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www.shamansociety.org19so.Ratheritisabouthelpinghimtorealizethathehimselfcancontributetohishealing.Iamonlyhelpingtofindhiswaytothosepowersthenfacilitatingintheirunfoldingandstrength-ening.Thereforethepsychotherapist-shamanputsherselfinadifferentpositiontothatwhichtraditionalshamansheld.Ialsobelievethatapsychotherapist-shamancanonlyactauthenticallywhenhehimselfhasexperiencedthisprocessoftransformationandhealingincollaborationwiththehelpingspirits.Thisadditionalspiritualdimensionnotonlymeansthatyouarebringinginanewapproachforthepatientbutthatyouyourselfareinconnectionwiththesource.WouldyoushareafewcasestudiesBalinthadcoloncancer.Hewasayoungprofessoratauni-versitywithwhomIwasworkinginapsychoanalyticalthera-peuticsetting.Weworkedalotwithinterpretinghisdreamsanddealingwithhisemotions.Balintwroteextensivelywhichhelpedhimtoprocesshisproblems.Thecoloncancerrecededandhebecamesymptom-free.Weendedtherapy.CriticalareaswhichstillneededtobeaddressedwereclearbutBalintdecidedtobuilduphisnewhealthylifefirst.Imethimseveraltimesafterwardswhenhecameforcontrolvisits.Hefeltveryhappythatherecoveredandtoldmewhatturnshislifehadmadeandwhatwerethemostdifficultchangestobeimplemented.Threeyearslatercancerknockedonhisdooragainnotcoloncancerrecurringbutanewprimarytumor.Itwasahighlymalignanttypeandtheprognosiswasbad.Whenwemetandhetoldmethediagnosishewascompletelydesperate.Hedidnotunderstandwhythiswashappening.Hehadmadesomanychangestohislifeandhedidsomuchinordertoremainhealthy.Hewasalsodisappointedwithhimself.Wedecidedthatthistimewewouldworkdifferentlyinawaythatwouldallowhimtoconnectmoredeeplyandonmultiplelevelstohisinnerworld.Balintthoughtthatheknewwhatthemajorobstaclesinhisself-actualizationwereandwhyhecouldnotmakecertainchangesrecentlyandmoveforward.Thereforeheacceptedshamaniccounselingthenewmethodeasily.Ouraimwastoimprovehischancesforlivingandtoremovetheblocksthatwereinthewayofhishealingandtransformation.Balinthadthreesmallchildren.Hewasdeeplyconcernedwithhowhecouldsharethemostofhislifeexperienceshelptheirwayandgivethemthestrongestimprintofwhathislifehadbeen.Helearntshamanicjourneyingquickly.Hedrummedforhischildrenandhiswife.Thesesharedfamilyjourneysweregivingthemanopportunitytotunetoeachotherssoulsanddealwiththeirfearofloss.Balinthadbeautifuljourneys.Hehadthreespirithelpersinthelowerworldandtwoofthemtookanactivepartinhishealing.Oneofthemwasabear.InmostofthejourneysBearwasstandinginafireburningthemetastatictumorsfromhisliver.Henotonlyreceivedteachingsabouthowtodealwithpsychologicalissuesbuthewasgivendietaryandlifestyleadviseaswell.Foralonglongtimewehadgreatresults.Thenewcan-cerwasatumorinthepancreaswithlivermetastases.Shamanicjourneysandchemotreatmentswerehappeningduringthesameperiod.Balintgrewstrongermentallyandphysically.Hisrelationshipwithhiswifeandchildrenbecamemoreharmoni-ous.Asaresultofthetreatmentshistumorwasreceding.Balintstartedtorelax.Hestartedtofeelgoodagainhefeltoncemorethathewastakingcontrolofhislife.WhileBalintgrewstrongerandstrongerthefamilyhasalsorecoveredfromtheshockfromthenewcancer.Balintdecidedtogobacktoteachattheuniversityandatthesametimebecameengagedwiththeadvocacyofcancerpa-tients.Suddenlyhefeltthatwiththesupportofhisspirithelp-ershewascapableofeverything.Wemetlessandtheshamanicjourneysbecomelessfrequent.Hewasdealingwithsomanythings-andhadlesstimeforhimself.Suddenlyatonepointhishealthstoppedimprovinganditallturnedbackwards.Hewassetonthepathofaslowbutunstoppableprogressionoftheillness.ThenBalintcamebacktojourneyingagain.WhenhisconditiondeterioratedandhestartedtofeelweakerhewasnolongerastrongyoungNativeAmericanfigureinhisjourneysbutoneofskinandbones.Changehap-penedinhimspirituallyaswell.Hewaspreparingtoletgooflife.Hischildrenappearedmoreandmoreofteninhisjourneys.Sometimestheywerereceivingteachingstogetherothertimestheyappearedasasupportivepowerforhim.Hewasveryclosewithhisspirithelperswhoalsomadehimfamiliarwiththerealmofdeath.Hewasfearlessinhispreparationtoleavethelandoftheliving.Hefeltthestrongpresenceofhisspirithelpersevenintheverylastperiodofhislifewhenhewasun-abletojourneymore.DuringthistimeIbroughthimapoweranimalthatwouldhelphimgothroughthisphase.Wealsodidasoul-retrievalinordertosortoutremainingproblemsinhisrelationshipwithhisparents.OnoneoccasionwhenIvisitedhiminthehospitalIbroughthimastrangebluestone.Heuseditasapowerstone.Hiswifeandchildrenwerechargingitwithpowerforhimeveryday.Hehadthestoneuntiltheverylastmoment.Italkedtohim2daysbeforehisdeath.Hehadsaidgoodbyetohisfriendshehadthestrengthtotalktohischildrentotellthemhowhewillalwaysbearoundandlookafterthem.Whenhefinallylostconsciousnesshiswifewasdrummingforhimtohelphisjourneytotherealmofthedeadwhichhealreadyknewfromhisjourneys.Thiswasabeautifulbuttragicprocessforallinvolved.WiththehelpofhisspirithelpersBalinthadfinallygrownintohissituationandwalkedeverymomentconsciouslyonhispath.Ihadbigandnave-expectationstowardsshamanicwork.Ithoughtthatthosepeoplewhocanbepresenttotheirpro-cesseswhohavetheirpoweranimalsandspiritteachersaroundthemwillalwaysfindtheirway.Theywontfallillseriouslytheywontbecomedepressed.IrememberJonathantellingmeabouthisfirstclientwhowasacancerpatient.HetoldmehisclientdiedandIrememberbeingsodisappointed.HowcouldthathappenifJonathanandthespiritswereworkingwithhimHowcouldhehavediedWhiledeathisanaturalpartoflifewhenworkinginaplace