Come As You Are

 A Shaman is Here to Hold Space

A shaman is not a healer in the way we often imagine. They are not here to fix you, save you, or silence your pain. A shaman is here to hold space,vast, unwavering space ,for your divine intelligence to rise.

To hold space is to create a container of presence, where nothing needs to be hidden or explained away. It is a sanctuary for truth to surface, for grief to speak, and for joy to find its voice. In this space, the masks we wear fall away. The stories we’ve told ourselves can loosen their grip. There is no judgment, no rush to repair. Only the deep knowing that healing is already within you, waiting to unfold.

Healing Through Witnessing

We often think of healing as something that comes from the outside ,from a practitioner, a prescription, a set of steps to follow. But the shaman knows otherwise. Healing is not something that happens to you; it is something that awakens within you. Your body, your mind, your spirit ,all carry the wisdom of your ancestors, the lessons of your past, and the infinite potential of your future.

A shaman’s role is to hold the mirror steady so you can see yourself clearly. Not the fractured self shaped by shame or fear, but the self that is whole, even in the face of pain. They bear witness to your unfolding, standing beside you as you move through the storms within.

Witnessing is powerful. In many cultures, communal witnessing has long been a part of the healing process. To be seen in your rawness, your sorrow, and your joy ,without judgment , can unravel the tight knots of isolation and shame. When a shaman holds space, they are not afraid of your shadows. They honor them as teachers. Every wound you carry holds a story, and every story longs to be heard.

The Sacred Intelligence Within You

There is a force within you that knows how to heal. It is the same force that closes a wound, that calms a trembling heart, that urges a seed to break through the soil toward the sun. This divine intelligence is your birthright. The shaman doesn’t impose answers or solutions. Instead, they guide you back to your own knowing.

This work is not about bypassing pain or rushing to find resolution. It is about holding steady when the waves crash, learning to listen when your spirit speaks, and trusting the wisdom that arises. Some moments may feel unbearable. Old stories may resurface ,the ones you thought you’d long since buried. But the body remembers. The soul remembers. And when given space, what was once unbearable becomes the very ground from which transformation blooms.

Walking Through the Fire

Transformation is rarely gentle. It often comes with the heat of discomfort, the cracking open of what no longer serves. In many traditions, fire is seen as a purifier. It consumes what is dead and gives birth to what is new. The shaman understands this elemental truth. They do not fear the fire; they welcome it.

When you are ready to step into that fire ,to face the parts of yourself you’ve exiled or abandoned ,the shaman will walk beside you. They will call upon the earth, the water, the wind, and the flame. They will summon the spirits of your ancestors and the guardians of your path. You will not walk alone.

The old skins will shed. The burdens you have carried, some of which were never yours to bear, will begin to lift. And as the ashes settle, something sacred will remain: the truth of who you are. Not the story of your wounds, but the essence that has endured.

The Power of Your Own Medicine

A shaman’s presence is not one of superiority. They are not above you, nor are they separate from you. They are a fellow traveler, one who has walked through their own darkness and emerged with the gift of sight. They know the terrain of the soul ,its valleys, its peaks, its hidden caves.

But your path is yours alone. The shaman does not walk it for you. They may offer tools ,a prayer, a song, a ceremony ,but the true medicine lies within you. Your laughter. Your tears. Your resilience. Your surrender. These are your sacred offerings to the world.

And when the time comes, when the storms have passed and your voice is steady, you may find yourself holding space for others. For the ones still finding their way through the dark. This, too, is the medicine of the shaman. Not to gather followers, but to awaken leaders. Not to hold power, but to remind others of their own.

Come As You Are

So come. Come with your grief, your fear, your longing. Come with the stories that ache to be told and the questions that have no easy answers. Lay your burdens down. Let the earth receive them.

A shaman is here to hold space. And in this space, all that is ready to heal will find its way home.

~Shanti Freedom Das