Monday, July 9, 2007
East Shore Unitarian
(follow link for directions)
12700 SE 32nd
(Bellevue - I-90 at Richards RD)

Suggested Donation: $5

Dr. Shamas will discuss his unique research on sacred chanting, which has led to an integration of concepts from theoretical physics, world mythology, shamanic journeying from a psychological perspective, health psychology, sound healing and consciousness studies. He will discuss the ramifications of this research for the field of consciousness studies and specifically for the infamous "mind-body problem."

Shamas will lead participants through guided healing meditations, chanting and/or other interactive components i.e. biofeedback and music-making. You are encouraged to bring small drums and/or percussive instruments for this part of the program.

Victor Shamas, Ph.D., teaches psychology at the University of Arizona, specializing in health psychology and consciousness studies. Since 1996, he has led a chanting circle called Global Chant that meets weekly in Tucson, Arizona.

Dr. Shamas has published education materials on the neuroscience of addiction, as well as study guides for undergraduate psychology and audio CDs on meditation, biofeedback, relaxation, and self-hypnosis. He has directed educational programs funded by the Fetzer Institute and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Use Your Voice as a Healing Tool

Link to Intro: The Chanter's Guide: Sacred Chanting as Shamanic Practice

There are sounds in the universe that can heal the body and mind.  The most surprising thing about these sounds is that they can be produced by the human voice.  This is the claim of Dr. Victor Shamas, a health psychologist at the University of Arizona.  His new book, The Chanter’s Guide:  Sacred Chanting as a Shamanic Practice, reveals 500-year-old secrets about the healing power contained in sacred chants.

“A chant is a prayer, mantra, or incantation that is either sung or uttered in a rhythmic fashion,” says Shamas.  “Usually, chants have a simple refrain that gets repeated.  The mere repetition of the words or sounds comprising the chant can have a profound healing effect.”

For 11 years, Shamas has led a weekly chanting circle in Tucson, Arizona.  “Over the past decade, I have seen the transformative effect of chanting on the lives of thousands of people,” he observes.  “Many of them have healed physical and mental illness through chanting—not just for themselves but also for their loved ones.”

In The Chanter’s Guide, Shamas describes a traditional form of spiritual healing that he learned from a lineage of shamans called Chanters.  For centuries, the wisdom of the Chanters was all but lost.  Although the practice of chanting has grown in popularity here in the United States during the past decade, and many of the world’s spiritual traditions incorporate some form of chanting into their rituals and prayers, only a few living masters know how to use the practice of chanting as a shamanic art. 

For two years, Shamas apprenticed under one such master.  The Chanter’s Guide is the story of that apprenticeship, as well as a detailed manual containing ancient wisdom about the use of chanting as healing tool.  Shamas explains, “The shamanic insights and techniques contained in The Chanter’s Guide have a specific relevance to the times in which we are living.   Never in the history of humanity has there been a greater need for healing at a planetary level.  These practices have the potential to reverse the current social, economic, and environmental trends that jeopardize the Earth’s future.”