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VOLUME 7 ISSUE 1
| WWW.SHAMANISM.ORG
| MARCH/APRIL 2013
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My Windhorse by Joy Markgraf
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The Foundation for Shamanic Studies is dedicated to the preservation, study, and teaching of shamanic knowledge for the benefit of the Planet and its inhabitants. |
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Greetings!
There is great excitement these days here at the Foundation. On April 9th, Michael Harner's new book Cave and Cosmos: Shamanic Encounters with Another Reality will be released. This long-awaited sequel to The Way of the Shaman, which blazed the trail for the world-wide revival of shamanism, provides new evidence of the reality of heavens, drawn from a lifetime of personal experience and from the written journeys of thousands of his students. (See the excerpt in the sidebar, left.) Cave and Cosmos is available for pre-order from online book sellers and from your local bookstore. At Michael's request, all royalties from Cave and Cosmos will go to the Foundation for Shamanic Studies in support of its work.
Susan Mokelke
Editor
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FSS News
2013 RESIDENTIAL AND ADVANCED WORKSHOPS
♦ The West Coast Two Week Shamanic Healing Intensive, taught by Alicia L. Gates, will be held May 26-June 6, 2013 in the San Francisco Bay area, California.
♦ Harner Shamanic Counseling Training with April Tuck, CSC, will be held July 15 - 19, 2013 in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.
♦ The new 2nd Pacific Northwest Summertime Three-Year Program in Advanced Initiations in Shamanism and Shamanic Healing with Susan Mokelke will begin August 4 - 15, 2013 in the Seattle area, Washington.
♦ The East Coast Two Week Shamanic Healing Intensive, taught by David Corbin and Nan Moss, will be held October 20 - 31, 2013 in Madison, Virginia.
Please check the website for PREREQUISITES for these advanced shamanic training programs as some have changed
For details and to REGISTER for the above programs, contact registrar Michael Flanagin: flanagin4@msn.com, (503) 282-6315.
GATHERING OF THE COUNCIL - JANUARY 2013♦ The Council gathering this year began on Friday evening with a presentation to members of the Circle of the Foundation by Kevin Turner, FSS Director for Asia, who shared about a Buryat Shanar tree-climbing initiation witnessed in June near Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. (See also Kevin's article in the December 2012 issue of Shamanism Annual, "When Shamans Climb Trees.)
♦ On Saturday, Council members were treated to a preview of Cave and Cosmos by Michael Harner. Michael talked about his new book and read selections from various chapters to the appreciative audience.
♦ Director for Europe Paul Uccusic spoke about Myths of Tuvan Shamans, a book by FSS Living Treasure Dr. Professor Kenin-Lopsan, edited and published by FSS Europa. The FSS European team consisted of Coordinator Roswitha Uccusic and Vice-Directors Michael Hasslinger and Roland Urban, who gave an update on the progress of Foundation workshops and activities in Europe.
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400 Shamans in Mongolia, July, 2012.
Photo by Kevin Turner.
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♦ Kevin Turner reported on the largest gathering of shamans in recent
history -- over 400 shamans in Mongolia in the summer of 2012 -- with photos and video.
♦ FSS Faculty Member Amanda Foulger shared her work with "shaman's heart" and led the group in a beautiful journey experience.
More information about membership in the Circle of the Foundation, including Council membership.
CORE SOUL RETRIEVAL TRAINING TO BE OFFEREDThe Foundation is pleased to announce that beginning in 2013, the FSS will offer a new advanced weekend workshop in Core Soul Retrieval Training developed by Michael Harner. The first public offering of this workshop will be August 24 - 25, 2013 in the San Francisco Bay Area, taught by Michael Harner, assisted by Alicia Gates. We are the fortunate heirs of a great and venerable spiritual tradition, shamanism, many thousands of years old, with core principles and practices that are universal or common for one simple reason: they work. Among them is soul retrieval, found widely in shamanic cultures. Dr. Harner learned how to do soul retrieval in 1961 while living among the Amazonian Conibo and brought it to the West. The training in core soul retrieval to be offered by the Foundation is based on principles and methods that have been used successfully not just by the Conibo, but cross-culturally. Core soul retrieval is a shamanic healing method and does not involve the addition of Western psychological practices. For details and advanced prerequisites required, visit the FSS website. FSS EUROPE EXPANDS TRAININGS TO SLOVAKIAUnder the direction of Paul Uccusic, FSS Europe offers workshops and trainings throughout Europe in several languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. FSS Europe links to websites for: Switzerland, France, Belgium; United Kingdom; Italy; Spain; Portugal; and most recently in Slovakia. 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. ARTWORK OF MEMBERS OF THE CIRCLE OF THE FOUNDATION | |
Red Tailed Hawk.
Wood carving by Rick Slagle.
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Members of the Circle, we invite you to share your work with us by submitting a photo of one of your creative works related to shamanism. Periodically, we will select a few of these photos to post on the FSS website. Photos of works might include paintings, sculpture, drums/rattles, weavings, and photos of shamanic places. (Submissions must follow the guidelines below.) View the slide show Artwork of the Membership. Guidelines for submission of photos of shamanic artwork: 1. Must be a member of the Circle of the Foundation; 2. Must be the creator of the work submitted and hold the copyright; 3. No photos of people, please, unless you have a written, signed release to publish the photo; 4. One photo only per person. Please include your name and the title of the work, with a few words description. Send the photo as an email attachment to the Editor, Susan Mokelke. |
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Articles and Information
NATURE, HEALTH, ALTRUISM
♦ Human health and exposure to the natural environment may be linked. Presence of trees is associated with health. Read the article from ScienceDaily.com.
♦ Meerkat predator-scanning behavior is altruistic, suggests research. Read the article from ScienceDaily.com.
♦ Research suggests plants can be altruistic too. Read the article from ScienceDaily.com. ♦ Yeast mothers sacrifice for their babies. Read the article from ScienceDaily.com. ♦ People's first response is to cooperate and use of intuition leads to cooperation. Read the article from ScienceDaily.com. MAPUCHE SHAMANS ARRESTED FOR DEFENDING SACRED SITE February 2013, Chile. Mapuche shamans have been arrested by the Chilean military police because the shamans defended a sacred site of the community from a hydroelectric company. Links to articles in Spanish: The first by Mapuche intellectual Andres Cuyul (doctorate in collective health) who analyzes the shamans' arrest and explains the impact they have on Mapuche; the second by Mapuche journalist Edgardo Colinao, who documents the shamans' arrests and the aftermath. (Use Google translate or other translation tools to read.) More information about the threat to Mapuche sacred sites and culture: Chile: Hydroelectric Projects Threaten Sacred Mapuche Sites and Mapuche: Hydroelectric Project Threatens Chile's Lake Neltume. Submitted by Jeffrey David Ehrenreich (Professor of Anthropology, University of New Orleans and member FSS Board of Trustees) on behalf of Ana Mariella Bacigalupo, Associate Professor of Anthropology, SUNY Buffalo. AYAHUASCA TOURISM The boom of interest in sacred plants such as ayahuasca has brought to the Amazon a new kind of "ayahuasca tourism," with attendant concerns about safety, proper preparation, and appropriate use. Read the article "The Dark Side of Ayahuasca" by Kelly Hearn from Men's Journal. Submitted by Kevin Turner, FSS faculty member, Kyoto, Japan. SPIRITUALITY AND MENTAL HEALTH According to researchers at the University of Missouri, spirituality often leads to enhanced mental health, regardless of a person's religion. Says Dan Cohen, assistant teaching professor of religious studies at MU and one of the co-authors of the study: "With increased spirituality people reduce their sense of self and feel a greater sense of oneness and connectedness with the rest of the universe." Read the article from the University of Missouri News.
RELATING TO YOUR POWER ANIMAL This practical article offers simple things you can do daily to tend and strengthen your relationship with your power animal. "Power Animal Retrieval" by Lora Jansson, © Shamanism Annual, December 2012, Issue 25, 28-30. 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.
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Healing Words
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Lawrence Anthony with elephant matriarch Nana and calf. Photo courtesy of the Anthony family.
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Elephants
Sense his absence
Walking slowly for days
A solemn procession
Led by two matriarchs
Coming to pay homage
To one of their own.
Gone.
No.
Here,
In the heart. A touching and beautiful example of our interconnectedness is provided by the life of Lawrence Anthony, author of The Elephant Whisperer, who died March 7, 2012. Lawrence was legend in South Africa for his work around the world rescuing wildlife and rehabilitating elephants. After Lawrence's death, two herds of wild South African elephants slowly made their way through the Zululand bush until they reached his rural compound on the vast Thula Thula game reserve in the South African KwaZulu -- to say good-bye to the man they loved. According to Lawrence's son Dylan, the elephants "had not visited the house for a year and a half and it must have taken them about 12 hours to make the journey. The first herd arrived on Sunday and the second herd, a day later. They all hung around for about two days before making their way back into the bush." Read more about Lawrence and his life with the elephants in this article by Ron Kerby (beliefnet.com).
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ABOUT THE FOUNDATION
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. Join the thousands of people each year who take the Foundation's rigorous training in Core Shamanism, which consists of t he universal, near-universal, and common features of shamanism, together with journeys to other worlds, a distinguishing feature of shamanism. Originated, researched, and developed by Michael Harner, the principles of core shamanism are not bound to any specific cultural group or perspective. The workshops and training programs have been carefully developed by Dr. Harner and thoroughly tested to provide an authentic shamanic experience and practical results.
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FSS E-Newsletter
www.shamanism.org
Susan Mokelke, Editor
Timothy Flynn, Contributing Editor
ABOUT THE FSS E-NEWSLETTER
The Foundation for Shamanic Studies E-Newsletter is issued several times a year 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 fewer paper communications. To ensure that you continue to receive emails from us, including course schedules and information relevant to the practice of shamanism, add info@shamanism.org 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 © 2000-2013 Foundation for Shamanic Studies, a non-profit public 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization. |
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