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Kesey just went wild, thus teaching the lesson of where the line of survival is.
Very interesting and helpful way of giving credit to Kesey and honoring his journey.
Don Juan claims that when you defeat these things, you need never go back, but I find it is cyclical. You defeat a little fear, and the next fear you must defeat is larger. Ultimately, you face the fear of death – and after that, the other fears seem small – but they aren’t nonexistent.
This is so interesting. Once you face the fear of death and understand your place in it, not only do other fears seem small, but the entire planet, the entire universe, seems small and very, very close to the surface.
When I was Power Hungry, it was always about “destruction of the foe.” Now it is more about “stopping harm.”
I like this a lot.
I think that Alan Watts was trying to distinguish himself from the psychedelic phenomenon happening at the time. Timothy Leary and Ken Kesey were blazing new trails into chaos and anarchy. By telling people to “hang up the (psychedelic) phone,” he was denying psychedelics as Teachers.
Interesting insight. Watts has more depth than Leary and Kesey, although I did like Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”.
Did Watts keep the perspective that psychedelics could be useful tools to start the process of gaining spiritual insight? I can’t remember all of the history.
Chapter 3
Cutting FreeThis chapter gives a lot of insight into techniques of bringing the mind to full attention. We see Dan struggling to remember a name, if he had finished eating, forgetting to notice how beautiful the sky is.
And then we see him doing re-directs for his mind in the gym. When he’s “soaring,” his mind is clear and everything is focused. But other times, not so much. But he’s noticing patterns at times. It’s a process.
Also interesting is when Dan gets a cold and Socrates reminds him that it’s a sign that his body is saying he is out of balance. Considering Dan had eaten cookies for breakfast (sounds like a typical college menu!), he does have a point.
But it’s not just the body, but also the mind. As Socrates says, “Stressful thoughts reflect a conflict with reality. Stress happens when the mind resists what is.”
He goes onto explain, “You say, Dan, when you resist what happens, your mind begins to race; the thoughts that assail you are actually created by you.”
There’s a really good mindfulness lesson!
And suddenly, Dan is existing inside of his teacup! He’s journeyed in his mind underwater, suddenly taking the form of a fish.
And he’s back again, sitting on Socrates’ couch.
And Dan understands that it he is very much like this fish – trapped inside of a teacup with a limited vantage point. He must expand his vantage point in order to grow awareness.
We all must.
I found this conversation so fascinating. Socrates explains, “. . . the practice of insight into the source of your own ripples is meditation,” referring to the ripples of water analogy that Socrates is using after Dan experiences that journey into the tea as a fish.
And then Socrates appears out of nowhere bearing a samurai sword and waving it over Dan’s head!
It’s hard to tell what is real and what is, well, in Dan’s head!
Dan goes quiet, retreats into a deep meditation.
Socrates explains that “the warrior uses the sword of meditation with skill and understanding. With it, he cuts the mind to ribbons, slashing through thoughts to reveal their lack of substance.”
And then there’s some comic relief as Socrates has fun messing with his customers at the gas station. He makes fun of a group of people all dressed in the same garb (they are new age spiritualists), but then oddly, he is very courteous to a “forty-year-old teenager”.
And Socrates explains to the confused Dan that he gave each of them what they needed. I think the new age seekers needed to not be so arrogant about their mission and perhaps the forty-year-old teenager needed compassion.
And here we go – another kundalini awakening, I think, as Dan floats among the stars and cosmos.
He feels his body as a “hollow vessel” and I can’t help returning to the part earlier in the book when Socrates tells him he needs to be “emptied out” to be filled back up again.
And Dan thinks he has learned everything he needs to and is graduating. But Socrates cuts him down to size – “What you saw was only a vision, not a conclusive experience.”
And now I’m remember what Alan Watts said, “Once you get the message, you can hang up the phone”. And then you’ll spend the rest of your life working it out. So true of these types of awakenings and journeys.
Socrates explains the core of awareness, breaking it down into two parts:
1. Insight – paying attention to what is arising.
2. Surrender – letting go of attachment to arising thoughts. This is how you cut free of the mind, he explains.I’m connecting the “emptying out” to the “surrender”. I can see why this book is so helpful.
And the way Socrates is eating reminds me of this mindfulness exercise:
What A Raisin Can Teach You About Mindfulness Practice
Socrates goes onto this great conversation about concepts of dying and immortality. “You have been immortal since before you were born and will be long after the body dissolves. The body is Consciousness; never born; never dies; only changes. The mind – your ego, personal beliefs, history, and identity – is all that ends at death. And who needs it?”
I find a lot of comfort in this and ties into one of my favorite Alan Watts teachings:
Alan Watts – How Do You Define Yourself?
And Socrates gives more techniques:
1. pay attention to how you walk
2. pay attention to how your mouth shapes the words you say
3. pay attention to how you thinkI’m trying these techniques and it makes me enter the world of The Observer, which is the most sublime state I can find right now.
As Socrates says, “Your attention must burn.”
And the chapter ends with a foreboding comment by Dan – “. . . And my training was about to begin with an ordeal I almost didn’t survive.”
If I recall correctly, the movie makes Joy out to be more of a love interest than she is. You are at about the same place that I am in the book – so your comments from here on out will be new to me.
Yes, I remember the movie that way, too. The Hollywood Effect.
I think this book – even though it’s not about shamanism – is a perfect place to start. Me, I started with Carlos Castaneda and suffered from decades of darkness. If I had started with Way of Peaceful Warrior – it might have been different. One of the delights of this book (as it is with Castaneda, too) is that it takes the form of a story.
Another one that I recommend highly, which also takes the form of a story, is James Redfield’s, “The Celestine Prophecy.”
I’m sorry you had such a bad experience, although from the way you write now, I couldn’t imagine you being in darkness. I like the way you share your journey, as you are shining light for those of us who come behind you.
The art of the story is so powerful and such a good teaching tool.
Thank you for recommending the “Way of the Peaceful Warrior”. I placed “The Celestine Prophecy” on my wish list for future reading. I really enjoy these types of stories.
Chapter 2
The Web of IllusionIn this chapter, we follow Dan on his adventures. He visits Socrates again at the gas station. It’s late at night and the discussion turns toward a movie Dan has just seen, The Great Escape, about the daring escape of American and British prisoners of war.
Socrates makes the comment, “You’re a prisoner of your own illusions – about yourself and about the world.”
He goes onto to tell Dan that it Socrates’ job is to “point out your predicament, and I hope it is the most disillusioning experience of your life.”
And that made me think of a comment he made in an earlier chapter: “You hold many facts and opinions, yet know little of yourself. Before you can learn, you’ll have to first empty your tank,” referring to an analogy he made of a gas tank needing to be emptied before it can be filled.
This is foreshadowing the accident that will empty out Dan of all of his preconceived illusions and allow him to see the bars on his now invisible cage. As painful as that is, it’s what will allow how to finally awaken from his disillusions.
I like Socrates’ analysis of the difference between the mind and the brain: “The brain can be a tool. It can recall phone numbers, solve math puzzles, or creative poetry. In this way, it works for the rest of the body, like a tractor. But when you can’t stop thinking of that math problem or phone number, or when troubling thoughts and memories arise without your intent, it’s not your brain working, but your mind wandering. Then the mind controls you; then the tractor has run wild.”
Dan thinks he understands, but Socrates isn’t convinced, as he says, “To really get it, you must observe yourself to see what I mean. You have an angry thought bubble up and you become angry. It is the same with all your emotions. They’re your knee-jerk responses to thoughts you can’t control. Your thoughts are like wild monkeys stung by a scorpion.”
After this conversation, Dan goes back into his world of college and sports and doesn’t see Socrates for several weeks. But the conversation stays with him, sorting itself out in the narrative of his life over the passing days as he tries to understand.
It’s clear that Dan is a seeker and open to what will happen. He buys a notebook and starts a journal. He takes note of his negative thought patterns and processes. He notices that many of his thoughts (if not most) are “noise”.
When he returns to the gas station, we meet another character – Joy. Joy is not really explained as to “who” she is. She appears in a way out of nowhere. She’s a young friend of Socrates and they all meet up again for a picnic.
The lack of any historical reference for Joy renders her a kind of mythic presence. Of course, the same can be said for Socrates. Dan finds himself feeling unable to reconcile his feelings for her and keep his mind from, well, turning into that tractor of the brain running wild, to go back to Socrates’ earlier analogy.
And so Dan turns to studying and training like crazy to drown out his thoughts and feelings. He makes a fool of himself in front of his class. He isn’t eating, isn’t sleeping, and appears a bit crazed.
And he becomes very suicidal and ends up collapsed from exhaustion in the infirmary. He makes an appointment with a psychiatrist, but doesn’t keep it. What would he say? How would he explain Socrates?
And when he next sees Socrates, Dan is sent on this wild inner journey where he meets another young student, a guy named Donald, who is wanting to jump off the ledge of a hotel and commit suicide.
Dan talks him down. There’s this constant emptying out and emptying in aspect to the book.
Dan decides to follow Socrates, to find out where he lives, and of course, he wants to meet up with the beautiful Joy again. But once again, Socrates catches on and sets him up so he never gets to see where he lives.
Dan is getting angry with his teacher, who is constantly one step ahead of him. But Socrates reminds him in a note that reads: “Anger is stronger than fear, stronger than sorrow. Your spirit is growing. You are ready for the sword – Socrates.”
And so ends Chapter 2.
Thanks for your post on the kundalini awakening. I really enjoyed reading that in the context of a novel. Millman is a brilliant writer.
I also enjoyed the Millman talk. The concept of the mind/body/spirit and how we don’t always take notice of it, of the interconnectedness of it, of the power of it.
Chapter 1 – Gusts of Magic
As we continue on the journey, we find Dan late at night, in the company of Socrates, at the gas station. The descriptions of Socrates from wolf, to tiger, to Grim Reaper, to cat, all set the stage for a mystical experience.
The Grim Reaper reference is a call-back to Dan’s earlier dream vision. And the animal descriptions bring in a shamanic element.
Socrates places his hands on Dan’s head and Dan is filled with a surge of electricity: “There was a loud buzzing, then a sound like waves rushing up on the beach. I heard bells ringing, and my head felt as if it was going to burst. That’s when I saw the light, and my mind exploded with its brightness. Something in me was dying – I knew this for a certainty – and something else was being born! Then the light engulfed everything.”
As Socrates goes onto explain to Dan, “I manipulated your energies and opened a few new circuits.The fireworks were just your brain’s delight in the energy bath. The result is that you are relieved of your lifelong illusion of knowledge. From now on, ordinary knowledge is no longer going to satisfy you, I’m afraid.”
The next day, Dan is unable to concentrate on his classes. The world has become more textured, more vibrant.
But unlike his studies, when it came to the hands-on work he does in the gym, he is in full form as a gymnast. His mind is uncluttered and clear.
Later in the chapter, we are taken on a journey of sorts, in Dan’s mind. We travel down a corridor with blue fog, we pass buildings and giant trees where buildings morph into boulders.
And into a gymnasium where he and Socrates end up perched high up on a beam overlooking a gymnastics meet. I think this must be a Middle World journey, of sorts.
In this vision, Dan is able to read minds. But more than that, able to tap into feelings and concepts.
And he takes note that the best gymnasts are the ones with the quietest minds.And also, while the gymnasts are performing, the minds of the audience also quieten.
And the vision continues on, across many countries, across many continents. As he travels, he explains, “I experienced every emotion, heard every cry of anguish and every peal of laughter. Every human circumstance was opened to me. I felt it all, and I understood.”
This experience leaves Dan shaken and feeling old but wise. He felt he had taken on the sadness of the world.
Dan falls into a deep sleep. He is shocked to find himself in the body of his 6-year-old self. He passes through a series of life stages as he sees himself growing up.
And he continues on, seeing himself marrying Susie, his college girlfriend, seeing his newborn son, seeing himself taking a job selling insurance. He goes through a phase of alcoholism, divorce, and being alienated from his son. All of this pain leading to a heart attack.
He wakes from this dream, realizing he has slept all night and most of the day.
He runs to Socrates who assures him that this dream is only one of many paths his life may take.
And so ends chapter one.
No bunnies is actually the hardest number of bunnies to visualise!
Lol, okay, that is very true. 🙂
The advantage of doing it as a meditation, is it can move, like flowing down stream or running along a road or path (my two favourite visualisations for falling asleep), or a flowing scarf that dances around before your inner eyes.
I haven’t thought of using this for sleep, but that gives me good ideas. Thank you.
You are familiar with 4-7-8 breathing.
To make your inner vision stronger, visualise the numbers as you count them.
You can visualise them in different colors – you can visualise the inhale numbers as expanding, and the exhale numbers as shrinking or contracting.
Or, if you want to dedicate a Practice to visualisation skills, set a time aside and practice “counting.” Visualizing 0-9. Put the 0 at the end. You can use any number of representations for the numbers – dice faces, roman numerals, numbers, or even a quantity of bunnies. One bunny. Two bunnies, etc. until you get to No bunnies.
I’d like to start here. This sounds “basic”, like building a platform to grow on.
You mention visualizing your Medicine Animals, so perhaps this can also tie into 4-7-8.
Although, you write, “No bunnies” and that made me feel sad.
These exercises also require concentration. Visualisation is an Air quality – but concentration is a fire quality. Focus of Will. This is a step beyond Mindfulness into Creation. You aren’t just observing, but you are actually creating the images, and choosing which images to create.
Recommended reading: “Creative Visualization” by Shakti Gawain.
“. .. you are actually creating . . . ” is speaking to me.
When I enter a prayerful situation, I “throw up” or visualise a medicine wheel, to remind me of the balance and fullness of life.
Then there is a game we used to play while hiking and camping. When you hike during the day, you see beautiful streams, trees, mountains, birds, squirrels, and sometimes larger mammals. At night you have a little fire to cook your meal, and then you are left with the stars and conversation.
An excellent game to play at this time is: “I close my eyes and I see…”
Are you able to use this visualize when you are home, away from nature, and may need it? Does it work that way? Is it portable that way?
Can people in large cities use this to surround themselves with nature? I’ve found guides here, but it seems “strange” and “disconnected” in ways.
This is a more playful way of flexing and developing your visualisation “muscles.”
It seems more “interactive”. I’m going to try it!
I don’t think of it as hierarchical, any more than your brother is more than your mother, or your companion animal is greater than your Power animal. They are all relationships to be approached respectfully, gratefully, and individually. They may have different roles or approach you in different ways. But not hierarchical, even though your life partner is more intimate than your brother, or your Power Animal is closer than your Helper.
Thanks, this is very helpful. I’m starting to meet more helpers and guides and this kind of contextual knowledge will help in knowing what to expect of them and what I should offer them.
As you travel, you develop more control and skill. You are able to focus on where you go, or who you want to meet. Even a skilled traveller might find himself in a strange situation and have to quickly adapt to what he finds. It is the nature of travelling.
Thanks, this puts things into perspective, as I’m sure even seasoned shamans have times when they get turned around. It’s “the nature of travelling” as you wisely say.
I traditionally think of my Body as my Guru, my teacher. It tells me when my stomach seizes up with stress, or when I’m exhausted from a long conversation. The better I listen, the more it tells me – like what kind of food to eat, or maybe I shouldn’t walk down that street just now.
This seems to tie in with the entire concept of shamanism – we are constantly advised to be in tune with what is not only around us, but what is in us. I like the way you phrase this.
There is a special practice called “Dream Yoga.” Castaneda writes of it, and I have some other books here about it. We can ride and steer our dreams, just as we can learn to ride and steer our journeys. It really is the same realms. You may even see clues in your dreams that you are “Middle World”, “Lower World”, or “Upper World.” This is called lucid dreaming.
The first step to lucid dreaming is a technique I have given you, called “This is my hand.”
When you can look at your hand, in a dream, in a journey – then it gives you steering control over the dream, the journey. That is why it is a good tool to use in your day-to-day. It might get you out of a nightmare someday!
I’ve been doing the “this is my hand”. In fact, I recently started wearing my watch again and that seems to get me “grounded” in the now-time. It doesn’t keep me from going into altered states, but it does help me keep up with the day, date, and time of day/night so I’m less disoriented.
I like this tool. Thank you. 🙂
Yes. I will come back to write more about this. I have written a few short exercises for improving visualisation. I will have to find them for you.
Many thanks! I look forward to reading them.
Chapter 7
Extracting Harmful IntrusionsThis chapter goes into detail about healing a patient using shamanic medicine with both animal power and plant power. Although plant helpers do not have as much power as spirit helpers, it’s a cumulative process with a wide variety of plants to help.
This chapter started out very difficult for me because of my own prejudices and belief systems that run contrary to the concept of “hostile energy intrusions”.
But then I took a really good look at some of my belief systems from my own religion (Judaism) – what is taught, what is no longer considered valid, what is outdated – and it’s clear – all belief systems and faiths look strange from an outside perspective. When you’re raised with a religion, you don’t see it the same way as someone on the outside does.
So I shifted away from “this is strange” to a more curiosity-based stance. “I want to learn from this,” I told myself.
And here are a few things I learned:
Many of western medicine customs and potions are based on the placebo effect and involve great risks to the patient, but the doctor stays safe. But a shaman takes a risk by using ayahuasca. And even if he chooses not to go that method, he is directly removing a power intrusion from the patient, which carries risk. So shamans are more invested in the healing process. Therefore, it’s much more humane.
I have to wonder if one of the reasons western medicine uses so many downers and anesthesia is because it removes the power from the intrusion or in terms of western medicine, from the infection (even if using the anesthesia removed the power of the intrusion without it being intentional, as western medicine doesn’t carry that belief system).
A major takeaway I gained from this chapter is how lost the western human really is. As Harner writes, “From a shamanic point of view, the very fact that certain animals and plants have been tamed and domesticated for food and other forms of exploitation is symptomatic of their lack of power.”
Another major takeaway lies in the concept of a shaman “becoming the patient”. This involves an enormous amount of empathetic creativity, something not seen in western medicine, especially in the current climate of only seeing a patient for a few minutes and then writing out a prescription. As Harner writes, “When the shaman is satisfied that he can identify emotionally with the patient, he is ready to undertake the critical phase of the healing work.”
The concept that a shaman needs to “learn what it is like to be the patient, what the patient’s outlook on life is, what are the patient’s problems and hopes.”
Compared to western medicine, this is indeed enlightened.
So I left this chapter feeling ashamed of my earlier beliefs that this was somehow primitive and unscientific.
In fact, there’s a certain sense of “grace” and “enlightenment” that not only serves the shaman and his or her people well, but unlike western cultures, they heal themselves AND they heal the planet.
As we venture farther into the extreme weather patterns of climate change, our own lack of insight and empathy – for planet for animals and for people – shows how little progress we have made and how much we really can learn from the culture of the shaman.
At the Drumming, I like to describe animals as our Past Selves, what we have evolved from, the traits we can incorporate into our Humanity to make us more Human, the Powers we can Remember to enhance our growth and learning.
Harner speaks of becoming One with the Power Animal. I call this a Gift – the Gift of Transformation or Shapeshifting. Not all communications with the Medicine or Power Animal involve transforming into that animal. We have a lot to learn from walking with the Animal, side-by-side, of gazing into his/her eyes, of listening to his/her song, of dialog – asking questions, and listening, and of exchange of gifts, the formula of: “What do you have for me? What can I give you?”
I had a bit of a “lightbulb” moment here. The Past Selves. Yes, this might be why some spirit animals feel “familiar”. I feel that way with my spirit friend Bright, a frog. He’s like an old friend, a wise friend.
It’s not carved in stone how you interact with your Helpers, Medicine, Power animals. Transformation is not a prerequisite – though – it is more likely to happen when you have a deep affinity for that animal.
So I guess if you have a fear of certain animals, it’s unlikely you would bond with them in this way.
Chapter 6
Power PracticeThere seems to be a connection between staying in contact with your guardian animal power and staying in contact with your emotions. A kind of shamanic CBT, only nature replaces words, positive spaces of nature replacing the negative and toxic day-to-day . .. . Or perhaps I’m reading too much into Harner’s words?
Harner states, “Before proceeding to more advanced work, you should make a number of journeys down into the Tunnel to see your guardian animal and to consult it.” So does that involve Lower World journeys? I’ve seen doors (maybe leading to Tunnels in the Middle World journeys).
The two main reasons to consult your power animal is to solve a personal problem and to find treatment for a patient’s illness. But it’s also good to just visit with your power animal without any reason.
Harner writes about the nature of sleep and the dangers of sudden awakenings, including the fact that it’s not “shamanically healthy” to awaken to an alarm clock. I agree with that!
Harner writes about dreams and the differences between “big dreams” and “ordinary dreams”. The big dreams can be reoccurring dreams or they can be so vivid, it’s like being awake. Perhaps he’s referring to lucid dreaming?
Big dreams are literal – if you dream of being in a car crash, it’s a warning from your guardian spirit that you will be in a car crash.
I’m a bit confused by the concept that a shaman can “enact the dream to prevent the reality of the crash on this plane of consciousness.”
In this chapter, Harner explores the healing power of a shaman, both in a hospital setting (only allowed in certain hospitals and only for Native Americans) and for distance healing. He cautions that the power needs to be transmitted from your power animal to the patient’s power animal, not directly to the person, as it could cause damage. And do not send your own energy, just the energy of your power animal. This prevents burnout.
Question – are there videos or tutorials on how to do “visualizations”? This was written about in this chapter, but I’m interested in learning more, if possible.
Harner writes about “power objects”, mentioning a rabbit’s foot that you might have had in childhood. I used to collect pieces of quartz and mica rocks. I never thought of them as being power objects, but I do remember being very curious about them and I felt comfort from having them around. Perhaps I need to go back to that mindset of childlike curiosity and comfort.
But I had no teacher, no community to pray for me. When a young person goes on a vision quest, the community prays for them, that the Vision will come and the young person will return with their New Name and a sense of Identity. I recently saw a program in Arizona/New Mexico which was months long, in preparation for a 7-day Vision Quest – and the community would pray for you while you called for a Vision. This is often the Vision where your Guardian reveals him/herself to you.
I spent days (and sometimes nights) alone in the mountains when I was growing up, but like you, I had no teacher, no community was praying. There was no context to place the erratic wanderings.
But I do believe those early experiences set a place for future awakening, if presented with the right timing and space. I hope so, anyway.
Thanks for explaining Helper, Medicine, Power Animal, and Guardian. They seem to have differing levels of power, but in my own journeys, I didn’t come to them like going up a ladder, with one level of power leading to the next. My first experience was a visual – a human helper and teacher. And then came others, such as Bright. Is that typical?
I feel sometimes like that kid exploring the mountains without a teacher or guide as I’m doing these journeys. But at least I have some idea of what’s going on now.
The Mitakuye Oyasin (All my relations) video is beautiful. Thanks for posting it.
So the Urban Shaman who works with Spells of the City might gain Power and Knowledge – but is this Wisdom? For me, all Wisdom, the best Tome we have, is the Earth itself, and our Bodies. The Order of the Universe is laid out before us, showing us cycles and seasons, matter and energy, particle and wave, species and habitats, and Health.
I would hazard that most Urban practice – that is – pursuing Spiritual Secrets using the City as a tool – is Power Over work.
I noticed that your Journeys became more – comforting – as soon as the natural elements crept in. As soon as you experienced birds, trees, Frogs. The secrets of nature are as alive in the City as they are in what remains of the Wilderness.
This “speaks” to me and let’s me know that all is not lost in the city.
But you are quite correct – there is a profound sense of peace when there is nature. I’ve written about “sudden” journeys taken (not intentional) that involved visions of rivers in skies and trees emitting from highly-trafficked streets. This is where I see my helper animals like Bright.
So it’s there in the city and as long as the intention of the journey is nature, it seems that the city because the background noise and nature takes the center stage.
If we could do that collectively, we could solve climate change. Nature MUST come first.
