Hollow Bone Meaning: Hollowing Out in Shamanism

What does hollow bone mean in shamanism?

Hollow bone is a shamanic image for becoming clear enough for Spirit and Guides to work through us. In Therapeutic Shamanism, this is called hollowing out: learning to step back from our own agendas, fears, expectations, wounds, beliefs and Middle-World stories so the journey can become more Spirit-led.

Becoming a hollow bone does not mean becoming blank, empty or perfect. It means practising awareness: noticing what we bring into a journey, stepping back from it as much as possible, and allowing the Guides to lead.

This article explains the meaning of hollow bone, why hollowing out matters, how our stories can colour shamanic journeys, and why this practice is central to clear Therapeutic Shamanism.

In brief

Hollow bone means becoming a clearer vessel for Spirit. In Therapeutic Shamanism, hollowing out is the practice of stepping back from Middle-World self, stories and agendas so a shamanic journey can become clearer and more Spirit-led.

Why hollowing out matters

The depth and extent to which a practitioner can hollow out determines the depth and extent to which they can do really spirit-led, truthful shamanic journeys.

We need to hollow out, or our journeys will be coloured, driven and distorted by our ego.
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WE ARE A COLLECTION OF STORIES

Remember, the ego is a collection of stories. Almost everything about who we think we are, about how we define ourselves, are just stories. Personal stories, family stories, ancestral stories, societal stories – all stories. These stories are what make our middle-world sense of self as an individual – our ego. This is what the ego is.

EGO IS A MADE-UP THING

The more we hold onto the stories, the more tightly we identify ourselves with our middle-world ego construct. It becomes a habit, our default position.

We reinforce it by going over-and-over the stories in our minds, by telling them over-and-over again to other people, and by rejecting and denying anything that does not fit them, or that challenges the stories.

We think, ‘This is who I am’ and consequently we experience this as being who we are. This is what shamans mean when they say that ‘things are as they are because of the stories they are telling themselves.’

WE START TO BELIEVE STORIES ARE ALL THERE IS

The middle-world self is a mask. It is what the psychotherapist Carl Jung called the ‘persona’ (from the Latin for ‘mask’). It is the face we present to the world. The problem is that we come to think that the mask is who we actually are. To wake up to our real-self involves realising that this persona is, in fact, just a mask that a deeper self is wearing.

The two functions of hollowing out

1.) It’s a prerequisite for communication with true, wise guides.

In journeys, true power and wisdom come not from the practitioner, but from the practitioner’s ability to let greater, wiser spirits (their Guides) work through them. For this to happen, we need to hollow out and become a vessel, a ‘bone flute’, through which wiser spirits can act.

Compared to the wise, loving and transcendent beings of the Upper and Lower-Worlds, middle-world beings are vastly more limited. Some middle-world beings may have some wisdom and be loving, of course, but nothing like true Upper and Lower-World Guides do.

In the end, middle-world beings are bound by the same limitations as the rest of the middle-world. They have their own history, stories, habits, blind spots, opinions, agendas and so on.

2.) It keeps our stories from colouring our journeys.

If we are not hollowed out, we journey as our middle-world (ego) self and not as the Aware Self. We get so caught up in our middle-world identity that it gets in the way of our Guides, and they are not able to work through us.

Hollowing out as a practice

The practice and process of hollowing out are common to many spiritual paths and traditions, including shamanism (with meditation probably being the most ‘famous’ one).
The aim is to disentangle from what, in shamanism, we would call the ‘middle-world self’ — the incessant flow of thoughts, judgements, opinions and middle-world issues that concern us in ordinary reality — and become instead the ‘witness’, the ‘Aware-Self’ who can watch the flow of thoughts whilst not being entangled in them. This enables us to watch the thoughts (the stories) instead, and not be entangled in them.

This takes practice, and it is never an end point that you ‘arrive at’, but something that you continue to get better at the more you do it. It is a process, not a destination.

We become aware that there is another ‘I’ who is able to watch the stories. Doing this helps us realise that we are not the stories but something else entirely.
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Key takeaways

Hollow bone is about becoming a clearer vessel.
In shamanism, becoming a hollow bone means stepping aside as much as possible so Spirit and Guides can work through us.

Hollowing out is not becoming blank.
It does not mean having no thoughts, no self, or no Middle-World awareness. It means becoming less caught in our own stories, agendas and assumptions.

Our stories can colour journeys.
Fears, expectations, wounds, beliefs, spiritual assumptions and personal stories can shape what we experience if we do not learn to notice them.

Hollowing out is a practice.
It is not something we master once and never need again. Over time, we become better at noticing what we bring into journeys and stepping back from it.

Spirit-led journeys need humility.
In Therapeutic Shamanism, the practitioner does not force the journey. The aim is to listen, follow the Guides, and get out of the way as much as possible.

Frequently asked questions

What does hollow bone mean in shamanism?

Hollow bone is a shamanic image for becoming a clear vessel through which Spirit and Guides can work. In Therapeutic Shamanism, this is connected with hollowing out: stepping back from Middle-World self, stories, agendas and assumptions as much as possible.

What is hollowing out?

Hollowing out is the practice of stepping back from Middle-World material so the journey is not driven by our own issues, fears, expectations or agendas. It helps the journey become more Spirit-led.

Does hollowing out mean becoming empty or blank?

No. Hollowing out is not about becoming blank or having no identity. It is about becoming less caught in our own Middle-World stories so we can experience the journey more clearly.

Why is hollowing out important before a shamanic journey?

Without hollowing out, Middle-World material can colour the journey. Thoughts, wounds, expectations, imagery, beliefs and unresolved material may be mistaken for guidance.

What is Middle-World bleed-through?

Middle-World bleed-through is when Middle-World stories, imagery, assumptions or unconscious material enter a journey. Learning to notice this helps us tell the difference between our own material and clearer shamanic guidance.

Is hollowing out a one-time technique?

No. Hollowing out is a continuing practice. Over time, we become better at noticing what we bring into journeys and stepping back from it as much as possible.

MASTERING HOLLOWING OUT

Want to learn how to hollow out effectively? Join us for the Next Steps 1 course and learn:

more in-depth explorations of the lower world
advanced hollowing-out practices
about finding and working with human lower-world guides
the air, fire, water and earth transformation practices (burials, burnings, dismemberments, sky burials, dissolvings and water burials, cocoonings, poisonings, shapeshifting).

Glossary

Hollow bone
A shamanic image for becoming a clear vessel through which Spirit and Guides can work.

Hollowing out
The Therapeutic Shamanism practice of stepping back from Middle-World self, stories, agendas, fears and assumptions so the journey can become more Spirit-led.

Middle-World self
The ordinary sense of identity shaped by personal stories, family stories, cultural stories, wounds, beliefs, opinions and everyday concerns.

Middle-World bleed-through
When Middle-World stories, imagery, assumptions or unresolved material enter a journey and may be mistaken for guidance.

Spirit-led journey
A shamanic journey led by Guides and Spirit rather than by the practitioner’s own agenda, expectations or unconscious material.

Aware Self
The part of us that can notice thoughts, stories and reactions without being completely caught in them.