Shamanism is one of humankind’s first tools for exploring consciousness. Many people in the modern world discount it as escapism or hallucination. But this isn’t true. It is a powerful tool that enables us to enter an altered state. We can use this spiritual journey to find answers and healing. You can learn how to create your own guided shamanic journey script.
A script is a process, roadmap, or path. Following a pathway or process ensures the success of a repeatable method. It is like a recipe. If you follow the steps, you create something delicious.
A journey is an action that takes us from one place to another. The inward journey uses a script to facilitate a spiritual journey. Ancient cultures developed this method to enter an altered dreamlike state. This partition of awareness enables us to access the depths of the subconscious. It used two simple tools: rhythm and imagination. In this partition of awareness, we visualize vivid landscapes of the mind.
What is Shamanism?
Shamanism is an ancient body of wisdom about human nature and our world. (1) Many indigenous cultures focus on these practices, and the knowledge within these systems is very diverse. Shamanism focuses on exploring the spiritual realm, communing with nature, and harnessing the power of unseen forces.
The traditional Teachers of this knowledge are called shamans. They are the pioneers of consciousness exploration. Some of these methods, like creative visualization, became methods of therapy. The use of plants became pharmacology. And the metaphors used to describe the spirit world became the basis for religions. The knowledge of these systems includes healing practices for mind, body, and spirit.
What is The Shamanic Journey?
The journey of the Shaman is an inward quest. It uses creative visualization and the sound of a repetitive rhythm. It opens the door to a unique partition of consciousness. Here, we find the spirit world of Shamanism. This is an ancient spiritual practice that has been a part of cultures around the world. It is a philosophy and way of life which values all living things. It involves exploring the spiritual realm and communing with nature. With this spiritual practice, you learn how to harness the power of the mind.
Almost anyone can use a simple script to enter this magical realm. To be guided means to be led. It’s helpful to have a guide when learning any new skill. Once we learn this process, we become “our own guide,” developing our own script. This simple but effective method is the foundation of the ancient Shamanic tradition, which has many modern-day variations.
Once you learn this process, you don’t need an external guide. You create your own script and path to explore the subconscious mind and the spirit world. The fact is that creating or forging your own script will be more meaningful and powerful. The Shamanic Journey is a universal process for exploring awareness. You can find these methods in indigenous cultures worldwide.
The Shamanic State of Consciousness
Michael Harner (2) calls it “The Shamanic State of Consciousness” (SSC). Mr. Harner’s research shows that SSC has a unique brainwave signature in the theta-wave bandwidth of around 4 to 7Hz. This signature differs from the default states of consciousness, waking, sleeping, and dreaming, and from the brainwave patterns of transcendental consciousness.
The basic formula has two ingredients: creative visualization and rhythm. Rhythmic repetition creates a focal point. Focusing on the rhythm lowers the heart rate and calms the active mind, facilitating a shift in awareness. Then, creative visualization is used to travel vivid landscapes.
People reach an altered state of consciousness as they travel on an inward journey. When you learn, it’s helpful to listen to a script guiding you through landscapes of imagery like dreaming. So, this is where the name “guided meditation” originates. You can create your own guided shamanic journey script. The goal of embarking on this journey varies. For instance, it could be to find healing or receive guidance to achieve a task.
Indigenous cultures also used psychotropic additives to facilitate deeper altered states. But there are disadvantages to using drugs (Peyote, Ayahuasca, etc.) to induce the state. The potency of the compound controls the depth and length of your session. When you use psychotropic compounds, you lose control of the depth and length of the session. Some ancient traditions use a mixture of drugs and sound. This approach is only for the experienced spiritual traveler. We don’t recommend it.
A safer way to journey is using an audio drum track. Some also include a talk track with guided imagery. A drum track allows you to build a routine of your own. Many books also contain these resources.
The goal of your first journey should be to meet your spirit guide or spirit guides. They will assist you with all the other goals of your inward quests.
What is the Shamanic Path?
The path of the Shaman is a spiritual practice that takes a holistic approach to the great experiment of consciousness we call life. It is a return to nature where we find answers to our deepest questions and healing of body, mind, and spirit. Many ancient travelers took this path.
Many people embark on this quest. Creative visualization is a personal and profound tool for exploring consciousness. It answers the primordial call to explore the landscape of the mind. The Shamanic path is an integral part of spiritual exploration. This path provides spiritual insight, inner healing, and practical guidance.
Shamans view the inner quest as a process of discovery. It is not the creation of worlds but exploring what already exists. Many traditions teach that our reality has four levels. There are three levels of non-ordinary reality: the upper, lower, and middle worlds. The last is the default plane of everyday existence.
One of the most exciting forms of this process we find in Australia. Here, the indigenous people have what we call Aboriginal Dreamtime, which comes wrapped in a cosmology of the universe. Some researchers claim this process is evidence of time travel or astral projection. Travelers can experience events in other parts of the world or at points from the past or future.
This adventure teaches us about spirit beings. We learn that there are spirit guides that can help us understand our spiritual journey. The goal of your first journey is to meet these spiritual guides. Whether these entities are real or manifestations of the subconscious mind is debatable.
Exploring the Guided Shamanic Journey Script
You learn how to do it by being guided through the process with a script. However, once you learn, you no longer need an external guide or script. After you learn the technique, you become your own guide, and that is when the real exploration begins. Your experiences on the Shamanic path will be unique.
All you need to take this quest is a drumbeat or drum track to help you focus and your imagination. This mental process is repeatable. You can do it independently or with others. It allows us to reach an altered state of awareness safely and with complete control of the depth and length of the session.
“When you go on a shamanic journey, you have access to your unconscious or your sense of connection within the universe, whatever you want to call that. You’ve accessed places in your brain that you don’t normally. You’re still there — it’s your brain. But you have access in a way that you normally don’t. For me, doing that felt like being in a new environment.” — Amy Hardie
Learning this process by listening to a script that takes you on an imaginary journey is easy. However, don’t use the script as a crutch. Once you know how to use the process, use what you learn about making your own.
Using the basic formula and creating your own script is even better. Here’s why. When you use a standard script, it keeps the mind on a specific path. This prevents you from using the power of your imagination. Your imagination helps you unlock the gifts of your spirit; that’s the power of the shamanic path. It is one of the most powerful tools for delving into your subconscious mind. We cannot overstate the importance of creating “your own” spiritual path.
The Guided Shamanic Journey Script and Formula
The formula is simple. Here’s what you need.
1. First, get a shamanic drum recording. These vary in duration from 10 minutes to an hour. Find several that resonate so you can practice for different lengths of time. Our recommendation is Sandra Ingerman’s book Shamanic Journeying, a Beginner’s Guide. It has a CD with several tracks of differing tempos and durations.
Use a rhythm track recorded specifically for the Shamanic Journey. Many use drums, rattles, or singing bowls. Vibration opens the doorway to SSC, enabling complete control over the process in the trance’s depth and duration. Using sound to facilitate the journey has advantages over drug-induced altered states.
2. Listen to the rhythm of the drumbeat. You can do this lying down or if you drum yourself sitting comfortably. Many indigenous use dance as a part of the shamanic path.
3. Now, engage your imagination and visualize. Visualizing is not just seeing the imaginary world. Use all of your senses. Feel the wind, sun, or rain. Hear the sounds of your special wilderness. Smell the fragrance of the landscape.
Some people like to visualize themselves going into the earth using the tree’s roots, while others like riding in a canoe or going down a river or stream. Many envision entering a cavern or cave if you travel down roots into the earth. If you travel by water, imagine you are in a deep canyon or jungle.
4. Ask for guidance. Once you embark on any journey, ask for help from your main spirit animal or animals. If this is your first journey, ask to meet them. Keep calling for your “trusted spirit advisor. “Wait until they appear. Once you’ve established a relationship, you’ll know them immediately.
What is possible with the guided shamanic journey script? Almost everything from healing to finding a life partner.
On your first journey, test all of your guides. It’s essential to make sure these spirits have your best interests. Many people have more than one spirit guide, even flocks of birds, etc. Trust your gut instinct. If they come in a previous pet, ask them questions about what only they know.
You can ask your spirit animal to help you with common problems in your next journey. Ask them to invite any other necessary spirit animals. Conclude your journey by thanking your spirit helpers. That’s the simple but effective shamanic guided meditation script and formula.
Why Did They Rebrand the Shamanic Journey?
You rebrand or change the name of something to make it more acceptable, which makes it more marketable. So, rebranding is a marketing tactic that allows you to sell a product to a larger market. You can change the name of your product to fit the market.
Shamanism has always been a threat to Western religion (3), so it needs to be assimilated into the system. They could not use the term shamanic journey script because it points directly to Shamanism. So, changing the name to “guided meditation or creative visualization” removes this link. No one realizes the true pagan origins of the process. It is used in modern cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or guided imagery therapy. However, they often fail to recognize their roots in Shamanic tradition.
When you use generic terms for the process, you can market it to different buyers. It becomes acceptable to those who also believe in Western religion, which is a way to disguise the origin. They don’t call this “theft” or plagiarism. Instead, Western theology calls it “the appropriation of common useful knowledge.” After all, that is how they built their religions.
Rebranding the shamanic journey is deliberate. It enables people to use the process while demonizing the source. That’s right. Western religion is guilty of this practice. They demonize the cultures that pioneered and safeguarded these methods while rebranding them for their own use.
The Abrahamic religions of Judaism and Christianity are copies of earlier mythology. They combine Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, and Assyrian mystery religions. The Shamanic process is one method it added to its product list, calling it creative visualization.
In Conclusion
We hope we were able to answer the common questions about this subject. Guided meditation is just a term for this ancient spiritual practice. If it makes you feel more comfortable to call it something else, that’s your choice. We should credit the pagan ancestors who developed these processes. Their traditions safeguarded them for future generations.
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References
(1) Shamanism, Wikipedia
(2) Michael Harner, Wikipedia
(3) Abrahamic Religions, Wikipedia