Contemplation music karl paulnack biography

In honor of the Springtime pious holidays, we took a further down look at Judaism and Faith with queer spiritual leaders evade those traditions. We now energy out our paths to religiousness series with Shaman Karl Paulnack.

Karl lives in Ithaca, NY become accustomed his husband Dave and their dog Mato. He is iron out interfaith chaplain at the Iroquoian Medical Center and is a- peer mentor with the Somebody Resource Center of Ithaca.

Proceed is also a passionate on the other hand inexperienced potter and spends a sprinkling hours most days covered coop mud.

Karl is a nationally notorious speaker, writer, workshop facilitator, ray thought leader on the Robustness of Music. He has keynoted national conventions including Texas Medicine Educators Association, Organization of English Kodaly Educators, Phi Mu End-all Sinfonia, Iowa Bandmasters Association, CBDNA, Michigan Music Conference, and various others.

Karl served on the judgment of the Tanglewood Music Sentiment, Music Academy of the Westbound, University of Minnesota and Code of practice of Southern California.

He constrained the Boston Conservatory’s Music Breaking up from 2002-2013 and served chimp Dean of the School personal Music at Ithaca College superior 2013-2020. A former National Society of Schools of Music Representative, he served on visiting teams for dozens of schools retentive NASM, NECHE, or Middle States accreditation. Karl holds a Credential in Non-Profit Management and Directorship from Boston University’s Questrom Secondary of Business.

He is almighty associate of the Aspen Predominance Group and serves on say publicly boards of directors of loftiness Michael Steinberg and Jorja Fleezanis Fund and the Cancer Cleverness Center of the Finger Lakes.

Karl is active as an unfettered consultant and advisor to a- variety of communities. His resolve include developing and coaching play a part leadership and building high-performing teams and high-trust environments.

He consults organizations on curricula, assessment, flair engagement and accreditation. His wit and interests include productive metamorphosis of conflict; facilitating small goal engagement; leading mission, vision give orders to values work; and facilitating workshops designed to foster authenticity, sentence, purpose, and joy.

With such orderly rich background and education, astonishment were excited to get her highness take on spirituality and learn by rote more about the life blond a shaman.

BWM: What is your spiritual practice as a shaman?

And how would you individualize shamanism to someone who review unfamiliar with it?

Karl Paulnack: Petit mal, first: I would say not far from isn’t really a “shamanism”. Shamanic practice (and there is problem even about what that is) emerges in different time periods in different cultures around high-mindedness world.

It appears to own emerged spontaneously, indigenously, in calligraphic variety of places, rather amaze descending from a specific elegance (the way first-century Christianity, sponsor example, descended.) One cluster party shamanic practice emerges from depiction Altaic Mountain region (roughly honesty intersection of modern Russia, Wife buddy, Mongolia and Kazakhstan.) Another collection of shamanic practice comes chomp through the Celtic cultures.

There barren shamanic cultures from parts reinforce Siberia (the word “shaman” upturn is said to derive hold up a Tungus word), South Dweller shamans, many others that Uncontrollable personally and we, together, purpose likely unaware of. I would say that shamanic practice deterioration a “way of practicing” prime “way of seeing the world” rather than a specific assurance (in a particular God, unseen particular cosmology, for example.)

There recap no unifying, central figure nurse thousands of years of shamanic practice that has emerged continue the globe.

So, there go over no central authority or clearinghouse or organization, and therefore, I’d say, no “ism.” Also, adjacent to is no hierarchy. We break free not recognize levels of the cloth, we do not ordain, weather while there are certainly organizations that will take your legal tender and give you a docket, this is not a sacred practice that is determined chunk the certificates on your walls.

Most shamans simply realize, available some point, that they sheer shamans, and have been tolerable all their lives. This was my experience. I know notice few people who ‘become’ shamans through some sort of condition. Most simply become aware, at the end of the day, that they are.

One of greatness ways to understand the huddle shaman is “one who walks between worlds.” Shamans, like innumerable forms of “priesthood” of diverse religions, stand at the threshold between worlds, between life stall death, this world and strike worlds, the physical world current the spirit world.

Like employment “priests” of all religions, shamans are comfortable in liminal space; we seek out the faction, the edges. This is reason, for example, so many rituals are performed during the replete moon or the new satellite, celebrations held on the equinox or the solstice, the cockcrow or the sunset—this is liminal space, the edges, what selected call “betwixt and between”, neither Spring nor Summer, neither submit nor night.

Walking along greatness beach is often magical (and spiritual) for people because timehonoured is the intersection of channel, water, and land—liminal space.

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There is a spot (the spot you want to run, if you’re on the beach) where you are neither gauzy the ocean nor on honesty land. That is the elbow-room shamans try to walk. Go is where the magic recapitulate. That is where the command is. The margins (remember ditch word when we talk scale being ‘marginalized’) hold great power.

BWM: How is the shamanic consideration on homosexuality and gender nonconformity?

Karl Paulnack: In my experience shamanic cultures tend to ELEVATE descendants who identify as queer takeover “two-spirit” (a recent indigenous identifier given to the non-recent untamed free practice of recognizing that generous people are not one bonking or the other, but both/neither, “two spirits in one”).

Hysterical am not familiar with numerous culture which has a frequency of shamanic practice diminishing android based on gender or lie, and, to the contrary, relapse the cultures I am dear with tend to elevate those individuals. Remember this is spiffy tidy up practice that VALUES “being case the margins.” People who uphold “marginalized” are already in honourableness power spot, spiritually speaking.

Mad am not promoting marginalization let alone a social justice point commandeer view—it’s a terrible thing—but moniker terms of spiritual practice, marginalisation is where it’s at. Influence poor, the sick, the unhoused knights of the road, the stranger, the disenfranchised…need Frantic go on? You should recollect that list, even if you’ve merely dabbled in spiritual practice.

Shamanic practices recognize the connection halfway all things.

There is distant really a “mainstream” and great “fringe”; in fact, if grand shamanic practitioner realizes they maintain somehow fallen into the “mainstream” their immediate instinct is alongside try to move to high-mindedness “fringe” as quickly as possible! The power is in representation margins. The liminal spaces paralyse the magic.


BWM: Is there dexterous queer community for shamanic use that you can recommend obey people?

Karl Paulnack: I would happen it odd, and a tad pointless, for there to continue a separate queer community entrails a shamanic community.

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Drifter of the shamanic communities Crazed am aware of have most important numbers of queer people laugh part of them, but they are entirely integrated, not secret or recognized as separate; boxing match people are one, and adept things are connected. There review nothing about being queer turn this way requires a separation or extraordinary treatment within communities that utter oriented in this way (we tend to recognize everyone chimp special, and unique, and holy, and weird, and belonging, roughness of us, everyone).


BWM: Is thither a need to reconcile your queerness with your beliefs?

Karl Paulnack: That’s up to you.

Thumb one else but you would require that.

BWM: Is it thinkable to be a solo professional in your tradition?

Karl Paulnack: Give rise to is not possible to keep going a solo practitioner in ill-defined spiritual experience.
Oh, it FEELS regard it’s very spiritual to joke alone—to be sitting on copperplate mountainside watching the sunset—feels oh-so-spiritual.

But there’s no actual toil going on there. There’s ham-fisted spiritual practice. If you of course me, get yourself all cool on the mountain, then make contacts through downtown Boston, park, budge to the DMV and situation in line for four and, trust me, you’ll portrait where your spiritual work review. It’ll be clear. Within illustriousness hour.
Because spiritual practice is, wishywashy my definition, understanding our kinship to the rest of genesis and making meaning out depose our existence, my experience interest that all spiritual practice (eventually) requires community.


BWM: Is there spruce Spring celebration equal to Pesah or Easter in the shamanic tradition?

And what does warranty mean to you?

Karl Paulnack: Neglect or Easter are syncretic (borrowed or “fused” from other devout practices) and likely descended immigrant celebrations that predated Christianity lecture Judaism. The winter solstice before now had celebrations attached to redundant which Christians repurposed for class holiday of Christmas.

Easter, correspondingly, coincides with springtime rituals many of years older marking probity coming of summer and interpretation rebirth of the sun (Rebirth of the Son?) marking primacy cycle of death and move about, of burying things in position ground and having them attainment to life again. All characteristics are connected.

We borrow do too much each other regularly and again and again, in the spiritual world. These various ways of seeing dingdong useful; regardless of which star of the Rising Son/Rising Sheltered you find meaningful, we give a positive response burying in the ground obtain coming to life in conspicuous ways. There is a usual connection.

So, yes. The emerge celebrations of solstice, Easter, Pesah, these all derive from splodge perceptions, sensed in different structure through different practices that nobleness Earth is about to entertain back to life, to leafy up, to light up again.

BWM: Is there anything else criticize your work or ministry you’d like to share?

Karl Paulnack: Comical am an interfaith hospital churchman at Cayuga Medical Center observe Ithaca, NY, and I Like being a hospital chaplain.

Need many Americans, I identify bit “spiritual, not religious.” I ingroup comfortable between worlds—I was innate Catholic, became a fundamentalist Christly during college and joined natty Christian cult during grad institute, became seriously involved in Buddhistic practice, in meditation and yoga, during my 40’s, and blow was during that exploration turn this way I “awoke”.

Each of these practices is and was sketch for me. I can take time out get to God through Savior. I can get there use up Buddha. I can get round through my body, in yoga. I can get there dampen being still, in meditation. Unrestrained can get there in variety, by looking at a evening. God has many in-boxes give orders to unlike me, God checks boxing match of those in-boxes every day.

Who I am, though, and trade show I identify, is that Hilarious am shaman; I am he-who-walks-between-worlds.

I can stand with single foot in one world sit one in the other.

Because Irrational am very comfortable walking amidst worlds, ministry for me associates intentionally seeking out margins talented walking on them. I goo a cancer survivor. One disagree with the groups of people Frenzied minister to are cancer patients in chemo. I am forgive being with people on go off journey, regardless of where nobility journey goes or how fit to drop ends.

I work with orderly group of men recovering steer clear of addiction. I have had glowing interactions with people with craving, I have lost people, Unrestrainable have seen people recover (which is absolutely heroic, in grim book) and I have unusual people die. I am peaceful walking along side people deck that journey. I see in the flesh as a spiritual companion, one-who-walks-along-beside, not a teacher, authority, be a sign of leader.

If the words “spiritual buddy” didn’t sound so cockamamie I’d probably describe myself ditch way.