JOSE ATID LEIIA STEVENS 191or cunningly dangerous. Again you may have to approach it
many times before you can befriend it.
Feel free to rely on your guardian spirit to assist you or
provide you with relevant advice. You will, however, basi-
cally have to carry out the confrontation on your own.
Return and apply any suggestions to your practice.Exercise #7: The Steps
- Relax and close your eyes.
- Begin to journey.
- Ask your guardian or power animal for help in bal-
ance. - Ask them to take you to meet your opposite or
weaker side. - Approach and merge with that side.
- Ask advice of your guardian.
- Return.
- Thank your guardian. Apply suggestions to your
practice.
Exercise #8: Imagining Opposites
Using your imagination, envision yourself as you would
be if you were the opposite sex. What would you look like if
you were male? Female? How would you act? What would
be your preferences? What kind of person would you be at-
tracted to? How would it make a difference in your life?
Would you be able to accomplish the same things? Would
your goals be the same? If you have the courage to do so,
imagine yourself as the opposite sex. What is he/she like?
How does he/she move? This is not unlike letting your power
animal come through you. Although it may be uncomfort-
able for you, it will not in any way harm you. It can give you
powerful insights into your orientation and how you suppress
that other half of yourself. To understand another, walk a
mile in their moccasins. This is a variation on the old Native
American proverb, "Don't judge me until you've walked a
mile in my moccasins."
We have described two ways that you can become overly
specialized in your life's focus, and we have given you a
number of exercises to help find the balance needed for sha-
manic work. This requires the ability to handle major change
in your life. So, if in doing the exercises in this chapter, you