In addition to her shamanic duties, a shaman may also don the robe of priest or herbalist, for example. But that does not imply that all shamans do so, or that all priests are shamans. Shamans are able to get in touch with spirits by taking a journey in an altered state of consciousness. This state is achieved with the help of repetitive sounds such as drumming or rattling, the ingestion of entheogenic substances, rhythmic movement, chanting, breath work, or forms of sensory depravation. Shamans making this journey retain full control of their trance state, unlike mediums and full body clairvoyants.
Shamans are conscious of everything that transpires.
The shaman uses this altered state of consciousness to communicate with and influence the forces of nature and the universe for the benefit of society. She unites the artificial dualities of the inner and outer worlds, the constructs of the individual and society, and the world contained in our corporeal forms and that of the cosmos beyond. A shaman journeys with purpose and intent. She is not a private mystic. Her voyage is not one of personal discovery, but serves an expressed need within the community.