For definitional purposes we can talk about Shapeshifting occurring on three different levels:

The first is cellular, and that is when a person of an indigenous culture shapeshifts into a plant or animal, or in our culture when a cancer grows in someone and then miraculously disappears.

The second level is personal Shapeshifting. That is when we decide to transform our personality -- and usuallythat means becoming more of what we most expect in ourselves. It might mean when a person honors themselves as a good writer or a better dancer or politician. It could also mean transforming an addiction.

The third form of Shapeshifting is about transforming the society that we live in, whether its at the town or city level, or the corporate level -- the place where we work -- or the institutions that help shape our lives.
-John Perkins