Can I Learn to Practice Shamanism if I Can't Visualize?

At least once a month, someone contacts me who feels drawn to learn shamanism but who can't visualize. The inability to see pictures in one's mind is called Aphantaasia. According to neuroscience, there is no cure for Aphantasia. Some people have overcome their failure to make pictures in their mind's eye.

I was born with several congenital disabilities; doctors told my parents I would never walk. Not only did I learn how to walk, but I also played sports and learned and taught martial arts. Human beings are incredibly flexible and resilient, but it takes persistence.

Learning shamanism involves learning to journey. In a shamanic journey, the practitioner separates part of their consciousness to travel in spirit and work with helping spirits. Many people think that to journey successfully, one has to be able to see vivid pictures in their imagination. That's not the case. I will cover a couple of options if you have aphantasia but want to learn how to journey.

Rely on Your Other Senses

I have a friend who is a shamanic practitioner who cannot visualize. She journeys successfully using her other senses - especially smell, touch, and sound. Instead of focusing on visuals that aren't coming and straining or getting frustrated - she relaxes and lets her other senses take over.

A key to this approach is relinquishing your expectations of a journey and surrendering to how it unfolds. Frustration will hold you back, while curiosity and openness will give space for you to have powerful experiences.

Your helping spirits want to work with you and will find a way to communicate with you. Most people who go into shamanism with rigid expectations get surprised or frustrated quickly. For example - most students who tell me they already know who their power animal is don't. Your helping spirits have a way of keeping you on your toes.

Overcome Your Aphantasia

I am not a neuroscientist or doctor, but I have seen neuroplasticity at work in my own life. Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to form new neural pathways, and it's a promising area of brain research.

It can be a way for many people who have had aphantasia to start to be able to visualize. There are anecdotal stories of people doing just that, and it may be worth exploring. I will share a video made by a photographer who was able to use a technique called image streaming to overcome aphantasia powerfully.

If you want to try this approach, here are a few things to remember:

1. It's going to take some time, don't expect instant results. It's a bit like going to the gym. In the beginning, you start out with light weights, but you build strength over time. It takes time and repetition to create new neural pathways.

2. Mark Twain said, "Comparison is the death of joy." Do not compare your results to others. There is no competition in shamanism, and it's not a race. I have taught hundreds of people, and every single person's experience is entirely unique and completely valid.

3. Be open to experimentation. You may find ways that work better for you. This has been my way my whole life - figuring out how to do things with a body that was very different from everybody else's.

Here is the video explaining how this photographer used image streaming to overcome aphantasia.

A video of a technique called image streaming by a photographer who overcame apantasia.