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The colour of the clothing also contains a lot of information.
Red is the colour of life, of earth, of Tribe
Orange is the colour of sensuality and relationships
Yellow is a colour of power, the sun, and purpose.
Green and Pink are colours of the heart, of courage, nourishment, connection, health and well being.
Blue is the colour of communication, and Royal Blue might be about leadership
Indigo is the colour of space, inner knowing, seeing, prophecy and magick
Violet is the colour of connection to the Divine, spiritual advancement, and That Which Is Greater Than Me.White is the essence of a thing, purity, refinement, the source. It is the colour of death in Asia, as we are reduced to our purest state when we shed the body.
Black is the unknown, the mystery of Yin, intuition, and protection in the darkness. It is the colour of death in Western practice, as we go into the great unknown when we shed our body.Gold is solar, speaking of power, upliftment, royalty and deity, while
Silver is lunar, speaking of inner reflection, contemplation, and feminine deity.Cloak:
The cloak is a way of separating yourself from ordinary reality. You hide within, a form of invisibility without. The cloak represents a journey into the spiritual realm, and a talisman of protection to help you through your transitions.
Why do we wear clothing at all? Protection, warmth, beauty, support, culture & art, purpose.
What do we learn from one another?
I had one dear friend who said, “Always wear the same thing, and then people will always recognize you.”
I have other friends who I’ve never seen the same outfit twice.
There’s creative expression in our clothes, and if you apply intention to clothing, you can give yourself the vibrations and resonances you need.
Can you breathe in your clothes? Are they flowing, or crisp? What can you learn about yourself from your clothes?
Coat is protection against cold, against abandonment.
Losing your coat is allowing yourself to be vulnerable.
It can also mean “shedding a skin,” as in preparation for transformation.
Condensed from Alexis Cartwright, “Animal Magic: Transference Healing”
Elephant is unconditional love.
He is the largest surviving land animal, with a lifespan of 70 years. The herds are matriarchal, while the males move in to bull bands once they are mature. They only visit one another when they are ready to breed. Elephants help each other through birthing labour.
Elephant is gentle, compassionate, caring, wise, strong, brave and loyal with an excellent memory. S/he may seek revenge if mistreated, and remembers ill treatment. Elephant takes care of the herd, if one is hurt, the others look after her. There are even stories of Elephant grieving and burying the dead.
The Greeks saw Elephant as wise, and believed its breath to be healing.
Elephant is always prized for power and strength.
It is said that Buddha once chose to incarnate as a white elephant, and the appearance of a white elephant is heralded as god-sent.
Alexis Cartwright says that Elephant magic may be enhancing your connection to your female spirituality, and healing your heart chakra. It may be hard for you to forgive, and may be time for you to release painful memories to find resolution and peace.
Releasing the traumas of the past can dispel illusions and fear, and help you deepen your connection to your heart chakra and bring for the vibration of unconditional love.
Elephant has the strength to trust and surrender through the heart, and can strengthen the connection between your heart and emotional body, facilitating healing.
Information on Alexis Cartwright is available here: Alexis Cartwright – Transference Healing
Yes, I think it is a variance in terminology.
What he is calling “Ally,” I would call Shadow, or Daimon.
Daimon is a Greek word for a guiding spirit.
One of my teachers talks about turning Demons into Daimons. (sorry, can’t remember his name right now). This is the practice of facing your fears and finding the gift and integrating it.
It’s ironic, because that which was once a Daimon, a helping spirit, was Demonized by the Roman Catholic and Christian practices. If it wasn’t the Church, it must be “The Devil, or one of his Demons.” (superstitiously, I might add)
So – originally a Daimon, now seen as a Demon can bring fear and suffering, and yet – at the heart of every Demon, is still the Daimon who helps, teaches, guides and even drives us to growth, learning, expansion, transcendence and liberation.
Allies – are more like Guardian Spirits to me, those Special Helpers who are always there. When you develop a relationship with a Helper that transcends this problem or situation – and the Helper becomes a friend, a companion, a protector – this is what I describe as Allies.
It’s terminology, I’m sure. All of these are Personal, but they dwell in the Collective, and bring you Power from there.
I don’t see Allies as arse-kickers, I certainly see that Shadows (your personal dark side) and Daemons can kick your arse when you fall out of balance.
Clear as mud?
In Norse Runes, there is a Rune about Waterfall.
Laguz:
The shape of the Rune speaks of water building up and cascading over the edge – a waterfall.
The Rune Poems also discuss the Rune as water in general.
- Icelandic:
Water is eddying stream
and broad geyser
and land of the fish.- Norwegian:
A waterfall is a River which falls from a mountainside
But ornaments are of gold.- Anglo-Saxon:
The ocean seems interminable to men, if they venture on the rolling bark and the waves of the see terrify them and the courser of the deep heed not its bridle
(these three from “Runic and Heroic Poems” as edited by Bruce Dickins 1915, reprint 1968)
And, this one, a more modern translation, from “The Rune Poem” translated and annotated by Jim Paul,
- Anglo Saxon:
Seasick and tired of water,
then terrified as the storm-surge
sweeps over the ship.All of the Rune poems speak of large change – whether a waterfall over a cliff, or a storm surge at sea, and the ability to be flexible and resilient in the face of this watery change.
Coda asks:
Do you think in pictures instead of words so you don’t go back into your head?
When I do Medicine Wheel, my personal version can be verbal, visual, or sound based.
The one I was working with in the HeartMath experiment was visual. I was worried that pictures would take me into my mind – but – surprisingly, the images came more freely when I “cast” them from my heart.
It’s an interesting dichotomy. I’m guessing (more experimentation required) that using sound might be even more heart-based, and that words would be the most mind-based.
Then Coda asks:
Do you ever find you learn more by teaching? When I’m explaining something to someone, I find that I reinforce my own education.
Yes, and more. What helps me learn best is not always explaining – because a lot of this is experiential – based on doing.
So listening when I “teach” (I prefer “facilitate,” because the real teachers are within you, not me at all.) is more important than explaining, talking.
When I hear how someone’s experience is different to my own, what challenges are presented, it really requires me to be flexible in my view and learn from the viewpoint of others. That’s where “teaching” has the most value for me.
I do learn from listening to questions and trying to address them. But if I possibly could, I’d rather answer it with an experience, than with talking. There is deep value in stories, but if I learned every story I possibly could, it would still not be enough to address every question. But if I show you how to find your stories, how to learn from your experiences, that is so much more powerful than any little story I could tell.
Chapter 8 – I want to think about for awhile because I’m getting confused with his terminology for “ally” which in some places seems to be what I call “Shadow” and even “Collective Shadow,” and in other places seems to be “daimon,” or “helping spirit.”
All in all, it sounds as if this book would be valuable to do multiple readings of – to revisit it every so many years as you learn and grow!
In Runes, the horse is the symbol of “two can go better and faster than one.” It speaks of marriage, of partnership, of joining together to accomplish a goal or complete a journey.
In shamanism, Horse represents the power of the wind. He runs like the wind, wild and free – harnessed by humans, he becomes more intelligent, and humans become more mobile. Horse balances your ego and earthly consciousness; staying grounded while you learn about your higher Self.
The Horse pulls the Chariot of the Sun, and in many ancient tribes, it is a symbol of fertility, sexuality, sacred kingship, and a vehicle to journey to and from the Otherworld. Horse famously speaks to tremendous inner strength and persistence.
On horseback, you led an army of male warriors! You passed your horse-partner off to one of them, and went into the cave to the Underworld, where your Panther awaits.
This sounds like strong male support! It is either within you – your own male side – or without you – men around you. Likely, when your inner male is strong, you attract strong male figures to support you in the Ordinary world, too.
Just a comment about the beach. The beach is a sacred joining of earth, sea and sky. It speaks of the beginnings of journeys, of testing your edges and limits, and of opening to new, vast expanses.
It is at the corners – the corner between earth and sky, the corner between sky and sea, the corner between sea and earth – that the doors to the Non Ordinary realms open to you.
Do you remember the time of day when you were riding on the beach?
Also – another rune – Riding.
Raidho – RidingThis is the rune of Ritual, of Ceremony. Of repeating a thing until it becomes more true, and building on that ritual, that repetition, to strength.
Riding is the Chariot of the sun. The sun courses across the sky, lower in winter, higher in summer – wheeling on a path which is deigned, and will happen to the Right Pattern. Ritual, Riding, is Right Pattern. When repeated, it becomes powerful. To learn a thing, you must repeat it 300 times. To master it, 3000.
Ritual, Riding, Ceremony, repetition, will serve you well.
Great Work Coda!
“The most useful and special metaskill is a form of heartfulness; compassion for yourself and loving interest in the things you experience.” (p. 85).
I’ve been working on “heartfulness.”
I’m glad to have a word for it.
With my HeartMath EmWave biofeedback device, I attach it to my earlobe, and it tells me when I’m thinking (in my head) – and when I’m in my heart.
Mindfulness is brilliant, and an excellent discipline and training, but it is only a beginning in shamanism.
I did an experiment with my biofeedback device: I “cast a Medicine Wheel” in great detail with it. Usually, this exercise is an effort of concentration, holding my mind and visualisations to put this sphere of protection around me. But this time – I did the visualisation, and fuelled it from my heart. I didn’t think I could do it – I thought that the very act of visualising and concentrating would take me back into my head – but I was able to take the heart energy and send it through my concentration and visualisation, and the resulting Medicine Wheel was sweet and soft and very safe. I will be trying to infuse this “heartfulness” into my visualisations and disciplines more often!
As you develop in your ability to hunt and dream, typical barriers appear, inhibiting awareness. These barriers are classical edges going by many names. According to don Juan, they may be called clarity, fear, power, or old age. To attain any degree of self-knowledge and fluidity, you must confront these barriers. (p. 91)
I discuss Don Juan’s “Man of Knowledge,” and the barriers to that Knowledge, here: Shaman Explorations – Carlos Casteneda – Plant Medicine Allies and the Man of Knowledge
I was just talking to someone on Surviving Antidepressants about dealing with blockages. In that discussion, I defined these barriers as “things which stand in the path between you and your dream,” or things which do not nourish your dream.
I believe that the first step is curiosity, as we’ve discussed here many times before.
The next step is conversation – asking questions of the barrier to find out what it’s purpose is, what it is seeking, what it wants. Honour it’s existence by respecting it with conversation. An example for me is physical pain. I ask the pain, “What do you want?” and “How can I help you?” It may take time and persistence, but eventually the barrier, the obstacle, the Shadow will begin to converse with you, and it is there that you can begin to negotiate.
In negotiation, you take what you have learned about the barrier – perhaps the barrier wants you to lighten your load, or is finding it hard to deal with a certain person. You may not be able to just eliminate your load – perhaps it is a workload, and you need it to survive, or perhaps the person is your mother or partner, and cannot be easily avoided. By negotiating with the barrier, you can find a place where each of you – may compromise – but can find a middle path between what you want, and what the barrier wants.
The next step is integration. The barriers often represent a gift, a talent, something to be learned, a strength. By accepting the power of the barrier, and honouring it, you can adopt its strengths and yet retain your integrity.
I like Mindell’s comments on doubt and mystery. When we become certain of a thing, that usually means it is time to change.
In the I Ching, these changes are tracked. When a thing becomes too solid, that means it is changing, when a thing becomes too moveable, that means it is changing. Anytime an event heads towards the extremes, then that means it is time for the pendulum to begin swinging back.
The solution to Power – laughter! This seems strange, but as Mindell writes, “Power is a dreadful enemy; it makes you lose your humor and become increasingly depressed, serious, and bossy” (p. 93).
I was just learning more about laughter – laughter increases glutathione production, and improves your cells and cell renewal! So you really can stay young by laughing more often. It’s great to laugh at onesself, to not take things too seriously!
Or in shaman speak, “Following your body is like following the lost parts of your soul”
This is what I’ve been doing!
Sometimes I get discouraged, and feel “I am not enough,” and go in search of a Teacher, someone to help me to break through barriers and learn and grow, so that I can be more free, more open, of better service. But then I realise that my body is working very hard to teach me, and it – in concert with the whole of Nature – is enough. I don’t need a Teacher for me, but I am concerned that my learning is not enough to help others.
An example of my body and the whole of Nature working in concert as Ally would be the way I learn about cycles. I might have a bad day, feel unproductive, or unhelpful – but if I look to my body (it is tired, it wants rest and isolation) and nature (the moon waxes and wanes, the tides come and go, the sun is bright at noon and dark at midnight, the flowers bloom in spring, but seem dead in winter.) then I learn on a very deep level that my slow times are temporary, and that I will rise again, like the sun in morning, or a bud in spring.
I’ll be interested to hear how your “how to connect with allies” exercises go! (feel free to post them on the private side of the forum!)
Chapter 5 – The Hunter
The Spot is something I learned to seek out from Casteneda.
I write about it here: Shaman Explorations – Carlos Casteneda – Finding Your Place
When you have your spot, your place, you acquire direct access to the Earth, and this feeds and nourishes you.
I was listening to a talk by Ann Marie Chiasson about energy medicine and connecting to the earth (she is an MD who uses energetic exercises, tapping, and maybe even a rattle in her treatments – I will be writing about her soon on Surviving Antidepressants).
In this talk, she said that Westerners have chosen Rational Mind, and in so doing have turned ourselves upside down. In Chinese Medicine, we are meant to have cool head, neutral heart and hot pelvis. But Westerners frequently have hot heads, hot hearts, and cold feet.
She spoke deeply about the importance of connecting to the Earth in order to prevent getting depleted (she also uses shamanic principles in her practice). She says that most of us use our energy “sack” by the age of 40, and if we wish to continue in health and vitality beyond age 40 it becomes essential to have grounding and connection to the Earth.
This ties in with what I am learning from Taoist shamanic practices – the original trance practices were very depleting, and aged the practitioners prematurely. It wasn’t until they developed chi gung and yoga, and dietary practices to balance the drain of trance work, that the practitioners were able to live long and healthy lives.
This also fits the drain that psychotropic drugs, when used chronically, can cause. It’s something I’m very cautious about, as I use herbs and other substances to help me experience trance and vision. But I am aware that each herb, each plant, has it’s price – and this Spot, this grounding may be the key to surviving the plant-induced trance, as well as thriving and respecting the power of the plant.
I found this comment by Mindell very fascinating:
“In my opinion, it is the unconscious interest and talent in hunting power that has addicted many indigenous people to drugs like alcohol.”
Yes! I have thought much about this as I have journeyed here on the Australian continent, sometimes using substances. And as I taste the Place, the Power, and the Vision of it, I feel how much the aboriginals must feel cut off from their Place of Birth, their Ancestral Power – and how easy it would be to sniff petrol to “see the Dreamtime,” even if it is not their personal Dreaming, and is a horribly unhealthy way to touch those places. When you are traumatically severed from your Identity and Ancestors, how else can you Touch it?
So you need your Spot, your connection to Earth, your place of personal power.
In this chapter, both the hunter and the prey are explored
This ties into my current studies of “Animals of the Soul,” a study by Joseph Epes Brown, of the Oglala Sioux spiritual practice and relationships to the animals.
Black Elk said, “The animal hunted is sacred power. So to follow his tracks, one is on the path of power. To kill then the animal is to obtain power. All of this is wakan.” Wakan in my white understanding of it, refers to that which is sacred, mysterious, gifts of the Spirit.
In Oglala Sioux, the very acquisition of food – hunting – contained the elements of the Hero’s Quest, the sacred journey, and so the joy of the hunt was also the joy of celebration of life, of acquisition of power, and “success in the hunt” was about much more than just getting dinner.
Mindell encourages the reader to practice seeing visions and hearing voices and to explore altered states. Even hang out with paranoid fantasies! And, of course, use your second attention.
I liked the way, in the video with his wife – he slipped in and out of dreamlike states. He would lower his eyelids (not quite closed), and circle with his body, and drop into a light altered state. In that, too, he talked about how people worldwide abuse alcohol because this skill of dropping into dream while awake has been lost in our culture. I will be trying his technique to see if I can drop into trance just a little easier.
What is the difference between a madman and a hunter? Actually, there is little difference, which is probably why earlier researchers in shamanism thought that the shamans were psychotic or epileptic. The difference between a shaman and an ordinary person swamped by experiences is that the shaman’s tightness allows her to lead an ordinary life. She knows that now she is ‘hunting,’ and now she is just shopping.” (67)
It is the shaman’s insight and control that defines her as a shaman more so than her experiences. This is the grand take away.
I would like to emphasise the discipline of ceremony. Of cleansing, of calling to the Medicine Wheel, of formally honouring and respecting the Spirits, your Guides, and the Spirits of place.
Putting the discipline of this around the altered state makes the state special, and helps to steer the experience.
So as you and I have spoken of – curiosity is vital, but the insights are more likely to be available to you within the context of ritual, of discipline, of gratitude and of ceremony. Of Practice.
In the same way that the Drum has a specific pattern to guide the journey – and you always return, the ceremony puts boundaries, steering and navigation controls – and – the ability to return (which is often missing from spontaneous altered states).
“She can differentiate herself from her prey” (67)
Yes! This is the Mindfulness and the deep value of it. It doesn’t stop with Mindfulness (as we are often taught that Mindfulness is the end-all, be-all of well-being) – it begins with Mindfulness.
The ability to step back, witness and observe from an objective, neutral space is yet another key to accessing the keys, gems, and lessons of the altered state.
This struck me as being so profound because psychology is based on an individual’s experience, as opposed to the collective experience of humans, animals, plants, and the universe. Most Western psychology is based on a person’s dreams as belonging to that person!
Yes!
There are elements of collective – and personal – in the dream, in the altered state. I was working with Charlie5 about this, when I saw a prophecy in his vision, and the prophecy could be considered dark – but his vision was bright and true. How could it be both?
That is the paradox of the collective and the personal being shown in a similar vision. It is extremely difficult to parse this out yourself.
If you dream of being smothered by a bear (for example), does this mean that you personally are suffering from inactivity, or oppressiveness, or being overpowered? Or perhaps the Bear is a Bigger, Collective vision, or prophecy about power and the inability of poor people to get the resources they need because the Bear is taking them all. (to deepen the example, the Bear often represents Russia, in the collective and prophetic realms)
The paradox may mean both – or perhaps the collective part of the vision is true, but the Personal part of the vision finds comfort in the warm embrace of the bear. Like I spoke before, it is difficult to draw a discriminating line between the personal and the collective in vision. Most often, it is personal, but often the collective will peek through and try to educate you about something deeper.
Clues to this often involve archetypes – symbols of religion, or common patterns as described by Jung, that seem universal to much of humanity. This is extra tricky with animals, as they are archetypical – the wolf may be your personal teacher – or the wolf may be “at the door,” in a collective sense. Or both may be true.
It is in stillness that we can truly learn. Stillness, says Black Elk, is the very voice of G-d.
Gratitude is also key:
“To find the most magical element in life and the impulse for creativity, you need to be in a special, magical mood, the mood in which you are thankful for whatever happens, even if this is nothing. In other words, the way you hunt is by being the very object of your hunting.”
I wrote a bit about my attitude toward “The Hunt,” here:
Shaman Explorations – Asking instead of TellingIn reading this, I realise how I should have spoken about Gratitude, as well.
Asking with respect, with honour for the Spirits, is all fine and well, but it is Gratitude which fuels the relationships, the communication, and which propels our growth forward into a Spiral of Transformation.
I’ve written all over the shop here, but it’s been a great opportunity to link together what you are learning with what I am learning so that we both may grow.
Key points:
Ritual / Ceremony / Discipline / Practice
Mindfulness / Objectivity
Silence
and
Gratitude.Thank you!
In Joseph Epes’ Brown excellent treatise on Lakota Sioux animal medicine, he writes of the cocoon and butterfly as whirlwind energy.
I am not Lakota, and so it is difficult to convey a translation of the culture, but my understanding is that the cocoon is potential whirlwind power, and the winged ones (especially dragonfly, but butterfly also) have power with the whirlwind.
The whirlwind is the chaos, the spinning winds that confuse and confound. The cocoon harnesses the potential of the whirlwind, and the butterfly can harness the whirlwind. One of the powers of the whirlwind is the power to confuse and confound the enemy.
I’m reminded of the chaos theory saying which speaks of the beating of a butterfly’s wings causing a distant monsoon.
Other animals which have affinity with the whirlwind are bison (because he kicks up the dust), elk (who bugles), and bear (?), as well as dragonfly, moth and spider.
Chapter 4 – First Lessons
The book brings up the concept of the earth being able to dream. If you look to the Aboriginals, they believe in Dreamings, or ancestral entities, a kind of “world channel”.
This ties into what I’ve been reading by John Perkins, “The World Is As You Dream It.” I promise to review that book here when I’ve finished writing about Casteneda.
He speaks of Earth as Pachamama, our Mother, and right now, I reckon Pachamama may be dreaming about how to reduce the numbers of humans and their impact upon her other creatures.
But he also speaks of the power of our own dreams, to envision and Dream a way for Humans to be upon the Earth that will help Her to thrive.
James Lovelock put forth a scientific treatise that the Earth is a whole thing, a being, Gaia, and that by recognizing her, honouring her as a Life Form, we could solve many of our problems and attitudes towards resources.
The indigenous did this by only taking what we need. The concept of having unlimited wealth created from the backs of others, and the resources of the Earth – is counter to Gaia and Pachamama. Instead, approaching Her with love and respect is really, the only way forward.
“To our native mind, our shamanic heart, the “world” means everything on earth: leaves, breezes, airplanes. Everything in your world is part of your process.”
For example, some tribes speak of the Medicine Wheel in terms of the Four Winds. This is very real in ordinary reality (or first attention) as it is in second attention.
When you feel a breeze, where is it coming from, and where is it going to? An East wind blows towards the West – bringing ideas into feeling, for example.
Mindell goes onto explore the concept of “personal history” – meaning you need to detach yourself and not view yourself as the center of the universe. He speaks in the language of how you define yourself and the pressures of the outside world to define yourself for you. By removing your personal history, you take power.
This fits with a lot of Zen teachings, too, and concepts in Buddhism and Advaita (like Mooji). When you let go of the story – “I came from this, this was done to me, I did this,” and allow yourself to be the experience of the story, “This is the source of beginning, this happened, this was done through my body and being,” then you are one step closer to liberation.
This freedom is a step towards enlightenment, and the story no longer has power over you. The trauma did happen to the body which you personally experience, but the trauma itself is not personal. This means that – when someone attacks you for example – you can realise that their attack really has nothing to do with you. Instead, you see that it is a perfect mirror to them, and you are able to act out of compassion: respond instead of react to the story.
Yes, it is a lifestyle!
In fact, the shaman’s path is a forced one – “people are driven to it through illness, hereditary predisposition, dreams, magic, and bodily dismemberment.”
While this is true in traditional shamanism, I’d like to add that it is not essential in order to use shamanic tools. Certainly many people have experienced trauma of many sorts, and certainly many people who are involved in shamanism have a predisposition to the qualitative experiences of shamanism.
But I like to believe that the tools of shamanism, the Medicine Wheel, the cleansing, the Journey, and the integration of the Journey with the daily life – are available to all. Much as the communal experience of tribal celebrations bring trance, visions, and awareness of the Other Realms – and the time between celebrations can bring integration of those communal experiences. Not everyone who experiences shamanic reality needs to be a lifelong dedicated shaman.
I do think that every dedicated shaman must experience the Dark Night of the Soul, or the Shamanic Death – not everyone who participates in shamanism needs to travel that road, and the benefits of Collective Unconscious, or Dreamtime, or the Dreamingbody – are available to all.
Processwork does not focus on who you are or might become but on what you notice.
Mindfulness! Attention is everything. Yesterday I saw black cockatoos flying over the river. If I’d not paid attention, I would’ve just seen crows – but I did pay attention, and it turned out to be 6 black cockatoos. I watched a butterfly flutter at a tree – and I wondered what she was worried about. Turns out her mate was inside the bush, and the two of them flew off together. Attention brought that lesson to me. Watching clouds, observing insects, birds, breezes. It is the same in ordinary reality as it is in non ordinary reality.
Chapter 2 – Shamanism and Processwork
“Second Attention” – Villoldo, Casteneda and Jon Anderson of Yes all speak of Second Attention. I’ve only ever heard it referred to, never defined, so thank you for this.
I’ve thought of it in my own mind over the years as the second look, the deeper look – like the Observer in mindfulness meditation. Who is observing, or as Tolle says, “Who is the person that doesn’t like himself?” This attention-behind-the-attention of everyday awareness seems to fit the qualities of “Second Attention,” too.
According to Mindell, it also includes altered states and dreaming. But is it attention when those altered states overwhelm you from the Shadow? That thing which is called psychosis? Or – recreational drugs? It is an awareness, but I reckon second attention is more deliberate, more crafted. Paying attention while in the altered states, the psychosis, or while on the mind altering drugs, instead of being overwhelmed by it, or riding it for fun.
I watched some of the video interviewing him and his wife – they are darling together! But I realised that he has codified things that I’ve never heard of – like the “dreamingbody” – I’m guessing that this is the body as we perceive it in Journeys. Traditional yoga teaches about the subtle body – that body where the chakras reside and intersect with our “gross” or physical body. Other magickal practices refer to this as the “Astral body,” the part which goes travelling in the Middle World (and, by association, to the Lower and Upper worlds?) I wonder, is there a difference between the subtle body, the astral body, and the dreamingbody – or do we need a new terminology at all?
This gives me a sense that he’s trying to make academic sense of a thing, and hopefully by doing so, bring it to a more mainstream awareness.
This reminds me of the saying that sometimes, it takes a breakdown to have a breakthrough.
And – often even a breakthrough is interpreted with diagnosis words and drugged in our stolid, material Western world….
I’m not sure I have this completely right, but I think he’s saying that we are given the pieces of the stories in our dreams, but we need the narrative of the shamanic experience in order to convey a solid story. The shamanic river is that narrative that we can use as a framework to piece our fragments together.
Again, I think he is using his academic, therapeutic language to describe a thing. I understand that it is vital for him to do so – but the thing itself is an experience.
When one is skilled at Dreaming, as the Taoist Dream Yogis teach, then it is possible to string together a total narrative. When I was younger, nearly all of my dreams were in the forms of journeys – so I don’t preclude dipping into the “shamanic river” in Dream states. As I’ve aged (and suffered health consequences) I’ve lost some of this skill, but sometimes still experience what I call a “Whole Dream,” one with a beginning, middle and end, and a plot that moves through it. These are very special dreams, and are very revealing.
What he is calling the “Shamanic River,” is close to what I call “Unconscious” or even “Subconscious.” I define these two as processes which are below the surface of our awareness, a pre-verbal place where the Truth is waiting, but it is waiting in symbol and sound, vision and picture. The Unconscious is often more collective – involving others and archetypes, while the Subconscious is more personal, involving teachings which are more immanent in the personality.
This guy is making me go really deep in order to reach for his concepts!
The exercises at the end also tie into the “This is my hands” experience. By doing so, you can cross over into the dreaming, and steer the dreams.
Recording your dreams is like gratitude; the more you practice it, the more it will unfold for you.
Chapter 3 – The Path of Knowledge
Jung divides your life up in two parts – the first half involves adapting to society and the second half, you are dealing with universal and spiritual roles. Over time, you achieve what Jung called “individuation”.
I was just reading comments on Mad In America (where I posted about healing with shamanism), Mad In America – Healing After Psychosis where they were talking about Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs – apparently it was later adjusted to become an hourglass, for there is another inverse pyramid on top of the original pyramid, which includes the expansive lessons to learn once one has achieved individuation, or, self-actualisation.
Mindell asks what I think is a rather odd question – “How does the body change in response to increasing wisdom?
I was listening to a talk by Andrew Harvey about the yoga bodies – I think it was this one: Andrew Harvey – Evolutionary Mysticism and I have heard this asserted elsewhere, too: that, as we evolve, and become more aware of our Light body (even deeper, more profound than the subtle body) – it transforms all the other bodies (subtle and gross) into a wisdom and joy which lights the body from within.
This has been observed in Saints – and represented in Western Art as paintings.
I’ll be back for more…this guy is good!
