Shamanic Practice

Shamanic Practice: Giving Away Negative Emotions in the 4 Directions

• Find a place to sit or stand in nature (must be on the earth).  
• Orientate yourself to the 4 cardinal directions and begin by facing East.  

• Visualize a cord that connects you from the bottom of your back to Mother Earth. This is your umbilical cord to our Earth Mother, which helps keep you grounded.  
• Shaking the rattle (if you have one), visualize the Nierika (sacred doorway) in front of you. 
• As you begin to see or feel the doorway more clearly, look for Kauyumari (the magical deer spirit) in the center. 
• Imagine yourself traveling into the Nierika and ask Kauyumari to guide you to the East. You are going on a shamanic journey! 
• When you feel that you have arrived in the East, ask the Deer to take something away that no longer serves you—a negative quality. It could be anger, fear, jealously, mistrust, pain, anxiety, or any number of things. Ask the Deer to help you let this go, as these negative feelings are not who you really are anyway.  

• Once you’ve given away this negative quality, follow the Deer and travel from the East back to your heart.  
• Physically change directions so that you are now facing the South.  
• Repeat the same exercise, following the deer to the South and giving away a different negative quality.  
• Return to your heart and repeat again in the West and North. 

This is not a daily practice. You can do this exercise every five days, and it should only be done during the daytime. Reflect upon the things that came up for you and try to continue releasing them over the next 5 days until you can do the exercise again.