For those of us that have been on the healing path for while, it can be easy to get stuck in a rut. That stuck-ness can show itself as a recurring illness or an uncomfortable situation that keeps showing up. Often it’s a niggling sense that we need to let go of something (a job, a habit, a relationship), but have no idea where to begin or how to come to terms with that loss.

Healers and spiritual seekers are definitely not immune to getting stuck in any of those situations! Just because we are on a healing path doesn’t mean we can always see the next steps. So what do we do when, despite being committed to a path of personal development, we find ourselves unable to move forward into healing?

Last time I shared a free self healing track to remove blocks from your energy field – check it out if you missed it! It’s often a good place to start, but if we want to change our situation we cannot restrict our work to the spiritual/energetic realm. We must also take action in our lives – but how to figure out which is the best course of action?

Sometimes the best thing is to return to your basics. If there are regular connections practices that always worked for you in the past, perhaps it is time for them to be reintroduced? My own favourite Reiki meditation is a technique called Hatsurei Ho, which cleanses the body, strengthens source connection and the energetic channels we use as healers, as well building sensitivity in the hands. I have other favourite meditations too so I used to mix it up – different meditations on different days. Recently I began a period of big change in my working life and I committed to do that meditation every day – no exceptions – like I used to do years ago. A few months without missing a day (including before the pre-dawn sweat lodge I wrote about recently – gah!) means that I am finding it easier to connect in with my intuition in my healing work and in my personal life once again. Basically, the answers come more easily again. If you’ve let your regular meditations or self healing work fall by the wayside, could your current situation be improved by reintroducing something from when you felt more in touch with your healing path?

Sometimes, though, the opposite is true! We can diligently follow the teachings we received years ago but find ourselves without answers despite our daily connection. What do we do when our old practices aren’t quite hitting the spot? That’s when it could be time to go deeper – perhaps go to see a trusted practitioner for a few sessions, or go on retreat or to go deeper with your work. It could be that an intentional ceremony or a soul retrieval, or even just a small tweak or addition to your morning practice is all it would take to get things aligned and flowing again.

So…which is it? Back to basics, or something new? A combination of both? How do we know what’s best?

You already have access to the knowledge you need

Anyone who’s been on the path for a while has already built up connection and a solid intuition, which means the answer is available to you. This is a fundamental principle of the shamanic approach to life: shamanism is a path of direct revelation. While coming together in community and even in led ceremony is important to us, all practitioners who embrace a shamanic way understand that each individual can in some way receive spiritual guidance for themselves. No gurus required!

On a shamanic path the most common way to ask for that guidance is by doing a shamanic drum journey. You can play your own drum if you have one, or listen to a journey track. Shamanic drumming is ancient medicine that helps us tune into information and guidance from spirit or from your own inner knowing (which it is depends on your point of view and is a discussion for another time!). The point is, the answer you need is there, waiting for you to access it.

Now – it might not be the whole answer. Rarely is the entire route out of a tough situation spelled out to us clearly – there is usually an element of not knowing and a need to trust in the process. But if we ask the question and allow ourselves access to that space of deep knowing that the drum helps to facilitate, we can trust that the next step will be shown to us. In fact I have never had a client, student or colleague on the path who hasn’t received guidance on the next step from a journey.

What does the answer look like?

For some people there is a visual aspect to journeying and they will see the answer unfold before them. Sometimes the vision is clear – if you have experience of a certain time of healing or ceremony you might see an image of it in your mind’s eye. More commonly the answer is shown symbolically – for example if you’re trying to keep two things going and you see a fork in the road it probably means you have to choose one focus – you’d need to ask more questions within the journey, perhaps explore both the roads, to get more of an idea. Or perhaps the symbol will be a particular animal or guide, and then you’d need to gain an understanding of what that being represents for you. (Books on animal symbolism can be nice forms of verification but this is your own inner landscape, so remember to lean into and build up your own internal glossary of symbols by journeying regularly!)

When people talk about shamanic journeying it is often in the context of visual information, but for many people the information doesn’t come through visually. If you don’t see the answer like a technicolor movie, remember that and don’t lose heart! Some people do find that visual information gets stronger over time and with practise, but many people never see anything at all. They may hear it, feel something in their body, or simply get a sense of just knowing the answer.

You may also fall asleep or zone out during the healing – the drum will heal your body anyway and sometimes the body needs to rest to really receive that. But since the question has been out out there with a strong intention, the answer could come through in another form. Pay attention to your dreams in the days after journeying. And remember that old adage, “when the student is ready, the teacher appears”. I have heard countless stories of people asking a question in journey, meditation or ceremonial space and then running into someone in the next day or too who recommends a book or a teacher, or says something that prompts an understanding of what comes next.

Journey resources for you

Below is a free healing journey for you, I call it the Question journey. You can use this journey track to ask a question on any topic – I recommend asking a question that invites a clear answer (think: what is the best next step for me in my training, rather than: what is my soul’s purpose on earth… you know what I mean!).

If you want a live journey experience, June is a busy month here in Glastonbury so I have a couple of journey events this month! Come along to my Healing Song Circle on Wednesday 21 June or to the Reiki Healing Journey evening on Friday 23 June.

If you’re ready to go deeper into your own personal healing journey, you can sign up for the Propolos guided self healing subscription service (a deeper connection to intuition is one of the main themes of this month’s work) or for an intensive 6 week course of personal healing you can purchase The Oak Programme.