I found the Society for Shamanic Practitioners and did one of the journeys I found in an article there, “Exploring the Shamanic Landscape” by David Beck that can be found here:
https://shamanicpractice.org/article/exploring-the-shamanic-landscape/
I did the journey to the first shamanic ancestor I have in my lineage. I went to the Lower World and asked my protective spirit, a fierce and loyal Ant, to come with me and Panther wanted to come, too. I then went to the upper world and Brandy, my UW protective spirit, and Althea joined me. We returned to the Middle World and journeyed to Scandanavia, which I fought because I thought it was too cliched even though my birth grandmother on my birth father’s side was from Sweden. I pushed my skepticism to the side and followed this path.
We found my ancestor facing north. I think he was looking at the northern lights. I introduced myself and he asked what my real name was. I told him my birth name and he stated that I should use that name when doing shamanic work and journeying, as that is the name that my ancestors would recognize.
I walked with him and asked him about his journey and how it started. He stated that he talked to animals, so he knew that he was different. He loved the ocean, even though he was not near it, and loved running water, as do I. He went on from there. He didn’t give many details about his shamanic life, so I will go back to find out more. I asked him what is my shamanic journey, and what I’m supposed to be doing.
My ancestral spirit said that I need to get off social media, arguing with “idiots.” He stated that I should be in nature, and studying shamanism, keep learning and journeying. Continue healing and crossing people over. Open my home to drummers. Study COVID 19’s gifts. Yes, it is bringing great tragedy to our world, but it has great lessons for us as well. The earth created this virus and it’s here to teach us that we must respect the earth. The earth has gotten a break from most human activity in the last two months. It is healing and breathing. We are a destructive species and we have to learn how to live in peace with the earth. I didn’t get to ask how to do that with so many “idiots,” but will do that, too.
He also said I should use my sobriety and spiritual experience and share it with others. Write it down in a book. Write about how I got sober, how art helped me and how shamanism solidified it. Include information on a spiritual path, as that is important for achieving sobriety. This is something I should get to work on. I think it would be called “Getting…and Staying…Sober – A Creative and Spiritual Path to Living a Sober and Healthy, Happy Life.”
That seems to be something I can do rather than argue with “idiots” on twitter.
Blessings to you all.
Nancy Lee Dunn 