On this episode of HealthMade Radio, Dr. Karlfeldt interviews Hillary S. Webb, Ph.D. on Shamanistic Healing Principles. Shamanism is called by many traditions ‘The Path of the Heart’ as it involves a set of skills used to help each individual reconnect to the voice of their own heart. Tribal people of the past, as well as those throughout the world today, experience reality very differently than most of us in the modern, technological world. According to these ancient belief systems, the physical realm is alive with spirits, both beneficial and malevolent, and proper interaction with these intelligences is necessary for the harmony and health of the individual and community. The mediator between the sacred and the mundane is the shaman, a man or woman who can, at will, enter into altered states of consciousness and make contact with the realms of spirit in order to receive the knowledge and power needed to transform the physical world.
Shamanic healing is based on incredibly powerful ancient knowledge of how the mind-body-spirit triad operates. Unlike modern Western medicine which assumes that illness begins and ends in the body, shamanic medicine understands that illness and disease all originate from the spiritual and mental realms and only manifest in the body when ignored or left untreated for extended periods of time. This is an extremely important distinction and is crucial for inducing true, lasting healing. 1
Hillary S. Webb, Ph.D., is an anthropologist, author, and the former managing editor of Anthropology of Consciousness, the peer-reviewed journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness. She also served as a research director of The Monroe Institute.
As an eager PhD student I went to Peru to study this concept of yanantin or “complementary opposites” and its role as the philosophical basis of the indigenous Andean worldview. This vision of the world as being made up of “complementary,” rather than “antagonistic,” polarities had really gripped me on both a personal and intellectual level…2
Webb embarks on a personal journey of understanding the yanantin worldview of complementary duality through participant observation and reflection on her individual experience. Her investigation is a thoughtful, careful, and rich analysis of the variety of ways in which cultures make meaning of the world around them, and how deeply attached we become to our own culturally imposed meaning-making strategies.
Hillary Webb earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from Saybrook University in 2009, during which time she conducted research into the psychological experience of yanantin or “complementary opposites” as the basis of the indigenous Peruvian worldview, and a master’s degree in Consciousness Studies (specializing in the philosophy of mind) from Goddard College in 2006. She is the author of Yanantin and Masintin in the Andean World, Traveling between the Worlds, and Exploring Shamanism.
YANANTIN and MASINTIN in the ANDEAN WORLD is an eloquently written autoethnography in which researcher Hillary S. Webb seeks to understand the indigenous Andean concept of yanantin or “complementary opposites.” It claims that polarities of existence (such as male/ female, dark/light, inner/outer) are interdependent and essential parts of a harmonious whole.
HealthMade Radio is a community for natural health seekers where we educate people about common health conditions and share extensive research on the most effective natural health treatments. A core concept and belief is in the innate intelligence and healing power of the body. If properly supported spiritually, emotionally, and nutritionally, it can find its way back to health. HealthMade Radio brings information from integrative health experts from around the world!
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Resources:
1 A Guide to The Core Principles of Shamanic Healing. http://www.thehealersjournal.com/2013/12/29/shamanic-healing-core-principles/
2 Interview with Hillary S. Webb – Psychedelic Press UK. http://psypressuk.com/2012/08/17/interview-with-hillary-s-webb/
