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Spirit Of The Shaman has been created by Adrian Holland, and some of you may already be familiar with Adrian's Angel and Mystical artwork.
Although he is primarily known for his artwork, Adrian is also a Spiritual Teacher, and it was actually through his first healing that he discovered he had the ability to channel, and this in turn led to the creation of his artwork.
Adrian has also created a relaxation/meditation CD entitled Spirit of The Shaman. The CD contains rich textures, atmospheric and nature sounds which combine to create a mythical journey around the spirit world.
The first track Angels is very uplifting and you feel as though you are connecting on a higher plane. From there you are taken to the rain forests of South America with Avatar, and then across the sea to Native Australia with Dreamtime. The journey continues to Tibet with Kanja, and then on to Arabia with Ether. Gaia brings you closer to Mother Nature before Ambient Dreams brings you safely back again.
So, where did Adrian get the inspiration to create the album?
“It all started when I was given a shamanic drum as a present from a clairvoyant who I met whilst visiting a friend. She told me that she was guided to give it to me! I was very touched and thanked her as it was a lovely gesture, but quite what I was supposed to do with it was a bit of a mystery?
It sat gathering the proverbial dust for a while until I came across a program called Question Everything. It consisted of a series of interviews with people who like myself had either had a near death experience, or were scientists who had spiritual experiences and were now convinced that there was definitely a whole lot more to this area than had been previously thought.
The one I watched was with the anthropologist Hank Wesselman, and how his spiritual journey had begun, and I ended up purchasing a copy of his Spirit Walker book, which opened my eyes to the concept of shamanism.
What I discovered was that it is the most ancient of spiritual practices and is a form of meditation combined with a focussed intention to accomplish various things, and that it becomes a way of life that transforms the one who practices it. This really resonated with me, although the word Shaman usually congers up a picture of a native dancing round a camp fire wearing bones and feathers!
What I felt was that it should encapsulate all forms of spiritual practice, as there were many similarities to the forms that I had already studied. Shamanic Reiki in particular seemed to bridge the gap.
At first I didn't really understand about channelling, I just seemed to be guided by a type of instinct, and get conformation in the form of a series of inexplicable coincidences, although I later learned that there is no such thing as a coincidence. When I thought back everything stemmed from that near death experience I had which I put in my book Inspirational Angels that accompanied my Angel Intuition Card Deck. Sadly the book and cards are no longer available. However, I do have a new Angel Intuition/Colour Therapy card deck and an acompanying book A Way Of Being due for release in the early autumn.
When channelling you are connected to Spirit, and often receive the help of Spirit Gudes such as, angels, ascended masters, animal spirits, ancestors...
I have always had this affinity with animals, and a few weeks later I experienced a wonderful vision involving a black puma. There I was half way between being awake and asleep when all of a sudden this type of vortex opened up in front of me. It was a brilliant white swirl which soon transformed into brilliant colours. I just lay there wondering what was going on. I felt a little faint, maybe I was about to start a bad headache, although having said that, fortunately I seldom have them.
Then the next thing I saw this large black puma staring at me. Strangely there was no fear, just a reassuring feeling that he was there to help. I also had the strong feeling that he was my animal spirit guide It was an overwhelming experience, especially as I was shown a relaxation/meditation CD with a picture of him on the front cover. I then began to hear the music, which stayed with me when I awoke in the morning.
Fortunately I still had some recording equipment in the loft (misspent youth!), and after much though I decided to make a start.
It was more than ten years since I had struck a note, but for some reason everything began to come back to me. It was a bit of a struggle at first, but by the end of the month I had my first track finished. From there the others seemed to flow, and before I knew it the album was complete.
Since the completion of the album I have been blessed with some animal spirit guide pictures, and have decided to put them into a book also entitled Spirit Of The shaman. This book will take the reader through the shamanic techiques, together with a system designed to help them identify and connect with their spirit guide.
My spiritual journey has been quite an unexpected one, and all that has happened to me has made me feel very humble.
All I hope is that my experiences continue, and that I receive guidance along the way, and that the CD, books and artwork bring a pleasurable and mystical experience too all...”
Adrian Holland | 
