Guest guest Posted June 13, 1999 Report Share Posted June 13, 1999 I loved that! Why don't you tape it and make it available for public use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 1999 Report Share Posted June 13, 1999 Hi Folks: Haven't gotten the heart chakra post finished, but I promise, will be posted very soon ;-) In the meanwhile, I'll share a simple technique for doing journey work which I have found particularly effective as a self awareness tool. I am not interested in cautionary tales, so if someone is interested in trying to scare the locals, please restrain yourself. I am discussing this technique at present as a tool for internal exploration and nothing more, although journey work certainly has many other applications. Journey work might be equated to conscious dreaming or self hypnosis, but it is neither one. Its roots are in the indiginous shamanic techniques used for breaching the boundaries of middle world reality for clarity and support. The method I learned is the " core shamanism " method from Michael Harner's classes, and if you are interested in working with it more in-depth I would recommend " Way of the Shaman " or taking a class with Foundation for Shamanic Studies faculty. In many traditions there are three " worlds " ... upper, middle, and lower. Travel to the upper world is for spiritual or higher guidance, middle world work is for clarifying 'real life' situations, and lower world journeys are for working with nature, our " power " , healing on physical and emotional levels, etc. It is mixing metaphors, but you might compare the upper world to work with issues from the heart chakra up, and the lower world to work from the heart chakra down. You will need a couple of things to facilitate your journey work: a dark quiet space, something to cover your eyes (bandana or sleep mask), a comfortable place to lie down, and a source of monotonous sound. Here again, it would be nice to have a person drum or rattle for you, but barring that, there are tapes and CDs of different types of music that are conducive to entering trance state because of the slow monotonous character of the music. The FSS has a wide selection, and although I'm not making any money off of them (!), I'd encourage their offerings because they are good quality and have " call backs " so that you know when a specific amount of time has passed and it is time to end your journey. You can check those out at http://www.shamanism.org/catalog.html It takes some practice at first not to fall asleep when you attempt to journey. It may also take a little practice to visualize. Don't worry about what is " right " and " wrong " . I'd also suggest you have a journal close by so that when you return from your journey you can write or draw your impressions right away, as you would when working with your dreams. Remember that you are plumbing into some deep places, and if you find that you are awakening some frozen memories or feelings that are uncomfortable to deal with, please seek support from a professional counsellor of some kind. (There is my standard disclaimer ;-) OK. So you have your supplies and you're ready. Get settled, turn off the phone, and formulate a plan. It is important to be clear as to what your purpose is for the journey, or you will just wander around, and while that might be pleasant, it is not very useful ;-) This will be a journey to the lower world, so your first goal might be simply to reach the lower world and return. 1. Lie on your back, and cover your eyes; turn on your music or have your friend begin playing for you a dull steady rhythm about 80 bpm. Give yourself a time limitation of 10 to 15 minutes at first. 2. Take deep slow breaths and allow the rhythm to lull you. " See " yourself in a safe place outdoors; look for a place where you can enter the lower world. This could be an animal burrow, a hollow tree, a well, a cave, etc. Size doesn't matter. No matter how small the space, you can adjust your size or shape to utilize it. 3. Once you have found an entrance you like, go inside it and find yourself in a tunnel. I will not describe the tunnel for you as it will be individual, but it does lead to the lower world, so follow it. If you find it is too snug, make it larger. Ask that it be spacious so that you can walk upright if you need to. 4. Begin looking for the end of the tunnel. If you do not see a light or a door or something, ask for it. If there is more than one branch to the tunnel, trust your intuition to choose the correct one. In later journeys, try to use the same access. 5. Enter the lower world. Look around to see where you have emerged, and examine the landscape. If it has taken you awhile to get to this point, you may choose just to retrace your steps for now. When you journey again, you can use this opportunity to ask for someone/something to emerge that you can converse with for assistance. It might be anything or anyone, so just go with it, and ask your question. There are no set rules like the middle world; it's much more an Alice's looking glass kind of place, anything is possible. Just remember that you are always capable of leaving, either through the tunnel or by opening your eyes. 6. When you return, write as much as you can remember. Details may emerge later but your first impressions are important to save. Snippets of conversations, symbols, no matter how insignificant you may find them. You might sit on that for a few days and if you are not satisfied with the results, try again. I would suggest, though, that if you keep going back asking the same question, you will find that your guidance will begin to play " mind games " with you and lead you in circles <LOL> This has run a little long, but that is the basic way to do a lower world journey. Try it out, and if you have any questions, ask away! -- Blessings, Crow " Look for Rainbows in the Darkness " -- Caroline Abreu, BS, RN, CHTP/I, CRMT B*A*L*A*N*C*E Awakening the Inner Healer with " A Nurturing Touch " http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/5114/ Make a connection... // Bodywork's your life? Join Body_Work... //Body_Work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 1999 Report Share Posted June 14, 1999 At 12:12 PM 6/13/99 EDT, you wrote: >PATTIMACK > >I loved that! Why don't you tape it and make it available for public use? Hi all, My computer has been misbehaving - for months. This is the first piece of mail I have gotten from the list in ages. Could someone send me the post that goes with this reply? Sounds like I missed some interesting stuff. Thanks Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 1999 Report Share Posted June 14, 1999 Patti: Glad you liked it so much! Wait until I'm sending you out on errands in the lower world <LOL> Crow PATTIMACK wrote: > > PATTIMACK > > I loved that! Why don't you tape it and make it available for public use? > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 1999 Report Share Posted June 14, 1999 In a message dated 6/14/99 6:14:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time, crow writes: << Glad you liked it so much! Wait until I'm sending you out on errands in the lower world <LOL> >> errrrrr.... nervously wondering who I will find down there. How do I access the higher realms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 15, 1999 Report Share Posted June 15, 1999 Pattimack, Don't make the error of thinking the lower realm is any less holy or spiritual than the upper realm (or the middle for that matter). They are just different places. There are no hard and fast rules, but....... The lower world tends to be the realm of power animals. When you see an animal in the lower world, you can ask it if it will be your power animal. If it feels right, bring it back and perfonce a dance to honor it (act like the animal and feel a rapore with it's spirit). The lower world, to me, is an elemental, earthy place. The middle world is the everyday world of the here and now, but the dreamtime side of it. You probably already know there are many strange spirits that can dwell here! The upper world is where one tends to find teaching spirits. These often, but need not, take a more humaniod form. But again, they can be anything, animal, god(ess) of myth, rock or crystal, or ???? Journey work is Very individualistic. That's why I like it. I see it as the ultimate in spiritual democracy. Everyone has equal right and access to Spirit. Well.....How'd I do, Crow?? mykal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 15, 1999 Report Share Posted June 15, 1999 If you read my 1st email, you probably just said, " He did OK, but he only answered half the question! " I access the all the realms (lower, middle & upper) by using a tree. For me, it is the World Tree. I enter a door in the side of the tree and then make my way down a spiral staircase to a door that opens into the lower world. A door out the back of the tree has led me to the middle world, and climbing the branches (ala Jack & his world tree, er...beanstalk, I mean). Again, there are many other ways. Get helper spirits (power animals) in the lower world first. They can guide you to your access to the other realms -- just ask them! mykal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 15, 1999 Report Share Posted June 15, 1999 In a message dated 6/14/99 10:42:14 PM Eastern Daylight Time, mykal writes: << Journey work is Very individualistic. That's why I like it. I see it as the ultimate in spiritual democracy. Everyone has equal right and access to Spirit. >> Thanx for the words of wisdom -- you were correct -- I was thinking of the 'underworld' as a dark, seamy, black side of the nature -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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