--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our earliest poets were shamans. Today…" description: "\"Our earliest poets were shamans. Today, as in the earliest times, true shamans are poets of consciousness who know the power of song and story to teach..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/robert-moss-10995_consciousness_our-earliest-poets-were-shamans-today-as_2016107.jpg" --- # Our earliest poets were shamans. Today, as in the earliest… ![“Our earliest poets were shamans. Today, as in the earliest times, true shamans are poets of consciousness who know the power of song and story to teach and to heal.” quote by Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/robert-moss-10995_consciousness_our-earliest-poets-were-shamans-today-as_2016107.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/robert-moss-10995_consciousness_our-earliest-poets-were-shamans-today-as_2016107.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/robert-moss-10995_consciousness_our-earliest-poets-were-shamans-today-as_2016107.jpg) > “Our earliest poets were shamans. Today, as in the earliest times, true shamans are poets of consciousness who know the power of song and story to teach and to heal.” [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poets act as modern shamans, using song and story to teach and heal. **In simple terms:** Poets heal with words and music. Key Takeaway Use creative expression for guidance. Themes creativity healing storytelling Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - education - community gatherings Key Concepts shamanism consciousness artistic therapy Questions to Reflect On - How can storytelling transform personal growth? - What role does music play in healing? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [True shamans live in a world that is alive with what is to rationalist sight unseen, a world pulsing with intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-gunn-allen/true-shamans-live-in-a-world-that-is-alive-with-what-is-to/) [Paula Gunn Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-gunn-allen/) > [How many modern transsexuals are unacknowledged shamans? Perhaps it is to poets they should go for counsel, rather than surgeons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/how-many-modern-transsexuals-are-unacknowledged-shamans-perhaps-it-is/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Soul recovery, I think, is much richer and more helpful. Instead of having a shaman retrieve our soul for us, we help each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/soul-recovery-i-think-is-much-richer-and-more-helpful-instead-of/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [“It is the task of San shamans to activate their supernatural potency, to cause it to ‘boil’ up their spines until it explodes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-david-lewis-williams/it-is-the-task-of-san-shamans-to-activate-their-supernatural-potency/) [James David Lewis-Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-david-lewis-williams/) > [Primitive societies, or social groupings, had shamans, and some of them even more recent in time. Shamans were tricksters. There was a tradition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/primitive-societies-or-social-groupings-had-shamans-and-some-of-them/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [The shamans are forever yacking about their snake oil miracles. I prefer the real McCoy, a pregnant woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/the-shamans-are-forever-yacking-about-their-snake-oil-miracles-i/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [I have taken part in ceremonies with North American and Mexican shamans, as well as Brazilian ceremonies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislav-grof/i-have-taken-part-in-ceremonies-with-north-american-and-mexican/) [Stanislav Grof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislav-grof/) > [People have always heard voices. Sometimes they're called shamans, sometimes they're called mad, and sometimes they're called fiction writers. I always feel lucky that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/people-have-always-heard-voices-sometimes-they-re-called-shamans/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [Art-making is an extension of the kind of spiritual process that shamans unfold in order to demonstrate the connectedness of the world beyond reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyon-gyon/art-making-is-an-extension-of-the-kind-of-spiritual-process-that/) [Hyon Gyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyon-gyon/) > [“Modern businesspeople and lawyers are, in fact, powerful sorcerers. The principal difference between them and tribal shamans is that modern lawyers tell far stranger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/modern-businesspeople-and-lawyers-are-in-fact-powerful-sorcerers-the/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [... certain people, such as shamans, witch doctors, practitioners of Eastern religions, New Age gurus or professors of the occult on university faculties are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wagner/certain-people-such-as-shamans-witch-doctors-practitioners-of-eastern/) [C. Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wagner/) > [“I think the common experience is that modern shamans are called by the spirits; we just don’t have a collective belief system or community…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-kelley-harrell/i-think-the-common-experience-is-that-modern-shamans-are-called-by/) [S. Kelley Harrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-kelley-harrell/) > [“Under certain social circumstances, which may have varied from time to time and place to place, certain people (shamans) saw a relationship between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-david-lewis-williams/under-certain-social-circumstances-which-may-have-varied-from-time-to/) [James David Lewis-Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-david-lewis-williams/) > [The same organizational principles which called us forth into self-reflection have called forth self-reflection out of the planet itself. And the problem then is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-same-organizational-principles-which-called-us-forth-into-self/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Modern physics is describing what the ancient wisdom keepers of the Americas have long known. These shamans, known as 'the Earthkeepers,' say that we’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-villoldo/modern-physics-is-describing-what-the-ancient-wisdom-keepers-of-the/) [Alberto Villoldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-villoldo/) ## More by Robert Moss > [“Dreams are part of our human survival kit, part of what has kept us going, and evolving on this planet. Across history most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/dreams-are-part-of-our-human-survival-kit-part-of-what-has-kept-us/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [“I wondered what a man I had encountered the day before on the plane en route to Chicago's O'Hare airport would have made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/i-wondered-what-a-man-i-had-encountered-the-day-before-on-the-plane/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [Choices are our choices so I am not taking away anyone's personal choice, but we run into difficulty when we're having choices made for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/choices-are-our-choices-so-i-am-not-taking-away-anyone-s-personal/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [Highly creative people have a gift for connecting supposedly unrelated elements and ideas. They cross borders without regard for customs posts or No Trespassing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/highly-creative-people-have-a-gift-for-connecting-supposedly/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [Our ancestors are looking for us even if we're not looking for them. And by our ancestors I mean our bloodlines and the ancestors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/our-ancestors-are-looking-for-us-even-if-we-re-not-looking-for-them/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [“Australian Aborigines say that the big stories — the stories worth telling and retelling, the ones in which you may find the meaning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/australian-aborigines-say-that-the-big-stories-the-stories-worth/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [Subatomic particles exist in all possible states until they are observed - at which point something definite emerges from the soup of possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/subatomic-particles-exist-in-all-possible-states-until-they-are/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [“The human animal needs meaning as well as food and air and sex and water. The sense that life is meaningless is at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/the-human-animal-needs-meaning-as-well-as-food-and-air-and-sex-and/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [What I'm talking about is fun. It's every day, it's high energy, and it gives you guidance and healing for your life. It puts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/what-i-m-talking-about-is-fun-it-s-every-day-it-s-high-energy-and-it/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [Suppose you have a parallel self who has made different choices, who is following a different event track since you made certain choices in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/suppose-you-have-a-parallel-self-who-has-made-different-choices-who/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [Living by synchronicity isn't merely about getting messages. It is about growing the poetic consciousness that allows us to taste and touch what rhymes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/living-by-synchronicity-isn-t-merely-about-getting-messages-it-is/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [I'm in favor of approaching both the night and the day with intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/i-m-in-favor-of-approaching-both-the-night-and-the-day-with-intention/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [There are chemical and other explanations for addictions, but speaking from my own observations (and I am a shamanic type), there is always some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/there-are-chemical-and-other-explanations-for-addictions-but-speaking/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [It is difficult to wrap your mind around this intellectually and until you've had the experience, it can be difficult to understand. I tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/it-is-difficult-to-wrap-your-mind-around-this-intellectually-and/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [On a psychic level, we could be carrying energies and entities and cravings and habits and confusion and patterns of behavior from generation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/on-a-psychic-level-we-could-be-carrying-energies-and-entities-and/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) [Explore all 62 Robert Moss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) ## More Consciousness quotes > [“You're never alone if you're with your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-armond-powell/you-re-never-alone-if-you-re-with-your-soul/) [Gerard Armond Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-armond-powell/) > [“I now argue that entry into Upper Palaeolithic caves was probably seen as virtually indistinguishable from entry into the mental vortex that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-david-lewis-williams/i-now-argue-that-entry-into-upper-palaeolithic-caves-was-probably/) [James David Lewis-Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-david-lewis-williams/) > [How wonderful it would be to scatter words as they rise to consciousness, to let them lie where they fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/how-wonderful-it-would-be-to-scatter-words-as-they-rise-to/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [“People and situations always show us what we need to see and learn about ourselves, and when we take responsibility for our own feelings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-mada-dalian/people-and-situations-always-show-us-what-we-need-to-see-and-learn/) [Eliza Mada Dalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-mada-dalian/) > [With the realization of God comes all power. If the little wave knew that behind it is the great ocean, it could say, "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/with-the-realization-of-god-comes-all-power-if-the-little-wave-knew/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [“Entropy is the normal state of consciousness—a condition that is neither useful nor enjoyable. To avoid this condition, people are naturally eager to fill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/entropy-is-the-normal-state-of-consciousness-a-condition-that-is/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [So many people are passive participants in their very short time of having a consciousness, and those who aren't inspire me. Like Malala Yousafzai…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-gelulla/so-many-people-are-passive-participants-in-their-very-short-time-of/) Dylan Gelulla > [Floating in and out of consciousness...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/floating-in-and-out-of-consciousness/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [“The vision teller tells the vision to unguarded minds' of prey. The programmed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-f-hodge/the-vision-teller-tells-the-vision-to-unguarded-minds-of-prey-the/) [T.F. Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-f-hodge/) > [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) [Browse all 6,062 Consciousness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our earliest poets were shamans. Today, as in the earliest times, true shamans are poets of consciousness who know the power of song and story to teach and to heal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Moss" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/our-earliest-poets-were-shamans-today-as-in-the-earliest-times-true/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Consciousness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/our-earliest-poets-were-shamans-today-as-in-the-earliest-times-true/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/robert-moss-10995_consciousness_our-earliest-poets-were-shamans-today-as_2016107.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/robert-moss-10995_consciousness_our-earliest-poets-were-shamans-today-as_2016107.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/robert-moss-10995_consciousness_our-earliest-poets-were-shamans-today-as_2016107.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our earliest poets were shamans. Today, as in the earliest times, true shamans are poets of consciousness…” — Robert Moss", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Moss", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our earliest poets were shamans. Today,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/our-earliest-poets-were-shamans-today-as-in-the-earliest-times-true/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/our-earliest-poets-were-shamans-today-as-in-the-earliest-times-true/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```