This is something I am very interested in – it seems something that is common to all paths, and formally as a new pagan (I think I have been one all along), I do not follow a particular path as yet.
I learned to meditate years ago when practising yoga, and I use the technique still. . I relax my body with stretching exercises, and then go into myself and imagine being in a place where I have been happy, and sort of drift off. However, I only ever went places in my head, and never attempted to look for people or entities, or thought that I was really journeying in other realms..
So my question is – how do you prepare yourself for journeying? Do you feel you are journeying just in your head, or are you really in other realms? I have read a bit about this, in a couple of books and on other sites (don’t worry, I am not a newbie know-it-all – just questioning J ) How do you know this is not all imagination? I find my kind of journeying very satisfying and relaxing, but fel there should be something more.
Cheers
Finvarra
Full Version: Pathworking/journeying
(back, and after coffee)
Preparation:
Nothing special, just getting comfortable somewhere safe, making sure I'm not going to be disturbed, that sort of thing. If you meant how I get from being fully awake to being in the sort of light trance which pathworking seems to involve-
I usually go down steps , each flight a different colour of the rainbow. The last flight ends in a hallway with a really solid door, and the key on a table. I take the key, unlock the door, carry the key with me (to get back fast touch the key), and go through the door. That's when the pathworking etc really starts.
Depending on how deep I've managed to go, sometimes I feel I'm definitely all "there", sometimes it's more like adding the detail & pictures to a story somebody else is reading aloud. Most of the time I can see, and I get some sound, but the other stuff is pretty faint.
How do I know it's not all imagination? I don't. This is why it helps to keep notes of pathworkings, a bit like keeping a dream diary.
It may not all be from elsewhere. Sometimes it's my subconscious being able to see and express things more clearly than my conscious mind can. And sometimes it's wishful thinking. But you get better at catching yourself cheating with practice.
But it's not all coming from me, as a couple of times I've been told things which I neither expected nor liked, but they turned out to be fairly accurate later.
I'm a bit surprised that you haven't gone looking for people or entities, as most of the pathworkings I've done have involved meeting somebody or something and interracting with it. That can be a bit abstract like becoming the element of air, or it can be more concrete, like going to see Sekhmet (and ending up pleading and arguing with Her).
One thing you can do to see how good you're getting - while pathworking "eat" a lemon, then come out. If you've got it more or less right, your mouth will have dried out and puckered.
Preparation:
Nothing special, just getting comfortable somewhere safe, making sure I'm not going to be disturbed, that sort of thing. If you meant how I get from being fully awake to being in the sort of light trance which pathworking seems to involve-
I usually go down steps , each flight a different colour of the rainbow. The last flight ends in a hallway with a really solid door, and the key on a table. I take the key, unlock the door, carry the key with me (to get back fast touch the key), and go through the door. That's when the pathworking etc really starts.
Depending on how deep I've managed to go, sometimes I feel I'm definitely all "there", sometimes it's more like adding the detail & pictures to a story somebody else is reading aloud. Most of the time I can see, and I get some sound, but the other stuff is pretty faint.
How do I know it's not all imagination? I don't. This is why it helps to keep notes of pathworkings, a bit like keeping a dream diary.
It may not all be from elsewhere. Sometimes it's my subconscious being able to see and express things more clearly than my conscious mind can. And sometimes it's wishful thinking. But you get better at catching yourself cheating with practice.
But it's not all coming from me, as a couple of times I've been told things which I neither expected nor liked, but they turned out to be fairly accurate later.
I'm a bit surprised that you haven't gone looking for people or entities, as most of the pathworkings I've done have involved meeting somebody or something and interracting with it. That can be a bit abstract like becoming the element of air, or it can be more concrete, like going to see Sekhmet (and ending up pleading and arguing with Her).
One thing you can do to see how good you're getting - while pathworking "eat" a lemon, then come out. If you've got it more or less right, your mouth will have dried out and puckered.
The usual disclaimer first - this method works for me but won't necessarily work for everyone 
Okay, to begin my preparations I find somewhere warm and secure to sit or lay (usually lay). I make sure the phone is switched off and that I won't be disturbed. I either pathwork naked or wearing something very loose and comfortable - you don't want to be too aware of what you are wearing during the journey - it'll alter what you are able to experience along the way. I work using candlelight to allow a little visual stimulus when I bring myself back (but not bright harsh light which is a heck of a shock to the system), incense which is fairly light and non-intrusive (something like spice apple or cinnamon), and music which fits to whatever theme I wish to journey set to a volume which doesn't intrude on my work.
Generally I don't bother with any extra wards or circle casting unless I am pathworking something which I feel could be easily twisted by an outside influence or which is intensely private to me. An example of this would be if I were to journey with the intent of accompanying or being accompanied by my fetch or one of the animals with which I feel an affinity.
I use the four-fold breathing technique to slow down my pulse and regulate my breathing, and to make sure I'm breathing deeply enough to relax properly.
(The four-fold breathing technique is a series of breaths on beats of four - four beats breathing in, four holding that breath, four breaths breathing out and four before the next breath in. If you can't do four, use three. The important thing is the rhythm.)
To take myself 'down' I use a series of steps. Depending on the journey these vary, but one of my favourite methods is to use the breathing exercise to calm myself enough to put myself into a room at the top of a tower, and to count myself down 10 or 12 steps, each step taking me further into the pathworking and further from everyday life. As I descend I concentrate on the cool feel of the stonework, the solidity of the steps beneath my feet, the damp scent of the stairwell... Once I'm 'down' to that degree I exit the tower and find myself in my chosen scenario - whether it be a garden, a field, another room, the coast, a moor, whatever. If I need to take myself any deeper I would then use another counting series such as stepping stones across a pond, or gates between fields.
Sometimes the encounters in journeying are planned. You go in with the express intent of finding your totem animal, spirit guide, a person or entity, or to communicate with a certain element or place. At other times, things will happen or come to you which were not expected. These can give you ideas for future workings, or can provide you with useful food for thought once you come to analyse what you have experienced.
To come back at the end of the journey, I reverse the counting processes. Each step this time takes me a step closer to the real world. At the end of the steps/counts I can open my eyes and find myself back in my reality, refreshed and ready to think about what I've experienced.
What is important to remember in journeying is that you are controlling it yourself. Even in a group working lead by another person, you are not being hypnotised. You are in total control of how deep you allow yourself to go and how comfortable you become with your surroundings. At any given point you can, if you really need to, bring yourself back just by opening your eyes or quickly reversing the process by which you put yourself under (i.e. going back up a flight of stairs, or walking back through the series of gates).
Personally, I see journeying much like any other tool of divination or visualisation. When you go 'down', you enter a different state of consciousness which makes you more open to your own subconscious and its knowledge. But you can also attract attention from others. If you have ever felt whilst working spells or rituals that the power you are using and generating attracts the attention of spirits or other entities then you'll know what I mean.
Pathworking can be used to explore situations or problems which you face in life, or to explore abstract ideas and places, to re-visit places which you have seen in dreams and which made an impression on you, or to gain a better understanding of brief experiences which you may have had during spellwork or ritual. Its worth trying as many different techniques as you can in order to find something you feel comfortable with and which is effective for you.
If I've missed anything or not explained something clearly, please let me know - its still early by my brain's standards
Okay, to begin my preparations I find somewhere warm and secure to sit or lay (usually lay). I make sure the phone is switched off and that I won't be disturbed. I either pathwork naked or wearing something very loose and comfortable - you don't want to be too aware of what you are wearing during the journey - it'll alter what you are able to experience along the way. I work using candlelight to allow a little visual stimulus when I bring myself back (but not bright harsh light which is a heck of a shock to the system), incense which is fairly light and non-intrusive (something like spice apple or cinnamon), and music which fits to whatever theme I wish to journey set to a volume which doesn't intrude on my work.
Generally I don't bother with any extra wards or circle casting unless I am pathworking something which I feel could be easily twisted by an outside influence or which is intensely private to me. An example of this would be if I were to journey with the intent of accompanying or being accompanied by my fetch or one of the animals with which I feel an affinity.
I use the four-fold breathing technique to slow down my pulse and regulate my breathing, and to make sure I'm breathing deeply enough to relax properly.
(The four-fold breathing technique is a series of breaths on beats of four - four beats breathing in, four holding that breath, four breaths breathing out and four before the next breath in. If you can't do four, use three. The important thing is the rhythm.)
To take myself 'down' I use a series of steps. Depending on the journey these vary, but one of my favourite methods is to use the breathing exercise to calm myself enough to put myself into a room at the top of a tower, and to count myself down 10 or 12 steps, each step taking me further into the pathworking and further from everyday life. As I descend I concentrate on the cool feel of the stonework, the solidity of the steps beneath my feet, the damp scent of the stairwell... Once I'm 'down' to that degree I exit the tower and find myself in my chosen scenario - whether it be a garden, a field, another room, the coast, a moor, whatever. If I need to take myself any deeper I would then use another counting series such as stepping stones across a pond, or gates between fields.
Sometimes the encounters in journeying are planned. You go in with the express intent of finding your totem animal, spirit guide, a person or entity, or to communicate with a certain element or place. At other times, things will happen or come to you which were not expected. These can give you ideas for future workings, or can provide you with useful food for thought once you come to analyse what you have experienced.
To come back at the end of the journey, I reverse the counting processes. Each step this time takes me a step closer to the real world. At the end of the steps/counts I can open my eyes and find myself back in my reality, refreshed and ready to think about what I've experienced.
What is important to remember in journeying is that you are controlling it yourself. Even in a group working lead by another person, you are not being hypnotised. You are in total control of how deep you allow yourself to go and how comfortable you become with your surroundings. At any given point you can, if you really need to, bring yourself back just by opening your eyes or quickly reversing the process by which you put yourself under (i.e. going back up a flight of stairs, or walking back through the series of gates).
Personally, I see journeying much like any other tool of divination or visualisation. When you go 'down', you enter a different state of consciousness which makes you more open to your own subconscious and its knowledge. But you can also attract attention from others. If you have ever felt whilst working spells or rituals that the power you are using and generating attracts the attention of spirits or other entities then you'll know what I mean.
Pathworking can be used to explore situations or problems which you face in life, or to explore abstract ideas and places, to re-visit places which you have seen in dreams and which made an impression on you, or to gain a better understanding of brief experiences which you may have had during spellwork or ritual. Its worth trying as many different techniques as you can in order to find something you feel comfortable with and which is effective for you.
If I've missed anything or not explained something clearly, please let me know - its still early by my brain's standards
Thanks, that's really interesting. I actually do most of what you do, with the relaxation technique, and I have a gate which I through, leaving all my cares in a box beside it. I go down a hill into a wood, the Wood Between the Worlds I call it, where there are hollow trees and pools that I can enter and go other places. I've always thought this is just in my head though.
Perhaps I should start to seek out Others. I have to confess that as although I have had pagan beliefs for a long time really, it is only since I discovered UKP on the internet that I;ve talked to others and seen how much farther it can go. I;ve never yet done any spells or workings, nor do I follow any particular path. I do know that like in Esk's post, I dont think Wicca is for me.
Cheers
Finvarra
Perhaps I should start to seek out Others. I have to confess that as although I have had pagan beliefs for a long time really, it is only since I discovered UKP on the internet that I;ve talked to others and seen how much farther it can go. I;ve never yet done any spells or workings, nor do I follow any particular path. I do know that like in Esk's post, I dont think Wicca is for me.
Cheers
Finvarra
Sorry guys - know I'm posting a lot on old topics. It's my stress management system. Folks arrive tomorrow morning. I have a man fixing my house with a hammer and 101 things happening...when I can't cope, I go online lol
[quote=finvarra,Sep 13 2004, 10:32 PM]
However, I only ever went places in my head, and never attempted to look for people or entities, or thought that I was really journeying in other realms..[/url]
Big hiccup of contemporary psychology: 'in my head' But where is that exactly? You're surely only 'in your head' when you dream - but are you in control of that dream? Truthfully, rarely - even in lucid state not every aspect of the dream.
Where you go 'in your head' often relies on how much control you're willing to relinquish.
Fen said: "What is important to remember in journeying is that you are controlling it yourself."
A pathworking perhaps - not a journey. A journey entails new experiences, meeting new 'entities', being made to think. You can't be made to think about the things you already control - not unless you’re willing to let go of the control and examine them objectively through a fresh pair of eyes
There are some very scary places we can journey 'in our heads'. One way to look at it though, that will perhaps take you further than an awakened path-working, is to stop thinking of your thoughts and ideas all locked up in this cranium-shaped box. It's a vortex into worlds - one connected with everywhere and everything. Harner talks of the tunnel in his book Way of the Shaman - the pan-cultural notion of journeying down into the earth to walk in foreign realities. Well - when you close your eyes you are in that dark place; that vortex. You go inside of yourself to travel outside of yourself. Think of reality as the house you live in now. It's familiar, you know where you stand most of the time. You are in control.
When you close your eyes, you open the back door and you can wander around in the garden. Push it a bit further and there's a whole world beyond that garden gate.
The best time to try journeying is in the evening or night time when you lie down to go to sleep. Try a few breathing exercises such as Mindfulness and then let the visions come. You might fall asleep - don't worry if you do. But between wake and sleep is a very vivid antechamber where you will see people, faces and places you don't recognise but as clearly as if you do.
That's a jumping off point. You can step through that on the brink of wake and sleep but you can't force it. A journey is a partnership - you can't make yourself have a journey, because that's not the object. You are invited on a journey through your own willingness to go. You may snap back - like you pull out of OBEs when it's too shocking for the ego to accept (your ego, by the way, is a protective mechanism for your own sanity but can also get in the way sometimes - like a well oiled mouse trap it can go off prematurely).
Other ways to do it are to practice your usual meditation techniques but instead of trying to blank the mind or guide your thoughts, just go with one. Follow it and it will get lost amongst other thoughts and you'll keep going and lose your path. Then you'll arrive somewhere or at least travel where you're going.
To journey you need to let go - to be open to whatever's coming. Be the Fool. It's not something we do in daily life often. We live, work, eat, sleep, shop, grow old in the same places and routines mostly. In day-to-day life most things are predictable and those that aren't are still comprehensible within the frame of daily reality. Journeying not just takes us to other countries where we may not speak the language - it takes us to...well, other realities. You can't explain that one
Just play.
[quote]How do you know this is not all imagination?[/quote]
Do you mean 'how do you know this is not just fake?' - what do you class imagination as? Something 'unreal'? By the parameters of day-to-day reality, anything along these lines is going to be 'unreal' isn't it? Because it doesn't happen in day-to-day reality. You don't walk through walls to get to work, you don't talk to dragons over breakfast and you don't swim in lakes of opal blue moonshadow to unwind Perhaps it's the vocabulary, rather than the experience that needs adjusting. As long as you refer to it in derogatory terms, it will always be somehow lesser. Give it pride of place and you’ll get an understanding of it.
Failing that, drop some entheogens. That's as real as it gets this side of the mirror.
[quote]I find my kind of journeying very satisfying and relaxing, but fel there should be something more.[/quote]
Quite so
[quote=finvarra,Sep 13 2004, 10:32 PM]
However, I only ever went places in my head, and never attempted to look for people or entities, or thought that I was really journeying in other realms..[/url]
Big hiccup of contemporary psychology: 'in my head'
But where is that exactly? You're surely only 'in your head' when you dream - but are you in control of that dream? Truthfully, rarely - even in lucid state not every aspect of the dream. Where you go 'in your head' often relies on how much control you're willing to relinquish.
Fen said: "What is important to remember in journeying is that you are controlling it yourself."
A pathworking perhaps - not a journey. A journey entails new experiences, meeting new 'entities', being made to think. You can't be made to think about the things you already control - not unless you’re willing to let go of the control and examine them objectively through a fresh pair of eyes
There are some very scary places we can journey 'in our heads'. One way to look at it though, that will perhaps take you further than an awakened path-working, is to stop thinking of your thoughts and ideas all locked up in this cranium-shaped box. It's a vortex into worlds - one connected with everywhere and everything. Harner talks of the tunnel in his book Way of the Shaman - the pan-cultural notion of journeying down into the earth to walk in foreign realities. Well - when you close your eyes you are in that dark place; that vortex. You go inside of yourself to travel outside of yourself. Think of reality as the house you live in now. It's familiar, you know where you stand most of the time. You are in control.
When you close your eyes, you open the back door and you can wander around in the garden. Push it a bit further and there's a whole world beyond that garden gate.
The best time to try journeying is in the evening or night time when you lie down to go to sleep. Try a few breathing exercises such as Mindfulness and then let the visions come. You might fall asleep - don't worry if you do. But between wake and sleep is a very vivid antechamber where you will see people, faces and places you don't recognise but as clearly as if you do.
That's a jumping off point. You can step through that on the brink of wake and sleep but you can't force it. A journey is a partnership - you can't make yourself have a journey, because that's not the object. You are invited on a journey through your own willingness to go. You may snap back - like you pull out of OBEs when it's too shocking for the ego to accept (your ego, by the way, is a protective mechanism for your own sanity but can also get in the way sometimes - like a well oiled mouse trap it can go off prematurely).
Other ways to do it are to practice your usual meditation techniques but instead of trying to blank the mind or guide your thoughts, just go with one. Follow it and it will get lost amongst other thoughts and you'll keep going and lose your path. Then you'll arrive somewhere or at least travel where you're going.
To journey you need to let go - to be open to whatever's coming. Be the Fool. It's not something we do in daily life often. We live, work, eat, sleep, shop, grow old in the same places and routines mostly. In day-to-day life most things are predictable and those that aren't are still comprehensible within the frame of daily reality. Journeying not just takes us to other countries where we may not speak the language - it takes us to...well, other realities. You can't explain that one
Just play.
[quote]How do you know this is not all imagination?[/quote]
Do you mean 'how do you know this is not just fake?' - what do you class imagination as? Something 'unreal'? By the parameters of day-to-day reality, anything along these lines is going to be 'unreal' isn't it? Because it doesn't happen in day-to-day reality. You don't walk through walls to get to work, you don't talk to dragons over breakfast and you don't swim in lakes of opal blue moonshadow to unwind
Perhaps it's the vocabulary, rather than the experience that needs adjusting. As long as you refer to it in derogatory terms, it will always be somehow lesser. Give it pride of place and you’ll get an understanding of it.Failing that, drop some entheogens. That's as real as it gets this side of the mirror.
[quote]I find my kind of journeying very satisfying and relaxing, but fel there should be something more.[/quote]
Quite so
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