"In the summer of 1966 Ramon gave us a memorable demonstration of the meaning of 'balance.' He took us to a spectacular waterfall, with a sheer drop of hundreds of feet to the valley below. This, he said, was 'specially for shamans.' While the other Huichol grouped themselves in a semicircle in a safe place some distance from the edge, Ramon removed his sandals and, after making a series of ritual gestures to the world directions, proceeded to leap -'fly' might be more appropriate - from one rock to another with arms stretched wide, often landing but a few inches from the slippery edge. Occasionally he would disappear behind a great boulder, only to emerge from an unexpected direction. Or he would stand motionless at the extreme limit of a massive rock, wheel about suddenly and make a great leap to the other side of the rushing water, never showing the slightest concern about the obvious danger that he might lose his balance and fall into space." B.G. Meyerhoff, "Balancing Between Worlds: The Shaman's Calling." Parabola, Spring 1976. pp.6-13.

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