Help with Trance and Pathworking
Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2015 12:55 pm
Hello. I'm relatively new (to Wicca and these forums) so I expect I will be on here a lot looking for answers to simple questions. My first is about meditation, visualization, trance and pathworking.
I've gotten a few books, but as I start out as a complete beginner I choose to take someones advice and begin with Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin. I've peeked at some other books and find that this one is the best for teaching the really rudimentary basics. While other books I've looked at say "ground and center, cast your circle, then do this:" Sabin's book actually explains what ground is, how to do it, why we do it, and various ways to do it, as she does with everything else. All in all I am quite enjoying it. However I am struggling.
Here are some very newbie questions that perhaps you can help with:
Grounding:
The book says to visualize a taproot shooting from the base of the spine down into the earth. This seems easy enough but my first question is about how strong this visualization is. I've always been an imaginative person who daydreams a lot, always have been, so imagining things comes exceptionally easy. I can envision the taproot going down into the earth, drawing up the energy, spreading it through my body, and pushing the excess back down within seconds. Is that okay, or should I be taking more time? Also how strong does the visualization have to be? Should it feel real? Should I feel some kind of sensation? Should it seem as strong as a full-fledged dream? I can sit here with my eyes open, typing this to you, and at the same time visualizing the taproot and the energy and everything. Is it that simple and that easy for everyone? Do people struggle just to do that? Am I doing it right? My problem is this seems both too easy and not enough at the same time. I feel like perhaps I should actually be able to FEEL the taproot, to feel some kind of sensation when being filled with energy, for the visualization to be so strong it feels real. So my question here is how is it supposed to feel?
Trance:
I can't seem to get in a trance state. I know what it should feel like, I've been in one before just "zoning out" as Sabin says in her book, but I can't seem to force myself into a trace state with any of the ways she mentioned. I tried headphones with background sound, I tried a flame, I tried drawing spirals with one hand while staring off, nothing seems to work. Any suggestions?
Feeling the energy:
Unrelated to grounding and trace, Sabin offers a couple of exercises in feeling the energy in things. I was super excited to feel the energy between my hands in the first exercise, but I have been completely unsuccessful in feeling energy in crystals or stones, or in plants or inanimate objects. I have a lot of stones and crystals (I collect them for use in my sculptures and jewelry) but couldn't feel a thing in a single one. I don't feel the energy in anything. I've tried grounding first and then trying to feel it, I've tried carrying a particular crystal around with me everywheres in hopes I get something. Am I doing something wrong?
Thank you for your help.
I've gotten a few books, but as I start out as a complete beginner I choose to take someones advice and begin with Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin. I've peeked at some other books and find that this one is the best for teaching the really rudimentary basics. While other books I've looked at say "ground and center, cast your circle, then do this:" Sabin's book actually explains what ground is, how to do it, why we do it, and various ways to do it, as she does with everything else. All in all I am quite enjoying it. However I am struggling.
Here are some very newbie questions that perhaps you can help with:
Grounding:
The book says to visualize a taproot shooting from the base of the spine down into the earth. This seems easy enough but my first question is about how strong this visualization is. I've always been an imaginative person who daydreams a lot, always have been, so imagining things comes exceptionally easy. I can envision the taproot going down into the earth, drawing up the energy, spreading it through my body, and pushing the excess back down within seconds. Is that okay, or should I be taking more time? Also how strong does the visualization have to be? Should it feel real? Should I feel some kind of sensation? Should it seem as strong as a full-fledged dream? I can sit here with my eyes open, typing this to you, and at the same time visualizing the taproot and the energy and everything. Is it that simple and that easy for everyone? Do people struggle just to do that? Am I doing it right? My problem is this seems both too easy and not enough at the same time. I feel like perhaps I should actually be able to FEEL the taproot, to feel some kind of sensation when being filled with energy, for the visualization to be so strong it feels real. So my question here is how is it supposed to feel?
Trance:
I can't seem to get in a trance state. I know what it should feel like, I've been in one before just "zoning out" as Sabin says in her book, but I can't seem to force myself into a trace state with any of the ways she mentioned. I tried headphones with background sound, I tried a flame, I tried drawing spirals with one hand while staring off, nothing seems to work. Any suggestions?
Feeling the energy:
Unrelated to grounding and trace, Sabin offers a couple of exercises in feeling the energy in things. I was super excited to feel the energy between my hands in the first exercise, but I have been completely unsuccessful in feeling energy in crystals or stones, or in plants or inanimate objects. I have a lot of stones and crystals (I collect them for use in my sculptures and jewelry) but couldn't feel a thing in a single one. I don't feel the energy in anything. I've tried grounding first and then trying to feel it, I've tried carrying a particular crystal around with me everywheres in hopes I get something. Am I doing something wrong?
Thank you for your help.