We drummed, we danced. I was waiting for the word. We're going to go to the Upper World. I was thrown completely off-balance. Just as I was ready to make my move, the rules were changing.
Some shamans rise up on the smoke from a fire.
Suddenly I knew where my takeoff place would be. I needed a bird, I thought. I would have to ask for help from a bird spirit. We laid down, and the drumming started. I was lying very close to the drum that morning, so close that the vibrations were running through the floor, through my body.