This could either be questing within or using the Tree of Life as a guide. Journeying is done by imagining or visioning. You will enter what is often called an "altered state of consciousness" or an "ecstatic state." Basically it is a deep meditative trance in which you journey, most often with the help of a spirit guide, within yourself or using the Tree of Life as a map. Journeying allows you to communicate with your spirit self and with the web of power. Most shamans use drumming to help them into and out of a trance state. You do not have to use drumming, and rhythmic sound will work, for example ocean waves. You may use tapes, but it is best if there is some control over the rhythm to adjust it as the need arises, so it is preferable have "live" music. You may either drum yourself or have someone drum for you (which gives you the added benefit of having someone to watch your body as you travel). You can journey without the sound, but it really does help you get into the mood and go into a trance easier. It also helps call you back from your journey. I would suggest that you do not try to travel without it until you are very comfortable with the process. Besides how hard is it to find something to tap on? You do not have to have a fancy drum, an empty tissue box will do in a pinch. The length of a journey depends on the person and on what they are trying to do. Try and make sure that there will be no interruptions. If you find outside thoughts intruding just accept them and move on. The same holds true if you try to judge what you see. Just accept that your mind is trying to judge then move on.

When you travel remember to be respectful, calm and patient. You won't get very far if you aren't, in fact you will probably get some rather amusing lessons on it. Normally the answers you get will be simple and direct, they can also come in puzzle or dreamlike form. If so there is often more to it than there seems. Do not try to think it to death just let it rest and you will understand when it is time. Accept what you are shown or given (gifts from the spirit world should be treasured) even if what you see makes no sense to you at the time. Trust that it will eventually when the time is right. You should have no expectations or preconceived notions of what you will find in the spirit world, if you do it can skew what you find there.

If you try to journey and nothing happens don't panic and, no, you probably did nothing wrong. Don't stress about it. You might not be ready or it might not be the right time. Just wait and try again later. Timing matters and remember that practice makes perfect. Make yourself comfortable and relax in whatever way you feel most comfortable. Make sure you will not be interrupted. Start (or have a friend start) drumming or chanting or some other rhythmic sound. Close your eyes and focus on your question. It does not have to be a yes or no question, but try to make sure that the phrasing of it is not biased to a certain answer. Think or say something to the effect of, "I will gratefully appreciate and help I am given and try to use it for the best of all concerned." Remember that you do not have to use the advice that is given, but remember to accept what is given without judging it. Ask your spirit guide to protect you as you travel and to protect your body while you are away. Visualize an opening into the earth (for instance, a cave or spring) using all of your senses. As an example, I visualize myself deep within a pine forest and then walk down a path to reach the opening of a den in a hill. Wait for a guide to meet you at the entrance. It may or may not be your animal guide. If it for some reason makes you feel uncomfortable ask it to leave (remember to be polite) and for another to come or for it to change its form. If no guide comes then try again at another time.

Tell the guide your question. It will then ask you to ride it, follow it, or in some way go with it as it takes you swiftly down the tunnel. For instance, I am normally asked to hold my guide's tail. The trip through the tunnels may be short or long and may have many twists and turns. Don't worry about it. Just note the directions as you go. When your guide stops you will be in a landscape, or a library, or any number of possible places where you answer can be shown to you. I am often dropped off in front of a door I must enter alone. Even though I am "alone" I can still feel my guide protecting me. Accept what you see and/or experience and any gifts you might be given. Leave when you are asked to or when you feel you should, whatever comes first. Normally your guide will take you back to where you started, but if not just remember to return the way you came. If not you might get a bit disoriented and your memories of the experience will not be as clear. Remember to thank your guide. Next become aware of your physical body and when you feel ready open your eyes.

Write down your experience if you wish. Remember not to over analyze it. If you don't understand just wait and the answer will come clear. One of the most basic beliefs of shamanism is the belief in the web of power that runs through all things. Shamans believe that everything is alive and is connected in a mutually supportive way to everything else in the world. It is this web of power that brings sense to the world. The web has an unlimited amount of potential and power to send to the physical world. Understanding this web of power, this spirit world, is necessary to understanding and learning shamanism. All objects in the physical world have "spirit." It is the spirit that is the source of power. Shamans communicate with the spirit of both living and (what most would consider) non-living things. Through this communication they gain an understanding of the world around them and the more you learn the more power you have to draw from.

As a general rule, shamans believe that unlike natural objects, plants and animals, each human has his or her own unique spirit body. (I believe all things do, but that's my twist on it.) This spirit body can be see surrounding people like brightly colored flames or heat waves. The spirit body normally extends around people anywhere from eighteen inches to about three feet and responds to how people feel and what they are thinking. Brighter colors have higher vibrations and darker, duller ones have lower vibrations. Some believe that the size of a spirit body equates to how much power a person has. Basically it is aura by another name. Since shamans deal so closely with the spirit world it is easy to become "lost" between the real and the spirit worlds. People who are always daydreaming or are said to have their heads in the clouds are such unattached people. Shamanic presence is the ability to live with a foot in the real world and a foot in the spirit world and not forget who and where you are. This is done by keeping balanced, grounded and 'present,' or mentally aware of your physical presence. Shamans must know where they are at all times. This is one of the reasons shamans seem powerful to others, they always know where they are. People very familiar with Shamanic techniques and very aware of their presence can do a quick inner journey while walking down the street. One way shamans stay organized and focused as to where they are is through use of certain images. One is the Tree of Life. Its roots are in the Lower World, also known as the underworld or world of the dead, where shamans go to talk with ancestors, to find lost information, or to find information about diseases and other things to do with the physical body. Travel to the land of the dead should not be attempted without a guide. The trunk of the tree is known as the Middle World. Often the trunk is seen as square, one side for each of the four directions and their corresponding season. It is the magical version of our reality and shamans visit it to solve everyday problems. The branches of the tree are in the Upper World. It is a place of the future, creativity and flight. No one world is viewed as better or more important than any other and most shamans from around the world have used similar guides. Another such image is the medicine wheel, also known as a mandala. It is a circle that is divided into four sections (or sometimes subdivided down to eight) that symbolize the four directions. The circle of the wheel symbolizes the Middle World, the sky above it, the Upper World, and the earth below it the Lower World. the center of the circle is the center of the universe and the entire circle, including the Upper and Lower worlds are spiraling to the center. Every person has a place on this wheel which symbolizes where they are in relationship to their spirit center at the center of the circle. The better you know your center the more power you will have.

Here is a simple exercise to help you find out where you are on the medicine wheel.

Center yourself and relax. Close your eyes. Create a medicine wheel in your mind. Divide it into the four quarters with two lines intersecting in the middle. Decide which line stands for which direction. Make a dot in the center and then color the quadrants however you wish. Let a spirit animal come to symbolize each quadrant. Don't think about it, they'll come if you should be doing this. If not stop and try again at another time. Ask your spirit animal to show you where you are in the wheel. Remember the quadrant, the color, the spirit animal for that section, and how close you are to the center. Feel free to ask your spirit guide what this means for you at this time. Thank the spirits for their help and come back to where you are (in other words, feel your body and what you are sitting on etc...) Then open your eyes. Write and/or draw what you saw. You should do this every so often to see where you are in relation to your center. missing out on a wonderful experience and not meeting their full potential.

Charles Lightwalker is an author, shaman, channeler, medical intuitive and healer. For more information call 509-389-7290 or visit the web site: www.thefamilyoflight.com