News and potentially mutual help

[johnpalmer]

So... I've started taking shamanism seriously, and I took a class over the weekend. It was interesting, and a great experience, and solidified my desire to go further, and that means working on my journeying skills. (I.e.: going to the spirit realms, consulting the spirits, and bringing back the information they give me.)

But journeying for myself can be empty at times... "what do I really want to know? Uh... what kind of cheese to have as a snack! No... not a good question for the spirit realm."

Anyone reading this who would like to ask me to journey on their behalf, please leave a comment on this message.

I can journey for healing; if there's a specific issue that's troubling you, let me know - physical, mental or spiritual. I can journey to try to answer questions; let me know what the question is (feel free to be vague, but make sure that *you* know what it means.

1) I can't promise I'll be able to journey for everyone - I don't expect to see a lot of responses, but hey, this is open to the public.

2) I can't promise I can journey for any particular person... sometimes things just don't work out right.

3) when I report on the journey, it can be weird. I try to give you the images, as they came to me, reporting on everything that seemed meaningful to me. But it can be complicated. My teachers have all warned that you should report the images only, and let the other person interpret them. For one person, a school of dolphins represents community; for others, a sense of playfulness; for others, well, they're sharks[1], and dolphins represent an enemy. That's part of why I'm doing this... I want practice in explaining my journeys for other people to those other people. So, I'd like to know if you think the response is meaningful. You don't have to tell me... but if you can, I'd like to know.


Comments are screened, so you can ask questions or state problems without them being public. You can also ask for my e-mail address and mail them to me, if you'd prefer. Let me know if you want them unscreened (or if you don't care). And *please* let me know if I screw up screening! I've never done screened comments before, and I assume it's easy, but I just don't know.


[1] Keep in mind that what makes a person a shark might not be what we normally think of as "shark-like" behavior.

ETA:

When I give you a journey description, I'm going to start with descriptions of helper spirits and special places that tend to repeat in my visions. Why? So if I tell you "Raven did X" you don't think "But... why *Raven*? I've never had a connection with Raven!"

Special places that are very common:

The World Tree - this is my standard entry for the spirit realms. If I mention "I went to the world tree" that's like saying "I opened to door to my apartment." Except the world tree is prettier and a lot more loving and alive than my apartment door is.

The upper world: this is for places unconnected to the earth. It's not heaven, but it is like many visions of heaven insofar as it's away from the earth and physicality.

The lower world: this is kind of the opposite; things here tend to have a very strong connection to the earth. This is where animal and plant spirits tend to show most strongly.

The middle world: this is our world, and the spirits on it. Ancestor helper spirits tend to show up here, though you can find them in other realms as well.

Comments

[bkwrrm-tx.livejournal.com]

I would appreciate a journey, if you can.

My question is: will Cassie find her way in life.

Thanks. And you can unscreen this, and the reply, if you want.

[hopeevey.livejournal.com]

I feel called to ask you to journey for some kind of question about my mother (who died in November of 1988), but I'm not entirely sure what question to ask. I have been thinking a lot about her lately, and wondering what kind of relationship we might have if she were still alive. Is that something you can work with?

Feel free to unscreen this :)

[marypcb.livejournal.com]

also, apologies if this is an egg-sucking thought, but have you considered asking about what would be a good direction for you to take this in, how this could be a valuable part of your practice without too many drawbacks - asking about asking as it were

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

(On thinking about this, I chose to screen my response, because it involves another person.)

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

This is the kind of journey that bugs me just a bit, because it was easy, and more or less what I would have expected.

I didn't get *anywhere*, before I sensed your mother's spirit. I didn't even get the question I was asking out! She very much wanted to connect with you. I saw a woman playing with a child, with the delight in the child's happiness, and then I saw you two hugging warmly. I asked if there was more, and I saw a field of grass and flowers, and finally, a may pole. I felt that you should try to connect with her May First; if you can find a maypole celebration, so much the better. I feel that if you can participate in the dance, that would be best... but, if you can journey on your own, she is ready for you, waiting by the maypole, and eager to connect with you.

(If you would like any help with journeying, please let me know.)

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

This is a good suggestion, and it's one I'm using. But it also gets a bit empty, still... it's easy to find yourself in a situation where you realize you don't particularly want or need more information for yourself. It's like if I practiced drawing, until I could draw everything I wanted to see drawn, and realized I needed to learn more about what other people like to see in drawings, and then try to draw them.