It is a complex set of practices, beliefs, values and behaviors that enable the practicioner to elicit a shift from ordinary consiousness into a trance state with a specific goal in mind, such as for healing, obtaining information, power, vision, divination, contacting the spirit of the deceased, soul retrieval or guidance for right action. Shamanic work is done with the aid of a helping ally of some sorts that the shaman has befriended. They work together as a cooperative team, with the ally being an intermediary between different levels of reality and the shaman, an engineer of altering states of consciousness. Shamans throughout the world and throughout time, recognize that the universe is alive, conscious, and filled with spiritual power. Shamans know how to access this web of power and work with it skillfully and effectively to address their, and their community's needs.
Shamanism is the use of shamanic practices within a shamanic value system.
Typically shaman do not define themselves as such. Instead they are defined by their community based on what it is that they do. Becoming a shaman and living as a shaman is a difficult and demanding life path that many indigenous people shy away from because of its formidable requirements. It is not about fun and glamor. Unskillful and uneducated acts can cause harm, or even be life-threatening, to the practicioner as well as to others.