Close your eyes, relax your body, and breathe in the white light. Get rid of your problems by visualizing yourself dropping them into a well or pond.
Now see yourself standing in the foothills of a mountain range. Before you is a gully, full of scattered rocks and small trees. You make your way up the gully until you come to the low entrance of a cave. Carved in stone above the cave entrance is a symbol, one that will have meaning for you in your future shamanic work.
You stoop down and make your way inside the cavern. A little way inside the cave gets higher and bigger.It is very dark except for some light that comes through the low entrance. This light reflects off clumps of
crystals in the dark inner walls. In the gloom you see a blanket spread on the rough floor ready for you.
As you sit on the blanket, you feel cut off from the outside world. You feel isolated but not alone or afraid. As you sit in the crystal-lined Earth womb, you hear the soft beat of a drum. The drum beat surrounds you, creating a sense of security; it is the heartbeat of the Earth Goddess.
A figure makes it way in through the entrance and sits down before you. This being may be male or female; an elf, faerie, or one of the Celtic deities. The being asks you why you wish to become a shaman. Take as
long as you wish to speak to this being. Ask any questions you have. Advice may be given about problems confronting you.
If you decide you cannot make a commitment to the shamanic path, now is the time to end the meditation. If you can make the commitment, listen closely to what this being tells you.
When you have finished talking, this being hands you a gift from the Otherworlds. This gift may be a plant, a feather, a rock or crystal, a piece of animal fur, anything. If you accept this gift, know that eventually it will materialize in your physical world sometime in your future. This gift will be of importance to you on your shamanic journeys.
The Otherworld being goes to the back of the cave where a tiny spring bubbles in and out of a cleft in the rock. With a small clay bowl, the figure brings you water from the spring. You drink it. Then the being
gently pours more of the water over your head. To your surprise, the water is like warm liquid light. The shining drops fall down on your arms and hands, glowing in the darkness for a few moments. Your companion again sits before you, this time singing softly. The crystals in the cave walls pulsate in time to the singing. You feel healing and changes going through your body and mind. Absorb these; let them flow freely through you. You may see vision-pictures floating before your eyes. Observe them closely.
At last the Otherworld being reaches forward, tapping you on your forehead between the eyes. Your consciousness spins off into time and space. You may be given more messages at this time if you listen
closely.
Slowly you feel yourself returning to your physical body. Lie quietly while you think over what you have seen and heard. If you feel inclined, go to sleep in your "cave" for a few hours.
When you finally exit the "cave", take several deep breaths. Allow yourself to readjust to the physical world. Also remember to record your experiences in your shamanic journal.
