{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"The calls & pitfalls of the growth of shamanism - Nicholas Breeze Wood","description":"In this week\u2019s show, Lian is joined by Nicholas Breeze Wood. Nicholas has practiced shamanism for over 40 years, combining it with the 'earthier' end of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as with 'medicine' teachings from Native North American peoples. He has worked with many gifted medicine people and shamans over the years, and is deeply apprenticed to his own spirit helpers, whose teachings never fail to awe and surprise him. Nick\u2019s shamanism is a fusion of traditional Himalayan and Mongolian forms, combined with teachings from his own spirits. He works especially deeply with ritual objects - such as bronze shaman's mirrors, phurba daggers and many other Mongolian and Tibetan shamanic and Buddhist ritual objects - for which he holds traditional teachings and, where required, traditional initiations. Despite being a \u2018rather uneducated Buddhist,\u2019 he is an ordained Tibetan Buddhist lama, a type called a ngakpa, whose role is similar to a shaman\u2019s. Ngakpas are non-monastic, non-celebrate lamas who live in the community, specialising in ritual and magic for people within their community. Nick is the editor of Sacred Hoop Magazine - a leading international magazine about shamanism - which has been published since 1993. He is also a musician and artist. He is the author of several books including, 'Walking with the Tiger,' 'Sacred Drums of Siberia,' 'A Little Book of Revealing,' 'Voices From The Earth,' 'The Book of the Shaman,' 'The Shaman Box,' and 'The Resplendent Other'. He runs the large Facebook group 3Worlds Shamanism, has done a podcast called the 3Worlds shamanism podcast on and off since 2006 and also has a somewhat neglected YouTube channel, also called 3Worlds Shamanism. In this episode, Lian and Nicholas explore what it means to walk the path of shamanism in the modern West. Together, they trace the winding threads of Nicholas\u2019 life\u2026 from the windswept fields of his Midlands childhood to the birth of Sacred Hoop magazine, through encounters with medicine wheel teachings, Mongolian and Himalayan shamans, and the long shadow of Castaneda. What unfolds is not a how-to or a prescription\u2026 but a living braid of animism, discipline, and devotion. Nicholas reflects on the unexpected gift of dyslexia and how neurodivergence shaped his initiatory path, as a different kind of perception\u2026 one that enabled a direct, embodied relationship with the unseen. He and Lian explore the tension between psychotherapeutic frameworks and authentic shamanic practice, and the danger of mistaking surface form for deep structure. What makes a shaman, he says, is not sensitivity or interest, but being chosen by the spirits themselves. Woven through the conversation is the question of lineage. What does it mean to carry teachings from other lands onto this one? How do we honour both the transmission and the soil we stand upon? From the cosmology of the medicine wheel to the pitfalls of cultural appropriation, from core shamanism to the necessity of cosmological bone\u2026 this episode offers a rare encounter with an elder who has walked the shamanic path for many decades. We\u2019d love to know what YOU think about this week\u2019s show. Let\u2019s carry on the conversation\u2026 please leave a comment wherever you are listening or in any of our other spaces to engage. What you\u2019ll learn from this episode: Why the word \u201cshaman\u201d is often misused\u2026 and how understanding deep structure versus surface form can clarify what is truly sacred. How neurodivergence can shape perception in ways that become part of our gift, especially when navigating the unseen or the unknown. What it might mean to birth a Western lineage\u2026 one rooted not in imitation, but in integration, initiation, and real relationship with land and spirit. Resources and stuff spoken about: Visit Nick\u2019s websites: Sacred Hoop Magazine 3Worlds Podcast Buy Nick\u2019s books Join Nick on YouTube Join UNIO, the Academy of the Soul. This is for the old souls in this new world\u2026 Discover your kin & unite with your soul\u2019s calling to truly live your myth. Be Mythical Join our mailing list for soul stirring goodness: https:\/\/www.bemythical.com\/moonly Discover your kin & unite with your soul\u2019s calling to truly live your myth: https:\/\/www.bemythical.com\/unio Go Deeper: https:\/\/www.bemythical.com\/godeeper Follow us: Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Thank you for listening! There's a fresh episode released each week here and on most podcast platforms - and video too on YouTube. If you subscribe then you'll get each new episode delivered to your device every week automagically. (that way you'll never miss a show). ","author_name":"The Wild Sovereign Soul Show","author_url":"https:\/\/www.bemythical.com\/","html":"