CHECK Magazin - Gesundheitsmagazin für Männer No.11

Alternative Medicine
common purpose beyond work. Of course,
interest groups or friend ships can develop
from this, but the big difference is the individual
work, which does not take the form
of a confession and absolution by a spiritual
representative such as a priest or imam.
The shaman is a mediator between the inner
and outer processes of the participants. The
shamanic work takes place within.
Which rituals are used?
What I like to do are dream journeys. This is very
exciting work, in which you do a form of autosuggestion,
enter a phase of relaxation and go
into your own dream world. I start by finding
my own power animal, which actually supports
every human being. The early ethnic religions
were generally animistic, they worked with
animal symbols and animal spirits, because
of course we were hunters. During the dream
journeys one also encounters angels or other
spiritual beings, motifs and
symbols. The journey itself
lasts about 30 minutes, after
which you can talk about
what you have ex perienced,
if you wish. So we work with
the unconscious to see if we
should do some inward research in this or that
direction. Sometimes things come up that you
have never looked at, or at least not in a specific
context.
It’s also about getting out of your own drama
and letting your power animal show you how
things are and then asking yourself what to do
with the information.
How could a shaman, specifically in our community,
help make things better for us?
Even though I like working with and for the
community because I’m a part of it, shamanic
work doesn’t necessarily have anything to
do with community per se. I know about the
issues that are omnipresent here: not being
loved, being rejected, not being accepted. It
leads to being separate. This feeling comes up
again and again. But especially being separate
from yourself.
Here, of course, shamanic work is particularly
interesting and important in order to be able
to assert oneself out there again and again,
“Shamanic work is not
about being different, it’s
about shining your light.“
to find one’s own light. It’s not about being
different, it’s about shining your light.
What exactly do you mean by “separated”?
If you’re gay, queer or trans, you’re more likely
to be classified as segregated because you’re
not part of mainstream society. This always
brings difficulties, because as a herd animal
we are of course dependent on the community,
on the clan. This then carries over into the
interior because this supposed truth, which is
conveyed to us from the outside, is automatically
internalised. There is no other way. Many
then perceive this as bad or as a deficiency.
The community is not about asserting oneself
externally, but internally. It’s about finding
your roots and realising that you are part of
the whole, even if you are “different”. Through
shamanic rituals, the self is strengthened and
with it the ability of the self to recognize and
accept this overarching affiliation. We don’t
always see them because
we learn different things
about ourselves in the here
and now. The separation
between heart and mind is
also symptomatic of this
“being separate”.
Would you say that as a community we also
suffer collectively and can therefore also
heal collectively?
What I’m experiencing now is that fragmentation
is taking place and the danger is that
we get lost in it. This is counterproductive,
since we are looking for the opposite. Community
is created through connectedness.
But that assumes that you are connected to
yourself.
It sounds very pompous now, but I believe
that we can do more by changing internally
than by trying to change everything externally.
Stepping out to be loved or accepted
by everyone is incredibly exhausting. Visibility
is of course important, in the big parades and
also in everyday life. But it seems a bit of a
Sisyphus job to me until we really find love
and acceptance for ourselves.
You can find more about Olaf’s work at
www.die-lichtarbeiter.de
60 CHECK BERLIN #11