Dear friends,

We are all faced with events in life that make it seem like we have no choice in the matter. Think of a time in your life when you thought the situation you faced gave you no choice. As you reflect back on this event, do you still feel that way? Do you still believe you had no choice, or can you now see choices you could not see then? What can you change and what is not in your power to change?

From a shamanic perspective, there are always many more options than we thought we had because, like a quantum physicist, a shaman does not accept the outward appearance of anything. Our solid appearing bodies are anything but solid at the subatomic level. They are mostly empty space—and if that is so, what might we be able to do with them that we thought we could not?

Walk over hot coals? Pass through a wall? Travel great distances in the blink of an eye? Consider what you have resigned yourself to in your life? Is it just a reality to be endured or is it an essence-created test—an initiatory challenge to motivate you to move beyond it?

Examine your feelings about your fate closely. Is there grief? Is there anger and bitterness—perhaps resentment? These emotions can be clues to your fatalism about certain aspects of your life. Who are you trying to punish with your victim stance? Who are you trying to prove wrong or right in the matter?

If you wish, go back and choose a current situation where you feel you are stuck and do the process again.

This process is just one I’ve learned over the years as I’ve sought out extraordinary healers across the globe. I’ve had terrifying, enlightening, and at times hugely entertaining adventures. Power can destroy us or it can raise us up by teaching us and nourishing us. I may not be a master, but I have learned a few things that you may find helpful on your own quest. I share all of this in my new book, Encounters with Power: Adventures and Misadventures on the Shamanic Path of Healing.

Warm wishes to you on your path,

José Luis Stevens