ABOUT THIS EPISODE
LightSong School of 21st-Century Shamanism and Energy Medicine Talking Stick Podcast
Raise Your Vibration: How Your Thoughts, Words, and Beliefs Shape Your Health and Life
Can your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs influence your physical health?
In this thought-provoking episode, Jan Engels-Smith and Micah Schwader explore the relationship between consciousness, energy, and well-being through the lens of shamanism, personal experience, and everyday life. They examine how the frequencies we embody—through our thoughts, emotions, words, and beliefs—may affect not only our emotional state but also our physical health, relationships, and the experiences we attract.
The conversation begins with a simple story: a friend experiencing high blood pressure after suppressing difficult conversations at work. What initially appeared to be stress caused by someone else revealed a deeper truth—the body's response wasn't to the external situation, but to the internal resistance of avoiding it.
From there, Jan and Micah discuss the shamanic perspective that illness often begins as an energetic imbalance long before it manifests physically. Rather than viewing symptoms as isolated problems, they invite listeners to see the body as a messenger, constantly communicating where healing, honesty, or change may be needed.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- How your body reflects emotional and energetic patterns
- The difference between repression and genuine acceptance
- Why words carry energetic power that shapes how we feel
- How childhood labels and beliefs continue influencing adult life
- The connection between vibration, manifestation, and daily experiences
- Practical ways to raise your personal frequency through gratitude, awareness, and intentional thinking
- Why your response to life's challenges matters more than the challenges themselves
- How changing your beliefs can begin changing your reality
- Stories of healing, resilience, and unexpected transformation through mindset shifts
- Simple daily practices that can help cultivate greater joy, peace, and well-being
Micah shares personal stories about recognizing when his own body signaled misalignment, including becoming physically ill before attending a class that conflicted with his deeper values. He also reflects on remarkable experiences of "parking karma," effortless travel, and unexpected synchronicities that emerged when approaching life with optimism and positive expectation.
Jan introduces practical exercises for maintaining a higher vibration, including creating a daily list of high-frequency words, keeping a gratitude journal, and paying close attention to the beliefs that quietly govern our lives. Together they emphasize a recurring theme throughout the podcast: beliefs are choices, and changing those choices begins by becoming aware of them.
The episode also explores inspiring stories of people who faced serious illness by changing their outlook on life—including an author who lived nine years with Stage 4 lung cancer after transforming her relationships, priorities, environment, and inner world, as well as discussions of the work of physicians who integrate mindset and healing into their approach to medicine.
Whether you view these ideas through a spiritual, psychological, or personal growth lens, this conversation offers practical insights into becoming more conscious of the energy you bring into every interaction—and how small shifts in awareness may create profound changes over time.
Ultimately, Jan and Micah leave listeners with a simple but powerful reminder: If you want your life to change, begin by changing your vibration.
About Jan Engels-Smith
Jan Engels-Smith is a shamanic practitioner, teacher, and founder of the LightSong School of 21st Century Shamanism and Energy Medicine. For more than three decades, she has trained practitioners around the world in shamanic healing, energy medicine, and spiritual development. Her teachings emphasize personal empowerment, direct spiritual experience, and practical tools for living with greater awareness and vitality.
About Micah Schwader
Micah Schwader is a transformational writing coach, editor, publisher, shamanic life coach, and author of Stumbling Into Grace. Through storytelling, coaching, and spiritual practice, he helps people reconnect with their authentic voice, navigate life's transitions, and transform personal experiences into wisdom. He is the founder of Inspired Life Publications and lives in the cloud forests of Costa Rica, where nature continually informs his work. Visit ShamanSezz.com for Micah's shamanic work.
