Past Journeys
Hello to my return journeyers. A warm welcome to my semi-constant journeyers. And, a very special welcome to my new journeyers.
I am so glad you’re here.
The shift into Autumn has me reflecting upon past journeys. I think it is particularly important to record your journeys in some way or another. When I first learned to journey, I recorded mine in a small notebook. I did most of my journeying while rocking Madelyn in the darkness of her nursery. I quickly found this method to be cumbersome, although I relished in the almost lost art of pen to paper. My journey recordings have since been typed, sometimes in a hurried fashion, just before the teachings slip away under the shroud of the conscious mind, in an email sent to myself and filed under "Journey Work."
Some of the last journeys that I travelled with Kriket (my late Shamanic teacher) are saved in this folder.
As I have said before, dear journeyer, your Anchor Spot is the best place to begin every journey – at least in the beginning. If you haven’t developed a relationship with your Anchor Spot, you can listen to my guided Anchor Spot Journey.
I have been seeking a topic for this week’s blog on The Shaman’s Thoughts for some time, and the topic has been elusive. Just yesterday, I was fortunate enough to sit with a soul that is very dear to me, and her presence – which is often strong and much like the wind – blew free the cobwebs in my mind and scattered the dust from my eyes.
I dug into my folder and as Spirit would have it, happened upon one of my very earliest journeys.
It went like this...
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I began in my Anchor Spot, but this time it was different. I no longer found myself standing before the cool waters of the lake. This time, I had left my physical body rocking Madelyn in her nursery and could see my energy body climb out of the nursery window to stand in my backyard before the great maple tree.
I asked my Critical Self to step aside, and she begrudgingly disentangled herself and sat in a lawn chair I had placed at the outer North aspect of my (new) Anchor Spot. She, my Critical Self – sometimes known to others as the Self Critic – had been dominating my thought forms for a few days. Her voice was scratching and persistent even now, and my Higher, Healed, Whole Self felt that she needed some restraint. I recalled, even in the journey state, Kriket’s reminder that sometimes the Critical Self needs reminding of her purpose – to keep me safe. I spoke to her softly and reminded her that while journeying, I would be completely held by the relationship to Spirit and any Helping or Healing Spirits that may come to assist me today.
As she settled into her chair, I stepped off my deck and shapeshifted into dust. The Great Winds blew me into the branches of the Maple Tree and up into the sky. I could feel the intense swirling sensation, and my perception of moving both at great speed and in an upward direction intensified. The colour of the sky shifted to white and then into total darkness.
For a moment, I perceived the Moon and stopped to rest. Then, there were millions of stars. Then, again, blackness.
The somatic sensation was comforting – a feeling of being held. In time, I felt myself land on a hard seat, and my hands came into view as they felt the smooth wooden table before me.
Around the great wooden table were several figures. This was my first encounter in the Upper World with Spirit Guides, Helping Spirits, or possible Ancestors.
I could hear a robust conversation occurring, many voices speaking at once.
In a moment, or maybe an eternity, the figures became clearer. To my left, Father Sun; in front of me, Grandmother Moon; to my right, someone I did not recognize; and right behind me, there was the Spirit of Death.
I asked the Spirit to my right to know them. The Spirit introduced themselves to me as Time.
I remembered to ask my question, “What am I doing here?” They were speaking amongst themselves. I remembered the importance of offering gifts to energies in the Spirit World and placed what I had on the table.
Death was the first Spirit to speak to me. Death said, “I will take you when it is time.”
Then, I was given a bag of golden coins. I asked for clarity on their purpose and received only silence. Something for me to contemplate upon my return to mundane reality.
I could sense that my time in the journey state was ending.
I asked again, “What can I receive? What am I doing here?”
The Spirits looked at each other, and I could feel my heart aching. I could feel the void in my heart that I had longed to fill.
Grandmother Moon reached into the night sky, pulled down a star, and placed it in my heart. She asked me to remember that I am of the dust of stars. As long as I can remember, I have been seeking ways of healing my heart.
Just as quickly as I entered the Spirit World, I was swept out of the Upper World and down through the atmosphere.
When I arrived in my Anchor Spot in front of the Maple Tree, my Critical Self was waiting rather anxiously. I picked her up and, this time, placed her on my back instead of inside me and said, “I will only carry you for a little while.”
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The Spirits that made themselves known to me in this journey have since become companions in the Spirit World with whom I have endeavoured to build relationships. Journeying into the Spirit World is very much about relationships and, sometimes, juxtaposing relationships. Every Helping or Healing Spirit that you encounter has some medicine or wisdom for you. The wisdom that the Spirit offers you may be partial or incomplete. It may require contemplation or further exploration. Sometimes, the wisdom is as straight up as it can be – no need to perseverate.
I have worked with Death deeply since this journey. I have continued to seek understanding of what happens to the Soul when the body dies. I have built relationship with cross-cultural understandings of stories around dying and death.
Death makes herself known to me in the Autumnal season as I look around and watch the fullness of the Harvest give way to decay – a close ally of Death.
When you journey, the most important ally to create a relationship with is your Power Animal. Your Power Animal or Guardian Spirit is a benevolent Spirit that protects your energy, body and Soul as you travel through non-ordinary reality / planes of consciousness. The relationship you nurture with your Power Animal is essential to ensure you retain your sovereignty when returning from the journey state. Sovereignty of your own physical and energetic body reduces the likelihood of spirit intrusion (a topic for another day). If you need support in connecting with your Power Animal, I’ve created a Power Animal Retrieval journey for you.
In some traditions, individuals do not reveal their Power Animal to others. The relationship is considered sacred. You can always journey to your Power Animal to understand if revealing your relationship is agreeable.
The first Power Animal that offered to support me in the Spirit World was Tiger. I often smile when I revisit the journey to meet a Power Animal because a Tiger is not native to where I live in North America. I remember questioning how this could be the Power Animal to support me.
When a Power Animal or a Helping Spirit makes themselves known to you, walk gracefully with them. They have much to teach you. Every effort should be made to study them and learn how to bring their gifts into your daily life. Tiger taught me about Power – how to harness my power and also how to protect it. Tigers are amazing swimmers, and this relationship to the element of Water taught me much about the magic and mystery of the depths of the emotional self and the great unknown. In particular, the Siberian Tiger (which is how my Power Animal presented itself) are untiring travellers.
I believe this to be one of the most significant gifts Tiger ever bestowed upon me, and undoubtedly influenced the birth of my work as a Shamanic healer.
Tigers are greatly revered in many cultures. The tiger is sacred to Kali, the goddess of creation and dissolution. Tiger has brought me through the death and rebirth cycle many times since our meeting.
I hope that you have found this entry of The Shaman’s Thoughts to be awakening for you in some way. I hope that you journey to your Power Animal or journey to the Upper World to seek clarity on a big question or two.
As always, thank you for your kind attention.
Until we meet again in this time, this place, this space – happy journeying.
- Heather
