18th Sep 19 | Lifestyle
Gwyneth Paltrows go-to healer is bringing out a new book to help readers tap into their spiritual side. Just dont call him a guru, says Liz Connor.
Grandma, download more medicine into her body, says Shaman Durek, as he asks the spirit world to rid my body of all the bad juju its been harbouring from years of London living. When you hear a command like this being bellowed into the ether, you know whats coming next isnt going to be your average encounter.
Im lying on a massage bed at a trendy wellbeing spa in the heart of Londons swanky Knightsbridge, as Shaman Durek works with the spirit world to clear my energy.
It youre thinking this has Goop written all over it, youd be right Durek is a sixth-generation shaman who counts Hollywood megastars, like Gwyneth Paltrow and Selma Blair, as clients.
Since discovering his gift at the age of six, Durek has travelled the world using his tools and knowledge to help create a bridge between the physical and spiritual world for burned-out celebs, royals and CEOs. Now, hes brought out a new book on the subject Spirit Hacking:Shamanic Keys To Reclaim Your Personal Power, Transform Yourself, And Light Up the World.
In the age of Instagram, the word shaman gets thrown about quite a lot. But at its essence, a shaman is thought to be able to communicate with spirit guides and ancestors to bring back valuable information to heal the body.
Historically, its often associated withindigenousandtribal societies, who believe that shamans have a connection to the otherworld, alongside the power to heal the sick, communicate with spirits and send your soul to the afterlife using different kinds of natural energy.
Durek is a kind of shaman for the modern go-getter, if you will. Ive created my own shamanic lexicon, he tells me. He uses all kinds of commands to get my vibrational frequencies fired up, that sound half like Im undergoing an exorcism and half like Im on the operating table. Spirits, direct fire into the belly, Spirits, bring more saliva into the throat to rid the black tar, Spirits, lets shock her body at 500, to quote a few.
I always knew that London living could be a little soul-destroying all that anger at transport delays, crowds and rent hikes cant be good for me but on the fifth round of expelling the black tar through my mouth, I start to worry that Ive irreparably destroyed not just my physical health, but my metaphysical one too.
Reassuringly, Durek grabs my arm, tells me Im doing great and says the spirits have done their business in clearing out my body.
His method, spiritual hacking, is all about fostering happiness, or has he calls it feeling lit.
Im the ambassador of all things LIT! he says with a laugh.
Lit to me is feeling excited about life. Dont you want to feel that? Why do you wanna go [to] therapy for 40 years, instead of going for a picnic on the beach with friends and have great conversation? Do something that inspires you to be even greater than you are. This is what spirit hacking is about.
Durek is a truly fascinating person. I dont know what I was expecting, but it probably veered towards the long white robes and incense stick-burning stereotype of a mystical elder. Instead, he wears checked Vans slip-ons, with blue jeans and a T-shirt.
People think Im going to be coming in chanting and shaking maracas, he jokes, but most shamans dont dress like that. He was bullied at school for his gift and fell into drugs and alcohol abuse at a young age but now at 44, hes built a career on spiritual healing with an Instagram following of 134K devotees.
Incidentally, he hates the word guru. I am not your Gucci bag, I am not your crutch, I am not your saviour, I am not your guru, he says.
Im just a human being like everyone else, I have my own issues that Im supporting and bringing love to. You cannot be dependent on me, because it makes you weak.
His mission, he says, is to give people the tools so they can manage and control their own positive energy. Looking at the spiritual community and all these self-help books that people are doing, [theyre] coming from this energy of you dont have the power, I have the power buy my next book.
Mine is more like, Im giving you a book to remind you of your powers. To let you know you have the power and give you tools to step back in that power.
I believe in people being self-independent and self-preserving. I think society has fallen out of that because everyone is looking for someone to fix it for them. Theyre still looking for their mommy and daddy to look after them. I think we need to become more spiritually mature.
Durek says that when you have that power in your hands, you can start communicating, talking and learning about your own intuition when you trust yourself, you make great decisions in life.
His final diagnosis of me is that I get overwhelmed when I have too many pots on the boil (true), I get stressed easily (also true), and I often put barriers up in my relationships when Im trying to spin a bunch of plates (nail on the head).
Some of the methodology gets a little too Goop for me, like programming the energy to burn fat in the body, or that good energy can help you to avoid cancer. Theres certain imprints that women get inside of their vaginas when they have too many sexual partners that they need to clean out I give exercises for that, Durek tells me matter-of-factly.
But the essence of his method is knowing yourself better, without needing validation from other people or material objects, and I think theres something incredibly valid in that. Even the biggest sceptic could agree.
Did Dureks Grandma rid me of my spiritual demons? Who knows, but I do feel deeply relaxed after an hours session on the table.
As Shaman Durek puts on his shades and exits into his Uber, we share a long hug. I think about everything hes said to me the fact I take on too much, get overwhelmed and push away those closest to me out of frustration.
Whether youre a spiritual believer or not, Im left with a lot to think about on the way back the office, and in a way, having someone voice the issues youve been holding on to for so long is the most healing thing of all.
Spirit Hacking:Shamanic Keys To Reclaim Your Personal Power, Transform Yourself, And Light Up The World is published by Hodder & Stoughton on October 17, priced 14.99.
Press Association 2019
See more here:
- Book Excerpt: One Song - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Book Review: The Mitten Tree - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Book Review: The Monkey with a Bright Blue Bottom - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Book Review: Mama, Will It Snow Tonight? - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Book Review: There's No Such Thing as Monsters! - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- DVD Feature Film Review: Perestroika - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- DVD Feature Film Review: Nothing Like the Holidays - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Spiritual Literacy Blog: Must We Have Bad Music in Public Spaces? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Angels and Dragons - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: A Soul's Journey - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Review: A Book of Hours - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: A Book of Hours - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: Storm - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: Skin - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: The Anger Diet - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Newsletter: October 31, 2009: The Abbot Who Declared The Hall Is Finished - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Suffering and the Courage of God - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Life-Changing Affirmations - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- DVD Feature Film Review: The Answer Man - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- DVD Feature Film Review: The Dead - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Five Voices, Five Faiths - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- DVD Feature Film Review: Lemon Tree (Etz Limon) - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- DVD Documentary Film Review: Unmistaken Child - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- DVD Documentary Film Review: Food, Inc. - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: The Workplace Revolution - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Journeys of Courage - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: The Gift of Prayer - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: That Evening Sun - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: The Box - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Relax and Melt into a deep deep meditative state. - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Symptoms of Anxiety - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Nonduality And Spirituality---Enlightenment - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- How Not to Stop Anxiety Attacks---Part 1 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Natural Treatment for Anxiety disorders--Antidote anxiety - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- What to do When Anxiety Attacks--Antidote Anxiety - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Spiritually charged metaphysical spiritual quote - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Release Technique & Non Duality& Law of attraction - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- NonDuality & Manifestation - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- All Is One, One is All !! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Worrying about Anxiety---Antidote Anxiety - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Free course on Conquering Anxiety - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Manifesting Prosperity,Love manifesting,Dream Manifesting - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Stress and Anxiety Relief Treatment - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Stress and Anxiety Reduction with Brainwave entrainment - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- How to Remove feeling of Fear and Anxiety - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Relieve Stress:Financial Troubles, Low Self Esteem - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Meditation, Enlightenment & Paradox - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- False beliefs and Emotional Healing to develop emotional intelligence - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Millionaire Mind- Meditations Manifesting Abundance - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Three Essential requirements to learn Self Hypnosis Quickly - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Non duality and manifestation--Law of attraction - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Law of Attraction-- Manifesting Wealth Beyond Reason - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Secret Busted--- Flaws of the Secret. - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Web of Silence - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Living Spiritual Teachers Project: Byron Katie - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: Before Tomorrow - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Sadhu Sundar Singh - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Spiritual Literacy Blog: We May Be Born with an Urge to Help - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: Everybody's Fine - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: Brothers - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: Gigante - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: When People Grieve - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: The Light and Fire of the Baal Shem Tov - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: The Last Station - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Feature Film Review: Up in the Air - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Learning to Pray - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Beyond Absence - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Ecology & Liberation - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Feature: The Best Spiritual Books of 2009 (So Far) - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- DVD Feature Film Review: Julie & Julia - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- DVD Documentary Film Review: The Cove - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- DVD Feature Film Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Review: Spirit of Service - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Spirit of Service - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Review: The Wolf at Twilight - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: The Wolf at Twilight - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Review: Memories of Muhammad - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Memories of Muhammad - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Book Excerpt: Humility Matters for Practicing The Spiritual Life - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]