Greetings,
Your site and forum have gotten some press lately:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wes-isley/native-american-religion_b_648437.htmlYou all might want to comment there for clarification.
As for me, I've been a student of anthropology and participant in revival-European spiritual traditions since the 80s. I've seen a lot of posers, what you call "plastic shamans," and frauds who were in it only for the money and power/influence they exerted over others. Acting as an anthropologist and researcher, I delved into the world of Harner's "core-shamanism" and even attended one of their patented weekend retreats (which cost an exorbitant sum, I might add, that I fortunately didn't have to pay) and can say for sure that while there were genuine spiritual seekers in the crowd, the event was still tainted by the simple fact of a profit motive. My take away from the whole experience is that:
1. With regard to indigenous spiritual traditions (of all societies), the "cat" is out of the bag; it's out there and good luck to anyone with the gumption to try and put it back in.
2. Well meaning seekers are being led astray by the "plastic shamans" of the world, but that doesn't mean every seeker is on the "wrong path." The road is long and leads where it leads, sometimes back upon itself, sometimes in a particular direction, but always where it's meant to lead for that particular person. I'm not one to judge anyone's journey, save where they take advantage of other folks weaknesses.
Keep up the good work and thanks for welcoming me to this forum.
fathi
