Am I making this up? (And other common shamanic journey mistakes)
Shamanic journeying is a practice that brings us into direct contact with spirit. It allows you to travel to different dimensions of our reality and various spiritual realms, communicate with spirit helpers who love you, and clearly access the wisdom of your own higher self.
Sounds amazing, right?
It definitely can be. But most people encounter some stumbling blocks along the way.
When you’re just getting started, you might feel a little confused…wondering if you made everything up, or did it right, or can trust what came through.
At other times you might feel really frustrated or disappointed, like nothing happened and you just can’t do it.
This is normal. All of these experiences are normal. And none of them mean that you’re special or more of a natural, or that you're not good enough, or that you can’t do it.
The truth is that a million things can affect our shamanic journey experiences.
Even experienced journeyers encounter obstacles sometimes. It could be as simple as the time of day was off, or you were feeling too distracted. Or, maybe something that seems totally unrelated was getting in the way, and the next time you try it will go so much easier (or vice versa!).
Ebbing and flowing with the intensity and clarity of your journeys is normal, especially at the beginning.
Give yourself grace and know that spirit has your back, even if things feel challenging at times.
Over the years, I’ve taught hundreds of students and clients how to journey successfully, and I’ve seen the same questions arise again and again. Let’s look at some of the most common obstacles that arise when you’re exploring the world of shamanic journeying.
7 mistakes people make when taking a shamanic journey
1. You think that you’re making everything up
One of the most common questions I receive around journeying is...How do I know if I’m imagining it or if it’s real?
Here’s the thing—it’s always both. Imagination is the language of spirit. So yes you’re imagining it, and yes it’s real.
Of course, this can be hard to believe because our very creative minds imagine horrible things all the time. We have that lovely negativity bias to ensure our survival, so not everything our brain comes up with is real, clearly.
The key with your journeys is your intention and your state of consciousness. This combination—setting the intention for spiritual guidance and shifting into a calmer brainwave state that supports spiritual insight—ensures that you can trust whatever comes through.
But this doesn’t mean that what comes through will make sense right away, which leads us to the next important point around our journeys—spirit also communicates through symbols.
2. You take your journey too literally
One of the biggest mistakes beginning journeyers make is trying to take what happens in their journeys literally.
For example, you might see yourself writing a book. Does this mean you’re supposed to write a book? Maybe. Or maybe it means your guides want you to look at your life story like a book, focus in on a particular chapter, or change the story you tell about your past.
Wondering how to learn your own symbolic language? Here’s the thing—shamanism is a results-based practice.
If you’re worried you're making things up, or you don’t know what something means yet, wait and see what happens! Do you feel better afterwards? What happens if you follow the guidance you receive?
3. You haven’t found the best way to alter your consciousness yet
Another common obstacle people encounter has to do with your unique style of journeying and getting into a shamanic state of consciousness.
Maybe you listened to a drumming track, but you actually need breathwork to help shift your awareness. Maybe you laid down, but moving and dancing would work better. Some people have a much easier time staying in their bodies rather than sending their awareness out, as well, so this is another style to explore. Just keep experimenting, and eventually you will find what works for you.
4. You haven’t found the right length of time for your journeys.
Related to finding the journey style that works for you is finding the length of journey that works for you.
Some people simply need more time to move through the arc of the journey, and they continue to go deeper and deeper. Others might find that they lose concentration if the journey goes on too long, getting their best insights right away. Again, there’s no right or wrong way here—just another element to experiment with.
5. You expect the journey to be like watching a movie
The next obstacle that might arise comes from expecting the journey to be like a movie rather than fully experiencing it through all your senses. This can take practice, as we’re all trained to passively consume information and entertainment in this way.
But the more effort and intention you can bring to engaging all of your senses and feeling yourself experiencing vs watching the journey, the clearer and deeper your journeys will become.
6. You need to learn how to work with your unique intuitive gifts.
At this point, I think it’s really important to mention that we all have different intuitive strengths related to our senses, as well. Some people have a really hard time visualizing but can feel energy shifts in their bodies. Others see perfectly clearly but struggle to hear anything.
All of us have some intuitive senses that are stronger than others—and all of us can strengthen every intuitive sense.
I call these the clairs. Here’s a quick breakdown:
Clairvoyance—seeing
Clairaudience—hearing
Clairsentience—feeling
Claircognizance—knowing
Clairolfaction—smelling and tasting
Obstacles in our journeys can arise when we expect to see things, but we’re actually much more clairsentient, or vice versa. And to be fair, it can seem a lot harder to interpret journeys that are mostly clairsentient or felt, rather than laid out in a visual and auditory story. (I have some tricks to help with this though, which I share in my intro classes!)
Look back at your own journey. Which senses felt strongest to you? If you thought that nothing happened, maybe there were actually feelings that came up for you to explore. Or maybe you had “thoughts” come out of nowhere that you assumed were distractions, but are actually your claircognizance! Give yourself time and freedom to explore here.
7. You’re taking things too seriously.
There’s one last obstacle I want to touch on, and this one is really important: Taking your journeys too seriously!
Yes, this can be serious work. But it’s also lighthearted and joyful! True shamans, and great spiritual teachers from all paths, are always laughing!
Laughter neutralizes our perfectionist tendencies and joy elevates our spirits. Can you bring more levity to your practice? Your helping spirits are already giggling with delight waiting for you to join them.
Resources
Which of these obstacles have you encountered in your own journeys? Know that you aren’t alone, that your experience is normal, and that you absolutely can cultivate strong, clear journey skills over time.
Want to develop your own journey practice?
If you’re just getting started, take my intro course, The Art of the Shamanic Journey.
If you already have a journey practice and want to go deeper, you need 144 Shamanic Journey Prompts.
If you’ve met your spirit animal and want to go deeper, The Spirit Animal Workshop will help.
If you want personal support for your own shamanic practice, you might be a good fit to work with me.
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