Our second journey was to the upper world. I chose as my axis mundi a mountain in the north east of England. I had once been walking with friends and got lost. We ended up on the mountain when the sun was setting and became part of the sunset. We had merged with the colours of the setting sun, became golden with fringes of rust and a touch of orange. I couldn’t think of a better place from which to access the upper world.

Simon said that the upper world was divided into several levels and that if we didn’t meet our teacher on the first level, to keep going up until we did.

If we met anyone to ask, ‘Are you my teacher?’ And if the answer was no, to move on.

Again we were blindfolded in our chairs or on our rugs.

As the beat began for the journey to begin I repeated the intention the whole group had been given.

‘My intention is to go to the upper world to meet a teacher in human form and either ask a question or request a healing.’

Simon had suggested that we avoid ‘when should’ questions as spirit existed in a timeless place and guidance on time has always proved problematic. Also to avoid ‘and’ questions because it invariably means we’re asking two questions in one.

I was in two minds whether to ask for healing for my broken finger and trapped nerve, or to ask that I lose the sudden craving I’d developed for sweets. I need to purify my body before taking the Yellow Fever vaccine. In the end I decided to go with the help with the craving.

By the end of the third repetition I was spiralling up into the sky from the top of the mountain. I found myself in a strange landscape – a bit like something from a science fiction film.

I saw a man running very quickly some feet ahead of me, but he didn’t stop. No one else came so I decided to move up to the next level.

As I moved up I lost all awareness of everything around me. I felt the pulsating beats of the drum and felt myself merge with them. My whole being became the beat of the drum, and despite the insistence of the beat I experienced a sense of calm, total oneness with the beat. I was vaguely aware of movement somewhere in my head, but nothing defined, nothing tangible that I could describe.

I stayed in this state till the change of tempo in the beat signalled the return to the middle world. It was a reluctant return as I was so at one with the other beat, so at home being the music.

I apologised to the person I had to do feedback with for having so little to share. Interestingly he said he’d had a similar experience toward the end of his journey. Did we share this during the journey I wondered?

Although Simon found it interesting, he didn’t comment on it further.

On relaying the experience to a friend of mine a few days later, she said to consider that in the upper world music is my teacher.

What do you think?

PS. The following day one of the participants brought in a bowl of cherries to share, which kept me away from the biscuits!!! Was the sweet craving healed or was this just a coincidence.