--- title: Is shamanic work suited to introverts? description: "Often, yes: much of shamanic practice is done quietly and alone, though never really alone, since the practitioner works with a Power Animal**Power Animal.** The Oversoul of a wild species, met as a single Lower-World being and bonded with in…" url: "https://www.therapeutic-shamanism.co.uk/wiki/is-shamanic-work-suited-to-introverts/" updated: "2026-11-10" category: The Wild Mind tags: - Carl Jung - extroverts - group work - "hunter-gatherers" - introversion - introverts - loneliness - quiet - solitude - stillness - Susan Cain - the shaman at the edge - working alone --- # Is shamanic work suited to introverts? Often, yes: much of shamanic practice is done quietly and alone, though never really alone, since the practitioner works with a Power Animal**Power Animal.** The Oversoul of a wild species, met as a single Lower-World being and bonded with in a deep, committed, usually lifelong soul-bond of unconditional love. The practitioner's first and foremost Guide: Panther, not "my panther". [Read the full answer](/wiki/what-is-a-power-animal/) and Guides**Guides.** The Lower-World and Upper-World beings a practitioner works with and learns from, of whom the Power Animal is the first and foremost. True Guides are ethical to their core; the shaman's power comes from the depth of these bonds, not from the shaman. [More about this](/wiki/who-are-the-guides/). Paul Francis is an introvert himself, and hunter-gatherer cultures may well have been quieter and easier on introverts than ours. But shamanism is also about connection and service, so it suits extroverts too, and a balance of solitary and group work helps everyone. ## What is introversion? A way of being that turns inward and recharges in quiet. The idea comes from [Carl Jung](/wiki/who-was-carl-jung/). Summarising his work, the writer Ruth Snowden says that "Introverts need privacy and personal space and spend a lot of their time in contemplation."^[1](#note-1) Another guide to Jung adds: "The introvert may be solitary, being drawn to the interior life, but is not necessarily alone or lonely."^[2](#note-2) Paul is an introvert (and otrovert) himself, and after teaching he needs a lot of solitude**Solitude.** Chosen aloneness from other humans: a healthy, essential Adult capacity, the opposite of loneliness (which is about the quality of relationship, not the quantity). Relational solitude is time away from the humans in the company of everything else. [More about this](/wiki/what-does-solitude-mean/) and quiet to recharge.^[3](#note-3) Such words are human constructs, which does not stop them being real.^[4](#note-4) See [What is an otrovert?](/wiki/what-is-an-otrovert/) 1. Ruth Snowden, *Jung: The Key Ideas* (Hodder Education, 2010), Chapter Seven. 2. Ruth Williams, *C. G. Jung: The Basics* (Routledge, 2019). 3. Paul Francis, [*The Shamanic Journey*](https://www.therapeutic-shamanism.co.uk/book/the-shamanic-journey/), About the Author (the same words appear in *Rewilding Yourself* and *Finding Your Deep Soul*). 4. Paul Francis, [*Finding Your Deep Soul*](https://www.therapeutic-shamanism.co.uk/book/finding-your-deep-soul/), Chapter Four, "The Ego (Middle-World Soul)". ## Is shamanic work a solitary path? In large part, yes. "There is a great deal that can be done, and in fact needs to be done, in a solitary way. This is solitary in the sense of being away from other human beings, but not solitary in the sense that you will always be working with your Power Animal and other spirit guides".^[5](#note-5) Journeys are often done alone, somewhere quiet and dark. Some of the work is simply being still: on a journey to meet the Elders**Elder (True Elder).** The rarer stage beyond Adulthood. Adults decide; Elders advise. [More about this](/wiki/what-is-a-true-elder/), "sometimes just sitting quietly with the Elders and being in their presence can be immensely healing in its own right."^[6](#note-6) Nor do you need to be any particular kind of person to journey: "if you have a right side of the brain then you can imagine stuff, and you can journey."^[7](#note-7) See [What is shamanic journeying?](/wiki/what-is-shamanic-journeying/) 1. Paul Francis, [*The Shamanic Journey*](https://www.therapeutic-shamanism.co.uk/book/the-shamanic-journey/), Chapter Eleven, "Working Alone". 2. Paul Francis, [*Finding Your Deep Soul*](https://www.therapeutic-shamanism.co.uk/book/finding-your-deep-soul/), Chapter Six, "Exercise 22: Meeting the Elders". 3. Paul Francis, [*The Shamanic Journey*](https://www.therapeutic-shamanism.co.uk/book/the-shamanic-journey/), Chapter Four, "Getting Clear: Some Common Mistakes and Misconceptions". ## Were hunter-gatherer cultures more introverted? They may have been. The descriptions we have of hunter-gatherers very often describe them as quiet people, and read very much like more introverted cultures (or, at least, cultures that would have been far less painful for introverts!). Susan Cain's book *Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking* is a good read on introversion. The anthropological evidence is scanty, though, so this is a reading, not a settled fact. Our own culture can be tiring for everyone. Paul is an introvert, and knows how stressful he finds being around people. Yet "there is a base-line level of stress these days that is there in even the most sociable of people."^[8](#note-8) Researchers have noticed something similar from the other side. Two researchers on wellbeing write that our culture's preference for extraversion is "accompanied by some potentially harmful consequences, such as the pathologising of introversion."^[9](#note-9) See [What are the Wild Mind and the Domesticated Mind?](/wiki/what-are-the-wild-mind-and-the-domesticated-mind/) 1. Paul Francis, [*Finding Your Deep Soul*](https://www.therapeutic-shamanism.co.uk/book/finding-your-deep-soul/), Chapter Five, "3. Leaving Your Middle-World History Behind". 2. Becky A. Black and Margaret L. Kern, "A qualitative exploration of individual differences in wellbeing for highly sensitive individuals", *Palgrave Communications* 6 (2020). ## Is solitude the same as loneliness? No. Loneliness, as opposed to solitude, is about the quality rather than the quantity of our relationships,^[10](#note-10) and it "is something that can affect people when they are surrounded by others". And solitary work is never truly solitary, because the Power Animal and the Guides are there too. See [Why are we so lonely, and what is the difference between loneliness and Solitude?](/wiki/why-are-we-so-lonely-and-what-is-the-difference-between-loneliness-and-solitude/) and [What do tribe and belonging mean, and what is the shaman's role in a community?](/wiki/what-do-tribe-and-belonging-mean-and-what-is-the-shamans-role-in-a-community/) 1. Paul Francis, [*Finding Your Deep Soul*](https://www.therapeutic-shamanism.co.uk/book/finding-your-deep-soul/), Chapter Five, "The Loneliness Epidemic". ## Does shamanic work suit extroverts too? Yes. Shamanism is about connection and service, not withdrawal. Working alone can make it hard to build confidence and keep going, and "What really helps with this is balancing doing solitary work with doing group work." And "shamanism is, after all, about re-connecting."^[11](#note-11) People also serve in different ways. The writer [Derrick Jensen](/wiki/who-is-derrick-jensen-and-what-is-the-myth-of-human-supremacy/), "as an extreme introvert", finds running workshops a nightmare and writes instead. "How we do this depends on what kind of a person we are".^[12](#note-12) The college's courses are online and flexible, so each person can find their own balance between quiet study and the group. See [Will the courses suit me if I am neurodivergent?](/wiki/will-the-courses-suit-me-if-i-am-neurodivergent/) and [How do the First-Steps live sessions work, and is it okay to miss them?](/wiki/how-do-the-first-steps-live-sessions-work-and-is-it-okay-to-miss-them/) 1. Paul Francis, [*The Shamanic Journey*](https://www.therapeutic-shamanism.co.uk/book/the-shamanic-journey/), Chapter Eleven, "Working with Others". 2. Paul Francis, [*Finding Your Deep Soul*](https://www.therapeutic-shamanism.co.uk/book/finding-your-deep-soul/), Chapter Eight, "Activism". - [What is an otrovert?](/wiki/what-is-an-otrovert/) - [What is a highly sensitive person, and why are so many drawn to shamanic work?](/wiki/what-is-a-highly-sensitive-person-and-why-are-so-many-drawn-to-shamanic-work/) - [What do tribe and belonging mean, and what is the shaman's role in a community?](/wiki/what-do-tribe-and-belonging-mean-and-what-is-the-shamans-role-in-a-community/) - [What is shamanic journeying?](/wiki/what-is-shamanic-journeying/) - [Will the courses suit me if I am neurodivergent?](/wiki/will-the-courses-suit-me-if-i-am-neurodivergent/) - [*The Shamanic Journey*](https://www.therapeutic-shamanism.co.uk/book/the-shamanic-journey/) (Chapter Eleven, working alone and with others) - [*Finding Your Deep Soul*](https://www.therapeutic-shamanism.co.uk/book/finding-your-deep-soul/) (Chapter Five, loneliness and the tribe) - [all courses](https://www.therapeutic-shamanism.co.uk/shamanic-courses/)