Hemi-Sync® Journal 2000-2 (Spring)

effects on enzymes, red blood cells, cancer cells, yeasts, plants, ani- mals, and human beings. Fifty-six of the studies showed statistically significant results at a probability level of <.01, and twenty-one at a probability level of .02 to .05.” “There are no more maps, no more creeds, no more philosophies. From here on in, the directions come straight from the universe.” —Akshara Noor This quote was my journal entry on January 27, 1985. I had studied with a spiritual healer since 1977, and wanted to explore more about that process. I was attracted to shamanism for two rea- sons. The first was its organized approach to exploring “nonlocal” phenomena, making their occurrence less random. The second was an unusual encounter with a great horned owl, which flew straight out of the woods to my feet in broad daylight and stood staring up at me at the very moment I was contemplating studying shamanism and its inherent connection to animal guides! The term “shaman” comes from the Russian Tungusic word saman, and means one who journeys in expanded consciousness between “ordinary reality” (our three-dimensional world) and “nonordinary reality” (that dimension in which everything is “alive” or spirit-filled, including all of nature and inanimate objects). The practice is at least twelve thousand years old and is the first organized form of healing. The shaman’s purpose is to make contact with spirit helpers in nonordinary reality to bring back information or healing for individuals or for the community. It is actually the journeying process that distinguishes it from other forms of spiritual healing. A shaman can use a variety of methods for altering his consciousness in preparation for journeying: a sonic driving sound and rhythm such as drumming (often producing pre- dominant frequencies in the theta range of 4-7 cycles/sec.),’ rattling (a higher frequency input), and chanting; intense physical states such as fasting, sleep deprivation, prolonged dancing, and heat from sweat baths; and psychotropic plant substances. Although the shaman may have served several roles in early trib- al societies—healer, priest, finder of game, judge—shamanism is not synonymous with religion. It is, however, inextricably linked with spirituality: in a shamanic state of consciousness everything is alive, and all space is sacred. This contrasts with the more familiar ordinary state of consciousness in which we conduct most medical care. In shamanic work, the spirits, rather than the therapist, are in charge and guide the process of treatment. The therapist is trained to be a “listening ear,” the shaman to be a “hollow bone” to allow the spirits to move through him for healing. I began initial shamanic training in 1986-87 with Michael Harner, PhD, an anthropologist who teaches what he terms “core shamanism,” the basic process of journeying and divination that is both cross-cultural and transgenerational. Working in a shamanic framework allowed me to think more richly about the factors con- tributing to a particular illness and to develop a broader base of ther- apeutic interventions as I worked with a patient. I was struck by the exquisite sense of relationship, both with the patient and with a Larger Process, that the shamanic work provided. I was introduced to The Monroe Institute programs and the Hemi-Sync technology in 1996. I found myself particularly attract- ed to its more Westernized method of moving into expanded states of consciousness that patients might be more willing to work with, i.e. music and guided imagery rather than drums and rattles. I was also drawn to the precision of recognizing and utilizing particular states of consciousness—specific Focus levels that moved from phys- ical to nonphysical perception—and being trained to reproduce them voluntarily. I felt like I was getting back behind the wheel of my life, of my Mind. I jumped right in, taking the GATEWAY, LIFELINE, and GUIDELINES programs all in the same year. Although there --- PAGE 4 (OCR) --- Spring 2000 are many differences in the forms of TMI training and core shaman- ic practice, there are also definite parallels: (1) a basic affirmation that “we are more than our physical bodies” underscores the shared model of a “nonlocal” Mind; (2) the active work with TMI’s “Guides” or “Inner Self Helpers” allows one to think of them as either “inside” oneself or “outside”; in shamanism, helping spirits are considered to be “outside” unless one is voluntarily merged with them, and the rela- tionship is much more sacred and ceremonial; (3) healing, divination, and psychopomp work (conducting souls to the afterlife)—the bedrock for a shamanic practitioner—have counterparts in TMI training; and (4) both forms embrace the powerful energies of respect, compassion, humility, love, and gratitude. Naturally, there came the inevitable question of “Which form do I use?” Being both pragmatic and eclectic by nature, I was fortunate to experience similar spirit helpers in both forms: the same crew showed up whether journeying to drums or listening to a Hemi-Syne tape in a CHEC unit. My helping spirits went a bit further, though, advising that (1) whom I needed as a helper would be determined by what I needed for a particular purpose, (2) my intention or purpose in doing the work was more important than the form it took, and (3) guidance would come through either way. As I moved more deeply into the shamanic training by taking a soul retrieval workshop in 1997 and beginning a three-year intensive in 1998, it became clear that Bob Monroe's Interstate and Focus lev- els did not match the shamanic territories of the Upper World, Middle World, and Lower World. Since shamanic work is founded on the spirits being the teachers (the trainers only help you get to the right place/dimension for the teaching to occur), I journeyed to ask how (or if) to blend the programs. Spirit recommended an amalgam: before leaving ordinary reality to travel to any of the three shamanic domains of nonordinary reality, I could begin to shift my conscious- ness by moving to Focus 10 and then on to Focus 12. The soul retrieval training did not require me to start in any particular one of the three nonordinary Worlds, so before doing a soul retrieval, I found that going to Focus 15 with my purpose strongly in mind, and being met there in the Void by a Helping Spirit, worked quite well. Healing The shaman sees three major causes of illness. The first is loss of power; clues pointing to this diagnosis might be chronic types of problems such as recurrent upper respiratory infections, chronic depression, chronic misfortune. The shaman’s role in treating this form of illness would be to journey to nonordinary reality and ask his helping spirits to recover a lost Power Animal, and to bring it back to the patient in ordinary reality. A second major cause of illness is spir- itual intrusion; clues to this diagnosis would be a more localized prob- lem such as ulcer, localized pain, cancer. To address this problem, the shaman’s role would be to remove the intrusion from the patient's body and neutralize it. It is worthy of note that the shaman does not see the intrusion as evil but rather as misplaced energy, which has entered through an opening or vulnerability in the patient's own power or vitality. The vulnerability is felt to originate from negative thought-forms generated by the patient, especially when the emo- tions are blocked. A third major cause of illness is soul loss; here “soul” is considered to be one’s essence, life force, or vitality. When a person suffers an emotional or physical trauma, a part of their soul discon- nects or splits off in order to survive the pain. It goes into nonordi- nary reality to wait until it is brought back. Sometimes it returns on its own; more often, not. Symptoms of soul loss might include dis- sociative disorders, addictions, post-traumatic stress disorder, and unresolved grief. Patients often describe this circumstance by saying, “I've never been the same since . . .” The shaman will journey to find help in locating the missing soul part and bring it back if it is willing.’ Psychopomp Work The shaman may also escort the souls of the dead beyond the Middle World if they are trapped there. In the first case in this paper, I think I inadvertently called back the soul of my patient who had suicided; this event occurred spontaneously before I had received any shamanic training. Since much of my work is in counseling people facing life-threatening illness such as HIV disease or cancer, it is very gratifying to be able to offer assistance to help them experience a sense of completion of this life and a sense of moving beyond. Some of my patients and their families have benefited from TMI's GOING HOME series, and I have done TMI’s LIFELINE work both awake and in the dreamtime. Additionally, in an ongoing HIV group I facilitated for several years, I taught the participants to journey to drumming, and then invited them to ask to be shown the path they would take at the time of their death (an experience I had had in my own shamanic training). Seven of the eight had very positive and deeply felt experiences (the eighth one reported pleasant relaxation). Each was different: one reported geometric figures in multiple spa- tial alignments; another a pastoral scene; another mostly light and deep emotion. As important as the reassurance they felt was receiv- ing specific information that was helpful for conducting their present lives. A colleague in the shamanic training found a council of her ancestors on one of her journeys. The council asked her to do psy- chopomp work for some of them. As she completed their requests, she was surprised and moved to find relationships within her pre- sent-day family changing and healing. Divination In gathering information for self or others, the shaman con- stantly looks for signs of the sacred domain at work in daily life: 1. Synchronicities. This is the phenomenon of meaningful coin- cidences. ] remember driving on an interstate interchange while try- ing to decide whether to bring up the spiritual dimension in a sup- port group I was starting that evening. At that moment, a large hawk flew right to my windshield, spread its huge wings at me, and veered off into the middle of dense traffic. I took it as a sign to “pay atten- tion” and connected the two—eagles and hawks for me represent spirit messengers as they fly between the worlds. “I'll talk about it!!” I said to its disappearing back. In fact, I have come to assume that everything that happens to me may have an important message, par- ticularly the “bad” things. If multiple roadblocks keep coming up as I try to push my will through on a pet project, I am learning to read the larger message. Paradoxically, that course of action keeps me more connected to the Larger Order of Things rather than pushing me away. --- PAGE 5 (OCR) --- HEMI-SYNC® JOURNAL 2. Casting and/or reading patterns. Using runes, stones, or pat- terns on rocks, and walking through nature “seeing” what you notice while holding an important question in mind are all associative ways to open to deeper information. 3. Journeying. Asking spirit helpers directly in nonordinary real- ity is also a common form of gathering information. TMI’s GUIDE- LINES training invites similar forms of divination as in numbers 2 and 3. 4. Tracking dreams. In many cultures the dream state is consid- ered an active part of one’s life. People can learn to distinguish between garden-variety dreams and Dreams—the latter being visita- tions from Spirit as the dreamer engages nonlocal Mind. Dreams can bring information, precognition, and herald illness or healing before they manifest in the physical. A shaman would consider dreaming one way to enter nonordinary reality, though not necessarily with the same intent and control as entering it from a conscious, waking state.