Dying man set for final journey
Calgarian says shamanism helping him to face death

By Gordon Legge - Herald Religion Editor
Published on front page of Calgary Herald
Saturday, Dec. 12, 1992

Some time during the next several months, a group of friends will gather in Rik Sward's room in his Ramsay house and begin drumming as he makes his final journey into death.

In doing so they will be following the timeless traditions of shamans from ancient cultures the world over.

"I would like a drumming to be done when I die," says Sward, who is dying of AIDS. "That is the ultimate journey I'm taking."

Sward is involved in neo-shamanism, a contemporary offshoot of a spiritual tradition. Rooted in the dawn of humanity, it is enjoying growing interest among Westerners who want to visit the spirit realms.

"Shamanism has cemented my spirituality about life, death and the future," Sward said recently.

Despite his prognosis, Sward credits shamanism with his joyful, optimistic feelings in the face of death.

Sitting in his room, which he casually refers to as his departure lounge, the walls covered with artwork and farewell messages from his friends, Sward says "I'm doing a bit of living and I'm doing a bit of dying. But I'm having a heck of a good time."

Unlike some people he's known who have crawled beneath the sheets to curl up and die after diagnosis, Sward insists on living life to the fullest.

Sward's brain stem and spinal cord have been infected by the virus leaving him with tremors and a wonky gait. Yet in September, Sward known affectionately as "jumping mouse," went skydiving for the first time.

A parachute now hangs from his ceiling.

He was introduced to shamanism in the spring after a friend and counsellor invited him to a shamanic drumming circle held on the second and fourth Fridays of every month in a northwest Calgary home.

He's been attending them regularly ever since. "I sorta feel these Fridays are like church days to me."

"I find I've become more spiritual this past year than I ever did in my life," says Sward, 55.

He was raised in a Lutheran home but was a Roman Catholic for much of his life after marrying into the faith.

When Sward was first invited into shamanism, he thought it was some sort of "voo-doo, off-the-wall thing," unaware of its emphasis on healing. After his involvement, he says, "I found I'd been doing this shamanism all my life and all I needed was a word to identify it."

Since May, Sward has regularly traveled on shamanic journeys into what has been termed alternate reality or non-ordinary reality - what most people in the West have traditionally referred to as the supernatural.

The journeys begin in a darkened room with the monotonous, repetitive beating of a drum by the shaman. As the drumming proceeds, Sward enters a trance-like state - and a different form of reality, becoming unaware of his surroundings.

"A beautiful thing happens with the drum," says Sward. "The drum-beat changes and becomes a chime. It happens every time I journey. It plays a particular tune. I only recognize it when I'm journeying."

During his shamanic journeys, he has acquired several spirit helpers or power animals that have assisted him in his quests - a snowy owl, a falcon, a horse, a river otter, a killer whale and a dolphin.

"They are protectors and they provide energy to a person as well as being their guide."

Portraits of his power animals now adorn a large, cosmic mural that covers one wall of his room. "I sort of feel the more power animals I have, the better off I am."

Sward also has benefited from healing journeys called soul retrievals. It's believed that when a person is sick, they've lost a part of their soul, either because they've given it away or it's been taken away.

Since last spring, David Leroux, another shamanic practitioner and close friend, has undertaken four soul retrievals for Sward.

During the most recent retrieval, Leroux journeyed to recover a piece of Sward's soul he lost this summer. "I had given part of my heart to another person. I didn't intend to but it happened."

Shamans believe that when people die, they should die with their souls intact. If they don't, it's difficult for them to cross into the light, says Sward.

Several times during his journeys, Sward says he has stood at the gateway to the portal that he thinks he will pass through when he dies.

Each time he has been prevented from entering it.

"When I do the journey to the portal and look at the light, I'm in tune with God and it's a religious thing I'm doing," he says.

Whenever, he's participating in a drumming circle, Sward says he feels close to God. "It's a euphoric thing. I'm not dying of AIDS. I have no physical thing happening to me. I'm a bare soul. I sorta sense what's going to happen when I die."

"I feel so much love from my fellow drummers. They all know I'm dying from AIDS and they all care about what I'm going through."

Laureen Rama is available to lead retreats and workshops for private groups. She also teaches advanced shamanic healing techniques and offers shamanic healings in person or by distance. Laureen can be reached at info@soulrestore.com or 1-403-851-1198.