There's a moment I keep coming back to when I think about why I do this work. It was summer 2016 in Albuquerque. I was at the University of New Mexico for a two-week program on traditional Curanderismo healing practices. Walking into that first classroom, I wasn't sure what I expected. Then I walked past a table covered in herbs, oils, incense and small glass bottles. And I stopped, held my breath, then exhaled for a second, then breathed in the scents of the table. My grandmother's house came back to me. The smell of it. The sounds. My cousins and my brother and me as children watching the adults do the things their parents had taught them. Healing practices that were just part of how our family lived. How our people had always lived. I had been practicing healing for a couple of years by then. But I had been doing it quietly. Still convincing myself I needed more before I could really show up. That table showed me something I hadn't been able to see on my own. That table remembered me. The healing I was reaching toward was never outside me. It had been inside me my whole life. In my blood, in my family, in traditions that go back thousands of years. I wasn't discovering something new. I was returning to something old. And belonging, which had always felt like something I had to go find and earn and prove, was never out there either. It had always been inside, waiting for me to stop running from it. This is the story I want to start telling here, how I came back to myself, and what that made possible. I'd love to know: is there something in your own lineage, your own history, your own body, that you've been circling around but not quite claiming? Drop it in the comments. This community is a safe place to name it.

Common Misconceptions About Shamanism Let's clear up some confusion: "You have to be indigenous to practice shamanism" - While respecting indigenous traditions is essential, the foundational shamanic practices of journeying and spirit relationship are human birthright practices. Cultural appropriation is taking credit for specific indigenous traditions; shamanic journeying is a universal human capacity. "Shamanism requires plant medicines" - Most shamanic traditions use drumming, rattling, or chanting to enter journey state. Plant medicine can be powerful but isn't necessary or appropriate for everyone. "Shamans are special or chosen" - Shamanic practitioners develop their capacity through practice and training. The gift is often there naturally (especially for empaths), but the skill is learned. "Shamanism is about escaping reality" - Real shamanic practice makes you MORE grounded and present, not less. It's about functioning effectively in both ordinary and non-ordinary reality. "It's all just imagination" - Journey experiences have consistent, verifiable elements across cultures and individuals. The healing results are measurable and practical. So much unreliable information about shamanism and it leaves people confused. Taking the time to understand these misconceptions and follow up by learning some unviersal truths about the shaman's journey will help you as you begin your practice.

Weekly Practice March 8-14 This week's practice goes to the core of who you are as a healer, as a grounded seeker. This week - complete as many healing offerings as you can with your healing modality. And if there's a new healing method you've been wanting to try out - do that, too! Remember, you do not need permission. You have named your gift and you have claimed your gift. You are a grounded seeker who knows what to do to help people. And if you need help or guidance - ASK for it. Comment and share what you offered and how you feel after the session or sessions. This is a way to get in touch with that healer inside of you who is ready to be out in the world getting on with the business of healing.

It'simportant to know that healing isn't linear, and you're not failing because the healing journey takes time. You are peeling away decades of protection, one layer at a time. That's the work. Each layer served you once. Honor it as you release it. There's no deadline for becoming whole. Remember, You won't ever be "done" healing, and that's not a problem—it's the human experience. Every layer you unpack reveals new depth, new strength, new wisdom. You're not broken because the work continues. You're alive because you keep showing up for it.

Is it Five years of healing? Ten years? Longer? However long it takes is exactly how long it needed to take. You're not behind. You're uncovering protection mechanisms built over a lifetime. Give yourself the grace you'd give anyone on this profound journey. Some days you'll feel strong. Other days you'll discover a new wound you didn't know existed. Both are part of healing. The difference now? You're not fragile anymore. You're resilient enough to look at what you once had to bury to survive.