As stated by Vadala, “shamanism is a “universal singularity” or a religious form that can emerge and successfully gain a foothold in a given society when the religious system and social order are compatible with individual small-scale religious leadership. Such systems must require highly flexible social actors, like shamans, who can aid individuals (patients) and lead groups (apprentices and members of a community) in spiritual matters.”

(Vadala, 2019).

What is Shamanism?

Shamanism is a form of holistic healing that can be highly diverse; also, it is a spiritual practice found in cultures across the world from ancient times up to the present day. Shamanism is known for its holistic forms of religion, healing, and medicine. It combines the use of supernatural spiritual involvement and the usage of natural remedies. The Hmong community is one of the better-known groups that practice Shamanism. There are many responsibilities for the Shamans as chosen healers; also, they understand and know natural remedies. Sometimes, a shaman must negotiate with the spirit for a patient’s soul or well-being. Most traditional Hmong families or individuals might use shamans in combination with American or modern medicine. Additionally, shamans’ practices are adaptable and practical. These practices coexisted over millennia with government systems, organized religious traditions, and distinct cultures (Lawson,2016). 

“Because it is not an organized religion as such, but rather a spiritual practice, Shamanism cuts across all faiths and creeds, reaching deep levels of ancestral memory. As a primal belief system, which precedes established religion, it has its own symbolism and cosmology, inhabited by beings, gods, and totems, who display similar characteristics. However, they appear in various forms, depending upon their places of origin.” ~John Matthews, The Celtic Shaman.

(Lawson,2016)

What is a shaman?

The definition of a shaman according to famed American psychologist and consciousness pioneer Stanley Krippner, shamans are “community-assigned magico-religious professionals who deliberately alter their consciousness in order to obtain information from the ‘spirit world.’ They use this knowledge and power to help and to heal members of their community, as well as the community as a whole” (Lawson,2016). Moreover, Krippner describes shamans as the first physicians, diagnosticians, psychotherapists, religious functionaries, magicians, performing artists, and storytellers (Lawson,2016). Based on the study in shamanistic cultures, all adults are responsible for their relationships with spiritual energies, including those of their ancestors, own personal helping spirits, the creator force, and their home environments, such as animals, plant life, and geography. Nevertheless, the shamans have increased the facility for traveling in non-ordinary realms and using their spirit relationships to create changes. These changes will manifest in the physical world to heal individuals and the community (Lawson,2016). Therefore, the cultural healers’ Hmong shamans can help the community recover from the pandemic through their knowledge and spiritual power.

Hmong Shaman and Herb Center (HSHC) has provided accessible shaman and herbal healing to Hmong families in the Twin Cities area since 2019. HSHC provides a unique healing space and direct services to clients. Also, they work to support Hmong families and try to make changes in the broader systems. Moreover, HSHC has the mission to increase access to mental health support for Hmong families so that they may recover their lives from mental illnesses. To achieve HSHC goals, they do the following activities: outreach, education, training, deep practitioner development, and community partnerships at the intersection of healing and racial justice. HSHC offers substance use disorder services, coordinates with physical health care and social services, and provides integrated mental health.

Furthermore, HSHC is a designated organization to serve individuals of all ages regardless of their ability to pay and where they live. HSHC has the vision of empowering the Hmong community with holistic practices through Herbal medicine and Shamanism. Also, they help people to take charge of their wellness and health.

References

Vadala, J. (2019). Cross-culturally exploring the concept of shamanism. Human relations area files. https://hraf.yale.edu/cross-culturally-exploring-the-concept-of-shamanism/

Lawson, K. (2016).Shamanism. Taking charge of your health & wellbeing.

Is everything fully known? So many times, we are thinking about what type of questions to ask. Asking the right questions can help us clarify our confusion and better understand our understanding. Questioning is a surprisingly powerful tool that enables us to learn and exchange information and ideas. It also fuels performance and innovation improvement. Asking questions appropriately and considering the individual’s ethnic/racial background is paramount. Different cultures have distinct viewpoints, and the tone and how the questions are asked make a difference. Therefore, researching before interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds can help to ask good questions and increase people’s cultural intelligence.

Information is like a river; in the river of ideas, relationships, and news constantly changing, people need to adapt accordingly. As stated by Peavey (1997), “Dipping into the river one day brings up different perspectives than the next day because the river has moved on with one more day of experience and thinking” (Peavey, 1997). As a result, individuals who would like to know and learn new things must ask questions to stay up to date with their knowledge.

What is Strategic Questioning? 

Strategic questioning is the answer that can make a difference because it is a powerful tool for social and personal development and change. Strategic questioning helps individuals to discover their ideas and strategies for change. It involves a particular type of questioning and listening, and this type of questioning individuals can use to help co-workers, friends, their neighbors, and people in the surrounding. Strategic questioning looks for solutions to any problem because it opens another point of view, invokes exceptional creativity, considers new information and possibilities, and forges new strategies for resolving challenges.

Questioning empowers ownership of the new information that will stay with the individual. As Peavey (1997) noted, “Learning how to ask strategic questions is a path of transforming this passive and fearful inquiry into the world into a dynamic exploration of the information around us and the solutions we need. We can “make up” answers to almost any problem” (Peavey, 1997). For example, asking a simple question like what country you are from helps generate basic ideas and information about the individual.

Good questions have a purpose, sincere intent, genuine interest in learning new things, and creating curiosity. Following are some examples of questions that can help increase cultural intelligence.

• What are your thoughts about this method?”
• “When have you…? And how did it turn out?”
• “In your culture, how do people do this?”
• “What is it like to…? (Pascual, 2022).

Creating the right mindset and being open, sincere, and genuinely interested in what the other person is saying is essential. It is important to include words such as “normally,” “typically,” and “usually” when asking about different cultures. For example, “What’s your general approach to handling conflict?” “How do you usually like to collaborate?”Moreover, listen actively. Summarize or restate what the other person said and bake some of their words into the questions. Also, embrace the silence, giving them additional personal time to think and craft their answers (Pascual, 2022). Many people are willing to share more information if you wait for them to finish talking.

References

Peavey, F. (1997). Strategic questioning. In V. Hutchinson (Eds.), An approach to creating personal and social change.

Pascual, P. (2022, August 2). Asking better questions: Cross-cultural communication. Talaera. https://blog.talaera.com/asking-better-questions