Secrets of Shamanism

JOSE ATID LENA STEVENS 13

are probably no greater than your own ability to experience a

similar level of success. The secret to the power of the sha-

manic approach is interest and a willingness to believe that

you can do it. As we mentioned earlier, this book is not

about turning you into a traditional shaman. Rather it is

about translating the often mysterious and magical world of

the shaman into everyday terms that you can understand and

apply in your own daily life. Shamanic techniques work in a

modern urban environment just as they do in the jungle, the

steppes, or under the harsh desert sun. Remember that sha-

manism is a strategy for gaining power and a set of tech-

niques for exercising it created by and for people at the

grass-roots level.

We have included vignettes and stories, both modern and

ancient, to illustrate the shamanic techniques and their effec-

tiveness in daily life. The contemporary stories are based on

actual situations that we, our colleagues, and our clients have

experienced. The ancient stories were given to us by our own

guardian spirits to illustrate shamanic problem-solving in all

corners of the world.

Benefits of Shamanism

In the following chapters we will take you through a pro-
cess that we have designed to bring you shamanic awareness
and problem-solving abilities. Here are some of the benefits
you can expect to receive:

• Your ideas about how events in your life occur and how
  they affect you and those around you will shift. Your con-
  ventional ideas about linear time will be altered, allowing
  you more freedom.


• Your understanding of who is in charge of your life will
  transform and you will no longer feel that you are the vic-
  tim of circumstance.


• Your view of yourself as a separate human being will be
  called into question and you will begin to contemplate how
  you are related and connected to all of life. Your perspec-
  tive will broaden.


• Your understanding about the nature of reality and how
  your goals manifest will undergo radical transformation.
  You will discover how to set appropriate goals for yourself
  in order to reach them effectively.


• Your understanding and experience of real power will be
  enhanced.