For those of us who are really sensitive and empathic -- has this ever happened to you? You knew before the phone rang. Maybe it was a feeling in your stomach. Maybe you dreamed it. Maybe you just looked at someone and knew something was wrong, and two weeks later it was confirmed. And what did you do with that knowing? Did You bury it? Did you tell yourself it was a coincidence? Maybe you shrugged it off, because saying it out loud felt dramatic. Or worse, crazy. Years of that. Years of sensing things in rooms before anyone spoke. Years of feeling a friend's grief in your own chest. Years of telling yourself, I am imagining this. It is all made up. You were not imagining it. Here is what was actually happening. You were practicing awareness. Long before you had a name for it. Long before anyone taught you what to do with it. Without training, that kind of awareness feels chaotic. It feels like a curse. You absorb everyone's pain and you cannot tell where yours ends and theirs begins. With training, that exact same awareness becomes one of the most powerful healing tools there is. Same gift. Different outcome. The difference is training. The difference is trust. In the traditions shared here, the people who knew things they could not explain were never told to stop imagining things. They were given a path. A teacher. A practice. You were just never given that path. Until now. So here is a small piece of the work . Take a notebook and answer these honestly. ➡️When have you sensed something in a room others did not notice? ➡️When have people come to you, again and again, just to be heard? ➡️When have you known something before it was confirmed? ➡️When have you felt someone else's pain in your own body? Write it all down. Don't edit. Don't minimize. Then read it back. You're not reading a list of strange coincidences. You are reading the record of a healer in training. This work here is for your development so you can trust your intuition, and learn how to use the awareness for helping others. That's the part where the shaman's journey will be most beneficial. Having that tool to use for those times when you need more guidance and input from the spirit world.

This path has stages. Knowing yours changes everything. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲, the unaware sensitive. Feeling everything, calling it anxiety, calling yourself broken. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼, the awakened. You have the new story. Not broken, unprotected. Recognition has happened. Training has not. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲, the student. Daily practice exists. Grounding, releasing, boundaries. Wobbly but real. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿, the steady one. The practices hold under pressure. People start noticing something different about you in a crisis. This is where the gift comes out of storage. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲, the one who serves. Close to home first. The gift has a container, a discipline, and a direction. Beyond that, the ones called to it train others. That is its own road. Two things about these stages. You cannot skip one. Every stage builds the floor of the next. And no stage is embarrassing. The unaware sensitive is not beneath the one who serves. They are the same person at different mile markers. I have stood at every one of them. Which stage are you in, honestly? Post the number. Then find someone in the comments one stage behind you and leave them one encouraging sentence. That is how a community walks.

You found the path. And your family thinks you found a phase. I remember this happening to me many years ago. Some of you get jokes at the dinner table. Some get worry dressed up as concern. Some get silence, which is its own answer. It hurts. Especially because the sensitive one usually turned to this work to heal wounds that started at that same table. A few things to hold as you continue to walk the path you've chosen. You do not need their understanding to walk. Understanding is a gift when it comes. It is not a permit. Do not make them your audience. The fastest way to poison this work is performing it for skeptics, hoping to finally be seen. Your practice is not a case you are building. Let the results speak on your behalf. Calm where there used to be flooding. Boundaries where there used to be collapse. Steadiness in a crisis. Families ignore explanations. They notice change. In many families, you are the one who turned around. Of course the ones still walking the other way find it strange. You are moving against a current that took generations to build. Walk anyway. Who else is walking this path without family understanding? You are not the only one. This thread is proof.

Over the past several months, I’ve been paying attention—not only to how many people are here, but to what actually helps people change. The grounding practices matter. The healing audios matter. And there is a particular shift that happens when someone completes a shamanic journey and realizes, “I can actually do this.” I don’t want this to be another place where we just collect spiritual information. I want it to be a place where we practice what’s needed: grounding, discernment, direct experience and integration. Around the Spring Equinox, I began changing the direction of this community. As we approach the Fall Equinox, I am ready for the next step. The Shaman's Journey is becoming a more focused and committed spiritual practice community. I will share more in the days ahead. Drop One word that describes what you want most from a spiritual practice.

Don't forget to sign up for the Free workshop - "Calling In Spirit" on Wednesday, Sept 16th. Use this link to get on the list: https://www.anthonyrioshealing.net/d9f2fa92 "𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁 - 𝗔 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿" on Wednesday, Sept 16th at 11:00 am central time. ✅You Don't Need Years of Spiritual Training to Take Your First Shamanic Journey ✅You just need to know how to begin. No experience necessary. In this workshop you'll learn everything you need to take your own shaman's journey and meet your personal animal spirit, what we call our helping spirit. I'll teach you the simple way to connect - and then we'll take the journey together. 💜Come experience a beautiful connection with Spirit!