Journeying
In many ways, this very powerful shamanic technique is
very much the core technique of shamanism worldwide. A shaman uses this technique
to access the Otherworld realms in order to find answers to problems or information
to help him or others. He journeys to meet with the inhabitants of the Otherworld,
which may be regarded as spirit guides, elders, ancestors, power animals, angels
or gods and goddesses. These beings of great wisdom and power are willing to
work with us in order to help and guide us.
Shamans divide the Otherworld realm into three worlds: the Under (Lower), Upper
and the Middle World.
The ‘Underworld’ is considered the place of instinctual knowledge.
Here we can find our animal-like powers that can provide us with practical
earthy help and guidance. Most helping spirits of the Underworld come
in form of animals. Some take the form of human guides and some of them
those of mythical beings. The Underworld appears as a natural landscape
does in this world. While in the Underworld, everything is of relevance
and has a meaning, symbolically or even literally.
The Middle-world is the world that we live in, as well as a parallel non-ordinary
version of our world. This is the place where our extra-sensory perceptions,
psychic phenomenon, telepathy and so on occur. This is the world where illnesses
manifest themselves before moving into the physical body. Here the shaman seeks
to find a cure before an illness manifests itself. He does that by looking at
the energy field of a person, to see if any intrusions may be in there and then
removes them. (Extraction) The Middle-world is the most difficult of the three
worlds to navigate in and it takes experience before trying to attempt it. Something
dangerous can be easily picked up there if one is not careful.
The Upper-world is the world of the spirit guides and cosmic beings, which usually
appear in human forms. Their help tends to be more general and philosophical.
To reach this world one passes through a type of cloudy membrane. The light
tends to be translucent, often combined with an ethereal feel.
None of these worlds is superior to the others. They are equal and complimentary.
One cannot exist without the other.
Exercise:
A short journey to the Underworld
Preparation: Make sure you are not
disturbed; take the phone off the hook; lock the door etc. Create a Shamans
Circle. Lie down in it with your back and legs straight so that the energy
can flow freely. Close your eyes and relax. Concentrate on your breathing.
Relax. Think of a place you know with an entrance into the ground. This
could be a cave, a hole at the base of a tree, a well etc. No matter how
small the entrance is you will fit through it. Shrink yourself to the size
of the opening if it is smaller than you are. Enter. Feel yourself sliding
lower and lower. You are traveling deeper and deeper into Mother Earth.
If you come across an obstruction, go around it or find a gap through it.
If you are unable to pass, turn around go back to the entrance and try
another day. The same goes for the case that a spider or another insect
blocks your path. Return immediately! Do not try to pass it.
If your path is clear, continue deeper and deeper until you reach a cave. Look
around you. You are deep inside Mother Earth. Feel the coolness of the air
and the dampness of the cave. Even though it is dark, you are able to see.
You wonder about this and notice a light coming from the far corner of the
cave. You follow this light and reach the end of the cave. Curious you step
outside. Look around you. What do you see? What kind of landscape do you see
before you? Is it day or night? What is the weather like? What does this place
feel like to you?
Do not yet venture out into this place. Do not make contact with the beings
inhabiting this place. This journey is only to visit and observe. Just remain
and in silence take in every detail that you can see, since this is your place
of power in the Underworld. To continue you need to find a Power
Animal first, which can guide you and protect
you from the dangers of the Underworld.
After you have seen enough, turn around and return into the cave. Feel a chord of light now gently pulling you back the way you have come. If playing a drumming CD hear the drum summoning you home. Let it pull you back to the end of the cave and higher and higher until you come out at the place you have started.
Now slowly return to your surroundings. Feel the texture of the piece of furniture you are laying on. Hear the sounds of the room. Stretch yourself and move your hands and feet. Slowly count to three and open your eyes. You are back in the present, feeling better than before. Lie still for a while longer and think about your experience.
Take a minute and write down what you have experienced.
If using a drumming CD, use the 15 minute drumming since your first journey should not be longer than that.