The corporate shaman, much like the tribal shaman, is called to the transformation through some sort of personal wound - a downsizing or other event that causes soul loss. The shamanic leader must then heal him- or herself. In the process, the apprentice enters into the first stage of the shaman’s journey: the way of the south, the way of the wounded healer. The work of the south is to shed the past which can mire you down and slow your growth. This is true for both people and companies.

The archetype of the south is the healer; power animal, the snake or serpent. The medical symbol is twin serpents entwined around a staff. Shedding the past like a snake sheds it’s skin, the shamanic leader releases the hungry ghosts that haunt them and steal the company’s life force. The task of the shaman is to reclaim the energy bound up with the past and to transform it into power. Deep wounds thus become the source of power and compassion for the leader. You come to know your own soul.

Start with the shadow parts of yourself that you deny and despise. The shadow can be both positive and negative: what we cast out and can’t find within ourselves. The core of the shadow is the dynamic creative tension in our souls. The shadow of the West is sexual and violent, according to James Hillman. The shadow is also the place of our greatest pain and suffering. Shamanic leaders can transform these wounded parts into power and carry them in their medicine bag, not their heart.

What is the shadow of business? Pollution, hazardous waste, medical and psychological problems of employees, customer injuries, and even deaths caused by products and their production. What is the shadow of the tobacco industry? Lung cancer and emphysema. Yet native Americans have been using tobacco in ritual and ceremony for centuries. The spirit of tobacco or any plant can be harnessed by the shaman in ritual or used inappropriately and unleashed on the unsuspecting.

On a world level, Mother Teresa comes most often to mind as a global healer. Who do you consider to be a global, national or corporate healer? When have you acted as the healer in your family or business?

Throughout time, fire has been used as part of rituals and ceremonies to cleanse and transform old energies. The shadow side of this for America was the Salem witch trials, but fire can be used to easily shed unthinkable burdens of the past. The shaman uses the fire ceremony to release the trapped energies of the past. As fire releases the sunlight trapped in wood, it can also release any energies the shaman or client has wrapped around the wood.

Practices of the Healer

• awareness - gathering information through the five senses and the seven chakras.
• shedding - setting aside the baggage of life
• creating sacred space-a gap between the worlds where healing can occur.

The Shadow Healer

"Luke, beware the dark side of the force," said Obiwan Kenobi. Each of the four directions and archetypes of the shamanic leader has its shadow. The dark sides of the healer are the:

• brujo or "witch doctor" who uses these tools to wound rather than heal
• addict who becomes addicted to the plants that they use
• healing addict who is addicted to helping others which causes them to perpetuate the cycle of illness and healing in their patients.

The true shaman would prefer not to have to heal anyone, but knows that this is unlikely.

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(C) 2003 Jay Arthur (888) 468-1537 knowwareman@mindspring.com

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