In Shamanic Healing: We Are Not Alone, a 1996 interview of Michael Harner for Alternative Therapies magazine, Michael talks about how miracles of healing can occur when you work with helping spirits: "What's really important about shamanism, in my opinion, is that the shaman knows that we are not alone. By that I mean, when one human being compassionately works to relieve the suffering of another, the helping spirits are interested and become involved."

Over the years of practicing shamanic healing, teaching, and talking with other practitioners, I've seen the amazing things that the spirits can do when their help is sought by a trained and caring healer.

But for me, the phrase "we are not alone" has come to have an additional and very personal meaning. I have come to know at a very deep level that I am not alone. Like growing old with a wise and caring friend, the relationships forged with the spirits who work with me have become intimate, profound, occasionally hilarious, touching, and personally transformative. I have learned through experience that the spirits are ultimately trustworthy and are there for me unconditionally when they are needed. Whether it is to offer healing for a client or to suggest solutions to a difficult problem, or simply to help me stay on solid footing through the often treacherous terrain of urban life, I am not alone. And that knowing has freed my soul to soar.

Susan Mokelke
Editor

 

2011-12 RESIDENTIAL ADVANCED WORKSHOPS

♦ The East Coast Two Week Shamanic Healing Intensive, taught by David Corbin and Nan Moss, assisted by Elaine Egidio, will be held November 6 - 17, 2011, in Madison, Virginia.  

♦ The West Coast Two Week Shamanic Healing Intensive with Alicia L. Gates, assisted by Amanda Foulger, will be held February 19 - March 1, 2012 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Includes an interactive video session with guest Michael Harner. Discount for registration by October 15, 2011. The Two Week Intensive, offered on the West or East Coast, is the best preparation for the FSS Three Year program.  

♦ The 8th East Coast Three-Year Program in Advanced Initiations in Shamanism and Shamanic Healing with David Corbin & Nan Moss, assisted by Elaine Egidio, will begin May 6 - 11, 2012 in Madison, Virginia.

 

Please check the website FOR PREREQUISITES for these training programs, as some have changed.

 

For details and to REGISTER for any of these programs, contact Michael Flanagin: flanagin4@msn.com, (503) 282-6315.

 

MICHAEL HARNER TO GIVE KEYNOTE ADDRESS IN SAN RAFAEL  

Michael Harner will give a keynote address at the annual Science and Nonduality Conference "On the Edge of Time" on Friday, October 21 from 5:50 to 6:20 pm in San Rafael, California. Michael will be speaking about "The Transcendence of Time in Shamanic Practice," and will include an experience of shamanic drumming. Susan Mokelke will also teach an experiential workshop "Michael Harner's The Shamanic Journey Outside of Time" on Wednesday, October 19 from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm. Conference discount to FSS contacts. More information...

FSS IN MONGOLIA
FSS Faculty Kevin Turner spent July on field assignment in Mongolia

Kevin Turner and Mongolian shaman Sakhantuya.

where he represented FSS at the Ataa Tenger Conference of International Shamanic Studies. Kevin spoke on core shamanism in Asia, and met a number of researchers involved in central Asian shamanism. Kevin also personally interviewed 6 remarkable shamans for research purposes. He gave a one-hour talk on core shamanism at the largest bookstore in the capitol city of Ulaanbaatar in honor of the new Mongolian translation of The Way of the Shaman, as well as a 5-minute Mongolian television interview. There is significant interest in our work in Mongolia, and Kevin may be returning to offer the first FSS courses there next year. We look forward to further collaboration with Mongolian shamans and Mongolian shamanic researchers in the future. Members of the Circle of the Foundation, look for more about FSS in Mongolia in this year's issue of the Shamanism Annual, coming out in December.

 NEW! SHAMANIC TRAINING IN CREATIVITY

istockphoto.com/Jan Derksen

The first public offering of a new weekend workshop, Sandra Harner's Shamanic Training in Creativity was held in San Francisco in August, with more than 70 enthusiastic participants. This workshop will be offered in various locations in the USA and in Canada by the Harner-trained FSS faculty.

Visit the website for dates and locations and registration details.

FSS ON THE WEB
♦ The Foundation's website recently received a new look. On the HOME page, various aspects of the Foundation's mission are introduced, with links to other pages for those who would like to know more. There is also a slide show of images, which when selected take you to pages providing details of the subject.
♦ The Foundation is now on Facebook. Visit our site and support us in getting the word out about shamanism and shamanic healing by clicking the "LIKE" button under one of the entries and sharing with your Facebook friends.

INTRODUCING NEW FSS FACULTY
We are pleased to welcome Leon Sproule to the FSS Faculty for Spokane, Washington. Leon will be offering the Basic Workshop, The Way of the Shaman: Shamanic Journeying, Power, and Healing on October 8 - 9, 2011 in Spokane. Leon began his study with the Foundation in 1999 after an experience with soul retrieval and the book The Way of the Shaman. He leads a core shamanic drumming circle at the Unity Center in Spokane. In addition to teaching at Gonzaga University as an adjunct instructor in the Civil Engineering Department, he accept clients for small engineering projects and has a love for music and poetry.  

SPOTLIGHT ON: BANIWA REVITALIZATION AND ASSISTANCE
The shamanic revitalization of the Baniwa people of Northwest Amazonia continues to progress, thanks to the support of FSS donors. Much positive publicity was gained for the revitalization after the building of the Shamans' House of Knowledge (Malikai Dapana), with articles appearing in publications in several languages and on the website. FSS Living Treasure, snuff-jaguar shaman Mandu da Silva, now has more than a dozen apprentices, including his grandson João Joaquim de Lima da Silva. The young man says that it is important to cultivate the knowledge of his grandfather. "I do not want our culture to die with my grandfather." Article in Portuguese.

Mandu and apprentices in front of the Shamans' House. Photo by Euzivaldo Queiroz.

The continuing objectives of the project, as described in 2009 by Dr. Robin M. Wright, FSS Field Associate, and Alberto and Ercilia, Mandu's son and daughter include:

• Several printed booklets (20-30 pages each), colorfully illustrated by Baniwa artists, on the shamans' work, written by Alberto, Ercilia, or other shamans of Mandu's village of Uapui, such as apprentice Plinio, all of whom are grade school teachers. The booklets will be for use in the grade schools, not just the Shamans' School, so that the knowledge of the shamans will be a regular part of the educational curricula in Baniwa schools.
• Editing and narration of film footage of the making of parika (the shaman's snuff); the rites of initiation (footage partially obtained); and interviews with other shamans of Uapui and of the village called Pana-pana.  
• Most critical, finishing the construction of the Shamans' House, and a small office inside the House where all of the research material and recording equipment can be safely stored. See the video of the building of the House. 
More information...

Ongoing support is urgently needed to keep this preservation and revitalization project going. Mandu is in eighties and it is critical to see that his knowledge is preserved and passed on to his apprentices. Please consider a generous donation to this project. $15,000 would make it possible to create the booklets, obtain more recordings and video to preserve the local shamans' knowledge, and complete construction of the Shamans House of Knowledge. You may donate easily and securely online. Select the Fund to Preserve Shamanic Knowledge. Thank you!

CERTIFICATES OF COMPLETION
Certificates of Completion are available to graduates of many of the FSS advanced residential training programs in shamanism and shamanic healing, including Harner Shamanic Counseling. Certificates of Completion acknowledge the considerable time and effort involved in the 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 HSC, White, Bronze, Silver, and Gold certificates online.