Day 102 - From a Student of Shaman Elder Maggie to you

i have been a student of shaman elder maggie's now for over 2 years.  i would say that what i've learned is that however my practice is going, as long as i'm doing my best and emailing shaman maggie the answers to her questions and everything i'm going through, plus practicing the lessons throughout my day, i have been in the right place at the right time.  i have thought i was 'falling behind' or 'not getting it' in the past and i still do that sometimes still to this day, but i remember again and again that she has told me that this is not a school course where you will 'get it' and 'get the grade' and i remember that when i feel i am doing the same thing again and again, sometimes without what i think is 'success', but guess what? i find out later that it was teaching me a lesson that i wanted to learn that will help me walk this path. 
just the other day, shaman elder maggie told me to review lesson 1 of the 101 course again! lol... why?  because i asked a silly question that i should certainly by now have known the answer to.. you know what i did? i joyfully read the lesson again and laughed at myself and found joy in reading it again with new eyes!  i've learned to surrender and trust in her guidance and the teachings and release control about how i think it 'should go' or what 'moving forward is' vs. 'moving backward'... if i think about my practice walking this path with shaman maggie and how i've felt most of the time... i would say i've mostly felt like i'm moving backwards and that's how i've learned so much about myself and healed myself and supported others too... by going backwards ALOT!  i don't know if this helps reassure you at all, but it will at least let you know  you are not alone. 
one more thing, the way i explain my practice walking this path with shaman elder maggie is like the karate kid in the movie where he wants to learn karate so mr.miyagi tells him to wax the car, then he waxes the car and thinks he'll get to learn karate next, but then mr.miyagi says sand the floor, and he sands the floor and can't wait until he's done so he can learn karate, then mr.miyagi says paint the fence, and he's a little frustrated and mad at first because he doesn't want to wax cars, or sand the floor or paint the fence, he wants to learn karate already!!... but what happens?  in the end, he realized he was learning karate all along... this is my experience of walking the path of shamanism learning how to practice in the way that shaman elder maggie's grandmother taught her... sometimes it feels like you 'just want to get on to the next lesson and learn shamanism'... but when you look back on everything you've done, practiced, learned, tried, and failed, you have a shamanic experience that you can bring into your life... and that is the best I can say to myself, you and others walking this path... and that's also how i share with people i my life who don't understand what i'm doing and why I email and talk about shaman elder maggie so much... i share with them the story about the karate kid and i say... i am the karate kid and shaman elder maggie is like mr.miyagi and they usually get it and i do too... at least for a moment. - Kristine Castro

If you want to learn with Shaman Maggie the ancient teachings of her own family lineage go to http://www.shamanelder.com/ and sign up  to get started today!