HSM Tales from the Path

How did a mature American Christian woman find herself in the jungles of Peru with a shaman?

My nice, neat “American Dream” life fell completely to pieces, and I found myself injured on the massage table at a local chain where I met a practitioner studying with a shaman from the West Coast. We became friends, and she shared being nervous about going to the rainforest when I blurted out that I was supposed to go. Unemployed and divorced, I was shocked to hear myself say that, and even more shocked to find myself emptying my savings account to travel deep into the jungle along the Amazon river for a week. That trip changed my life and made me a poster-child for the 2012 shift!

My childhood was, like most, a combination of love and pain. I was given up by my mother at birth and adopted into a family who loved me but struggled with addiction, codependency, depression, incest, and bankruptcy. After a wild period in my 20s, I spent my thirties and early forties clean, sober, and trying to lead a “normal” life. I tried therapy and self-help solutions but still had no idea how to move past the pain to have a healthy relationship and truly connect.

The past six years of shamanic lifestyle practices and ceremonies have been a journey to expand my understanding of spirituality beyond the confines of religion and discover my connectedness to all that is. I have worked with many sacred plant medicines like Ayahuasca to heal painful past events and put them and myself into greater context to find the compassion and forgiveness that long eluded me. I have experienced, both in and out of ceremony, places and people I have known before this lifetime. I have seen that I did not start out here on earth. I have learned to use sound and vibrational healing as a way to stay connected to my soul and a higher frequency in life. I observe my place in nature and I attract  people and animals ways to communicate with Spirit until my life is a conversation with all life.

None of this has much context in modern religion or our Western society. My guidance has repeatedly asked that I keep an open mind and allow myself to stay in curiosity about the true nature of myself and all life. The answers come from within and beyond in experiential ways that transcend faith into knowing. I know I am a timeless Soul in skin having a human experience while still being connected to all that is. I am a Starseed having an experience on Earth. We humans see ourselves as different, yet I know we are all One. I know that all of life vibrates at a frequency, and our emotions impact that frequency and exist as wellness or dis-ease within the body. I have seen these truths in great detail within my ceremonies and dreams. They are no longer philosophies for me but experiences.

Our ancestors knew these truths that we have forgotten. I hope in this article that you may feel inspired to discover your life beyond what you presently imagine or allow. Attend a drumming circle and feel the vibration move through your body as you invite it to shake loose all that no longer serves you. Dance! Chant and feel the healing vibration move through the resonance chamber that is your body. Light some sage or palo santo (available at most metaphysical shops) and allow the smoke to enter your body and move around your body as you meditate and for your spirit to show you the truth of who you are. Notice the animals you have been attracting lately (anything from ants to dogs, cats, rats, or whatever) and look on the Internet to see what “animal medicine” wisdom they may have for you around a present challenge you are facing. Experience Reiki or a shamanic session around any area where you feel stuck and discover the possibilities!

About the Author: Sheryl Sitts, MPA, BA (SherylSitts.com) is a Transformation Coach, Holistic Practitioner, and the founder of http://www.JourneyOfPossibilities.com where you can learn how to work and connect with other holistic spiritual practitioners, find local and international events, and enjoy over 200 interviews on Sheryl's weekly podcast Exploring Possibilities on YouTube.