The Spiritual Guide: Shaman Durek
A trained healer and spiritual adviser, Shaman Durek applies ancient wisdom to modern problems. His mission: to help you eradicate negativity and find inner peace.
How did you become a shaman?
SHAMAN DUREK: My great-grandmother was a medicine woman in West Africa. My father was her apprentice. She had always told my dad that he was going to have a son who would have the powers. I started training when I was 11 years old, meeting with other shamans in Africa, Nordic shamans, priests, ministers and other healers. The idea being to understand the spiritual arts from different points of view.
Taking a step back, what are the powers of a shaman?
SD: I can read your thoughts. Not your active thoughts, but the thoughts that you have generated in your mind and are looping around. I also have the ability to communicate to spirits in the sense of trees, flowers and animals.
Who do you help with these powers?
SD: I get called for a lot of interesting things. I work with media moguls, CEOs, athletes and politicians. One of my good friends is the princess of Norway. But I also work with autistic children, troubled teenagers and parents who are trying to understand their kids.
What is the best way for laypeople to access you?
SD: My podcast Ancient Wisdom Today. I bring in top doctors and scientists to talk about what’s real in life. The things people tend to brush over in conversation: Why does your child get temper tantrums, what is going on with people’s sex life when it comes to marriage.
Can you speak to women’s empowerment?
SD: In shamanism women are considered the ones who understand the life code; they see the whole, all that is possible. A man sees based upon a linear perspective. When you are not seeing the whole you lose out. For men it is possible; they just have to put a little bit more love and self-care into themselves because they are often stuck in this fear of ‘I don’t want to be weak.’ I want everyone on Earth to see the whole.