Welcome to Northern Drum Shamanic Center

With Chris Lüttichau

Introducing ancient Healing ways and earth-based Spirituality

THE KAYAK AND THE EMPTY MIND
By Chris Luttichau

A streamlined formation of kayaks moves quietly on the big lake. The rhythmic song of paddles has been going for a couple of hours and the paddlers have entered a light trance state. In the distance you can hear the trumpeting call of cranes and on the southern shore a moose has walked into the water and is eating the green reeds. The water is so crystal clear here that you can see a pike swimming a meter under the surface. If we are lucky, Petri, our wilderness guide will catch one and we’ll cook it tonight under the stars.

We are kayaking on one of the big lakes in the Finnish wilderness. We are in the home of bear, wolf, lynx, eagle, osprey, moose, crane and many other wild animals. The kayakers have come from many different places, the USA, UK, Ireland, Chile and Holland. All have come to learn about shamanism, kayaking and living in the wilderness.

It all began for me some years ago during an eight-day hiking trip in the Lapland taiga, the ancient land of the Sami people. Petri Leinonen, who is a Finnish wilderness guide and kayaking instructor, and I talked then about offering kayaking trips combined with shamanic consciousness raising training in the Finnish wilderness. Both of us had been kayaking for some years and had found it to be an amazing shamanic vehicle for journeying into nature and into ourselves

INUITS AND KAYAKS

The kayak has its origin with the Inuit or Eskimo who live in the far North, the land of snow and ice. The Inuit are an indigenous people who live in the Arctic and whose spirituality is based on animism and shamanism. Their consciousness has been forged by the powers that surround them. Made from the dance of these elements they are a people who hold the wisdom and clarity of the ice, the power of the storm and the abundance and danger of the ocean. The spirit of the kayak has been birthed through a people who were merged and in balance with their difficult and beautiful surroundings. Physically and energetically it holds that same piercing, pointed, clarity and wisdom that came from its creators.

It comes from a culture based on hunting where Kayaks were an essential tool for survival. Hunting was a dangerous endeavour, but the people needed to eat, and Mother Ocean provided them with all they needed. They took her gifts with respect, gratitude and prayer. They lived in balance with the land and the sea. It is good to remember the people who made the kayak and say a prayer of gratitude when we are on the water. Their spirits sing their ancient songs and help us move with focus and direction.

THE EMPTY MIND

Now the focus is not on hunting seals, but on hunting ourselves, our spirit. This is what the kayak will help us with. One of its qualities is that it moves quietly and stealthily, like a stalking panther, enabling the kayaker to get close to the prey. For us the prey will be all the distortions that keep us apart and separate from our true self and our earth mother. She is our ultimate goal.

For me Shamanism is all about becoming one with nature, coming back home to the mother earth and awakening to the truth that we are all connected, that we are all a part of the web of life. We have mostly forgotten who we are, the wilderness reminds us of our essence and heals our soul.

Wilderness areas on our planet are dwindling at an alarming rate as the wants and needs of an ever increasing human population grow. We are quickly devouring the last places where we can meet our mother in her virgin form. The vast majority of people now live urban lives where they are increasingly cut off from her.

The purpose of these trips would be to come back to her; to open a doorway in our busy western lives and minds to connect and merge with her beauty and power in a very real and present way. Combining the ancient art of kayaking with shamanic tools forms a powerful prescription for remembering.

Learning forgotten skills including primitive fire making, handling knifes and hatchets, orienteering and wilderness cooking are also a major part of the experience. All these things bring us close to our ancestral native roots. We, possibly for the first time in our lives, form a deep relationship to all the elements; the earth, the fire, the wind and not least, the water. Petri and I wanted to share all of this with people who had never experienced the wilderness or sat in a kayak. We soon began to offer eleven-day trips called The Kayak And The Empty Mind.

For a couple of years now each summer, out of mosquito season, we have taken a group of people on an outer and inner adventure on beautiful, clean Finnish lakes. In many traditional shamanic cultures, such as Siberia, North America and the Celtic world, a lake represents our spirit. Similarly the kayak is more than a fibreglass vessel, it is an image of the sacred self that carries us across waters of life. When we paddle in our kayaks on pure, clean lakes we are really on a quest to find our spirit. Kayaking across the lakes becomes like our journey through life, with the aim of opening up to the empty mind and quietly slipping into the world of spirit.

That’s how the old people saw it, all my native teachers used this ancient symbolic language.

BASE CAMP

Our first two days of this trip are spent in a base camp in the woods by the lake where participants learn all the basic kayaking skills needed for paddling safely during the trip into the wilderness. My teachers taught me that there needs to be a strong emphasis in any shamanic training on grounding and safety for the people. This is always the first thing.

The base camp itself has a big wooden shelter built like a wooden tipi that’s open to one side. In the middle is a fire place that is surrounded by benches covered by reindeer skin. There we cook our meals and make tea and coffee over open fire. Those who want can sleep in the lodge, otherwise there are tents and kotas which are the Sami version of the tipi. The people at first are both nervous and excited. There is a sense of anticipation at what is to come. Generally everyone comes with a deep spiritual calling to return to the Mother and there is a thirst for her that transcends any fear or doubt. The land and water spirits hold us and people settle gradually into a deeper, earthier rhythm.

In the evenings people get initiated into the Finnish wood-heated sauna, followed by a dip in the soothing lake water. All the senses are being awakened and a deep cleansing is happening in preparation for our journey. The heat of a sauna that has been fired by wood instead of electricity is very soft and you can stay there for hours. There is a gentle strength in this preparation. We feel held and nurtured by all the powers. At midnight it’s still light…. we are in the land of the midnight sun. Very quickly we are dropping our normal everyday consciousness and entering the place where the stillness and mystery can emerge.
There is something enchanting about being in such a clear, bright place where it doesn’t get dark at night. The light that dominates the land at this time of year, calls to our spirit. People share a sense of lightness and hope. These energies come from the sacred dance between the light and the earth, our mother and father. We feel them gently whispering us back into the magic.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

After two days people are ready to push off into the shining, glittering lake. This is a journey into the wild place within and the people who come on these trips are hungry for connection. I see it almost like putting a plug back into a socket…. connections are made and the current begins to flow. It is all there, waiting, Spirit is very patient. In the west we have become unplugged , but the spark is always there at the centre.

We paddle in certain formations that tribal people have used through the ages, and we paddle in silence. I teach meditations and consciousness techniques that my teachers have taught me for emptying the mind and coming into the stillness. We learn to listen to the song of the paddle and let it guide us out of the mind and into the heart of the lake, the land and our body. What a feeling when the mind, that ceaseless chatter suddenly stops and the silence takes over. That’s when you begin to merge with the Kayak, the water, the mighty pines and all the relations that encircle you.

As we paddle we are surrounded by wildlife. We watch ospreys fishing, young falcons learning to fly, cranes circling around us, moose wading into the lake and pikes swimming underneath us. Seeing bear, wolf, lynx and wolverine is only for the lucky few. They are there, you can feel their spirit, but they prefer to watch us from a distance rather than be seen.

Today although we don’t use kayaks for hunting, they still gift us with the ability to move swiftly and silently across the water. We paddle effortlessly without disturbing the surroundings. The kayak physically sits very low in the water so that it is almost as if you are a part of that element. The animals do not perceive you as different from the water, you are not a threat. It’s similar to when riding a horse, the free animals see only horse and so are not afraid to come close.

I have kayaked close to ospreys hunting for fish, flocks of cranes have flown low over me, seals and otters have been drawn by their curiosity and come very close, and the loon has come so near that I could look him in the eye.

Through the mists and rain and sun we silently paddle, the ancient forests which frame our waterway hum and pulse with the presence of spirits watching this strange band of travellers. I can palpably feel their curiosity. Here man is the visitor and we move respectfully and gracefully through their realm.
Today many feel superior to the natural world, like it is under our command and there for our use and pleasure. The old teachings tell us that we are just a part, a little piece in this jigsaw that is creation. Out here in the vastness we experience that truth.

POWER AND DANGER

How quickly the winds can come and the storms roll in. We have been on the calm clear water when suddenly the weather changes and the forces of nature decide to bring us teachings about our life and who we are. Then there is nowhere else to be but in the body. Something takes over from a deep place within which I call the body mind. From that deep place we instinctively do what is needed to reach safety.

Wild animals live from that instinctual power; they always know what to do. It is still within us, buried in our cells. Danger brings a rawness and vitality to our life. It activates that cellular instinctual knowing. In the separateness and shield of our mainly urban living we have lost much of the gift of that force. My teachers taught me that a little danger is sometimes a good thing, it can awaken powers within which are dormant.

The power of the lightening feels a whole lot different to a man in a kayak on the water, than it does to a man in his cosy bed at home. In the water there is a respect of that power as vast, it holds your very life in its hands. So you pray to it, and when that power grants you safety and your life, you give it thanks. It becomes very real. You know exactly who you are and who it is. There is no doubt. Animals know exactly who they are, as do the plants, trees, insects and the lightening. We humans are the only ones who have forgotten.

Each day we paddle to a new destination and put up our camp. There is something incredibly freeing to the spirit in not having a set base. The mind wants order, routine and a big part of the trip is breaking down those mind structures which keep us trapped in isolation.

We also learn huge lessons about working as a tribe, pulling together when needed, but allowing space for the blossoming of self- responsibility. For some this trip is a huge step towards claiming their personal power. Some have never put up a tent before, or left the city or spent any time in nature. Immense feelings of self respect come when people face and overcome challenges and fears as a group and on their own.

VISION QUEST

In the middle of the trip we stay in one spot for a couple of nights, and have a vision quest. We do a short version, one night and one day. The vision quest was traditionally done in the wilderness, and the untouched land here provides a rare opportunity that is not to be missed. Out here in the open wilds people can, and some actually do, see bear, wolf or wolverine.

The people go out to pray and fast for 24 hours away from other human beings. We pray to Mother Earth for guidance on our lives. In the wilderness we meet her in her purest form. Going up on a hilltop in the ancient forest for your quest is like entering an ancient temple. Close to the earth, we come back to her heart beat. We can let go and be filled with awe and wonder when we stand facing creation. The stillness enters and we can hear her loving words telling us what is needed to bring us into balance and back to her bosom.

LEARNING FROM NATURE

We work constantly throughout the adventure with shamanic teachings and tools about how to contain and preserve our energy levels. The old ones watched the animals, like the hawks riding and rising on the thermal air current, for teachings on how to be in harmony with the elements. They always looked for the path of least resistance. With the right rhythm we move as easily through the water as an eagle riding the air spirals. The kayak soon becomes more than a vehicle it becomes an extension of our body, it is a part of us.

Once in the flow and merged with the kayak and all that surrounds, a deep sense of peace and joy spreads through the body and the paddling becomes almost effortless. It is my experience that when we can totally let go of resistance and surrender into the flow of life, everything becomes light, easy and right.

Athletes sometimes experience this as a state they call the “zone”. It happens when the “little” mind surrenders and a higher consciousness takes over. A Doorway opens and we can break free of limitations and the tethers that bind us and enter a blissful state where anything and everything is possible. We are finally in the mystery. We’ve finally come home…

Many years ago in the US I was with my teacher at that time, an old wise Native American man. We were watching a falcon flying swiftly up in the sky. I classified the bird as a prairie falcon and said so. My teacher responded in a very firm voice, saying: "Chris, be careful!
Modern people name things, put them into categories, and then think they understand them. It’s the opposite. By doing so they cut themselves off from them, and they will never know them." That was a great teaching and it has been with me ever since. I can still hear those wise words very clearly.

It’s the same with the great wilderness lakes and the water. When people first come on the kayaking trips they often think they know what water is. That's a big mistake form the perspective of the old ones. Water is a mystery, and only when you let go of your preconceived ideas and open yourself up to the unknown, can you begin to meet the spirit of the water.

As the paddle moves in mesmerising circles and you watch drops of water run off the blade and hit the surface of the lake, you begin to enter the beauty. My teachers called it” the shimmering”, a gateway suddenly opens into the power behind the form.

Through prayer the water spirit can heal, cleanse and purify you as you paddle. She can take away your worries, and remove negativity from your energy shield and physical body. All this she does through her love for us.

When we make camp in the evening there is still plenty energy left for a blazing campfire, preparing delicious food and then stories or walks to explore the land. Very quickly we’ve become a tribe, bonded by our journey and the spirits.

A WALK INTO THE MYSTERY

One night we were camping on a big island and we decided to go for a shamanic walk. Walking in this old way also enables us to let go of the mind and let a force that is beyond the ordinary self, take over. We walked at night. The sun had set a few hours before and yet there was still enough light to see.

It was a walk in the twilight, up high, rocky ridges, and down into pine covered valleys. As we were walking, the speed picked up as it often does when shamanic walking really works, and suddenly something else took over.

The terrain was uneven with rock, bushes and branches on the
earth, but everybody moved sure-footedly at a high speed, almost running, without much effort. The group was no longer a number of individuals; it had become one unit, one organism, like a flock of birds that moves in harmony. One mind, one heart.

There were no ordinary thoughts, just a strong powerful feeling of being alive and part of the forest, breathing with it, dancing with it, entering a world where we were an integral part of something much bigger than our small selves. Days of kayaking had helped us empty our minds and enabled us to have this ecstatic experience of a separate reality. The old shamans knew these ways, and today the wilderness can offer us an opportunity to find our way back to the source of the old wisdom and teachings.

I give thanks to the spirit of the kayak and all the wise ones who brought her to us. I give thanks to my mother, always there... waiting.

Chris Luttichau has been trained by native teachers for over twenty years. He founded Northern Drum Shamanic Centre in 1998 with the aim of delivering the large and diverse body of sacred earth based teachings he has been graced with. He believes that the time is right now for this ancient knowledge to be spread throughout the world.

SHAMANISM

........An article by Chris Lüttichau

Shamanism is an ancient spiritual path for awakening, raising consciousness, healing, divination and, in many cases, peace-making. All major healing systems have shamanism at their root as do some of the major religious traditions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism still contains key shamanic principles. The New Age Movement, which is emerging strongly in our time, also uses many time proven shamanic methods. Concepts and techniques such as visualization, guided fantasy journeys, soul retrieval, time line travel and many others are borrowed from ancient shamanic practices.
So, what is shamanism? Fundamentally it’s important to know that it’s not a religion; it’s a spiritual path. It holds no dogmas; instead it offers a path to awakening. The Shaman seeks his or her own personal and direct communion with the sacred and does not need an intermediary. Hence the word Shaman, which comes from the Evenki people in Siberia, means “THE ONE WHO SEES/ KNOWS”. The Shaman sees and knows the essential truth about the nature of reality and the place of the human within that reality.
Another key element that characterizes a shaman is that he/she works under direct and conscious guidance of the spirit teachers and other helpers, and if that factor isn’t present, it’s not shamanism.
The objective of shamanism is to bring healing, sacred teachings and
spiritual guidance to the people. The shaman’s job is to maintain balance and harmony within the circle of the people. From a shamanic perspective, if one person in the circle is out of balance, then the whole circle is weakened. This is a very different perspective to the philosophy of the modern world, which promotes individualism and competition. Shamanism is very much about community and circles of people working together in a respectful and beautiful way.
It is therefore vitally important to ensure that each member of the
community is happy and healthy and expressing their talents. When disharmony occurs the shaman will go into an altered state of consciousness, or a trance, in order to contact the spirit helpers and bring back the healing that is needed to restore wholeness to the community. Hence the shaman is a person who can travel between the worlds and create a bridge between the spiritual world and the world of humans.

THE WORLD TREE
The spiritual realms that the shaman travels and communicates in are
explained in the image of the world tree.
Throughout many traditions and religions reality has been perceived as a sacred tree. The crown of the tree is known as the Upper World, and is seen to be the realm of God, Great Spirit, guides, angels, and spiritual ancestors.
The trunk of the tree is the Middle World, where humans, animals, trees, plants, and nature spirits live. Here there are two realms: the ordinary everyday physical reality where we live, and behind that the world of spirit.
The roots of the tree are the Lower World where the power animals live.
The shaman can travel in all three worlds, and is traditionally known as the messenger between our world and the world of spirit. His/her principle duty is to ensure that there is balance and respect between the human and spiritual realms as well as in his/her own community.

POWER ANIMALS

The Shaman has many methods and spiritual allies at his/her disposal for doing this sacred work. One of his main helpers is the Power Animal. Power animals are spirit beings in animal form that live in the lower world. The Lower World is a place of immense natural beauty with mountains, valleys, rivers, prairies and clean air. It is a landscape untouched by humans where the animals live in an undisturbed, natural environment. Power animals are only beneficial. They dearly want to connect with us and help us. Primarily they assist us with practical life problems and health matters. They come to help us heal, and give us their power and strength. Building an intimate relationship with your power animal enables you to become strong, healthy, confident and feel safe. Forging a strong connection with them can also boost our immune system.
If you don’t have your power animal, then traditionally it is seen that you will be weak, more prone to illness and disease, and not centred in your power. You can feel an increase in your life force and vitality when the animal is with you; it’s physically tangible. One of my teachers, a Native American shaman, said that we have been that animal in a past life, that’s how close a link we have to them.
Often people will resemble their animal, for example in their behavioural characteristics: the way they walk, talk, turn their head, use their eyes, what they like to eat, etc. Also there can be a strong physical resemblance .In one workshop a man kept encountering a seagull. He was very resistant to the bird as he wanted something much more grand. Everyone else could see that this was his animal as he so clearly looked like a gull. When I eventually said that the other name for seagull was 3storm rider2, he was finally able to accept his medicine.
Once you have found your animal, it is extremely helpful to begin to study it. You can research it via the internet, read books, watch programmes about it or, if you are lucky, observe it in nature. All this information will tell you a lot about your personality and who you are in essence.
It’s also important to maintain a strong link with the animal. You can do this by wearing a pouch around your neck with something in it that connects you to the animal, for instance a stone with an image drawn on it. Dancing the spirit of the animal, allowing it to come into your body as you dance, is a great way to build up a powerful relationship. They love to be allowed to express themselves in a physical body. Another traditional way of staying in tune is to have an altar in your home where you can put a carved figure of the animal. Many people also give food offerings through the fire to their guardian animal. In the shamanic way, we always give something back to the spirits who love and care for us so that it becomes a relationship built on mutual respect and giving. One of the fundamental principles of following a shamanic path is that we live in a prayerful way, honouring our spirit helpers and giving back to them the things that they like.

SPIRIT TEACHERS

The other main spirit relationship the shaman cultivates is with his/her spirit teacher. These beings of love and strength reside in the Upper World, which is a realm of light and high vibration. By providing us with teachings and guidance they enable us to see things from a much higher perspective. They lift our vision and allow us access to information that would normally be hidden to most humans. The shaman journeys to the Upper World and receives spiritual guidance for his client or community. In Shamanism we become what’s known as the “hollow bone”; we let spirit flow through us. In other words we empty our minds and become a clear channel for our spirit helpers and guides to work through. Thus it is not the shaman who is doing the work, but spirit.
By bonding with your spirit teacher and visiting the Upper World regularly, you begin to receive some of that very high light energy which over time can raise your consciousness and your energetic vibration. You become capable of containing more and more light, which you can then use in your healing work. However, the shaman does not become a “space cadet” as he is also firmly grounded in the lower and middle worlds too. He uses the entire world tree.
Some religions are afraid of the Earth, of nature and the Lower World, but the shaman knows that in the darkness there are a lot of gifts and healing powers.

ALL LIFE IS ONE

From the position of having a strong relationship with your animal and teachers, you come to a place of knowing who you truly are. Once you know who you are, you then can “see” the truth that all life is sacred, and everything that is created is alive and has a soul. This concept is called animism and has its root in the Greek word anima, which means soul. Native people have always seen this. They relate to the world from their heart, not their head. Shamanic people see trees, plants, birds, rivers, lakes and stones as being their relations, part of their extended family, and so relate to them with respect and love. As a result native people don1t usually mistreat the earth or any of her children.
Human beings are not seen as being in any way superior to the hawk, deer, swallow or stone, just as different manifestations of Father Sun, Mother Earth and God/Great Spirit. Shamans see/ know that all life is connected, and whatever you do, good or bad, will come back to you. Everything works in cycles. That is one of the natural laws of the universe and shamans live by those laws. They have eyes that see the energetic web that connects all that exists, and they know in their heart that everything is interwoven. That’s the web of life, the Circle Of Life. From a shamanic perspective we must respect and honour all beings because ultimately we are one.

SEPERATION - A MODERN DISEASE

In the modern world people don’t live according to the natural laws, in harmony and balance with all their relations; the natural laws have been forgotten. Humans have forgotten who they are and have elevated themselves above the rest of creation. We feel it is our right to exploit and hurt the earth, trees, animals, oceans, lakes and rivers. Thus we have become separate from the Circle Of Life; we have become isolated and live in an illusion of superiority and separation.
From a shamanic perspective, this feeling of separation is a major cause of illness and trauma in our world today. Many therapists will testify to that. The results can be drug and alcohol addiction, dysfunction within the family, violence, child abuse and other very destructive behaviours. At the core of all these problems lie feelings of being isolated and disconnected from our communities, our world and ourselves. We are social creatures and are inherently tribal.
Modern Western living causes us huge problems. When the Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung was visiting the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico, he talked with the Native American chief there, Mountain Lake. The chief told Jung that western people were mad, and when Jung asked why, he replied that they were mad because they think with their minds. Jung then asked how Native Americans think, and the chief responded by putting his hand over his heart. Here lies the fundamental wounding of the human. The heart knows we are all one organism, and desires surrender and union, the head is ruled by the ego that desires control and personal gratification. The shamanic path is the way of the heart.

A SHAMANIC REMEDY FOR TODAY

Shamanism, although an ancient spiritual system of wholeness and balance, is still highly relevant in our modern world. Many people feel lost, isolated and have a sense that a piece of them is missing. From a shamanic viewpoint separation can cause fragmentation of the soul. In other words due to the trauma of isolation part of the soul or essence can actually split off.
When the soul leaves it takes with it the worst of the pain, and maybe all, or part of the memory of the trauma. This allows people to function in everyday life, and cope and feel ok. However there is always the sense that something is missing, that they are not complete. Soul loss can later lead to devastating consequences such as depression or chronic illness.
Soul retrieval is a key shamanic healing method. Shamans have the ability to search the world of spirit and find the lost soul part and bring it home. By bringing the lost piece back to the client, he/she is retuning their lost power and restoring them to vitality and wholeness. They can then reconnect with themselves and with the Circle Of Life. Usually the shaman will also help the client to find their power animal, thus adding more life force. He/she can also assist them in finding their true self, their path, and their place in the universe.

AWAKENING IN THE SACRED DREAM

The shaman works for the survival of the people, the hoop of all our
relations and Mother Earth. He/she follows the original teachings on how to be a balanced human being living in harmony with the universe. This is very different to how we live today. But in these times of change on our planet more and more people are waking up to the fact that the western way isn1t working. It1s killing our beautiful mother earth and leaving the human feeling disconnected and fragmented. The power animals and spirit teachers can guide us back to the path of wholeness, and show us how to live once more in community, in right relationship with all that surrounds us.
By once again connecting to the world tree and opening up to the spirit realms we can begin to heal our hearts and minds. Shamanism teaches us how to remember who we truly are, to wake up to the truth that we are all one. Only then are we no longer caught in the illusion or lies of maya, the distorted dream of life that teaches isolation and separation. Instead we are awakened in the sacred dream of life, connected to all the sacred beings that are our brothers and sisters. Then we can truly walk each step on our path in beauty.  

There is a tribal people of highland Indians in South America, descendants of the Inca, who keep their future spiritual leaders inside a dark cave for the first nine years of their lives. Here they undergo the spiritual training that prepares them for their tasks amongst their people. During those nine years in darkness the young ones are visited daily and are brought food and teachings. They are told about the world outside, and know all about it from the descriptions of their mentors. But they have not experienced any of it with their senses, only through what they have been told. Then the day comes when they are gradually led out of the cave, and take their first step into the world. Seeing through fresh eyes, they don´t take anything for granted, they are not blind to the magic of the world, they haven´t gone to sleep spiritually in the routines of everyday life. They see Creation!

Imagine what it is like to see the rising sun for the first time showering the land with colors and light, while you feel the wind and hear the sound of birds all around you. The sun is one of those bodies in the Universe that does not need anything from the outside. The sun has it all, and that is a very special state of being. It is not a closed system in any way - it is always giving. The sun is open for receiving and giving, but at the same time it is, in a way, completely independent. It does not need any input, and the output happens naturally, that is its nature, so to speak.

Young initiates emerging from the cave, which has been their home since birth, know from a place deep inside what animistic and shamanic people all over the Earth have always understood: the sun has something to do with the basic life-producing, and life-sustaining processes, on this planet.

Nothing is untouched by the sun. Its omnipresence fascinated people of old, and they recognized that the sun represents the highest power, and that a very high spiritual level of consciousness flows through it.

People recognized that the sun´s power is even higher than the physical or energetic manifestation of the sun's emanation, a power which could be termed as a high spiritual state of consciousness. This is a quite remarkable realization, because it means that the sun has something to do with consciousness itself.

Where else can you meet that wonderful blending of consciousness and energy? You meet it in every human being. You meet it in every animal. You meet it in everything that is alive. That is why the sun, in its omnipresence, represents each and every aspect of life's unfoldment and expansion.

The old people also saw, that on a more individual soul-aspect level, the sun has a lot of will and power. There is also integrity and humbleness in the way it uses its power, and it is guided by great wisdom. It does a great job, and it carries great integrity.

Misunderstandings

One misunderstanding that may have existed in the past amongst some of the old cultures was the need to find ways of ensuring the generosity of the sun.

Some cultures would say: "We have to offer blood to the sun, so it will continue to be generous," and they would sacrifice people from their own or neighboring tribes to offer their blood.

That was a misunderstanding, because the sun doesn't have to be generous, it is simply the sun being itself, giving and giving. In one sense there is not really any generosity involved.

However, giving a bit of your own blood, perhaps the way it is done in the Native American Sun Dance, is a different matter. When you give something of yourself at a Sun Dance, as a part of the pledge you have made about the way you will dance, you are not taking someone else's life.

Celebrating life, giving thanks, and offering something of yourself so that your people may live, has integrity, and is a profound way of honoring the mystery of the sun.

That which gives life

Everything that has consciousness, and is individualized in one way or another in the Universe, has a life of its own. Having a life of its own does not mean being separate from the Life in all there is. To have union, and to be totally individualized, are not in opposition to one another. This is something we humans often have difficulties understanding.

If you "tuned in", and got a sense of the sun, and then tuned in and got a sense of Sirius, you would find a difference in the kind of energy each held. But in essence Sirius and the Earth sun are not so different.

That which gives life is in its essence very much like the sun. Animistic cultures in the past recognized that the sun gives life - there can be no life on this planet without it. So, in truth the Sun is the Life Giver. It has a profound influence on what we call vitality, the desire for existence, the lust, the deep inner fire, the desire for manifestation.

Just like the sun, this power is visible and needs to express itself in human beings. We need to express who we are, and bring our light, energy and warmth into the world. The creative power brings beauty when it is poetic, playful, imaginative, free. It needs to be allowed to shine.

Bathing in the light

Giving life is a creative act, so the sun is connected to creativity as well. Why do people like going to the beach, laying down on the sand, and being exposed to the sun for long periods of time?

For one thing they receive energy and vitality, and are charged with the power of the sun. But even more than that, the sun affects all the energy centers of the body, not only the solar plexus. The solar plexus has to do with inner heat; if you are running a fever, it is from here the fever starts. But the sun has also a tremendous impact on the sense of joy and love, so it affects the heart center, too.

And maybe when we have been out in the sun, we suddenly feel inspired. We may have a sense that there is something we want to do in the future. This is because the sun also has a mental intelligence aspect to its power.

It affects everything. The sun has a corresponding aspect of energy and consciousness in all that is alive, and the sun works on all aspects - how could it be otherwise?. So, you can say that people sun-bathing are getting an energy center balancing.

The sun is not the same as the element of fire, its little brother. They are connected, but fire is just one aspect of the sun, which has many more aspects. For instance, it is also liquid, and in addition to giving warmth and light, the sun carries within itself every type of atom and particle that exists in the Universe. It has it all.

A mirror from the past

When we watch the sun rise over the horizon at dawn we are witnessing an ancient mystery, just as our ancestors did. It is like a mirror from the past. But our perception is generally different from theirs.

People of old were touched by the mystery of what they saw directly. They were more attuned to the magic of Creation, more connected to the hidden forces of the Universe. They could stand silently, wrapped in hides or blankets, waiting for the sun to rise, experiencing oneness and unity.

All over the Earth people used to honor the sun. Amongst my own ancestors, the Vikings, Balder was honored because of his connection to the Sun energies. In Egypt it was Ra, the Sun God, in Greece it was Apollo, in Christianity the sun has been connected to Jesus.

In the past the sun had a central place in people's lives, it was seen as being the center of everything, and it was honored accordingly. Throughout time, the sun has reminded people of who they are, and where they come from. People of old recognized the sun as the Bringer Of Light, the Giver Of Life.

From a shamanic perspective the highest power of the Universe is present in the Sun, in just the same way that it is present in the Earth. The highest power above, the sun, and the highest power below, the earth Ð are different in their nature, but balance each other.

Nowadays we are aware that the sun is the center of our solar system, our part of the Universe. As living beings we live our lives around the sun, our lives evolve around it like planets, circling, orbiting. One of my teachers told me that his teacher had told him to contemplate the sun for an entire month. I took on a similar task, and began to come into a conscious relationship with this mysterious power. It may be a tiny thing in the scale of all that is, and it is just on the outskirts of the Milky Way, but at the same time it is a magnificent mystery, connecting us directly to the Source.

Teachings from the sun

There is a lot to be learned from the sun. One of the teachings that it gives us is to always think in ways of contribution. The sun wants to expand, to live more. It allows every life to live. It gives to all beings, and it doesn't matt

The sun is in the food we eat, in our blood, it is part of who we are. We are the children of Mother Earth and Father Sun. The plants and trees stretch towards the sun, reminding us to stretch towards light, illumination and understanding.

Light means awakening. The light of the sun reminds us that we must bring the best forward in ourselves: hope, courage, light, spirit.

Then we can see that we are more than we have ever imagined: we are beings filled with the power of spirit. Someone may say: "Oh no, it is night, it is dark; the sun is gone!" That's just a perspective. The sun is always there.

SHAMANIC DREAMING

Chris Lüttichau

The "dreamer" or "the one who dreams" is the term for the shaman in many indigenous cultures, and this shows us something about the importance of dreams in traditional shamanism.

In the last 20 years or so shamanism has experienced a revival in the Western world, and many people now practise core shamanism based to a big extent on journeying and the pioneering work of Michael Harner. So far shamanic dreaming hasn´t played a major part of core shamanism in the western world. Shamanic dreaming isn´t as easy to learn as shamanic journeying, but in the old days, learning the skill of the shaman wasn´t supposed to be easy.

DREAMS AND SPIRITS

In a shamanic context the word "dreaming" can mean a number of things, including having a vision, going on a shamanic journey, or receiving information in a trance state. Here the word dream refers to the dreams you can have while sleeping.

My own path into shamanism came through dreaming, and this article is based on some of my own experiences of working with shamanic dreaming for the last 25 years.

In order to understand what shamanic dreaming is, we need to understand that human beings have not only a physical body, but also a dream or energy body, that can travel to other places independently, away from the physical body. In some native traditions they say that the human being has different souls, and that at least one of these souls can leave the physical body and go out on journeys to the realm of Spirit. In the same way as we can build up our physical body by exercising, there are ways to build up the dream body.

Shamanic dreaming has to do with interacting with the spirits while dreaming. This can be in the form of visitations, where the spirit teachers or guardian animals come to you in nightly encounters and we can receive teachings and initiations. In other words, the spirits begin to train us in the dream state, and we may receive certain initiations along the way. This is one of the classical ways of being called onto the shamanic path.

In such dreams the spirits can gift us with important information that is personally important or important to other people. We may be given assignments, and in some cases we can also receive healing.

One of the ways to begin to open up the doorway to shamanic dreaming is by asking our spirit teacher or guardian animals when we go to sleep to give us a shamanic dream.

PROPHETIC DREAMS

In shamanic dreaming we don´t necessarily interpret each dream and look for symbolic meaning. With reflective dreams this can be relevant, but shamanic dreams can often be taken literally.
For instance, in one such dream I was presented with a certain kind of shirt, and told to wear it. It was unlike any other shirt I had seen, and certainly not one that I could go and buy in my local shop. However, it was one of those times where you know it is no ordinary dream, and you can feel there is a deep significance to it.

I woke up, turned on the light, and wrote down the dream and made a drawing of the shirt. A couple of years went by, and I had forgotten about the dream and was participating in a ceremony amongst some native people. Towards the end of the ceremony the shaman got up, and walked over to me with a bundle. He said that the spirits had told him to give me a gift, and he presented me with a shirt that looked exactly like the one I had been given in the dream.

That dream was a prophetic dream, showing me something that was going to happen two years later. The shirt turned out to become very significant for me as time went by.

In the old days prophetic dreams were essential for the survival. Such dreams would maybe warn people about eminent dangers, for instance an approaching enemy. Knowing the significance of dreams, the people would act upon the dream, be prepared, and lives could be saved. Other dreams might give instructions about where to find the game animals, or where to catch the fish.

MAKING IT REAL

Another important belief is that things happen in the dream world before they happen in the physical world. In many shamanic cultures you consequently "act out" events from your dreams in the waking world thereby "bridging" them into this everyday reality.

The reasons for doing so may not always be clear beforehand. I once dreamed that I went to a certain cafe with a certain person and had organic vanilla ice cream. Upon waking I knew that I should bridge the dream, and after some days I inivited this person to go to the cafe. It turned out they had organic vanilla ice cream on the menu card just like I had seen in the dream. During our short visit in the cafe the other person had an experience that shifted things for her, and the visit turned out to be a profound spontaneous healing - and the ice cream was good too.

In another dream I was visited by what seemed like a Mayan woman who healed with herbs. She said she wanted to work with me. Later I was instructed that I would receive some rain forest herbs and use them in my healing work. They have not yet come my way, but I know that they will one day when it is time to bridge the dream, and act upon it in this reality.

CONSCIOUS WHILE DREAMING

However, we don´t need to wait passively for such dreams to come to us. An important aspect of shamanic dreaming is the ability to enter the dream state at will, and then know that we are dreaming while we are dreaming. This latter is known as "lucid dreaming" - a modern expression which describes an ancient shamanic skill.

In this state the shaman can access useful information and ask for help and guidance in healing work, and be shown how to treat a person who is ill. This way of dreaming is an excellent source of sacred knowledge, and still has a lot of uses for the shaman today.

The possibilities are numerous. We can ask for teachings on just about any topic. For example, we can learn about the art of shape shifting - taking on the form of our guardian animal and moving around in the different worlds.

ETHICAL INTENT

As with all shamanic work it is important that your intention is clear. Will the way you use your dreaming skills benefit the people in some way, and is it done under the guidance of your spirit teacher?

Our intention should be aligned with the highest wisdom of the spirits, and we need humility so that our ego can get out of the way and give space to Spirit.
Shamanic dreaming is different to modern lucid dreaming: in the latter there tends to be an emphasis on controlling your dreams, and the dominating attitude is that you can do whatever you fancy. In shamanic dreaming the spirits are in charge, not the humans. This is a very important difference.

It seems to be a cultural thing. In our culture people are encouraged to think "I", not "we". In many of the old shamanic cultures the welfare of the people had the highest priority. In the modern world people have for a long time tried to control nature, conquer mountains, dam rivers, drain marshlands, and generally control whatever they come across, and that attitude can also be transferred to the dream world. From my perspective there is a danger in that, and we can miss out on the sacredness and the true gifts of dreaming. I suspect that is part of the reason why some indigenous people consider Westerners their "little" brothers and sisters.

DREAMING AND DYING

Those who have had out of body experiences and lucid dreams will know that the feeling in these states is very real - much more real than a light trance or the feeling you have during most shamanic journeys where some of your consciousness is still in your physical body.

When dreaming consciously your whole awareness is in the dream - it is as real as the physical world, and at the same time you know that you are dreaming. Such dreams are the closest we as humans in physical bodies can come to experiencing what it is like being spirits, except from a near death experience. But shamanic dreaming is a lot safer.

However, the conscious dream can be a training for dying. As a matter of fact, it is an amazing opportunity to prepare yourself for what eventually will happen to all of us - death, the transit from a physical body into an energy body.

There are different ways to do so. One is to learn to cross consciously from being awake into the "dream state", and then ask to be taught what you should know in order to prepare yourself for being in the realm of spirit after you have died.

In itself this dream state is very much like the state after death. You can move around in the spirit world, or in this world, in your energy body. You are not limited by physical existence, you can explore other realms and dimensions, meet spirit animals and teachers - the possibilities are endless.

Crossing consciously from being awake to dreaming is also a way of training yourself how to cross consciously after you die, and move directly into the realm of your ancestors, or wherever else you are supposed to go. This skill is considered important in many spiritual disciplines.

GATHERING ENERGY

The ability to have shamanic dreams on a regular basis is advanced dreaming, and one of the things that is required is energy. If you feel exhausted when you go to bed, and collapse into sleep every night, you don´t have sufficient energy for this kind of dreaming. In shamanic dreaming you find ways to build up your energy and there are many ways of sourcing as well as conserving energy so that you have the needed resources for conscious, nightly journeys into the world of Spirit.

Eating well, exercising and meditating are some basic steps. Identifying the areas where you loose energy, and finding ways to stop the leaks are some other ways that can give good results quickly.

With more energy new doorways may open up. You can, for instance, learn to share the same dream with one or more people, meeting while dreaming, visiting people and places at will, travelling in your dream body. Here again, it is important to be guided by the highest wisdom of the spirits and your own integrity.

THE REAL WORLD

In the modern world we are taught that the physical world is the real world. Consequently, almost all of our attention is focused towards outer, often superficial things. One of the results of this is that the energy that could be used for developing our abilities to perceive and understand the invisible world is not available. This is one of the reason why native peoples often have much higher developed psychic abilities than people living in the modern culture.

Traditionally, people who live close to the earth take time for solitude in nature, which quiets the mind, and opens the heart and the psyche to the unseen. Their world is permeated by the mystery, and dreaming is part of it.

I have found that it is best not to try to understand and explain everything about shamanic dreaming, but rather surrender into the mystery. Then it can become a blessing from the spirits, and the dream world becomes at least as real as the physical world.