Abstract

Heuristic in nature, this study delves into the relationship between the shamanic consciousness and self-healing. Schneider investigates the supposition that the keys to an holistic approach to healing are intrinsic to shamanism and when one enters into the world of the shamanic consciousness and extracts the essence of its world view self-healing is facilitated. Drawing on the wisdom that emerges from her inner voice, the "Inner Shaman," Schneider identifies ancient core shamanic principles that emanate from the shamanic consciousness and its inherent world view, and demonstrates how when activated in her life helped her to come to a place of healing and wholeness. ;Her specific research inquiry addresses the question of how the essential elements of ancient shamanic principles related to and contributed to her personal self-healing experience, and what exactly that experience of healing has meant to her. Supporting the thesis that each individual has an inner consciousness, metaphorically termed the "Inner Shaman," which represents an awakening to a higher state of consciousness conducive to healing, Schneider tells her healing story by demonstrating the syncronicity of her personal healing and the awakening of the shamanic consciousness within her. ;The study defines health, illness, and healing in terms that proceed from the shamanic world view and offers an in-depth study of what it means for her personally to be healed. Using qualitative depictions which include both the recording of her inner voice, the "Inner Shaman," and the retelling of personal experience through the use of stories and vignettes, journal entries, narrative descriptions and poetry, Schneider captures the essence of her healing journey. She concludes that her experience of healing has been a process of becoming whole, of embracing all of who she is on all levels of being, and that her connection to the spirit within and without, facilitated by the awakening of the shamanic consciousness, has been a major factor in her healing experience.