigenous &/or Shamanic Psychedelic Facilitators. In the communities of Shamanic Psychedelic Ceremonies, there are concerns as well.
The three primary issues of concern in Shamanic Psychedelic Ceremonies are:
1) the ways in which trauma isn’t being addressed or cared for in Shamanic ceremonies;
2) the lack of proper preparation & integration support in most Shamanic ceremonies; &
3) the misuse of power & unethical behavior by “shady shamans” that go unchecked in many of these psychedelic communities.
Contending with amount of unprocessed compounded, complex, inter-generational, cultural & personal trauma that exists in the western world, is beyond the scope of the typical Shamanic facilitator, whether they are indigenous or not. They don’t typically have the knowledge of how trauma lives in the body, nervous system, psychology, how to look out for it, or how to address it when it shows up in ceremony.
Trauma is indeed multidimensional, & of course the impact of trauma happens on on the spiritual & energetic levels, which the shamanic facilitator is focused on. However, most shamanic facilitators of psychedelic medicines do not understand how to also address the biological, somatic, psychological, & relational impacts of trauma.
Psychedelics have a powerful way of bringing up past traumas, ultimately to clear them & heal them. However, if the container &/or the facilitator is not equipped to adequately hold this trauma as it arises, it can be devastating for the individual, & even the whole circle.
Plenty of times, more harm than good is done in different plant medicine circles because of a lack of awareness of how to care for deeply traumatized people while their trauma is being brought up in the space.
People can get re-traumatized, get more entrenched in their trauma patterns, & even go into spiritual & psychological crisis.
Another important part of helping people to utilize psychedelic ceremonies to heal their traumas (& other mental & emotional concerns) is proper preparation & integration. Unfortunately, by & large, this is typically not a part of Shamanic plant medicine circles. Usually what is offered in terms of preparation is a brief intake call of some kind. Integration is usually limited to a sharing circle at the end of ceremony where everyone gets to share very briefly about their experience. Given the profound & emergent nature of the experiences people have in ceremony, that is simply not adequate support.
In addition, when we are thinking about integration & preparation, we need to consider that the people from the west come from societies that were built on the premise of materialism, wherein spirit was left out of the world view altogether. Because of this, for people that sit that is often a lack of understanding on how to integrate the new spiritually based world view that they get introduced to in the psychedelic state of consciousness.
In indigenous societies, the integration process is more seamless because they live in a Shamanic culture which embraces spirit at the center of all things.
However in the west, when you go have an experience of communing with spirits, seeing your ancestors, purging entities & demons, getting DNA upgrades, journeying to source, & deeply exploring the fractal nature of the self/soul—how do you talk about that with your friend over a Starbucks, when they just want to talk about what happened last week on American Idol? How do you make sense of your connection to the earth when you are surrounded by plastic, football, original sin & holiday sales?
A third prominent concern with shamanic medicine circles, is the all too common phenomenon of “shady shamans”. These are the Shamanic facilitators who use their power & influence in the medicine space—& even dark magic—to manipulate & take energy from the people who sit with them. Whether it’s intentional & straight up spiritual narcism, or unhealed &/or un-integrated shadow & ego that ends up taking the main stage, there are may of these “shady shamans” out there who end up using the medicine space for their own personal gain. The harm that this causes can be quiet complex. Because these circles are underground, there is often a lack of accountability for these shady shamans.
Through these three areas of concern we can see that while the Shamanic medicine way is in alignment with the spiritual work that is needed to really ethically & effectively help people journey with psychedelic medicines, that there are also ways in which the psychology field could help support this work. By Shamanic Facilitators bringing in more trauma-informed care, psycho-spiritual processing support through proper preparation & integration work, & themselves being committed to their own integration & inner work—the multidimensional & transformational power of shamanic medicine work would be so incredibly profound. Not only for the individuals attending these sessions, but for the larger collective through the immense cultural & energetic shifts that would happen from this integration of psychology & shamanism.
Truly, the integration of Shamanism & Psychology is essential. It is integral to our evolution not only as individuals, but as humanity.
The trend for the western populace to seek out Psychedelics makes sense. It’s as much about our own personal healing as it is about a deeper stirring within our souls to reconnect with our shamanic roots, the Earth & Spirit.
While Shamanic rituals & ceremonies with entheogens can absolutely help with this, they may also do more harm then good if they do not integrate the knowledge of psychology on how to care for the trauma & speak to the western mind to aid in its preparation for & integration of these emigrant experiences. We also need facilitators who are doing their own psychological work for their own accountability & integrity with their work.
The integration of Shamanism & Psychology is essential for the psychedelic revolution to be successful. It is the holistic approach. It is the best of both worlds. It is the re-weaving of parts of our collective consciousness that have been imagined as separate for far too long.
It is integral to our evolution not only as individuals, but for humanity as a whole.
We need a healthy balance of the Western Mind & the Shamanic Spirit.
We need a healthy balance of being able to understand the bio-psycho-social-somatic impact of trauma & how to work with it AND we need to embrace the multidimensional energetic & spiritual aspects of healing trauma.
We need to re-open to the deep awareness of our souls & the spiritual truths of reality AND this process needs to be embodied so we can have a grounded & integrated evolution of our culture.
We need to embrace the legitimacy & efficacy of shamanic healing AND we need Shamanic Facilitators to embrace their own psychological work so that they can be in integrity with their work.
In the end what we are really talking about here is shifting culture. There is a deep need for collective & cultural trauma healing. This will not be accomplished without the Shamanic Way—the natural way of life on Earth that our ancestors practiced for countless millennia.
We deeply need community ritual. For the ancestors. For the Earth. For the spirits.
We need community ritual for the wells upon wells of grief that exist within us & within the Earth herself. And of course, the individual will be healed through this process of community ritual. But even more important are the shifts that happen for the community, culture & collective energies through this work! It is essential for our evolution.
We need ritual. We need ceremony. We need Psychedelic states of consciousness (with or without substances) to help us break out of false paradigms of materialism & separation so we can re-member who we are as our own sovereign beings & as a collective of Earth beings—of Spiritual beings.
One family in the Light of Truth.
The time has come for radical change.
So, let’s have our shamanic cake & eat it with psychological integrative, trauma-informed care too!
