OMG... Have I Been 'Slimed?
This is an exchange I had very recently with a new practitioner. As she will recount for herself, she met a spirit who cast a dark shadow in her life, and she became spooked. Actually, more than this, she was unnerved enough so that she waited more than a decade before moving forward with shamanism. Sadly, her experience is not at all unusual, for in the recent period of human history, we have culturally forgotten the old ways. And hence, we have also forgotten how to deal with matters such as hers.
It is our sincere hope that more and more people regain this knowledge, and can help us find our rightful place in the world. There is no reason for difficulties with 'spooks' once we learn what powers they have, and more importantly, what powers they do not have!
And more than even this, all such things become quite tidy and uneventful once we learn what powers we already, do have.
I have tremendous gratitude for this writer's allowing us to have privy to her innermost thoughts and concerns, for they speak deeply to many of us who have, or will, face something similar. For confidentiality, she is simply known as 'L'.
Steve
Dear Mr. Serr,
…I wanted to know how I would approach a problem. Several years ago, I had a really bad experience while meeting my spirit guide and haven’t been able to do any serious meditation since then.
thank you
L.
Dear L.,
Let me know a little about what your experience was that troubled you, and what about this seems to be getting in the way of proceeding from where you were at the time. Let me know a little about this, as it can happen for a wide variety of reasons that are usually fairly clear in retrospect and seen in perspective.
…Let’s iron out your question first, and then proceed.
Much love!
Steve
Thank you.
Here’s what happened
It happened a while ago, over 12 years. I was fairly new to meditation, but i had a pretty good handle on it. I was meditating to meet my Spirit Guide. I came across a beautiful meadow, with a river. There was someone there, waiting for me with a canoe type boat (like you see in Italy). I couldn’t see the person 'waiting', but I was under the impression that he was going to take me to my guide. He helped me into the boat. The river was beautiful. We went down the river a bit. It was starting to get dark when we went over to the bank of the river to get out. He helped me out of the boat to a place that at first didn’t look unusual. But as soon as both of my feet were out of the boat, it changed. It was very dark; the trees were bare and dead looking. The person who brought me was a little ahead of me, waving me to follow. I became very uneasy and abruptly ended the meditation.
Afterwards, and for a few days, I was in constant fear. I had the constant feeling that I was in serious trouble. That something evil was with me. It took me weeks of diligent meditation to clear my energy and get whatever it was to go away. I never tried that again. I’m afraid that whatever that was, is still there, waiting to find a way in again.
Dear L.,
It sounds like you were journeying through what in shamanic terms, we call the nonordinary middle world. This is a realm where a great deal of ignorance exists, and because of the dangers inherent there, we do not work in this area until the advanced coursework… Level 3! Several things seem to be missing: first, you don’t seem to have a path to a specific compassionate realm, and second, you seem to be taken by a being that you have no idea who or what it is.
No worries, just a brush with a middle world spirit. Of course it would be unnerving, but the spirit can do little to you aside from try to intimidate, which they are very good at doing. Your efforts to make certain there was a firm boundary between you and the spirit was intuitively, right on track.
In the training you will receive here, protocols of safety are firmly taught and deeply engrained, and it was simply that you didn’t have that kind of information available for you prior to ‘taking off’! You will be dealing with many, many spirits, power animals, souls and soul parts over the course of your training. All of this becomes very matter of fact after awhile. The protocols, if followed, are truly enough. By following them, you will have your own spirit helpers to empower and protect and guide you, as well as have become empowered and knowledgeable yourself. A little education and empowerment goes a long, long ways.
I am sorry for your experience, but you were actually pretty fortunate, as many who start working with these things without anything but a courageous spirit have gotten into a lot more trouble. You extricated yourself from it rather adroitly.
Although it unnerved you, it appears to me to be a non-issue and something that can be left simply as an instructive experience.
What are your thoughts?
Much love! (and an encouraging pat on the back!)
Steve
Dear Steve.
How the heck did I get there? Was I supposed to be able to get there? I had only been meditating for less than a year.
Can I assume that the thing that followed me out (or did I just get slimed)… isn’t it still around?
I think that if i get the protocols for safety down, that I will be ok. It might take me a little longer and a little more effort to work through it.
Thanks,
L.
Hi L.,
What I can see, given everything you have recounted, is/was simply a consequence of not knowing the steps of journeying. Your experience could happen to anyone under these circumstances.
On the other hand, you may have been given a significant challenge by what are called ancestor spirits, who remain in the middle world even though they could transcend, but choose not to because they desire more to remain close to those who might help their particular interests. It is not unusual that ‘tests’ are given to potential candidates for working with them, and they are quite ordinarily fearsome, since they want to find out what this new person (you) is made of and if you are able to approach with courage, etc., and are not dismayed by appearances.
The other thing is that as I suggested as possible before, which is that it was an ordinary middle world spirit who just wanted to tap into some of your life force since they cannot subsist in the nonordinary middle world on their own, not having any!
There is no way in retrospect to determine what exactly was the nature of why you experienced what you did until you begin to gather your own spirit helpers in animal form and spirit teachers so that you can ask them. In all cases, the only way any’ tapping into your life force’ could even start is if you were unknowingly, actually helping them establish some connection with you. They cannot do establish such a connection entirely on their own, which is one of the reasons why they come on in an intimidating manner.
If it was an ancestor spirit, they would not have any desire to be a drain on you, for they would want you to be as strong a possible so you could do good shamanic work. Family lines and cultures with certain ancestor spirits do, I think, negotiate a fair exchange through their widespread devotions, which undoubtedly helps such spirits continue to exist without essence of their own, but no one is unfairly singled out so that it is harmful to them. It is an even trade-off, since the ancestor spirit does much to help and protect their lineage. I have met and interacted with such spirits, as have many other practitioners, but unless you have a cultural preparation and specific ancestor spirits in a particular community for whom such connections are alive and understood, it is generally suggested to avoid such spirits until you are confident and educated in working with them.
Now, considering all other middle world spirits than ancestor spirits, here is no way that any other middle world spirit could continue to tap your essence unless you were vulnerable to this and had established an energetic relationship with this spirit. Therefore you response was entirely correct, which is to cut all thoughts and relationship with that spirit. The other thing however, would be the necessity of developing your own power, which can do such things as increase the strength of your boundaries.
Working through shamanic training involves first developing this power and these boundaries, along with learning the safe protocols. Aside from journeying through the middle world on your way to the compassionate realms, you are not interacting with middle world spirits at all. This is hard for some people to do when there is an attraction, even if it is attraction catalyzed by fear, to ignore and pass by what may be encountered there.
Thousands and thousands of practitioners have been trained to journey without mishap because they develop the power and learn where to put their attention, where to go, and what to do and not do. As you have already told me you have a career in the medical field, it is certain that you clearly have these skills, for in your field you well understand how important such protocols are for your and everyone’s safety.
I am a little concerned about the ease with which you can bring this skill to address the middle world and its spirits because of the ‘charge’ that this incident still holds for you. It may well be that any depression, disease or unfortunate occurrences that began to happen, if such things occurred after this incident, might be related to such a ‘tapping into’ by that spirit and your continuing thoughts and attention to it, as this is a primary way they work to keep the connection alive: through intimidation and consequential fear, hence attachment to between you and their ability to tap into your power through this.
The strategy for dealing with a case like this is simple, if indeed it was the case. You must sever any connections with that spirit, especially such responses as fear, and you must develop your own power so as to find your balance and remain unflagging in your separation and personal empowerment.
There is no blame here if this happened, but it is not so widely recognized in our present era that connections between the spirits and ourselves is always a two way street. For this reason, many, through fear, actually keep alive the very connection they wish to cut.
I have seen many, many students work through such things and it is only the approach of the student that makes the difference between their ability to negotiate such things, or not. If you choose to study shamanism you will have to develop such boundaries, as all students must. If you have any question about this, it would be reflected in your daily, ordinary life, where boundaries would also be hard to maintain. In this case, you would be nagged by what other people were thinking about you, and have difficulty simply walking your own path, with others who trespass on your boundaries continuing to do so.
Think this over carefully and decide if you can and will establish such boundaries. There is no ‘sliming’ issue if it happened that cannot be dealt with. Ironically, it is not the ‘slime’ itself that is the issue, but whether we choose to completely clear it off and not let it on again.
Does this make sense? This is middle world work that we do not approach until advanced training, but in your case with your concerns, I feel it is justified in acquainting you with at least these things as well as passing on your experience to other so that we all can make our decisions thoughtfully.
I can teach you shamanic practice well, but it is assuredly going to take courage and steadfastness on your part.
Much love!
Steve
This makes perfect sense.
My only question (right now) is that if it were a test, could my ancestors have known that I was going to do this a long time ago? Or does time mesh when it comes to the different worlds?
I'm good with the boundaries. No major issues. I have no problem establishing boundaries; in fact, everyone knows who I am and what I stand for. They just think I'm weird, both my family and my husband’s family. When I worked, everyone knew a little about it. Our friends know. My two sisters, who are also in the medical field, dabble in Reiki and such also. So, I think I’m ok there.
I really want to do this. I have felt all my life that an important piece of me was missing.
This has to be it. It feels right. I just need to buckle down, listen to what I’m being told to do, and do it.
L.
Hi L.,
Yes, the ancestors would easily have known. There is no ‘time’ in nonordinary reality, so it is not a matter of a year or thousands from that standpoint.
All things will be revealed ‘with time’ (in our human way of looking with things) over the course of your unfolding in this. Yes, there will be things to surmount, but anyone with the will and courage can. You can, and judging by your tenacity with this, you will!
Much love,
Steve