Shamanism: Key Concepts

I recently had the following information shared with me...

https://www.templeofthejediorder.org/forum/Pagan-studies/34602-shamanism-key-concepts

After reading through things, I decided to do the World Tree meditation, and I was pleasantly surprised when it worked! However, in the midst of this discovery, I was "transported" from my presence before the tree to the red cliffs/desert in Utah east and a little north of Monument Valley. I have been there and remembered the scenery. I took in the scene before me, but also struggled to focus and get back to the tree and essentially I lost the whole thing. Do you have any insight about why I was transported to this place? Is this perhaps a representation of sacred space to me personally? I felt like the position of the moon and the time of day (sunset) seemed important, but I am unsure why they seem significant. Would anyone be willing to share any insight or advice as I go forward? Thanks, and MTFBWY.

I was a Pagan Priest for several years, so I may be of help.

In the coven I was part of, we used to have this group meditation where we transported ourselves to our personal gardens. In this place, we were able to commune and to feed from the nature energy. Maybe, that's your personal garden.

Position of the Moon and time of the day are always relevant. Everything related to Nature is relevant in Paganism, and the God and Goddess's representations (Sun and Moon) are obviously the most important ones.

Every time you meditate, try to focus on the image of that tree, and you may find yourself being transported there. While you're there, visualize yourself making a small cot from the branches and leaves, or even just a place for you to lie down and sleep beneath that tree. Also, if the tree has a fruit, eat it. It's the vital energy of nature offering itself to you. When you eat the fruit of your garden, you'll be filled with a kind of energy so strong, that when you get up from your meditation, you'll feel like you can carry the world in your shoulders while running a marathon.

Congrats. You found your personal garden. Cherish it, and good things you'll find.

Thanks for pointing this out.

In my experience, if the spirits take you somewhere, there's a reason for it. Either you're not ready for where you were, or you needed to be somewhere else instead. I've had a few situations where I've been taken to someplace that I wasn't intending to go. In one instance, it was so I could talk to a spirit that I needed to. In another rather scary event, it was because I was in danger. The times like this when I've tried to focus on going somewhere else, the journey would...shatter... I'd lose it as you did.

If you want to try this again, I would go back to your desert. Look around, see who's there. Either there's someone you need to talk to there, or it's a sacred place for you. Or maybe both If you find yourself there repeatedly, it's a safe bet you can claim it as that There's one place I almost always meet with my power animal. The deserts could be it for you

They also make good retreats when the day is rough and you need a place to find your focus

Something that I just stumbled across, if anyone wants to explore it further...check out the link

http://www.soundstrue.com/store/year-of-ceremony/shamanism-video

Kit wrote: In my experience, if the spirits take you somewhere, there's a reason for it. Either you're not ready for where you were, or you needed to be somewhere else instead. I've had a few situations where I've been taken to someplace that I wasn't intending to go. In one instance, it was so I could talk to a spirit that I needed to. In another rather scary event, it was because I was in danger. The times like this when I've tried to focus on going somewhere else, the journey would...shatter... I'd lose it as you did.

If you want to try this again, I would go back to your desert. Look around, see who's there. Either there's someone you need to talk to there, or it's a sacred place for you. Or maybe both If you find yourself there repeatedly, it's a safe bet you can claim it as that There's one place I almost always meet with my power animal. The deserts could be it for you

They also make good retreats when the day is rough and you need a place to find your focus

i always meet both of mine, in a foggy, dark forest....when the shapeshifter meets me, he starts as a fog, then takes form (sometimes human, sometimes dragon) he says what he needs then turns back into a fog and fades from sight, when the wolf (dire wolf) meets me, he sometimes has me ride his back as we run through the forest to a clearing encircled by other wolves and we wait for the shapeshifter to arrive, or he teaches me something...other times he waits for me to turn into a wolf then we run through the forest together as he teaches me whatever it is he wants to teach....

RyuJin wrote: i always meet both of mine, in a foggy, dark forest....when the shapeshifter meets me, he starts as a fog, then takes form (sometimes human, sometimes dragon) he says what he needs then turns back into a fog and fades from sight, when the wolf (dire wolf) meets me, he sometimes has me ride his back as we run through the forest to a clearing encircled by other wolves and we wait for the shapeshifter to arrive, or he teaches me something...other times he waits for me to turn into a wolf then we run through the forest together as he teaches me whatever it is he wants to teach....

That's so cool!!!

I meet Fox most often in the heart of a great forest light by moonlight, between a rocky mountain and a sandy desert. There's a clearing with a huge bonfire lit in the middle of it. Well the bonfire size varies and then there's been a few times where it wasn't lit but that's the usual at least