"So, you are saying that just by being here I'm automatically committing to this for the rest of my life?" Amber asked, showing a look of confusion and urgency on her delicate face as she faced the teacher and the rest of the group.

The energy of the space shifted into nervousness as they all faced the teacher, awaiting anxiously for her reply.

"It's not like that," Simone replied and laughed lightheartedly. She could perceive the concern flooding the eyes of the thirteen women gathered in a circle around her.

"Shamanism is the energy medicine of the Americas — the medicine that has healed humans for thousands of years before hospitals and pharmaceuticals even existed. Through the path of shamanism, you will all receive great wisdom. You will remember where your soul came from, what it has gone through, and what your mission is here. You will awaken your psychic powers, intuitive abilities, and connection to the universe around you. As you do that, it will be natural for you to stay in the shamanic path, because it's very likely you'll love it." She spoke politely as she sat cross-legged on the floor near the group altar, which was filled with colorful healing crystals, feathers, and sacred items of all sorts.

"I honestly don't know what I'm getting myself into. I have to admit it makes me really nervous to initiate something I might later regret," Amber shared with the group with complete vulnerability. The trees around the circle danced alongside the afternoon breeze, and the golden glow of a beautiful Panamanian sunset embraced the whole space. The grass was lush, flowers were abundant, and the smoke of sweet-scented incense filled the air.

"I was drawn here with a longing for something — something I can't even explain. I have lived my life with a burning sensation in my heart the whole time. It feels like I'm missing something. I've been waiting for anything or anyone to answer all my questions, waiting to remember something I have forgotten." A few tears began to flow down Amber's cheeks. She immediately dried them with her hands.

The group looked at her compassionately. Her wavy brown hair covered her shoulders and forehead. Her tiny nose was red, and her big green eyes were filled with tears she clearly didn't expect. There was beauty in her pain. There was a sincere sense of truth within her that everyone could acknowledge.

"I think we need more information about this, Simone. It seems like we are completely unaware of what the commitment is for this journey," Silvia, one of the thirteen women in the group, politely demanded. Silvia was a dark-skinned beauty in her forties who seemed outgoing and friendly.

"Through the following year, you will all embark on spiritual journeys that will expose all your shadows for healing to occur. You and your life as you know it now will be transformed. You will be reborn into a whole new being — one closer to the will of the universe and of God. You will be tested. You will be pushed beyond all your known limits. You will earn the right to develop great power and use it to fulfill your life mission consciously. You will be an instrument for the healing of all living beings. Throughout the year, you will receive tools; you will tap into a source of unlimited power. You will become a shaman," Simone said with a crooked smile.

"How can we know if this path is the right one for us? What if we're not ready? What if we don't like it?" Amber asked.

"You are here, aren't you? You are the youngest of the group, Amber. Don't you think that means something? At this point in your life, you are ready to receive this wisdom. Otherwise, the universe wouldn't have conspired to bring you here in the first place." Simone smiled gently with a loving look in her eyes.

"Many are called to this path; few will be chosen." Simone spoke mysteriously again after a few seconds.

"Chosen for what?" asked Victoria suspiciously as she accommodated her pixie-like black hair and turned her face to the side, looking doubtful.

"You won't understand until you are indeed chosen," answered Simone, standing up and abandoning the conversation respectfully. She didn't seem interested in providing the group with more information. "Let's take a break, shall we?"

Confused gazes were shared among all the students as they realized none of them knew entirely what they were signing up for. They did know it was a yearlong course in which the group would get together at retreats every three months. They would be taught how to perform healing therapies, but they would apparently go through a whole lot more.

The group dissolved, but Amber and Victoria remained seated in their spots.

"What do you think about this?" Victoria whispered to Amber, seeking comfort in her answer. Victoria felt a little embarrassed to have dragged Amber into something she wasn't well informed about and that they could regret.

Victoria was very thin. She had pale skin and colorful spiritual symbols tattooed all over her arms. Amber seemed way more delicate and feminine. They had met years earlier at a coffee shop where Amber used to write her novels, and they instantly became close friends.

"I mean, I don't know. We are already here. The teacher, Simone, seems nice and sweet. I don't think we would fall into something sketchy or anything. What do you think?" Amber gazed into the sun fading under the mountains.

They were all staying at an old house a few hours from the city. The house was large, and it looked like it had been beautiful a few years back. The walls were painted white, and every exterior corner was adorned with different plants, flowers, hanging trees, and shrubs. It was in a beautiful mountainous area far enough to feel completely secluded.

"I mean, you know I would be interested in any kind of spiritual course that comes my way. You, on the other hand ... Let's just say I know how out there this seems for you, and I would totally understand if you wished to leave," Victoria said in a loving and protecting voice, characteristic of an older sister even though they were just friends.

"Just because I haven't found my thing doesn't mean I'm not looking." Amber laughed, but her big green eyes glared at Victoria. "I've always been intrigued by spirituality; you know that. I just feel a little bit intimidated by shamanism. I feel like once I remember whatever it is I feel I forgot, nothing will ever be the same, you know?"

"No, I don't." Victoria laughed. "Does it matter? Let's just stay, and if it gets too weird, we can just drop out and never come back."

"Fine." Amber laughed, in awe of how Victoria always seemed to drag her into the most ridiculous scenarios.

They spent some moments in silence, enjoying the fresh weather. The night crept in, and it started getting a bit colder. The stars began to appear above the women, who were forming a circle again on the grass. All the women seemed refreshed and relaxed. The moment of tension had passed.

"We only have three more days to go, people. We need to continue covering the material. If anyone feels uncomfortable, please feel free to go," Simone said, inviting them all to reconsider the seriousness of the path they were choosing. "If you choose to leave, please do so before tomorrow's initiation ritual."

"I'm so exhausted, I can't even see straight," complained Victoria as she unfolded clean blankets over the mattress. "I smell like barbecue."

"I know. Today was a crazy day. I can't believe how late it is and how early we need to wake up tomorrow." Amber allowed her fatigue to be sensed on every word. "I kind of enjoyed today, though. Loved the sacred fire — minus the barbecue smell. Learning about chakras was interesting, and starting to perceive energy was cool too. I guess I still find it interesting that everyone can develop these intuitive abilities. For some reason, I always thought you needed to be born with these gifts. I was relieved to know it's just a matter of developing the intuitive gifts we're all born with," Amber rambled, speaking mostly to herself.

"So that ritual thing?" Victoria asked while removing the dark eyeliner she used during the day in front of the bathroom mirror.

"Yeah, what's up with that? I wonder what that's going to be like. Hope we don't wind up in a crazy animal sacrifice extravaganza. Can you imagine? We need an escape plan." Amber said, in between humor and honest worry. "Although Simone seems so sweet, I don't think she would be into that kind of crazy stuff. I admire how much she knows about spirituality. It's like she has an answer for everything, and everything she says makes sense to me. You know?" Amber smiled.

The house where the course took place had plenty of bedrooms. All the students were assigned different rooms, and luckily enough, Amber and Victoria had a room to themselves with an indoor bathroom. Something about the house felt dark, though. They couldn't yet understand why it felt that way.

The beds were old, and the white paint on the walls was falling off on every spot in sight. The white luminescent lamps made it feel constricting, but they were too exhausted to mind. They showered and got into bed as soon as possible. Victoria felt her body heavy as a log and fell asleep instantly. Amber spent about a half hour writing in her journal about the experiences she lived throughout the day.

Today was awesome. I can't seem to grasp what is happening, but I feel like this will be the answer to questions I didn't even know I had. Simone will teach us how to heal others. How to help people with depression, anxiety, and all sorts of disorders. I felt such a profound joy in my heart. I'm sick of living in pain and seeing those around me struggle. I'm tired of carrying around such a heavy heart. My heart feels so heavy with a sense of grief I can't understand. I have no idea how I wound up here, but it's beginning to look like the exact place I would want to be. Simone said today that we will be working with spirits. That word terrifies me. I'm not sure what she means. She mentioned animal spirits as well. That sounds all right, but I wonder if she means we will be working with ghosts and stuff like that at some point. Can you imagine?

Amber held that thought for a while, feeling creeped out by the possibility.

Amber woke up abruptly as she heard the loud noise of the drums Simone was playing outside of their bedroom.

"Geez, what time is it?" Amber dragged her tired body out of bed and opened the door to find Simone with a wide smile and a lot of energy, beating a drum she held in her hand as she walked around the house waking all the others up. She was dressed in a long, colorful skirt and a spaghetti strap top.

"Time to wake up, Vic." Amber touched Victoria's feet gently.

Victoria dragged herself to a sitting position, her short dark hair was a mess, and she still had traces of the eyeliner from the day before.

Victoria was a bit of a rebel at heart. She was a skinny, tiny, twenty-eight-year-old astrologer who looked like a punk rock superstar. The tattoos on both of her muscular arms exposed how studied she was regarding spirituality. Symbols, sacred geometry images, and mandalas covered her arms like colorful sleeves. Her features were beautiful and her face delicate, yet the chin and eyebrow piercings she wore made her look like a badass. She was sweet and patient. Although whenever she got upset, you wouldn't want to be around.

Amber got into the shower quickly before she could think about how exhausted she still felt. Victoria started gathering her clothes over the bed; her body went through the motions, while her mind felt numb. When they were both ready, they rushed over to the study area outdoors. The group was already gathered, the eleven ladies sitting crossed-legged in a circle, awaiting just them. The group would gather over a spacious piece of land surrounded by beautiful ancient trees. All of them were ready with their notebooks and materials in hand, sitting over differently colored yoga mats and fabrics. They were all ready and excited to start the day, despite the dark bags under their eyes.

Amber and Victoria were just beginning to get to know the other ladies. They remembered Silvia from the previous day, the dark-skinned beauty with the warrior-like energy that helped them ask the right questions at the right time. The other names remained foggy in their minds.

Hours went by as they learned healing techniques, ancient wisdom, and sacred secrets from shamanic cultures from all over the world. Every minute that passed felt eye-opening and completely fulfilling to them. The magical lessons learned promised to change their lives dramatically. The way they all saw the world around them would be completely different now.

"Can you believe the things we're learning? Vic, this explains everything," Amber whispered in awe. "I felt it — the healing. I felt tons of negative energy pouring out of me, and I feel lighter than ever now."

"I know! I'm actually really impressed, I have to admit these concepts resonate with me so much deeper than many other spiritual paths I have explored. I felt different too, Amber. I really did. I had been holding on to so much pain I didn't even know." Victoria looked genuinely surprised as she faced Amber, whispering.

A sense of hope carried them through as they wondered how much they could possibly learn over a year if the second day felt this incredible.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Vic. I have to admit you did good on this one," Amber said wholeheartedly.

"I'm pleasantly surprised." She looked impressed.

"I love you, little grasshopper." Victoria laughed.

They were both interrupted by Simone.

"Girls, you may want to pay attention to this," Simone said gently. "We are doing a lot of energy work. Every time we prepare the space for healing through the Sacred Space prayer, every time we encounter patients, and every time we explore our shadows we are using a lot of energy we are not used to using regularly. Every few hours, whenever you are feeling depleted and drained, have a spoonful of this mix."

"What is it?" Marie, another one of the ladies, widened her big blue eyes with a smile, showing how curious she felt as she leaned over to look. Marie was the oldest one from the bunch but looked young, inside a suntanned and healthy-looking body. She had long grey hair that went all the way down to her hips. She had freckles all over her face, and you could immediately tell, she was a very, very wise soul.

"Ginger and honey?" she asked with her mouth still full of the spicy mix. She moved her hands back and forth trying to ease the spice as she laughed, realizing she had way too much.

The group laughed and waited one by one for the mix to get to them.

"It is really important you guys drink a lot of water as well. The things we are doing here, your bodies are not used to. We are pushing the limits of our human experience, and if you don't take care of yourselves, you won't make it to the ritual tonight," Simone explained.

"Could you explain to us a little bit more about that?" Victoria grabbed her notebook in hand to take some notes.

"Absolutely." Simone smiled encouraging others to grab their notebooks as well. "You will all be receiving eight of the nine Munay-Ki rites available to humanity now. These are rites of passage that will individually contribute to your evolution into a Homo Luminous being, gently transforming you, one rite at a time, into becoming your most elevated self. These rites were initially shared by the Q'ero shamans from Peru. They are meant to be shared to allow humanity to evolve out of the troubled times the world is experiencing. They are all a gift from the heavens that encourage our evolution and ascension.

"Well, each of them will be transmitted energetically into your system, like seeds. It will be your responsibility to nurture those seeds in order for them to become all they can be. You will receive rites for protection, which will represent a sort of armor for you. You will also receive rites that will increase, awaken, and empower your psychic, clairvoyant, and mediumship abilities, allowing you to clearly perceive the world of spirit." Simone shared slowly, making sure no one felt lost in her explanations. After realizing everyone was following her, she continued.