Shamans can be found on all inhabited continents, in all countries, and in all of our ancestral lines whether your descendants are European, African, Australian, Asian, East Indian, or a native of the Americas. The word "shaman" originated with the Siberian Tungus people and referred to a person who makes "journeys" to non-ordinary reality in an altered state of consciousness. Many cultures have their own name for these wise men/women, also known as holy men/women, like the Yatiri of South America, Mudangs of Korea, Bean Feasas from Ireland, male Böös and female Udgans in Mongolia, Szeptuns found in Polish heritage -- the list continues and is long and ancient. Anthropologists adopted the term "shaman" cross-culturally to include all male and female spiritual healers who access and connect to non-ordinary states for wisdom and healing. 

 

After years of extensive research, Mircea Eliade, in his book, "Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy," concluded that shamanism underlays all the other spiritual traditions on the planet and that the most distinctive feature of shamanism is the