Spirit Bear Dreaming

Shamanic practice involves both personal and inner efforts, and a broader approach of working for and with others. The traditional role of shamanic practitioner is to act as intermediary between the community and their adjacent supernatural realms.

It is certainly possible to bootstrap yourself into shamanic techniques with some helpful books and media, but you will eventually and probably, in order to get deeper into the experience, need to make it about more than just your own experience. My path was to start on my own and eventually to travel to nearby places to study with good teachers. I eventually found a local group, seeded around a local shamanic teacher, which met regularly and worked to common purposes.

First, just a bit about the term shamanism. There is the academic study of shamanism, there is the practice of shamanism in native cultures, and there is the use of shamanic techniques by modern western people. The first is fascinating and worth study, especially so if you have the desire to become an academic. The second is worthy of respect and honor, but is not appropriate for others to push their way into that world, nor is it correct to try to wear such a mantle and propose oneself as a representative for people who have their own voices.

The third use, however, is where we can find a place for study and practice as it has been recreated from the fundamental shamanic techniques of all people. Shamanic techniques are the oldest spiritual technology we know about, and we find it at the roots of all great traditions. The spirits want us to participate in this great adventure which is accessible to most people.

A primary notion of shamanic practice is that through the use of shamanic techniques we can send part of our selves to other realms. While there we can interact with spirits to find balance, healing, and help with problems for oneself and others surrounding us in our day-to-day lives. Shamanic practice is not a replacement for day-to-day life, but is for augmenting that life and expanding one's capability and capacity for growth and development.

The basic shamanic technique is to use repetitive sound to put the mind into a state where some part of the mind, a part other than the self-focused chattering voice, seeks into the other worlds. The shamanic universe takes different forms based upon the culture, the traditions, and personal idiosyncrasies, but the basic form divides the world into three broad “worlds”.

First, the lower world, often found “below” us and commonly the source of Animal Helpers. The “above” world is often the place to find Teachers. And the “middle” world includes the day-to-day world and surrounding “planes” that shade off into other related realms. Generally a beginner should avoid the middle world and focus the lower world and perhaps the upper world if desired. Traveling to these worlds is called journeying.

There are many ways to enter a shamanic journey trance, the most popular being a frame drum played at a steady number of beats per second. After sufficient practice one can enter a light trance while playing the drum, but to go deeper, or when first learning, one needs someone else to drum. Many people use a recording of drumming with headphones. More on this later, but the recordings you need to use are explicitly NOT musical, they are always labeled something like Drumming For Journeying. Music with a non-repetitive rhythm or melody will usually engage your music-listening self, but what you actually want is something somewhat boring and loud enough to shut out the inner monologue and let your inner vision journey on. This sound is the vehicle that you will ride on. Once you are journeying the drumming shifts to the background.

Aside from a sonic vehicle, you need to focus your intent. Especially when first starting out, you need to avoid drifting and need to have something to lead you on. Think of your intent as a light that will illuminate the path to the place you need to visit. As your skill matures you may find other modes of using your awareness, but at first you need to focus and your intent should lead you to your goal.

Without a teacher to start you on specific attainable and useful goals and offer technical advice, you will have to be disciplined to stay on track. But if you study up on shamanic practice and work with your experiences you should be able to find a set of worthwhile goals to lead you forward.

If you're reading this and feeling that journeying is “just” fantasy, then you need to learn to shift your critical thinking so that it doesn't block or filter your experiences while you are having them. Beginners need good critical thinking to help them develop discernment, but the critical thinking needs to stand to the side and observe well while journeying, without interference.

The potential problem here is that the critical thinking part wants to define experience to have it conform with expectations while it is occurring. This will sometimes lead you into boring and meaningless areas, and you may miss important things as you prejudge your experience. If you tell your critical thinking part that it can comment all that it wants AFTER the journey is done and recorded, then your experience will lead you to more interesting places, and you will have more fun and learn more.

You should keep a journal of all your journeys. This is critical! I prefer something with a stiff cover to make writing easy no matter where I am, and some people use big blank page books so that they can draw important images. No matter what, you need to keep a journal and write it all down. You will eventually have too much material to recall, so you must write it down. Eventually your journals will reveal new aspects of your path that you might otherwise have overlooked. I keep one big journal with journeys and dreams and notes from my study and relevant courses I might take. It pays over and over as you go on. I cannot overstate this, write it all down!

The first journeys should be to the underworld. Very often the initial journeys for beginners will be to start with the image of a place in the natural world that can lead underground. Pick a place you feel strongly about or find beautiful or attractive. A place like a cave or opening in the earth, a waterfall, or a tree base with an entrance is common. If you think of a place or first see an inner image as you read this, then that is a good place to start. You will journey to this place and somehow enter, open, or dig into the earth. If you have no success, consider alternative places and try a new one next time. I know some practitioners who have used the same place on every journey, and others who have multiple points of entry or who have shifted their entry point over time.

You start by listening to the drumming and relaxing. You will eventually develop a routine to get you going, but what I commonly see people doing is to take some relaxing breaths until they feel calm and centered. Many people cover their eyes, some like to lie on their backs, some sit in a comfortable chair or sit on a meditation pad or blankets. I prefer to sit cross-legged on a few cushions on the floor. Sometimes I like back support, and I ofter wear a sleep mask if light is bothering me. Many people have a blanket to keep warm to compensate for lowered body temperature while you are “away”.

Some people have a little pre-flight checklist in mind and I like to check out my body then review my plans until I am sure I have them in mind. Initially, many people “dig in” to feel comfortable and then focus on the drumming while keeping their intent in mind. As you sit and just let the drumming take over, your inner “vision” will activate. You may feel your attention start to move or flow. Then, when you feel ready, you journey to your destination. Remember, use your intent to help you navigate. If you have trouble, just “ask” for help using your inner voice. You can use it to state your intent.

The first journey is often about getting acclimatized and just “looking” around. Some people see with inner sight, some hear things, some have other sensory experiences or use some inner form of knowing. You can try this journey a number of times until you feel that you have traveled into the ground or sense that you are “under” the earth.

Some people have vivid experiences right off the bat, other require a number of tries until it starts to make sense. Perhaps you will see something definite or meet someone. If so, mentally ask them who they are and what they have to tell you. Perhaps it will seem realistic, or not. It is all OK, let it be what it is. It is like learning to play the harmonica, nobody can directly show you the inside part, you have to learn how to trust and verify what you experience and work from there by doing it. Allow yourself the luxury of trying again as much as you need or like.

The underworld is definitely not the traditional religious view of hell or a place like that. It is a place, and it is “below,” and you don't need to add much more to it than that. In my personal spiritual cosmology I tend to assign it a certain place and purpose, but you should grow you own understanding through experience, study and contemplation.

Once you have a bit of experience entering the underworld you can go to the next step. This second intent is to seek out an Animal Helper. Some teachers tell you to travel around until you see the same Animal three times. Some are not so strict. Go by feeling and need and maybe by what you lack.

When you meet an Animal Helper, and it may take time so don't stress about it, understand that this is a relationship, so it might not be just sweetness and light. In my first journey I met a large and intense Animal that was confrontational and who tested me in some unpleasant ways, but who also immediately changed me in a positive way. But many of my day-to-day relationships are like this, too, they come with conflict and great energy and are sometime a bit too intense, so it is no surprise that this happened to me while journeying. Many others that I know have large and powerful helpers full of sweetness and support and power. It is impossible to predict specifics, but I think we tend to get what we need at that moment.

Some people have mythological Animal Helpers, or creatures they cannot identify or which don't seem like they should be living beings. That's quite all right, I find that the reasons become clear over time, so don't stress or try to make journeying conform to expectations. See what it brings you.

Many shamanic practitioners meet and work with many Animal Helpers over time, so don't automatically buy into the notion that you have one Animal Helper or are locked in somehow. Some folks call them Power Animals, but I prefer Helper as it is a more accurate description, in my experience. Once you have met an Animal Helper you can ask them to show you what you need to know and ask them for help any time you need it. This is important: ask for help when needed. Ask them what they need and what they can do. If you want to develop deeper skills, you have someone who can help you, so build a relationship.

Once you have an Animal Helper you can more easily explore the underworld or focus in on learning specific things you need to help you in your life. Some teachers will have you journey to the upper world to meet a Teacher or a Higher Self to ask advice. You should ask your Animal Helper to lead you to the upper world. They should be able to lead you there but might not come with you, or only come part way with you. Teachers generally offer help and advice, but my feeling is you should not bother them with trite questions. Shamanic practice should lead to improvements in other areas of your life, so don't be afraid to ask for help about jobs or mundane subjects or fixing problems. The spirits want you to succeed!

I do suggest avoiding travel in the middle world until you have experience, and you have one or more strong Helpers. It is a good policy to always be accompanied by at least one Animal Helper on every journey. They will be able to help you understand things when you are unsure and will warn you when appropriate. More than once I've had a helper jump out in front of me and become powerful when they see a problem that I missed. It is important to develop some close relationships with Helpers and to have fun and play when possible. Spend some time running or flying or swimming with them, as fits them. Relationships in the spirit realms require discernment as they do in the day-to-day world, so don't take them for granted.

Beyond these things, you are only limited by imagination and your goals. One of my favorite journeys is to revisit dreams that have given me a strong feeling and which I feel need some deeper understanding. I learned this technique from Robert Moss and have used it hundreds of time to get more information and to query a dream for more help.

I have had marked success reentering nightmares, which from my perspective are dreams that frighten you to get your attention about something important. I've also had great success journeying into tarot cards, runes, the lives of my ancestors, stories from great mythologies and travel throughout time and space. There really is no limit, and it can open you to vast areas of knowledge of which you have been unaware. And it also requires lots of study and research as a result!

If there are no teachers in your area, and you have made some journeys and feel a calling to this practice, then seek out teachers who do workshops in reachable locales. Making an effort pays off, I find. I work with a local teachers and my circle of peers now, but when I first started out I had to travel many hundreds of miles to attend the odd weekend workshop to learn more and share with other kindred souls. I've also participated in a few online groups and have even done some journeys with friends on the other side of the globe over the internet. Working with others greatly increases your learning as it gives you confirmation about what is working, and that really opens up things in a nice way.

This piece has gone on quite enough, so here are a few resources. I first learned to journey on my own as I was studying deeper into dreaming and discovered the “Dreamgates” audiobook by Robert Moss, which included a good introduction to journeying as a way to revisit dreams. I've attended a number of his workshops that mix dreaming and shamanism and have read most of his books and have learned much from Robert.

For something a bit more focused on shamanic practices, per se, I think that “Awakening To The Spirit World: The Shamanic Path Of Direct Revelation” by Sandra Ingerman and Hank Wesselman covers a lot of territory and includes a drumming CD that you can use. Both are well-known practitioners who have written a lot and are worth some attention and study, I've read many of both of their books. This book was published around 2010, so there are possibly many used copies around if price is an issue.

I've also found books by Tom Cowan to be worth reading. Michael Harner's “Way Of The Shaman” is the foundation book for a lot of the modern efforts and most serious practitioners have read it. He also has produced a series of journeying recordings of drums and of rattles that are very good. His Foundation for Shamanic Studies is worth checking out and includes links to classes and teachers all over the world.

If you just want an inexpensive drumming track to start out you can locate Frauke Rotwein's “Shamanic Journey Drumming 3” album on Amazon and download track 2, “Multiple Drumming” for 99 cents. It is 30 minutes long, which is plenty long for a beginner.

As a recording to use for journeying I prefer “Shamanic Journey Drumming: Spirit Passages” by Evelyn Rysdyk and C. Allie Knowlton, which is includes a callback that you can trigger with a button press, to skip forward, when you are journeying. A callback is a nice thing to lead you back from a journey. (I have a friend who always keeps a bit of chocolate around to nibble on while they are writing up their journey on return. Fun and grounding!)

Just these few people are a good start and will naturally lead you to others. Best of luck!

~~fran

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