Shaman Durek On Finding Your Purpose & Moving From Fear Into Faith

After complications from an illness left Durek "clinically dead," he was inspired to take up the mantle of shamanistic healing, and now Durek travels the world, working with A-list celebs the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, European royalty, and anyone who believes that emotional and spiritual healing hold the key to healing the body. The third-generation shaman and star of mbg's first original documentary, Healers, made his second trip to #mbgrevitalize this year to share his legendary hugs and a disquisition on fear and faith with us.

One theme that has emerged from revitalize 2017 is the importance of dispelling fear in order to discover and live your purpose. Author, actor, and activist Hill Harper spoke movingly about the secret to a life filled with meaning—the holy key, as he called it—is the thing that scares you most. In his opening address, Shaman Durek echoed the sentiment that fear is the enemy of purpose.

He addressed the revitalize crowd of "powerful dreamers" with the message that human beings are vessels for change. As the moon shone brightly overhead, he asked us to drop our egos, let go of fear, and join together for the weekend, to smile at passing strangers instead of looking down at our phones.

"Why are you here? Why are you doing what you're doing? Is it for you or is it for all of us?" He asked before joining Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin for a duet to inspire selfless intentions we could carry forth into the weekend. Eyes clasped shut and heads bobbed as we all took in the chant under the stars, breathing with the heavy beat of the drums and thinking about what dropping fear and living selflessly would really look like.

While each speaker this weekend had a different take on the path to purpose, the common thread is this: Your purpose is something greater than yourself—it is the mark you leave on the world. In order to find and fulfill your unique reason for being, you have to connect, vulnerably and authentically, with others. Vulnerability requires you to challenge your fear, your ego, in the service of something greater.