The method for journeying that I describe here is the same method that you will use regardless of which realm you will be traveling to. I will describe the different worlds of the Realm of Lower Earth, the Middle Realm, and the Sky Kingdom in detail and how to journey to each one in chapter 6. I ask, however, that you complete and become comfortable with how to journey first. Developing a strong foundation in your practice and making it second nature now will help you avoid frustration later. In Native American belief, everything is a sacred circle. So it is important to remember that it will be the same steps to return to this world as it was to go out into your journey, but in reverse sequence.
Gather What You Need to Journey
Make sure that you are in a good space in body, mind, and spirit. Don’t forget your smudge and smudge feather. Prepare what you’re going to use as a drumbeat or flute music to journey with and to call you back. It will be easier for you to journey if there is a drumbeat, although I do have some students who like to use Native American flute music. Especially in the beginning, it is okay to use a soundtrack that is devoted to shamanic journey. As you build your stamina, you will find that you will be able to journey for longer periods of time. It is very useful if the music or drumbeat has a point that signals when it is time for you to return. I have a free audio support that you can use on my website at eagleskyfire.com.
Set Your Intention Before Journeying
In everyday life, you set an intention of where you would like to be when you travel and what you would like to accomplish once you get there. It is equally important to focus on this and where you would like your end destination to be on the spirit side. When you first move into a new area, everything is unfamiliar and you have no idea where anything is, but the more you travel within it, the more familiar you become with the inhabitants and where to find what you need. The same will be true as you venture more into the spirit realms. When you complete chapter 6 and have journeyed at least once to each world, you will then have an idea how to select which one to travel to. For now, you are in the beginning of your practice exploration, and being able to consistently reach a realm is sufficient. The important thing is to get into the habit of setting a clear focus on what your goal is and which realm you would wish to reach every time you journey.
Purify Your Space by Smudging
A final preparation that is imperative is purifying your ceremonial space and yourself by smudging before traveling in between the worlds. Smudging is also called blessing off. This ritual serves the practical function of putting you psychologically, mentally, and emotionally in the right space. From a spiritual standpoint, this is a formal request to the Seven Arrows to create a sphere of protection and assistance while you are practicing your shamanic techniques upon the Good Red Road.
Smudge is also the name for the aromatic herbs that are bundled together. Everything in the smudging ritual has a meaning. The herbs that are burned carry the raw essence of the prayers. The most common bundles are made up of cedar and sage. Cedar and sage are like a sacred couple because their energies complement each other. Sage takes away that which is not necessary. Cedar brings in that which is needed. Burning them together honors the Balance between the divine masculine and the divine feminine. The feather represents the manner in which you would wish for your prayer to manifest. A wild turkey feather is one of the easiest feathers to acquire. The turkey feather represents that you are coming in the spirit of innocence, fellowship, and goodwill. The fire that is used to light the herbs represents the Breath of the Creator. The smoke is sacred because it is the Breath of the Creator made visible.
The Seven Arrows and Their Gifts
Here I will describe each of the Seven Arrows and some of their most prominent traits. These traits are the lessons and spiritual gifts that they bring to us. What I share here only scratches the surface and is by no means exhaustive.
The Spirit Keeper of the South helps us see the world without preconceived notions. This Arrow opens your eyes like the eyes of a child. This is the direction of creativity, discovery, innovation, and laughter. The Spirit Keeper of the South brings the gifts of innocence, fellowship, and goodwill.
The next Arrow is the Spirit Keeper of the West. It is the place of going beyond fear and death. The power of transformation that comes from successfully moving through the storms of life. The west is the place of going into the Great Silence to hear the Voice of the Creator within you. This Spirit Keeper watches over the place of dreams, which is the beginning of manifestation.
The next Sacred Arrow is the Spirit Keeper of the North. This direction watches over the pathways that lead into the sacred realms. It is the place of ancient wisdom, of connecting with our Sacred Ancestors and divine beings.
The Spirit Keeper of the East is the Arrow that watches over the Breath and Fire of the Great Spirit. It is the energy of a new day and new life. This is the direction of beginning a new path and seeing everything as if for the first time once more. This Spirit Keeper helps you see the details of a situation or relationship and how it might impact your future.
Earth Mother represents the divine female face of the Great Spirit. Like a good mother, she not only gives us material things for us to survive but nourishes us with all that we need so that we may thrive in body, mind, and spirit. She brings stability and foundation.
Sky Father represents the divine male face of the Creator. Like a good father, he teaches us when to speak and when to listen, when to act and when to be still. His face is ever-changing, reminding us that life, although dynamic, can still be peaceful and beautiful despite the winds of change.
The last Sacred Arrow is the most important of all: the Great Spirit who dwells within you and in all things. The Great Mystery is in all things and beyond all things. All things come from and ultimately will return to the Creator.
Smudging Exercise
Meditate upon these teachings as you begin to offer the smudge. Which tribe’s tradition you are following determines which compass point you start in. In the Taino Nation, they start all their ceremonies, including the smudging ritual, by facing the south since it is a place of innocence, like that of a child. This is the practice that I use for all my rituals. Since you too are in a “state of innocence,” I ask that you begin there. The smoke is fanned by a feather as you move it around you. Light the smudge so that it gently smolders and offer it to the Seven Directions: the four compass points (make sure you close your circle!), Earth Mother (fan the smoke at your feet), Sky Father (over your head), and finally the Great Spirit (over your own Heart).
As you offer the smoke to the Seven Directions, it is important to understand to whom you are offering this smudge and why. It is not merely the reciting of words but connecting with each of the Spirit Keepers with an open and pure Heart. Fan the smoke four times in the direction of the Spirit Keeper that you are offering it to while at the same time focusing on the gifts and your request for protection. Be still for a moment and connect with the energy of that Arrow before turning to the next Sacred Direction. We always turn clockwise, turning toward the right, for that mimics the movement of Father Sun in the sky. This is the way of order and harmony with the natural world. Sit quietly and feel the energy of the Medicine Wheel that you have now created around you.
The ashes that are produced from burning smudge should never be thrown out! It is considered highly disrespectful. The ashes need to be given back to the earth. If you cannot bury them, then offer them with a prayer of gratitude and cast them into the wind. However, you may also place the ashes in the soil of a potted plant. (I have observed that this seems to act as an energetic plant food. Do not be surprised if that particular plant suddenly has a very healthy growth spurt.) As always, on the Native American path, giving the ashes back to Earth Mother has both a spiritual and practical component. From a spiritual standpoint, offering the ashes back to the earth is like honoring the life of a soldier who
gave their life to protect you. The plant gave its life to carry your prayers. It is also a way of Balance. As the smoke has carried your prayers to heaven, the ashes act like seeds that ask for your prayers to become manifest here on earth. From a practical standpoint, giving the ashes back to the earth nourishes the next generation of plants. It closes the Sacred Hoop of giving and receiving equally.
If you cannot burn smudge, you can buy it in liquid form. You can usually purchase it at a holistic or metaphysical shop, at a health-food store, or online. Typically, the brands that offer liquid smudge honor the Sacred Hoop, which is to say they are eco-friendly and socially conscious. Spray the essence into the air in the direction that you are facing and fan the offering to the Seven Arrows with the feather as if it were smoke. Follow the same routine to offer the liquid smudge to the Seven Directions as described in this section.
Journeying
It is time now to make sure that your energies are Balanced in case you need to do the over-positive or over-negative exercises before you proceed further. Focus on relaxing every single part of yourself. Relax your eyes and the corners of your mouth. Loosen all the muscles in your shoulders, your arms, and your hands, down to your fingertips. Focus on your breath as you breathe in. Notice how that sacred breath feels as it goes over your breastbone. Soften your belly and your back, relax every muscle down your legs, your feet, and your toes. Your feet will naturally connect more deeply with the ground beneath you.
Begin your Waterfall. Let your senses be completely taken up by your breath and with the sacred flow of Power moving through you, connecting you to Earth Mother, Sky Father, Great Spirit, and All That Is. Begin to focus that energy and feel it within your Heart. Feel and envision this Power as a bright light or fire within your Heart. Let your Waterfall fuel and strengthen this Sacred Fire within. Feel and envision this sacred light growing until it encompasses you. You will feel this Sacred Fire strengthening your Heart and cleansing your entire being. Call to mind and Heart where you are journeying and why. Walk through the Sacred Fire while calling your Guardian Spirit to you. Ask your Guardian Spirit to assist you in reaching the spirit realm you are traveling to. Once you reach that place, pay close attention to the energy of it. Note how it makes your body feel and how it touches your spirit. Be respectful of where you are and who you may encounter. When you’re ready to return, express your gratitude in being allowed to be in this other place. Ask your Guardian to assist you once more to return to the fire of your own Heart. Feel your Heart beating and your own breath. As you exhale, release any excess energy and the Waterfall. Feel every part of your body and enjoy the feeling of relaxation and connection. Open your eyes and allow yourself to fully come back into yourself.
The reason we begin and end a journey by moving through the Sacred Fire in my tradition is to protect you and the spirit beings. As you move into the spirit realms, this Sacred Fire ensures that anything that belongs to this realm remains here. The Sacred Fire burns away and restrains any energy or being that tries to follow you without your consent. Consider this to be one of the original firewalls, just like the one you have on your computer. This is a critical safety measure, so never skip it!
Now that you know the basic steps of this dance, it is time to begin your first formal journey.
Your Guardian Spirit
It is time that you formally meet your Guardian Spirit, or Guardian for short. It is important that you understand the roles that your Guardian plays. Your Guardian Spirit was given permission from the Great Mystery to Walk with you before this incarnation and during this life and to only leave you upon safely escorting you back to the Creator.
Your Guardian Spirit has four basic jobs to assist you with your growth. The first one is as it sounds: protector. Your Guardian is to protect you even from yourself if necessary. The second job is a screener. You should only allow other beings or entities approach you after they are first cleared by your Guardian Spirit. This is an important safety practice that will keep you from harm or trouble as you go forward into the future. Another job is one of acting as an interpreter. If you think about it, even here in the physical world no other creation uses language like human beings do. The vast majority of living beings on this planet use other forms of communication that include scent markings, visual cues, and body language in addition to uttering different sounds. So, if you can imagine that on this planet we are the only creatures that speak the way we do, you will find this true exponentially as you venture forward into the other realms. When another being that does not speak nor communicate in a way that you can decipher approaches you, your Guardian Spirit will be able to interpret what they are trying to convey. Sometimes your Guardian Spirit will send you memories of your own life that will parallel a story or an energy similar to what the approaching being is trying to relay. This will help you avoid misinterpretations as you go forward into the future. The final duty your Guardian Spirit holds is one of acting like a bouncer. If there are energies and entities that become unwanted by being insistent and disrespectful of your time and space, regardless if they are harmful or not, the One Who Watches Over You has the task of removing them.
At times, feeling your Guardian Spirit can be very difficult. Why? That is because the One Who Watches Over You needs to be perfectly in sync with you. In the beginning, it is not uncommon for this benevolent being to use your own mental voice when communicating with you. This is because it is the one voice that, try as you might, you cannot help but hear. You can differentiate your own thoughts from the those of your Guardian Spirit because although your own internal voice is being used, the thought patterns and speech patterns will be different from your own.
Your Guardian will never be degrading, harmful, destructive, or threatening. It will never try to override nor take over your will. However, as you build a relationship with your Guardian Spirit, this being will be able to use its own voice and show you its true form. In the Native American tradition, not all Guardians are angels. Some may be Sacred Ancestors, and others may be sentient spirit beings from the different realms or sacred beings of nature. In addition to your personal benevolent ancestors, Sacred Ancestors of the Land, such as the spirit of a mountain or a river, can also choose to act as personal Guardian Spirits.
Journey to Meet Your Guardian Spirit
Go through the procedures for preparing to journey as I have stated earlier. The first spiritual world that you will visit will be the Fire of Your Heart. When you feel that the Sacred Fire is filling every part of you, call your Guardian Spirit to you. Open your Heart and your mind to sense the One Who Watches Over You. Do not have any expectations. Allow yourself to completely be in this moment of connection with your Guardian Spirit. The energy should feel extremely familiar, safe, and nurturing. Ask your Guardian for a way of being able to identify it. Ask if it has a name that it would like to be addressed by. Pay close attention to whatever impressions you receive. Identifying the unique energy of your sacred protector is much more important than receiving a name or getting a visual image. Ask if there is any message or guidance that your Guardian would like to give you.
You will know you are done when you feel that you are lovingly dismissed by your Guardian or you feel that you are drawn to come back into your body. As always, before you return, express your gratitude.
Moving Beyond Obstacles When You Journey
It is very normal to encounter some difficulties when you first begin your shamanic practice. Here I will describe the most common ones and how to overcome them.
Your Restless Thoughts
This is when your mind is constantly busy and incessantly chatters. A beginner’s mind may misbehave and get in the way of journeying. Since modern culture deifies the mind and teaches that it should be in charge at all times, you may find that your distracted mind will be resistant to being told to be quiet and listen to the Heart.
Set Expectations
If you found tha
t you had difficulties when you first tried to journey, this is normal. I would like to share a bit about my own experiences when I was a young apprentice. It seemed as if all the other apprentices who were training were able to see their first journeys like a Hollywood movie with panoramic vision with full color and sound. Do you want to know what I saw? The inside of my eyelids! Yep, that was all. I was so disheartened. What I could do spontaneously as a child I seemed to fail miserably at when I attempted to train, no matter how hard I tried. I remember wanting to give up, but my Medicine Teachers at the time would not let me. The elders gave me encouragement, but the frustration in my Heart grew into reproachful self-anger. I will never forget the one moment that changed everything.
I was so consumed with self-pity and deep frustration that I had begun to shut down my abilities. One of the elders, a clan mother, approached me to give me a private one-on-one lesson. I was so aggravated at the thought of yet another embarrassing failure that I was borderline disrespectful. I just wanted to be left alone! However, she would not leave me alone nor let me leave until I tried once more to journey. Fine. I just completely gave up and I decided that I would just go through the motions to humor her. Much to my surprise, that was the first time that I truly journeyed with focus and purpose. The training to harness my abilities had not failed after all!
With silent tears streaming down my cheeks, I stared with wonder at my Medicine Teacher. She smiled and gave me a hug of joy. She said the reason that I was finally able to do what the elders always knew I could was because I had thoroughly let go of all expectations, including the ones I was imposing upon myself. It was when I had totally surrendered that my mind had moved out of the way so that my Heart was given the space to be able to create a permanent breakthrough.
To this day, I thank them so much for not giving up on me as I would have done to myself! So if you find that you had some difficulties, persevere and do not lose heart. Perhaps you are a late bloomer like me.
Journeying Between the Worlds Page 4
