Marika Candelaria - Week 4

In this week’s readings, “‘We Are Not Alone” The Shamans Of The World Tells Us” was an interesting source to read about shamanism. While we do not consider it as science, the article states how there is still educational value in this practice. The practice is not valued and recognized today--I think that it is underappreciated and should be considered in education for health purposes. Even though it is not considered as science, shaman practices have led to spiritual healing and could possibly prevent instability in people’s mental health. While being a part of the STEM field as a college student, shamanism could provide more information about herbal medications and introduce new forms of helping sick people.

 In the article, they express how shamanism undergoes the communication between ancestors and nature. This information related to the lecture we had with our guest speaker, Osvaldo Mila. He also supplied us with new knowledge about their practices and speaking to nature. This opened up my perspective of how to see life in a different way and appreciate my surroundings. Everything is alive around us--the rocks, water, trees, wind. They all speak to us in a way where we allow them to. I found this reading and lecture fascinating because it really brought up a broader perspective of how we view the world as individuals.

One question I have from this lesson--how can we promote these practices in our education today?