Cher lecteur, j'écris en anglais. Parce que si j'écris directment en français, mon cerveau n'arrive pas a comprendre que mes doits vont sur le clavier.
Les textes en anglais sur mon site sont traduit,mais lentement, parce que je ne trouve pas le temps de traduire bien et rapidement.
Ce texte va etre mis en français le plus vite possible.
​Merci pour votre patience.

​

I choose the title Shamanic Practitioner and not Shaman.

The main reasons are:

1) the word Shaman belongs originally to the Evenk people. Occidental culture has colonized most of the world and commercialized many cultural elements from tribal cultures. While often these cultures have nothing left or are about to disappear. The only thing left these days for many tribal cultures are their sacred traditions.

I respect any Occidental person who calls herself a “Shaman” but I’ve decided not to carry that title, since I feel uncomfortable with a possible cultural appropriation.

2) giving oneself the title “Shaman” could be a form of arrogance. I’d rather avoid that. My ego is big enough as it is.

3) the rebirth of animist culture has given rise to neo-shamanism in the West. This is in many ways a positive thing, but sometimes it is a bit of a circus. While occasionally a circus is good thing, quite often it is not. I'm not a clown, nor a show-man. Perhaps a giraffe, but that's another story.
I'd like the art of dreaming and using techniques of shamanism to be taken seriously. For this we need to work with focus and dedication and use our titles with honor.

4) both a teacher and a therapist have a position of power, whether we want it or not. We are the ones who have knowledge or possess the keys to help someone in dealing with their pain. Since the word “Shaman” is a title of power, it is totally possible to abuse that power by creating unbalanced teacher-student relationships or detrimental therapist-patient relationships. This has to be avoided. We should steer clear of words, symbols and actions that lend themselves to abuse of power.

But the word “Shamanism” is still very useful. Many people learn about a positive and empowering spiritual way of life through getting to know books, films and people who use the word.

So "Shamanic Practitioner" is a good choice. Like Medical Practitioner.