This weeks blog is the first on a series of Primal Wisdom

 What have we Lost

 (topic at a recent Shamanic Conference in San Rafael)

Sangoma healing works mainly through three mechanisms:

The Power of Placebo

Distant or Remote Healing

The fact that many Plant Medicines also have pharmacological properties apart from their spiritual effects

Placebo or the power of belief to help and heal is a key tool of the sangoma (Zulu for shaman.)

We know from double blind studies that a placebo (dummy medicine) will do the job 30% of the time. A charismatic sangoma can increase placebo often as much as 80%.

The cosmology of the spirit world is complex. No doubt advanced spiritual seekers can obtain information directly through the upper two chakras via out of body travel and other methods. For most of us, however, who are not so enlightened, spirit guides or ancestors are vital. I use the two terms interchangeably because frequently a "foreign" spirit guide is someone who loved us in a past life and love never dies - they still want to help. 
The countless Causal realms are the spheres of perfected souls who retain free will and do not have to reincarnate, although they may choose to. Most of us do not usually communicate with this source of higher wisdom. Most of our information, not localized in space and time, is coming from the Astral of which there are also countless vibrations. 

Spirits in the Astral have lost the power of free will and cannot act independently. Their Karma is cut in stone but they can operate as guides through the free will of the living. We help them by allowing them to help us and in a sense "lift them up" by allowing the to do service from the beyond. They can complete work that they never completed in their prior lives with our help and permission. We return the favor with gratitude, respect and love.

The ancestors live in the moment since there is no time on the other side. Einstein confirmed that; 

"The distinction between past, present and future is only an illusion albeit a stubborn one."

Free will is the cosmic law and free will is always in the moment in the spirit world. Hence we have to keep  affirming what we want. They need to know if we are committed to it and whatever "it" is must be very specific. We cannot ask them what to do with our lives or what our destiny is. We have to find out for ourselves with their guidance.  We need clarity and the right questions to get their answers. 

Because of free will their wisdom below confirms that they cannot help us unless we and they have absolute certainty. 

The other cosmic law (also because of free will) is that we must ask to receive, and keep asking since the request is always in the process of "becoming."