What is shamanism? A guide to earth-based spirituality & the shamanic path
In today's fast-moving world, many feel disconnected, numb, overwhelmed, or unsure of our place in the bigger picture. With the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, automated systems, hyperrealistic images and videos, and tools like ChatGPT and Claude—it is only natural that the pendulum swings the other way, toward a world of authenticity, nature and real human connection with something greater than us.
I feel that's why more and more people are feeling drawn to or curious about earth-based spirituality. Shamanism, as one of the oldest spiritual practices on Earth, offers a path back to wholeness, a reconnection with nature, spirit, the ancestors, and our true selves. I truly believe that in the coming years, this kind of work will only become more relevant.
Read on to learn more about this fascinating world.
A path of remembering
As a Q'ero Paqo apprentice and energy healer, I've come to understand shamanism not as something we learn, but something we remember. It lives in our bones as cellular memory, pulsating within us, waiting to be activated. It's the language of the Earth, the wind, the rivers and it speaks to those who are willing to listen with their heart.
Shamanism is the realisation that we are a reflection of nature, that the elements of air, fire, water, and earth live within us, just as they live within our great mother, the Earth.
Something worth mentioning is that shamanism works with feminine energy: the feminine of nature. Feminine energy is slow, rhythmic, it feels like a slow dance that is unique to each of us. And our journey in life is remembering that personal dance. That dance is directly related to our purpose. If you're able to access that energy and reawaken it, or maybe just reconnect with it, you will open a realm of infinite possibilities, multidimensions, and joy.
A way of life, not a religion
Shamanism isn't a belief system—it's a way of being. It exists in many forms around the world, rooted in Indigenous cultures that know the Earth as sacred and alive.
In the Q'ero tradition of the Andes, the lineage I am humbly learning from, everything has spirit: the mountains, the stars, the rivers, the stones, even the unseen realms.
Shamans, or medicine people, act as bridges (chakarunas) between the physical and spiritual worlds. They restore harmony when there is illness, confusion, or imbalance. They work with energy, nature, and guidance from spirit to bring healing and insight.
For the Q'ero and other shamanic lineages, we humans are not separate from nature, animals, plants, stones, or trees — we are one with them. Everything has a spirit, and the world around us is always communicating with us. There's a sense of reciprocity (ayni) and cycles of giving and receiving that allow everything to flow in harmony and balance.
How the call comes
I believe everything happens for a reason, and that a bigger picture is always at play — within us and all around us. In shamanism, we refer to this as the microcosm of the macrocosm.
For most people it arrives as a whisper, a nudge, a synchronicity, a feeling that something is missing even when life looks fine on the outside. For me it started as hormonal imbalances and fertility struggles that transformed into an inner journey to the depths of my soul, searching for answers to the challenging experiences I had.
My curious soul led the way. What started as traditional therapy evolved into a deep spiritual practic—then came energy facilitation trainings, Reiki, coaching, womb healing, plant medicine, and ancestral remembrance. The more I dug within my own soul, the more my self-awareness increased, my senses heightened, and the more I could see the beauty in my personal story. All the struggles and challenges revealed themselves as part of a wonderful mystery, a master plan.
The moment I surrendered to the flow, accepted this, let go of control, and said yes to the unseen my life began to transform.
Why people are drawn to shamanism today
Many who walk a shamanic path are soul-curious. They're seekers, empaths, and intuitives who long for a deeper relationship with life. Shamanic practices can help you:
Reconnect with nature and your body
Heal energetic imprints or trauma
Meet your guides and ancestors
Develop your intuition and awareness
Honour the cycles of life, death, and rebirth
For me, shamanism is not about escape or ascension it's about embodiment. It's about walking in reciprocity (ayni) with the Earth, with our families, partners, and communities, and remembering we are part of something vast and alive.
My journey into the shamanic path
It all started back in 2016 when I said yes to learning energy healing. I had no idea what it was, I just followed my curiosity. I was paying attention to the signs: three people in one week mentioned Reiki, so even back then, at the very beginning, I knew something was up. That first attunement opened a portal into the realm of energetics, intuition, expanded consciousness, and awareness of my own body, my energy, and the energies around me.
Montezuma, Costa Rica
At some point in my journey, when I started to connect deeply with my body and feminine energy, that's when I started to feel the call of nature. I found myself in the rainforest in Costa Rica, walking barefoot, touching the trees, and it came to me: I'm one with nature. I'm happy. I am love. I am safe.
So that was it… well, not really.
It was the first nudge on my shoulder that triggered a deep path into inner healing, cleansing my body, my lifestyle, letting go of old patterns, dropping alcohol and eventually finding myself in the Andes of Peru, doing plant medicine for the first time.
Receiving a Mapacho cleansing in the Andes at Apu Healing Center
Plant medicine & the visions
Ayahuasca showed me what today, three years later, I can understand but back then, I had no idea what I was looking at. Grandmother Ayahuasca showed me the world and a path, going from place to place like a web of connections.
During plant medicine journeys I saw myself as a wolf, as a bird, as a bee. I saw the creation of our Earth and my soul journey. Grandmother showed me rainbows, my rainbow body, me as a mountain — and she kept repeating: You are nature. You are like me.
This is not to say that plant medicine is for you or is an answer because it is not. Plant allies are guides, like any other guide. For me it was the catalyst and the reason I even created my business, The Light Arts.
Finding my teachers
My spiritual path took me to Spain, learning from a shaman there and receiving the Munay-Ki Rites initiation, then receiving the Rite of the Womb. With each step, I was getting closer to my truest path, guided by my ancestors and the spirits of nature.
Receiving the Munay-Ki Rites
And finally, one day, when I basically let go and surrendered to whatever my spiritual path was going to be, I was able to connect with my teachers, the elders of the Q'ero Nation in the highlands of Peru. My maestros. Once I started learning from them, it all made sense: the visions, what Ayahuasca showed me… I started remembering.
I started walking the path of the Paqo apprentice, the path of the medicine woman under the Q'ero lineage of Peru.
Signs and guides appeared out of nowhere. Though I'm still learning, my life has gained a new purpose I have found my personal dance.
Shamanism, for me, is the essence of life: a deep, rooted connection to the Earth itself, to my heart, and the hearts of those around me. Thanks to shamanism, I've been able to decondition my mind, express myself freely, share my thoughts, and create a business rooted in joy, a reflection of who I am and what I stand for.
A personal invitation
You don't need to live in the mountains or know ancient rituals to begin walking this path. The first step is remembering that you are already part of nature, and that your intuition, dreams, and inner wisdom are sacred.
Understanding that everything is sacred, everything is a ritual.
I'm not saying you will walk the same path I did. What I'm saying is this: find those moments of solitude and listen to the whispers of your soul. The medicine you seek is already within you. Your struggles are your medicine, your lessons.
What we do with it is up to us.
There's no right or wrong.
It just is.
