Post by Melissa Love on Aug 2, 2014 5:41:25 GMT -8
In Shamanic Journeying, there is another world that you explore to find the answers to life questions, understand reality and find certain things that you might need for others or for yourself to heal and learn. We find our guides, our teachers and our fears here in this other realm. Journeying to this realm can be scary and it can be rewarding but most of all, every single time is a learning experience.
The Other World is divided into three separate “layers”.
The Middle Realm is the astral version of the space we live in now. Astral travellers visit this realm every time they journey to faraway lands or even downstairs of their apartment. You can talk to the trees and animals of this realm. It might look a bit different but it will have many similarities. This is where we can also talk to the shades of friends and family that have passed on.
The Lower Realm is where we meet our guides. This is our deeper world where we can talk to and learn lessons from creatures that don’t usually hang out in the Middle Realm. It is very earthy with very little human intervention in the landscapes. It has deserts, valleys and mountains for as far as the oceans permit. Your guide can give you a tour if you ask and introduce you to your main helpers here.
The Upper Realm is where we meet our teachers. They are very contrasting to the Lower as they are spiritual, sometimes see-through. They are gentle, ageless souls that can guide you towards your higher purposes. The questions you usually bring here are closer to “What is love?” Where, the question of, “Why can’t I find love?” would be asked in the Lower Realms.
The first Journey that you take will usually be to the Lower Realm. The Lower Realm can get you an introduction to your power animal and guides and it’s just… well, fun! Personally, it is my favourite place to hang around. To visit the Lower Realm, you first have to find a place with an opening that you have already been to in your conscious life. For example, if you had visited a lake in your childhood, a tree that had a hole at the base or a cave that you had been to. You climb down into this hole and follow the tunnel to the lower realms. Once it starts to brighten up, you will enter the other world. If you are looking to meet your guide for the first time, call out to them once you get down there and wait for them to show up. Also, have a question ready or ask for a tour of the area.
Some tips for your first journey:
- Make sure you are as comfortable as possible. Turn the lights very low, make sure you have eaten an hour earlier and drink a glass of water. Lower as much distractions as possible. Allow at least a full half hour of your phone turned off, being alone, with no one bothering you.
- Find a drum beat. This drum beat needs to be a half hour long at least. Look for something online. No flutes, no other instruments. No “massage” music or sea waves. Nothing but a hard, rhythmic, boring drum beat. These are here for a reason and shamans have been using them for centuries because they just work. If anything else would have worked faster, they would have done it. And yes, I am also talking to hemi-sync people and brain wave altering “whatever it is”. Those things are great for meditation. But this is a journey. Trust me on this and look for a boring drum beat. I don’t care if you like that pink noise better. Just find a drum beat. A good example is: THIS video.
- Open all of your senses. Many people think that once they get to this lower realm, they will see a whole new world open up for them visually. But what if your strongest sense is clairaudience? Drop all the expectations of visualizing everything. Use all of your senses, not just one. There are some of us that feel , hear or taste more than see anything. Be open to having an experience that you were probably not expecting. Your entire journey can be pitch black but full of fragrance and smells sending messages to your subconscious.
- For spirit guides and power animals. Be open-minded. There is no such thing of a spirit animal being more powerful than another. That squirrel could have the greatest lessons that you will ever need to learn at his disposal and it probably won’t work for you as well as Eagle’s lessons or Brother Bear’s. Pay attention to the insects and the birds around. Just because something is more powerful on our physical realm, doesn’t mean that it will be in this lower realm. You are entering a world where Chipmunk can eat Wolf and where the tortoise can be faster than the hare. Let go of assumptions and expectations. Extinct and Mythical creatures can also show up.
- These beings are not here to serve you. They are independent creatures. They come and go as they please and there will be times that they just don’t feel like talking to you! Take this as a lesson. They will also dismiss you when they feel like you need to go back to your regular reality. Respectfully, bow out and understand their space when needed.
- Power animals do not get jealous and they only fight each other for symbolism. They are just as powerful and important as the next. If you see Salmon swimming desperately to get away from Eagle who is eyeing him below, this is not because Eagle is looking for lunch. It is because Salmon is showing you that you might be being a pansy about something ad running away.
- Pay attention to the demeanour of the creepy crawly things. These are one of our strongest symbols of our mind. If you are seeing a lizard sitting on a tree, quite peaceful, it is friendly. However, if it is hissing at you and warning you to step away, take this warning. It could be a symbol of fear or injury that, if you are not ready to face, can be quite draining for the rest of your day. Just leave it alone unless you are journeying specifically to understand its existence. Not everything in this realm is flowers and rainbows.
- Question absolutely everything possible that can be questioned. If that flower is blue but is usually red in your reality, try to wonder why. If that fish is flying, question it. If your spirit animal is sitting rather than standing like it usually is, question it. This realm will not show you anything that you are not supposed to see exactly how it is being shown. Take everything as a lesson, including if there is nothing here at all!
- When you are done (or your world is done with you!) say goodbye to things. Thank whoever it is that you are talking to and go back up the hole. This is a major step in leaving this world behind and entering your own. Even if the music stopped, try to force yourself to travel back through the tunnel and hole (although this will usually be much faster than your journey down). You want to leave everything behind and close the door for things to stay in that realm and not come bother you in your active life. It gets annoying and very draining.
- To further ground yourself, eat something small after finishing your journey or take a nice five minutes to stand on some grass without your shoes on.
It is also important to take a moment to understand the lessons that were shown to you. Write them down or record them. Go through them again in your mind. Guides, depending on the one you need at this point, can be quite impatient. And they can get annoyed if you go and ask them same question over and over again. They like to do things once and they want you to USE that information before your next journey. It’s called respect. Understand and appreciate the lessons given to you and use them before going on your next one.
The more you practice, the easier this will be. Focus is our one most important skill while journeying. There are going to be some people who can just close their eyes and be there. But it is just as important to learn how to control your experience in this world as it is to get there. We are only as powerful in this world as our focus and concentration are. There are things here that can be really nasty. If you can’t handle yourself (aka focus on a goal for more than 15 seconds) you can be eaten alive if your spirit animal is not there. And some spirit animals just might not show. I know Coyote likes to do that a lot. His lessons are usually, “let’s watch and see what happens and then laugh if they fall.” To be honest it is kinda funny but something it can be quite stressful if the lesson needing to be learned is a hard one. Be a powerful presence in your realm. Do this with learning how to focus. And no, ADHD is an excuse, not a reason. Spend the time and actual effort to understand this and stop being lazy.
These are of course just guidelines. Make your own decisions about everything and do things as you remember to do them while journeying. Don’t worry if you skip any of these steps because it is a personal experience. Just think about it the next time you go out.
All in all this can be a rewarding and really a fun experience to have! Just make sure you are ready for the unexpected and respect the realm and everything in it. You are the newb here so understand that and everything turns out swimmingly. Have fun, make mistakes, learn from them and ask your spirit animal everything. Don’t rely on anyone else’s interpretations of the symbols, just ask them what they are for.
This is your world. Use it wisely.
What are some of your experinces with Journeying?
- Melissa Love
It is a similar sensation (once out of body) to the guided meditation for me. 
