When journeying, what do you do if you lose your way? What if you fully intended to journey to the Upper World, but somehow got pulled off track and start gliding through the Middle World! Don’t think it can’t happen, because it does. Just like taking a wrong turn during a car trip through the countryside, we can find ourselves in areas that we had no intention of visiting.
Which in a lot of cases, is not necessarily a bad thing. Wrong turns sometimes lead to delightful encounters. There is a big world out there, in both ordinary and nonordinary reality, and there is much to be discovered. The difficulty is that if we start wandering into the nonordinary middle world, we do not have an assurance that who we meet will be unimpeachably compassionate or else simply part of the scenery, as would be are our encounters in the upper or lower worlds. Those in the middle world may have secondary agendas or a desire to extract some of our power. Or, they might be willing to assist so long as we are serving some purpose they have in mind. Middle world inhabitants may be powerful, yes, but they are not constrained by ethics or benevolence.
Recently, I received a report from a practitioner who had in just this manner, lost her way. I am pleased to quickly add that she came out of this unscathed. In fact, she was protected all along the way, although it perplexed her at the time as to why protection was necessary. What was likely her saving grace, was the pure cleanliness of her intention: she is completely oriented to serve through shamanic ways in the healing of others. It is most likely for this reason that a few kind-hearted spirits showed up to make sure she would be OK. Whether they were ancestor spirits or compassionate upper worlds spirits who saw a practitioner in need, they stopped by to give her a hand.
I offer you her story because it introduces some significant issues that all shamanic practitioners face in the process of learning the technical protocols that insure they will be safe during their work. It is a wonderful story because it is perfect for learning about the middle world, and because it turns out well. And we like stories with happy endings!
Here is what she had to say:
"I went to my sacred space with the intention of journeying to lower world to meet with my spirit guides to ask the question: 'What spirit helpers guide me in the directions, and how can I communicate better with them in order to facilitate healing for those that want it.'
I cleansed myself, my space and my sacred tools with cedar and sage. I began to rattle, and I ask for any spirit that would like to be called upon to make their presence known to me. The stars, as they are our ancestors, should be called upon when I call in the spirits of North. I should also call in the moon and the buffalo. The spirits of the wind, the feather and the flute would like to be called in with the West. Summer, faeries and winged beings would like to be called in with the South along with the natural resources of this area (rivers and lakes). Spring, plants, buds, new growth, illumination and expansion would like to be added when I call in the spirits of the East. I continued to rattle, and I called in the directions as I normally do, adding in the spirits mentioned. I felt a greater sense of connectedness to their energies. I felt like I had honored and respected the spirits by doing so.
I stated my intention three times and I began my journey. I started out on a dirt road. A man from aboriginal descent walked along the path with me. He was thin and completely naked. As we walked, I noticed the spirits within the trees, the plants, the birds and the wind. He told me to pay attention to rock people. He introduced me to a rock person, and she invited us to feel the energy of her being. We both laid our hands upon the boulder, and as I did that, I became the boulder. I was cool, strong and confident. I was sturdy, and I had such an intense energetic vibration. Although I appeared to be physically solid, I was actually made up of pure energy. 'We are all the same even though we are all different', the rock person explained.
I was then sitting upon the rock in a canoe with the man. We slid off the rock into a stream. We traveled out to a larger body of water where an opening appeared in the bottom of the canoe. I slid down the opening into the water. I swam underwater and started digging a hole in the sand at the bottom. I dug and dug until a tunnel was formed. I became a grain of sand and was blown through the tunnel like the wind through an aboriginal wind instrument. I traveled down and down. I could sense a beautiful winged being holding her child lovingly to her heart, and I felt loved and protected. I came out in a sheath-like protection. I was told that I was being protected.
I am not sure what I was being protected from.
I was shown the spirits of the East and the South, but then I was moved quickly to the spirits of the West. I felt as though there was an elderly man with a white beard and long robe guiding me along. He told me that I can see in the dark, but I must overcome some of my fears. A snake appeared, and it opened its mouth and its fangs sunk into my face. The man asked me what I was afraid of, and I told him the poison from the snake. I was afraid of the pain and the eventual death that would follow. He told me that I must overcome those fears. Death is growth. I must experience pain, poison and death to move forward, expand and grow. The snake coiled itself around me, squeezed me with all its might and then left as I did not react to it.
A black pit appeared before me. The man told me that many serpents could live within the black, ugly hole. It was unknown. I was willing to go in, but I felt as though my helping spirit guided me away from the blackness. I was told that I would meet many spirits along the way that would pretend to be my ally but would indeed be something entirely different.
If I made friends with them, they could turn into my allies eventually.
I then felt like I was part of a lion. I could feel the hairy face, the eye and the nose. I was told that this was a true spirit helper in the West helping along my path. The lion can see through the dark and reach the light. The lion has keen senses and walks with great presence. The presence of the lion demands great respect. When I breathe in the spirit of the lion, I will fear no more. As I walked a path through the woods, I walked out of the lion and into my own body. I was between the West and the North when I met my spirit guide Joseph. Joseph is with me all the time. He travels with me to the upper, lower and middle worlds…
Once again, I felt that I was out of my own body. I was a radiant, flowing ball of light energy. I was now in the North. It was winter and night there. There was a magnificent tree in the center of this world. The night sky was luminous, and I could smell the dew in the night air. The sky was midnight blue and moon was full and bright. The tree called to me, and I stood at its trunk looking up its enormous height. The tree was so tall that it reached the stars in the midnight sky. It all felt connected. I felt as though the tree became the stars and the stars are my ancestors. I became the tree and my energy connected with all that around it. My energy flowed out to the moon, and I became the moon. The drums began to call me back. I thanked all the spirit guides who had come to assist me in my journey. I told them I had to go now, but I would return. I returned to ordinary reality, released the spirits and sat quietly absorbing the lessons from this journey."
First, there is no doubt but that this was an extraordinary journey, Moreover, the amount of information that she was given compares to the wealth of information that comes from successful upper and lower world journeys where we encounter our 'tried and true' animal and teacher spirits. Yet, this was all done in the middle world! How can this happen, when the middle world is supposed to be so tricky and potentially untrustworthy?
Personally, I believe it all started with the purity of her heart. Our spirit helpers come to us when they are sure of the depth and compassion of our intention. I think this is why the aboriginal being who showed up for her when she was unknowingly drifting through middle world nonordinary reality, stuck by her despite her perplexity. She recounted how the journey was spontaneous, and how right after she started, this aboriginal came to her as soon as she stepped onto on the dirt road. When we journey to the upper or lower worlds, we always pass through some kind of portal, whether it is ranges from a gossamer thin membrane, to a stubborn pile of rocks, or even a simple doorway. There is always, however, some kind of clear boundary between middle world of nonordinary reality, and the worlds that are upper or lower.
She had not passed through such a boundary.
Of course, it could be that the aboriginal, the elderly man with the white beard, or the winged woman with the child could be upper world spirits. Perhaps they saw a practitioner in need, albeit unknowingly, and quickly came to assist. Or, perhaps these spirits, particularly the aboriginal, could be what are called ancestral spirits. 'Ancestrals' are spirits who has chosen to remain in the middle-world of nonordinary reality in order to assist persons who are furthering their own purposes. Ancestral spirits choose to not transcend (cross over) into the upper or lower worlds, and they do this in order to protect and defend something in ordinary reality which is important to them. For this, they stay back and remain nearby to protect, defend, and even assist. For instance, they may be protecting such things as an ancestral line, or an art or craft guild, or even a place. They actually can be very supportive, which is one of the reasons why many shamanic cultures maintain close relationships with their ancestors. On the other hand, these spirits can also be quite destructive if they believe one is dishonoring or endangering that for which they stayed. In this woman's account, it clearly appears that these spirits are protecting, guiding and even teaching her. This would be because they realize her purpose is aligned with theirs.
Well, if these are ancestral spirits, what is their purpose? That would be not too difficult to surmise. Since for instance, the aboriginal declares he is there there to protect her, his purpose must therefore, be at least in some measure the same as hers. What is her purpose? She is a longstanding practitioner who has power animals, spirit guides, teachers and allies. She is someone who people seek for healing and support and who has used her journey experiences to help others heal. She is deeply committed to serving as a shamanic healer for her community. This is her purpose.
So why is are they protecting her? If they are middle world spirits, perhaps she is being ‘protected’ from veering off her shamanic path of service, which happens to be in alignment with theirs. Or, perhaps the aboriginal may only be a guide through this journey, compassionately helping her along. All of this has yet to be determined. There are still many questions about this whole experience for which we would need to find answers in order to have full understanding.
All of this is still conjecture, as we still do not know for certain if these are ancestral spirits. They could also be upper or lower world spirits who this practitioner has not yet met. We would not know this for certain unless she could also see them in the upper or lower worlds. Ancestral spirits do not go into the upper or lower worlds. If they were also encountered there, then we would know for sure that they were compassionate upper (or lower) world spirits, and not middle world ancestrals.
What could go awry during a wrong turn into the middle world? Middle world spirits may be there, eager to take our power, and ordinary reality sorcerers (similar to shamans, yet who work with middle world spirits) may be involved in such antics. Dark things can occur in the middle world. Being bit in the face by a venomous serpent is not something we would seek without it being a part of a compassionate healing, teaching, or a daunting test of our character. Let's hope that this is a test, and a teaching. We are tested by our spirit helpers in order to gain teachings. As she writes,
“A snake appeared, and it opened its mouth and its fangs sunk into my face. The man asked me what I was afraid of, and I told him the poison from the snake. I was afraid of the pain and the eventual death that would follow. He told me that I must overcome those fears. Death is growth. I must experience pain, poison and death to move forward, expand and grow. The snake coiled itself around me, squeezed me with all its might and then left as I did not react to it.”
Clearly, she is still being protected. Now we know. It is a difficult test, and an important teaching. She is undergoing profound challenges in this journey, and in response, she is definitely rising to the occasion.
She continues: “I was told that I would meet many spirits along the way that would pretend to be my ally but would indeed be something entirely different. This first statement reflects the nature of middle world spirits. ”If I made friends with them, they could turn into my allies eventually. This statement points to their ancestral nature. Again, this is saying that if she is in alignment with their intentions, or in other words, if she makes friends with them, they will in turn befriend her.
Working with ancestral spirits is the way of the aboriginal. Many ancestral spirits are part of the aboriginal day-to-day world. The Australian aboriginal for example, who this native well might be, carries a world view that ‘cris-crosses’ across an ancient landscape in which ancestors, people, and the terrain are merged. There is always the possibility that she is being shown and introduced to the spirits of the directions, and some of those related to the directions, spirits to whom she was calling as the journey suddenly began.
One never intentionally heads into the nonordinary middle world (unless we are coming and going to the upper or lower worlds) without a power animal or spirit teacher there to watch over us. With the appearance of Joseph, one of her longstanding spirit teachers, we can breath a long sigh of relief. Now that Joseph is showing up for her, and appears quite relaxed about the situation, we can regain our confidence. Things are ok.
And more than ok, they are magnificent! “I was a radiant, flowing ball of light energy… The night sky was luminous, and I could smell the dew in the night air. The sky was midnight blue and moon was full and bright.” And, she was shown a tree, one that sounds like it might be the Tree of Life, which anecdotes throughout history describe as reaching to the upper and the lower worlds. Since this was shown to her at the culmination of her journey, she might consider that being shown this tree is especially significant, and possibly a path in for her to follow in her upcoming journeys to these realms.
Fully understanding that any readers of this account are already well experienced in shamanic journeying, I would still encourage you to closely examine your paths to the upper and lower worlds, for when you get to the upper and lower worlds, there should always be a portal that assures that you have crossed in. Whether it is as thin as gossamer, or as thick as piles of heavy stone, and whether it is as easy to get through as a doorway, or as difficult as shifting sand, be sure that you are in the upper or lower worlds if that is where you intend to reach.
Without it, you may have taken a wrong turn!