by Sandy Dollar
Sandy Dollar posted this brief practical guide to alt.religion.shamanism in March 2006, shortly after her extended series of Lower World journeys had concluded. She frames it explicitly as personal testimony — "only information on altered states that I have used personally" — and in doing so preserves something that more formal guides lose: the improvised quality of solitary practice before the era of easy access to shamanic drumming recordings.
Her account of beginning her practice in the Sumas Mountains of Washington State, without a drum or player, using the drip of rain from a downspout and the tick of a wind-up alarm clock to alter her consciousness, is both charming and practically instructive. The key insight she passes on — that any monotonous, repetitive sound can serve as a consciousness-altering vehicle — is embedded in a specific memory, which makes it credible.
The second half of the post draws on Harner's taxonomy of spirits (elemental, plant, animal, human) and closes with a short reading list oriented toward beginners.
Will only give you information on altered states that I have used personally. There are many ways of getting into altered states that will not be listed here. With that said, here we go.
My first attempt was up in Washington state where I lived in the Sumas Mountains, where there is eternal mist or rain. I did not have a drum or even a DVD player with ear plugs. What I had was the constant drip, drip from the downspouts outside the room I meditated in. So I used the drip, drip to alter my consciousness. Another thing I used was a wind-up alarm clock that ticked loud enough for me to hear it well. You can use anything that has a constant sound to gain an altered state: repetitive music, one-word mantras, or anything that repeats itself over and over again in a monotonous way. Just know that there are a lot of different doors that open into non-reality. You can buy drumming tapes and DVD discs at most music stores. I would buy a player that has ear plugs, so as you don't keep the neighbors awake.
On Spirit Types
Michael Harner in The Way of the Shaman says spirits are animate essences with intelligence and different degrees of power. Elemental spirits are powerful but lack compassion. Spirits of certain plants can possess us to some extent. Plant spirits are like people with personality traits and different degrees of power. Plant spirits like tobacco. Spirits can be plants, animals, insects, or even human. I personally worked with plants, animals, and an American Indian spirit, but so far have never found an insect spirit.
A Reading List
Books that might help in learning shamanism and about spirits:
- Michael Harner — The Way of the Shaman
- Michael Roads — Journey into Nature
- Eliot Cowan — Plant Spirit Medicine
- Amber Wolf — In the Shadow of the Shaman
- Kenneth Meadows — Shamanic Experience
Colophon
Written by Sandy Dollar to the newsgroup alt.religion.shamanism on 30 March 2006. Original Message-ID: <[email protected]>.
The Sumas Mountains are a range on the US–Canada border in northwestern Washington State, near the town of Sumas. Their near-constant rain and mist, which Sandy Dollar describes as her first shamanic environment, are characteristic of the Cascades' western slopes.
Preserved from the Usenet archive for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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