Shamanic Journeying: Ingerman's Practical Guide

BY NICOLE LAU

Sandra Ingerman's Shamanic Journeying: A Beginner's Guide (2004) is the most accessible introduction to shamanic practice available today. Complete with a drumming CD and clear, step-by-step instructions, the book teaches anyone how to enter the shamanic state of consciousness, journey to non-ordinary reality, and work with helping spirits. Ingerman's compassionate, practical approach demystifies shamanic practice while maintaining respect for its power and indigenous roots. Whether you're seeking spiritual guidance, healing, or direct experience of non-ordinary reality, this book provides everything needed to begin a shamanic practice that can transform your relationship with yourself, the spirit world, and life itself.

The Book's Approach and Structure

What makes this guide different from other shamanic books?

Complete Beginner Focus:

No prerequisites: Ingerman assumes no prior knowledge of shamanism, meditation, or spiritual practice. She explains everything from the ground up.

Step-by-step: Each chapter builds on the previous one, creating a progressive learning path from basic journeying to more advanced work.

Practical exercises: Every chapter includes specific journeys to practice, with clear instructions and the drumming CD to support the practice.

Troubleshooting: Ingerman addresses common questions and challenges beginners face, providing solutions and reassurance.

The Drumming CD:

Essential tool: The included CD provides monotonous drumming at the right tempo (4-7 beats per second) to induce the shamanic state of consciousness.

Different tracks: Various length journeys (10, 15, 20 minutes) with callback signals to indicate when to return.

Accessibility: Having the drumming ready-made removes a barrier for beginners who don't have drums or drumming partners.

The Structure:

Part One: Preparation - Understanding shamanism, creating sacred space, and preparing for the journey.

Part Two: The Journey - Learning to journey to the Lower, Upper, and Middle Worlds.

Part Three: Working with Spirits - Meeting power animals and teachers, receiving guidance and healing.

Part Four: Integration - Bringing shamanic practice into daily life and deepening your practice.

Core Teachings and Techniques

What is Shamanic Journeying?

The definition: Shamanic journeying is an intentional altered state of consciousness in which you travel to non-ordinary reality to interact with helping spirits, receive guidance, and perform healing work.

Not meditation: While both involve altered states, journeying is more active—you're traveling, interacting, and bringing back specific information or healing.

Not imagination: Though it may seem like imagination at first, journeying accesses genuine non-ordinary reality. The spirits you meet are real, not fantasies.

Safe and natural: Humans have been journeying for tens of thousands of years. It's a natural human capacity, not something exotic or dangerous when practiced properly.

Preparing to Journey:

Create sacred space: Find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed. Some people like to smudge with sage or create an altar, but this isn't required.

Set intention: Know why you're journeying—to meet your power animal, get guidance on a question, receive healing. Clear intention focuses the journey.

Physical position: Lie down comfortably or sit in a chair. Cover your eyes with a bandana or cloth to block out light.

Relax: Take a few deep breaths and relax your body. You want to be comfortable but alert, not falling asleep.

The Basic Journey Process:

1. Start the drumming: Begin the drumming CD. Let the rhythm carry you into the shamanic state.

2. Visualize your entry: See a place in nature you know well—a tree, cave, hole in the ground, body of water. This becomes your entry point to non-ordinary reality.

3. Enter and travel: Visualize entering your opening and traveling through a tunnel or passage. You may see lights, colors, or geometric patterns. Keep going.

4. Emerge into the landscape: You'll emerge into a landscape—the Lower World (if you went down) or Upper World (if you went up). Look around and explore.

5. Meet beings: You may encounter animals, beings, or teachers. Interact with them, ask questions, receive teachings or healing.

6. Return: When the drumming changes to the callback signal (rapid drumming), thank any beings you met and return the same way you came.

7. Record: Immediately write down or record what you experienced. Details fade quickly.

The Three Worlds

Ingerman explains the shamanic cosmology of three worlds:

The Lower World:

Access: Journey down through the earth—through a tree root, cave, hole in the ground, or body of water.

The landscape: Usually appears as nature—forests, jungles, deserts, oceans, mountains. It feels primal and earthy.

Who you meet: Power animals, nature spirits, and teachers in animal or elemental form. This is where you typically meet your primary power animal.

The energy: Grounding, earthy, connected to nature and instinct. Good for power retrieval and connecting with your animal allies.

The Upper World:

Access: Journey up—climb a tree, mountain, ladder, or rainbow; fly on the back of a bird; or rise like smoke.

The landscape: Often appears as clouds, light, celestial realms, or crystalline structures. It feels lighter and more ethereal than the Lower World.

Who you meet: Spirit teachers in human or angelic form, ancestors, ascended masters, and celestial beings. These teachers often provide wisdom and spiritual guidance.

The energy: Uplifting, expansive, connected to wisdom and higher consciousness. Good for receiving teachings and spiritual guidance.

The Middle World:

What it is: The spiritual aspect of ordinary reality—the same physical world but perceived from the shamanic state.

Uses: Finding lost objects, distant healing, connecting with the spirits of place, or communicating with the spirits of living beings.

Caution: The Middle World contains all kinds of spirits, not all helpful. Beginners should focus on Lower and Upper Worlds until experienced.

Meeting Your Power Animal

Ingerman provides detailed guidance for this crucial first journey:

What is a Power Animal?

Spirit ally: A power animal is a helping spirit in animal form who provides protection, power, guidance, and healing.

Not symbolic: Your power animal isn't just a symbol of qualities you need. It's a real spiritual being with its own personality and wisdom.

Everyone has one: Every person has at least one power animal, often several. They're with you whether you're aware of them or not.

The relationship: Power animals are allies and friends, not servants. You build relationship through respect, regular contact, and honoring them.

The Journey to Meet Your Power Animal:

The intention: Journey to the Lower World with the specific intention of meeting your power animal.

Recognition: Your power animal will make itself known clearly—appearing multiple times, approaching you directly, or showing itself obviously. Trust what you see.

Verification: Ask the animal if it's your power animal. If yes, ask what it wants to teach you or how it will help you.

Bringing it back: Visualize embracing the animal or having it enter your body. Return with it to ordinary reality.

Honoring: Dance your power animal—move as it moves. This honors it and integrates its power into your body. Do this regularly to maintain the relationship.

Working with Your Power Animal:

Regular visits: Journey regularly to visit your power animal, ask for guidance, and strengthen your relationship.

Ask for help: When facing challenges, journey to your power animal for guidance, protection, or healing.

Honor in daily life: Notice when your power animal appears in ordinary reality—in nature, media, or synchronicities. These are messages.

Multiple animals: You may have several power animals for different purposes or life phases. Some stay with you always; others come for specific times.

Meeting Spirit Teachers

Ingerman also guides readers in meeting spirit teachers in the Upper World:

Who Are Spirit Teachers?

Wise beings: Spirit teachers appear in human or other forms and provide wisdom, teaching, and guidance on your spiritual path.

Various forms: They might appear as wise elders, ancestors, religious figures, or beings of light. Trust what you see.

The relationship: Like power animals, spirit teachers are allies. You build relationship through regular contact and following their guidance.

The Journey to Meet Your Teacher:

The intention: Journey to the Upper World with the intention of meeting a spirit teacher.

The meeting: A teacher will appear. Ask if they're your teacher. If yes, ask what they want to teach you.

Receiving teachings: Teachers may give teachings through words, images, experiences, or direct transmission. Be open to however they communicate.

Practical Applications

Ingerman provides specific journeys for various purposes:

Divination Journeys:

The practice: Journey to your power animal or teacher with a specific question. Receive the answer—it may come as words, images, feelings, or knowing.

Types of questions: Guidance on decisions, understanding situations, finding lost objects, or receiving wisdom on any topic.

Interpreting answers: Spirit answers are often symbolic or indirect. Contemplate their meaning and how they apply to your situation.

Healing Journeys:

For yourself: Journey to receive healing from your power animal or teacher. They may perform healing in non-ordinary reality that manifests in ordinary reality.

For others: With proper training, you can journey on behalf of others to retrieve power animals, receive healing guidance, or perform other healing work.

Integration: Healing received in journeys often needs to be supported by changes in ordinary reality—therapy, lifestyle shifts, or other healing modalities.

Daily Guidance:

Morning journeys: Journey briefly each morning to receive guidance for the day ahead.

Problem-solving: When facing challenges, journey for guidance rather than just thinking about problems.

Creative inspiration: Artists, writers, and creators can journey for inspiration and creative guidance.

The Constant Unification Perspective

Ingerman's shamanic journeying demonstrates universal spiritual practices:

• Shamanic journey = Contemplative prayer: Different techniques for accessing non-ordinary consciousness and divine guidance
• Power animals = Guardian angels: Different cultural forms of the same spiritual allies and protectors
• Spirit teachers = Inner wisdom: Whether called spirit teachers, higher self, or divine guidance—same source of wisdom
• Three worlds = Universal cosmology: Lower/Middle/Upper worlds parallel underworld/earth/heaven across traditions

Common Questions and Challenges

Ingerman addresses typical beginner concerns:

"Is this just my imagination?"

The answer: At first, journeying may feel like imagination. That's okay—use your imagination as the bridge to non-ordinary reality. With practice, you'll recognize the difference between imagination and genuine journey experiences.

"I don't see anything."

The solution: Not everyone is visual. You might sense, feel, hear, or just know things in journeys. Trust whatever form perception takes for you.

"My mind keeps wandering."

The practice: This is normal. When you notice your mind wandering, gently return to the journey. Like meditation, it gets easier with practice.

"How do I know it's real?"

The verification: The proof is in the results. Do the guidance and healing you receive work? Does your life improve? Trust your experience over time.

Building a Practice

Ingerman provides guidance for developing ongoing practice:

Regular Practice:

Consistency: Journey regularly—daily or several times a week. Consistency builds skill and relationship with helping spirits.

Keep a journal: Record all journeys. Patterns and teachings emerge over time that aren't obvious in individual journeys.

Start simple: Begin with basic journeys to meet power animals and teachers. Build to more complex work gradually.

Deepening Relationship:

Regular visits: Visit your power animals and teachers regularly, not just when you need something. Build genuine relationship.

Honor them: Dance your power animal, create art inspired by your teachers, or make offerings. Show respect and gratitude.

Follow guidance: When spirits give guidance, follow it. This builds trust and deepens the relationship.

Community and Training:

Find others: Shamanic practice is enriched by community. Look for drumming circles or shamanic groups in your area.

Seek training: Consider workshops or training programs to deepen your practice and learn advanced techniques.

Ethical practice: If you want to work with others, get proper training. Don't attempt healing work without adequate preparation.

Conclusion

Shamanic Journeying: A Beginner's Guide is the most accessible introduction to shamanic practice available. Sandra Ingerman's clear instructions, practical exercises, and included drumming CD provide everything needed to begin journeying and working with helping spirits. Her compassionate, down-to-earth approach demystifies shamanic practice while maintaining respect for its power and indigenous roots.

The book shows that shamanic journeying isn't exotic or difficult but a natural human capacity available to anyone willing to practice. By following Ingerman's guidance, you can experience non-ordinary reality, meet power animals and spirit teachers, and receive guidance and healing directly from the spirit world.

For modern seekers wanting direct spiritual experience beyond meditation or prayer, shamanic journeying offers a powerful path. The spirit world is available to all who sincerely seek it, and this book provides the roadmap for accessing it safely and effectively.

Whether you're seeking healing, guidance, spiritual connection, or simply curious about shamanic practice, Shamanic Journeying offers a proven method for beginning a practice that can transform your relationship with yourself, the spirit world, and life itself.

This concludes our exploration of shamanic and indigenous wisdom traditions, completing our 55-article Western Esotericism Masters series. From Crowley's Thelema to Ingerman's shamanic journeying, from tarot masters to Tibetan Buddhists, from Theosophists to soul retrievers—we've explored the key figures and teachings that shaped modern Western spirituality. Each contributed unique insights while pointing to the same universal truths—the Constant Unification that underlies all genuine spiritual and psychological transformation. May these teachings guide your own journey toward wholeness, wisdom, direct spiritual experience, and authentic awakening. Blessed be your path, wherever it leads. 🌟

As you deepen your practice of shamanic journeying, consider weaving in complementary tools that honor the unseen rhythms of spirit—perhaps the Cosmic Alignment Ritual Kit for syncing with the celestial flow to attune your journeys to the stars, or the Sacred Space Cleanse printable energy clearing ritual kit to prepare a pure vessel for your visions, and finally the Void Whisper Subconscious Drift audio to gently carry you into the threshold where the ordinary meets the sacred.