i have a drumming CD so today i tried to do a shamanic journey with it. i got my supplies: a pillow, eye covering, ipod, earphones, privacy, and tried my first shamanic journey (since my recent relaxation exercises).
the first thing i noticed is that absolute comfort is essential, because when you are as conscious as i am, every little complaint brings me back into full wakefulness. laying on the floor on my back was painful unless i elevated my legs. the next time, i will just do it in my bed and maybe even while laying on my side. that's the most comfortable sleep position for me, so it may work for this too.
my blindfold was a fleece headband used for skiers. it also help to keep my earphones in place. the earphones that i used had those little sleeves to go inside the ear canal. this helped to exclude any street noise outside my house that i couldn't control. i also had to put on a sweater and heavy socks to keep my feet warm. i did my best to just relax.
at first i just lay there thinking, "ho hum, here i am with a rather monotonous noise in my head." after the first five minutes, the sound wasn't really present so much. it became one of those noises that one doesn't notice until after it shuts off. it just became a hum at the edge of my awareness.
my mind wandered a bit and impressions began to appear. this felt exactly the same as those moments just before i fall asleep, when my mind is just starting to weave some kind of dream, but it isn't really solidified enough to carry me off for the night. it felt basically like daydreaming.
retaining my lucidity was very difficult and several times i just drifted into the dream without remembering what had happened. i didn't remember very much from my experience, but i was encouraged enough to try again tomorrow. i'm using some exercises from lucid dreaming to try to retain my awareness.
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