Please note, we are adding and updating Kevin's Galleries. Thanks for your patience. If you have any questions, please email Lisa (at) thedreammasters.org
WELCOME!
We've all been working our fingers to the bone (believe it!) in our small studio here in the woods, creating hand-carved, limited edition Ojibway inspired sculptural pieces aptly called LITTLE MANITOUS. We have sold our work through many fine galleries across the country, including Disney World and many National Parks. Each piece is one of an edition of 100, and is numbered, dated, and signed by the artist. For those of you unfamiliar with the term "Manitou", it is the Ojibway (or Chippewa) word for "Spirit". As the Great Spirit manifests itself in myriad forms, each unique manifestation, including plant, animal and mineral, is endowed with and inseparable from this Spirit. Also, MANITOU can be interpreted as meaning "MAGIC", in the sense that some people, places, objects, etc. seem to possess a greater concentration of this spirit (or creative energy) than others, such as a sacred ritual object or a favorite seashell. A Manitou may also be an actual spirit entity (inorganic beings?) whom on occasion will take on a physical form in order to teach us foolish humans a lesson. Thus, "Little Spirits" and the inspiration for our pieces.
"Hylozoism is the belief that all objects are imbued with life. Animism is the belief of tribal people that every object is invested with a mind or soul. When this same belief is held by Western intellectuals, it is renamed panpsychism. Needless to say, panpsychism is most unfashionable in these materialistic times..." ~ Roger Walsh THE WORLD OF SHAMANISM
ABOUT KEVIN GADOMSKI
Inspired by the Ojibway heritage of my wife and children, I began creating the Manitou pieces many years ago. My interest in all things esoteric has led me to explore Core Shamanism as a life path which is naturally reflected in my work.
I attended a small liberal arts college where I studied Art under the guidance of Paul Hubinsky and Philosophy with an emphasis on Eastern Religion under the tutelage of T.P. Kasulis who had previously designed and taught courses at Harvard and Yale. (Now, I bet you're really impressed!) Taoism and Zen mostly. Originally from a working-class neighborhood on the Arthur Kill, Sewaren, New Jersey, surrounded by oil refineries, industrial pollution, chemical waste, garbage, and other lovely by-products of our exploding population, I've spent the latter half of my life so far here in the 'north country'. A lot less traffic!
Tanner (below) will be helping out as well while he attends college. Tanner's heritage is of the Turtle Clan of the Grand Portage Band of Ojibway.
Frequently Asked Questions about Shamanism
What is Shamanism? And what can it do for modern peoples?
"Shamanism" as a term is accepted to refer to a wide variety of techniques and practices, grounded in cultures worldwide, that help human beings mediate spiritual and mundane issues, such as healing, problem solving, and the passage of the soul before, during and after birth, life and death, Some commonly known types of shamanic practices include Navajo medicine people, as well as Central American curandera, or "healers". "Shaman" is a Siberian term meaning "one who walks between worlds." This is not the only term used by those who practice these ways.
Shamanism can do for modern people much the same thing it has been doing for people for thousands of years--namely, help people to deal with mundanely unanswerable issues. Shamanism is a dynamic way to deal with spiritual and esoteric crises, those that come as a regular part of life’s changes and those that come about as part of a special occurrence or situation. Some of the areas traditionally associated with shamanic work , especially the healing of many different kinds of physical and mental ailments and injuries, have been largely taken over by Medical doctors and those in the Psychological and Counseling professions, but even here shamanic practices can be used to speed progress and healing in conjunction with modern technologies, because the realms of the shaman are eternal and universal.
What kinds of Shamanism exist today?
In addition to the surviving Native American traditions, people are rediscovering their
cultural roots in Ireland, Scotland, Great Britain, Wales, Iceland, Siberia, The Hawaiian
Islands, Africa and Asia and many other places. Most indigenous cultures show some
indication of shamanic practices, and so by tracing one’s own roots one can usually find a way to some kind of shamanic tradition. So universal are these ways, that Michael Harner, author of The Way of the Shaman and founder of an institute for shamanic studies has proposed that these practices can be separated from their cultural contexts into a set of practices that anyone can use to navigate the spiritual realms. This is known as "Core Shamanism", and while it might seem reasonable to assume that western peoples, who have by and large lost a deep connection with their ancestral heritages, would be very attracted to a non-cultural spiritual practice, many still seek out traditional ways and a cultural context in which to learn and practice the ways between the worlds, even when those ways seem to differ from the cultural heritage they were born into. Examples of this include Native American and Celtic paths.
What is a Shamanic journey like?
To induce a gentle trance state, facilitating the shift in consciousness necessary to the work, drums, bells or rattles are often used to pace a steady, driving beat. As if in a lucid dream, the shaman can move and walk about, can see and hear as well. While journeying the shaman goes to the subtle spiritual worlds which lie next to and intertwine with our own, conscious world, and from the character of the place he or she goes, and the nature of the animals and other beings he or she sees there, the meaning of the journey takes shape.
What are Power Animals?
Animals are seen by shamans as demonstrating certain lessons and capabilities. As guardian spirits, or helpers, each person is said to have at least one and frequently many different spirits who can help him or her spiritually, in harmony with the individual’s innate character and talents. These spirits can leave the individual if the individual ignores them or fails to honor them. A shaman can help individuals recognize or draw back their power animals when this happens.
What is Soul-Loss?
Soul loss is the term used to describe what happens spiritually when our boundaries are nor honored. It is as if a part of our essential self has left us and become stuck in the source of the conflict, or as if a part of us inside has gone to sleep. Shamans say that soul loss is very common in the modern world, with its quick-paced impersonality, and soul-loss is something that shamanic practitioners can usually help heal.
What is Power-Loss?
Shamanic power is really more a question of being properly hooked into a circuit of flow.
The power, like water or electricity, comes from a universal spiritual source, manifests in
myriad ways through the spiritual and physical realms, comes to us, and is used by us, and so flows out, and eventually back to source. The trouble happens when we shut ourselves off from the flow, or it "grounds out" in us, or becomes blocked and floods us out. Because we are in "circuit" with other human beings, this sometimes means that when people get detached from the right flow, they inappropriately turn to each other to seek the power they really need to come from the universal source. This is not good for either party, and Shamans are trained to recognize and help correct this kind of imbalance.
What is Celtic Shamanism?
This reconstructed shamanic path works with symbolism and mythologies from Ireland,
Scotland, Wales and Britain. It often involves study of the Ogham, the wisdom of the Trees. Celtic Shamanism is NOT Druidism. Celtic Shamans do many of the same things shamans in other cultures do, but they have their own terminologies for these things, for instance, Celtic shamans call their inworld journey work "imram". Celtic Shamans must study the Healing Arts and the Craft of War, so that every Celtic Shaman is both a warrior and a healer. There is also a great emphasis on Bardic knowledge.
Can anyone do Shamanism?
There are many Shamanic techniques that anyone can practice safely, for example,
grounding, or honoring one’s ancestors. However, practicing shamanism and being a Shaman are two separate things. The trained Shaman must be able to recognize things that are crucial to a balanced application of the intense energies that can be activated almost casually with easily learned techniques, and he or she must be able to work for other people in a way that will facilitate their healing and support their wellbeing. Shamans must get good results for their workings, and must use their powers wisely, or as worldwide legend has it, they will lose their powers. Beginners, especially those who learn the techniques from books, may not have this background, and can run into unexpected and potentially dangerous spiritual and energetic ground. When in doubt, seek out a well-trained and experienced individual for workings or teaching.
Pooklaroux @ 1999, 2000, 2001. 2002, 2003
