[Heart Vision Shamanic Journeys]

Guidelines for Shamnic Journeying

Edie Stone, MA
Certified Shamanic Journey Guide since 1995

2027 Broadway, Suite H
Boulder, Colorado 80304
303-415-3755
guide@ShamanicJourneys.net

Guidelines for a Safe, Powerful, and Effective Shamanic Journey Experience

There are a few simple but important guiding principles that I always use with shamanic journeys, and that I teach to students and clients.

  1. Before doing a shamanic journey, be sure that you have a clear intention. Write it down or repeat is several times before starting the journey. The intention should have a safety clause at the end, such as "all in alignment with my highest good." This is in case what your ego desires is not in fact spiritually healthy for you or others.

    The journey intention also includes coming back 100% to your body. There are features built into a Heart Vision journey which help you to ground and return to this world and this body. Using phrases such as "retrieve, embody and integrate" support the intention to return. If there is any question, you can specifically say, "I intend to come back to this body, this three-dimensional reality."

  2. It is important to have a clear, supportive, protective sacred space around you when you journey. This helps you relax, be free of distractions, and not worry about negative energy entering during your journey.

    The easiest way to co-create sacred space is to call on the powers of the Sacred Directions. Most ancient, indigenous, and Earth-based cultures (including the folk roots of European cultures), have a sense of special forces or elements that reside in certain directions of the landscape. There are many variations among traditions: 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 directions, each with various associations with elements, colors, animals, healing energies, gods/goddesses, sunrise/sunset points, star alignments, or other qualities. I do not impose a set of associations with certain directions, but rather encourage you to become aware of your own experience of the sacred dimensions of your inner and outer landscapes.

  3. When calling in Spirit Guides, call in only those who love you and who honor your free will. This helps you relax and trust your experience when you enter your journey. It also reminds you that you do retain your ability to make choices, to ask for what you need, and to examine or negotiate any commitments that you make during your journey.

    It is also efficient to specifically ask for those Spirit Guides that have wisdom and healing regarding your intention. That way the most important Guides show up for that particular journey. Some Spirit Guides may be unique to certain issues or stages of your life; others will be familiar companions and allies in many journeys.

  4. During the journey, you are meeting or reconnecting with spiritual beings and energies. It is wise to treat your Spirit Guides with respect, as you would any honored guest. I help you to remember to thank your Spirit Guides for coming at the beginning of the journey, and to offer gratitude before you part.

    A basic principle of shamanic work is sacred reciprocity. I usually suggest that you ask if your Spirit Guides need anything from you. Sometimes they may suggest an offering, such as a bowl of water (this resonates with folk traditions, such as leaving food out for the fairies). Some Guides suggest a prayer or meditation practice, song, dance, animal movement, or ritual for you to do to honor them and your relationship. Sometimes Animal Guides will suggest contributing to helping their species survive. Often, all your Guides want is for you to return and communicate with them sooner or more frequently.

  5. Returning to this reality. I help you come gently and fully back into your body and into the room where we have been during the journey. If it has been a long journey, it can take a little while to fully return.

    Most clients experience a lovely, soft state of awareness during the return and just after their journey. This is a time to simply be receptive and enjoy your experience.

    A gentle and complete return process also supports you in keeping the portals open between that world or state of consciousness and this world, so that you can remember more easily when you choose to return to your journey experiences later.

  6. Integration of the journey experience starts during the journey, and continues long after the journey in your inner and outer experiences.

    Briefly reviewing the journey before you return helps you to start integrating. Sometimes clients need to return to a section of the journey to complete a process before they close.

    I offer clients the opportunity to experience the ringing of a Tibetan bowl near the end of the journey. This seals in the gifts and healing experiences of the journey. It also really supports the integration process -- the body and energy field resonate and open to new possibilities of transformation and integration while the sound vibrates.

I write down (most of) your words while you are journeying, and give this transcript to you after the journey. Working with the transcript is an extremely important part of the integration process. Take the time in the days following your journey to type or write out the transcript, adding to it a description any experiences that you had but did not express in words. Revisiting these scenes helps to consolidate your memories of the journey, and will also help you build a deeper relationship with your Spirit Guides.

You can also journey back into sections of your journey, ask for further guidance and explore more, if that feels appropriate.

Find creative ways to express your journey experience. Drawing, singing, making animal movements and noises, anything creative or playful helps keep the experience alive. Remember that the soul loves beauty and playfulness. Have fun with your Spirit Guides!

If you made any commitments to yourself or your Guides, it is important to follow through. If you find that you cannot fulfill your commitments, then it is important to journey back to your Guides and renegotiate.

There is a psychological concept called a "state-specific memory." An example is remembering a previous dream when you are dreaming. Reviewing your journey, working with the transcript, journeying back into sections of the journey, inviting your Guides to come to you in times of meditation or creativity, all of these activities help build pathways or neural nets between our normal waking state of consciousness and the shamanic state of consciousness. Then you can remember your journey experiences longer and more clearly. It will also be easier for you to contact your Spirit Guides or journey again when you choose to.

The goal of journeying is not just to experience an expanded state of consciousness, although that is an important part of the process. The goal of journeying is to heal old wounds and release old patterns, so that you can live in a healthier, more powerful, and more soulful way in this world. The intention is to integrate the journey into your life.

Call or email now to plan your shamanic journey with Edie Stone. 303-415-3755 ©2007 Edie Stone
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