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www.shamansociety.org 41 Lenore I cant wait either In the sum- mer of 2011 I moved to Oakland to set about bringing it into production. And then the Occupy Wall Street movement began and I was powerfully drawn to it. Jonathan Of course you were There was a lot going on in Oakland too wasnt there Lenore Yes. It was huge. I started get- ting involved. I wrote about it from a shamanic perspective held a teleseminar and did a Tuesday Morning Conversation with Christina Pratt. But I saw the writ- ing on the wall Lenore if you get involved in this AMERICAN UBUNTU never will be made. I feel that making that choice to hold back from getting deeply involved in Occupy and keep a clear focus on the filmhas served well. Jonathan Thats a really good point how important it is to be really present and aware of your role in a given situa- tion. So there were all these temptations but you kept your focus throughout. I think focus is something that we can lose very quickly and easily. In closing would you tell us a little about AMERI- CAN UBUNTU You call it a healing story for the USA. What does ubuntu mean Lenore Ubuntu is a Zulu word. It means I am what I am because of who we all are. In the story I apply this to the very diverse country the USA is today Ameri- cans are what we are because of who we all are. Jonathan Thats a very powerful and important statement in a country so split as the U.S. is today. Lenore It is truly a shamanic tale of our times. One of the main characters is in the ancestral realm. The script has won an award and at this point Im looking for a professional producer. Ive always known this film would be made through a groundswell of support from the sha- manic and spiritual activist communities. Jonathan For me what you have been talking about is what I see as the role of the shamanic activist to bring healing to our world with the help of the spirits liv- ing the teachings they give us following the path they show us. Thank you for do- ing that. Its been inspiring. About the Authors Lenore Norrgard is a teacher of shamanism a writer filmmaker and a shamanic activist. She resides presently in Oakland California. If any readers of this article are inspired to help in any way with the production of American Ubuntu please contact her at lenoreamericanubuntu. com or 415 671-5864 in the U.S. Jonathan Horwitz is the European editor of the Journal of Contemporary Shamanism. He is co-founder of the Scandinavian Center for Shamanic Studies and a teacher of shamanism for more than twenty-five years. He lives in Sweden and can be contacted at jonathanshamanism.dk.