Of all the spiritual traditions, why shamanism? It's a tradition that was everywhere before there were established religions. It goes under the ossifications and operates at the living level of an individual's and a culture's personal relationship with the Sacred. And because it goes meta, it doesn't cling to forms as much as speaking to the deeper layers of being both human and Spirit.
Shamans are Technicians of the Sacred, according to the Dagara Elder Malidoma Some. This means that they are allowed behind the curtains to look at the levers and gears that run our spiritual heritage. What this means is that we get some hands-on knowledge regarding the spiritual. And while this evokes images of kids playing inside a Panzer Tank, we have to find our way to learning about the Sacred and cultivating enough largess to allow mistakes from ourselves and others.
In other words, we don't simply worship God, Allah, All-That-Is or that Highest Power by whatever name you give it. We get to know Him/Her/It/They. We start to extend a sheepish hand to touch the steadfast one that has alway been held out to us, without middlemen. And we we begin to find the meaning behind the worn spiritual maxims (such as, As Within, So Without), discovering the web of implications that these maxims spawn in this world.
It means that we're no longer children, no longer needing to take other people's spiritual word at face-value. Instead we gain experience and therefore mature in our own right, learning to see the truth for ourselves.
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