Q&A: Strange Experiences in Journeys

Question:  Carla I keep having strange experiences in my journeys.  They are more like fantasy experiences than anything.  Any clue as to why this is happening?

Answer:  I get this question frequently.  Anyone who has experienced a shamanic journey will attest to the fact that questions asked are rarely answered with a specific yes or no answer.  Rather they are given a ‘story’ that one must find the answer to the riddle to.  Answers in life are deeper than yes or no.  Truth is deeper than yes or no.  The answers to the questions are based upon your individual truths and experiences.  The journey is sharing not the answer to a single question, but rather the guidance you personally need to move forward in your life.  Every question that you have in life is directly related to the total being of who you are, not some individual aspect of life. 

The second part of the answer is a journey can be full of riddles, symbols, and metaphorical meanings.  When you look deeper is when you see that the spiritual vibration or the energetic signature of the symbol has a defined meaning that is individual to you.  Learning to translate the meanings is a journey itself.  A symbol (this fantasy journey or even a metaphorical symbol) has a far deeper meaning than the surface level.  One example that was given to me early on, when I see the color blue what does that mean.  Does it mean blue skies, blue ocean, cold, or holding my breath?  Same color with vastly different meanings.  Translating the meanings many times must be done in context of the journey.

Understand that when you journey and you receive an answer in this way it is meant to go deep into your soul consciousness.  You must go deep to truly understand them.  It is vital, in my opinion, to keep a record of journey’s in a journal.  In this way you can watch for patterns, go back and re visit a journey and come to a full awareness of the meaning.

Shamanic journeys are a way to cut through all of the blocks and obstacles such as fear and insecurity to allow you to see beyond the single question to a wide horizon.  A journey is never meant to give a quick answer.  They will reveal to you the ways in which you need to grow into expansiveness rather than remain stagnant.  

Seven Month Walking of the Spokes Workshop

Medicine is the essence of a person, the essence of a place, or the essence of thing.  From ancient times, the Medicine Wheel has been a source of great knowledge and medicine; a sacred walk to honor the Wheel of Life and provide insight into the human condition.  Exploring the spokes of the wheel and the stages of life shift perspective towards living a more centered and balanced life.  The purpose of walking the Inner and Outer Spokes are to create the ability to stay within the center of one’s power regardless of external conditions. 

In ancient times there were initiations and sacred rituals that were to spur and ignite energies.  In our culture today, we tend to be oriented to action rather than reflection. Reflection is a process of knowing how we know.  It is an act of turning back within ourselves.  The walking of the spokes is a sacred reflection and application of this ancient medicine in contemporary life to bridge the past and present in order to stand in our individual power of All Is One.  It is learning to bring the action and reflection into balance as you return to Wheel of Relatedness within the Wheel of Life. 

Walking the spokes of the Medicine Wheel is a contemporary approach to the ancient medicine that starts with the individual finding balance within then extending it to all their relations.  My journey involves spirit journals, journeying, and meditation to bring individual awareness and meaning to every aspect of life.  The medicines of these ancient teachings are for all people; we are all related.

As we have just completed a one month introduction to the wheel I have been asked by a number about the possibility of doing this class again.  This next walk will begin in January and will be a more in depth walk.  We will spend a week on each spoke and it will include a guided journey each relating to the spoke.  This walk will begin with a special fire ritual to set the sacred space, an explanation of the medicine wheel, exploration of the Inner and Outer spokes, and coming to your sacred center.  We will then go into the practical application into life through one on one mentoring.

This workshop will last 7 months and  cost of this online workshop is $200.00 per month which includes 26 written lessons, 26 guided journeys, and 3 one hour one on one mentoring sessions.  At the end of the workshop you will be able facilitate taking others through the walk of the spokes.  The class size will be limited due to the in depth nature of the workshop and the amount of one on one work involved.  You will also have the benefit of one of my students who will be providing further insights and be available to answer questions.

To pre-register, send an email to shamancarla@verizon.net with Medicine Wheel in the subject line.  This is an online workshop designed to learn the application of the essence of the medicine within the Medicine Wheel and can be done at any time that works for you.