“I ran after Coyote up a hill to the edge of a cliff and fell over the edge—screaming with delight, I began laughing and we started to bounce across the desert floor as if it was a trampoline. Then we were running with our arms spread wide along the beach, wind rushing, screaming with joy, running. We began tugging at our skins as if our bodies were silly putty, making shapes like fun house mirrors. 
Coyote showed me I don’t have to take my physical body too seriously and I squeezed myself like a sponge, wringing out the dis-ease and then I popped back into shape!”
This was a shamanic journey I took with the intention of working with Coyote. When we use the animal name in this way—not “a” coyote, but Coyote with a capital “c”—we are not talking about an individual animal, but the whole of the animal species and its attributes, the archetype and what it represents. Coyote is the energy of the Southwest (one of eight directions on the Apache medicine wheel) and reminds us not to take life too seriously. In many native stories, Coyote is the trickster and is often tripped up and humiliated by his own antics, reminding us to just be ourselves and not try to be something we’re not.
Shamanic journey has given me a sense of power in a world I felt powerless in. If I have a question about my life and where I’m at or where I’m going, I can go and ask it myself. I may not like the answer, but at least I’ll get one!
Through journey I have found ways to heal myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually, healing that has manifested in my life in ways I cannot fully explain. Through journey I have met my spirit guides and talked with my ancestors. They watch over me, looking out for my highest good, and are communicating with me when I think I’m talking to myself. Through journey I have met my power animals, spirits that have the archetypal qualities of an animal, mirroring aspects of ourselves or holding the energy we are coming into. Our guides and power animals serve as allies in a world that can sometimes seem overwhelming or unnavigable.
Our imagination is our psychic sight. We are taught at a very young age to distrust it, and now it’s time to reconnect with it.
Journey is similar to meditation and, at the same time, totally different. Meditation is more about coming into stillness, clearing the mind and allowing the space for Spirit to speak to us (Spirit with a capital “S” is often my word of choice for God/dess). Shamanic journey is a practice by which the shaman travels into alternate planes of reality—often with the help of guides and power animals—in order to connect with Spirit and bring back wisdom, messages and healing in the highest good of those in their community. It happens by a shifting of perspective, into a trance state, an altered state of consciousness. The word “Shaman” comes from Siberia, but has come to be an umbrella term for the healer and spiritual leader of a community. Indigenous cultures on six continents have this role in common.
The “journey” in a Shamanic Journey is the active component, traveling into worlds unknown with a specific intention or agenda, seeking answers to questions or healing, asking Spirit to speak to us. Anyone can do this work for themselves on their own spiritual path, as a means of personal betterment. Journey can be done any time anywhere, but it is best done when one can devote the time and attention to it and will not be interrupted. It is literally a practice, the more one does it, the easier it gets and the “farther” one can travel.
So how does it work? How does it happen? That’s a complex question—like most spiritual practices, there are as many answers as there are practitioners! But you knew I was going to say that. When in doubt, just imagine it happening, imagine taking a trip through the spirit world. 
Yes, you read me correctly, imagine it! Our imagination is our psychic sight. We’re taught at young ages to distrust it, and now it’s time to reconnect with it.
Find a comfortable position and dim the lights so that you can relax and quiet your mind. Peace and quiet will do, but often in an urban setting background music provides a focus to drown out the mundane sounds around us. Drumming is traditional, and often ideal, as the monotonous rhythm supports the trance state. Set a clear intention for your journey before you begin. An open mind is the most essential thing to bring along.
Try it yourself, in a group setting »
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