Those searching around the internet for things to do in Rocky View County may have recently come across an eye-catching title: “The Way of the Shaman Workshop: Intro to Shamanism.” The event was held at the Springbank Equestrian Society Hall on Feb. 22 to 23.
Curious, the Rocky View Weekly reached out to the workshop’s instructor Wade Prpich, a Calgary-based shamanic practitioner with over 20 years of teaching experience.
Prpich said there are a lot of preconceived notions about what shamanism is, but, put simply, it is a spiritual system to help people heal and explore within themselves by calling on the help of spirit guides usually strongly associated with nature.
“A shamanic practitioner is someone who can essentially alter their consciousness, move into the Spirit realms, connect with these compassionate beings to bring back healing, bring back wisdom, bring back well-being, to help people that are suffering or working through spiritual issues,” explained Prpich.
If this all sounds a bit hippie dippy, Prpich says he once thought so too.
“I mean it's interesting because I'm just a normal guy,” he said. “I grew up in northern Alberta, grew up farming, grew up with the oil patch, grew up playing hockey.
“For me, where it started was when my sister was killed by a drunk driver when I was about 21. And when something that traumatic and tragic happens, you start to kind of question what is the meaning of life? How could someone be here one moment and then move on the next? And just really grappling with those bigger questions.”
Already having a deep love and feeling of connection with nature, Prpich said he began exploring different answers to the question of how to heal from his sister’s death, and he eventually arrived at shamanism.
“I went through a couple hard years and I decided that I wanted to make something with my life rather than living in suffering, and I started to kind of get into spirituality … So that's what really brought me to the shamanic path: it is about healing,” he said.
Prpich says shamanism is not a religion, and it actually predates organized religion in the anthropological record. It’s a system, he stresses.
“I don't tell you to believe anything that I'm saying,” Prpich stated. “I'm going to give you steps and methodologies to explore these things … You're really guided on your own path to deal with your own problems, and to overcome them, if you're committed.
“I think it's just a general interest to kind of go deeper within yourself to want to heal, to want to explore spirituality,” he added. “And given this is not a religion, this is really about we're giving you methods and techniques and protocols to kind of open the door for people to explore in a safe manner where they're protected.”
Drumming is also a big part of shamanic practice, says Prpich.
“It has been proven scientifically that it shifts our brain waves when we hear drumming at a certain beat per second, and allows us actually to perceive spiritually more naturally and to move into the spiritual realms more naturally and just have a spiritual sense of awakening.”
Prpich confirms he holds these beginner workshops about four times a year in Springbank.
“People who take the course are trying to understand spirituality, trying to understand this place, their place in the universe,” he explained. “People often come to these workshops just to heal. Life is hard. Life is difficult. We all go through traumas. We all go through pain and loss, and we want to heal.”
For more information visit calgaryshaman.com.
