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(Skip to the third paragraph for my experience)
Staff training was in full swing at my new job - summer camp. It was camp out night. Boy and girl counselors were split, each group at a different camp site cooking their food over a fire and setting up tents and hammocks. My job was the camp photographer, so I was expected to jump back and forth between the two campsites to capture images. When food was ready, I stayed with the girls. I've always been more attuned to feminine nature, and I wasn't bothering anyone being the only guy there so it was mutual. Afterwards, an older woman close with the Director addressed the group and asked if anyone wanted to join in on a Shamanic Journeying session she was about to lead. Only a few opted out.
She smudged the area and everyone participating with sage, lit candles at the four cardinal directions, and then began giving instructions. She was going to start an mp3 track with a drum beat going at 100bpm. We were to find a comfortable position and imagine a familiar place - find a way to go underground - find a tunnel - go through the tunnel to the other side - find entities there and ask them three times if they are our "spirit guide".
It took a long time for me to muster the focus and attention to keep myself in my imagination. I envisioned my childhood home, going down the stairs to the basement, and through a tunnel. The tunnel stretched on endlessly. I began to lose patience and 'forced' an exit the way I would in a lucid dream. It was a big, wooden medieval door with iron bracings and a large iron ring for a handle. I pulled it open.
On the other side, I came out onto a walkway made of smooth planks of wood. On either side was a still pond full of lily pads and flowers. The path lead to an incredibly large tree, the trunks diameter must have been at least 25ft wide. I couldn't look up far enough to see the top; it seemed like it stretched on forever. The path continued around it on each side.
I came to a circular platform and found a completely featureless... person. They were kind of like an indistinguishable blob in the form of a standing human. They stood next to a yellow mop bucket. I asked "Where do I go?" and they pointed to my right, telling me to continue down the path. I walked on. I came to another circular platform and found something the size of a cat laying in the middle of it. It too was featureless, with the exception that it seemed like it was covered in this black, ethereal tar. (That's the best I can describe it). My gut reaction was to help in any way I could. I picked it up and ran back to the person and frantically asked how I can clean it off. They only pointed down the path again.
I ran down the path, thinking of what I could do. My lucid dreaming instincts kicked in and I thought of a fountain. I materialized one as if I were in a dream. It had crystal clear water purer than I had ever seen before. As soon as I was about to submerge the creature, I heard the callback drum pattern and almost immediately 'woke' up. My body flooded with a strange sensation of electricity that quickly faded.
Everyone took turns explaining their experiences. Roughly 15 out of the 17 people had never attempted anything like this before, but there were several insanely detailed stories that gave me chills. Something I noticed was that I was never fully apart from waking consciousness. I could always subtly feel my body lying down in the soft pine needles and hear the crackling fire. After everyone had a chance to talk about what happened, we were given the option to try again. It was a resounding yes. Some people had even more vivid experiences. Mine was not.
I struggled to focus again. Flashes of images flew by me briefly. I was sitting on a log in another part of the woods. Everything was dark except a herd of deer quietly passing through. They emitted a golden light from their bodies. As soon as I began analyzing what I was seeing, a buck turned as if to look at me and I immediately lost the vision.
