Drum Journey (Recording): ~15 minutes
Lower World The journey down to lower world was different this time. The tunnel that leads from the base of the hot spring to LW was filled with water. I rode a small current down to the spot where I am typically deposited on the mesa. The meeting circle was filled with all my teachers, helping spirit animals, Tree, and Fire. On the way, I touched my left cheek and found that the mark Fire had made on me during the last journey was still there. Behind Fire was a Native American elder, wearing a white bead headdress and white bead necklace. I was told he was my drum teacher. He was the Spirit of the Drum. The first thing he told me was that I would be working in OR with the buffalo hide/cottonwood drum that Taos Pueblo elder Lee Lujan made for me. Reeds Blowing handed me the NOR version of it, which I had left in Upper World in the nook outside the Hall of Knowledge for safe keeping. Drum also said that also said that I was to tie a piece of ribbon or leather around the strings of the drum—one for each day on this initiation/training. The first lesson was to visualize the drum beats. I was to train myself to see the sound of the drum. It was important to know where the sound was going. We practiced together, playing and watching the sound. I saw the beats played and emanating from the drum like clear vapors. They rose and floated away like smoke. The others in the circle were enveloped by the sound vapors and cloaked in them. We continued to play until callback. I knew I was to practice this until next lesson. Callback I thanked all the spirits and returned.. Return to Ordinary Reality
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Drum Journey (Recording): ~15 minutes Lower World When I arrived, I was instantly swept up by a giant water bird (stork? crane?) who carried me to the left of my arrival point on the mesa. With his long legs, he bounded over terrains I had seen before—grasslands, tundra, jungle—until we reached the edge of the world. There, he swooped down and we flew to a lower-level world. IT appeared to be lush with mountains, grasses and a large body of water at its center. We dove into the water and swam downward through another tunnel at the base. From here, I was deposited into blackness. In the dark around me, I saw a few golden orbs that had fine golden hairs on them. They floated around with me. I heard the question, "Why have you come here?" and I asked how I could better understand the darkness inside of me. "The block," as I call it. I had come asking this question before but asked for clarity about what it is and how I can remove it. I remained in darkness for some time, with the understanding that this was where I was supposed to be for a while. Then the waterbird came back to retrieved me in reverse—up the tunnel, through the water, out into space, up onto Lower World and backwards over the many terrains. I was deposited at the Sacred Fire Circle. Fire burned and I sat in front of him. He reached a tongue out and lashed two horizontal burn marks on my cheekbone, with a half-circle at their base. Then Fire told me, "This is your mark. It symbolizes travel, with a solid and grounded base." I understood that from now on, when I journey, I will wear this mark in some way. Fire continued, "Your given name will be Nasha'we. It means, 'The one who travels by any means.' You may search for this name in Ordinary Reality. Maybe you will find another definition, but here it means, 'The one who travels by any means.' You may travel physically in Ordinary Reality, by journeying, drumming, playing flute, dancing, singing... "You will be given this name Nasha'we when you have removed the dark block and let movement flow through you. Until then, you will use this name as a mantra, guiding you through the work. You will work with the drum, here in the spirit realm, and with your therapist in Ordinary Reality. You will work every day. You will complete the fifty days of drumming and work in this way as well. Then you will be given the name, Nasha'we." When Fire was finished, I stayed by the heat of the flame, meditating in its light and heat. Callback I thanked Fire and the giant water bird. Return to Ordinary Reality
Note: On 3/12, I researched the word "nashawe." It is a Hudson River Native American word meaning, "in between." In Wampanoag, the Algonquian language, it is defined this as "between the paths" or "where the brooks (or streams) meet." (Understanding Algonquian Indian Words, Aquidneck Indian Council, 1996). I found this of interest for a number of reasons:
1. I live in a Hudson River village, very close to the water. 2. The name came with the symbol of two "streams" meeting at a base. 3. Fire said that I would receive the name when I "let movement flow through" me. There is also a sense here of "the middle way" in the Tao and Buddhism that is the path of balance. The shaman also travels between the worlds, traveling through the middle/World Tree. Drum Journey (Recording): ~15 minutes
Lower World I went to the sacred fire. Along the way I saw an eel and and ermine. When I got the fire, all the Compassionate Helping Spirits were gathered and waiting for me. I greeted them and asked, "Where will I find the teacher I need for drum healing?" There was a collective answer from them all that came through the fire: "You are like a tiger that has been kept too long in a cage. He is not living as his true self. You are like this. Look into the fire." I did as I was told and saw a female shaman dancing around the fire with bare feet and many robes. She beat a drum and spun wildly around in a trance. I merge with her for a brief moment and felt completely at peace, but immediately was drawn back out. "This is one of your previous selves. You have forgotten what it's like to be in this state. You will need to teach yourself again. You are your teacher. "Drum every day for 30 days..." Then Reeds Blowing amended. "...fifty days." "Drum every day for 50 days, and you will begin to learn the ways of the drum. Begin March 25 of this year. Now dance around the fire with your self." I began to dance, but felt the familiar anxiety of not being good enough, of being a fake. I wanted to dance the feeling away, but I remembered that I cannot do that; I have to embrace the self that is afraid. She emerged as a child of about seven or eight. I removed a feather from my headdress and gave it to her. She held it and we danced around the fire together, holding hands. At one point, she transformed into a blue bird that few around us. She became a kangaroo, a rabbit, and then a great wave of water. The water released and spilled around the fire circle, seeping into the earth. I continued to dance. There was now a drum in my hand. I felt more connected. I allowed the journey drumbeats to become the beats I was playing. I could hear high and low tones. I felt vibrations in my body. Callback I thanked my CHSes at the sacred fire. Return to Ordinary Reality |
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