That invisible and mysterious place outside of time and physical reality (as we know it), has been referred to and looked at in many different ways: The Spirit Realm (as it has been referred to in this article), Non-Ordinary Reality, The Parallel Universe, The Other World (Celtic traditions), Dreamtime (Australian aborigines), and countless others. However this spiritual place is perceived and named, it is precisely where shamans go during their shamanic journeys.
A shamanic journey is always performed in a ceremonial context, as these realms are not to be taken lightly. Shamans enter these altered states of consciousness in order to communicate and connect with helping spirits to retrieve information; the information attained is generally brought back for healing purposes.
