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By Tim Jones
The shamanic
journey is a method of working in an altered state and is achieved by
using sound, such as a repetitive drum beat. It is called
"shamanic" because working in an altered state in this way is found in
most indigenous cultures. However, it is not limited to
shamanism. The journey can be described as an active form of
meditation and is very useful in exploring the psyche and enhancing
personal growth. Our
purpose in offering this column is to create a forum, like those
created in our classes, where people engaged in a shamanic journey
practice may deepen their work with the journey, and their
understanding of the journey as a tool for healing. The journeys shared
here are offerings meant to shed light on the reader's own process. We
invite you to contribute a journey, or simply receive the journeys in
the sacred manner in which they are intended. To submit a journey for
consideration, please email us at info@sacredstream.org.
 During the past few months I noticed changes
with my
heart. It started skipping beats and it began fluttering in series of
rapid, shallow beats. The fluttering was more irregular than the skips
and a lot more disconcerting. These experiences became more noticeable
when I was trying to relax or just trying to go to sleep. This
was all new and I wasn’t sure what to do.
Eventually I saw a doctor who had me do a series of tests, including a
24-hour heart monitor. She concluded it was nothing serious “unless it
bothered me,” something about ventricular contractions. Although I felt
better that whatever was happening to me was not life threatening, it
was still a constant reminder that something was just not right.
I decided to try a journey on the following question: What do I need to
do to heal my heart? I’ll do whatever it takes.
As the drumming began, I encountered a group of mean looking, ugly,
malevolent faces. This had never happened before when beginning a
journey, and I didn’t know who they were at first. But then I realized
they were faces of my own fear reflected back to me. I brushed them
aside and then continued on my normal path to the lower world. I
noticed a look of astonishment on their faces as I moved past them.
I dove into the beautiful lake I go to. The time is always just past
sunset when there’s a band of red light along the horizon of the
mountain to the west. The sky has a rainbow effect as I look up above
the horizon. Red turns to orange, yellow, green, then blue to eventual
blackness with stars beginning to emerge on the darkened field.
The malevolent ones followed me as I swam to the grotto of the big
cats. When I arrived the followers turned away.
I asked my Jaguar guide if he would take me to take me to the place of
the red sand and blue sky. He agreed, and when we arrived, we sat for
awhile. I was leaning against him, and we were talking about how I
really want my heart to be healed. I told him I would do anything I was
asked to do.
A little blue and white bird flew in and told me to follow. We flew
into a cave or tunnel and we were moving so fast, everything around the
bird and myself was a blur. We were in the tunnel for some time and I
stayed up with him every
moment of the way.
Suddenly, we flew out of a hole in the ground and we were at the
Cathedral Square in Mexico City.
As soon as I realized where I was, I found myself riding on the back of
Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, as we flew around the plaza. Then,
all at once, the Cathedral became the great pyramid of the ancient
Aztec city.
I was standing on the altar of the pyramid, smoke rising from a hole in
front of me. On the other side of the hole was standing the high
priest. He told me I was to sacrifice my heart.
I lay down on the altar itself. He sliced open my stomach, reached up
into my chest and pulled out my still beating heart. He lifted it up to
the sky and it flew upward toward the sun. When it reached the sun
there was a flash that brightened the sky. Golden shafts were streaming
from it going all directions and falling back to Earth; it was a
beautiful sight. The heart was filled with golden light and it came
back to the altar and into my body, healed.
At that moment I saw myself back inside the Temple of the Black Sun at
Teotihuacan. I was taken back to a moment when I was there with a group
of people. I re-experienced that moment when I saw Quetzalcoatl
streaming through each of us, connecting each of us through our hearts
as if a string holding together a necklace of pearls. We were the
pearls.
The drumbeat changed and the little bird reappeared to bring me back to
the Jaguar.
Jaguar and I returned to the grotto. I thanked him for his help and
left.
I am happy to report I have had no further issues with my heart.
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