Shamanic Journey – The Way of the Shaman

I still remember many years ago both the excitement and the trepidation I had upon enrolling in the Beginning Shamanism class at the Esoteric School. I had completed all the magic classes offered and was a bit scared of my perception of shamanism. I couldn't resist going down this path after all the life changing discoveries I experienced in the magic classes, but I admit now that I was somewhat intimidated and a bit skeptical that I could perform such shamanistic feats as going out of body, conversing with spirits and exploring other realms. It all sounded so mysterious.

I look back now and see that this class was a beginning, a Shamanic journey that started me on the road to following the way of the shaman. I did learn the lessons and techniques, but that class was the springboard for a lifestyle change. A shaman is an original researcher working in the Sciences of Religion and Magic. The shaman has meaningful direct communication with higher beings (and possibly lower level entities) to advance man's knowledge. The information obtained can be used just to increase the body of knowledge, for healing, divination, and many other things. Following the way of the shaman means that information is obtained from all sorts of physical and non-physical beings.

By learning techniques to interview and communicate with a wide spectrum of beings and expanding my spirit perceptics way beyond the 5 senses most of us use, I have found new meaning in Metaquiason (we are all one). Following the way of the shaman is a pathway of developing spiritually and embarking on personal inner growth. It also leads us to developing our inborn abilities, perceptic powers and seek power and help from all that is around us. In these present times where we are surrounded by electromagnetic fields of white noise and ruled by technology, many of us don't have a sense of the spiritual insights, powers and abilities that we were born with. The way of the shaman takes us back to a time when the abilities and powers we had were understood and not seen as something extraordinary, something to be feared or something that society shunned. It also leads us to discover who we really are, develop an awareness of how we are connected to everything and everyone else and find our places in the Universe.

If all this sounds intriguing, following the way of the shaman may be for you too. Developing your spirit perceptics is a place you can start exploring. Through the spirit perceptics shamans are able to gather much more information than is available to the 5 senses of the physical body. It takes time to develop these senses so don't be discouraged if you don't get the results you want in the beginning. Just keep practicing. An easy way to start is to learn to expand on a sense that you are already familiar with and use like hearing.

Exercise:

• Sit in a comfortable, quiet location
• Close your eyes and relax (maybe do some deep breathing)
• Draw an imaginary circle about a foot in diameter around you
• Listen to the sounds you hear within this circle and identify each
• Start with the common sounds, ie – children laughing, leaves rustling, someone walking by. Then move on to more obscure sounds that we usually wouldn't notice, ie – the wind blowing softly, an ant walking
• Then you can move on to widening your circle and doing the same thing.
• See how big your circle can become. A block, 5 blocks, a mile?

The more you practice, the more you will stop listening with your physical ears and start listening with your spirit ears. This could be your first step on your shamanic journey, the path to following the way of the shaman.

If you find this is a path for you, check out the Basic Shamanism Homestudy course at the Esoteric School.

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Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shaman2477/2717869545/

Magic Online – Psychic Exercises

Everyone has psychic abilities. There are some that have a natural talent for using these abilities. The rest of us can develop our psychic abilities through practice. We need to learn how to expand our awareness to higher levels. Here are some exercises you can use to practice:

1. Quiet your mind, relax your body. Pick a person you know and try to visualize what that person is doing. Note the time and check with that person later to see how accurate you were.

2. Sit quietly in a public place and pick out an area 10 to 20 feet in diameter surrounding you. Close your eyes and relax. Tell yourself to notice when someone enters the area. When you 'feel' someone enter your area, open your eyes to check your accuracy.

3. Make a plan to attract an event into your life. Choose a word, topic or phrase. Focus on attracting the word or phrase. You can ask the Universe or higher powers to help you attract it. Then stay observant during the day and watch for it to show up. It could appear in a song you hear, a conversation you overhear, be on a billboard or turn up in hundreds of different ways, so stay alert and watch for it.

4. Take a notebook and pencil or pen with you to a public place where you can sit down, for example a park. Sitting on the park bench, select a person nearby. Begin writing whatever comes to you about that person. Are they happy or sad, do they have children or pets, what type personality do they have, etc... Relax and just absorb what you feel from the energy around the person. This is just a practice exercise and does not need to be validated. You don't have to approach the person to ask how your results compare to their lives. Just give yourself the practice of observing the energies of various people.

5. The doorbell rings, the phone rings, someone at work is walking in the hallway towards your office. Relax your mind and body. Close your eyes and picture the person on the other side of the door, in the hallway or on the phone. Then open your eyes, answer the phone or look for the person and see how close you were.

Don't get discouraged if you don't immediately get the results you want. Keep practicing and over time you will find your abilities improve. The main thing is to enjoy the process and the exercises. Don't concentrate as much on the results as on what you are doing to achieve them. The more fun you have with it, the more relaxed you will be and the more your unconscious channels will open. And don't forget to practice, practice, practice!

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Online Magic School – What Can You Learn?

Magic is the science of first understanding and then using to our benefit the principles that govern this Universe. Everything in this Universe is comprised of a mixture of the four elements air, fire, water and earth. The study of magic is the study of these elements - their characteristics, their behaviors, the parts of the Universe that they govern, and their interaction with each other. Understanding and directly working with these elements allows us to understand anything in the Universe. When we understand something at such a precise level, we can create it. In short, Magic teaches us to understand and create anything we choose in this Universe.

When people ask, "Can I really learn magic through an online magic school?", we are able to answer yes because of the way magic is taught at the Esoteric School of Shamanism and Magic as a precision science. The techniques taught in our school are verifiable, repeatable and precise. There are many different disciplines of magic throughout the world and many practices are best learned through a mentor or physical teacher in order to learn the traditions and practices. The techniques we teach through the Esoteric School of Shamanism and Magic can absolutely be taught through online magic courses with the use of class notes, videos and audio file instruction since they are taught as a precise study that allows their duplication again and again.

Specifically, what will you learn in the classes at the Esoteric School? Our beginner-level course is called Basic Magic. In Basic Magic, students learn to work with the four elements of air, fire, water and earth directly (with our hands) and with tools (wand, athame, chalice and plate). Students also learn to use the elements sonically, or with sound. In each of these practices, they learn to use the four elements to:

•Balance their own energies
•Balance the energies of others
•Permanently change their beliefs
•Self-defense
•Healing self and others
•Divination (finding hidden information or seeing possible futures)
•Psychic communication
•Create sacred space
•Finding lost objects or people

Towards the end of the Basic Magic course, students also learn how to read the tarot and create and use safe, effective spells. Spells can be used to attract money, manifest jobs, deepen relationships, or achieve any number of aims or goals. We use the tarot to find out whether a spell is needed and appropriate, and whether a proposed spell will be effective.

As you can see there is a lot to learn from an online magic school and this is just the Beginning Magic Course. We also have advanced studies in magic and Shamanism classes. You can get answers to more questions you might have about magic and how the magic classes at the Esoteric School work on our FAQs page. There is even a link you can follow from there to see what the class notes, audios and videos are like.

When we decided years ago to start this school, we chose the format we use so that we could offer these teachings to people regardless of geographic area. If we held classes in just one physical location, we would have missed the great students we have had over the years from all over the U.S. and many other countries as well. Online classes, ebooks and homestudy options allow us to spread the magic around and insure these ancient teachings survive.

Basic Magic Homestudy Special For August 2011
We are pleased to be able to offer the complete 30 week Basic Magic Homestudy Course at a 25% discount for the month of August. You can see all the details of this course and place your order in our school store.

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Quickie Rituals

You have probably heard the magical principle, "As Above, So Below". One way to apply this principle to your life is by working on your inner self which brings about growth and prosperity of all kinds in your outer life. Magical rituals are a good way to work on your inner self. There are of course rituals you can establish in your life that take some time each day to perform and some that take days or weeks or maybe even longer to accomplish. But there are also some simple, quick rituals you can do every day. Here are a few:

1. Exit Ritual – Each time you go outside during the day (or as many times as you can), raise your arms reaching towards the sky and say, "Sky beings above", then lower your arms reaching towards the Earth and say, "And Earth beings below, I greet you". This establishes a connection between you and many higher beings that can guide you. If you have a particular concern, problem or are in need of special guidance you can state that after the greeting.

2. 5 Minute Sit – Take 5 minutes in the morning to set the tone for your day and quiet your inner self. Sit in whatever position is comfortable for you and close your eyes. Pay attention to breathing deeply and evenly and quiet your mind. If you find your mind going to all the things you have to do today or what you did last night or anywhere else, stop and try quieting your mind again. The longer you can do this sit the better, but even just 5 minutes will make a difference in your day.

3. Moving Meditation – Establish a routine of doing this once everyday at around the same time each day. Decide what distance you will walk, for example around your neighborhood block. Divide that distance in half. The first half talk to higher beings and powers about anything you want to – how your day went, special concerns you have, challenges at work or with a relationship, a particular problem you are trying to solve. The second half of the distance, stop talking and use your other senses. Feel, listen, look at what is around you. Pay attention to any messages or thoughts that come to you, look for signs or totem animals that may appear.

4. Chalice Blessing – This is a good one to do with someone else or several others. You can do it by yourself or with your pets if no one else is available. Take a goblet or chalice with a stem (the element water tool), fill it half way with spring water and sprinkle a pinch of non-iodized salt in the water. Sit in the south facing the north and swirl the water clockwise while saying the following verse.

"Water and Earth where you are cast, Let no spell nor adverse purpose last, Not in accord with me. Bless these people (or this person, or this animal) and bless their space, Far from here send baneful trace. Thus my will, so it be."

Holding the chalice in your left hand, use your right index finger to dip into the water. Then draw a vertical line on the other person's forehead with your wet finger. Next draw a horizontal line from left to right intersecting with the vertical line (so that you have made a cross). Finally put your finger at the right end of the horizontal line you drew and move it clockwise around their forehead in a circle touching all the ends of the lines you drew. As you draw the circle say, "For the peace of your mind." Repeat this same procedure over the person's heart saying, "For the joy of your heart", then finally have them take a sip of the water from the chalice and say, "And for the health of your body." They can then do the ritual to you or if you have several people, you can sit in a circle and go around the circle doing it to the person next to you.

Using daily rituals such as these increases your connection with the Universe, establishes connections with higher beings and powers; thus allowing you to attract those things you want to attract in life. Do the ritual with as much consistency as possible. Make an appointment to "hang out" with your higher self for just a bit each day and watch how magical your life can become.

If you are interested in learning more about rituals, check out our ebook – "Daily Rituals For Getting What You Want in Life" in our school store.

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Top 10 Reasons People Don't Do Magic

For those of us who have practiced and studied magic for years and live within magical realms, it is hard to believe that not everyone desires magical knowledge or a magical lifestyle. Here are some of the reasons we've found that people don't do magic.

1. Don't understand what it really is
2. Contempt prior to investigation
3. Confused by media representation
4. Fear of the unknown
5. It challenges Western societal traditions and beliefs we have been raised with about spirituality and religion
6. Fear of change
7. Too busy
8. It's easier to live mechanically in the mundane world than to work on increasing the level of one's being
9. Other people will think they are weird
10. Belief that magic is evil

Most magical practitioners probably had one or more of these beliefs at one time before discovering their path into the world of magic. Each person must decide for himself or herself what paths to take in life. Those called to a magical way of life will be drawn to it, as it is drawn to them. Then the choice is yours. Will you follow the calling of magical ways or succumb to the biggest fear of all that It Just Might Work?

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