Cutting edge neuroscience is now confirming what shamans have known for centuries. At the core, everything is energy and this energy manifests as energy fields that vibrates with information about that field. The shamans also know how to interact directly with these energy fields in ways to get information and guidance and in ways to create psychological, emotional, spiritual, and even physical health. They know how to clear out old patterns energetically, how to cut cords that hold us stuck in unhealthy places, how to extract energy that doesn’t belong to us, and how to retrieve lost energy and restore it to the energy body and dream a new life. Going forward in my posts I’m going to look at the basic concepts of shamanism and energy medicine and how we might implement certain practices to improve our lives.
In my previous post, I gave a brief summary of shamanism. Basically, shamanism is a family of traditions that focus on voluntarily entering altered states of consciousness or what are commonly known as non-ordinary states of reality and interacting with the sprits or entities that live there on behalf of individuals and communities.
Over the next several weeks, I will be introducing basic concepts of shamanism and give examples from my own experience as a shamanic practitioner on how to access and work with your inner shaman.
First, shamanism holds that everything is alive and made up of an energy field. This energy field vibrates with an energetic signature or imprint of information pertinent to that field. These energy fields are connected and exist in relationship to each other, interacting with each other and since they are responsive, they respond to our intentions.
Just like quantum physics describes a field of energy that connects all of life, shamans speak of a web of life that connects everything. Shamanism maintains there is a physical world of matter and a spiritual invisible world of energy.
Second, shamanism divides the world into three parts: The Lower, Middle, and Upper Worlds. These aren’t physical places, but rather energetic domains that are said to exist within us and all around us. In short, the “lower world” represents our unconscious and houses our psychological wounds, ancestral baggage, past life influences, and is the place where we often find our power animals. The landscape in the Lower World tends to be earthy, filled with mountains, deserts, dense jungles, rivers, and forests. To access the Lower World the shaman might descend down the roots of a tree, travel down the cater of a volcano or through a hole in the ground, through the entrance of a cave, or through a body or water, such as a lake, stream, river or waterfall or any place in nature with a natural opening into the earth. I often journey to the Lower World through the roots of the World Tree or dive into a body of water or journey through a hole in the ground or a cave.
The Middle World is the spiritual dimension of our physical world and the domain of our everyday experiences. Here the shaman communicates with the spirits that live in all things present in physical reality. Shamans classically journey to the Middle World to find lost and stolen objects, to commune with nature, or to do long-distance healing work. You might take a Middle World journey to meet with the spirits of the plants, trees, and rocks where you live, to learn more about them and come into balance with them. To access the Middle World, the shaman, once in the altered trance state, will leave from his present location and walk out into the middle world where they see and interact with the spirits or energy of what they encounter there.
The “upper world” is the world of our becoming, our future potential, and possibilities. It’s also the place of angels, ascended masters, gods and goddesses. Many people experience the Upper World as very ethereal. The light tends to be bright, although the spectrum of colors can include everything from soft pastels to complete darkness. The landscapes in the Upper World can be quite varied. You might find yourself in a crystal city or simply in the clouds. To access the Upper World, shamans may use the Tree of Life, climbing up the branches into the Upper world. They may climb a rope or a ladder, jump from the top of a mountain, rise in a volcano, whirlwind, go up through the smoke of a fire or have bird or horse drawn chariot take them. Now days they may use a hot air balloon or ask their power animal or guardian spirit to take them there or just float up. I often enter through the upper branches of the World Tree where I am sometimes met with a chariot pulled by an animal. Sometimes, an opening appears, and a rope and ladder is extended down which I then climb up.
As I already mentioned to the shaman everything is alive. The Middle World is one place where the shaman can speak to the spirit of the rocks, trees, plants, wind, water, fire, earth, etc. The shaman can speak to the spirit that lives in the Middle World.
The two most common types of spirits who work in partnership with the shaman are power animals also called guardian spirits and teachers in human form. Shamanic cultures believe that when we are born the spirit of at least two power animals volunteer to remain with us to keep us healthy emotionally and physically and also protect us from harm. These animals are akin to the Christian belief in guardian angels. The other form of helping spirit that shamans work with is a teacher or healer in human form. These typically were the gods and goddesses of the various cultures, religious figures, and ancestors who wished to help. These helping spirits work with the shaman to bring healing to individuals, the community, and the environment. The helping spirits are also consulted with when information is needed.
Third, one of the major practices a shaman performs is called a shamanic journey. A shaman is a man or woman who goes into an altered state of consciousness and travels outside of time into the hidden realms that many term non-ordinary. The Australian aborigines call non-ordinary the Dreamtime. It is also referred to as the Other World in Celtic traditions. We might think of it as the unconscious or spirit world. In these hidden realities there are helping spirits and compassionate spirits who offer their guidance and also their healing help in behalf of all life on earth.
Typically, shamans use some form of percussion, especially drumming or rattling, to go into an altered state that allows the free soul of the shaman to journey into the invisible worlds. As part of my spiritual and meditative practice I regularly journey to acquire guidance, information, and healing for myself and others. I am also an artist. Sometimes, my journeys result in a painting. This painting is the result of a Middle World journey to Lake Titicaca in the Andes.
On November 8, my 75th birthday, I awakened with a strong desire to do a shamanic journey to Lake Titicaca and the Earth’s second Chakra. I put on my journey music, engaged my travel companions, Quetzalcoatl and my black panther cat, and requested that we journey to the Lake. Soon I was at the shores of Lake Titicaca. I noticed that it was a little chilly. I asked permission to enter her space and am welcomed. I sat at her shores, looking at her and thanking her for all that she does for the planet. I felt the vibration in my body slightly increasing, and I noticed that I was sitting on a smooth ribbon of beautiful blues, whites and pinkish colors. I realized this was her waters. I’m amazed at how smooth and silky it felt. As I came to the end of the journey, to my surprise the waters of the Lake rose up and handed me a beautiful Rose Quartz stone. Quetzalcoatl, black panther and I journeyed back to my room with the Rose Quartz stone. I accepted it as a birthday gift.
I knew that the Rose Quartz was a powerful healing crystal associated to love and the fourth chakra, purifying, opening and healing the heart to promote unconditional love at all levels. But I wondered if there might be other meanings to the Rose Quartz, so I googled it. To my surprise I discovered that the Rose Quartz connects people born between November 8 and 12 to the archangel Ariel. Doing this journey on November the 8th and the day on which I was born was quite a synchronicity reinforcing once again our connection to all things and the World Soul. What were the chances that on my birthday, November 8, I would feel impressed to journey to Lake Titicaca who then gifted me with a Rose Quartz that has this meaning and history!
Whitney Hopler in her post (4-1-18) on Angels and Miracles, An introduction to Angels says that Ariel means “altar” or “lion of God” in Hebrew and is known as the angel of nature. Ariel oversees the protection and healing of animals and plants, as well as the care of the Earth’s elements, water, wind, air and fire. In some interpretations, Ariel is also a liaison between the human and the elemental world of sprites, faeries, mystical crystals, and other manifestations of magic. People sometimes ask for Ariel’s help to take good care of the environment and all the creatures including both wild animals and pets and to provide any healing that they need, Ariel can also help you to forge a stronger connection with the natural world.
According to Hopler, to call upon Ariel, you need only request her guidance for goals that are within her realm. For example, you might ask her “please help me to heal this animal,” or “please help me to better understand the beauty of the natural world.”
This is an example of what can happen in a shamanic journey. You can meet a guide, get a gift or direct information. In researching or exploring the meanings of parts of the journey, what we call amplification, you can get more information or guidance that you would not have had without the journey. As a way to honor this journey, the archangel Ariel and the gift I received of the rose quartz, I painted the journey. I call it Archangel Ariel and the Rose Quartz.
To continue to read this post where you can get more information on shamanic journeying with a script for journeying to explore the Lower World, sign up for the paid subscription. With the paid subscription, you will get all the complete chapters of my book, The Other Man in Me, Erotic Longing, Lust and Love: The Soul Calling, plus complete posts on shamanism and energy healing.
Next week I will continue on the theme of shamanic journeying and will provide an audio journey to journey to meet a power animal.
Preparing to Journey
A shamanic journey is always intentional, deliberate and focused. To journey, you need to identify a clear purpose or intention. First formulate a question you would like to ask a power animal or spirit guide. Make your question simple and concise. Begin with a single question. The best questions begin with where, what, how and who. Answers to multiple questions can be confusing. Since you are trying to get as much information as possible from your journey, avoid yes/no questions. For example, you might ask “How can I best manage a certain work situation? or “How can I use my creative energies to create a positive future for myself” or “What changes do I need to make in my life in order to stay healthy over my lifespan?”
Begin by drumming or rattling or listen to drumming. Concentrate on and repeat the question several times as you enter into Non-Ordinary Reality. Let go of the monkey mind and concerns of the day and focus on the drumming and intention of the journey. Find a time of day to journey when your mind isn’t cluttered with work and details.
Find a quiet, comfortable place to lie down or sit where you are comfortable but won’t fall asleep. Be sure to turn off your phones and shut down any electronic devices that might interfere with your journey. Some people prefer to use an eye cover or darken the room. Begin by taking some deep breaths and releasing any tension or chatter on the out breath. Open your heart, relax the mind and bring your focus to your heart and imagine you are breathing through your heart. Shamans “see with their hearts.” If you lose your concentration during your journey, simply come back to this heart breath and repeat your intention. Visualize a place in nature where you will launch your journey to the Upper, Lower or Middle World and leave your everyday world behind.
It is important to clearly define when you are entering into and leaving Non-Ordinary Reality. Shamanic journeys are done with purpose and intention. Your journey needs to be focused and deliberate, a sacred time to work with your spirit guides. If you find that a noise or intrusion interrupts you or brings you out of the journey, simply refocus on the drumming and heart breathing, allowing yourself to return to where you were in the journey. To signal a time to come back from the journey it is common to use a return beat, which commonly consists of 4 sets of 7 short beats followed by rapid drumming and another set of 4 sets of seven beats. Be sure to thank your spirit guides and say goodbye before beginning to journey back the same way you entered your journey.
Treat your journey time as if you were entering a church or sacred sanctuary, because you are! People have been traveling to these other worlds for tens of thousands of years. You are stepping into what biochemist and philosopher Rupert Sheldrake calls a field of morphic resonance, a collective memory that is inherent in nature and natural systems. In a journey we are accessing the wisdom of the ages.
After quietly reflecting on your journey, you might want to take notes about key points and pertinent information. Below is an actual text for a journey to the Lower World simply to explore the Lower World.
Start your drumming or rattling music. Take a few deep breaths, pulling energy from your lower abdomen to the top of your head. After a few deep breaths, bring your attention to your heart and breathe in and out through your heart. Review your intention for this journey—to journey to the Lower World to explore its landscape— and continue to listen to the drumming, breathing in and out through your heart. Now imagine that you are walking out the front door of your heart into your field. Off in the distance you see a large tree. The tree calls to you and you walk toward it. Feel the ground beneath your feet. As you approach the tree, you notice how beautiful and large the tree is. You realize this is the world tree. As you stand before the tree, state your intention—that you wish to journey to the lower world just to explore it. Imagine that the tree opens to you, and you enter into the tree. Feel the energy of the tree. You might even feel the sap of the tree flowing through you. State your intention to journey to the lower world and begin to descend down through the roots of the tree, passing by the bedrock and all the levels of the earth until you step out of the tree root. You notice a stream and the water calls to you to lie down in it to cleanse you of anything that you should bring into the lower world. You lie down and let the water wash over you, cleansing you. The water carries you downstream and washes you on to a beautiful garden. As you stand there, the guardian of the Lower World approaches and asks you your intention. This guardian may be male or female. It may even come in the form of an animal. If you are uncertain, just ask if it is the guardian of the Lower World. If it says no. Just ask to speak to the guardian. You tell him or her that you have come to simply visit the Lower World, to get acquainted with it and ask permission to enter. The guardian may or may not grant you entrance. Occasionally but rarely, it is not a good time to visit the Lower World and the guardian will not allow you entrance. If the guardian tells you that it isn’t a good time to visit the Lower World, thank him/her and return to the stream and let it carry you back to the tree roots and back up into the tree and journey back into your heart. If you are allowed to enter the Lower World, thank the guardian and enter. The guardian may offer to accompany you as you explore the garden. If not, just place your intention to explore the Lower World and walk through it, exploring it. You might meet animals, enter caves, climb mountains, swim in rivers, sit by lakes, etc., etc. Just let it unfold. You are here simply to explore. If you are listening to a drumming track, listen for the call back. As you return, thank the guardian for allowing you to enter and journey back to the stream. Lie down in the water and let it wash you cleansing you from anything you should not bring back with you from the Lower World. Let the water carry you back to the tree roots. Enter the tree roots and journey back up into the trunk of the tree. Step out of the tree. Thank the tree for allowing you to enter and walk back into the front door of your heart. Bring your attention to your heart and anchor yourself back into your body and into your room.
After the journey, you might want to journal some of your experience. Next week, we will explore the shamanic concept of power animals and journey to meet a power animal. Next week, I will also provide you with an audio of a journey to meet a power animal.