If your shamanic journey is not working, the cause is almost always one of eight common blocks — and every single one of them has a fix. A shamanic journey is a practice in which you shift into a relaxed, expanded state of awareness (usually with the help of rhythmic drumming) to travel inwardly to the spirit worlds and meet helping spirits there. It is a learnable skill, not a talent you either have or don’t. When the door doesn’t open, something specific is in the way. This article walks you through the eight blocks I see most often in my students — and in my own early practice — and exactly what to do about each one.
The 8 Blocks at a Glance
Here is the short version. Find yourself in the left column, then read the matching section below.
| # | Block | The Fix in One Line |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trying too hard | Soften your effort; let the journey come to you |
| 2 | Expecting a movie | Accept subtle impressions as real journeying |
| 3 | Wrong drumming or setup | Use 4–7 beats per second, headphones, darkness |
| 4 | Unspoken fear | Name the fear, build safety, start small |
| 5 | No clear intention | Formulate one simple sentence before you begin |
| 6 | Dismissing it as imagination | Treat imagination as the doorway, not the enemy |
| 7 | Body not ready | Journey rested, sober, and not too full |
| 8 | Practicing all alone | Join a circle; journey with others |
1. Are You Trying Too Hard?
Effort is the most common journey-killer of all. The harder you strain to “make something happen,” the more your analytical mind tightens its grip — and journeying needs exactly the opposite: a soft, receptive attention, more like daydreaming than concentrating.
The fix: before the drumming starts, consciously lower your ambition. Tell yourself this journey doesn’t have to work. Lie down, let your body get heavy, and treat whatever comes — even “nothing” — as information. Paradoxically, the students who give themselves full permission to fail are usually the ones who slip through first.
2. Are You Expecting a Movie?
Many beginners believe a real journey looks like a vivid film behind their closed eyes — and dismiss everything quieter. The truth: most experienced journeyers do not “see” in high definition. They sense, know, feel, half-glimpse. Michael Harner, who brought core shamanism to the West, reminded his students that the spirits speak in whispers, not billboards.
The fix: after your next journey, write down every impression, however faint — a color, a mood, the felt sense of a forest, a word that appeared in your mind. Sensing that you’re standing beside a river is journeying. The vividness grows with practice, like a muscle. If you want to understand the terrain you’re sensing your way through, my guide to the Lower, Middle and Upper World maps the three realms of the shamanic cosmos.
3. Is Your Drumming (or Your Setup) Working Against You?
The drum is not decoration — it is the vehicle. Research going back to the 1960s (Andrew Neher’s work on auditory driving, later expanded by Harner) shows that steady drumming around 4–7 beats per second entrains the brain toward theta states, the doorway of the journey. A too-slow track, a phone speaker across the room, notifications pinging — any of these can keep you stranded in ordinary awareness.
The fix: use a dedicated shamanic drumming track of at least 15 minutes with a callback signal, played through headphones. Darken the room or cover your eyes. Turn your phone to flight mode. Small changes here fix more “failed” journeys than any other single intervention.
4. Is Fear Quietly Closing the Door?
If part of you is afraid of what you might meet, that part will keep the door shut — and it is usually doing so out of care. Fear of losing control, fear of “dark energies,” fear of what you might learn about your own life: all of it can stall a journey before it begins.
The fix: name the fear out loud before you journey; that alone takes away half its charge. Then build safety in layers. Journey first to the Lower World to meet a power animal — a protective spirit ally whose entire role is to keep you safe. Keep your first journeys short (ten minutes), and remember: you can open your eyes at any moment. You are lying on your own floor the entire time.
5. Did You Set a Clear Intention?
A journey without an intention is like getting into a taxi and saying “just drive.” The spirit worlds respond to clarity; vagueness produces vague journeys — or none at all.
The fix: formulate one simple sentence before the drum starts, and repeat it three times as the journey begins. Good intentions are specific and open at the same time: “I journey to the Lower World to meet my power animal.” “I journey to ask for guidance about my work.” One question per journey. If you’d like a full step-by-step structure, my article on how to meet your spirit guide walks through intention-setting in detail.
6. Are You Dismissing Everything as “Just My Imagination”?
This block disguises itself as honesty. Something appears — an animal, a path, a voice — and your inner skeptic immediately stamps it “made up,” and the connection collapses. Sandra Ingerman, one of the most respected teachers of contemporary shamanism, gives beginners advice I pass on to every student: in the beginning, don’t worry about whether you’re making it up. Imagination is the language the spirits borrow; it is the doorway, not the enemy.
The fix: adopt a rule for your first twenty journeys — record everything, judge nothing. Discernment comes later, and it comes from a simple test: real contact tends to surprise you, answer differently than you expected, and hold up over time. Give the practice room to prove itself before you cross-examine it.
7. Is Your Body Ready to Journey?
Journeying is a whole-body practice, and an exhausted, caffeinated, or slightly tipsy nervous system will not settle into theta. If you always practice at 11 p.m. after a long day, “nothing happens” may simply mean “you fell asleep” — the most common non-mystical explanation there is.
The fix is honest housekeeping:
- Journey when you’re rested — mornings and early evenings work well for most people
- No alcohol before journeying, and go easy on caffeine that day
- Don’t journey on a very full (or completely empty) stomach
- Give your body five minutes of slow breathing before the drum starts
None of this is dogma; it’s physiology. A regulated body is the drum’s best dance partner.
8. Are You Journeying All Alone?
Solo practice without any support is the block people notice last. Journeying alone, with no one to share with and no experienced voice to say “yes, that counts,” makes every other block on this list heavier. Doubt grows in isolation — and dissolves remarkably fast in community.
The fix: journey with others, even occasionally. Every Monday I host the Lightkeepers’ Hearth, a free online shamanic journey circle — we drum together, journey together, and share what we found. Students who join a circle almost always report that their journeys deepen within weeks. There is a reason shamanic cultures have always drummed together: the field of a group carries you further than willpower ever will.
What Blocked My Own Journeys
I want you to know that I met most of these blocks personally. My early journeys were years of block #1 and #6 in rotation: I tried hard, got faint impressions, and dismissed them all as imagination. What finally changed things was embarrassingly simple — I stopped grading my journeys, started writing everything down, and began journeying with other people instead of alone in my room. Within a few months, the “faint impressions” had become a reliable, living connection that I now teach from. If your journeys aren’t working yet, you are not broken. You are exactly where I was.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to learn shamanic journeying?
Most people have their first clear journey experience within one to ten attempts, and a stable, reliable practice typically develops over two to three months of regular journeying. Speed says nothing about depth — slow starters often become the strongest journeyers.
Is it normal to see nothing during a shamanic journey?
Yes, completely normal — especially in the beginning. Many people perceive through feeling, knowing, or hearing rather than inner sight. “Seeing nothing” while sensing a mood, a presence, or a knowing is already journeying; visual detail usually develops with practice.
What drumming speed is best for a shamanic journey?
Around 4 to 7 beats per second (roughly 240–420 bpm) is the classic range for shamanic journeying, sustained for at least 15 minutes. Use a recording with a callback signal so you can return without checking a clock.
Can I journey without a drum?
Yes. Rattles, click tracks, and even silent journeying work for many practitioners. The drum is the most reliable doorway for beginners, but it is the rhythm and your intention that carry you, not the instrument itself.
Should I stop practicing if journeys keep failing?
No — but change one variable at a time instead of pushing harder. Work through the eight blocks above in order, adjust your setup, lower the pressure, and consider joining a journey circle. Persistent total blankness over months is almost always setup, expectation, or fear, not inability.
Shamanic journeying is a spiritual practice. It complements — and never replaces — therapy or medical care where those are needed.
