I am a white woman in Cape Town, South Africa and I provide 'Red' shamanic work, shamanic healing and teaching work, primarily based upon the principles of Native American, the First Nation Peoples' wisdom and ways. I do not call myself a shaman. I work in a shamanic way -  it is how the Creator made me, for which I am so grateful and how I choose to serve the Creator of All. These ways came to me, from the prayers I had made to the Creator, for my personal healing. Today I do the work I do with the expressed permission from the living elders, Medicine men, whose individual paths crossed my path at different times in my life, here in South Africa, which later resulted in me being granted permission by them, to do the shamanic work I now do, here. I was not searching for ways to become a shamanic teacher or healer. I needed healing in my life. From the moment I encountered these Spiritual ways, I felt and continue to feel, a deep, profound natural connection with these ways, as to who I am within my Spiritual Essence. Yet, I am not Red, nor do I regard myself as Red, for I am white and I walk me, exactly as I am, in honour and respect, of all I am and all I am becoming.I am not claiming Red Spirituality as mine. No. I have found a connection with these ways, which resonates with who I am at the core of my being and at all times, I give full acknowledgement, respect and continual gratitude to my Spiritual teachers and these profound Natural ways, which have helped me find me in this world.

I consider the work I do today as a shamanic healer-teacher, born to me from ceremony, as my purpose and my mission in this life as I walk the Earth Mother. I consider my Earth walk a privilege and the gift I have given myself has been in my learning how to heal my separations and perhaps show others it is possible to feel the Spirit in themselves as well. With deep respect and for the sake of clarity and good understanding, with reference to the words 'Red Nations', 'Red People'  which appears throughout my written material presented here, I am referring specifically, to the Native American People, the First Nation People of the North Americas. In all that I do and all that I am, I do not attempt to speak or act on behalf of any Tribe or any other person. The work I do above all else, is in honour and service of the Creator of All That Is, working for the greater good with those who love our Mother Earth and her living life forms, and in honour of the Indigenous Peoples of the Earth, like the Red Nations, for they have continued to provide answers to a world which continues to ignore the questions. Blessed I am, having been born into a good and caring family, in the treasured, remembered beauty and sacredness of the land now called Zimbabwe, with its mysterious powers of Nature and its vibrant 'salt of the Earth' peoples, I chose my origins for this Earth walk, very well.

While it may baffle some as to why I walk this path, it is very clear to me. I found God in Nature and the Nature-based Spirituality of this shamanic path called the Red Road found me, with its ancient Universal wisdom, its way of beauty, of reverence, and of profound simplicity. Its deep abiding love for Mother Earth and its honour and respect above all else, for a living Creator, God, Great Spirit, ever-present everywhere and within all of life, was for me the most humbling, practical, beautiful, all-encompassing way of being.

The Native Americans, the First Nations People of that continent, have from the beginning not attempted to describe God, the Creator. Their reference to this omnipotent power as the Great Mystery appropriately sidesteps such theological arguments, for how can we as human beings attempt description of the Creator of all things, when clearly the Creator is too vast to describe. This Creator, Great Mystery, Great Spirit, is the same mysterious power, the Source of everything, and is the same God, Allah, Supreme Unity, Cosmic/Universal energy-regardless of name, culture or creed. The Native American People, the First Nation People of America, have always known that there is only one Creator of everything, from which all life has been breathed.  Modern seekers today are realising like the tribal ones of old, that we, and all life, are extensions of that Great Mystery force.To these Red People, life is lived in acknowledgment, in honour of this living Creator from which all life has come. Everything the Creator has created, is thus alive with consciousness and intelligence, with purpose and meaning in its role in existence. This is why all life to these people is sacred. It is understood therefore that the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms and we human beings are interdependent strands of the great web of life. The connecting thread, is found in the Sacred Wind which links all things together; whatever we do, affects everything everywhere.All life is connected.The revival of these natural shamanic ways is a blessing for a modern world desperately in need of solutions. ''We all perish together if we lose our Earth to global warming, pollution, (deforestation), greed and over-population''Ed McGaa. It is time for the modern society of our world to change, to wake up from its ignorance of a living Earth. It would be different if we all lived on other planets, but we don't, we live on one, and the consequences of all actions affect the whole.

The origins of shamanism can be traced to Stone Age times. All of us have evolved from shamanic cultures regardless of where we live, our modern culture, or our current creed.  Shamanic origins are not separate from us. Shamanisim is in our roots, as human beings. Anyone can embrace shamanic ways, without abandoning their religious beliefs, yet not everyone becomes a shaman, nor should one feel this is necessarily the goal.  In tribal cultures, the shaman is considered as the 'doctor of the soul'. His or her primary focus as a healer is upon the health of the Spirit of the people, the community, the individuals. The return of the way of the shaman is here to guide us forward, forever reminding us of the fragile beauty and living wonder of life.

It is not that all that is modern is bad and all that is old is good. It is not about turning back the hands of time to be living in a bygone era. Yet, the awesome triumphs that our Western culture have achieved in technology, communications and science have not been equally supported by a growing spiritual awareness, and so we stand within a time of phenomenal opportunities as well as of extraordinary dangers threatening the entire planet.

We live in a take-away society, where we are respected for what we can take. At the root of this competitive culture lies a scarcity consciousness:  fear that there is not enough, so one must take as much as possible, as quickly as possible, before it all runs out. By comparison, the Natural Way, the Shamanic Way, understands that the Earth provides for us, and that as we take care of her, she is enabled to continue to provide for us, and we are able to share her produce with all.

Today, as individuals disconnected from the Earth and ourselves, we search for answers. We have forgotten so many things. We no longer find harmonious ways to relate to one another; we are at war within ourselves and with each other. Terrified of parts of ourselves, we are cut off from our inner nature, and set up against our natural instincts. We have become lost in a world of outer effect, having forgotten the importance of what's inside of each one of us. As a people, our suffering from soul-loss is increasing rapidly. This is evidenced by so much feeling of emptiness, of no purpose, no meaning, of self-hatred and abuse through alcohol, drugs, rape, pornography, lack of respect for the self, others and our planet - diseases of our society.

We need to re-establish connections, to come to know once more how to feel our Earth beneath our feet and the Sky above us. We need to re-connect with the many beings around us and establish relations by opening ourselves to them, through our prayers and our intent. When we allow Mother Nature to touch our own internal nature we are forever moved by her ways. As we cultivate our belief in the purpose of life and are willing to be touched by it, as we awaken and learn to pay attention, we find it everywhere.  In this way, we start to learn the many truths about life and about ourselves, thereby breaking the illusions held by our unconsciousness, ignorance and  arrogance.  As human beings, we have a special form of self-awareness, and the power of conscious choice. We need to start to work with our power wisely; as much as we compete, we also need to co-operate, to learn to make wiser choices which take into consideration consequences of those actions.All life is sacred. Without balance and clarity there is no growth.We can't pretend not to pay attention any more.  Ignorance is not bliss - it's suicide.

The revival of shamanism is here to help heal our separations, to guide us into rediscovering deep connection within ourselves, each other and with our Mother Earth, in honour of the Creator, who makes all life possible.These ways of beauty touch a person's heart; where there is beauty, there is harmony. Through these ways we learn to heal pieces of our personal history which hurt and prevent us from being in the 'now'. We learn to take responsibility and stop complaining and blaming others; we find honour, respect and value for ourselves, we find appreciation and peace, we learn the necessity to balance the great powers of the feminine and the masculine, within ourselves. We come to learn that as human beings we are not superior to any other life form, that everything Creator has made has great purpose, including our being here.  It is not enough to just take care of ourselves, for we are part of a community, which includes air, water, soils, plants, animals and all the races of human beings. As we awaken to the oneness of all life, we realise the interdependency of all things and our need to work for the good of all and the healing of our Earth.

It takes courage to walk one's talk. These times need great change, great healing and the only one we can change and heal is ourself. Just talking about changing our ways will not yield those results. Walking our talk is about being who we say we are. Walking our talk is the gift we give ourselves to discover our integrity, our authenticity, and as we learn to walk that and to be that in the 'now', we awaken what it truly means to be human and here.

We cannot take war out of this world until we stop our own daily war within ourselves, our personal reality first.  As human beings, regardless of our differences, we are one people and it is incumbent upon all who awaken to work for the good of all, not just for one's self.  As we awaken from our slumber and our habitual patterns, we realise the Divine within and all around - the beauty of our essential nature, the sacred stillness at the centre of our being, the connection to the Great Mystery. When we commune with the Great Mystery, all life becomes magical and everything we do can help the whole.

It is wholeness that comes from moving beyond our limiting conditions of consciousness.  Walking these paths of transformation brings a wholeness in which we can then continue our walk with wisdom, every moment, everywhere, as fully awakening human beings, knowing the journey of life is never over.  We learn to acknowledge the Divine presence of compassionate grace within ourselves and we learn to stand tall in that presence.  Life is an honour, a privilege, it is Creator's gift, and to choose to live in the present is the gift we give ourselves.

It is with appreciation and deep love that I thank all that is in my life; lessons which teach me who I am and who I am not, guide me to make better choices each time and help me to awaken myself more fully each moment, as I, like any student of life, continue to discover my place in the wholeness of Creation.

Shelley Ruth Wyndham