ABSTRACT

A foundational part of being a shaman is achieving balance and harmony. Harmony is needed in interpersonal relationships, within the relevant communities, and within individuals, including the shaman him- or herself. Shamanism is said to be the world's oldest set of spiritual traditions. Prehistoric records frequently contain shamanistic images, suggesting that shamanism has been around since the earliest days of humanity. Fear creates stress, which is both physically and emotionally damaging. Fear develops when people feel threatened in some way. Fear can take many forms, including fear of death or harm, even fear that someone will outperform a person in some way: That is fear of losing. Some people fear insects, snakes, or creatures. Others fear people unlike themselves, finding it hard to have compassion for people who are different. As adults, we have typically had many experiences with the potential to induce fear, because results of past experiences have not always been positive.