And then there's the Shamanic Trance Journey ...
And then there's the Shamanic Trance Journey ...
Shamanic Trance Journey, I think, is a form of channeling with the spirit world, to get guidance. I have seen many woman who did what they called meditation, and became possessed by some spirit which they claim gives them information. I've seen an interview with one of the more famous ones, and she says this spirit is taking her over, to a point she can't remember what she has done in most days of the year, more the 200 days in a year she is not present. I don't know what this is, but it is not meditation. Meditation is to always be present. S. N. Goenka said with meditation you can reach a level where even in sleep you are fully aware, not awake, but aware. In the other state - the trance state - you are not aware even in waking state... how can this be the same as meditation...
I agree that the STJ isn't meditation - there have been brain scans of people doing each and they appear to use different parts of the brain. However, the channelling you describe above is certainly not a shamanic journey. Awareness in the shamanic journey is, if anything, more acute than in the 'waking' state.
I have, many years ago, been hypnotised. As I recall, I was in a state of total awareness but very passive. In an shamanic trance journey I am aware and actively taking part in what is going on.
I guess the difference between Meditation and Hypnosis can be a very delicate one. You can listen to the sound of a drum, just as a means to keep your attention on the experiential level, you don't concentrate on it, you just listen to it, experiencing it.
but you can also fully focus you attention on a sound of a drum, in order to distract yourself from everything else, and then it becomes something completely different. So it is not so much the practice you are using, but the way you are practicing it...