We have wandered away from our spiritual traditions and forgotten the lessons from millennia of experience. Though we may have left behind the supernatural, it has not left us behind. Religion used to provide answers and rituals to help us understand the things we cannot understand with only our wits and our senses. Now, increasingly, we search for answers in ways previous generations knew to be dangerous, and so we play with spiritual forces we do not understand and cannot control.
… [O]ur society no longer teaches these rules, but often celebrates breaking them. The problem with that is simply this: God is real, and the rules have not changed. Evil spirits work personally to tempt us into sin and collectively to normalize sin in society. Their goal is to coax us away from God and into a subservient relationship with them. They play nice in the beginning, but when they have a hold on us, they turn cruel and controlling. They strive to isolate us and drive us to despair — or sometimes possession.
These words of warning are from The Exorcism Files, by Adam Blai, a Catholic layman, psychologist, and consultant to the Diocese of Pittsburgh on exorcism. Here’s a link to a page on his website that gives the “basics” of what the layperson needs to know about the devil and his work. "Blai tells you what to stay away from, and warns very strongly against messing with any of it. It’s very helpful, and ought to sober anybody tempted to dabble in witchcraft, divination, psychic consultation, or any form of the occult."
People in our era who follow the herd to abandon established religion to go their own way spiritually, put their lives and souls n a precarious predicament. The latest such case arises in an article on the rapid rise in the followers of shamanism in England and Wales. The danger lies in this:
Shamanism is not a unified field of work. Nor is it organised under any regulating body. The title of “shaman” is not protected or even well defined. As a participant, you must carefully consider who you approach to work with, as the standards from origin cultures may not have transferred over.
Western practitioners do not always fully adopt the shamanic ethics needed to practise safely. This can mean clients may be left with information and experiences they do not fully understand or know how to work with.
Evgenia Fotiou, an academic who has studied the globalisation of shamanism and the erasure of indigenous practices, warns that:
Westerners see no conflict in the appropriation of indigenous knowledge. They believe it is universal and everyone has the right to it … It is rare that westerners will make the necessary sacrifices and adjustments in their lifestyle to fully follow that path.Contemporary practitioners must examine their motivation to work in this way and break out of exploitative and romantic views of indigenous peoples. It can take a long time to train and develop your work without stepping into cultural appropriation.
There’s also a risk that people with possible mental health issues such as substance use disorder or psychosis might see shamanism as a way to explain and justify their behaviour or symptoms (such as drug taking, delusions or dissociative states) as spiritual experience, and so not seek conventional treatment.
Though "shamanism has been linked with both empowerment and a greater sense of community, as well as a stronger connection with the Earth", the key takeaway is that it is path to exploitation of others, as well as to predation by the demonic spirits as individuals do their own thing away from structures that preserve the well-being of all involved by the provision of ancient standards.
For more on Blai's findings from his experience in contending with the demonic world, go to this video:
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