The experience of meeting something that is not human is numinous: the connection to a presence outside of us that evokes fear and trembling, as well as fascination, and which draws us ever closer towards the transcendent. These two reactions of the human consciousness system – fear and fascination – are the common experiences we all share whenever we come into contact with Divine energies … and with the various dimensions of the Astral world. For fundamental Christian thinkers a choice must be made in any contact with the Numinous; to reject the Spirit world option, and embrace only God. But, for others, more options are available. The experience of the Wholly Other – a numinous presence not from our mind nor from another human being – can lead us towards communication with the people of the Astral world. If we are ready, that is. This is spirit communication: listening to the voices that whisper to us from another dimensional reality.
If our emotional and mental development is weak, voices from another dimension may destabilize our connection to consensual, or “normal”, reality. Schizophrenia can be the ensue, resulting in an individual who is vulnerable to destructive “inner” voices, or paranoid about suspiciously-motivated “outer” voices. But to the initiated Shaman (and to a functional Psychic) voices from another dimension are the direct line of communication to and from the Astral world. If your mental and emotional container of self is strong, if you can handle the experience of a voice that is Wholly Other talking to you, you can enter into the Shamanic experience. Spirits – Astral people – do want to talk with you.
Often the first experience we humans have with spirit communication is through meaningful dreams, or being given an important insight upon waking from deep sleep: an understanding, relevant to your life situation. The next step that follows is usually the witnessing of hypnogogic messages, where, in the half-awake consciousness prior to waking (or to falling asleep) voices that are not your own are heard to speak. Finally, once a stable bridge of connection to the Astral is formed, the voices of the Wholly Other may begin to dictate – perhaps in complete sentences, and with a coherent meaning and structure – talks on the meaning of reality. Or, important personal information is passed on to the healer, to enhance the healing and transformational process of their client.
Many of our famous scientific breakthroughs come about through a similar process. Much art is created from these energies of the Numinous washing over the artist, handing to him or her a completed masterpiece. All the receptive individual has to do is listen, to write, to paint. The creation pours forth, and the creator is as much a witness to the result as are all others. Creations from the Astral come into the everyday world fully formed; not assembled over time, piece by piece. “This is not mine”, we find ourselves saying. “This is my Muse, working through me”.
For a healer working with the Astral world more is required than with other creative individuals. The Astral dimension has technical and specific ways in which it interacts with the human consciousness system. This knowledge is historically passed down from Shaman to Shaman, from healer to healer. It is taught through a process we call Initiation – the deep learning of a body of knowledge through direct and indirect transmission – and is a process that is also used to screen the Shaman, to make sure they can handle what will come their way once the Astral becomes part of their healing work.
If the Shaman-in-training is not ready, or does not have the requisite temperament for interactions with the Astral world, tremendous challenges await them. Their emotional and mental apparatus – paralleling that of the less-functional schizophrenic – can become compromised. Their lives may become an incoherent mess for a while, until the boundary with the Astral has been reset, strengthened, and re-insulated against Astral contact. Such healers can actually do more damage than good, as they are the product of the Failed Initiation. But if the healer/shaman completes their Initiations successfully, and is willing to take on the continual challenges and personal hurdles that are required of a Shamanic practitioner, they will come to know the multiple benefits of Astral Healing.
The Astral Healing Initiation and training process cannot be learned from only reading a book. And Astral healing cannot be taught over a few weekend courses. No certificates are awarded, only knowledge and experience are to be gained. And so, dedication is required, to do Astral healing work, in combination with possessing the right temperament and life-experience.
Astral initiation asks of us the heroism of the warrior, and the thoroughness of the scientist. It requires us to become eternal students of soul growth. We will come to experience the multiple nuances of potent energetic forces once invisible to us. The Astral world can enrich, and heal … but it can also pull us down into the depths of despair. Which is why we need Initiation and training. Not to mention a certain talent. A sense of ironic humor will also help you tremendously, as will the vital companionship of other students along the way. Oh, and you’ll need a lot of luck.
© 2016 by Dean Ramsden. All rights reserved.
