Decide on a clear intent, find somewhere safe where you will not be disturbed, and make sure you are grounded and able to come back at will; a short ritual can help you shift your awareness, and Lower-WorldLower-World. The realm of Mother Earth: pure, unspoilt, wild nature, with no technology and no agriculture. Home of the Peoples and of our own Soul, and completely safe: feeling threatened in a journey is a reliable sign of not having reached it. Read the full answer journeys need no special protection. Afterwards, remember that journeys are mythosMythos. Metaphorical, symbolic, felt truth: the truth of art, poetry and shamanic journeys. Shamanic reality is mythologically true, not literally true, which is why journeys are interpreted, never taken at face value. More about this, metaphorically true and not a source of facts: their meaning is first what they mean to you, and research then deepens it.
What should I do before a journey? #
Start with a clear intent. Without one, “the journey will often be unfocused and a bit of a mess. So, always decide on a clear intent for the journey beforehand, and fix this intent in your mind”.1 Then make sure you will not be interrupted: “Make sure the door is locked and that you will not be disturbed.”
The setting matters too. Many people use a blindfold, and you can sit or lie down, whichever suits you. “What is important is to do it in a place where you feel safe and know that you will not be disturbed”.2 It helps to have paper and a pen ready for afterwards.
Do I need a ritual before a journey? #
It can help, though there is nothing magic about it. The purpose of any pre-journey ritual is to help move awareness from ordinary consciousness into the altered state of a journey.3 Each person finds what works for them. Part of this preparation is hollowing-outHollowing-out. The core, lifelong discipline of setting aside the middle-world self, its stories, agendas and preconceptions, so the Guides can work through us. The image: the shaman as hollow bone. Read the full answer, setting the middle-worldMiddle-world. Ordinary physical reality together with its energetic layers: the realm of individuality, separation and mixed intentions, and the only realm where harm is possible. “If there is a hell, then it is the middle-world.” Read the full answer aside. See What are hollowing-out and stalking our stories?
Why does grounding matter? #
Because it keeps you safe. “GroundingGrounding. Returning fully into the body and physical reality; the bedrock of safe practice, and how every journey ends. More about this is the bedrock of shamanic practice”, and “healthy shamanic practice involves having a foot in both worlds”.4 The ability to come back at will is essential.5 Coming back is simple, since “your physical body is your anchor and is already there. All you need to do is to become aware of your physical body again.”6
Do I need protection? #
Not for the Lower-World. A Lower-World journey is safe, so there is no particular need for any additional protection, though smudging or clearing the room does no harm.7 Protection is really a middle-world issue. See Is shamanic journeying safe?
What if a journey does not work? #
Try again, perhaps another day. “It sometimes takes people a few attempts. It is also just the case that some days journeying is easier than others.”8 There is no need to be discouraged.
Can I journey while walking? #
A formal journey is done somewhere you can let go into it, but awareness of the shamanic realms can go with you everywhere. When Paul Francis walks on the beach near his home, at times he chooses to shift his attention into a light shamanic state and experience walking on the beach with his Power AnimalsPower Animal. The Oversoul of a wild species, met as a single Lower-World being and bonded with in a deep, committed, usually lifelong soul-bond of unconditional love. The practitioner’s first and foremost Guide: Panther, not “my panther”. Read the full answer and GuidesGuides. The Lower-World and Upper-World beings a practitioner works with and learns from, of whom the Power Animal is the first and foremost. True Guides are ethical to their core; the shaman’s power comes from the depth of these bonds, not from the shaman. More about this beside him.9 That is a different thing from a journey, in which both feet go into shamanic reality for a while. Both have their place in a shamanic life.
Can research be part of journeying? #
Yes, before and after. The two work together. The right brain experiences what happens in a journey, embodied and visceral; the left brain researches the facts; each has its place, and together they complement and reinforce one another.10 Research beforehand does not spoil a journey either: “Basically, knowledge helps us grok.”11
To research an Animal, Plant or Stone that appears in a journey, simple searches work well, such as a plant’s Latin name with its herbal or flower-essence uses, or an animal’s name with the word “totem”.12 The results are often spot on. See What are grokking, dieting and research in working with the Peoples?
Can I journey for someone else? #
Only with their real consent, and only once your Guides agree. Healing work “should never be done on somebody without that person’s express and conscious consent. By conscious consent I mean their actual, physical, real consent; not just seeking consent from that person’s ‘higher self’!”13 And “always, always ask your guides before doing any work on anyone else. If they say ‘no’ then do not do it!”14 See What does consent mean in shamanic work?
Can I use a journey to find out facts? #
No. Journeys give meaning, not facts. “It is important to remember that shamanic journeys are mythos not logosLogos. Literal, factual, analytical truth: the truth of facts you can check. One of the two modes of truth, alongside mythos. More about this; mythos meaning metaphorically true, and logos meaning literally true.” So “You cannot use them to find out ‘facts’.”15 Mythos is “something that is metaphorically true, but not literally so”.16
Who should interpret a journey? #
The person whose journey it is, first. “In Therapeutic Shamanism the real and deepest meaning of the journey is what it means to the person whose journey it is”.17 When helping someone, Paul’s first intent is to help them discover their own meanings and interpretation: he does not interpret journeys for people, but helps them unpack them for themselves. See How do I unpack and interpret a shamanic journey?
What if I cannot understand a journey? #
Research what you do not recognise. It is very common for a plant, crystal or animal to appear and mean nothing to the journeyer: “In that case, then it can be useful to do some research, which is where the left-brain (and the internet!) comes in.”18 Then come back to the journey with what you have found. Understanding often grows over time.
How do I avoid magical thinking? #
By holding mythos and logos side by side, and not confusing them. There are two opposite mistakes: “We tend to mistake mythos for logos, and so think of mythological, metaphorical truths as being literally true”, or “we do the opposite and think that logos, literal truth, invalidates mythos”.19 A healthy mythos is judged by its fruits. Paul likes the saying “Does it grow corn?”, and asks “not just “Does it grow corn?”, but “What kind of corn does it grow?”.”20
What is the difference between changing a story and fooling myself? #
The facts stay the same; what changes is the story we take from them. The past cannot be changed, so the focus needs to be on reshaping the stories and messages we took from past events. Healing starts with honesty: “the first step in healing them (as is true with healing most things) is to face the truth.”21 A new story that denies what happened is not healing.
