I do not know the woman or business that began this topic , and I am not going to comment on her business specificly , but , as I know a number
of people who have been harmed by false spiritual guidence , I am wanting to share some thoughts on shamanic businesses in general .
So often ,these people who start up a business selling themselves as shamanic practioners use that they have the support and teaching of a person who is claimed to be Native ,as part of
their public advertisements . Often , this Native person is used as a prop , to validate a story
or experience that most people would immediately dismiss and avoid as delusional , without this
validation . Often , if people had any real knowledge of Native culture , they would know
this validation was just as unlikely , as the unlikely story it is supposed to support .
I also notice these Shamanic businesses often decline to say who it is, that they are using as a Native prop , making it impossible for people to realisticly evaluate the credibility of this supposed validation .
In my opinion , people have a right to know the truth about a teacher or healer or groups
real qualifications ( or lack of them ) If the Native person used as a prop cannot be named
for some reason , then they should not be used as a part of the advertisement .
Using Native people , and non native peoples ignorance of real Native traditions , to create an undeserved credibility for imaginary shamanic business products , is one of the things that often comes up in this forum , and it is this deception which many people find offensive, dishonest and exploitive. (amoungst other things ) If people want to sell a spiritual product , they should do so on their own merits , not by making it look like they
have Native teachings or authorization that are not there .
In many cases what is going on is deceptive advertising , pure and simple . Telling the truth about this , is in no way an attack motivated by misdirected anger . It is a public service .
Offering spiritual guidence to people that is imaginary can be very damaging , esp. if people make major life decisions based on this . I personally know a couple people who have been seriously harmed by making life decisions based on delusional spiritual guidence and teachings . We all make mistakes and learn from them , but , it is our own mistakes we learn from best , not somone elses .
Using the support given by real Native Elders or a claiming Native heritage , to validate a exploitive business product, also harms the next people , who might need help from these same Elders , or traditions , as these next people seeking help will have to deal with , not only their own problems but the mistrust and anger created by people who misused previous help and turned it into a phoney validation for a imaginary and culturally disrespectful business product .
Many of these business people could correct at least some of the wrong doing , just by not
claiming to have Native teachings or validation , if they really do not . Seems like that is almost always how people end up being posted in this forum as being a fraud . I do not see anyone
posted here, who is making money channeling something from Alpha centari , Lemuria , or Atlantis
unless they also use some twisted traditional teaching or claim some non existant Native Elder has given them the golden stamp of approval.
Just my 2 cents worth .
