Shamanic Circles
Open to all who know the Shamanic Journey, these circles meet on a regular on-going basis to strengthen our personal connection to the helping spirits, provide a supportive structure for our shamanic practice and form a community by journeying together. Our aim is to deepen our knowledge and practice of shamanism, by sharing our experiences with each other and through direct revelation from the spirits. We also journey for the healing of each other and the community and the land on which we live.
Bring a drum and rattle if you have them, a light blanket, an eye cover, notebook and pen. We meet twice a month, on the second or third Friday of the month, and on Mondays closest to the full moon, with few exceptions. PLEASE NOTE: The Monday night circle gathering is open only to the Monday night on-going group.
Friday Circles - evenings 6:30 to 9:00 pm - Fee: $15
Next Meetings in 2011: April 15, June 17. (No meeting in May)
Location: Women and Family Life Center - in the Carriage House
96 Fair St., Guilford, CT 06437
www.womenandfamilylifecenter.org/contactus.html
Monday Circles - evenings 6:30 to 8:30 pm - Fee: $12
(Open only to the on-going Monday night group)
Next 3 Meetings in 2011: April 18, May 2, June 13.
Location: My office
The Shamanic Journey
The Shamanic Journey is the process of moving into an altered state of consciousness to directly access spiritual assistance for information, guidance and healing on many levels for ourselves and others, as well as deepen our connection to Spirit.
This experiential workshop teaches basic techniques used by indigenous shamans. To the beat of a drum, you learn how to enter the shamanic journey state and travel to the lower and upper world to meet and work with your power animal and/or spirit guide. As time permits, we will also cover basic shamanic healing techniques, creating a sacred circle and how to retrieve a power animal for others.
The workshop will consist of two classes meeting on Saturday afternoons two weeks apart. Please bring a drum and rattle if you have them, a light blanket, an eye cover, notebook and pen. Fee: $80
Saturday Feb. 12 and Feb. 26, 2011 - 1:00-5:00pm
Location: My office
To register please call or e-mail me
Working with our Ancestors
We will be working with our ancestors to recognize the gifts that we carry in our DNA lineage and to address hereditary issues, to enrich our lives and heal ourselves, our parents, siblings and extended family. By doing so, we will heal the generations coming after us that carry our DNA. We will work on both the patriarchal and matriarchal lines. We will also contact our spiritual ancestor, a teacher who has mastered life lessons we we are working with in this lifetime.
This workshop consists of 2 full day classes meeting on 2 non-consecutive days at least 4 weeks apart to allow for processing and integration.
Please bring a drum and rattle if you have them, a light blanket, an eye cover, notebook and pen.
Prerequisite: The shamanic journey workshop and/or possess the skill to journey into non-ordinary reality and work with power animals.
To register please call or e-mail me.
1st meeting - Sunday August 15, 2010 - 10:00-5:00 $80
2nd meeting - Sunday October 17, 2010 - 9:00 am - 4:30 pm $80
Past Life Work
We will work with our power animals and spirit guides to address past life issues that are affecting our present life. We will also erase old contracts and oaths that no longer serve us and will become aware of soul contracts that are at play at this moment in our life.
Please bring a drum and rattle if you have them, a light blanket, an eye cover, notebook and pen.
Prerequisite: The shamanic journey workshop and/or possess the skill to journey into non-ordinary reality and work with power animals.
To register please call or e-mail me.
Exploring Our Suns and Moons Within
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One way shamanic cultures stay organized and focused is through the use of symbolism. A common symbol to describe the shamanic world in Indo-European cultures, Northern Asia and Siberia is the Tree of Life, also called World Tree or Axis Mundi.
The roots of the Tree of Life are in the Lower World . This is the first level encountered when one begins journeying and it is usually where power animals are found.
The trunk of the tree represents the Middle World, which exists just outside of ordinary reality. This is the magical version of our reality where faeries and devas reside as well as plant and rock spirits. Often the trunk is seen as square, one side for each of the four directions.
The branches of the tree are in the Upper World. This is normally where spiritual teachers and the Archetypes (gods and goddesses) can be found.
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Another symbol that shamanic cultures use to organize their lives is the Medicine Wheel for the American Indians, and the Mandala for Eastern Cultures. The Medicine Wheel symbolizes the individual journey we each must take to find our own path and at the same time it represents the totality of all life.
Similarly, the Mandala, which means "wheel" in Sanskrit, represents wholeness and the organizational structure of life itself, our relation to the infinite, the world that extends both beyond and within our bodies and minds. Just like the trunk of the Tree of Life, the Medicine Wheel and the Mandala are divided in four sections to represent the 4 cardinal directions, i.e., east, south, west and north, and their corresponding season, i.e., spring, summer, fall and winter.
In this experiential program we will incorporate the symbols and principles just described to explore our own internal universe, our Suns and Moons Within: the 3 vertical worlds of the Tree of Life, the lower world, the upper world and the center, where the inner and outer meet, and the 4 horizontal realms within the middle world, i.e., the 4 cardinal directions of the Medicine Wheel and the Mandala.
In each of the 7 realms we will meet our spiritual allies and adversaries (shadows) and learn what gifts of power, knowledge and strength they bring to our lives. We will also explore what mysteries each realm holds for us. By doing so we will develop a map for understanding our lives at each stage of personal growth and, thus, we will employ a holistic method for balancing the various parts of our lives: body, mind, heart and spirit.
As we explore each realm, we will associate a stone or crystal or a small personal keepsake with that realm and with these objects we will build a medicine bundle, or mesa, that we can then use for healing and ceremony to support us and enrich our lives and, by default, that of our loved ones.
This is an on-going program consisting of 8 workshop days meeting every 4 to 6 weeks. In the first class we will cover preparatory work, including working with the spirits of the 4 elements, i.e., earth, water, air and fire.
A 9 to 12-month commitment is required.
Please bring a drum and rattle if you have them, a light blanket, an eye cover, notebook and pen.
Please also bring a 2 ft x 2ft piece of cloth, preferably made of natural fibers such as cotton, wool, linen or silk, or a bandanna, plus a tea-light candle with a holder or small dish and 3 small objects, one of which will represent you.
Prerequisite: The shamanic journey workshop and/or possess the skill to journey into non-ordinary reality and work with power animals.