Shamanic Journies.....

[MonSno_LeeDra]

Let me preface this with these are my own thoughs and opinions so other's may differ or have experiences that are not reflective of how I view mine.

As one who follows a shamanic type pathwalk I find that the concept known as Journey to be a key element of my practice. Yet just what is a Journey and what does it mean to Journey? Ask a hundred people and you'll probally get nearly as many opinions and definations of what it means. In that light I shall present what the notion means to me and hopefully encourage other's to share thier views.

I suppose the most common for me is what I call a awaken or walking trance journey. It is perhaps the easiest of places to enter into. I really can not say whether one enter's another landscape or simply descends into thier own spiritual landscape or perhaps it is simply a combination of the two.

For me these are usually a situation where I simply fade out and a series of images play upon the third eye. Sometimes they are in color and detailed and appear as if I am sitting in a theatre watching a movie. Other times they are more like a film strip that is played again upon the third eye but almost appear like images that I see in my mind even as my eyes take in the physical world about me.

These may last anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or more. I find these also occur when my mind is allowed to wander or drift. The danger of these to me is that they can occur any time and any place. I find for me they often occur when I am driving and the mind drifts.

Then there are the beat journies. These are journies that are achieved when the mind focuses upon a repeative pattern. The pattern maybe as simple as the beating of a drum or even simply watching lights.

I have achieved these type journies by sitting and listening to the sound of a drum. I have had them induced by simply sitting and listening to the sound of running water or blowing wind in the tree's. The critical facet of these I think is a person has to allow themselves to sink into the rythme of what ever it is they are hearing or watching.

For me I find these to be more for inducing a journey upon the internal landscape of self. I find I encounter facets of myself and Spirit when I allow myself to slip into one of these journies. About the only danger I see is when one encounter's the dark self and are not prepared for the stark contrast they may find.

One may also experience the projection journey. I see these as similar to the above but once the journey starts the shamanic practioner manipulates the journey. By manipulation I mean the practioner will step into the well of worlds or tree of life or some other similar passageway.

For me I step into the trunk of a great tree. Once inside I may travel up the trunk into the upper reaches, I may descend down into the roots and travel into the netherworld. I may even simply sit inside the trunk and allow myself to be pulled into the realility of now and experience the world about me as I view it from a detached state.

Perhaps the most difficult facet of this to explain is that it is never really known as to whether the practioner steps upon an internal landscape or projects upon some external landscape. Yes sometimes we knowningly push our minds and spirit to places we are convinced that are external to ourselves. SOmething similar to an OBE state or Astral Projection. A point where we may actually feel and see the experience of seperating from our physical bodies.

Other times it is more of a sensation of falling into ourselves. Almost as if we stand upon the edge of a great pit and see flame and lights beneath us and we simply have to release our fears and step into the void. Sometimes the fall actually being the journey as we simply try to control and observe the sensation.

As I stated at the begining these are the ways I view things so they maybe unique to me alone. Or they maybe more universal and experienced similarly by others with minor changes. Yet all always involve some sort of internal projection in order to seperate from the physical and step upon the other worlds.

Yet some journies also involve the experiencing and travel into the physical world to contact and become one with Spirit. Perhaps the most common of those is the one that is known as "A Vision Quest". Yet these are not just weekend type jourines but ones that are prepared for and requires many days of cleansing and balancing. SImilar to the notion of the prophits of old going off into the wilderness to be cleansed and remade by spirit. Usually one will have a specific purpose for the quest.

Another type of external journey is that of what I simply call a world vision. Not as complex nor demanding as a full vision quest. These many times occur when we find ourselves in some place in nature and simply relax and allow ourselves to be pulled into the heartbeat of the place. Once relaxed I find I become more aware of what is surrounding me and many times get a sense of a voice or voices in my ears or a pressing sensation of things about me.

So what of the collective you reading this? What or how do you experince the notion of Journeying? There are no right or wrong answers, only different means of taking a journey.

[Shanti]

I cant even begin to try to find words. I dont have the gift of being able to relay my thoughts so fluently as you.
Awesome sharing.

For me journeying was thrown upon me and it took years to even learn what it was all about and what was happening to me.

Now, I understand, some 25 plus years later.

I shift and the depth depends on what ever is needed at the time. I usually have no say in how it progresses.
Sometimes is being more here than there and sometimes its being way more there than here. Heck even there is relative to what needs to be.

All I know is I find what I need to learn in many different ways from many different experiences that begin or may or may not include a journey or many.
My work is never for me directly but as I learn what I need for another I always learn for myself to.

Sometimes its easy and quick and all figured out. Sometimes it takes years of work to find the understanding.

And no 2 journeys are ever alike for me. So I cant lay any out.
I myself only knows how a journey will play and to what depths and wheres, and hows, when and after the journey happens. I rarely know anything before hand other than its time to go. That I always know because if I try to put it off to long I get pulled into it. Better to go myself than shift at an inconvenient time.

My spirit is my guide and its me and it knows whats its doing as it has never let this human down, just sometimes really dumbfounded, for awhile.