The Shamanic Journey: Remembering an Ancient Language

Shamanic journeying is one of the oldest forms of spiritual practice known to humankind. Across continents and cultures, our ancestors used rhythmic sound to enter an expanded state of consciousness and connect with the unseen world. They journeyed to seek guidance, to heal, and to restore balance between the physical and spiritual realms.

Today, this practice continues to offer a bridge between the seen and unseen; a way to access deeper layers of awareness, reconnect with nature, our place within the living web of life.

Remembering an Ancient Language

When we journey, we engage in a form of sacred listening. Through rhythmic sound (often the steady beat of a drum) the mind settles and the body begins to align with a slower, steadier pulse. This rhythm helps the brain move into a light trance, opening the door to the imaginal realm: the world of spirit, symbol and intuition.

When we journey, we cross an invisible threshold into a landscape that is both inner and outer, a place where trees, rivers, animals and ancestors may all have a voice. This isn’t fantasy or invention; it’s a direct experience of communion with the intelligence of life itself.

Every culture once had its own language for this kind of practice. The names differ - journeying, visioning, dreamwork, communion with spirit, yet the essence remains the same: remembering that everything is alive, interconnected and capable of dialogue.

The Call to Journey

People are called to journeying for many reasons - often the desire arises in times of change or a feeling of being pulled toward something you can’t quite name. For some, the call emerges after loss or trauma, when words alone cannot reach the places that ache. For others, it begins as curiosity - a wish to know what lies beneath the surface of things. This was how I came to it.

I began journeying in the mid-1990s, long before I had a context, framework or language for it. What I discovered was not escape, but connection. When the sound of drumming washed over me, it felt like remembering something familiar and ancient. Over time, I came to understand that this was a way of listening deeply and entering dialogue with what lies beyond the edges of ordinary awareness.

Journeying reminds us that the world is relational and alive. We can journey for many reasons - to seek guidance, to tend to what has been lost or forgotten or to renew our connection with the sacred in everyday life.

The First Journey

In most traditions, the first journey we make is to meet a power animal or spirit ally - a compassionate presence who offers wisdom, protection and guidance. This ally, some say, has been with us from the start, and walks beside us throughout our lives and can help us navigate challenges, retrieve lost vitality, and stay connected to our own deeper knowing.

While it is possible to journey alone, I always recommend learning in person first, within a held, grounded space where safety and guidance is provided. Once you’ve experienced the practice, you can then continue at home, supported by your spirit ally at your own rhythm.

Healing Through Connection

In scientific thinking, the shamanic journey offers a kind of medicine for both the nervous system and the soul. The steady rhythm of the drum brings coherence to our breath and heartbeat, helps to regulate our nervous system and calm the body and can restore something our culture has largely forgotten; a sense of reverence and relationship with the living world.

Journeying can help us:

• Reconnect with our intuition and inner guidance

• Understand our patterns and emotions from a wider perspective

• Meet and tend to parts of ourselves that are ready to heal

• Rebuild trust in our place within nature and community

As well as transcendence, the shamanic journey teaches embodiment, learning to move between worlds while remaining rooted, steady, and present.

Listening for the Rhythm

If you feel drawn to explore this path, know that the journey begins long before you pick up a drum. It starts when we listen deeply and notice rhythm in the everyday world: the tide, the wind, our heartbeat, the rise and fall of our breath. Often we find it’s something we’ve been doing all along.

I’ll be exploring how to prepare to journey and the role of drumming in next month’s blog.

For now, let the darker season invite stillness. The drumbeat will come in its own time.

With heartfelt thanks to Dr Evgueni Faidych, my first shamanic teacher of Siberian lineage, who taught me how to journey and listen to the land with humility and respect.

With warmth and heartfelt gratitude

Certified Shamanic Practitioner • Teacher • Reiki Master

Based in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

If you feel called to explore further, you’re warmly invited to:

• The Next Women's Full Moon Circle – 11 January 2026

• Introduction to Shamanism Workshop – 24–25 January 2026 (Learn to journey and meet your power animal and spirit guides in person)

• One-to-One Sessions for personal guidance and healing

• Letters from the Hearth – subscribe for monthly reflections, practices, and rituals

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