Jose ATID LENA STEVENS 27of that form vibrates. This is an abstract concept that perhaps
only physicists, shamans, and mystics are aquainted with.
Shamanically speaking each physical form, whether animate
or inanimate, has a spirit or energy that vibrates according to
a specific level or frequency. For example, gold would have a
higher frequency than lead. This frequency can be most eas-
ily translated for the visioning process into color and density.
Each color of the spectrum carries with it a certain fre-
quency; thus, if you can create the color in your mind, you
have also created the frequency.
A higher density or darkening of a color will lower the
frequency, whereas the lightening or brightening of a color
will raise the frequency or energy level. Darker, thicker
colors such as brown or black carry with them the images of
"black" moods, lethargy and depression; a fiery red invokes
vitality, and a fluorescent turquoise may feel exciting and
highly creative.
Colors and their frequencies are important as reminders
of natural properties. The more you use these properties in
your visions, the more powerful they become. Therefore we
teach the use of color and density as it relates to natural
beings. Shamans know that since all natural beings have
spirit, duplicating their visual qualities in a mental process
makes the image come alive and thus many times more pow-
erful than using qualities from synthetic objects. The differ-
ence is subtle and you may well ask how one green is
distinguished from another green. If someone asks you to
close your eyes and think of green do you think of the green
of your tablecloth or the green of your lawn? The shade may
look the same to you, the difference being a purely energetic
one.
Likewise if you imagine something yellow, you could re-
call the paint on your refrigerator. On the other hand you
might use the warm yellow of the sun or perhaps the yellow
of the skin of a ripe lemon. Using colors from natural objects
replicates their spiritual properties. Thus, coloring your
mental pictures with natural colors brings life to your visions
and therefore more power.
Here is a type of guided shamanic vision. Although not
truly a shamanic journey, this shamanic technique can pro-
duce powerful results.
Ahritmah sat by the fire huddled over his meager eve-
ning meal. For these past days he had been longing for
the brighter days when his spirit soared and he felt full
and virile. It was as if some darkness had descended on