April and I began working together in a ritual and shamanic capacity. She came for relief and inspiration, to move through a period of feeling stuck. April received a good deal from the shamanic work including insight on what to eat and not eat, her relationship to work and ways in which she could nourish herself more effectively. After this initial period we did not work together for almost two years. Occasionally April would write and we remained in contact, so we did not loose touch. Then April contacted me for a second shamanic session. It had become clear that the health of her thyroid was the issue her previous insights had been addressing. She had followed the direction she received on diet and nourishment, but had stayed in her work until she could not manage it any longer. She had decided to take medication to support her thyroid and now wished to work again.
For our follow up session we decided to work over the phone. April described her feelings, desires and physical symptoms. We discussed her life situation. We talked about various nutritional and dietary options, sorting through her emotional responses to them to determine where the potency might for our focus. We decided to do a guided shamanic journey, with April journeying with my drumming and support.
April had a long journey, almost one hour. In this journey she met her first spirit guide, asked many questions and received many answers in both expected and unexpected forms. April made a strong relationship with her guide and then returned to this dimension, grounding through her body into the environment of her home. Upon speaking it was clear to April which nutritional advice to follow, options she might have for alternate work situations and most importantly, where the joy in her life could spring from. April received clear guidance to continue her medication for a period of time, a year or even two, until she had the supports she needed in her outlook and lifestyle fully in place. She was sure that at some point, she would be able to manage her thyroid health on her own. April was full of hope. She was grounded, with a practical outlook and steps to take within a fairly reasonable timeframe. There was inspiration in her voice.
Shamanic journeying is one way to work with shamanic healing. The practitioner may journey for the client, or lead and empower the client to journey themselves. There are other ways of working with shamanic healing as well. For April, the journey work was significant and allowed her to take an empowered approach in her healthcare choice.