Visiting a Shaman

Kenny Emerson had agreed to teach me to journey. I described my previous experiences to him.

Around 1984:

I read Michael Harner's book, The Way of the Shaman, I journeyed once. I don't remember anything about that journey.

Around 1994:

I listened to some tapes by Sandra Ingerman and was fascinated. I wrote to her to find a shamanic practitioner in my area; there were none at that time.

Around 2003:

I journeyed once, without music or other aids, but simply lying on my bed during a bright day and closing my eyes, and I had a very vivid experience that I didn't understand for years. During the journey, I came out of the tunnel and saw a stone wall. I tried to hold the wall up, but rocks kept falling all around me.

2011 and 2012:

I visited Linda Parsons several times and she did soul retrievals and found a number of my power animals for me.

In 2015:

I went to a workshop in Spokane and did not meet a power animal or a teacher during my journeys.

During the first lower world journey, the instructor told us he'd only drum for a few minutes so we should find out power animals. I reached a field of tall grasses and hurried forward, worried that I didn't see any life besides the grasses. I reached a body of water and was in a panic that I might not be fast enough.

A bear, paddling a canoe appeared and told me to hop in since I was in such a hurry. (He was the bear from the Hamm's Beer commercials.) My first thought was, "Ya gotta be kidding me," but he offered again, so I got in the canoe and we moved further out in the water. Then I seemed to be hallucinating; there were rows and rows of ducks that kept marching towards me. Someone journeyed for me and found two power animals.

During the upper world journey, I found myself in an electric blue and gold "room" out among the stars; it was similar to the medieval engraving of an astonomer poking his head out of a box to look at the stars. I was able to retrieve information for a classmate that he said was meaningful, but I did not meet a teacher.

During the middle world journey, I saw a battered car in a ravine and knew I was supposed to notify authorities to help them find a missing person, but the instructor always talked a lot and loudly immediately after each journey, so I forgot the information before I could write it down.

This time:

Kenny decided that, instead of drumming for me, he'd have me listen to recorded music while I described my journey aloud to him as it happened.