Journeying For Newbies – Part One

This is the second in my new weekly (every Friday) series of blog posts ‘For Newbies’, in which I attempt to outline the basic practices and terminology in shamanism, in as clear and easy to understand prose as I can. This week I look at ‘journeying’.

My first shamanic teacher, Simon Buxton, told me that once you had learned to journey, you did not need to learn anything else – the key tools for healing and self-discovery were to be found in journeying.

What is journeying?

Shamans traditionally enter an altered state of consciousness to commune with the spirit world for enlightenment and healing (for themselves and for others).

Am I actually entering a ‘spirit world’, or am I just imagining it?

It could be a literal spirit world (peopled by enlightened beings who have already had their time on earth), an alternate reality (particularly since many scientists and quantum theorists are now suggesting that parallel universes are a mathematical certainty), or you could be just imagining it (a form of creative visualisation). You will find people who are absolutely certain which of these it is. I am not one. To be honest, I don’t happen to think it matters too much. If your journey results in some kind of personal enlightenment, or in some kind of healing, then whether you have achieved these results from a mystical, paranormal communion with higher consciousness spirit forces, or as a result of a creative flight of your own imagination, I really don’t much care! Whether you ascribe the results to a supernatural or psychological phenomenon, to my mind, each version is perfectly and wondrously miraculous in its own right.

Do I need any protection to enter this ‘spirit world’?

There are differences of opinion amongst shamans across the world, as to whether evil entities exist. Some shaman believe that there are only good spirits – since there are only ‘enlightened’ beings in the spirit world. North American shaman, however, warn of the dire consequences of messing with these spirit forces, as, of course, do all the Abrahamic religions (the Catholic church loves the production team of The Exorcist, for instance, for their wonderful propaganda gift!).

In the tradition of my lineage, we are gifted the rites of the ‘Munay Ki’ (see previous blog post here), which include various levels of defence and these provide more than adequate protection for simple journeying. You can learn how to give and receive these rites yourself (annually, at Glastonbury with the ‘Spirit of the Inca‘ group, for instance). If you are of a more psychological bent, you may scoff at the very notion of evil forces, that is fine but, in the same way that you are respecting these ancient traditions by following the ‘how to journey’ notes here, let’s all start our journey together with an ancient ritual of protection and open our wirra cochas over ourselves.

What’s a ‘wirra cocha’?

This is the 8th chakra (don’t worry I’ll be covering chakras in a future ‘newbies’ post!) that exists outside of your own body’s energy field. Just imagine a small ball of light floating above your head. Now hold this ball of light in your hands and imagine pulling its light down all around you. You should be able to feel something different – as if a warm, protective blanket has descended over you.

Should I lie down?

Opinions differ on whether you should relax, or remain standing. I personally prefer to lie down but you might be more of a kinetic person who prefers to stand, or even to move around (being mindful of any furniture in the room, of course!). One of my shamanic teachers, Chris Waters, always says to her students, ‘make yourself uncomfortable,’ because it’s all too easy to fall asleep and, whilst pleasant, that’s not really our aim when we are journeying. You will find out what works best for you, only through experimenting. Oh, and, ideally, the room should be dark, so turn off the lights at least.

I’ve opened my wirra cocha, now what?

The simplest way to enter an altered state and to experience a shamanic journey is through the use of a drumbeat. If you’re drumming yourself, according to Michael Harner, you need a consistent tempo of about 205 to 220 beats per minute. Whilst you can beat a drum yourself, this can be quite distracting when you first begin journeying, so it’s much easier to just listen to a decent recording. There are plenty of suitable tracks to be found online (many for free) but my personal favourite is ‘Spirit Journey’ from Wychazel’s album ‘Shaman – The Healing Drum‘ (available on iTunes via the link here and, no, I’m not on commission!). At 16 minutes, it’s the perfect length of time and I like it’s use of beginning, journeying and recall beats, alongside the calming use of rainsticks and ambient sound effects – there’s even the occasional wolf howl.

What should I visualise?

‘Middle world’?

The Inca acknowledge three worlds existing simultaneously – our world or middle world, the upper world and the lower world. When you think about it, most religions acknowledge these worlds’ existence too, with their various concepts of Heaven and Hell. In a journey, we can choose to visit any of these worlds and, funnily enough, people from all across the planet, no matter what their cultural background, tend to have the same types of experience, whichever they choose. Perhaps this is how the concepts of Heaven and Hell first came about – from people journeying? If you envisage going up the tree, through its branches and into the sky, for instance, you encounter clouds and ‘angelic’ beings of grace and light. Whereas, if you envisage going down the tree, through its roots and deep into the ground, you tend to encounter a darker, more earthy world, filled with strange animals and mythical creatures.

Where should I go?

If this is your first journey, I’d suggest you take a trip to the lower world.

Hang on a minute, didn’t you just say the lower world was like Hell? Why would I want to go there?

Like most magical, mystical things, religions have systematically sought to prevent their followers from direct encounters with enlightened beings – only through me, the priest says, can you come to know God! (By the way, shamanism disagrees. It says you can have a divine encounter wherever and whenever you please – how outrageous is that?). Time and again, churches were built on top of ancient temples, which had made use of ley lines and sacred geometry to utilise the power of certain ‘charged’ sites. Any sacred spaces they could not build upon were labelled as places of the Devil, the new cursed name sticking in place for centuries (Devil’s Cave, Devil’s Hole, Devil’s Grove, etc). In the same way, journeying to the lower world where you can most easily commune with enlightened spirits was labelled as the Devil’s domain and a Hellish, fiery place. As we’re going to find out, the lower world is not a place of fire and brimstone…

That’s a relief! How do I get down there, then?

You should always set an intention before you journey. That might be to ask for healing or to ask a specific question of one of the guiding spirits. On our first journey, let’s set our intention to meet a ‘power animal’ in the lower world. So, vocalise that intention now, or hold it in your thoughts, as you imagine you’re at the base of your tree and there’s a hole, a small opening, doorway, or even a rabbit hole, and go into it or through it. Is this beginning to sound familiar to you? Are you thinking of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland? The truth is that many famous writers and artists for many thousands of years have taken this same journey, having wondered what exactly is down the rabbit hole. Let’s take The Matrix’s blue pill and find out, shall we?

Err…okay…will it hurt?

Not at all. As a chacaruna, literally a ‘bridge person’, a guide who helps people cross from one state of consciousness to another, I’m going to take your hand and we’ll proceed together, nice and gently.

Okay, so I’m imagining going down a rabbit hole…

Great! Now imagine that you are moving down through the tangle of roots beneath your tree, then further down and further down, through the dark soil, moving effortlessly through the rocks and earth. If you find yourself getting stuck in any particular level, don’t force anything. Imagine what it might be like if the journey was easy. If you still find yourself stuck, it might not be the right time for you to travel. Don’t force it – take a break and try another time. There will be some learning in this for you – are you generally an impatient person? Are you too focussed on other thoughts, or feeling too stressed? You need to be nice and relaxed to journey, not edgily waiting for your phone to go off, or for the doorbell to ring.

Okay. I’m relaxed, I’ve made it through the rocks and earth. Now what?

When you descend lower, eventually you will come to a lake. It is your own ‘version’ of a water source, there is no right or wrong imagery here. Imagine entering your lake and purifying yourself in the water – this acts as a cleansing ritual to remove all the things that we do not need to take with us into the lower world. Feel the stresses and strains of everyday life drifting away in the cooling water. Do not worry if there is an impediment to getting into the water – this is quite common, just find your own clever solution for overcoming it. For instance, my lake is nearly always frozen over – most times I have to break the ice before I can get into the water. For me, this impediment acts as a reminder not to skip this particular step or to gloss over it – it is an important part of our journey.

Great. Now, how do I find this ‘power animal’, which I set as my intention?

Because you have set this intention, at some point in wandering around the lower world, you will be approached by an animal of some description. Ask it directly if it is a power animal and if it has a message for you. If it says it is not (firstly, do not be surprised, as this is not uncommon!), or if it makes no answer, thank it and continue to wander around until you find one that answers you positively. If it’s your first encounter with a power animal, it’s quite likely that any message you are given will be in the form of a series of images but the more you journey, the easier you should find it to converse. Thank the animal and either explore more of the lower world, or speak with another power animal. I should point out that the animals which you come across might be anything at all, even prehistoric or mythical. I wouldn’t advise setting your heart on one particular animal before you go – just see what comes along. I would, personally, not recommend attempting to converse with reptiles (there’s a reason Eve met a snake in the Garden of Eden!), insects, plants, or stones, as they all have rather different energies.

So, what exactly is a ‘power animal’?

A ‘power animal’ is a neoshamanic concept that was introduced into the English language in 1980 by Michael Harner in The Way of the Shaman. In Harner’s view, power animals are much like the familiar spirits of European occultism, which aid the occultist in their metaphysical work (for instance, a witch’s black cat). You might come across more than one power animal on a journey and you might find that you come across different animals, depending upon the task you want performed, or the question you have asked, when you set your intention at the start of your journey.

Is this ‘power animal’ my ‘spirit guide’?

Do you speak to your spirit guide?

Yes. At first my questions were answered by being shown images, sometimes these were quite abstract but I always got something from the experience. As I did more shamanic work and made more journeys, I got to know my spirit guide, my Wolf, rather better. I found that I began to be able to hear responses from him, even to be quite conversational with him (he’s actually quite blunt now!).

Talking to yourself? That sounds like schizophrenia!

Ha! Well, some neurologists and psychologists have argued that communing with spirits is a form of that. The American neuroendrocrinologist, Professor Robert Sapolsky, for instance, has argued that shamanism is practiced by schizotypal individuals. Perhaps, but neither myself, nor the shaman that I have met, seem to conform to the other associated characteristics of such a diagnosis. I think, essentially, that there are two schools of thought – either shaman are directly contacting supernatural entities, or they are accessing some part of their subconscious mind. The former appeals to my romantic, superstitious side, the latter to my sceptical, psychological side. I have to say, though, that I find both notions equally fascinating – am I contacting something supernatural, or some usually hidden part of me? You will have to make your own decision on what it is that you believe.

Okay. I’ve found a power animal. How do I ‘get back’?

If you’re listening to Wychazel’s ‘Spirit Journey’ track, that’s easy. As soon as the beat of the drum changes (what we call a ‘recall signal’), then it’s time to come home. If you’re drumming yourself, or listening to a different recording, and you just feel like it is time to return home, begin to imagine that you are rising into the air of the lower world and that the sky becomes the bottom layer of your lake. Start to float back up towards the surface of the lake, which you imagined earlier. As you pass through the lake, imagine all that was stripped away from you, as unnecessary for your spirit journey into the lower world, is gently returned to you. Now began to visualise going back up through the soil and eventually through the roots of your tree. You will find yourself emerging from the entrance beneath your tree – I like to nod a little gratitude of thanks to my tree at this point. You can now open your eyes, feeling alert and refreshed. Remember to write down any message or images, which you have received.

I saw some images but I don’t really understand what they mean…

What I love about journeying is that you don’t need a priest or guru (or a shaman for that matter!) to interpret these messages for you. They are uniquely yours. This is where shamanism so differs from the organised religions, which tell their followers that only they can interpret the spirits, the will of God, or only their Great Book has the answers. By all means ask friends, family, a shaman or Wikipedia for their interpretation but please know that your own interpretation is paramount.

That all sounds wonderful but how on earth am I going to remember all that on my journey?

I’ve gone into lots of detail in this blog but, I promise you, it’s really fairly simple. So, to summarise, for a lower world journey:

1. Set your intention (if it’s your first journey – this is to go to the lower world and find a power animal)
2. Envisage your tree and go down the rabbit hole beneath it
3. Go through the soil till you reach a lake
4. Descend through the lake till you reach the lower world
5. Find a power animal and ask for its message

To return from the journey, envisage rising into the sky of the lower world, until you find yourself floating up through your lake, then up through the soil and out through your rabbit hole.