| The
shamanic journey is filled with mystery, and despite its ancient
history, is little understood in Western culture. The journey
is one of the most effective ways to make contact with the
spirits. The altered state of consciousness achieved in a
journey allows you to transcend the limitations of the rational
world and connect with a non-ordinary reality. The shamanic
journey is common to all cultures (even European) and the
nature of the journey is remarkably similar, even in cultures
widely separated by era and geography. In the spirit world,
both time and place are illusions. The lessons from the other
world are universally true, drawing from a collective unconsciousness
that is accessible to all.
Learning how to
journey successfully takes time and practice. The first step
in journeying is stilling the mind, which often involves rhythmic
drumming. Journeying requires you to tune in to all of your
senses. It is vital to activate as many of the senses as possible
to stimulate your powers of observation beyond the visual.
Many people depend too much on the visual in journeying, and
fail to access the total information contained in the journey.
Often, the information will come through a sense of “knowingness,”
a kind of sixth sense that is beyond seeing or any of the
other single senses.
[Excerpt
from the book, Becoming
Yourself: The Journey from Head to Heart by Jan Engels-Smith]
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