INTRODUCTION

Shamanism is the world's most ancient system of spiritual healing and divination, practiced by indigenous peoples all over the world - including your ancestors, wherever you may have come from! (Yes, even western Europeans practiced shamanism before it was suppressed by the church.)

The shaman makes ecstatic flights into the world of the compassionate spirits to obtain useful information and bring back healing to his or her people. Some shamans were weather workers, some found sources of food and water or lost objects. Others received ceremonies to restore the balance with nature or to help the dead transcend to other worlds. Shamans brought through important wisdom for their people.

You, too, can learn to journey to the spirit worlds and meet your own personal helping spirits. These compassionate beings have been helping you all your life. Now you can meet them, talk with them, and develop a closer relationship with them for greater spiritual growth and healing. The shamanic journey gives you an effective way to expand your awareness and obtain spiritual guidance directly for yourself. You can access profound wisdom and receive healing directly from the helping spirits, without the services of a priest or guru, teacher or scriptures.

WORKSHOP

• You will learn more about shamanism and how it works, including an overview of the spirit worlds. Amazingly enough, shamans all over the world in regions geographically remote from each other have very similar views about the spirit worlds. You will discover what is common to shamanism around the world, those truths which are consistently brought forth by shamans, and those sacred technologies which consistently work.  

• You will be given the opportunity to travel safely in the spirit worlds. The majority of shamans around the world use gentle drumming to induce a trance state, in which they journey to the other worlds. You will receive instruction in how to get to one of those other worlds - a place of great light and beauty, where many of the compassionate spirits live. We will provide detailed instructions and live drumming to help you make the journey yourself.  

• You will have a chance to meet your power animal. A power animal is a helping spirit in the form of an animal or totem. We each have one or two power animals that stay with us for our whole life, and others that come in to help with a particular time of our lives. When you reach the spirit world, you can meet your power animal there and begin a deeper relationship with it.  

• To Bring:  If you have a drum or rattle, feel free to bring it. For the journey practice, you may want to have a bandana as an eye covering; and a blanket, mat or pillow if you'd like to do the journey lying down (optional). You may also want to bring a notebook for recording your experience.        

BACKGROUND

Shamanism is not a religion. It is a healing technology.  Shamanic healing is humanity's oldest healing system, going back perhaps as much as 40 thousand years. That it has persisted so long, and in essentially the same form across many cultures, is a testament to its effectiveness. While indigenous shamanism is always embedded in its culture, the many elements that are common across the world's cultures can be studied and practiced in the context of our own culture. Michael Harner was one of the first to do this; he set up the Foundation for Shamanic Studiesto train and teach practitioners, and to aid indigenous peoples wishing to regain a lost shamanic heritage.

Shamanic healing is based on the idea that there are spirits. That is, non-physical entities that seem to be conscious, and that it's possible for some people to interact with them. In Shamanism, the specially skilled person (called the shaman) travels in trance to the worlds where the spirits live, with the mission of getting help or information, for healing his or her clients and the whole community. In particular, there are compassionate spirits that have an interest in helping humans reduce the load of suffering in this world. The shaman learns where in the spirit worlds to find these compassionate spirits, and develops a partnership with them for this work.

While it's easy to dismiss the idea of spirits as "unscientific," the work is practical and effective. All the world's cultures have a rich folklore around the idea of spirits -- with many parables of both the trouble you can get yourself into, and the good that you can do, by exploring the spirit worlds. Whether there are "really" spirits or not is perhaps unimportant -- the idea is a powerful and effective metaphor. Shamanic healing work is a highly disciplined approach to the spirit worlds. The shaman is focused on a mission during the trance -- learning to hold this focus in the trance state is the essence of shamanic training. Once the shaman returns from trance, he or she is completely back.

The Journey

In almost all of the world's cultures that have a shamanic tradition, the shaman will go into trance with the aid of monotonous drumming, or other similar percussion. In this trance, he or she will travel to the spirits in their realm -- hence the term journey. A few traditions use psychoactive plant extracts, but drumming has been found to be equally effective, and it's much easier to end the trance when needed!

Interestingly, the layout of the spirit worlds, as seen by shamans in all the world's cultures, is remarkably similar. (We take this as evidence that there is "actually" a spiritual reality, independent of culture, that they are independently visiting.)

Spiritual Healing

Shamanic healing is almost always done in close partnership with the shaman's helping spirits. The shaman relies on these spirits for information, guidance, power, and protection. The spirits rely on the shaman as a physical intermediary and compassionate helper. There are roughly four main kinds of shamanic healing:

Power Retrieval

In the process of going through life, a person may lose some of his or her personal spiritual power. This will cause symptoms like chronic fatigue, a run of bad luck, chronic illness. The shaman will attempt to restore the client's power, usually by reconnecting the client to a former source of power, often in the form of a power animal or totem.

Soul Retrieval

When traumatic events happen, a portion of our vital essence (soul) can become separated and lost. This can happen in both physical trauma (accidents, anesthesia, physical abuse) and emotional trauma (separation, loss of love, emotional abuse). Sometimes we even (unconsciously) "give away" our vital essence, or unwittingly participate in someone else taking it. The shaman attempts to locate these lost fragments of vital essence and determine if it's safe for them to be brought back at this time. If so, the shaman will bring back the client's lost essence, or "soul parts." This work is often combined with power animal retrieval. This is incredibly beautiful work.

Sandra Ingerman (see her web sitefor books and seminars) developed this technique on her own, then discovered that it was essentially identical to what indigenous shamans had been doing for eons. She is now widely regarded as the foremost authority on soul retrieval. She has refined the technique over the years, in thousands of sessions, to the gentle and effective practice it is today.

Extraction

If someone is low on personal power, or has suffered some soul loss, they are "open" for opportunistic spiritual intrusions to enter. Localized physical (or emotional) pain, with no particular physical reason, is a common symptom. This is sort-of like the raccoons moving into an unoccupied wing of a large house -- though they create quite a mess, they are not "evil" or malicious -- just in the wrong place. The shaman will, with the help of his or her helpers, find and "extract" these spiritual intrusions. They are usually returned to nature, where they should be. This work is often very theatrical and dramatic.

Depossession

Similar to a spiritual intrusion, the spirit of a deceased person that didn't "go on to the light" can attach to someone. Usually these spirits are not malicious -- just confused. They are looking for a nice warm body to live in, like they used to. To the host, the symptoms will be things like a sudden change in personality, a change in desires, or addictive behavior. What is sometimes thought of as "demonic possession" is often just the fear carried by the possession being -- perhaps a frightened child -- being experienced by the host. The shaman will contact the possessing entity and bring it enough light and love that it will understand its situation. Then the shaman will help it to heal and go to the light.

We have experience with several different masters in this field -- Michael Harner of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, Brazilian Spiritists Carlos and Maria Lucia Sauer (incidentally, we do not know their current contact information), and Betsy Bergstrom.

In traditional cultures, shamans perform other (related) work as well:

Divination

This is where the shaman will attempt to get information for a client from the spirits -- by reading cards, tossing stones, or directly in a journey. We are familiar in our culture with the idea of going to a psychic for a "reading".

Weather Work

In many traditions the shamans work to control the weather -- usually either stopping or starting the rain -- but sometimes wind and other aspects of the weather, such as "turning a hurricane." (While we have had some training and initiation in this, we do not do this kind of work.)

Healing the Dead

One of the most important jobs of the shaman is to help people through the dying process, then help them afterwards to be sure they "cross over" or "go on to the light." In addition to the shaman's clients and their families, this sort of work is also done to clear "haunted" houses and land. Sometimes this work is called "psychopomp," which means to conduct the soul.

TESTIMONIALS

"Opened doors to worlds I only visited previously in a dream state.  This was much more fun and interactive." -- M. Friendship, Housing Fabricator

"The teachers are terrific, the lessons are clear and it's FUN!  Not to mention insightful and inspiring." - B. Baccharini,Environmental Scientist

"Anne and Stuart are very knowledgeable, skillful, supportive and present. They create very safe and sacred space. And it's fun!" -- J. Skai Arbor, Environmental educator and Vision Quest guide

"Grounded, clear, door-opening, world-opening, real, connected, loving, respectful, well- presented and organized.  I got skills to take with me in this life journey.  I was awakened to truths and aspects of this life that connects so many dots." -- R. Ruch, Teacher and Healer

"I have never felt so loved and not alone. This has changed my life in the best way ever." -- T. Weeks, Massage Therapist

"Empowering!" - M. Tanner

"An expansive learning experience" - P. Welanko

"A peek into higher consciousness" - L. Stotko

"I didn't want it to end."  -- A. Gunn

ABOUT ANNE AND STUART

Stuart Dole, Ph.D. and Anne Hatfield both graduated from the Foundation for Shamanic Studies' 3-year advanced training, where they studied directly with Michael Harner, author of Way of the Shaman, and Sandra Ingerman, author of Soul Retrieval and How to Heal Toxic Thoughts. They pursued further studies, learning shamanic methods from Tuva (Siberia), Tibet, Hawaii, Brazil, Africa, and the Celtic lands. They were also trained by Sandra Ingerman as shamanic teachers.

Anne has heard messages from the spirits from the time she was a child. She worked in the alternative health field for more than 25 years. Currently she is a yoga teacher and therapist, a massage therapist and a shamanic practitioner. Her passion is helping others explore those places where body, mind and spirit meet in order to bring the whole self into greater health.

Stuart was born into a decidedly atheist family and pursued a career in mathematics and science, earning his Ph.D. in biophysics. But he developed an interest in spirituality, then lived in an ashram and practiced meditation devotedly for more than 30 years. He has subsequently pursued a wide array of methods for developing awareness, or enlightenment, and eventually found his way to shamanism. He is currently a meditation teacher and a shamanic bodyworker. He specializes in helping people become more present in their lives, through embodied awareness.

About ten years ago, Anne started a shamanic drumming circle and Stuart met her there - they feel the spirits brought them together! Within a year they were dating, and were married five years ago this fall. They now live in Santa Rosa. They famously teach together as a team, and sometimes assist each other with healing work.

TO CONTACT ANNE AND STUART

Website: www.BodySpiritAwareness.com 

Email:     info@annehatfield.com

              info@stuartdole.com

 Phone:   707-529-2116 (Stuart)

             707-570-0111 (Anne)