When applicable, research what you have been given. Just like you would when composing a formal dissertation, make sure that you look up more than one reliable reference source before considering something a fact. This should be done when looking into facts about a past life or verifying the details when an entity claims to be a specific divine being.
I would like to interject a point of ethics here. You may delve into your life as much as you want, but you may not delve into the life of another even if you have their consent. At this stage, you do not have enough experience to know where to journey nor to be sure that you are interpreting messages accurately.
Dreams and Visions
There are two other sources that you may gain insight from in the realm of the spirits. They are Big Dreams and Big Visions. Dreams and visions are similar. They usually come unbidden and speak about what you need to know regardless if you had been thinking about a topic or not. Dreams happen when you are asleep. Visions can come from you envisioning things with your mind or daydreaming. Both dreams and visions are generated from within your own emotions and mind. When the dream or vision holds a message from the spirit realm, then we would call it a Big Dream or a Big Vision. It is said that having a Big Vision is dreaming while you are awake.
There is a way to tell whether a dream or vision is simply the construction of your mind or the gateway of the spirit realm. A Big Dream or a Big Vision will feel as real as sitting here in the Middle Kingdom. Your interactions there would make sense and be experienced linearly, and normal conversations are just as they would be in the waking world. A Big Dream or Big Vision will feel very different from a little dream or little vision because you find yourself profoundly moved, and the truth of what you experienced will resonate within your soul. Classic examples of this are seeing a loved one whom you have been mourning or experiencing a visitation from a sacred being, such as an angel, to guide you during times of trouble. Regular dreams or visions will usually be very random and unexpectedly drift from one thing to another. They have no consistency and seem more like a trip through Wonderland since they are fabrications of your subconscious mind.
Usually the Great Spirit will employ Big Dreams and Big Visions as a method of getting your attention when you really need to know something but have not thought to journey on it. Although, this can also be a natural talent, and I am sure that there are several of you that are natural dreamers and visionaries. Ask questions beforehand just as you would with a journey; however, the difference is you will have to wait for the Creator and your helpers to decide when they will respond. Make sure to test Big Dreams and Big Visions just as you would a journey. Here, as with anywhere else in life, the truth will stand and that which is false will fall away.
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Journeying with the Elements
Journeying with the elements will help you in a variety of ways. One of them is that you will be able to recognize the energy of each element wherever you run into it. You will also be able to begin to feel when one or more of your elements are out of Balance and get an idea of what needs to be done to restore harmony and well-being. Although what you experience in the Dreamtime will be very vivid, it is very common to have everything suddenly begin to fade away like a dream once you return to this Middle Kingdom. This is why I strongly encourage you to have your journal right next to you and immediately record what you have experienced when you are doing these exercises. I know personally that sometimes there is so much that I cannot seem to write it all down fast enough. At those times, I usually like to record my voice so that I can later transcribe my experiences.
In the Native American traditions I studied, like in many other parts the world, it is said that the world is made up of five elements. The element of spirit consistently remains in the center of the Medicine Wheel, but which element is assigned to each compass point depends on the tribe. To give you an overview, fire is seen as the Breath of the Creator. Air is seen as movement and thought. Water represents the element of Heart. Earth represents the body and environment. Spirit represents soul and transcendence. In order to preserve harmony and health, these five elements need to be maintained in Balance. Doing so ensures that the energy of life flows around you and through you peacefully and with little resistance.
If there is an imbalance of the elements, then there can be sickness and unneeded destructive chaos that run rampant in a person’s life. I would like to emphasize, though, that order and chaos are both seen as neutral and necessary forces. As I like to tell people, if you have ever moved or repainted your home, then you know that there is always chaos before new order! If you continue along this path, then you need to further study the interaction of these elements because this is critical to being able to determine what someone or a situation might need in order to restore things as they should be.
In Western thought, if someone is sick or if there is a problem, only that particular symptomatic area is looked at. It is only in very recent history that a more holistic view of wellness and health is being adopted by Western cultures. In the Native American viewpoint, the illness is addressed differently. Say, for example, that someone was overeating due to tremendous stress at work and obsessing about it. The condition is not severe yet but can become so if not addressed. The two elements that are out of Balance are earth, because food is involved and any weight issues are being caused in this case by excessive eating, and air, because his mind is restless and he can’t stop thinking about his situation. Western thought would heavily focus on the aspects of his body, which are earth, and his thought process, which is air. Depending on the practitioner, the other elements might not be looked at as closely.
For us, that type of strategy would only be looking at part of the problem. We would first engage the element of water, which is Heart. This element would help us comprehend the deep underlying causes of where this faulty survival habit sprang from. We would then look at energy, which is the element of fire. We would try to understand where he is spending his energy and help him begin to reclaim it so that he could redirect it to something healthier. Finally, we turn to spirit by having him look at the greater perspective of what it is that he wants for himself and for his career, short and long term. It would be very much like adjusting a scale that in the beginning is completely out of Balance because the elements of earth and air are completely tipping the Balance off center. By slowly adding the other elements, the scale becomes more level, and then finally, after the other three missing elements are engaged, we return again to the initial elements that created the imbalance to begin with. We would revisit earth to see how to improve his environment and perhaps suggest a new diet. We would also take another look at air and give him techniques to begin to reframe his situation. This would help him develop a healthier mindset and perspective when working on this health issue
I would like to clarify that if an element is severely out of Balance to the point of causing harm, we would attend to it first and stabilize it before moving on to the others. When you begin to train in this tradition, it is always this way. Balance is a dynamic process. What helps keep things in Balance today might shift tomorrow because circumstances change. The movement of the elements is dynamic within an individual and also within that person’s environment.
The way I’m presenting the elements and the directions they are aligned with is in relation to the tribes I learned from. The directions, the colors, and the teachings I share in this chapter are from the Anishinaabe Nation. The animals are strictly of my own choosing because I feel they embody the element and may make it easier for you to connect with the element you are working on. I have created these exercises to assist you in going further in this endeavor. If you study under other tribes or nations, remember that although the universal teachings will be very similar in the manner that they are relayed and in emphasizing which lessons are important to remember, the compass points and associated elements might be
very different. Even within a nation there can be variations.
I am describing the elements to help you grow in your spiritual practice. The elements can also be applied to bring greater harmony and order within your environment. I would also like to say that here I am using my kin, which are the animals, to assist us in learning about the elements. I strongly encourage you to go back over these exercises with your kin to discover which of them would help hold the energy and essence of that specific element for you.
The techniques of honoring the elements should be kept the same. You will find that each time you honor the elements, you will receive a different insight in addition to strengthening your connection with the element as time goes on.
Earth: The Element of
Creativity and Building Foundations
It is this element that represents our bodies and our environment. In Native American spirituality, they are inseparable. What you do to your environment will ultimately affect you; what you do to yourself will in the end impact those around you and your environment. The element of earth, when compared to all the others, is the slowest moving but the longest lasting. It teaches us patience and perseverance. Through earth’s resistance, we build character and know what we are willing to take a stand for. How incredible it is that what we can feel in our Hearts and envision with our imaginations we can then apply creativity to, manifesting just about anything! Earth’s color is red like the rising of the sun. Earth’s direction, east, represents infancy when correlated to human age. It is the time in our lives when everything is brand new and we do not yet have a complete understanding of the world that is before us. It represents the season of spring when the land becomes fertile once again. Earth is the element that allows us to complete our karmic lessons and makes us focus on what truly matters.
When this element is in Balance, it is like a pleasant land of rolling hills and golden sun. This sacred element teaches us the importance of giving and receiving equally. The greatest example of this is a potluck meal for a large group of people. It would be too much burden on any one person in both time and money. In the beginning, there is nothing but a bare table. As everybody brings something to share, there is such an abundance of food at the end of the gathering that it actually has to be given away! It is true. When we all give a little, then we all have a lot! This element teaches us the value of thoughtful generosity. If you are willing to be in your body and take care of it, then you will have strong health. If you are willing to be of this world and contribute in a meaningful way, then you will be rewarded with a good environment and a happy life. In a way, the element of earth teaches us in instant “karma.” What is inside of you and what you do comes back to you in various manifestations. What we do collectively is reflected back to us in our societies and global environment. When earth is in Balance, we receive nourishment and can see what solid foundations there are to build a life of stability.
When earth is out of Balance, it is like a tremendous earthquake that crushes and destabilizes everything. When this element is out of Balance, then greed becomes a driving factor. Sadly, we see this happening all too often on our own good Earth Mother when so much needless destruction is done for the sake of profit. When this sacred element is out of control, our environment internally and externally becomes increasingly toxic until it can no longer sustain life. This can manifest as weak health or disease in the body as well as instability and conflict in all areas of our lives. When earth is out of Balance, instead of taking time to think about what we are doing, we impulsively jump into things. The result is that there can be long-term harm from those mindless short-term actions.
Power Animal: Monkey
Chattering and smiling at us is the clever Monkey. This Power Animal is honored in many various spiritual pathways. In Hinduism, the god Hanuman appears to be a monkey upon first impression, and the Maya consider monkeys to be the patrons of creative endeavors. Of all the mammals, primates are the closest to us. They live in groups called troops. They teach and care for each other and express a wide range of emotions in a manner similar to ours.
When this sacred animal is in Balance, it represents cleverness with the ability to invent that which is new and captivating. The Monkey is family oriented and can easily adapt and take advantage of any situation, whether it be in the wild or within the cities of humankind. This Power Animal shows us the value of focused hands-on creativity and building. In the wild, some primate species build “beds” of branches and leaves as well as tools in order to make their lives easier and more comfortable.
The spirit of the Monkey entertains and is entertaining. Hence, there is the old expression that something funny or mischievous is “monkeyshines.” This is an animal that allows all generations to coexist within their troops. And so, this Power Animal sets an example for us that we should also appreciate all our generations from the youngest to the oldest. When the Monkey is out of Balance, it becomes very self-serving and greedy. If the animal feels self-important, then it can become aggressive within its troop and pick fights easily. Whenever it is nervous, it chatters and becomes restless and scattered. It will then jump from thing to thing and does not complete whatever it was doing. This is very much like us when we are undisciplined or afraid.
Journey of Earth
Before you go on this journey to reconnect with the element of earth, I want you to take some time to contemplate in detail the next thing that you want to manifest or achieve. Is there a goal that you are working toward? Remember that this is the element of solid foundations and building upon them. I would ask for you to think about what you wish to accomplish in both the long and short term. What would be the result of you successfully completing this task?
Gather what you need and prepare for your journey. Face east and, if you like, have something red in color to represent this direction. Build the Fire of Your Heart. Deeply connect with your body and the life that is around you. Feel the ground beneath you. As you relax, you will naturally connect more fully with our good Earth Mother as you sit upon her. Focus. Begin to envision the Monkey, with his grin and long arms and legs. Look at his long tail that can grab branches and items. Monkey comes to you with a mischievous smile and a knowing face. He beckons you to follow him, for it is time for you to go for your lesson. Follow Monkey through the trees and feel the mesmerizing motion of the swaying branches. The sensation is almost like rocking gently in a chair. You notice that there are other Monkeys that are also accompanying you. You hear many different kinds of birds squawking in protest as they fly out of your path. You go deeper into the forest until at last you come to a forgotten stone temple. All the Monkeys fall back except one, who is the leader. The leader beckons you into a room within this temple. A hole in the ceiling allows for shafts of sunlight to illuminate the walls that are here. The stone is very worn, but clearly there are the symbols of cultures from around the world and throughout time. The Monkey who led you falls back and gestures for you to sit in the middle of the room to gaze upon the symbols.
Recall to Heart and to mind what it is that you wish to manifest. These are thoughts that you had before you began this journey. If you are working on more than one thing, focus on them one at a time. You will notice that certain symbols get your attention or begin to glow in response to what it is you are seeking to understand. See what symbols stand out. Get up and touch them. What is the energy that you feel coming from that symbol? Open your intuitive senses to understand its meaning. Once you have the answer for one question only, then move on to the other. It is normal to feel as if your head is becoming full of information that you can’t quite grasp at the moment and your Heart is brimming from the energy of the symbols and the temple. Do not worry about deciphering things in detail now, for it is more important for you to be in this moment.
Monkey taps you upon the shoulder. If you did not get a chance to get the answers to all your questions, know that you can come here at any time.
It is time to return. Giving thanks to Monkey and to the helpers seen and unseen of the temple, you turn to go back with the troop of Monkeys through the trees. Meet your Guardians and return to the Fire of Your Heart.
Get your journal and draw the symbols quickly, for they may fade like smoke from your memory if you wait too long. Take time to write down everything, for some of the knowledge that you could not grasp consciously while you were in the Dreamtime will begin flowing through you now. Capture everything that you can before it goes away. Sit with what you have been given.
Honor the Element of Earth
It is preferable if you sit upon the ground if you are able to and even better if you are outside and can sit with your back up against a tree. If you are inside, then sit next to a plant, or if you do not have a plant, holding a stone or crystal will work as well. Be within your body and spirit. Feel your life force and your own heartbeat. The connection between you and All Your Relations is easy and strong.
If you are outside, feel the life force of the tree you are sitting up against. Permit yourself to become one with the tree and feel the element of earth, how the roots go deep within the earth and draw that energy upward as it stretches into the heavens through its branches and leaves.
If you are inside, perceive the energy within the plant or the stone or crystal that is in your hands. Feel its essence and its connection to earth. Allow the Medicine of this being to connect with your own body. As this energy joins with yours, it will be resonating within you.
Journeying Between the Worlds Page 11
