Advanced Shamanic Workshops
Many people follow a shamanic path — for its own sake, for journeying, for growth — as the spiritual road that calls them. Theirs is a personal practice.
Some of the following classes are for those who — in addition to a strong personal practice — are also called to train for healing work on behalf of others.
Please look over the whole page — there are some questions farther down.
All classes are held at a private location in the Denver, Colorado, area.
Small groups = lots of personal attention.
2010 Schedule:
Medicine for the Earth
Saturday & Sunday, March 20 & 21, 2010
Cost: $125 - $150 (sliding scale)
We've all heard those truisms, i.e. "If you want to change the world, begin with yourself," but the person saying it generally can't give you a hint on how to actually DO that. That's where this workshop begins.
Based on Sandra Ingerman’s book by the same name, this workshop explores her (r)evolutionary work in which environmental toxins are physically altered, working from within a place of spirit. Yes, the toxins are are literally transformed, but more importantly, so are we.
Read Ingerman’s Medicine for the Earth to get a clear sense of what we’ll be doing. It’s required reading for this class. The ability to journey is a plus. Interested? Click here.
Soul Retrieval — Training for Healers
April 17-18 AND April 24-25, 2010 — TWO weekends: all day on those four days, 10am - 5:30pm, with one Saturday evening session.
An optional follow-up practice session is projected (students will decide the date).
Cost: $295 - $350 (sliding scale) This is for all four days and a practice session
Soul Retrieval is a vital component in shamanic healing. In this practice, we work with our spirit-plane allies to locate those parts of the client’s soul that have fragmented off in times of trauma to avoid being injured. Please read the page on this website to help get a clear picture of what can be involved. Done well, you help the client reassemble their fragmented soul. Done not-so-well, you risk injuring the client by bringing back stuff that isn’t theirs or is otherwise inappropriate. Hence, careful training!
Note: This class is for those who want to learn this healing technique, NOT for those who seek this healing for themselves.
Good journeying abilities are a prerequisite for this training.
Still interested? Click here
Shamanic Extraction of Misplaced Energy — Training for Healers
Saturday & Sunday, July 24 & 25, 2010 - two days, all day both days, 10am - 5:30pm, with an evening session on one of the nights.
An optional follow-up practice session is projected.
Cost: $150 - $175 (sliding scale)
In shamanic extraction, we work with our spirit-plane allies to locate and remove misplaced energies that are causing trouble for the client. This practice has ancient roots and shows up throughout anthropological literature, but that's the "book" version: We'll be doing it rather than reading about it.
Done well, you “liberate” invasive, stuck energies out of the client, freeing the energies to go where they need to go. Done not-so-well, you risk taking those misplaced energies into yourself. Hence, careful training.
Note: This class is for those who want to learn this healing technique, NOT for those who seek this healing for themselves.
Done well, you “liberate” invasive, stuck energies out of the client, freeing the energies to go where they need to go. Done not-so-well, you risk taking those misplaced energies into yourself. Hence, careful training.
Note: This class is for those who want to learn this healing technique, NOT for those who seek this healing for themselves.
Good journeying abilities are a prerequisite for this training.
Mask-making as Transformation
Saturday & Sunday, September 4 & 5, 2010 (Labor Day weekend);
10am - approximately 5:30pm
Cost: $125 - $150 (sliding scale)
This fun and deeply experiential workshop begins with a close-up look at masks from throughout time and around the planet. Then, working ceremonially, we step into an ancient river of tradition to create our masks.
Each participant will be making two different ones: First, a mask that carries away those energies that we are releasing; then a new mask to help call in the new energies, wholeness, healing which we seek.
Prerequisite: Ability to journey. Fee includes materials and visit to the Denver Art Museum. Interested? Click here
Death and Dying: Psychopomps and the Afterlife
Saturday and Sunday, November 27-28, 2010 - 10am - 5:30pm each day (this is Thanksgiving weekend).
Cost: $90-$140 (sliding scale)
Where are we going when we leave? How can “stuck” souls be assisted across to the Other Side? (This is the classic role of the psychopomp.) How can we work compassionately with the dying and deceased? How can we get past our fear of (...spooky music...) death? Especially our own? This serious but life-enhancing class is considered advanced, but is not just for those on a healer’s path: this is useful information for all. Great training for health-care and hospice workers, and those supporting family & friends in end-of-life transitions. Prerequisite: Good journeying skills. Still interested? Click here
Concerning the Training for Healers, please read this:
In the interest of helping to prepare and “birth” well-trained and effective shamanic healers out into the world, I’ll be asking:
— About your experience in shamanic journeying experience and whether you can generally depend on connecting with your power animals and other helping spirits when you journey.
Why this is important: Ease, dependability and depth of journeying tend to develop over time: We come to trust our Power Animals and other spirit-plane guides and they come to trust us. Knowing that you have built a good “working relationship” with your helpers is important.
— If you’ve gathered any tools to use for your practice of this path. There’s no one-size-fits-all list of these items, but — for example — do you have a rattle? A drum? Are you able to “accompany” your own journeys?
Why this is important: When you’re in this for the long haul, you develop your own ways of doing things. That includes investing in a few items — your tools — to help support your path, and then knowing how to use them to be effective for YOU. Many people learn more about this by asking their Power Animals or other guides “what do I need and how should I use it?” (PS: This isn’t about spending a pile of money — people also invest their time and creativity.)
— If you can recall a shamanic journey in which you asked your Power Animals or other spirit-plane helpers for information on a topic that was vital to you personally. How did you interpret their information and then put it into practice? What were the results?
Why this is important: If you can’t listen clearly and use the information your helpers give you about your own issues, why would you trust them (or they trust you) with healing information for clients?
These aren’t rules so much as guidelines.
This practice is very individualized and there are bound to be many exceptions to these guidelines. If you have questions about how any of this applies to your situation, please contact me to discuss it.
In case these questions sound at all strict, remember that you’ll be working on — and being worked on BY — your fellow students. It’s in the best interest of everyone that each student comes in with a good grasp of their basic skills.
Thanks!
Seven circuit labyrinth, spectrum colored. Drawing © Renna Shesso 2006.
