Sunday, June 2, 2013

Shamanic Journey to the Lower World


November 17th, 2012

As I listen to the beat of the drum made by Shamanic Practitioner and spiritual teacher Giselle Rhyon-Berry, I lay on the ground with my eyes shut and began my journey into the lower level of the spirit world to meet my power animal.

The journey begins with a place in nature that has some significance to me. I remembered the rest stop along the Trans-Canada Highway between Kenora and Thunder Bay, Ontario on the western tip of Lake Superior and the Canadian Shield. This is an area that is bursting with wildlife, beautiful scenery, fresh air and massive rock formations that are rich in Amethyst which happens to be my birthstone. I remember the first time I was there, I was maybe six years old and the picture of that spot is still crystal clear in my mind after a couple decades (I return there anytime I travel that way as well). Right along the lake I remember hopping across the tops of rocks until I made it to “my island” which was merely a six by three foot flat rock that was poking out of the shallow edge of the lake. It was there that I could sit for hours even after sitting for hours in a car. I didn’t know it then, but the energy in this spot was enough to put even a cranky, hyper six-year-old into a peaceful meditative state. I remember anytime we were there, it took me much convincing to leave. It was a place that I could just sit for hours.

From this point in my mind’s eye, I descended from “my island” into the lake. As the water became deeper, I felt my meditative state get deeper until I was in way over my head and began sinking and leaving my physical body. I could see the light at the surface fading and everything became dark as I sunk into the world of spirit guides and power animals.

At first I saw a salmon and asked if he were my spirit guide. He seemed very friendly but assured me that he was not. Suddenly I sunk deeper, only to find myself atop a huge rock formation overlooking a narrow channel leading to the lake, completely secluded with a breath-taking view. I knew that something was with me and it took a little time for it to appear to me. Suddenly, staring me face-to-face was a beautiful Gray Wolf (which is actually native to that area). I asked the wolf if he were my spirit guide and he smiled. I asked again and he confirmed that he was in fact my guide.

The first message he had for me was that wolves are very misunderstood in the sense that they have a reputation for being ruthless predators. People are scared of them thinking they are mindless beasts that savagely attack and kill for no apparent reason. People generally take one look at wolves and instantly fear them generating all sorts of negative emotions and actions towards them. I can totally relate. I am a tall guy, wear hoodies, have a rough complexion and there have been thousands of people that instantly fear me and judge me based on looks and preconceived notions without even getting to know me. This was the identical message that the wolf was trying to portray. He then showed me his family. Two young pups wrestled playfully under the gentle, watchful eye of their parents, living in complete happiness and harmony.

He then told me that he is definitely a predator, but there isn’t an animal on Earth that doesn’t need to kill another animal or plants for food to survive. This is a precious and sacred circle of life and is nothing to be labelled as savage. It is the most natural cycle on the planet and is something to be accepted, not feared. He answered his own question by saying, “If I was desperate and hungry, would I eat a human? Most definitely! Just as a desperate and hungry human would eat a wolf to survive.” He gave me this grin as if to say, “I’m a lot smarter than you thought, eh?”

I asked him what he does all day, what his life consists of. He told me that his main priority was food for his family. Once a successful hunt took place and his family was fed and his responsibilities were taken care of, all there was left to do was relax. I asked him what he does to relax and it was nothing more than sitting on the edge of a cliff watching the world from his amazing vantage point (I honestly couldn’t think of anything more relaxing to do). Since he doesn’t have to fear any predators except for us humans, he was grateful for just being a wolf and having the highest sense of security out of any animals in that area. He actually made it quite clear to me that I was not the dominant species in this endeavor, that I was on his turf and I humbly thanked him for being such a gracious host.

To my left a fox appeared. Very intelligent looking and well groomed. The wolf introduced me to the fox and said they were good friends. To the right, an owl appeared in a tree and in the middle, a cat. The wolf introduced me to his friends who perhaps I will be journeying with someday?

I was starting to focus on the physical features of the wolf. His brown eyes, his whiskers and his shiny, very well-kept fur. I pet him and even went so far as to hug him out of sheer appreciation for the whole experience.

It was at that point that I pulled out a large hunting knife and cut his stomach open.

He looked at me and laughed with a huge grin on his face and asked, “Don’t you get it?” I waited for him to elaborate but instead I looked at my physical body and it began to implode into a single point of light resonating from my third eye chakra or pineal gland. The wolf’s body did the same thing until we were both tiny specs of light surrounded by darkness. We were still able to communicate with each other but the message he gave me was that this, along with every other experience in the waking world, dream world or any other world, completely transcends the physical structure that humans are so compelled to focus on. I took a minute to let that idea resonate with me and at this point, Giselle’s drumming increased to about 420 beats per minute. I knew this was time to go.

I thanked the wolf from the bottom of my heart and offered him all of the food I had on me (which was lots for a guy with no physical body). I left with a smile and a great sense of love and insight. I said “See you soon, I love you.” The wolf responded with the same salutation and told me he loves me too.

As I drifted away into darkness, a light started to appear. It was the surface of Lake Superior and I was about 100 ft away from it. I swam up to the top, realigned with my physical body (still in the meditative state) and slowly walked back to shore. I dried myself, then sat on the edge of the water, took a couple of deep breaths and said goodbye to my new favorite spot.

It was at that point that I came back into “ordinary reality”. While sharing our experiences, the lady to the left of me said that she met a beautiful, well-dressed fox in her journey.