LightSong School of 21st-Century Shamanism and Energy Medicine Talking Stick Podcast
Inner Authority: Learning to Trust Yourself in an Uncertain World
Who—or what—is guiding your life?
In a world filled with competing opinions, social pressure, uncertainty, misinformation, and constant demands for your attention, it has never been more important to reconnect with your inner authority.
In this deeply personal episode, Jan Engels-Smith and Micah Schwader explore the profound difference between living from external authority—allowing others, institutions, fear, or culture to dictate your choices—and living from the quiet confidence of your inner knowing.
Micah shares intimate stories from his own life, including how losing trust in his intuition as a child eventually led to decades of searching for truth, identity, and belonging. He reflects on how his transgender journey became one of reclaiming his inner authority after years of listening to everyone else's expectations instead of his own soul.
Jan expands the conversation by examining how many cultures teach us to seek validation and permission from outside ourselves—whether through religion, institutions, experts, or societal expectations. She offers a different perspective: true inner authority doesn't need to be loud, defensive, or prove itself. It is calm, grounded, and quietly certain.
Together they explore:
- The difference between inner authority and outer authority
- Why many people lose trust in themselves early in life
- How fear, conditioning, and past experiences disconnect us from intuition
- The relationship between trust, courage, and personal transformation
- Why trusting yourself is a choice that grows through practice
- Learning to recognize physical and emotional signs of alignment
- The role of discernment when receiving advice from teachers, experts, or spiritual practitioners
- Powerful stories of healing through Lakota ceremonies and direct spiritual experience
- Why life's greatest setbacks often become unexpected turning points
- How uncertainty, artificial intelligence, political division, and social change are increasing the need for inner guidance
- Practical ways to strengthen self-awareness and rebuild trust in your own decisions
Throughout the conversation, Jan and Micah return to a simple but transformative idea: trust is not something we wait to feel—it is something we choose to cultivate. As that trust grows, fear begins to lose its grip, decisions become clearer, and life becomes less about reacting to circumstances and more about responding from a place of grounded wisdom.
Whether you're navigating a major life transition, questioning long-held beliefs, or simply trying to find clarity in an increasingly noisy world, this episode offers a compassionate invitation to reconnect with the one voice that has always been with you—your own.
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. Jan's teachings emphasize personal empowerment, direct spiritual experience, and helping people rediscover the wisdom that already lives within them.
About Micah Schwader
Micah Schwader is a transformational writing coach, editor, publisher, shamanic life coach, and author of Stumbling Into Grace: The Adventures of a Transgender Shaman. Through storytelling, coaching, and spiritual practice, he helps people reconnect with their inner guidance system, navigate life's major transitions, and transform personal experiences into sources of wisdom and healing. Micah is the founder of Inspired Life Publications and lives in the cloud forests of Costa Rica, where nature and spirituality continually shape his work. For more information, visit ShamanSezz.com.
