Spiritual Sanctuary
The Need for a Spiritual Sanctuary
The spiritual sanctuary is the ideal place to start all your shamanic journeys and
meditations from. It is a sacred space that gives you maximum protection from
negativity, and at the same time a place where you feel completely safe
and comfortable. As I have already explained on my Underworld Page, it is not a good idea to journey
from a public place. By starting your Otherworld journeys in your own personal sanctuary you ensure that negative people and forces are being kept out
of your Underworld. This can save you a lot of trouble and grief!
Unfortunately there are those who would like to exploit your
vulnerabilities and invade your inner worlds, your Underworld and other
places, in order to steal your power and cause you harm. This may sound
far-fetched but unfortunately it is much more common than people think.
You can read more about the invasive methods of these black magicians
and false shamans in my essays Vampires Suck and "Sham Shamans" (yet to come).
In any case, many problems can be avoided just by journeying exclusively from your own personal astral sanctuary, and by not revealing anything about your sanctuary or your own personal Underworld entrance to other people! There is no harm done in playing safe. In your car you also put on your seat belt, instead of denying the possibility of an accident. Playing safe is not negative thinking, it is wisdom! Having your own private sanctuary to journey from is your first line of defence and makes your journeys more powerful and enjoyable as an added bonus. It is a must for any serious shaman to have an inviolable place of power in the Otherworld, a sacred haven for all inner work, and a place to recharge.
In any case, many problems can be avoided just by journeying exclusively from your own personal astral sanctuary, and by not revealing anything about your sanctuary or your own personal Underworld entrance to other people! There is no harm done in playing safe. In your car you also put on your seat belt, instead of denying the possibility of an accident. Playing safe is not negative thinking, it is wisdom! Having your own private sanctuary to journey from is your first line of defence and makes your journeys more powerful and enjoyable as an added bonus. It is a must for any serious shaman to have an inviolable place of power in the Otherworld, a sacred haven for all inner work, and a place to recharge.
How to Find Your Spiritual Sanctuary
_Your sanctuary will be uniquely yours and completely private, because you yourself will build and design it! If you have never worked with a spiritual sanctuary, but wish to journey, then you should go ahead and create one. First think of a place where the Earth is beautiful, a wonderful serene place in nature where you would feel completely safe. But do not choose an actual place from physical reality. Do not make your garden or Stonehenge or your favourite place in the woods into your sanctuary, simply because these are still public places that other people have access to. All kind of unwanted vibrations and forces could get into your inner worlds if you choose such a place as your sanctuary.
Instead, in your mind make up a natural place of pristine beauty, a place where the Earth loves herself. In the Otherworld whatever you think materialises. So when you make this place up in your mind and do it vividly enough, it becomes real. Basically with your visualisation you are creating a place on the astral planes. With each successive use you will give this place more energy. As a result, the more often you use your sanctuary the more real it will become and the more powerful as well. Here you can meet your guides, your Higher Self, your power animals and other helpers in total privacy and total confidence. Gods and Goddesses that you love and worship can have access to your sanctuary as well.
Make your sanctuary as beautiful as you can. Create a place that gives you a feeling of total safety. The sanctuary can take many forms and is only limited by your imagination. It could be a cave, a mountain top, a clearing in the forest, a beautiful meadow with wild flowers, or as serene place by a lake or ocean shore. As long as it makes you feel safe and happy it is good. And of course, it must not be a physical reality place or it won't be totally safe and private!
The first time you visit there is when you create this place. You create your sanctuary by visualising it and making it real by opening all your senses in this sacred place. Look at the sights, hear the sounds, touch something and really feel its texture, even smell the scent in the air. After that initial visit each time you want to go to your sanctuary, all you have to do is think of it and relax your body enough that you fade from the world of matter and cross over to the world of spirit.
Your intent of going to your sanctuary and the memory of how it looks and feels will guide you. Use whatever relaxation method works best with you, or simply count yourself down from five to one, as quickly or slowly as you feel is right for you. In time you will be able to go to your sanctuary very quickly. Once there, open your senses, as described above. Make this a regular practice because it reinforces your sanctuary. When you have finished your journey or meditation and want to return to the world of matter, just count yourself up again while thinking of physical reality and your physical body!
Instead, in your mind make up a natural place of pristine beauty, a place where the Earth loves herself. In the Otherworld whatever you think materialises. So when you make this place up in your mind and do it vividly enough, it becomes real. Basically with your visualisation you are creating a place on the astral planes. With each successive use you will give this place more energy. As a result, the more often you use your sanctuary the more real it will become and the more powerful as well. Here you can meet your guides, your Higher Self, your power animals and other helpers in total privacy and total confidence. Gods and Goddesses that you love and worship can have access to your sanctuary as well.
Make your sanctuary as beautiful as you can. Create a place that gives you a feeling of total safety. The sanctuary can take many forms and is only limited by your imagination. It could be a cave, a mountain top, a clearing in the forest, a beautiful meadow with wild flowers, or as serene place by a lake or ocean shore. As long as it makes you feel safe and happy it is good. And of course, it must not be a physical reality place or it won't be totally safe and private!
The first time you visit there is when you create this place. You create your sanctuary by visualising it and making it real by opening all your senses in this sacred place. Look at the sights, hear the sounds, touch something and really feel its texture, even smell the scent in the air. After that initial visit each time you want to go to your sanctuary, all you have to do is think of it and relax your body enough that you fade from the world of matter and cross over to the world of spirit.
Your intent of going to your sanctuary and the memory of how it looks and feels will guide you. Use whatever relaxation method works best with you, or simply count yourself down from five to one, as quickly or slowly as you feel is right for you. In time you will be able to go to your sanctuary very quickly. Once there, open your senses, as described above. Make this a regular practice because it reinforces your sanctuary. When you have finished your journey or meditation and want to return to the world of matter, just count yourself up again while thinking of physical reality and your physical body!
Making It Real
_Every time you go to your astral sanctuary spend some time to open your senses. Explore and look around in your sanctuary. You can plant certain herbs and flowers that you like. You can add on to it each time and make it more beautiful. Pick the cherries or take a swim in your pond if you have one. By spending some time in your sanctuary and making it more real it becomes more solid on the astral. In time it will accumulate power.
You can invite your power animals, power plants, your Higher Self, your guides and the Gods and Goddesses that you love and serve into your sanctuary. You shouldn't take anybody else there, not your healing clients, nor your friends, and certainly never any unknown animals or beings. Only power animals and power plants that you are 100% sure of should be allowed in your sanctuary. Never let any other beings follow you from the Underworld to your safe place!
You can invite your power animals, power plants, your Higher Self, your guides and the Gods and Goddesses that you love and serve into your sanctuary. You shouldn't take anybody else there, not your healing clients, nor your friends, and certainly never any unknown animals or beings. Only power animals and power plants that you are 100% sure of should be allowed in your sanctuary. Never let any other beings follow you from the Underworld to your safe place!
Journeying from Your Sanctuary
In your sanctuary you will find at least one, maybe several openings in the ground that lead down to your personal Underworld.
You should be exploring them to find out where exactly the different
entrances to the Underworld go. They may come out in different regions
of your Underworld. From here you can access the Middle World safely or journey to the Upper World. And you can also create connections to Other Worlds that you frequently visit, such as the Faerie Realm, or Atlantis. Once you have retrieved a power animal, you can meet it in your Underworld whenever you journey.
Alternatively, you can already call your power animals to you while
still in your sanctuary. Once you have brought an animal there it will
always have access to your sanctuary. From your sanctuary there should
be paths to various other places in the Otherworld.
In time you will get to know your way around in your sanctuary and the
adjacent areas. But there is always more to explore, exciting discoveries to be made!
A Word of Caution
_You can journey to the Middle World and the Upper World from your sanctuary as well. You may already have your own methods of going to those places. I have heard some very contradicting methods of reaching the Upper World in particular. I will not go into this in detail here but will say that much: if you have learned your method of journeying from a skilled, experienced and ethical shaman, and it works for you, stick to it. If your teacher however is one of the black sheep among shamans, or you have the slightest doubt, then it is best if you -- besides breaking all contact -- completely change your journeying methods so that this person cannot get into your inner worlds anymore.
After I had contact with such an unethical and abusive sorcerer, a veritable vampire posing as a teacher of shamanism, I completely changed all my journeying methods and the way I do my shamanic work. This was necessary both as part of the tie cutting with that person and to keep him out of my private space. It is for this reason that I am not giving exact instructions on how to go to the Upper World or Middle World here in this public place. Some years back I still used to naively share everything with others and paid a high price for it. I am wiser now and understand that some things are best kept secret or only shared with the initiated and those who have proven themselves worthy of such knowledge.
However, all genuine seekers have the opportunity to learn advanced journeying methods on my shamanic workshops or directly from me through individual or online tuition. I have designed a workshop specifically for in-depth journeying from beginner to advanced in one weekend! It is called "Journeys Beyond" and includes journeying to other dimensions. You you can learn more about it and find out dates on the workshops page or just e-mail me.
After I had contact with such an unethical and abusive sorcerer, a veritable vampire posing as a teacher of shamanism, I completely changed all my journeying methods and the way I do my shamanic work. This was necessary both as part of the tie cutting with that person and to keep him out of my private space. It is for this reason that I am not giving exact instructions on how to go to the Upper World or Middle World here in this public place. Some years back I still used to naively share everything with others and paid a high price for it. I am wiser now and understand that some things are best kept secret or only shared with the initiated and those who have proven themselves worthy of such knowledge.
However, all genuine seekers have the opportunity to learn advanced journeying methods on my shamanic workshops or directly from me through individual or online tuition. I have designed a workshop specifically for in-depth journeying from beginner to advanced in one weekend! It is called "Journeys Beyond" and includes journeying to other dimensions. You you can learn more about it and find out dates on the workshops page or just e-mail me.
Keeping It Safe
Your
personal sanctuary will soon become a place of inspiration, power and
beauty. Do not let anybody defile it! Keep it private and don't disclose
its secrets, and you will enjoy it more and more with every visit. It
will grow in power and become even more beautiful. Should it ever become
compromised or invaded you must create a new sanctuary. But it is best
to not let this happen in the first place.
Your safe place changes with you as you grow spiritually. It can be your own private resort, a place to recharge and a wonderful place to spend time in. Your sanctuary is the meeting ground for all your allies and your personal deities. You can meet your personal Goddess or God form there. The sanctuary is your personal place of power and simply the best and safest place to start your journeys and meditations from. Keep it safe and pure and enjoy journeying!
Your safe place changes with you as you grow spiritually. It can be your own private resort, a place to recharge and a wonderful place to spend time in. Your sanctuary is the meeting ground for all your allies and your personal deities. You can meet your personal Goddess or God form there. The sanctuary is your personal place of power and simply the best and safest place to start your journeys and meditations from. Keep it safe and pure and enjoy journeying!
Copyright © Avalon Sakti Tiamat, 30.08.2008
|
|
Please read before e-mailing!
|
|
