The Shaman's Mind. Jonathan Hammond

      This book is about becoming a finder and no longer a seeker.

      It’s about truly healing. It’s about learning to love yourself; to think straight; to step into wellness, prosperity, and love; and to feel the inner satisfaction of these attainments to such a degree that the inevitable response is to give yourself back to the world. Imagine yourself so well, so full, and so supported, that you can’t help but want to spread your good fortune around.

      In every given moment, each of us has a glorious opportunity to release our self-limiting stories, learn to live from our true nature, and become the highest and brightest expression of ourselves. And I know of no better, more practical, or more effective system to guide you there than Huna, the esoteric knowledge and philosophy of Hawaii.

      We are currently in the midst of an immense, difficult, and sometimes terrifying planetary shift of consciousness. We are on the brink of complete unsustainability—we cannot continue our current ways without careening toward destruction. The Cree tribe of North America speaks of a contagious psychospiritual disease of the human soul—a virus or parasite of the mind that is currently manifesting itself in the form of unprecedented conflicts and crisis on a global scale. This wicked spirit, which terrorizes and cannibalizes others, is called Wetiko or the Wetiko Virus. In Hawaiian, it is referred to as ‘E’epa, which means “deceit that passes comprehension.”

      Wetiko/‘E’epa is born of our disconnection from the natural world and it operates by covert infestation of the human psyche, compelling us, through toxic selfishness, to act against our own best interests by blinding us to our own insanity: destruction for profit, massive hoarding of wealth, allowing suffering without compassion, dehumanizing others, and recklessly exploiting natural resources.

      Wetiko, however, is non-local. In other words, it doesn’t have any substantive, material existence except in our own minds. This points to an incredible intrinsic power and deep personal responsibility within each of us to make a difference in this world by cultivating our own individual consciousness, by cleaning up our own mess and making ourselves so well so that we can have a positive influence on all of life, and on all of those whom we touch.

      Quantum physics posits the Quantum Inseparability Principle—every atom effects every other atom, everywhere, because everything influences everything else in every direction and every which way in time. This means that everything we do matters; how we think and live has energetic reverberations that affect all beings everywhere. The microcosm of our individual selves is the macrocosm of the entire planet and beyond. There is no separation.

      I can only guess that if you are holding this book, you feel a deep calling and personal need to be part of the global solution. And because we are all inseparably connected in this one universe, even the simple yearning to live our best lives contributes vitally toward this deeper intentionality. In the last fifty years we have become inundated with consciousness-expanding, esoteric wisdom from a host of indigenous and spiritual traditions, and for good reason. A contemporary spiritual movement, an army of “light workers” is being formed to prepare and fortify millions for the changes ahead.

      This has already been prophesied.

      The Quechua people, who live in the Andes of South America, call the time in which we are now living the Fifth Pachacuti. A Pachacuti is a five-hundred-year interval, and this particular one is an era in which, as the legend states, the Eagle and the Condor will fly together in the same sky. According to the Quechua, the previous two thousand years were dominated by the Eagle—a visionary, but materialistic bird; one connected to seeing vast distances, the intellect, and the masculine principles of growth and movement. Over the last two thousand years, the Eagle’s influence was seen in the huge advancements and discoveries that took place in science, medicine, and technology.

      But the Fifth Pachacuti, which we now inhabit, is a time when the feminine, spiritual, and environmentally-minded Condor will begin to dance together with the Eagle, restoring balance and harmony with her intuitive Earth wisdom. The Quechua believe that the Condor embodies such sacredness that she might not actually fly, but can somehow spiritually move herself.

      In the Quechan prophecy, during the Fifth Pachacuti, the entrance of the Condor will come about with the help and support of those humans who espouse Earth-honoring ways, those who live in right relation with themselves and their environment, and those who choose to lean into the interconnectivity of all things.

      And that is you.

      The best way to fight the Wetiko/‘E’epa demon is to start by naming it. By naming it, we diminish its power. Then we can lend ourselves, through the inner rainbow light of our hearts and minds, to anyone—and anything—which, for whatever reason has lost their way or had their freedoms diminished.

      We do this not only through the actions we take in the world, but by cultivating a consciousness within our own minds that always leads us toward choice, possibility, and the highest levels of inclusivity. The Hawaiians call this consciousness Aloha. The word Aloha is a commonplace greeting in Hawaii, and it is often translated as “love,” but it has great spiritual significance as well. In Hawaii, Aloha is considered an attitude, an ethic, and a means for change. It means to share life force with another, using the essence of love as an expression of our life force in order to further creation.

      This is an utterly natural process, because creation itself, as you will find in the pages that follow, is made of the very stuff that is Aloha, the love that is in alignment with what we consider to be the most elevated qualities of Spirit: grace, forgiveness, compassion, gentleness and kindness.

      To learn to infuse your thinking mind, and therefore your external life, with the potent force of Aloha is to do your part to confront Wetiko/‘E’epa and help the Condor lift off to the tallest and most transcendent heights. If enough of us learn to do this for ourselves, the Wetiko/‘E’epa demon will be no match for what we can accomplish individually and globally.

      It’s time for real and substantive change, which only you can make for yourself. It’s been said that there is nothing new under the sun, and I am convinced that the ocean of spiritual books, classes, workshops, and internet programs that are now so readily available mean absolutely nothing if we don’t dig in and do our own personal work with gusto. It’s time to let go of what I call “weekend spiritual adventures,” or reading the latest self-help gurus so that we can sound interesting at cocktail parties. The invitation rather, is to learn to change your mind. By doing so, you will awaken an inner shamanic self that moves in alignment with the most beneficent and powerful forces of Nature and Spirit. This is the essence of Huna, and the overall aim of contemporary shamanic practice.

      But if you don’t feel a particular connection to the Hawaiian Islands, pay that no mind. I often refer to Hawaiian Shamanism as “Shamanism with better beaches.” The wisdom contained in this book transcends the culture from which it came because it points to universal truths that open us to love, and as we open, so does the world. Even though we will address both in great depth, this is not just a book on Huna or Hawaii. My aim is to use both as a framework to introduce much broader psychological, spiritual, and healing perspectives.

      If you are reading this, you are operating under some vestige of freedom—at the very least, you have enough choice and space in your life to delve into this material, and choose what you want to do with it. But there are so many beings—people, rivers, animals, oceans, and trees—who for whatever reason don’t have that same luxury.

      So read this book for them. Show up for yourself for them. Make yourself well for them. Awaken your interior