In shamanic terms this is called journeying. All shamanic practitioners know how to do this, as this is the way they receive guidance on behalf of an individual or group. The aspect of the journeyer that travels out into the cosmic arena is the conscious awareness. We all have the capacity to be our own shaman, to retrieve answers to our own questions and to travel the cosmos.
I am not necessarily advocating taking a hallucinogenic substance to do this, even though that is a personal choice and path for many. After having taken ayahuasca several times in the jungles of Peru, I can say that it is definitely not the gateway to my higher consciousness. It is said that if a person gets really sick taking this plant medicine, Mother Ayahuasca likes them. She must have really liked me a lot!
Shamans use a drum or rattle to enter the trance state, which is the theta brain wave state, and is 4 to 7 beats per second. There are also a variety of sound tracks that you can purchase and use with head phones if you are serious about doing a productive journey. Michael Harner of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies has created several rattling and drumming CD’s, but I prefer the Hemi-Sync® Meditation CD from The Monroe Institute. The benefit of using a sound track is that it locks your brain wave state into theta, which frees you up to go on your journey without overly struggling to keep your mind relaxed.
Pick a time when you will not be disturbed, sit in a comfortable chair, let your body relax and put on your sound track. As you listen to the rhythm or tones, allow body sensations drop away as you focus on your field of conscious awareness. You will find that your focus of attention will literally be located right in front of your face. It is so important to be in theta during your whole journey so that your rational mind does not interfere and start to manipulate the information coming in.
Always have an intent for your journey. It can be a specific question about something going on in your life such as a relationship or health issue perhaps, or the need for advice on making a decision about something. Then when you have formulated your question, send it out and wait for an answer. I like the technique of putting the question or concern in a balloon, and sending the balloon skyward until it is no longer visible. Again, wait for an answer. You may want to keep a pen and paper handy to write down the insights you receive.
If you would like to venture further out into the cosmos, a guide is a handy being to have around to show you the way. The preferred guide is always an aspect of yourself. In my book “Traversing the Infinite Now”, I give a guided meditation called “Meet your PG”, as in Personal Guide. The book is only available on my web site www.QuantumStargate.com .
If you run out of topics for your journeys, you can always ask your PG to show you something new, just for fun. I’ll never forget one of the journeys that I took in this way. After making this request, I was taken to an area of space that felt unfamiliar to me. In front of me was what I took to be a brown dwarf star. It was earth sized, dark brown all over and had orange streams and swirls of energy crawling over its surface. To my amazement, floating next to me was a space ship also observing the star. This was not a saucer shaped ship. It was elongated with a distinct bulge on the leading end. I was so surprised that I forgot to ask my PG for more information on what I was seeing.
We all shift in and out of theta many times during the day and especially during dreamtime at night. For example, if you take a walk outside at a nice steady pace with a regular rhythm, you will easily shift into theta. This is a great opportunity to let issues drift into your consciousness that need to be recognized, processed and completed. There have been times when I have been working on something, whether an issue or something I wanted to write about, and have taken a digital recorder on my walk so as not to miss any of the goodies that came my way.
What about loosing track of your route while driving in your car? Theta again. It makes you realize that there is certainly a higher aspect of yourself keeping an eye on things in those situations so that you do not kill yourself accidentally.
The path to spiritual evolution, self realization and self empowerment means that we each must go within for guidance and direction. If you learn to journey, many doors will be opened for you!
A great post Carla, thank you
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