Bee-Spirit
How to travel?
We constantly talk about "shamanic journeying," a way to connect with spirits and receive their messages and guidance. The question of how to travel therefore constantly arises. Here, I share some of my experiences and testimonies.
First, I think everyone is capable of "traveling," and it's more the openness to hearing and receiving messages that sometimes poses doubts or difficulties. Our "mental" side interferes greatly in the dialogue, because that's its role. It's there to protect us and allow us to navigate ordinary reality. If we wish to open ourselves to shamanic dimensions, there is work and a path to undertake, which we can call "the path of the shaman," and to which we can return.
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But here, I would simply like to discuss the various approaches to journeying and offer some avenues that are too often overlooked.
The Drum
To calm the mind and become receptive to messages, all shamanic traditions use a trance state. This puts our brain into an altered state of consciousness, which calms the alerts and vigilance of "normal" daily waking. To achieve this, traditions use various methods.
The sound of the drum, repetitive and at certain frequencies, is used by traditions in North America and Asia (Siberia, Mongolia, etc.) and has been widely adopted by our recent explorations. It requires regular practice, but the journey is gentle and easy to implement. However, it does require true commitment and perseverance.
Hallucinogenic Plants and Substances
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Traditions in warmer and/or more humid climates have developed other methods. Moreover, in some humid climates, drumheads do not resonate. Various plants or mushrooms (peyote, psilocybe) or plant decoctions (ayahuasca) are then used during ceremonies. The effects can be strong and accompanied by physiological effects that are not always easy. In the original traditions, these substances were not for everyone and required strict initiation rites. Today, they are sometimes seen as shortcuts that avoid the need for committed practice. Moreover, the substance itself is a spirit, often very talkative, and requires true clairvoyance on the part of the shaman to avoid becoming the sole messenger.
Dreaming
It is entirely possible to travel shamanically through dreams. It's a means of transportation available to everyone, naturally and renewed daily. However, dreams are a bit like a radio station that constantly changes frequencies, taking us through all sorts of stations. The practice of shamanic dreaming requires either some predisposition or practice to enable the dreamer to interact with the spirits who come to visit them in a more active and even conscious way. This is sometimes referred to as lucid dreaming. It is also necessary to manage to mobilize memory in a certain way so that the messages don't fade away upon waking.
This is one of my favorite methods because it offers an enormous amount of time available for exploration and therefore vast possibilities. Having several hours a day available in an altered state of consciousness to travel is truly a shaman's dream!
Half-sleep
This state is often viewed negatively, almost as a by-product of our activities. It's neither truly restorative sleep nor a useful and effective state of wakefulness. And yet, it's truly interesting because it places us between two worlds and is often conducive to receiving messages quickly. This is why many experienced shamans use it to question the spirits. In a few minutes (or even seconds for experts), we can question the spirits or our guide and receive an answer. The difficulty lies in the art of falling asleep quickly, on demand, and returning just as quickly, without having forgotten the message.
Vibrational Sources
As with the drum, the altered state of consciousness can be induced by various vibrational sources, such as the bees in a colony or crystal bowls. Here too, it generally takes practice to put oneself in the desired state of receptivity. And don't forget who you're asking for guidance. For bees, like bowls or the drum, are both the ones who provide the vibrations that lead to trance, and the spirits, in non-ordinary reality, who can bring messages. The shaman decides whether it is the spirit they wish to consult. This is rarely the case for the spirit of the drum, more often for the spirit of the bees, but there is no obligation a priori.
Dance
It's certainly also a means of travel, and some traditions have made no mistake about it. Such as that of the Mevlevi order, which uses a ritual dance called samâ' to achieve a state of spiritual trance, and whose followers are often referred to as "whirling dervishes." We can also mention ecstatic dance, the bee-dance... all of which are absolutely brilliant and possible.
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Travel!
Of all the ways to undertake a shamanic journey, this is probably one of the most difficult, as it's so likely to get distracted and "miss out." But I can't help but mention it, because I know some who have succeeded. Taking a journey, physically in ordinary reality, by going somewhere, can become a true initiatory and shamanic journey. Very few succeed; this requires the ability to listen to spirits and guides, while also managing the constraints of traveling through unknown places. Like Ulysses or other master travelers, some manage to master this art of traveling the world in a state of high consciousness.
The Final Journey
Everyone will experience this one day, and it is the ultimate shamanic journey. Shamanic practice helps prepare for it, master it, with the goal of celebrating life, our own and that of those around us.
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And of course, all the other methods I forgot to mention or that are personal to you. Feel free to share...