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 <strong>CHECK</strong> BERLIN #11
Daniel Korup und Amon Ottersbach Kaspars Biezaitis E-Rezept? Einfach bei uns einlösen. Liesa Steffin Svenja Suhrmüller Dr. Frank Reißmann Besondere Beratung hat viele Gesichter. MediosApotheke Oranienburger Tor Friedrichstraße 113a, 10117 Berlin, T (030) 283 35 30 MediosApotheke Hackescher Markt Rosenthaler Straße 46/47, 10178 Berlin, T (030) 282 78 76 info@mediosapotheke.de, mediosapotheke.de Inh. Anike Oleski e. Kfr.