{"id":1464,"date":"2020-05-17T13:13:17","date_gmt":"2020-05-17T11:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/80db0ca28a.nxcli.io\/the-shamanic-journey\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T12:51:14","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T11:51:14","slug":"the-shamanic-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/the-shamanic-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"The shamanic journey: understanding and overcoming fears"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/forest-4918605_640.jpg\" alt=\"Coniferous forest crossed by a stream, in soft light\" title=\"The shamanic journey: understanding and overcoming fears\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, I want to talk to you about the <strong>shamanic journey<\/strong>. The more I discuss it with people around me, the more I realize it raises a lot of fears, misunderstandings, and false ideas. I&#8217;ll explain what it really is, how you enter it, and why there&#8217;s nothing to be afraid of.  <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The essentials<\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You can&#8217;t get lost on a shamanic journey: all you need to do is want to come back.<\/li>\n\n<li>It&#8217;s not an astral journey: you travel with your consciousness, in a trance state.<\/li>\n\n<li>Trance isn&#8217;t spectacular at all: it&#8217;s an inner state we all know.<\/li>\n\n<li>The drum is the safest and most effective way to journey.<\/li>\n\n<li>You don&#8217;t need to be a shaman to journey, for example to meet your power animals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can you get lost during a shamanic journey?<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One fear comes up often: the fear of not being able to come back. That&#8217;s simply impossible. All you have to do is want to come back and set that intention, and it happens instantly. Besides, if you&#8217;re afraid, you won&#8217;t even leave: you need to be relaxed, feeling good, and trusting.   <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Shamanic journey vs. astral travel: what&#8217;s the difference?<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These are two completely different things, and even with astral travel, you can&#8217;t get lost. On a shamanic journey, you don&#8217;t travel with your astral body, but <strong>with your consciousness alone<\/strong>, in a trance state. <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is trance?<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here too, there are plenty of misconceptions. Trance isn&#8217;t necessarily what you see in movies, with rolled-back eyes and a convulsing body. That does exist, but here we&#8217;re talking about <strong>ecstatic trance<\/strong>: an inner trance state that can be reached very gently.  <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are different levels of trance. You can enter these altered states of consciousness by dancing, singing, or repeating an activity. It&#8217;s no coincidence that &#8220;trance music&#8221; is called that: repetitive sound and dance bring us into an altered state.  <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here&#8217;s an example you&#8217;ll relate to: when you&#8217;re doing a routine activity and find yourself lost in your thoughts while still carrying on, you&#8217;re in a form of trance. This even happens while driving, with that feeling of zoning out. <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do you enter shamanic trance?<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To journey, we use the repetitive sound of the <a href=\"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/the-shamanic-drum\/\">drum<\/a>, rattle, jaw harp, or other instruments.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some traditions also use substances, like DMT, found notably in ayahuasca. For us Europeans, I think this is a shortcut that can be very dangerous, even more so without the guidance of an experienced shaman, and there are always health risks involved. I&#8217;m convinced the drum is the safest and most effective way to journey.  <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the shamanic journey for?<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shamanic journey lets you travel deep within yourself, into the <a href=\"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/the-invisible-worlds\/\">invisible worlds<\/a> and other planes, to meet spirits, your ancestors, or your guides. There, you seek answers and teachings, recover lost abilities, and give or receive healing. For a shaman, almost everything happens through the journey.  <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But you don&#8217;t need to be a shaman to journey: anyone can, for example, go meet their <a href=\"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/power-animals\/\">power animals<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is a shamanic journey dangerous?<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the drum, no: you can&#8217;t get lost, all you need to do is want to come back. Psychedelic substances, on the other hand, carry real health risks. <\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do you need to be a shaman to do a shamanic journey?<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No. Anyone can journey, for example to meet their power animals. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To find out how to practice daily, even in the city, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/urban-shamanism\/\">urban shamanism<\/a> too. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If this topic resonates with you, discover the <a href=\"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/soul-sanctuary\/\">Soul Sanctuary retreat<\/a>, a week blending handpan, shamanic practices, presence, and introspection.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are One. One love. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The shamanic journey without fear: why you can&#8217;t get lost, what trance really is, the role of the drum, and what the journey is for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1465,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_surecart_dashboard_logo_width":"180px","_surecart_dashboard_show_logo":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_orders":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_invoices":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_subscriptions":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_downloads":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_billing":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_account":true,"itsec_x_frame_options":"","_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-shamanism-spirituality"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1464"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2437,"href":"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1464\/revisions\/2437"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/warrenshanti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}