Eagle Therapies

Structure for Journey Group in Virginia

Posted on October 14, 2015 Updated on September 22, 2021

     Journey Group of Central Virginia (used to be Fairfax, but we moved) was run out of various location in Northern Virginia. Follow us on Facebook, Meetup, or sign up for our newsletter for updates.

Journeying is different then meditation because meditation is about going within and listening to the wisdom of the body, as opposed to journeying – which is traveling outside of your body to non-ordinary reality with a specific journey question in mind in order to gain wisdom from our helping spirits/guardian angels/power animals. For more information about journeying, there is a good book by Sandra Ingerman titled “The Beginners Guide to Shamanic Journeying“, another called “Spirit Walking: A Course in Shamanic Power” by Eveyln Rysdyk, and there is also this video to watch if you are curious to see how it can impact your life.

Basic structure of journey group:

• 7:00 – Arrival and settling in. It’s good practice to “fully arrive” and make sure you’re in your body and here for the experience
• 7:15 – Suggested journey topic and Discussion
• 7:30 – Heart centered sound circle
• 7:45 – Journey
• 7:55 – Writing/recording our experiences of journey
• 8:00 – Discussion of our journey and what it meant to us

For those that are interested in joining from a distance, we use Zoom. Please preregister and contact ahead of time for the distance option if you would like to participate live. Eventually we will host them in person again.

There is a suggested journey topic, but you can always bring you own. Sometimes it’s just discussion about what has been going on in regards to themes in people’s lives. If you are not on the newsletter, please click here. If you’re on Facebook, this link will bring you to the Journey group FB page. This is where I make announcements to what the suggested topic of the week is.

The heart centered sound circle is a way for us to honor our connections to ourselves as well as to shift our brain waves. Journeying is specifically a right brain activity, so dancing and singing is a way to shift us out of that left sided monkey brain and into the brain waves where we can have a deeper journey experience. Yes, we have drums and rattles – but we also use our power of voice. In my cosmology, the most ancient of ancestors is the air itself.  Air is very powerful and so is the power of sound and vibration. Singing and drumming is one of the ways we honor this connection. Singing, drumming, and chanting is a way we move our focus from our brain to our heart. This is also that shift in thinking and mentality. When we experience journeys through the heart, we have a deeper experience with less of an influence by the trickster (which lives in the mind). There are some that come to the journey group that are shy and just shake a rattle. Then there are some who come and lead the chants. We all overlap each other, and each is free to open up their heart and to sing what comes to them. Even if it’s just chanting a word that comes to your mind like “peace” or “joy”. All of these experiences are honored and valid. You can put as much or as little into it as you want, but it’s all about the experience and what makes you feel comfortable. Sometimes we dance using music, it depends on the mood of the circle at the time.

From the heart centered sound circle we move right into the journey since we are nice and juicy from the energy raised with the circle. After we journey we take some time to write our notes and record our experiences. It’s best to use short phrases or single words that remind us of our journey, and also good to draw. Writing full sentences takes us out of the right brain and into the left brain where language is.

After the journaling, we discuss. Anyone is free to speak and share, or if you want to keep the journey to yourself – you can. There are people in the group who are not shy about sharing, so don’t feel the pressure that you have to share.

Anyone is free to come and go for the specific parts they like. If you want to come for just the heart centered sound circle, feel free to leave before the journey. It is asked to not show up past 7:30 because the entering in can disturb some while in a trance like state. Leaving after the journey is also acceptable – sharing is welcome but is not mandatory. We just ask that you ground yourself before driving a car. Distance journeying is an option, message before hand so we can know ahead of time to set up the equipment.

If you are not able to attend this journey, there are two others in the area that I know of. Mary Tyrtle Rooker does them in Takoma Park on the Fourth Saturday of every month. Visit her website here for more details.

If there are any other questions or concerns, please feel free to give a call/text to 571.306.3197 or to email chenchira@eagletherapies.com