FOUNDATION TRAINING IN ASTROSHAMANISM 2004
1. On Saturn
Findhorn, 28 February 2004
The function of Saturn is to create a container for the content to be available. Its function is to shield something that has value. Saturn provides a first element of identification that can allow further information to be drawn. I invite you to treasure whatever you are aware of right now and also what has happened during your journey. I invite you to identify it with clarity so that you can acknowledge it whenever you require it. This means that tomorrow you can refer to it again. A way of supporting your shamanic experience is that of indulging with whatever has been achieved, so that it can serve as a container. The container is necessary for containing the information. I have constant connections with the Guide and the multi-dimensional plane, The only problem is that I do not manage effectively to contain them. I do not have a good vessel. Water needs a vessel to be contained, and Saturn serves this purpose. It is like a bottle. Taken by itself, with nothing inside, it does not serve much, unless I decide to employ it as decoration. When I use the bottle to contain the water, what counts is the water inside. The bottle also counts, yet simply in order to contain the water.
What is experienced with Saturn serves the purpose of identifying a structure that allows precious information related to the Intent to be drawn. Saturn experiences are to be honoured and treasured as such, and also identified with clarity so that they can be used as a container once the content becomes available. A most important way of supporting astroshamanic work is that of acknowledging whatever is accomplished no matter how I perceive or judge it. In the first stages of the work I am not in a condition to judge anything. I am just preparing myself. I am not receiving the object of my search. I am simply getting the bags ready to contain it once I receive it. Here I need to be aware that the bags are bags, which means that my aim is to make sure that they are robust enough to contain the content. Yet if I get too involved with the bags, I will miss the content once it is available for collection. I have constant opportunities to grasp the content, which are regularly wastes due to my incapacity to provide a vessel.
3. On the Intent
Findhorn, 29 February 2004
When I decide to go on a spiritual or shamanic search or simply choose to attend this workshop, I do it because I have an Intent. I want to get or find something out of it. This something is inevitably related to the fact that I have already had an experience of that something, otherwise I would be unable to look for it. I can only look for something that I know. Even if I do not know what I am looking for, the fact that I am looking for it anyway implies that somewhere I have an understanding and experience of it. It is only a matter of retrieving that experience. The object of my search is not new at all, otherwise I would not be capable of even conceiving the idea of looking for it. Basically, what I am looking for is part of my experience and, although this statement could be controversial, it is something I am experiencing all the time, at least daily. The fact that I am not aware of it is simply because my attention is distracted. The object of my search escapes my awareness because the focus of my attention is elsewhere. This is important because when I become aware of it I then can relax. It is not that I have to make tremendous efforts to get I want. It is already here. I just need to become aware of it. It is not far away, it is right here in this moment. In this context what I can do as a good start is to acknowledge the moments in my life when I have had the experience of what I am looking for. If I do this I will realize that there are an infinity of such moments, even if perhaps in this moment I do not appear to experience them. One of the characteristics of the ordinary mind is that is focused on a very fragmented part of reality. All the rest is cut off and does no exist. Therefore if I find myself focused only on that fragmented part I exclude many other things. When I go on a shamanic journey what I express is my availability to open up to what is beyond the ordinary awareness. I am confronted with a great choice, which determines a major shift. Simply making this choice has major effects. Indeed, this is the greatest choice I can make. What follows after this choice? Keeping the integrity of the choice. I have made the choice of connecting with my Guide. Then, I simply need to keep the integrity of this choice. I do not need to choose all the time. I simply need to be aware that I have made that choice, and avoid forgetting about it. The fact of forgetting could happen due to my limited awareness. With such limited awareness I tend to forget not only events happened ages ago, but also facts occurred a few seconds ago. After having started a shamanic journey to connect with the Guide, I may forget that the purpose of the journey is indeed to connect with the Guide and I may get distracted by conflicting thoughts. The shamanic journey is based on the art of remembering. My Intent is to connect with the Guide. During the journey I need to be determined to implement my Intent. This means that whatever is going to follow after I have made the choice is in relation with that choice, no matter whether it seems to make sense or not. If I decide that what happens is not related with the Guide, once I have made the choice to meet that, I deny my statement of connecting with the Guide. I then open to another Intent, which is not the previous one. There are many ways to remember. Each one of us has to find the one which is the most effective. One way is to empower the breath to remind me about my choice. In this way, whenever I breathe, I am reminded about my Intent. This prevents me from having the fear of losing track of my Intent. If I decide that the breath communicates my Intent, I will respect the integrity of such a statement by continuing to stay with it. Humanly it is not possible to keep the awareness of the Intent for long time. The advantage of a shamanic journey is that it provides a structure set in time and space: for example a journey of 15 minutes. During that time I keep the focus of my Intent. Then, when I have concluded, I can release the focus and allow myself distractions. Yet in those 15 minutes whatever happens is related to my Intent and I give it total attention. Here the purpose is not that of interpreting. How can I interpret?! My ordinary mind does not have a clue about the meaning of the experience. All I can do is simply gather information. The purpose at the beginning is that of gathering the basic language, the code that the Guide employs to connect with me, the alphabet. Once I receive the first words it is already very powerful. When I was a child and I would look to the letters of the alphabet they were so exciting. I did not have a clue what they meant, yet simply by looking at them I could get a lot. The first time I managed to write a letter, which was letter a, this gave me a lot of power. For some days I only wrote an a. At the beginning I would write very awkward a, then I began to write them better. Before I managed to put a together with another letter it took a lot of time. When I created a connection between a and c, I discovered the secret of creating links. Up to that time all letters were separated, then came that moment when I began to unite couple of them. And then also three and four. Then I created the first complete word, like cane, which means dog. I realised that when I would put letters together their pronunciation would change. I would not spell c, a, n and e. I would put them altogether and have another pronunciation. Before receiving complex messages about the meaning of the universe, first I need to have the humility to get the alphabet and learn the words. Then I will be able to speak fluently. Yet, how can I know that I am tapping in the real language or alphabet. There are so many languages! It is a specific feeling that allows me to identify the right language. A state of well-being were all my fears as a human being crumble. It is an experience of unconditional peace and joy, a sense of great safety. It is a sense of great unconditional acceptance. It means that I do not have to do anything in order to deserve it, and that everything is a matter of choice. In the multidimensional realm there are many beings who are not necessarily loving unconditionally. It does not mean that they are bad. It is just that my perception is distorted and accommodated according to my limited frequency of adjustment. In the end all and everything is connected with unity, yet first I need to find a connection that offers this sense of unity in its best format. I need to find the easier way to unity. I need to find an area that is not too far from my ordinary perception. Once I have created a connection with this area of power then I can move on into other areas. I create a base close to my usual environment, a buffer zone between the ordinary and non ordinary reality. One of the characteristic of the guide is that it respects this reality, it takes it into account no matter how limited it is. This allows the ordinary identity to have trust towards the Guide and develop the relationship. The ordinary identity is based on the denial of the Guide. It takes time to heal this denial and the guide serves this purpose. There are many techniques to connect with the Guide. What we use now is a very widespread technique based on a structure. First I find a point of departure that exists in this reality. It is a way of acknowledging this reality. It is also a way of giving my identity an element of identification that is understandable. The point of departure in this technique exists in this reality: anything that exists in this planet and also a part of my body. This point is also the point of return once I have concluded the journey. It is a kind of guarantee so that the part of me who is afraid of being abandoned is relieved since I contemplate to return. This is also a promise, a strategy that allows the ordinary mind to support me. Then there is another element: the Intention. What is my Intention? It is essential that I know it for once I am in a journey something could happen and I may forget everything. I may encounter a thick layer of amnesia and forget all. I need to use something that allows me to remember. For example, the breath. The Intent here is to connect with the Guide, a part within me that provides support. Once I enter the point of departure I need to find a way to acknowledge my choice to connect with the Guide. The Guide can be approached thru a variety of languages. What counts is not whether that language is understandable for the Guide. It is rather if it is understandable for me. The Guide approaches me all the time, as it is a part of me. Yet, since the part I identify myself with tends not to acknowledge the Guide, I need to employ a language that make this acknowledgment clear. I need to do something that allows me to understand that I am inviting the Guide. The fact of calling the Guide does not have any effect on the Guide, for the Guide is there all the time. It does, however have a tremendous effect on my awareness since by calling the Guide I become aware of the Guide. This is like using a switch. If I switch on the light, the light goes on. I need only to perform a specific course of action in order to switch on the light. It is very simple and does not require much effort. Yet there is a major difference between switching on the light and not switching it on the light. The first action will manifest light, the second will not. A second element in the process is the availability to perceive the light once it has been switched on. This is essential for if, once I have turned on the light, I close my eyes then I will not be able to see the light. It means here that I need to be available to meet the Guide once I have called it. If I have not experienced light for long time, let us say ages, well it is very likely that my experience of light falls short. I will probably have an intellectual or imaginary understanding of light. Perhaps I may have read books about light or met people who have seen the light, without having had an experience of it myself. Also all these books and people may provide different descriptions of light, and may be there are some which are prevalent in my environment. Once I do approach the Guide I need to be aware that my intellectual understanding of the Guide may not necessarily coincide with the effective nature of the Guide. I need to be open to what happens without comparing with other definitions. As a result of opening I may need some time to find out what is really happening. The connection with the Guide is the confrontation with something very huge. Once I begin to be aware of the Guide I may be able only to notice a few details. I may notice a small detail which is very significant or another which is not. I need to get some time to elaborate the information. 15 minutes of journey allow a basic integration of various details. What is recommended in a journey is to employ a mixture of an active and passive attitude. The element o choice depends on the quality of my experience. For example, if I am using a passive attitude, like calling the Guide and opening to receive it, I may sense a warm feeling in my heart, a great sense of peace and joy, or also visualize the shape of the Guide. If this happens and it is good for me, then it is important to continue with this passive attitude. Yet if I am passive or receptive and nothing seems to happen. I get totally bored and I am not happy about it, then I can choose another option and become active, which means to do something. In that moment I can remind myself about the Intent, which is that of connecting with the Guide and all that it represents: power, love, joy, etc. This means that I am allowed to be creative and produce what I want to receive. My limited perception sees things as split. It is like I am not entitled to go for what I want unless I receive it spontaneously. If I am happy with this, it is certainly ok. Yet if I am not, I can change something. What counts is for me to get an experience, not the way I manage to have an experience. I am entitled to do whatever to get experiences. It does not matter how I get the experience. There is not ethic code here. If nothing happens in a journey and I do not perceive the Guide, neither do I have a feeling of unconditional love, I can pretend to connect with the Guide and experience what is missing. I can play it. I can invent everything. If, as a result of this, I manage to have an experience, then I have reached the goal. I can let go and be receptive. It is like rowing. There are moments in which all the movement depends on my rowing. In other moments the wind is in favour and I do not need to row. Here it does not matter the way I move, what counts is that I move. It can be spontaneous movement created by the wind or energy produced by human beings or an engine. It is all energy. What matters is to move. There is no private property here. If I invent something it is not important that it is me who is inventing it. Whether it is me or someone else who invent, it is still an invention and what counts is what I do with that invention. Therefore if the mind says: you are inventing everything. The only point here is whether what I am inventing is good for me or not. An important thing by the end of the journey is to find an element of identification of the Guide. Now there is an abuse regarding the understanding of the word vision. Shamanic visions do not necessarily refer to the organ of sight. I need to be attentive to the kind of perception that is stronger during a journey. If I acknowledge and accept what is stronger the work is easier. As a result of embracing the stronger aspect the weaker will later come into full awareness. It can be a physical experience. When this is the case it is more powerful for it gives a clear sign to the body that something is happening. The invitation is to involve the body as much as possible. If I keep my senses open what is more relevant will come to my attention. It can be the smell, the hearing, etc. I need to perceive what is stronger. The journey ends with a call back, which is a faster beating at the conclusion of the journey. When you hear the callback you need to complete the process and return to the starting point. The moment of completion is important for it allows you to identify what happened. You can find your own way to greet the Guide or honour the place you were in and then return to the point of departure. This is a way also of reviewing what has happened. If I return I will revisit what has happened from the start. This is a way of retrieving the experience. After the end of the journey it is essential to write down the experience. If I do not seem to remember anything or there is nothing I can put into words the invitation is to write or draw something anyway even if you do not know what it is. What counts here is simply transferring information from the shamanic world into this reality. When I write I translate shamanic information into another language. It is not possible to express it perfectly, yet the translation will provide a bridge between two realities. It is important to write down right after the journey until the experience is fresh. Also this allows the shamanic experience to be born and live in this reality. I invite you to be aware that this journey is not the ultimate journey.
Q: Is the Guide the same in every circumstance?
The Guide is an educational device. I use it in order to describe something that is far beyond its description. What is essential is to be aware of the feelings towards the Guide, rather than its form. There are many Guides and yet it is only one. In astroshamanism there is a strategic primary Guide and other Guides that serve different purposes. There are three Guides in the classical structure, one for each world, and 12 Guides, one for each Sector. The Guide I refer to is the one of the Middle world, which is the world closer to my ordinary identity. If you have already established a connection with the Guide and you are happy about it, go with it. At the same time I invite you not to be conditioned, especially if you not have been given indications about your guide first hand. If a channeler told you about your Guide and you get another Guide during a journey perhaps you can open to your own experience and see how you feel about it. At times the Guide may come to you in a different form. The form the Guide takes relate to my perception in a given moment. I may connect with an animal, a human form, etc. If I decide to be coherent only with one form, then it is my choice. It is always the test of love that determines the presence of the Guide. If something happens and I am not sure what it is, I have the right to ask. This also relates to applying both active and receptive attitudes. In my relationship with the multidimensional it is essential that I express myself. If I do not understand I need to do something otherwise my understanding will be taken for granted. I am entitled to use any means of communication in order to achieve the goal.
Q: How precise do you need to be in expressing your Intent?
The first stage is to express the Intent of connecting with the Guide, with all it represents. Once I acknowledge the Guide and develop trust, then I can be more specific in my questions. The purpose of the first journeys is to establish a contact with the Guide. If my questions prevail over the Intent of connecting with the Guide, I risk to connect with other energies which are not the Guide.
4: Q: Is the Guide a part of us or not?
From the shamanic perspective the Guide is a part of me for there is no separation. From the perspective of separation the Guide is different. The Guide can also be describe as my multi-dimensional self. The problem is that there are currently many traditions and they all refer to the Guide in different ways…. The Guide is a part of me of which I have lost memory. Paradoxically tt could also be a part of me who has forgotten about me. In this case I need to do something to draw its attention. It is important in shamanic work not to make assumptions for these will prevent me to accept my direct experience. May be I am not that miserable human being I feel to be. May be is the Guide who has forgotten about me, leaving me on a remote boulder in this infinite universe. Perhaps this is such a fragmented and remote reality that the Guide does not even know that it exists. I do not know how things are. What counts is that I do something. It is essential to be open to what comes to you even if for the ordinary mind does not make any sense. This does not mean that what I receive applies to everybody. It is simply the way I receive it.
6. If your whole shamanic journey appears as crap and yet you manage to have a connection with the Guide just for a few seconds, then you can acknowledge those seconds and expand them. It is like in a map of Europe: if the area that interests you is Findhorn, you can hardly see it on the map. Yet you may have a feeling of where it is and then expand it like in those current computer maps. I am not concerned with all the other towns and countries, I just focus on the Findhorn area, and as I expand it I realize that it is quite huge. I can expand it to such a level that I decide to come and live in Findhorn. It is like going into a library and looking for a book. One way is to read all the books of the library until I find the one I want. Another way is to look for the title of the book, perhaps by browsing the catalog in alphabetical order, and disregard all the other books. This is the power of discrimination. There are so many things in this world. And the other dimensions are just the same. There is a lot of advertising and events. I need to know what I want and get it.
7. The Basic Ritual: It has to do with going into the maximum possibility of shamanic movement which involve going through the three worlds. A characteristic of shamanism is the activity of mapping other dimensions. In the shamanic cosmology there are three worlds…… The Middle World contains many out of the ordinary elements which are not commonly acknowledged by our culture. It is the environment where I exist with my body, yet it is also an environment of which I am not fully aware. As a human being I only perceive a fragment of the Middle World. I only tend to relate only with a limited part of this world. Merely at a human level there are many individuals with whom I cannot communicate because their language is different from mine. Not to mention my communication with animals, plants and minerals. The dissociation here is such they I do not have any clue about what they truly are, to the extent that I deem that no communication is necessary with them. There are many types of plants, animals and minerals. I see them with my physical eyes and they exist in the ordinary reality, yet I tend to totally disregard them and not consider worth of communication, also because I do not really manage to communicate with them. Although I do not relate directly with many things I see, at least I can see them. If I am not interested about plant, and I enter into a room were there are two or three vases with plants, I may not even be aware that they are there. As I enter the room I will probably acknowledge the people who are there, by saying something, yet I will not extend this formal recognition to the plants. However is somebody points out the plant to me, I will be able to see it because the plant is something that is part of our human reality. There are also things in the room