The Journey Pathways

In shamanism, we travel the seen and unseen worlds through a waking dream state or journey to divine and interact with energetics that impact the health and well-being of individuals, plants, animals and the natural world.

We are able to do this because everything is connected through a fluid fabric of space and time.  The expression of life itself is just as much about the form as the formless.

When we are able to get clear and open, our perception is beyond what most people have accepted as ‘normal’.  Life gifts us with such beautiful potentials.

In the journey state, we travel inwards not outwards.  We are not going away from here.  We are going into here.  The worlds we go to are inner worlds.  These inner worlds - our healing consciousness is connected to the Universal consciousness.  For instance if I am working with a point in the past, I do not leave this time, I go into this time to access the past.  If I am working with someone or some place far away, I go into that place through the present moment where I am.  Similarly, I can invite that place or person here into this place.

I do not leave this body to experience beyond the body.  It is this life that allows me to experience beyond this life.  It is this body that lets me break the illusions of confinement and experience the infinities that the body gifts us with.

In this sharing today, I want to point out the importance of the pathways in journeying.

I find that many people overlook the importance and the significance of these aspects of journeying.  I think it is because everyone wants to get to the other worlds!  And do what needs to be done!  And find out what ‘needs’ to be found.

Yet, the route and the important places or locations along the route that you travel to reach either the Upper or the Lower worlds is a power-filled and steady place that gets you there.

These pathways are the steps you take into your own healing consciousness and for that they become your friends, your helpers, and very importantly your way home.

Often they are skipped over or glossed over as simple steps.  They are even trivialized and set aside as "been there” / “done that” concepts.

When you come to your pathways as your way into your healing abilities, and when you ask for this depth, something beautiful unfolds.

If you are having trouble with your journeying, one of my first questions is, “What are your pathways like?”  When I privately mentor shamanic practitioners, I get to know their practice and we get to really explore this in detail, looking under the rocks and behind the branches, pushing and stretching to build the abilities of healing consciousness.

Here are some of the benefits or gifts of these pathways:

• When life gets challenged and you find yourself in some way unwell, unbalanced, emotionally charged or just tired, your familiar pathway - tried and true will always carry you and align you to your practice.  This does require that you have walked the walk and established your well travelled pathways.  You will have to put in some learning time first.
• The pathways clear your energy field.  They require that you drop the agendas, stories and any ‘baggage’ that you are carrying prior to the journey.  They focus you and ask you to be the clear and hollow bone.  This is especially true at the barrier before the Upper or Lower world.  I recommend that you always feel the barrier before the world.
• Because your pathways are familiar, they can introduce some nuances that are important highlights.  When something shifts color or perhaps a different animal spirit comes in or the timing of the travel is different… you really feel the message.  The familiarity gives you the opportunity to sense nuance.