This is the third 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. Continuing on from last week, I look again at ‘journeying’ and at some other journeys that you can make. If you’ve not read last week’s blog, or if you haven’t made a journey yet, I suggest that you do these things first before reading on…
I saw some strange images on my lower world journey and I don’t really understand what they mean – can you help?
Remember last week I said that your own interpretation was paramount? I joked about finding answers on Wikipedia but it can actually be very helpful.
That’s not all, though, sometimes there are discoveries to be made, even in the small details of the images which you are shown. For instance, I had wondered why, in the imagery, which my Wolf showed me, Ganesha kept pointing insistently to a blue jewel at its throat. Researching why Ganesha was often depicted as blue gave me another answer.
Even when you think you’ve mined everything you can from the imagery, you can still be surprised by new discoveries. So, for instance, when I told my friend and fellow shaman, Susan Earl, about my research, she pointed out that blue was also the colour of the throat chakra, the area which Ganesha had been pointing to, which gave me yet another answer.
I have come to realise that the more you unpick the imagery, the more you will gain answers to your original question. So, please don’t despair if you’re not having cosy chats with your power animal just yet, you might get some really great illumination from the imagery they present.
So, no, I’m not going to help you interpret what you saw but please don’t give up, try doing a little research because this can be just as much of your power animal’s teaching process as the journey itself.
I’ve made a few trips to the lower world, where else can I go?
Perhaps it’s time, then, to visit the upper world…
So, we start in exactly the same way as we did for the lower world, either sitting or standing depending upon your own personal preference. We open our wirra cocha over ourselves and we begin to drum, or we start a drumming track (again, Wychazel’s ‘Spirit Journey’ is great for this). Remember that we should always set an intention before we journey. If this is your first journey to the upper world, let’s set our intention to meet an upper world guardian. So, as you vocalise that intention, or hold it in your thoughts, imagine that you’re at the base of your tree. Now imagine that there is a tornado forming in front of you.
Do you remember how last week I talked about how writers and artists had been inspired by these journeys? What comes to mind now?
Is this going to have something to do with a yellow brick road?
Great, you got the tornado reference! Yes, indeed, if you like the idea, you can be whisked off to the upper world on your very own tornado, just as Dorothy was blown away to Oz in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Unlike a lower world journey, where the tradition of moving through the ground is fairly established, the exciting thing about an upper world trip is that there are a number of ways of travelling and you should try experimenting with a few and see what works best for you.
Can you give me some suggestions?
Sure, so, if you don’t like the idea of travelling via extreme weather there are lots of options you can explore – you might even develop one of your own unique design.
When I was learning hypnosis and NLP, a common hypnotic induction was to imagine stepping into the basket of a hot air balloon, which works well here too (indeed, you may recall that it was the Wizard’s own mode of transport for arriving in Oz).
Some shamans, particularly of the native American tradition, like to imagine stepping into a fire and rising up into the sky with the smoke, like a human smoke signal.
With the cinematic domination of super heroes, some people like to become Superman, Ironman, or even Neo at the end of The Matrix, and fly up into the sky all by themselves.
An Old Testament reference to upper world journeying can be found in the story of Jacob’s Ladder (Genesis 28:10-19) – Jacob dreams of a ladder stretching from the Earth to Heaven. Like Jacob, then, you can choose to imagine yourself climbing an enormous ladder, which descends from the clouds.
Mind you, climbing all those steps has always sounded a bit too much like hard work to me and I’ve tended to transform the steps into a speedy escalator! I know that some people like climbing, however, so maybe you’ll go with something even more adventurous than a ladder and choose to reach the upper world by ascending a mountain, a rope or even a rainbow?
Okay, I’ve chosen to go with your tornado. Where is it going to take me?
Imagine rising with your tornado high into the sky. Look down on your tree (remember that it’s your anchor point in the middle world) and see how it grows increasingly small as you ascend. As you get higher and higher you begin to notice that you are increasingly surrounded by denser and denser clouds. The clouds become so thick at one point that you find you can step off your tornado (or, indeed, your ladder, your steps, your smoke, or your hot air balloon!) and walk through this dense cloud.
The cloud serves the same function as the lake in the lower world, acting as a cleansing ritual to remove all the things that we do not need to take with us into the upper world.
Continuing through the cloud, you will suddenly find yourself standing before an amazing citadel. Once again, this will be of your own design. You might see a yellow brick road leading to the Great Emerald City of Oz, you might see St Peter standing by the Heavenly gates, you might see a palace made of glass. You will see what you will see. Allow yourself to wander a little bit into this place.
How do I meet this upper world guardian, which I set my intention to meet?
Some call these beings angels, some teachers and some guardians. Sometimes they appear as famous spiritual teachers you would recognise – if you’re from a Christian background, for instance, do not be alarmed at seeing Jesus approaching you! For me, these beings appear quite angelic, as if they are made from pure light. As with your power animal, do not be afraid to ask them a question and have a notepad by your side to jot down their response when you return.
Am I actually meeting Jesus, or an angel?
As with the lower world journey, there are various different theories. With great spiritual teachers, you might be engaging with some part of their consciousness (shaman refer to ‘Christ consciousness’, not purely in terms of connecting with the mind of the carpenter’s son but as connecting with the Great Spirit that particularly inspired him, in other words, a spirit which is something accessible, rather than personal to the biblical/historical figure). You might be connecting with some hidden part of yourself, your subconscious. You might be connecting with your imagination. I’m interested solely in what you gain from the experience. Was the advice you received insightful/helpful? I’m fed up of seeing American Televangelists who claim a direct personal ‘hotline’ to God, so that they can tell you why you should send your money into them and the necessity of their having their own private jet! Why not try using your own personal hotline in the upper world and see if you get some better advice?
Will I get a straight answer?
My personal experience would suggest, no! I have to confess that I find it much more difficult to get a straight answer from my upper world guardian than I do from my lower world spirit guide, my Wolf. For me, these beings appear to revel in their otherworldliness and speak in pretty abstract terms. My own feeling is that they are so far outside our own limited conception of time and space that a linear existence is quite hard for them to comprehend. They will think quite easily in terms of your next ten thousand years of development, when you might be imploring them for information on how to get through a tough week!
Having said that, your experience may be quite different from mine. I tend to prefer visiting the lower world, so I have not cultivated a relationship with my guardian in quite the same way as I have with my Wolf. Nonetheless, I have had some interesting journeys with these guardians and I certainly recommend a regular visit. Sometimes they will offer quite a different perspective from your power animal.
Okay. I’ve found my upper world guardian. How do I get back?
As with your lower world departure, 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 drifting backwards into your dense cloud. As you pass through your cloud, imagine all that was stripped away from you, as unnecessary for your spirit journey into the upper world, is gently returned to you.
Now began to visualise going back down through the sky via the same method which you took to arrive – so, step back into your tornado, your smoke signal, your hot air balloon basket or start to climb back down your mountain, your ladder or your rope and eventually you will find yourself drifting through the upper branches of your tree, your anchor point in the middle world. You will find yourself gently touching down beside 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.
That all sounds wonderful but how on earth am I going to remember all that on my journey?
Again, I’ve gone into lots of detail in this blog but, I promise you, it’s really fairly simple. So, to summarise, for an upper world journey:
- Set your intention (if it’s your first journey – this is to go to the upper world and find an upper world guardian)
- Envisage your tree and rise up into the sky in your chosen mode of transport (e.g. a tornado)
- Go up through the sky till you reach a dense cloud
- Ascend through the cloud till you reach the upper world
- Find an upper world guardian and ask for its message
To return from your journey, envisage drifting backwards into your cloud, until you find yourself floating down through your cloud, then down through your sky in your chosen method of transport until you touch down besides your tree.
I hope that you give it a go and please do let me know if you enjoyed the experience!