“ 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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