Shamanism is a great metal and emotional adventure, one in which the patient as well as the shaman-healer are involved
Michael HarnerMost of the sacrifices involved tearing out the heart, offering it to the sun and, with some blood, also to the idols
Michael HarnerWhat's really important about shamanism is that there is another reality that you can personally discover...we are not alone.
Michael HarnerHe (the Shaman) is a self-reliant explorer of the endless mansions of a magnificent hidden universe.
Michael HarnerIf a state political organization is founded in part upon a state religion with a dogma based on one or a few 'official' prophets, then shamanism, where every shaman is her or his own prophet, is dangerous to the state. [...] Shamanism, as I said, is not a religion. The spiritual experience usually becomes a religion after politics has entered into it.
Michael HarnerShamanism is a path of knowledge, not of faith, and that knowledge cannot come from me or anyone else in this reality. To acquire that knowledge, including the knowledge of the reality of the spirits, it is necessary to step through the shaman's doorway and acquire empirical evidence.
Michael Harner