By Holly Schmitt,
Shamanic Energy Medicine Practitioner
True Story; Just into my 20s, after completing my B.A.s in Anthropology and Spanish, I felt the calling to Shamanic practice. Mind you, this was nearly 35 years ago, before the internet, cell phones & such, so finding a teacher seemed challenging. I had heard about a Peruvian Shaman so I headed there to request mentoring. I mean, how did one become a shaman? Via plane, train, bus and cab I managed to arrive to his home, naively expectant of a welcome onto an amazing sacred path. I was instead abruptly stopped in my tracks. The Shaman’s young relation informed me that he wasn’t home and no one could say when to expect him back. I guess I should have written first!
After this, a new plan was clearly needed. I got my Master’s degree & plunged into a career providing holistic counseling as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. This form of healing work has brought great satisfaction, with ever deepening understanding & compassion for our human challenges. I also found ways to work with spirit and earth energies via Lakota Ceremony, drumming, gardening etc. And yet, that yearning for immersion in a Shamanic practice that works with all levels of consciousness and harmonizes with all beings still called to me.
Luckily, a friend invited me to an introduction to Peruvian Shamanism. So many years later, and the door opened to me! In 2017 I began my training with the Four Winds Society Light Body School and earned my certification as a Shamanic Energy Medicine Practitioner.
So why am I so excited and inspired by this work? First of all the “tried & True” nature of this method. Humans have been relying on Shamanic healing for tens of thousands of years! The wise ones of old found techniques and approaches that worked through trial and error. We can benefit from their determination. Modern physics also points to some of the same truths the ancients discovered about energy medicine…that everything is energy/vibration and is connected. We can approach healing from the physical, emotional, and energetic levels. While we need to tend to ourselves in all three ways, I have found working at the energetic level to be efficient and direct! We can clear old patterns, inviting expansion to greater possibilities, connection with one’s soul’s & destiny and to right relations to the natural world.
For information about sessions with Holly please call: 636-239-1117.