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FSS E-Newsletter
www.shamanism.org
April - May 2010 Vol. 4, Issue 2
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Shamanic Training
***Learn core shamanism from experienced Harner-trained FSS faculty.
Find a course near you.***

Faculty & Staff


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Drumming Circles


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Michael Harner's Shamanic Journeywork® Series Drumming & Journeying CDs/MP3s


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* * * * * * * * * *

Being power-full is like having a force field in and around you, for you are resistant to power intrusions, the shamanic equivalent of infections. From a shamanic point of view, illnesses usually are power intrusions. They are not natural to the body, but are brought in. If you are power-full, you will resist them. Thus possession of guardian spirit power is fundamental to health.
– Michael Harner, The Way of the Shaman.





Members of the Circle of the Foundation:
Please help us by
renewing your membership promptly and online, if possible. Paper mailings are not only costly, they hurt the trees – and we would like to spare as many as we can! Thank you.

Editor:
Susan Mokelke


Contributing Editor:
Timothy Flynn

Greetings
Two Frogs Singing

There are frogs living in our fountain. The fountain is a hollow metallic structure sitting on a raised pedestal, surrounded by water. Two frogs have found their way to it and hide inside during the day. At night they sing, their croaking echoing and amplified into the courtyard through the hollow, as though equipped with tiny megaphones. It is a primal sound – simple, joyous, unrestrained. It is said that frogs are akin to the canary in the coal mine, acutely sensitive to environmental changes and the first to suffer when things go wrong. As it goes for the frogs, so it will go for us. I send the two frogs my thanks and a quick blessing – and for tonight I let their cheerful song ease my heart.

Susan Mokelke
Executive Director

Submit your ideas and news for the Articles and Healing Words sections to the Editor.

My Windhorse <br>by Joy
Markgraf My Windhorse
by Joy Markgraf
Advanced Residential Workshops in 2010. The new 4th North American Three-Year Program in Advanced Initiations in Shamanism and Shamanic Healing will start October 17 - 22, 2010 in northern Marin, San Francisco Bay Area. It will be taught by Alicia L. Gates. The East Coast Two Week Shamanic Healing Intensive*, with David Corbin & Nan Moss, will be held October 24 - November 4, 2010 in Madison, Virginia.
The Two Week Intensive, offered on the West or East Coast, is the best preparation for the FSS Three Year program.
*SPECIAL BENEFIT - Free one year Council Membership ($500 value) to those who complete the West or East Coast Two Week Intensive or begin the 4th North American Three-Year training in 2010.
Harner Shamanic Counseling with April Tuck, will be held August 7 - 12, 2010 near Portland, Oregon. Note: The Basic Workshop, which is a prerequisite for all advanced FSS workshops, will be held in various locations throughout the year.

NEW Workshop – Shamanic Dreamwork™
Shamans
The new advanced weekend workshop Shamanic Dreamwork, will be offered at various locations starting in September 2010. In this unique experiential workshop you will have the opportunity to explore the nature, meaning, and use of dreams among shamanic peoples, with dreamwork practices from a range of cultures. Researched and developed by Michael Harner, subjects to be covered include shamanic dream theory and big dreams, as well as dreams and the soul, spirits, shamanic journeys, the Dreamtime, and the vision quest. You will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge to contemporary life, including the use of dreams in divination, health, and healing. By popular request: A second San Francisco workshop has been added, September 25 - 26, 2010, with Michael Harner and Susan Mokelke. REGISTER ONLINE. Visit the website to see the additional dates, locations, and contact information. New Shamanic Dreamwork offerings are added frequently.

FSS Three-Year Program in Spain
The FSS Three-Year Program in Advanced Initiations in Shamanism and Shamanic Healing will be offered for the first time in Barcelona, Spain, starting December 10 – 15, 2010. It is the 6th time the program has been offered in Europe. The program will be taught in Spanish by Alicia Luengas Gates. For information, contact Maria Luisa: (66) 93 265 68 45 or (66) 619 639 127; [email protected]; http://www.estudioschamanicos.com

FSS Workshops in Japan
Kevin Turner
Two Basic Workshops were recently offered in Kyoto and Tokyo. FSS Faculty Member Kevin Turner taught the fundamentals of core shamanism to an international audience of Americans, Europeans, and Japanese. The work was very well received and Kevin's students are looking forward to taking more of the advanced weekend workshops. Four more Basic Workshops are scheduled in Japan this year, as well as Shamanic Extraction Healing Training and Shamanism, Dying, and Beyond. Kevin has hopes of offering FSS workshops in Hong Kong, Singapore, and other parts of Asia in the near future. Kevin can be reached regarding Foundation workshops at: Miyazaki-cho 31-1 Shimogamo, Sakyo-ku Kyoto, Japan 606-0802; Tel/fax: 81-75-423-4379; [email protected].

Welcome New FSS Faculty Members
FSS extends a warm welcome to FSS Faculty Members Nancy Friedrich, Glenn Campbell, and Louise Gauthier. All three are experienced teachers, trained in core shamanism.
Nancy
Friedrich
Glenn
Campbell
Louise Gauthier
Nancy teaches in Hawaii and is enthusiastically offering workshops on Maui: "Take a vacation and a workshop," she urges. "I have consistently found that the shamanic journey enhances my spiritual path and relationship to nature and the web of life. When I was faced with a serious health issue I personally found shamanism to be deeply inspirational and empowering."
Glenn teaches in the Toronto area and has over 30 years successful experience as a teacher, educational consultant and principal. Glenn has always been fascinated by the practices and rituals of indigenous people. Before leaving formal teaching, he received a clear call from Mother Earth and began exploring shamanism in earnest with FSS. Louise offers workshops in Montreal. She says: "Core shamanism led me to a path that has brought much change, joy, awareness and growth in my life." Both Glenn and Louise are fluent in French and are looking forward to building their core shamanic teaching practices in eastern Canada, after years of experience working with long time faculty member Sharon Van Raalte. Welcome, new faculty!

Harner Shamanic Counseling
Training Online Listing

Members who have completed the Five-Day Harner Shamanic Counseling workshop may now list it in the FSS print directory in the Shamanism Annual and also in the online Shamanic Services listings. To update your information, log in to the Circle and select "Create/Edit Shamanic Services Listing" and check the applicable boxes for the training you have completed.

Certificates of Completion
Certificates of Completion are available to graduates of many of the FSS advanced residential training programs in shamanism and shamanic healing. Certificates of Completion acknowledge the considerable time and effort involved in the successful completion of FSS advanced trainings in core shamanism, such as the Two-Week Intensive and the Three-Year program. (Please note that these do not certify a person as a shaman.) Find out more and request your White, Bronze, Silver, and Gold certificates online.

SUPPORT US
For more than two decades, the Foundation for Shamanic Studies has worked to preserve, study, and teach shamanic knowledge for the welfare of the planet and its inhabitants.
Pau Pasang
Rhichoe
Living Treasure Pau Pasang Rhichoe, Tibetan shaman living in Nepal. Photo by Sarah Sifers.
Michael Harner's pioneering work has led to a revival of shamanic healing in a contemporary context. In addition to its training programs, attended by thousands annually, the FSS works to preserve and revive indigenous shamanism as well researching the practical applications of shamanic healing and knowledge to present day problems.

The work of the Foundation is carried out through the many projects supported by your generous contributions – including the Baniwa Shamanic Revitalization, the Living Treasures of Shamanism program, and the development of new workshops and training programs such as Shamanic Dreamwork™. Read more about the current activities of the Foundation on the Foundation's news blog.

Your support is critical and immensely appreciated and we ask you to please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We welcome to our Advisory Council those who invest $5000 and above annually for three years.

Please email Development Associate Carolyn Fee if you wish to discuss the many convenient ways to give.

Remember, too, that your membership in the Circle of the Foundation supports the work of the Foundation and gives you many benefits.
Join or renew today.

We are very grateful for your generosity.

Michael Harner
President

Susan Mokelke
Executive Director


Newpaper Rock, Utah - �iStockphoto.com/Jeremy Edwards
Physicians and Native Healers Partner
Physicians and medicine men work side-by-side at a Navajo reservation medical center. Read the article. Submitted by Shana Robinson, Easton, Maryland.

Shamanism and Art International Festival
The festival will be held August 2 - 9, 2010 in the picturesque Tunka Valley, Tunkinsky National Park, Buryatia, in both Russian and English languages. The event will include an academic symposium "Shaman: Personality, Psychophysiology and Creativity"; a practical/demonstrative part – social tailgan – shamanic seance (kamlanie) carried out at a sacred place in Tunka valley; Bukha-Noyon, by the religious organization "Tengeri" and other shamans invited for the occasion); a film mini-festival, "Shamanism: The Past and The Present"; and demonstration of shamanic techniques and psychotherapeutic trainings. For details, please contact the Organizing Committee at:
Moon Bear Moon Bear Jasper, photo courtesy of Animals Asia Foundation.
Back to beginning...

SUBMIT NEWS: We invite you to submit news about shamanism for our readers. Please submit no more than a few brief paragraphs, including the source of the news item to the Editor.

Passion Projects: What Fuels the Heart
Read about an uplifting shamanic project to help heal Moon Bears – be inspired to create your own passion project. Read the article by Lora Jansson, FSS Three-Year program graduate.

Note: Each issue we plan to post on the website or provide a link to an article or other media with useful information about shamanism or shamanic healing. Check the Articles section for several varied perspectives on shamanism and shamanic healing, many from past issues of Shamanism and the Shamanism Annual, the Foundation's scholarly journal – one of the exclusive benefits of the Circle of the Foundation.
Handprint �iStockphoto.com/Scott Cressman
Ultimately Sufficient
I have been taught, and it has been my experience, that action is the antidote to despair. It is easy to feel hopeless these days when faced with crises on so many fronts. The latest to demand our attention is the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Web and Branches
It is acutely painful to see the suffering of so many people, birds, animals, and the waters and lands. Of course, we can all do what we feel called to do, and what we can do, to help using ordinary reality means. But, as shamanic practitioners, we are fortunate, too, to be able to call upon the power of the helping, compassionate spirits. Each of us, according to our shamanic training, can ask for healing on behalf of those who are suffering; can work to heal the oceans and the lands; can bring the wisdom and love of our helping spirits to bear on the problem, seeking resolution. A specific outcome cannot be guaranteed; healing is a mysterious process and seldom looks like what we expect. But when we ask sincerely and humbly, miracles of healing and transformation do occur, because the compassionate spirits answer. Keep in mind the ethics of shamanic healing – no matter whether one is dealing with human souls or the souls of the fish, animals, plants, or the waters or lands – and first seek permission of these souls to work on their behalf. Then, call upon your helping spirits and let them work through you to offer a cure. Know that what you are doing is profound, powerful, necessary – and ultimately sufficient.

Susan Mokelke

Go to beginning...

NOTE: "Healing Words" contains helpful practices, ideas and suggestions from shamanic healers, answers to questions of concern to those practicing shamanism, and inspiring stories. FSS presents them as a service to the shamanic community without endorsement; as always, each shamanic healer is responsible for using these ideas in a responsible and ethical manner. If you would like to SUBMIT A HELPFUL TIP, email the Editor. (A few succinct paragraphs, please.)

About FSS
Internationally renowned anthropologist Michael Harner pioneered the return of shamanism and the shamanic journey to contemporary life. In 1979, Michael and Sandra Harner established the Center for Shamanic Studies, the precursor to the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, which took over the function of the Center in the mid-eighties. FSS is dedicated to the preservation, study, and teaching of shamanic knowledge for the benefit of the Planet and its inhabitants. www.shamanism.org

Join the thousands of people each year who take the Foundation's rigorous training in Core Shamanism, the universal and near universal principles and practices of shamanism not bound to any specific cultural group or perspective. The training program has been carefully developed by Dr. Harner and thoroughly tested to provide an authentic shamanic experience and practical results.

About the E-Newsletter
The Foundation for Shamanic Studies E-newsletter is issued bimonthly and contains information and articles about shamanism, shamanic healing, and the Foundation's activities. It is designed to offer interesting and practical information for shamanic healers, students, and those interested in shamanism. We welcome your feedback and ideas. Please contact the Editor, Susan Mokelke.

NOTE: You are receiving this email from the Foundation for Shamanic Studies because you are a member-donor or have taken a Foundation course or otherwise indicated your interest. For environmental and economic reasons, FSS will send out less paper communications. To ensure that you continue to receive emails from us, including course schedules and information relevant to the practice of shamanism, add [email protected] to your address book today. You may also update your email address by clicking on the Update Profile/Email Address link below.

Thank you!

Copyright � 2000-2010 Foundation for Shamanic Studies, a non-profit public 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization.


Editor: Susan Mokelke
Foundation for Shamanic Studies

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