Exercises
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
The following exercises are examples of typical shamanic journeys. Traveling into the earth, into the sky, or into the nature kingdoms is common in shamanic practices, since tribal societies live so close to the Earth as opposed to those in Western types of societies. If you were to lead others on these journeys around a fire, in a sweat lodge or in a one on one personal consultation, you could use these journeys as ideas. Write some of your own too. Your imagination is limitless and you could come up with dozens of these types of journeys for different purposes.
The following are some notes about shamanic drumming from Christine Breese, D.D., Ph.D.)
There are shamanic drumming CDs, and if you would like to experience some of the journeys listed below, either have a friend drum for you or use a CD you like with drumming. Read the scripts below onto a tape recorder so you can listen to it, and use it with the drumming sounds.
If you lead others on shamanic journeys, you would need to have a drum and a rattle, and perhaps a few other percussion instruments to add flair. Traditionally only a drum or a rattle is used, but there is no rule that says you can’t use more. The rhythm is what is important. The rhythm is meant to carry the listener, something that the soul can ride on as it travels. Sometimes the sound of the drum would become faint and distant while the soul has experiences, but if it were missing, it would be as if the “engine” stalled or the air that the person was flying on suddenly let them fall. Of course, if the journey is in a profound moment and there isn’t the sense of “traveling,” silence is alright.
Some tips on drumming:
When you first start drumming, a good fast pace might be in order for the first 5 minutes, encouraging the listener to listen only to the rhythm and nothing else, focusing the mind on the drumbeat. After the person or group has become settled, the drum beat would slow down a little and the journey deepens. Then it gets slower and slower and the journey deepens, until sometimes the drum beat is only there once in a while. This is the place where a hushed rattle might be included, or a rain-stick, perhaps even a soft high pitched bell or a gong. There might be silence as the journey is in its deepest, most profound moment, after the traveling has happened and the destination has been reached. Once the experience is over and the journey back is to begin, the drum begins again and gradually faster and faster, not racing, just back to a steady beat, until the person or group has returned from the journey.