JOSE ATID LENA STEVENS 19same burros, same place" was the reply. "Not same is
how many find," he offered in his broken English. What
the shaman was alluding to was the fact that the first
villager could not imagine owning more than six burros.
When Sandy asked what would happen if this fellow went
to the spot and found the eighteen, Reza answered, "Man
will find only six; it is what he "see."This is precisely the way your beliefs work to limit your
level of success at any one time. Consider those people who
suddenly gain an inheritence or win a lottery and come into a
large sum of money. Studies show that too often they are
unable to hold on to their good fortune and end up losing all
or part through poor investments, squandering, or misman-
agement. The same phenomena occurs with grossly over-
weight people who suddenly lose a tremendous amount of
weight. Only through consistent counseling and support sys-
tems are they able to ward off the tendency to gain it all
back. They are ill-prepared for their newfound wealth or
slim bodies because, although their situations have changed,
their beliefs often have not.
The physical body has its comfort level, a state of homeo-
stasis it settles into. The human body, like any animal, needs
cajoling, massaging, and persuasion to come around to a new
point of view. Even if the change is a positive one, inertia
and habit must be overcome. To the physical body, any kind
of change looks frightening because it represents the un-
known. The "fear of success" syndrome is a very real one
indeed and shamans have known about it and worked with it
for centuries. They have been accused of lying or bending
the truth as Reza may have appeared to Sandy, an accusation
they mostly shrug off, knowing otherwise. In shamanic terms
the physical self needs to be tricked, lied to, pampered, and
bribed in order to get it to let go of the limiting beliefs that
imprison it.
Why Use Imagination?
For a shaman who wants to retrieve information or a lost
guardian spirit, "imagining what to look for" is the first step
in achieving any result. "Imagining what you want" is as nec-
essary for you when you desperately need a parking place
(you've arrived minutes late for work) as when you wish to
learn how to fly an airplane. Whether you realize it or not
you use your imagination every time you are confronted with
a new challenge and must decide what you want. You use