About the Author
Eagle Skyfire is a respected elder and spiritual teacher with over thirty years’ experience in helping people find their life purpose and meaningful growth in their personal spiritual journeys while sharing the traditions she has learned from various Native American spiritual teachers. Her hands-on, practical approach is successful in assisting countless people in a wide range of ways, such as developing their intuitive and shamanic skills, creating personal spiritual practices, understanding past lives and soul work. Many people from around the world seek her for readings on personal and professional matters, connecting with loved ones who have crossed over, communicating with animals, and interpreting dreams and visions.
Over the years she has been asked to share her knowledge at various community and professional events as a cultural and spiritual presenter. Eagle Skyfire has guided many people to manifest healthier and whole lives.
On her website, www.eagleskyfire.com, she has a popular blog called Flow of the River, where she shares what she interprets from the sacred flow of energy around us. Many people look forward to this guidance on a weekly basis. She also directs a live local radio talk show on WCHE 1520 AM called Fresh Perspective, in which she provides an overview of the Flow of the River and welcomes callers every Monday.
Llewellyn Publications
Woodbury, Minnesota
Copyright Information
Journeying Between the Worlds: Walking with the Sacred Spirits Through Native American Shamanic Teachings & Practices © 2019 by Eagle Skyfire.
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First e-book edition © 2019
E-book ISBN: 9780738760711
Cover design by Shannon McKuhen
Interior design by Lauryn Heineman
Interior illustrations by Wen Hsu
Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data (Pending)
ISBN: 9-780-7387-6034-6
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Disclaimer
Although this ancient tradition can give you deep insights, it is never meant to replace professional help. Always consult a physician, therapist, or other professional for your specific needs. Shamanism is meant to be a complementary modality to support these mainstream methods.
It is my honor to share these teachings with you, and they are meant to empower you. However, completing them does not make you a shaman nor adopt you officially into any tribe. In truth, there many within the Native American community who hold the opinion that the term shaman is a misnomer of their spiritual teachers and healers; however, this feeling is not unanimous.
This book barely scratches the surface of what is required to become a spiritual healer. Becoming a sanctioned traditional spiritual healer of a nation that you belong to takes many years of constant training under the careful guidance of a spiritual leader and tribal elders. What exists here is a resource for you to make use of in your own personal practice. Trying to perform any of the exercises or techniques that I am giving you here for other people may cause great harm to you and to them. Please use these techniques for your own well-being only; do not attempt them for anyone else.
Acknowledgments
It is with the deepest gratitude in my Heart that I would like to give my thanks to the Great Spirit for being given the gift of my lessons and this beautiful life. To my patron, Lord Feathered Serpent, who guides me unerringly and shows me how to evolve. To All My Relations seen and unseen, without your steadfast love and assistance, I would not be where I am today. To all my Medicine Teachers from various tribes and nations, I thank you for your love, patience, and faith in me as you taught me the ways of the Good Red Road. In particular I would like to acknowledge with much love my Uncle Bear and Auntie Brenda, who have unfailingly guided me and helped me to grow over the years. A special thank-you to Reverend Carl Letson, who gave me encouragement and confirmed the lessons of the Medicine Wheel and some of the current opinions of the Native American community that I share in this book. I would also like to extend my gratitude to my true friends and true family who put up with me on a regular basis and have given me their ideas for use in this book. To Laura, my daughter, who is the joy of my life and always encourages me. To Donna, who always believed in me and who has been my Sherpa in this twenty-first century. I give thanks to my students, who are some of my greatest teachers. Without your suggestions this book would not be as thorough as it is.
And last, to you, dear reader, I am grateful for your willingness to share your time with me as you study my culture and traditions to guide you on your spiritual journey. All of you are such a blessing in my life! May the Great Spirit abundantly bless you with the gifts of health, happiness, and help.
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: What Is a Shaman?
Chapter 2: Basic Native American Spiritual Concepts
Chapter 3: Preparing Yourself to Journey
Chapter 4: How to Journey
Chapter 5: Developing Good Relationships with Spirit Beings
Chapter 6:The Realms and What You May Find There
Chapter 7: Interpreting the Journey
Chapter 8: Journeying with the Elements
Chapter 9: Crafting Shamanic Tools
Chapter 10: Tying It All Together
Chapter 11: Maintaining Your Connection in Daily Life
Conclusion
Resources
Exercises and Journeys
Chapter 3
Over-Positive Exercise
Over-Negative Exercise
Waterfall Exercise
Chapter 4
Smudging Exercise
Journeying
Journey to Meet Your Guardian Spirit
Chapter 6
Journey to Your Sacred Space
Journey to Find Your Power Animal
Journey to Find Your Counterbalance Power Animal
Middle Kingdom Exercise: Walking the Land
Journey into Your Past Life
Purification Ritual: How to Prepare Yourself for a Sacred Ritual
Journey to the Sky Realm
Journey to Seek Higher Counsel
Chapter 7
Use a Memory as a Reference
&n
bsp; Chapter 8
Journey of Earth
Honor the Element of Earth
Journey of Air
Honor the Element of Air
Journey of Water
Honor the Element of Water
Journey of Fire
Honor the Element of Fire
Journey of Spirit
Honor the Element of Spirit
Chapter 9
Create a Shamanic Tool for Your Practice
Introduction
I have been walking between the worlds all my life and as a child displayed strong spiritual and shamanic abilities. I was misunderstood and often felt caught between the world of spirits and humankind. It was very hard, as I did not know where I fit in, if anywhere at all. It was on the Good Red Road that I found out who I am and what I am.
While I was born into a multigenerational South American Indigenous tradition, it’s not something that I was formally taught as part of my regular upbringing because it was thought to be unnecessary in this modern age. Eventually, though, my natural inclination toward these sacred practices led me to be adopted by a powerful spirit man, Ted Silverhand, who is of the Tuscarora Nation, Bear clan, into the traditions he follows. It has been both a blessing and a challenge to live in this mainstream society while learning the old ways, and so it has given me valuable insight on how to relay these teachings in a way that is meaningful to those from mainstream culture.
I am privileged to have learned from Native American teachers from many nations throughout my life. When I was very young, about eight to ten years old, I was taught the ways of the Tuscarora. As I grew, I was granted permission to receive teachings from the Seneca, Anishinaabe, and Cherokee, and a little from the Lakota Nations. As the years passed, I continued my walk through the Americas and received wisdom from the Taino, Inca, and Maya. I was granted permission to share some of the wisdom from each of my Medicine Teachers. I write to the universal Heart of the Good Red Road to respect the individual tribes, for only they can determine with whom to share their unique ceremonies.
My experiences afford me a unique view of the commonalities of Native American spirituality and the uniqueness of the culture that each tribe holds. It also has allowed me a “one away” perspective from mainstream society. Early on, it was challenging at times to translate and to convey teachings from the old ways into this culture that has no point of reference. However, after teaching for so many years, it is now my honor not only to act as a living bridge between this world and that of the spirits, but also to relay some of the timeless wisdom of the First People while walking in twenty-first-century mainstream society. I aspire to impart the ancient teachings of this land in a sacred way that honors what the Great Spirit has given to us yet remains relevant to the peoples of today.
I have been sharing Native American traditions and spirituality for several decades. I realized that although there are several good books on shamanism, none of them offered simple step-by-step exercises for a beginner who wished to integrate Native American spirituality into their daily spiritual practices. I offer this book as a guide for those who wish to learn this ancient art in a practical and structured way. The lessons offered here are teachings from my teachers from the several nations that have given me permission to share their wisdom. I do this because I wish to honor all my teachers. This book is meant to help people grow in their private shamanic practices and connect with their personal protectors and the land in a sacred way. It is my hope that what I share here will guide non–Native American people to be respectful of the old ways and First People of this land and will encourage Native American people who are seeking their heritage to return to their roots.
I have written this book in the style I teach. I like a “hands-on” approach and I know many people prefer to learn that way. Because of this, I share exercises after each important teaching. Each exercise is designed to immerse you in the experience and ingrain the lesson. They will help you discern what is an actual spiritual experience or a message from the spirit realms versus your mental chatter or emotional desires. But in order for you to truly understand the lessons in the coming chapters, you must open more than just your mind. You must open your Heart. I am not asking you to change your beliefs, but I offer these teachings to you as a sharing of and an exposure to Native American traditions and culture.
At times you will notice certain words being capitalized that normally are not. This is done to show respect to aspects within ourselves and to entities that are divine, much like you would capitalize a proper noun.
This book is written for beginners who want to learn how to safely practice a form of traditional Native American spirituality and develop practices that help them grow stronger in their connection to nature, to their inner knowing, and to sacred helping spirits. It is meant to be followed in the order it was written. Each exercise is a stepping-stone to the next foundational exercise, culminating in you being able to journey with confidence and begin to interpret the messages that are given to you. You will have the greatest success if you master the exercises one at a time in the order in which they are presented. As with anything, the amount of dedication you give to learning this ancient discipline, the more comfortable and ultimately proficient you will become.
Realize this is very different from learning how to perform another activity. What you are holding in your hands right now is wisdom from the ages that will open the door to a dynamic, ever-evolving relationship with the Great Spirit, your sacred self, and All Your Relations seen and unseen. This is not to be approached casually, but with the deep respect and concentration due to an aspect of spirituality that has guided and still is so deeply guiding our people throughout time. It is in my Heart for the ancient and timeless to blend with the new so as to heal and guide future generations. Ah-ho!
[contents]
• one •
What Is a Shaman?
A shaman is an individual who is chosen by the sacred spirits and their tribal elders to act as an intermediary between the natural and supernatural worlds. They are trained in various rituals to help cure illness, foretell the future, interpret dreams and signs from the spirits, and reinforce harmony between the physical and spiritual worlds. Much like most other abilities, individuals are either born with this predisposition or train very hard to try to obtain some level of skill. But there are certain characteristics common to all shamans regardless of where they hail from.
The first one is the ability to sense and to communicate with nonhuman beings such as animals, plants, and spirits. There is also the natural ability to walk from this three-dimensional reality into alternate forms of reality at will, which is called journeying. A shaman has an intrinsic need to be deeply connected to nature, and nature welcomes the shaman. A shaman can’t help but see things from a very different perspective. Sometimes it is very difficult for people who are born shamans to fit in, and they’re not supposed to. So someone who is born a shaman will most likely have used these abilities before ever being trained.
The difference between a trained and untrained shaman is similar to someone taking lessons to perfect a skill versus someone who doesn’t. For example, someone might be a born athlete and play sports well, but without training, it is unlikely they would become a professional or an Olympian.
In truth, every culture throughout the world throughout time has had shamans in it. But for now, I’ll keep it simple—I’ll classify shamans into two basic categories. Neither form is superior to the other, as each classification has its strengths and weaknesses.
The first type is neoshamanism. Neo- means “new” in Greek, and this form of shamanism has developed in modern times. It is based on studying different forms of indigenous shamanism from various cultures. Typically, the practices are taken out of their cultural context and stripped down to their minimum elements. The neoshaman has the advantage of being able to borrow and mix and match at will from dif
ferent cultures and countries from around the globe into one practice. Neoshamanism has tremendous flexibility. The disadvantage is that since neoshamans are not held to any particular spiritual or cultural context, sometimes it can be very difficult for them to decipher who or what is working with them unless they’ve developed personal relationships with these other beings.
A traditional shaman is one who is beholden to a particular tradition and culture. A traditional shaman is expected to learn a code of conduct and in turn pass on the different rites of passage, teaching stories, and techniques that would be necessary to perform healing rites; to interpret messages, dreams, and signs; and to act as an intermediary between the seen and unseen worlds. The disadvantage, however, is that for the most part the traditional shaman, being beholden to a particular culture and tradition, is expected to remain within it and thus cannot borrow from any others. The rites of initiation that are unique to that culture are performed to introduce a shaman to a specific set of sacred beings, or pantheon, which creates a formal alliance between them.
Why Is a Traditional Shaman Needed
in the Twenty-First Century?
In this book we will be working with traditional shamanism, based on the techniques given to me by my Tuscarora, Seneca, Anishinaabe, and Taino teachers. Although it might seem that there would be no need for traditional shamanic practices outside the reservation or tribal lands, the same problems that plagued all our ancestors, regardless of where we came from, can be found in our society today. I truly believe that crime comes from an individual’s inability to connect with their sacred self in addition to the greater disassociation we have from each other in our society. We need to learn how to reconnect with own Hearts, which in turn will help us see that we are truly one family no matter where we come from. Depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses can be exacerbated by societal factors; it’s important to know how to be still and tap into the peace that can be found within. Learning the art of meditation and knowing how to properly connect with your helpers seen and unseen through shamanic practices can help you cope with this. Children need to be taught about the respect for All That Is. The techniques of building community and finding the Power Within were taught by both the tribal elders and the shaman.
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