Being A Shaman

QUESTION: How do you know if you are a shaman?

ANSWER: That's like asking "How do you know if you are an athlete?" If you think the way an athlete thinks and do what an athlete does, you can be called an athlete. The same is true of a shaman. It is a vocation, not a state of being. If you think the way a shaman thinks and do what a shaman does, you can be called a shaman. In a particular culture, there might be an initiation to recognize your status in the community, but it is your demonstrated ability that makes you a shaman, not the initiation. And, since "shaman" is only a borrowed word to describe someone who engages in certain kinds of activities and views the world in a certain way, the precise definition of a shaman can vary from culture to culture and place to place. Of course, if you don't know how a shaman thinks or what a shaman does, then the question itself is irrelevant.

Hawaiian shaman

QUESTION: My goal is to eventually grow into and become a Hawaiian Shaman. Are there certain criteria that have to be met and courses that need to be taken in order to become a Hawaiian Shaman?

ANSWER: You can become a shaman by learning to think and act like a shaman. You can also learn to be a Hawaiian-style shaman by studying and practicing the techniques used by Hawaiian shamans as well as the culture it is based on. The term "Hawaiian shaman," though, would properly be only used for people of Hawaiian ancestry who are shamans. If Huna is the basis for your shamanism, you could be a Huna shaman regardless of your background.

A Bit About Dreams

QUESTION: How can you tell the difference between a dream and reality; is there any relationship between dreams and reality; and what role do feelings play in dreams?

ANSWER: First, from a shamanic point of view, "reality" is just a name for the dream you are currently experiencing.

Second, experience in one reality can affect experience in another reality (or, one dream can affect another dream).

Third, feelings are just feedback. They give you information that can guide you into changing feelings that you don't want, in any dream.