Read an Excerpt

THE DOVE
INITIATE
Innocence/Trust

FOR THOSE WHO choose to participate in the rituals that follow, you will be embarking on a shamanic journey through Inner Egypt. Although one should not have preconceived ideas or expectations, it must be remembered that it is the nature of the shamanic experience to disintegrate the old way and reintegrate anew. The idea of dismemberment and re-memberment are basic precepts in ancient Egypt, and easy to recognize as expressed in the myth of Osiris and Isis.

This first passage must be entered with the energy of innocence and trust, the beginner’s mind where, like the Fool in the tarot, you stand at the precipice, willing to step over the edge into the unknown. You must cross the threshold with a certain amount of humility and reverence, and from a meditative, heart-centered perspective in order to enter the state of mind that is Egypt within. This requires preparation and an invocation. At the beginning of each ritual, you will start with a meditation. This first one sets the scene and will be reiterated to some degree as you begin subsequent rituals.

OPENING MEDITATION

It is helpful to prepare sacred space within which to enter these rites. A candle and smudge or incense is sufficient; however, you can elabo rate upon your altar as feels appropriate. This first initiation should be embarked upon in a quiet, private place, for you will be entering the cave of your own heart.

Close your eyes and tune out the outer world. Find and focus on your heart flame within. Kindle it with love, and breathe to open it. As you continue to feed your heart flame with love, experience it grow and intensify. In the glow of your heart flame, invoke Inner Egypt. Continue to breathe into your heart until you have built a warm fire of gentle desire to hear the calling within you. Listen for the call from the Great Mystery, from that which is hidden. . . .

You will find yourself in a very private place near the edge of a remote cliff overlooking a great canyon, facing the huge orange ball that is the setting sun in the west. Listen closely. . . . You must listen to your heart, which has drawn you to this place. Listen. . . . It is the voice of the invisible Nephthys that speaks. She is the intuitive self that knows how to listen to an inner calling. You can hear her voice calling you. . . .

Nephthys speaks: I am she who is veiled from you and whom you will come to know soon. I am calling you to come to the edge and to look out over your world, as you know it. To reflect on all the things in your present life that distract you, or that you wish to change, that you bring to the altar of your heart flame. Bring all of this and lay it upon the altar of your heart. For as your world is now, know that it will change. And soon, it will be only a memory as you embark upon these sacred heart rituals of ancient Egypt.

Take a deep breath. . . . When you are ready, step off the cliff and let go. . . . As you begin to fall, continue to breathe deeply, exhaling your spirit into the void, calling out to all things sacred and holy to uplift you and to guide you through the surrounding vortex and into mighty Egypt, alive and available deep within the DNA of your own being.

Allow yourself to trust the process and to become innocent. . . . Move into the unknowing with an open heart. . . .

As you fall through the abyss, feel yourself becoming a white dove. . . . Your wings stretch to catch your fall, and you find yourself gliding smoothly through the funneled vortex.

As you begin to emerge out of the vortex and into the light that called to you from the land of Egypt, look below and see the landscape of Egypt, with its vast and blazing desert and the lushness around the silver snake that is the Nile. You can see temples here and there, and pyramids. There are many villages, mostly along the Nile, and verdant fields crisscrossed with irrigation channels, all connected to the Nile. Even from this perspective flying above Egypt, you can feel the life and vitality emanating from the fertile land below. As your vision of Egypt clarifies, your ancient heart memory returns and you feel nourished by all the powerful elements that are rushing into your consciousness simultaneously.

Your memory begins to stir. . . . As you soar above this ancient land you are reminded of a bittersweet memory, a poignant moment of coming home. Receive whatever messages emerge from this moment of remembering. These can be an image, a color, a sound or glyph, an inner knowing, or whatever experience is there for you. . . .

As you recognize this potent opportunity for your soul’s journey, you find yourself shifting from your ego’s awareness to your soul’s consciousness. . . . [Pause.]

When you have completed this experience, it is the end of the first journey. As you begin to return to your outer awareness and ordinary consciousness, your heart remains in Egypt. Feel your return journey as you are lifted back on gentle warm currents of the winds, back to your conscious awareness of your physical body in its human form and the altar from which you began your journey. . . . Welcome home, Initiate.

Be sure to ground and center, using the grounding breath. Inhale through the small of your back and exhale through your tailbone into the earth. Make sure that you are centered in your physical form before opening your eyes.