“I never see anything in my journeys.” Have you ever said, or thought, this? Do you sometimes feel a bit intimidated when others share vivid descriptions of panoramic visions from their journeys? Do you feel like you are missing something, or doing it wrong?
You are not alone. Many, new to the Shamanic journey, may have these, or similar thoughts when they don’t experience visions in their journeys. As humans, we love our stories. Most people, when relating their journey experience, wrap it in a story. It’s easy for our minds to process and understand. Many of the stories you hear didn’t actually unfold like a movie behind closed eyelids. There are many different ways to experience the Shamanic journey, but it’s easier to share with others in the form of a story.
Some people do have vivid, visual journeys; but others may only have brief flashes of images. Or maybe just vibrant colors, that have their own stories to tell. Many people never, or seldom, ‘see’ anything; there are many other valid ways to experience the journey that are just as powerful.
There are audible journeys. These come in many varieties. Sometimes you might hear a story narrated to you, as though a book was being read aloud. You might hear music, wind blowing through the trees or grasses, waves crashing on a beach, the voice of birds or animals. There may be overheard conversation; you may be a participant or merely a listener.
The story may just ‘be’ in your mind. These may seem like you are just making up a story, but pay close attention the odd twists that appear. Those things that you would not have put into the story if you were making it up. These are the things that let you know that Spirit is guiding your experience.
Some of the most interesting journeys are physical or tactile. You may experience the feeling of running until you are out of breath. You might feel the wind or rain on your skin. Sometimes you can actually feel the blood flowing through your veins or experience particular sensations in your bodily organs. Some the most interesting tactile journeys involve shapeshifting. You may feel your body changing and moving in abnormal ways; hearing, smelling, tasting differently.
The knowing or information download journey can be the most powerful. It can feel like you didn’t journey at all, or maybe fell asleep. But, suddenly there are ideas and thoughts and plans that were not there before. This type of journey often takes days to completely unfold; the amount of new knowledge is sometimes too much to handle all at one time.
So, don’t worry about whether or not you see anything in your journey. Just relax and accept the experience that Spirit offers you. Don’t be concerned that your experience is not like those you hear around you. Your journey experience is very personal and is designed to give you information in the way that you best process it. Your experience may change over time, or even from one journey to another. Just because you usually have a visual journey, don’t close your heart to a tactile journey when it is presented. Accept with an open heart and mind the gifts that Spirit has for you. And suspend expectations.