The journey of the Shaman
From studies done, even recently, it was found that the altered state of consciousness is characterized by the emission of particular brain wave called theta waves. Neurological studies classify four types of electromagnetic waves, detectable dall'elettroencefalogramma: alpha waves, beta, theta and delta.
First things first. Beta waves (typical of the state of active wakefulness), are in a frequency range of 15-40 Hertz (cycles per second).
Alpha waves instead (typical of a state of active relaxation), for example when we are relaxed walking in the garden, or the relaxation that occurs after you finish an important job, or a deep meditation. Alpha waves are in the range of 9-15 Hz.
In the range of 5-9 Hz theta waves are. It is seen that these are characteristics of the states of waking dream, imagination and creativity, or a maximum of deep meditation and lucid dreaming. In an altered state of consciousness of the shamanic journey is formed such frequency. The delta waves are typical of deep sleep and the state of coma.
The sound of the drum beat to 240-300 rounds per minute, through the auditory nerves, which are directly connected with the deepest parts of the brain, resonance in the brain at that frequency electromagnetic emission, which is also the frequency of theta waves .
So, after a few minutes consciousness into a state of deep meditation, where the fantasies, the imagination takes over the common thoughts, and personal daily waking state. In this stage you can have the experiences of the shamanic journey.
The purpose of the first journey of the shaman is to go looking for the animal guide. This is a spirit that is in direct contact with the forces of the universe and will aide the spirit of the world lower. Since birth we have always had an animal guide in the non-ordinary reality. Michael Harner in his book mentions that according to many traditions of the people who survive childhood are the people who have managed not to lose touch with your power animal, or animal guide.
In the lower world generally seeks power, healing. The animal guide is the ally, the host in the non-ordinary reality. The drum is the means to maintain the altered state of consciousness, and the rhythmic sound of the shaman's soul goes into the tunnel and into the mysterious reality no less ordinary, this is generally beautiful and bright. In the first trip we try to familiarize yourself with your pet, do not need to ask questions, it examines and tries to establish a relationship with it, using any mode of communication: speech, telepathy, body language, vision, smell ... an emotion ... The recall accurately what happened during the trip is part of the shamanic experience, accumulating memories and details of shamanic journeys accumulates knowledge.
In shamanic cosmology of nearly all peoples the universe is divided into three levels.
where we are, intermediate,
lower (or below)
higher (or above)
Internally each world may have other layers.
In the belief of the people turkish sky-calculus consists of a large tent, the stars are the windows of the world to pass the light. Many traditions of her mainly the spiritual world above the other below. In Christian tradition the world over or above is represented symbolically by the Paradise. Alice in Wonderland is the typical journey in the lower, the Wizard of Oz is a typical trip to the top.
Almost all of the shamans is given the ability of "magical flight or magical journey."
There are many passages that lead us beyond the sky, Asian traditions in the tent was always a central hole for the smoke from the hearth, this hole, by being transported from smoking is a way to ascend to heaven. The twilight, the red light of sunset between heaven and earth can become the slit to go to other worlds, to travel and surf in the universe. In some traditions of North America, the ray of sunlight that passes through a layer of clouds or the point where the end of the rainbow in the sky are places where you can ascend.
Here the shaman can find the spirit of the ancestors, spirits of our family, local deities or ancestors souls that we have not directly known in ordinary reality, Jesus, Guardian Angel, the Father, the Goddess, the great sage. They can also be of great scholars of the past such as Aristotle or Plato, or mythological figures as Horus or Isis. In general the higher world are knowledge, knowledge, wisdom, while in the lower world are the power of healing and practical answers.
You can do some similarities between the shamanic journey and daily experiences. When we go to sleep our consciousness moves in dreams. The dreams express a form of travel of our consciousness. When we dream, our soul moves in the worlds of non-ordinary reality (he traveled). Dreams may be related to different layers of this reality, the work, the people we know, the usual places of life, ... but actually completely new, different.
Perhaps the first trip we did when we were in the womb, in a dark place with the heart beat that sounded rhythmically. Consciousness could not help but, in the long months of gestation, roam freely, without the syntax of our world in an endless journey.
Taking the two analogies, sleeping and dreaming of the womb, 30-40 thousand years ago our ancestors began to get into deep caverns, seeking visions. Here settled down and reproduced the drum beat of the maternal heart, and behold, the spirits were manifested in the form of animals, which were in contact every day, they were hunting during the day for their survival. And now the shaman was the one who spoke through the spirit of animals. The large drawings, graffiti found in the caves of southern France, Lascaux, Cro-Magnon populations were the result of visions of the shaman, received in altered states of consciousness.
The shaman works in the spiritual reality of the unseen worlds, where you can meet and communicate with the souls of living beings and with the powers of the universe. From the shamanic point of view the disease is primarily a spiritual aspect to be healed, and only then you can have the physical healing, in this reality. Every disease is a manifestation of an internal disharmony, mainly due to three possibilities:
Presence of excess energies or powers
Lack of power
Lack of soul parts.
There is the possibility that for a moment of weakness, for some small trauma or the presence of strong powers, can enter the soul of energy that do not belong. The shaman does not judge these energies simply think they are not in the right place.
Imagine you are a spider in the bed, do not think that the spider is a being bad, just think that the bed is its most appropriate location, and if you're conscious people, he takes and reported in Nature, or otherwise out of bed . In the same way by the shaman in an altered state of consciousness usually reached by the monotonous sound of the drum and with the help of his spirits, "sees" these intrusions that may appear as different objects, nails, dust, insects, poultices, or otherwise, and makes a "puller", just as the surgeon in an operation.
A more complex aspect is related to the intrusion of other souls or spirits, when the person is "possessa" by other souls, and in this case, the shaman, with special rituals and very sensitive, is to make a real "depossesione" .
The soul retrieval is a kind of work shamans do in many traditions. In the West there was a rediscovery by Sandra Ingerman, who received this ritual in a spontaneous way of his wits.
The loss of fragments of the soul is one of the main causes of spiritual illness. Generally these losses occur in severe disease, which is not easily solved, diseases may be physical, such as cancer, heart disease or serious chronic illness, or psychological, such as depression, states of apathy, unwillingness to deal with life and problems, lack of personality evolution, when the psychological trait has remained that of a child, a teenager or another. Other symptoms are taking drugs or alcohol, people take the spirit of alcohol or drugs because they feel the emptiness inside of them. The shaman often uses old "drugs" to accomplish his journey.
Every time someone tells you that you do not feel the same after a certain event, and is not intended that any more, probably suffered the loss of soul.
Injuries are the leading causes of soul loss. They can be emotional trauma, especially those suffered in childhood, or they can also be physical trauma such as accidents, surgery, natural disasters, etc..
The shaman, with his spirit helpers and through a ritual (travel) can go to recover and reintegrate into the person, the soul part or pure essence, that when the trauma is gone for survival
The journey of the Shaman ......
See also:
The dream of the Shaman.
The Power of Words of the Shaman