Jaime Meyer / Drumming the Soul Awake

[RedRightHand]

This guy has recently been in the news for exploiting and misrepresenting the Sámi: http://www.edgemagazine.net/2014/12/winter-solstice-reindeer-goddess/

Several people contacted him, leading to a disclaimer at the *end* of the article, but the article full of misrepresentation and self-promotion is still up, and the performance/fake ceremony/pay-to-pray is still scheduled: http://www.drummingthesoulawake.com/12th-annual-winter-solstice-blessing.html  The event also claims to have "Celtic" content, but no indication of what they intend to do for that. Maybe they're going to sing "Danny Boy" while they do their shameon dance. Or something by Enya. Yeah, more likely that, since that's even less traditional. It looks like he's removed mention of the Sámi from the page where you buy tickets, but it doesn't look like the content has been altered in anything but a superficial manner.

He sells ceremony via this site: http://www.drummingthesoulawake.com/

His story is pretty typical. He allegedly met a "Sámi Shaman," was maybe exposed to some brief, maybe ceremonial activity, then decided to go sell his version of it to other white people.

As is also typical, the man he claimed was the "shaman" is dead now, so cannot answer whether he even met this exploiter, let alone whether he taught him anything. Either way, it's no excuse for this kind of exploitation.

Elsewhere on the site, he talks about teaching/selling "medicine" http://www.drummingthesoulawake.com/house-of-spirit-medicine.html

Those from the cultures he's vulturing from will recognizing the ceremonies he's selling; he's just taken the fragments he probably learned from books, altered a few details (including safety protocols) and renamed them "urban shamanism."

The "steal what I can, change it a bit and rename it then sell it" attitude is the same we've seen with James Ray and others who've wound up seriously harming, or even killing people. Always thinking they can be "the better Indian..."

[Defend the Sacred]

Oh boy, it's another one disguising their thefts from Natives by falsely claiming to be Celtic:
http://www.drummingthesoulawake.com/basic-shaman-training-the-five-workshops.html

February 6 and 7
Standing on Sacred Ground: The Great Wheel of the Above and the Below

Many cultures recognize the spiritual qualities in the four (or five, six or seven) directions. In the Celtic tradition, there are five directions: east, south, west, north and center, or "the place of sovereignty" (personal power and responsibility). In this weekend, we’ll dive deep into the shamanic qualities of each direction. This weekend offers a beautiful and practical mysticism that can deepen your daily spiritual life and bring a sense of solidity and personal power as you move through the world. The wheel is also foundational to shamanic healing work.

Suggested Reading: The Celtic Way of Seeing by Frank MacEowen [deleted link to where you can buy the book]

His teacher / source material? Fraud Frank Owen's pretendians-in-knotwork scam. As seen here: http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=124.0

Owen simply mashed together what little he knew about some Plains traditions with Wicca and a bunch of fantasy.  I can't believe people are still falling for this stuff.

[Ingeborg]

He sells ceremony via this site: http://www.drummingthesoulawake.com/

His story is pretty typical. He allegedly met a "Sámi Shaman," was maybe exposed to some brief, maybe ceremonial activity, then decided to go sell his version of it to other white people.

I had a look at Meyer's site as there is one particular Sami shame-on touring the European Nuage circuit, and yup, his name does come up:

Among others, he has studied with Jose and Lena Stevens, Ailo Gaup, Martin Prechtel and Sandra Ingerman. He has also completed a two-year Celtic shamanism training with Tom Cowan. He is a member of the board of directors of the  Society of Shamanic Practitioners  and has been published twice in its quarterly journal.

Emphasis mine

Meyer's mix (TM) seems to include quite a bit of 'Core Shamanism' stuff.

As is also typical, the man he claimed was the "shaman" is dead now, so cannot answer whether he even met this exploiter, let alone whether he taught him anything. Either way, it's no excuse for this kind of exploitation.

Meyer is not exactly exploiting Gaup behind his back and will most probably have met Gaup during one of the many seminar he did in several countries every year.

I wondered about the claim of Gaup being dead, because I keep seeing seminars with Gaup announced all the time, but apparently he did pass recently:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ailo_Gaup_%28author%29

Ailo Gaup (June 18, 1944 Kautokeino - September 24, 2014 Norway[1][2]) was a Sámi shaman and author who wrote in Norwegian. He lived in Oslo.

Harner's FSS also publishes an obit, and Harner even claims credit for making Gaup a shame-on:

http://shamanism.org/news/2014/10/02/in-memoriam-ailo-gaup-1944-2014/

In Memoriam: Ailo Gaup, 1944 – 2014
Ailo Gaup, Sami shaman born in 1944, died of complications after surgery in Oslo, Norway, September 24, 2014, while being treated for cancer. Shamanic healing work was undertaken for him with his family’s permission, and a spokesperson said that he no longer had cancer when he died. Ailo had been a student of Michael Harner and played an important role in the restoration of Sami shamanism in Norway. He was a renowned poet, author, and a nephew of the famous Sami shaman, Mikkel Gaup. Just before Ailo became ill, he published Michael’s Cave and Cosmos in Norwegian. Those who participated in Foundation courses with him will fondly remember his laughter and humor.

Emphasis mine

(Just why do they all have to emphasise their shame-on's alleged great sense of humour?!??  )

[debbieredbear]

I was trying to behave myself but well, you know.... Anyway, if he's a THINKS Sami Shaman, maybe it's because he has been eating amanita muscaria *fly agaric) which makes you delusional and you think reindeer fly.

And Celts have 5 directions??  WHo knew? I somehow foolishly believed what I was told that it was Earth, Sea and Sky....Oh, but that was someone from the Hebrides. I mean, what would SHE know? She was only l;iving in her culture.