“ Oh , they don ' t play with them properly .... they would want to bash them together or step on them ... things like that .”
“ But isn ' t that what the army men are for ?”
I looked at my mom with pity ; I picked up a marching German soldier from my toy box and held him in the palm of my hand . “ This man ' s name is Randalph . He is a farmer from Southern Austria , near the Swiss border . He makes cheese and is married with three children .”
Mom gave me her slow , owl like blink .
I picked up another soldier . This one an American ; “ This is Joe . He worked as a soda jerk in Philadelphia and when he returns home , he wants to be a pharmacist . He is engaged to a girl named Susan ....”
Years later , I learned that this is Shamanism .
In Shamanism , we believe that everything contains spirit , everything has life in it , everything has a soul .
This is seen in rocks , trees , clouds , rain ... and for a six year old boy , his army men .
I was always a silent child , an observer . I was always polite , respectful and followed directions . Inside , I was very attuned to the world around me ; I could sense people and their feelings .
I would silently apologize to the lawn before stepping on it ; I could touch a tree and hear it speak ; I saw things before they would happen and could send out “ feelers ” to anyone I wanted to so I could see how they were doing . I also listened when my “ feelers ” became active .
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