Please join Mystic Mag to “Enlightened Conversations” that dives deep into the realm of spirituality, wellness, and personal transformation. Today, we have a truly remarkable guest joining us, a beacon of light and healing energy—Karen Adamski, also known as Shamamama. With her profound knowledge and expertise in Shamanic Energy Healing, Karen has been instrumental in helping individuals restore harmony and balance within themselves. She is an esteemed practitioner of Shamanic Energy Healing. Karen brings ancient traditions to life as she guides individuals on their transformative journeys towards spiritual balance and well-being. We have the privilege of delving into the fascinating world of Shamanic Energy Healing and gaining insights into the profound impact it can have on our lives.
Can you tell us about the origin and meaning behind your unique name, “Shamamama”?
Throughout my adult life many people have called me Mama. I’ve always been a mama to plants, animals, people, projects, our planet…I remember years ago my best friend Claudia Loens and I were sitting on my front porch talking about potential names for my practice.
There were lots of different ideas going back and forth, none of them I remember, but I do remember when she said “Shamamama”. We both just stopped (like, I could hear brakes screeching in my head) and looked at each other like… That’s it! ShamaMama truly encompasses everything I do. And, it’s a fun name. It’s funny. Many people call me Shamamama instead of Karen and I kind of love that! Shortly after coming up with ShamaMama, Claudia built me a beautiful website, made it public, then gave me a loving kick in the fanny and said “okay, go do it!”
How do you approach integrating traditional shamanic practices with modern society and the challenges people face today?
I love this question. I believe that in most places you live these days, you will be faced with modern challenges as you practice shamanism. When practicing shamanism today you’re experiencing an ancient practice in a modern world.
I myself live in Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay area and it’s a very busy place. It’s also a magically wonderful place filled with diverse people and lots of fabulous places to explore. Sometimes it can be difficult to see the beauty that surrounds us when we are living in a fast paced world, but it’s there. The beauty has always been there. Sometimes you just need to go looking for it. No matter where you are, you can practice shamanism.
What type of services do you offer?
I offer lots of different kinds of services such as Energy Healing, Power Animal Retrieval, Crystal Healing, Soul Retrieval, Home Blessings, Energy Clearing, Extractions, Dowsing, and more. You can learn more at: https://shamamama.com/energy-healing-services-in-san-jose/. I. know that sounds like a lot….But I think it’s important to mention that many of these services tend to blend together during one session. Often, I find people feel a little bit overwhelmed when they see a list of services, some of which they may not understand. They may find themselves not sure what to ask for. Many times when somebody comes in for a session they might end up receiving three or four services during that one session. For example, somebody might come in for a chakra balancing & energy cleansing.
During the session, Spirit may come through with messages, or a totem animal may step forward, or I might find a blockage of energy that was not expected and we might do some extraction work. It’s a bit like taking your car in for a tuneup… You’re not quite sure what they might find but you know that things will get taken care of and will be running better when you leave.
Shamanism often involves connecting with the spirit world and working with various spirit allies. Could you elaborate on how you establish and maintain these connections?
Yes, Spirit is heavily involved within shamanism. When I first started studying shamanism, I was taking a course at UC Santa Cruz, as it was part of their theological program. During this time I was taught to meditate/journey to enter a Shamanic State of Consciousness (SSC), as opposed to an Ordinary State of Consciousness (OSC). I was taught to travel to the lower world where I would go in search of animal helpers.
Deer is the first animal helper I met and it was a very magical experience. Deer is always with me, and I have a number of animal totems that step forward when the time is right. They’re always there. They just come through at different times. Hawk is another messenger for me and often swoops in for me when I need to receive a message. Connecting with various allies and spirit helpers grows as we grow as practitioners. I have spirit helpers, both human and animal, that aid and guide me in many of my practices.
I honor Spirit every morning when I wake up, I call in the directions, I give thanks to Spirit and my helpers,my guides, and my ancestors. I give love to Mama Earth and Father Sky, and in doing this I’m keeping my connection with Spirit open and strong. So ,it’s a daily thing for me to stay connected.
Shamanism often involves connecting with the spirit world and working with various spirit allies. Could you elaborate on how you establish and maintain these connections?
I had a challenging case recently where I was called in by a family to cleanse their home. They were having unusual things happen within the home and experiencing negative energies. When I got there, I did a baseline sweep of the home and found that indeed there was a lot of negative energy in the home, and the land was also unhappy. Many times when I go to cleanse a home, building or space it’s a one time thing. In this case it took multiple visits.
The family became involved as well as they wanted to learn more about energy cleansing and keeping their home protected, and how to keep themselves protected as well. Their home and land has transformed into a magical and positive space. The energy is like night and day. This family learned that they can cleanse themselves and cleanse their home, similar to how they physically take a shower or vacuum the floors, we can do the same thing energetically. And this ability to cleanse energetically transfers over into other parts of our lives. We can learn what we want to step away from and what we want to step into and we can make that happen. It’s not always a quick fix, but the efforts are worth it.
I’m really proud of this family for reaching out for help, and for coming together to build and maintain positive loving energy for all living things around them. The family and the land is thriving!
As a shaman, you likely encounter diverse cultural backgrounds and belief systems. How do you ensure cultural sensitivity and respect while working with individuals from different traditions?
Yes I’m so glad you brought this up. I do encounter diverse cultural backgrounds and lots of different belief systems. I like to bring up right away when I first meet a new client because it’s important that I know what is important to them… .what their beliefs are, what words they use when speaking with their deities. Understanding and honoring their beliefs is important. Bottom line, as long as we are working from a place of kindness, positivity, peace and love, it all works.
Oftentimes people have questions for me in terms of shamanism. It’s important for me to answer all of their questions so that they understand what shamanism is. Usually, they find that they are living a somewhat shamanic lifestyle themselves without even knowing it. Shamanism is a thread that runs through all cultures and religions around the world. Shamanism connects all living things.
