The Sacred Path

In March of 2005, I attended the first five day Visionseeker 1 retreat (VS1) taught by Hank Wesselman and Jill Kuykendall, at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA, titled “Shamanism” and the Modern Mystical Movement,” and I thought I would share a few experiences with you. The following is a description of the VS1 retreat from the Shared Wisdom website.

This retreat includes elements of the three weekend workshops, but in greater depth. We will utilize the classic shamanic journey method to establish connections with our spirit helpers and teachers, ancestral spirits, and possibly descendants. We will begin to examine the nature of health, illness, and healing from the perspective of the traditional shaman, and the week will conclude with a powerful healing ritual. This workshop provides a clear introduction for those less familiar with the shaman’s path and will enhance the practice of more experienced inner travelers.

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I have included footnotes which reference additional reading with far more detail on the Sacred Garden and the Spirit Realms at the end of this post.

I had two incredibly meaningful meetings with the spirit of the stone, and the second lead to a meeting with the spirit of the earth, the earth mother. It is hard to put into words what these meetings felt like since it was so far beyond anything I had experienced before.

My first meeting with the stone happened in a very vivid dream in which I was shown into a forest and to a rock outcrop, which was flat on top - a natural place for journeying. I was told that everything I would need would be provided for me. That night (in the dream), I slept under the edge of the rock outcrop, and the next morning, when I awoke, I found a package on top of the rock with food and clean clothes in it. As I opened the package I became aware of a presence, and looked up to find a tall stone standing behind the rock outcrop. I felt a warm greeting come from the stone, and it was then that I perceived facial features. These were not physical features, but the perception of features. The actual stone had no features. I returned the greeting and asked what I could do for the stone, and what the stone could do for me. I was told that this was just an initial meeting so that we could get to know one another and that we would have further contact in the future. The dream ended there and I immediately awoke in the physical, and recorded it in my journal. As I reflected on this dream journey, I realized that “everything I would need would be provided for me,” meant in this life, and on my path.

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