I've never got the impression when reading about indigenous peoples that the 'spirit' guys lived in a state of opposition to, or alienation from, the traditions of their people, or were generally suspicious of their political leaders. Rather, it seems to me that they were/are seamlessly a part of the establishment, and generally supportive of it.
Our modern shamanism, by contrast, is part of the counter-culture that arose in the 60s in opposition to the establishment. You can see why that counter-culture needed to happen. But eventually you have to make your peace with convention, or you're no bloody use to it. The state of opposition (which is understandable when we're starting out) becomes a prolonged adolescence, an institutionalised spiritual bypass.
There is a regular event called 'Breaking Convention' that occurs in the UK. I am sure it does some very good stuff. But many of us have spent half our lives 'breaking convention'. Eventually it goes nowhere. It is not interesting. What does go somewhere is making your peace with it, not fearing you will lose your magic and radicalness if you conform. That is a necessary, and much more difficult, thing to do. Try it one day a week :)
It's a journey I've been on myself. I found when I honestly analysed my attitudes to authority and to government and to politicians, that my responses were often self-serving and ill-thought through. And gave me a group identity, it made me one of the 'good guys'. Now I live with being thought naive by some, but that's OK 😂 The oppositional attitude goes deep in our culture, it becomes a part of who we are, and it can seem like reality. But it ain't.
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