Excerpt from “Shaman Stone Soup”

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Our Greatest Strength

“Ask not the sparrow how the eagle soars, for those with little wings have not accepted for themselves the power to share with you.” — A Course in Miracles

One spring morning, I looked out the window to watch the world come alive. A crow appeared that was being chased by smaller birds. He descended and then rose again, dodging the smaller birds as he flew out of sight.

The scenario helped demonstrate that our greatest strength can often become a burden. The larger bird was attacked because of his strength. But, unlike the crow that understood the smaller birds were afraid and attacked out of fear, most people are out of touch with their strengths.

The day before, a young man named “Steven” had come for a healing, escorted by his father. Although still in high school, he was suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness, possibly schizophrenia or clinical depression.

He sat across from me, not understanding why he felt this way or what to do about it. I began to explain to him that I believed that people who have schizophrenia are really gifted with the ability to connect with spirits—a very powerful tool for a shaman who understands his gift and uses it wisely to connect to divine spirits. But if a person doesn’t understand this gift, they can become overwhelmed by negative spirits who infiltrate their thoughts. Over time, the person becomes worn down and starts to believe that the negative thoughts are his own. The schizophrenic is like a crow that doesn’t know that he is larger and stronger.

During this young man’s healing, it was revealed that he was once a powerful shaman in a previous life—but a shaman who had become consumed with his own power and misused it toward the end.

The young man still held these tremendous powers, but didn’t yet realize it. The negative spirits could see his gift and were attacking him before he could remember his power and soar.

Steven’s healing consisted of learning the circumstances of his past and its effects on his current life, as well as forgiveness for his previous transgressions. He was also given a message from the Spirit to be careful not to commit the same error in this lifetime.

He began to understand his life-long attraction to spiritual matters and his love of the book series, Conversations with God, by Neale Donald Walsch, as well as his potential to become a great spiritual leader.

The negative spirits that had attached themselves to him were removed and angels agreed to help prevent negative forces from contacting him. I spoke to him about how he would not be happy with a 9-to-5 job and needed a career that would let him express his spiritual nature to help others. He could shamanic journey or use whatever method resonated with him to connect to the divine spirits. It was now time for him to explore his power and come into his strength.

Four months later, Steven informed me that he had successfully gone off of his depression medication and was feeling noticeably better. The healing had lifted a burden that he couldn’t seem to shake earlier by himself. He now plans to pursue a shamanistic path.

Message from the Spirit

A distant thought emerges and you let it take the lead. You follow it back to your true self and find that the messages you had been hearing were simply distortions of the world echoing between the realities.

Shaman Elizabeth Herrera is a healer whose life has been filled with miracles. She is dedicated to helping others believe that miracles are possible and encouraging them to accept these wondrous gifts for themselves. She studied shamanic journeying, soul retrieval, and death and dying through the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, but her major source of learning has been from the Spirit, who offers limitless guidance and lessons on living a spiritual life. She combines her shamanic practice with the teachings of A Course in Miracles. She provides in-person and distant shamanic healing, spiritual counseling, and teaches shamanic journeying. For more information, visit www.ShamanElizabeth.com

Shaman Stone Soup melds shamanism, A Course in Miracles, spirituality, religion, and even lack of faith, into a collection of delicious tales that offer a multi-faceted view of how miracles can occur. www.ShamanStoneSoup.com