I’m sitting here in my living room trying to make sure our 10 week old puppy doesn’t mess on the floor and contemplating the strange nature of my life. Less than two hours ago I got off the phone with an adjustment councilor of a upper class elementary school. This coming Monday I’ll go out to their school and consult with a young boy’s teachers and aide about managing his Tourette in the classroom. What is surreal is that less than 24hrs after I do that I’ll be in the back field of a friend’s farm undergoing the 3rd ordeal in the course of a four ordeal shamanic cycle. Unlike my previous two ordeals, one oriented around the element of Fire, the other around Water, I do not know what this ordeal will entail. Each of the ordeals has some form of strong traditional element (no pun intended) to it, as this ordeal is part of the initiatory tradition, and as such is being administered by another spirit worker. Given that he is a self-identified sadist, I think it is fair to say that the experience will suck. Also, it is likely to last about three days.