Shaman English Teacher - CoyoteSkyWoman Voices on the Path

Voices on the Path-

A Collection of Interviews

Shaman English Teacher

CoyoteSkyWoman

Email: themythstress@aol.com

First can you briefly tell us about yourself? What is your profession? Any special hobbies?
I am 42 year old and I teach English at several local community colleges. I like to work with plants and I do leatherwork when I find the time. I also write and read copiously.

When did you begin your path? What inspired you to walk this journey?
I began my path when I was 18 years old, and I found it through some friends of mine who thought I might fit into the scene. It fit with so many of my beliefs that I started doing some research and looking into what was out there in the world around me.

Can you tell us a little about your path? How would you describe yourself?
I consider myself to be a Shaman, following more of John Matthew's Celtic Shamanism and Michael Harner's belief of Core Shamanism than any specific Native American path. It is really a rather eclectic blend, though I do prefer Native American styling over Siberian.

Does the path you've chosen affect your profession? If so, how?
It allows me some reflective wisdom on how people learn. I tend to approach my students more as individuals rather than a lump class of people. As a result, I have made some interesting friends along the way.

Is community important to you, or do you prefer to express you beliefs as a solitary?
Community is important to me, and I work with a group of very diverse people who all have their own view points. Shamanism isn't about being mystical and holy. Shamanism is about serving both the spirits and the mortal community around you. It is hard to separate the two as they are so deeply tied together. Often, I act as an intermediary for the two.

Are you associated with any organizations, volunteer work, or groups that support your spiritual beliefs?
I work with A Sacred Place in Canaan, NH and am on the Board of Directors there. They are also a very diverse group of people, and see themselves as working with the land spirits and preserving a place for people to come and enjoy nature. I can respect that.

Would you say your path has been an easy or difficult journey? Any advice for someone new to this path?
For the first few years, it was a lonely one. I started before the internet was a big deal, and there wasn't easy access to information the way there is now. I had to read a lot and study in order to get my feet solidly under me. Then it was a matter of honing and refining...which I still do a lot of. To new people I would say that they should read a lot before deciding that this is their path, and look carefully at groups to make sure that they are really dedicated to the work they are doing and not just self-agrandizement. I would also not take anyone's word as law. Verify, verify, verify, and trust that inner voice when it tells you something isn't right. Or that something is.

I invite you here to share any information you find important that we may have missed in our questions.
I think that it is important for people to understand that Shamans are more than just healers of people. They are counselors, go-betweens, students of the world, land healers, and often the mischief makers. Nothing says learning like being tricked into seeing yourself for who you are.

Finally, what three books would you say most influenced your path?
I tend to be a huge fiction reader, so I'd have to have Charles DeLint's "Moonheart" here, but also Richard Bach's "Jonathan Livingston Seagull", and Richard Matheson's "What Dreams may Come." The latter two are more philosophy-in-fiction guise, and definitely shaped my concepts of reality and death. Matheson's book is nothing like the movie and is ten times more research based. He also wrote "Somewhere in Time", ( I love both the book and the movie), "I Am Legend", and a slew of other really good books. "Dreams" is his only really researched book (that I am aware of), and has an actual bibliography of studies to back up its premises. "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" may be pooh poohed by critics of the 70s, but most of the people who look down on it have never really read it. The soundtrack to the movie was the first music I ever tranced to, and it remains a very spiritual influence to this day, possibly only surpassed by Peter Gabriel's "Passion". Charles DeLint, who has other Shamanically-influenced books as well, first gave me the concepts of I had of Paganism and Shamanism in "Moonheart" several years before I picked up my first Pagan book (it was Starhawk's Drawing Down the Moon, by the way). His descriptions are lyrical, if not completely accurate, and have provided a solid base for many of my beliefs over the years.