Students at the two-day basic shamanism workshop learn to journey, a trance-like state used to connect with divine wisdom. In shamanic journeys, we travel into the spirit realms and seek guidance and healing from compassionate helping spirits.
We go on Lower World journeys to connect with the wisdom and support of Mother Earth and to gain insight into our subconscious. Lower World journeys begin by traveling down, usually through some kind of opening in the ground. For example, we might step into a hollow space in a tree trunk and use that to descend.
We might also access the Lower World by entering an animal burrow, a cave, or a spring at the bottom of a pond.
In Upper World journeys, we connect with Father Sky and the wisdom of our higher self. In these journeys, we look for a way to go up – by climbing a mountain, flying on the back of a bird, or climbing to the upper branches of the tree of life.
It’s always fun to hear the creative ways that people begin their journeys. One memorable example is a student who imagined blowing on a dandelion and riding the seed fuzz to the Upper World.
We begin our journeys in a familiar place in nature that feels safe and welcoming. In our first few journeys, we experiment. Once we find openings we are comfortable with, we continue to use those in future journeys. Having a consistent access point creates a template. We receive an extra boost of energy from the repetition because our intuition and our soul recognize the energy and relax into the experience. Through journeying, much clarity and healing await us.
This work is real, and it matters.
August 26, 2021