7/18/2019 How to Start Shamanic Journeying

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How to Start Shamanic Journeying
6/23/2016 3 Comments
 
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When I rst tried to start shamanic journeying, I mostly accomplished making myself extremely frustrated. When I closed my eyes, all I saw
was blackness. I was acutely aware of my body and found it hard to relax. Distracting thoughts kept entering my mind.

When I went to shamanic journeying circles-- everyone around me seemed to be having fantastic adventures and being extremely
emotionally moved while I was left, quite literally in the dark. When I asked for help other members of the journeying circles would look
knowingly at me and say-- you’ll get it one day. Or worse, they would simply laugh and say, it’s not for everyone, maybe when you’re older.

Looking back, I can see now that the people I found myself asking for help from were likely extremely insecure with their own journeying
skills. They felt safer making journeying seem like a mysterious inscrutable power you either had or you didn’t rather than a craft and an
art like any other. Thankfully, my helping spirits eventually lead me to spiritual teachers with backgrounds in science (neuroscientists,
chemists and physicists, all of them coincidentally women). At different times in my life they brought their nely honed minds and skill at
running rigorous controlled experiments to the art of engaging with the spirit world and shared their ndings in a way that allowed me to
build up my own skills steadily bit by bit.

Journeying is probably something that is best studied with a teacher and in the context of a community or group if you wish to engage in a
path of mastery with it, but in the hopes of you avoiding the situation I found myself in early on, I have written this guide to get you started.

Tools You Will Need to Get Started:

1. A sonic driver. This is simply a steady rhythm or sound you can journey to. When I journey for clients I use a drum, but when I
journey for myself I generally just play a drumtrack off of my phone with some headphones on. Some nd that other instruments
work better for them or differently for them, for example my partner uses a didjeridoo track. Feel free to experiment. Here’s a link
to a free drum track on youtube by Sandra Ingerman.

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2. A blindfold. Something to cover your eyes is helpful as it allows you to move your focus away from keeping your eyes closed and
fully engage in the journey.
3. Pen/Notebook. You will need some sort of device to record your journey. When journeying for long distance clients I speak out
loud and record it so they can experience the journey as I do. When I journey for myself I generally use a notebook and pen. I nd
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it’s easier to retain what happened during the journey when I write that way as typing on a computer feels like shifting into a
different part of my brain and is sometimes dif cult after deep journeys.
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4. Cleansing Tools. It’s generally a good idea to cleanse yourself and your space brie y before you journey Clearing
if you haven’t already done
so earlier as part of your daily practice. For me, sometimes this looks like smudging myself and my space with sage, palo santo,
 mugwort or frankincense, other times running Florida Water or rose water over my body and sprinkling around my space as a pray
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in front of my Ancestral Shrine and in times when things feel really lthy or I’m journeying on something Healing
very tricky taking› a full on
spiritual bath and performing a oor wash. Use whatever tools work best for you.
5. A Rattle (optional). This is not necessarily mandatory, but I nd it helpful to use a rattle as I invoke the sacred›directions and
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elements and explain to my helping spirits the intent of my journey. Various types of rattles are traditional for this purpose in many
cultures, but what’s important is that you have a tool that you feel comfortable calling on your helping spirits with, preferably that
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makes noise, even if it’s just a tic-tac box. This is not only helpful in calling the spirits, but also is a great trigger forMe
your mind, telling
it you are entering ritual space. As you progress in your practice, you might nd some rattles possess spirits of their own and
different rattles are useful for different types of work.
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6. A place to enter the spirit world in ordinary reality. I nd that it is extremely helpful to have a place where you enter the spirit
world that actually exists (and preferably you can visit, though that’s not mandatory). This can be an old tree, hollow tree stump or
rabbit hole a la Alice in Wonderland, a well, spring or lake or even a subway platform or sewer grate that feels slightly special or
mysterious to you. Anywhere that feels like it can take you from above the ground into the great below. When you use a place for
this that actually exists in ordinary reality, the spirits of the land in that place can help protect you and hold you during your
journey and you can make offerings at the place in gratitude, building a mutual relationship.

Creatures #15 by Mark Wagner

Preparation
To begin, cleanse yourself and your space as described above. Then, write down the question or intention for your journey.

Most journeys should only have one question or intention driving them unless they are quest journeys which are generally for more
advanced practitioners. The entire journey is the answer to your question and thus the discipline of holding the question in your mind and
asking it over and over as you journey allows you to open up to the vast amount of information your helping spirits are sharing with you
and stepping outside of the limits of your current understanding. For your beginning journeys, I recommend you spend them exploring

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your entrance to the spirit world and then connecting with one of your animal helping spirits in the lower world which I will describe in
more detail below.

When you are ready-- invoke your helping spirits and explain to them the intent for your journey. What this invocation involves is entirely
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dependent upon your cosmology, the depth of your spiritual practice and the level of intimacy you have cultivated with your helping
spirits. For someone just starting out, you might put out a glass of water and a candle and simply begin rattling and calling out to your
helping spirits:
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Helping Spirits, named and unnamed, seen and unseen
All you who seek to help me and guide me on the path of my purpose Shamanic Healing ›
I honor you and ask for your protection and assistance on this journey
I ask that you _______________________(insert your question or intent, i.e. help me to journey to the lower world to meet the animal helping spirit that
would be most helpful to me at this time, show me the true nature of my nancial troubles, help me to see the root belief Classes › of my fear of
at the core
intimacy).

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Now, sit or lie down comfortably. Some people like sitting as they are less likely to fall asleep. Others like to lie down as it allows them to
relax more deeply. Put your drum track (or whatever audio you are using) on. Close your eyes and cover them with your blindfold.
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Some of you might nd it helpful to perform a brief relaxation exercise at this point, especially if you do not have experience with any
contemplative or physical practice. I nd progressive muscle relaxation helpful which you can nd described in this guide. With time and
practice, relaxing your body before starting to journey can be as simple as taking a deep breath.

You are now ready to start journeying.

Journey #1: Exploring Your Entrance to the Spirit World

For your rst journey, rather than worrying about getting to the spirit world, simply hold the intention to explore your entrance into non-
ordinary reality. Allow yourself to visualize (or feel) a white mist gradually surrounding you. When it completely covers you, allow it to fade
away, revealing you are in the spot you have chosen.

Use as many of your senses as you can to feel what it’s like to be there. What does it look like? How does it smell? Do you hear anything? Do
you feel anything in your body while you’re there? Do you associate any tastes with that space? Do any memories arise? Does it feel like
you just know something about the place without knowing quite why? Notice any fears that arise. Are you afraid you are making things up?
Are you worried you aren’t seeing it clearly enough? Notice which of your senses feel strongest there. Your experience might not be visual.
To this day when journeying my sense of hearing is stronger than any other sense I have, though I hear so vividly it often sounds like I’m

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describing visuals when people hear me describe my journeys.

When you are nished exploring, gently hold the intention to return from the place to your body. Allow the white mist to return and cover
you, then fade away and gently deposit your consciousness rmly back with your physical body. If you feel disoriented, you might gently
wiggle your toes and ngers and take some deep breaths, feeling the earth and what your body is sitting or laying onHome
rising up to meet you
and hold the weight of your body. Feel the air on your skin all over your body and gently open your eyes, bringing your awareness back to
the space you are journeying in.
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Record your results.
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Journey #2: Meeting Your Animal Helping Spirit and Exploring the Lower World
Again, turn on your drum track and cover your eyes. This time share with your helping spirits the intention-- I am going to the lower world
to meet one of my animal helping spirits. Classes ›

Allow the white mist to come in again and transport you to your entrance to the spirit world in ordinary reality. Move through the passage
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into the spirit world (for example, crawling through a hole in a hollow tree and down into the earth). Feel yourself moving downwards and
hold the intention that you are going to the lower world. Some might see steps, others might simply see a long downward sloping tunnel. I
started out with steps, but after I started journeying during my shamanic training where we had to rapidly journey onBlog
a number of
questions, I found I was going too slow and switched my steps into a slide. As always, use what works for you.

Eventually you should start to see light at the end of the tunnel or a doorway or gate of some kind. This is the entrance to the lower world.
Step through it. Especially in early stages of journeying, don’t be afraid to use your imagination a bit to navigate what you are experiencing.
The important part is getting into the lower world.

When you get there-- take a moment to look around and use all of your senses standing at the entrance to experience what you can see of
the lower world. Your animal helping spirit might be standing right at the entrance. If so-- ask them, “Are you my animal helping spirit?” If
they af rm they are, you can take them at their word. If they say they are not, call out again your intention-- that you wish to meet your
animal helping spirit and ask them to come to you.

Let go of any doubt of your experience as best you can. Even if you are making things up or have to use your imaginal muscles a bit-- there
are an in nite amount of things your mind could have showed you. Trust that there’s a reason for what you saw. At early stages of
journeying, cultivating your ability to accept and record your experience without analysis is perhaps more important than nely honed
discernment.

If you have trouble at this stage (or earlier) and nd yourself unable to connect with your helping spirit, you might want to engage the help
of a shamanic practitioner before continuing further.
When you have successfully connected with your animal helping spirit. Ask it for a name you can call it by and what gifts it brings. After
that there are a few options:
1. You can exit the journey and record what you experienced, then journey again and go back down into the lower world to engage
with it further when you are ready (see instructions for exiting below).
2. Ask your animal helping spirit-- “What is necessary to clear my energetic debt to you so we are free to work together?” The answer
might be nothing, but often our helping spirits have been assisting us for a long time with no acknowledgement or offerings in
return so you might come out of this journey with a little homework to do.
3. Ask your animal helping spirit what type of offerings it likes. Some common examples might include water, a candle, tobacco,
cornmeal, certain types of incense, perfume or oil, etc. If it asks for something that feels impossible-- determine an acceptable
substitute you know you can provide and then provide the actual offering it’s asking for energetically in the spirit world. The
important part is to make sure the offering is concrete and actionable.
4. Ask your animal helping spirit for a tour of the lower world.
5. Ask your animal helping spirit how it would like to be honored in a Mask. You can then create this Mask and dance the helping
spirit to learn more about it.
6. Ask-- What are the next three actions I can take that would best allow me to begin integrating your medicine into my life?

Exiting the Journey

When you are ready to leave the journey, ask your animal helping spirit to help you retrace your steps back to the entrance to the lower
world. Offer gratitude and leave through the entrance, climbing back up your tunnel and eventually out the entrance you rst came in.
Allow yourself to see or feel the white mist returning and gently return to your body, allowing the white mist to dissipate. You can engage
with the white mist as a puri cation or decontamination system, cleansing you as return to your body.

When you are back, again-- gently wiggle your toes and ngers and take some deep breaths, feeling the earth and what your body is sitting
or laying on rising up to meet you and hold the weight of your body. Feel the air on your skin all over your body and gently open your eyes,

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bringing your awareness back to the space you are journeying in. Record your results.

Recording the Journey

When you record your journey, try to keep separate the question you asked, what you experienced, your interpretation of the experience
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and the action you are taking based on the interpretation. For the above journeys, they are less action oriented aside from perhaps leading
to a practice of making offerings to your animal helping spirit. However, for future journeys-- keeping these components separate will
better allow you to begin to hone your skills and discern where they need strengthening.
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When you take an action based on your journey, notice how the world responds to that action. If it’s not what you expected or feels
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contrary to your aim-- review your notes. Where did you go wrong? Did your question have assumptions hidden withinHealing ›
it? Was your
experience of the journey limited by fear or glossing over important details that didn’t quite t the narrative you were holding in your
mind? Was your interpretation twisted by a desired outcome? Was the action you took out of alignment with your interpretation?
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As you continue to journey and take actions based on guidance from your helping spirits, reviewing your notes in this way will allow you to
greatly increase your signal clarity and more effectively work with your helping spirits to effect change.
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A student embodying her rabbit helping spirit. Photo by AK47 Division.

Additional Resources:
Obviously, this guide is barely scratching the surface of shamanic journeying, but it should be enough to get you started. There are many
books that discuss the practice, but I haven’t found that any one book has truly satis ed me, especially when I was rst starting out.

The only resource I can recommend without reservation (which also happens to be completely free) is the fantastic Why Shamanism
Now podcast by Christina Pratt, who is my primary teacher. Here is a list of WSN podcasts speci cally on shamanic journeying, though
almost all WSN podcasts are a valuable resource for someone exploring shamanism and will certainly help you start on your path of
mastery.

INTRO TO SHAMANIC JOURNEYING:

http://whyshamanismnow.com/2013/09/how-to-begin-shamanic-journeying/
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2012/09/how-to-craft-a-good-question-shamanic-journeying/
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2012/10/crafting-shamanic-journey-questions-part-two/

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http://whyshamanismnow.com/2012/10/how-to-interpret-messages-from-the-invisible-world/
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2012/10/interpreting-your-symbolic-language-part-2/
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2013/03/the-true-power-of-action/
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2013/04/shamanic-journeying-taking-action/
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FURTHER EXPLORATION OF SHAMANIC JOURNEYING AND RELATED TOPICS:
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2010/01/listening-to-voices/
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http://whyshamanismnow.com/2010/02/listening-to-voices-part-two/
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2010/05/working-effectively-with-spirit-ii/
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2011/02/taking-right-action/ Shamanic Healing ›
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2011/04/spirit-teachers-and-better-humans/
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2011/08/the-shamanic-journey-and-direct-revelation/
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2011/08/the-shamanic-journey-and-direct-revelation-part-2/ Classes ›
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2012/04/shamanic-journeying-tricks-of-the-trade/
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2012/04/working-with-helping-spirits/
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http://whyshamanismnow.com/2012/04/what-is-a-power-animal/
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2013/04/truth-delusion-and-altered-states/
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2013/09/what-is-the-axis-mundi/ Blog
http://whyshamanismnow.com/2013/09/what-is-intimacy-with-spirit/
http://whyshamanismnow.com/topics/basics-of-living-well/

Blessings on your journeys!

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3 Comments

Anita 10/13/2016 01:33:40 pm

THANK YOU, THANK YOU - your opening paragraphs just recounted word for word what happened to me last night
- I was so disappointed, and felt like such a loser. But then when we went around the room seems like multiple
people had the same experience

Reply

Papin 12/3/2017 08:50:14 pm

Hello Anita, I too thank you immensely and very grateful to find this post. I too had just returned from a day long
journeying work shop where I was the only one who did not experience anything at all. Was so devastated as I had
hoped to have had a transformative experience. Truly appreciate your insight and detailed instructions. I feel so
much more hopeful after reading your post and will pass it on. Thank you, truly!!

Reply

Rudy Perez 2/16/2018 06:10:01 pm

Excellent primer! I am just staring my inquiry into shamanic journeying and find the concepts fascinating and in
congruence with the evolving tenets of quantum physics.

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