Corporate Shaman

by Fred Kluth

I’m like a shamanic Batman... During the day,  I work in the corporate advertising world and during the nights, between being a father and a husband, I have one-on-one healing therapy sessions with people, I plan womb and hara awakening workshops and I write about healing.

Many years ago I asked, “How can I be a healer?” I was at a channeling group at the Edgar Cayce Center in NYC.  Joe Monkman was channeling and he answered, “Everyday be a healer. Put on your suit, and tie your tie - that will be your Shamanic uniform - and go to work as a healer.  In your everyday interactions, be a healer”.

Dhyana, my soul partner, calls me a Corporate Shaman. Although it’s not very often I interrupt a meeting about a big website build to talk about dropping everyone’s consciousness into their womb space,  I will often take a few moments to drop into this space myself in order to remain grounded and authentic.

I often have to sit with the people I manage and listen to their fears and anxieties about the job at hand and their careers and hold space for their energies and emotions.  I provide guidance.  Although I don’t call in the four directions for this, I will often ask for support from my ancestors and guidance to help transform the energies around me.  Maybe other people pray to God or ask Jesus for help; I am a little different.

I returned from a retreat in Hawaii with a Tibetan symbol of protection: the double dorje.  When my friend Richard asked me about it at work, I told him what it was and that it was a symbol of protection.  He asked me if it was for my own protection or in order to protect others?  This lesson, Richard at this moment, was my corporate shaman. What a riddle that was? Yes, I said, all of those things.

As a man who is working to bring consciousness to his unconscious parts and who is walking a path of love and connection, I am trying to protect myself from the unconsciousness energies that can often permeate a corporate culture. Making sure I maintain healthy boundaries - whether it’s making sure I am caring for myself when stress levels increase or being conscious about when I am unable to care for myself. I am also seeking to protect my team from client requests that aren’t covered in our work agreement - basically making sure we aren’t doing work we aren’t being paid for unless we are choosing to.

It's also protecting people from myself. When I feel angry or upset, my energies can affect everyone around me. And I am a leader, the head of a team. Yes, I’m allowed to be upset sometimes, I am a human, the main financial provider for my family and I work in advertising in New York City.  It can be challenging to find the space to be authentic and walk a path of love and kindness. Should I say something heartless or inappropriate, I need to own it. I apologize if need be and change the energy. I have worked with people who have raged at their employees, their clients, at the work.  Maybe it's a way to motivate people to do better, but I would rather help contribute to a workspace where people don't hate coming to work and feel heartsick that they are not on a different path. If a team member is unhappy, I am compelled to address it.

The protection isn’t a denial of the difficulties of working but the transformation of energies, to make sure we see the signs of unhappiness and difficulties are indications that we need to facilitate better communication, so change for the better can occur.

I would love to be working more one-on-one with people, helping people in deeply transformative healing sessions and I will keep building my practice, but right here and now, I am being called to be the corporate shaman person. And as I walk in this world, I want to do it with loving kindness. I remind myself that supporting my family, saving for the future and providing the health insurance is an act of love for my family. I would love there to be away to be able to spend more time with my family. But if I can keep myself healthy and balanced and doing the right balance of self-care I can be present when I am home and have this be a source of my strength.

My connection I have with my wife, nurturing that healthy connection, with time to talk, make love and share the things we love together is everything to me. This is where it becomes easier to go to work: when I am deeply connected to myself and Dhyana.

I recently had a moment with my boss where she shared her experiences in a Kundalini Yoga class, talked about how we love gongs, and we talked about the benefits of essential oils.  I was able to talk about how we store trauma in our body and how the movements in Kundalini can help restore our life force. These moments, where I don’t need to hide my interests in order to have a corporate identity give me hope to carry on.  I don’t have to hide who I am to conform.  I can bring my gifts into every part of my life.
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Art: SHAMAN TRANSFORMING INTO BEAR, Abraham Anghik Ruben