ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the seven shamanic attributes (rhythm, respiration, silence, posture/gesture, sound, mask, and movement) as the vehicles through which the ‘mute animal body’ learns to speak. The subsequent chapters on the various attributes are previewed as extended ‘meditations’ on these expressive vehicles as they appear in the shamanic dimensions of psychotherapy. Defined as ‘pools of participatory being’ or ‘shamanic sacramentals’ (that unconsciously act on the unconscious of others), the attributes are the body’s way of expressing the deepest imaginings of the personality and the first emergent expressions of nascent consciousness. The role of the attributes as part of the shaman complex in psychotherapy is discussed, together with the importance of paying attention to the body and to unconscious expressions of the body’s implicit memories as a way of differentiating oneself from unconscious shamanic enactments. The author’s experience of having all the attributes activated in work with her voice coach is described, as well as the way certain attributes transformed themselves during the process. Finally, the ways that the attributes can become fixed and rigid, serving as vehicles for defenses against feeling, is discussed.
