A fossilized, stone-hard bone sticks out from the ground. It is very heavy and difficult to remove. When it emerges from the earth, it magically becomes very long, light, and white. I am given the bone as a gift, for courage and equanimity in meeting the chaos and challenges of these times. My instructions are to focus on my perineum, tightening it and letting it vibrate, while I hold the white bone up to the sky vertically with my left arm.

When I imagine this practice, I notice how strong and grounded I feel with the perineum part: I must have been energetically leaving my body too much. I am surprised—that’s not my normal habit—and grateful for the clear (metaphorical) reminders:

• Heavy, dense energy (the stone/bone) is difficult to remove.
• Being grounded and reaching up towards the cosmos are essential for staying in balance.
• Lighter energy is transformative (reaching towards the sky with the white bone, that expansive realm of stars and multiverses, lightens everything).

Sami: Harmony with the Universe

With lovely synchronicity, this gift came to me when I’d been trying to write about sami, what my Q’ero teachers use to describe energy that comes from being in harmony with the universe.

I had been feeling imbalanced in my spiritual and energy body and—as I always do when trying to shift gears and figure something out—was writing to re-mind and re-articulate what I have been learning for 30 years.

Sami is high-frequency energy, the animating essence that feeds your luminous and physical body. It flows from reciprocity: to receive it, you must give to other humans, places, and beings.

But how can you give or receive any good energy when you are depleted, discouraged, and off center? How can you be grateful when you’re full of despair and grief? How can you be generous when you feel like your world has brown apart?

Not easy, right? Not even possible some days…

As the Q’ero tell us, worry causes heavy energy. Focusing on what’s wrong only makes you more anxious and upset. Yet, culturally, we’re habituated to feed our trauma-drama by repeating the sad or mad stories over and over. So how can you stop that pattern and shift gears?

Small Steps, One at a Time

My spirit helpers always remind me to take one step at a time.

They remind me of ebb and flow: whether it’s our power or our joy, our passion or our grief, all arise, then fall away. If you can be guided by that thought in the down times, you will find yourself in a different place!

Here are some of the best steps I know to regain your equanimity, courage, and harmony:

1. Start with the physical.
   If you take even 5 minutes to move your body, your breath and energy will flow differently. This is one small step! If you can take an hour, even better!
   Try yoga, qi gong, a good run, a swim, a hike in the forest, circling your house counterclockwise to release frustration and reconnect with the earth, or lying down in shivasana (a yogic relaxation pose) and consciously breathing long, slow breaths in and out. Try what you like to do, what relaxes you—and move your body and breath with the intent of letting go whatever weighs you down.
2. Work with sensory imagery and visualization.
   If you visualize a place you love, or play in the sensory realm of filling your body with light, you will calm your body, focus your mind, and feed your intent. These practices are key to moving and shifting your energy from heavy to light.
   In my years of developing and working with Energy Alchemy, I found that combining visualization with movement and breath help you bring your feelings, senses, ideas, and spirit closer together.
   I’ve recorded some short visualizations that really help. See my website and the Earth Caretakers Wisdom School. Of course there are zillions of short, guided visualizations you can download and use—find what works for you!
3. Get yourself outside!
   When you allow yourself to lie belly on the earth, sit with your back to a tree, or connect in any way with water or air, fire or earth and the nature around you, you will notice an immediate expansion. Just being in nature lets you get out of your “small self” and feel connected. The more connected you feel, the less importance your worries will have.
   I discovered this by accident when I was feeling very sad about the failure of a relationship. Every day when I got home from teaching I’d go hang out with an ancient oak. That oak kept showing me the long view—that in the scheme of things, my life would go on and I’d have other good relationships. While it was had to believe in the moment, communing with the oak made me feel better, so I kept doing it.
4. Consciously move and shift your energy.
   If you have spent time with a shaman, a healer, a spiritual teacher, or a ceremonialist, you may have felt that person’s radiance, joy, and equanimity. Those qualities come from long practice of being fluid and able to step easily between worlds, mastering energy movement, and shifting from one state to another with ease.
   The appeal of that kind of radiance 30 years ago drew me back to the Andes over and over to learn from their ancient wisdom. Weave the Heart of the Universe into Your Life guides you in using those tools and perceptions for opening your heart and living in your radiance, joy, and equanimity.
5. Expand your connections with ceremony, meditation, journey, and visioning.
   All these practices feed the energy of sami flowing in you. The more you engage with them, the more expansive, open-hearted, and numinous you will feel. You might experience sami as presence, potential, luminosity, or all of them.
   The paradox is that when you moments of peace, your challenge is to stay present; to experience, but not hold onto those moments or get attached. Let the sami flow from you and through you. As you integrate each small glimpse into your consciousness, it will slowly expand until you connect with the whole universe.

“Remember, world work, healing, and shamanic work all flow from sami” says my Q’ero teacher.