Journeying is an ancient and powerful skill, practiced by energy workers of many traditions. The specific process can differ based on culture and cosmology, however Journeying has many core similarities that can be learned and experienced by everyone.
Journeying is the practice of accessing wisdom from other realms of consciousness.
For cultures worldwide, reality is divided into three main realms: the Lower, the Middle and the Upper Worlds.
The Lower World is what Carl Jung called the collective unconscious; the Middle World is the sacred aspect of our manifest, physical reality; the Upper World is the field of vision and holds our becoming. Shamans work in all three realms, moving smoothly between them on behalf of others and for our own healing. It is how we navigate the waters of the soul.
Wisdom and guidance derived from journeys are amplified as shamans come into relationship with our spirit guides and the forces of Nature. Ultimately, we are aligning ourselves with the vibration of the Earth and “dropping in” to wherever our compassionate helping spirits are calling us. We access an wealth of knowledge and information that can be used in daily life.
Engagement in these worlds uncovers both wounding and healing, recovers resource and resilience, and aligns us to our true nature.
Aligning with the Earth’s Vibration
The shaman journeys in non-ordinary reality by using repetitive, percussive sound which shifts our consciousness from beta to alpha states, into a light trance. Humans are built to journey and we can do it intentionally, enhancing our effort with practiced focus and vibration. Drumming is most frequently used to carry shamans into the Three Worlds. In Siberian shamanism it is the horse that the shaman rides into the underworld, or the heartbeat of the earth in many native North American traditions.
Shamans discover places of power from which we launch our journeys. These can be places on the Earth that we have known, like a stream or a mountain. Or, our access point can be imaginal and fantastical places of power. In Mongolia, shamans journey into the Three Worlds from a tuft of grass. In Northern Europe, medicine men and women journey up or down the trunk of the great World Tree.
All Rising Fire students learn journeying to the Lower, Middle and Upper Worlds in single day classes and in the two-year process of our Medicine Wheel training. Join us and and develop a direct relationship with the source, a way to explore deeply on your own!
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