84 SECRETS OF SHAMANISMeach is vital to basic survival, and a personal relationship
with them is critical to living a successfiil life. Furthermore,
the most competent shamans know that these powers are all
representatives of the greater spirit that unifies the cosmos
and is the true source of life itself. By communicating to the
sun or the moon and thanking them for their warmth or
light, the shaman, through humility, grows powerful because
he speaks directly with the source of life itself.
You too can learn to tap into the tremendous power in-
herent in all the elements of nature. As we mentioned ear-
lier, all you need to start with is respect for these forces, a
belief that you can make contact with them, and a desire to
do so. If you have all of these ingredients, with practice you
cannot fail to be successful.
What can you gain from developing your shamanic ability
to talk directly to the elements? First of all, by learning to
communicate with the wind, the water, fire, the moon, the
sun and the stars, and all the elements, you can, at the most
basic level, develop an uncanny ability to sense the larger
weather patterns months in advance. Shamans know in sum-
mer whether the winter will be mild or heavy, wet or dry,
long or short. When it is yet winter, they know if the spring
will bring rain or late snow, heat or raw cold wind. You can
learn to know this too. You can regulate your travels, plan
building projects, avoid disasters, simply by learning to tune
into the elements before hand. These elements always know
what they are up to and will be glad to tell you if they feel
you are a friend. Shamans know that the world of nature
need not be the enemy.
Not only is it possible to read and understand the larger
weather patterns but with practice and focus one can harness
the elements as allies in a cooperative relationship. Master
shamans call in rain and clear weather, or avert tornados and
flooding with their ability to communicate directly with the
elements. Through their contacts with these allies, shamans
learn to let go of their resistance and merge directly with fire,
wind, water, and earth for productive results.
Communication with the elements teaches you to become
more fully integrated with the powers that surround you.
You are then part of nature, not an antagonist or victim of it.
Second, you can greatly enhance your ability to success-
fully handle a career that works with natural forces. Chemis-
try, agriculture, physics, geology, electronics, water and
power, petroleum, pharmacology, astronomy, to name a few,
are all fields that stand to gain tremendously by simple and
direct communication with the spirits of the elements they