A lovely client recently gifted me a copy of “ The Horse Boy” by a man called Rupert Isaacson. Rupert and his wife Kristin live in the US and have an autistic son called Rowan, who suffered severe difficulties and tantrums.

Conventional therapies failed to help Rowan, but Rupert found that there was a strong bond between Rowan and his neighbour’s horse, Betsy.

Rupert had a background in horse handling and also an interest in shamanism, due to his involvement with the Kalahari Bushmen, for he had helped them to reclaim their sacred land. One day he decides to follow his intuition and also merge his two interests and take Rowan to see the shaman of Mongolia and Siberia, on horseback, in the hope of bringing Rowan to a more balanced place emotionally.

The book is beautifully written and I highly recommend it. It was interesting for me to see the similarities in practices between the shaman of Mongolia and that of Peru, which is the shamanic lineage I have trained in. For example, Iike the Mongolian shaman who sprayed Rupert and his family with vodka, I had to learn how to use my mouth and breath to spray alcohol (containing flower essences) at people. This caused much laughter when I recently had to blast away at a BBC Radio presenter who was live on air some time ago. In fact I heard that the people at the radio station are still joking about me “spitting” on him!

However the spray uses the living energy of the breath, the vibrational energy of the flower essences and intention to clear the energy field, and is particularly helpful after psychic or emotional healing. If you like, it acts as a kind of antiseptic spray, it cleans and clears energy - and it is also refreshing and revitalising for the person having it done. Honestly! Additionally, Rowan experiences the Mongolian shaman “whack, whack, whacking him on the back” with a whip, something his parents also endured.  

I also remember being in Peru a few years ago, lying in a pitch black room, being whipped painfully across the face, eyes (ouch!) and body by a tiny female shaman who seemed a third of my size and yet who was immensely powerful. In 2008, that same tiny shaman beat at me once more, this time with sacred reeds pulled from the side of a lake, as I crouched naked and freezing to death underneath the icy flow of a glacial waterfall!

Although this sounds cruel, the whipping is used to break up the density of the energy body, as heavy, condensed energy collects in our energy field as a result of stress, negative thinking or negative experiences. This then serves to block us and can eventually bring about disease or disharmony. The shaman is literally smashing off old imprints and hardened chunks of energy with their whips. Not wishing to risk a lawsuit, I do not use whipping in my own shamanic healing practice – instead I use the sound, energy and movement of my rattles, which is far nicer for the client, but still has the same effect, even if it is not quite as powerful as the whips!

Many of the shaman in the book talked about the “dark energy” which affected Rowan while in the womb. This was said to have come from a river or a lake. It is possible for “dark” energy to take up residence within the human energy field, and cause mischief to its host in a variety of ways. More information on this can be found on my website, (www.liberate-online.co.uk) in the articles section. My training has taught me that there are only two types of energy, light energy or dark energy, known as “Sami and Hucha” respectively in Quechua, the language of the Inca.

A shaman understands the natural world and knows that rivers and lakes - in fact all natural things - have an intelligence, a consciousness. That can be a light or heavy consciousness.   This is why a shaman places such importance on reverence for nature. For example, the mountains in Peru are said to be inhabited by “Apu’s” – Mountain spirits or “Lords” if you like.   In Peru these can be perceived as huge eagles with human heads, and it is said that these are a type of Archangel, vastly intelligent and powerful. No-one would ever consider building a mountain road in Peru without first asking the Apu for permission! It was interesting to read in The Horse Boy that the Siberian shaman, Ghoste, also spoke of “The Lords of the Mountains and the Lords of the Rivers.”

Ghoste is a shaman of the Reindeer People, and he worked by using the beat of his drum to enter into a trance-state (the rhythmic sound of a rattle also achieves the same effect) to receive information from his power allies, and the consciousness of the reindeer helper spirits. The Native American Indians may use the powers of wolves, bears, buffaloes and eagles. The medicine people in the High Andes receive their information from the Apus, the mountain spirits. I have worked with shaman in the Amazon who receive visions and information from the psychotropic plant “ Ayahuasca” and others who utilise the services of their power animals and others that may obtain their. In short, shaman use whatever power sources are locally available to them, so the medicine people of the Andes who live high up in mountain villages, would not utilise the powers of Ayahuasca for example, as firstly this is not easily available to them and secondly they have no relationship with it.

I will not spoil the ending of the book for you, should you chose to read it I am sure that you will enjoy it. I will write further on how shamanic healing can assist children with autism, so watch this space!

dawn@liberate-online.co.uk or by
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