Mark A Ashford

The Practical Shaman Mark A Ashford

Shamanism is the oldest religion on the planet! in terms of human existence, it predates current day organized religions by tens of thousands of years. European cave paintings and carvings showing shaman date from the Paleolithic era. Graves of shaman 12,000-year-old and older have been discovered in Israel and the Czech Republic. In this book we will explore shaman and shamanism, in Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia and modern-day South Korea. We look at Bon, the religion that came after shamanism in that part of the world and incorporated shamanism and shamanic traditions into itself and then into Tibetan Buddhism which you can see today in tourist specific ceremonies in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet and other tour stops. We will look at the misuse of the word "shaman." A shaman is not an African Witch Doctor, nor a North American Medicine man. A shaman can be male or female, young or old, this will be considered as well as the tools of the trade are all described along with the role of trance, possession and Altered States of Consciousness [ASC]. The book is complimentary to my books on Reiki, there is a direct link between the Shaman's Helping Spirits and the Reiki Guides that help Reiki practitioners bring healing and comfort to people worldwide during Reiki sessions. The YouTube video series, "Reiki with Candice, Mark and Opame", the podcast that will follow this year, 2020, all expand on both Reiki and what it means to be a shaman and have shaman capabilities. Visit and subscribe to all of these as well as our blog, thepracticalshaman.ca. Enjoy. Mark Ashford, MSc, Usui Tibetan Reiki Master and Teacherthepracticalshaman.ca