An important idea which is basic to Shamanic practice is the belief that there are benevolent Spirit entities all around us, (some might know them as guardian angels) who are constantly attending us and available to offer advice.
For those who are interested, there are a couple of ways to contact them.
When you are confident in your ability to journey to the Non-Ordinary Reality, you can visit them and speak directly to them, but if you don't have the time, or privacy to journey, an easy way that I have found is to use a pendulum.
I learned to use the pendulum in this way over 15 years ago as a Neural-Linguistic Programming (NLP) technique for accessing my subconscious mind. In NLP we would address “the part of my subconscious that is addicted to smoking,” or “the part of my memory that has forgotten where my keys are.” Having since taken courses on how to contact Spirit Guides, I have adapted this technique with excellent success.
Focusing my attention on the small-still voice inside me, I ask yes or no questions and the pendulum "swings" in response. Whether the movement is due to my fingers shaking, “the Spirits,” my “Higher Consciousness,” or “God” matters very little, as the presumption is that I am connecting to the “Source of All” and will in this way, be able to ask specific questions of every “entity,” or “Soul Part” that I invoke (request to participate).
As you establish your own method for using the pendulum you can adjust it to suit your style, but while you are learning please do it this way.
After clearing yourself (see below) and performing your ritual to invoke the spirits, hold the pendulum in your left hand, (connects to your right brain which is intuitive and creative), and tuck your elbow snugly against your ribs to steady your arm. Allow about 15 centimeters, (6 inches) of string below your fingers. Be careful to pinch the string or chain in a way that allows it to hang straight-down without leaning on or swinging against any part of your finger. Sometimes the responses you receive are very subtle and you must avoid doing anything that might inhibit your accuracy. Try to hold the pendulum completely still, (don’t be frustrated, it’s OK if it is moving slightly).
Ask your Spirit Guides to show you what a “Yes” answer looks like, (out loud or silently to yourself). The pendulum will swing in a particular way, and you must remember it. Thank the Spirit Guides, then ask to see a “No” answer. The pendulum will swing another way. Again, wait until you’re sure, thank the Spirit Guides, and remember the way it swings. You can also ask, what “Maybe” looks like.
Remember to say thank you, (I say “Hi, Hi,” which is literally “Yes, Yes,’” but means something like “Amen”).
Now test it to see how it works. Ask yourself if your “name is…?” and watch the response. Ask your correct age, and then ask about an incorrect age. Play with this until you are comfortable with all of the variables – the ability to maintain your focus, the way you hold the pendulum in your fingers, the meanings of the way it swings, and your ability to hold the pendulum steady. (It may be a good idea to begin each session by asking what “yes” and “no” answers looks like until you no longer feel it is necessary.)
Or you may begin by asking, “Do I have a Spirit Guide?” or “How many Spirit Guides do I have?… “More than one?” “More than two?...”
In this method, it’s also very important to pay attention to how you ask the questions. You may think you are being clear when actually you are not.
I sometimes ask the same question more than one way just to be clear. “Can I attend the conference next week?” will give you one answer, but “Will attending the conference cause the best outcome for me?” or “Will attending the conference bring the best outcome for all concerned?” might give different answers. See the difference?
And you are best to avoid asking the Spirit World if you “should” undertake a particular course of action. There are many reasons for this, but clearly the Spirit World is unconcerned with money or time, seeing all events and consequences as growing experiences and therefore positive. “Should” questions may lead you to painful experiences or misadventures that might have been avoided if you phrased you question more carefully.
When I want to speak to a particular Spirit Guide, I ask by name, “Rosa Redhawk, please listen to me now…” “Are you there?”
Now you can experiment with speaking to “the Souls of the Departed,” to “God Almighty” or to your “chocolate addiction…” You will doubtless find many useful ways to use this technique and get to know your psyche and your Spirit Guides.
Clearing Yourself
Clearing yourself simply means becoming centered and focused in the present moment. Stress, noise and daily distractions prevent us from hearing our intuition. Also, the extent to which we are “grounded” or not, affects our ability to be present.
You can become quickly grounded by simply laying on the floor or on the ground and paying attention to your breathing.
You can become clear by smudging with smoke from sage, cedar, sweetgrass or incense. (Actually, any smoke, even that from a candle or a camp fire will do.)
Or you can wash yourself in Chi Energy.
Smudging
Using the smoke from your incense or other ritual fire, cup both hands and gently draw the smoke up over your head as if you were wetting your hair, symbolically washing away your cares. Again, cup your hands and draw the smoke up to your 3rd eye chakra, (middle of your forehead) and ask Spirit to open you to your vision. Next, cup your hands and draw the smoke up to your ears and ask Spirit to open you to hearing their lessons. Next, cup your hands and draw the smoke up to your eyes and ask Spirit to help you to see clearly. Next, cup your hands and draw the smoke up to your mouth and ask Spirit to guide your words and allow you to speak the truth. Next, cup your hands and draw the smoke up to your heart and ask Spirit to help you listen with your heart.
Now, cup your hands and draw the smoke up to your chest, and gently turning your hands push the smoke down the trunk of your body washing away any negative energy that may be left.
Clearing with Chi Energy
Rub your hands together vigorously and feel how the friction warms them. Be aware that you are building up the energy and try to feel it’s “charge” if you can.
In much the same way that you did for smudging, wash yourself in this Chi Energy, first over your head, then your 3rd eye, then down your body, and finally down each arm.
When you finish shake your hands, “flicking-off” the stale energy and excess energy as you would flicking water from your hands. Repeat this if you feel the need, but you will soon feel refreshed, and will be aware of a sense of calm and clarity.
Pendulums
I have many pendulums some for specific uses, but I treat them all with love and respect. Some have crystal pendants, some have stones or medallions, and some are made of bits of things I found. All of them have energy of their own, because everything is just energy at the sub-atomic level, and because of their “former usages,” (for example, a metal washer from a railway track, would have the energy of trains, and extreme weight and stress). It is good to regularly cleanse your ritual objects by holding them in the smoke of your incense or other ritual fire and invoking the Great Spirit to purify them.
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