Advanced Shamanic Workshops
2008 and 2009 Advanced Training Schedule:
Many people follow a shamanic path — for its own sake, for journeying, for growth — as a spiritual road that calls them. Theirs is a personal practice.
Most 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.
Enrollment will be limited. Small groups = lots of personal attention.
2008
Death and Dying: Psychopomps and the Afterlife
Saturday and Sunday, December 6-7, 2008 - all day both days, 9:30am - 5:30pm.
A follow-up practice session is an option if the students want one.
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. Prerequisite: Good journeying skills. Still interested? Click here
2009
Shamanic Extraction of Misplaced Energy — Training for Healers
Saturday and Sunday, May 23 and 24, 2009 - all day both days, 9:30am - 5:30pm, with an evening session on one of the nights (this is Memorial Day weekend).
An optional follow-up practice session is projected (students will decide the date).
Cost: $125 - $150 (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. Done well, you “liberate” these invasive, stuck energies out of the client, and help them 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 techniques, NOT for those seeking this healing for themselves. Still interested? Click here.
Soul Retrieval — Training for Healers
Nov. 14-15 AND Nov. 21-22, 2009 — TWO weekends: all day on those four days, 9:30am - 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)
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 techniques, NOT for those seeking this healing for themselves. 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. Duration of practice is an indication of commitment. When your helpers don’t show up during a personal journey — which happens to us all occasionally — you just journey again later. If they don’t show up during a session, you can’t work with the client right then. Period. To attempt otherwise would mean working from our heads, our intellects, rather than from a direct connection with spirit.
— If you’ve gathered any tools to use for YOUR practice of this path. There’s no one-size-fits-all list of these, 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 tools to help support your path and knowing how to use them to be effective for YOU. Many people learn more about this by asking their spirit-guides “what do I need and how should I use it?” (PS: This isn’t about spending money — people also invest time and bartering skills and creativity.)
— If you can recall a shamanic journey in which you asked your 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 all that each student comes in with a good grasp of their basic skills. Some common sense and a reasonable measure of emotional maturity are good, too.
Thanks!
Drum photo © Cynthia McKeever 2006
