Shamanic Journeys.

It is said that during a shamanic journey, part of your soul takes flight, which differs from a meditation. They do feel different to me now, although they didn’t at first.

Shamanic journeys can be taken to bring back knowledge, inspiration and healing and have been really popular in recent times. They are particularly useful with issues that have no mundane/obvious solution. Shamanic journeys can also be taken to retrieve soul fragments and heal ancestral traits.

There has to be a clear purpose for a shamanic journey. A clear intention gets a clear result. If you undertake a journey with no real focus, your experience will be confusing.

Shamanic journeys take you into subtle reality following the cosmic web of life. This cosmic web links our material world to the spiritual.

Entrance to this subtle reality – often called the otherworld, can be anything you want, but most people use a tree. ( the guy I made my drum with, used a spring faucet down the lane from where he lived!). The most important thing about this entrance to the otherworld is that it must be a real place/tree in the material world. It also must have happy memories for you. This ensures you are anchored to the cosmic web when you journey and grounds you when you return.

There are three worlds in subtle reality which is why most people use a tree to journey from, as the roots represent the lower world, the trunk is the middle world and the branches is the upper world. The lower world is the place of the ancestors and past memories, that you can travel to for healing. The upper world is the place of angels, ascended masters and future possibilities. The middle world contains within it the spiritual dimension of nature. It is the place from which you intuit things that help you navigate life. I have found that often you may have a cross over of whom you may find in each world.

Always journey with a spiritual ally . This is often an animal, bird or fish, but can be an angel, a shaman guide or even a spirit of a plant. They know the paths in the otherworld to take and keep us safe. Your spiritual ally will often have medicine for you. By this I mean they bring you personal power, strength and understanding of self. You can ask them whilst taking the journey, what specific medicine they have for you and in your waking life, honour them with a photo or statue on your altar. During the shamanic journey, ask your spiritual ally questions if you don’t understand what is being shown to you. Often symbolism is presented to you and they can explain the deeper meaning behind it.

A shamanic journey is conducted in an altered state of awareness and a drum is one way to do this. A rapid drum beat puts the brain into a theta state ( 4 – 7 cycles per second) which helps you to deeply relax and aligns you to the pulse of mother earth. Both hemispheres of the brain are harmonised so that you disassociate from the body in order to actively participate in the journey. You may see imagery, or sense or just know. We are not all visual and if we do see, it is rarely as clear as waking reality. How ever you experience a shamanic journey, is down to what your predominant sixth sense is. It is important to listen to the resonance of the drum in between the tap of the beater on the drum. Often this resonance changes as different parts of the shamanic journey unfold.

Finally it is best to journey with out expectation. This can block your ability to receive information. Remain in a state of curiosity and maximum receptivity.

A couple of really good books on shamanism is ‘The Celtic shaman’, by John Matthews and ‘Singing the soul back home’, by Caitlin Matthews. They run ‘Walkers between the worlds’, shamanic training and I have attended several levels and can vouch that they are powerful and profoundly healing.

I am hoping to restart my shamanic journey circle once all of the restrictions are lifted and run it from my garden or garden room, if it is raining. ( Worcester, UK) I am really liking the idea of journeying with cacao as it really opens you up to beautiful messages from Goddess. Follow me on instagram for updates on this @nurtureyournaturewithZorah