FSS E-Newsletter

VOLUME 8 ISSUE 4

WWW.SHAMANISM.ORG

DECEMBER 2014

CONTENTS

FSS News

Articles and Information

Healing Words

My Windhorse by Joy Markgraf

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.

QUICK LINKS

About FSS

Work of the Foundation

Shamanic Training & Workshops

FSS Faculty

Find a Shamanic Healer

FSS E-Newsletter Archives

Join the Circle of the Foundation

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

Shamanic Store

FSS on Facebook

Support Us

Handprint

"...sometimes the spirits demonstrate their existence and power to two or more people at a time, and even to large groups of people. When this happens, these public demonstrations are often called miracles."

Michael Harner

Cave and Cosmos

Chapter 12

NEW FROM
Sandra Harner
EMA'S ODYSSEY:
Shamanism for
Healing and Spiritual Knowledge

As 2014 comes to a close, we wish to acknowledge the many supporters, contributors, students, practitioners of shamanism, and friends of the Foundation. Your participation in our work has made so much possible--and is a source of inspiration and great hope for our world. View our holiday greeting to you.

This has been a year of growth, new endeavors, and learning. There have been challenges as well, and the loss of old friends. See the FSS News section below for some of the highlights of 2014. (More details can be found on the FSS news blog and in the FSS Enewsletter archives.)

So many are awakening now to the power and wisdom accessible to us through shamanism. We look forward to 2015, to going forward with you--to helping to build a world which embraces kindness, balance, and respect for all beings and our beautiful Earth.

From our hearts, we thank you.

Michael Harner Sandra Harner Susan Mokelke Noelle Burch

* * *

HOLIDAY HOURS:

The administrative office will be closed starting Wednesday, December 24, 2014 and will reopen Monday, January 5, 2015, so that we may enjoy the holidays with our families. For information during that time, visit shamanism.org. Email will be checked on a limited basis. We look forward to meeting again in 2015!

YEAR-END DONATIONS:
It is not too late to make a tax-deductible donation to support the Foundation's work preserving, studying, and teaching shamanic knowledge for the benefit of our Earth and its inhabitants. Donate online.Thank you!

Susan Mokelke

Editor

FSS News

2015 RESIDENTIAL AND ADVANCED WORKSHOPS

Now is a great time to plan for your 2015 advanced residential training in shamanism and shamanic healing. For a complete listing of FSS weekend workshops and trainings in shamanic healing and divination, as well as advanced shamanic initiations in residential programs such as the Two Week Intensives and Three Year programs, visit the FSS website workshops index.

♦ The West Coast Two Week Shamanic Healing Intensive, taught by Amanda Foulger will be held May 31 - June 11, 2015 in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.

♦ The 3rd Pacific Northwest Three-Year Program of Advanced Initiations in Shamanism and Shamanic Healing, taught by Susan Mokelke, will begin June 21 - July 2, 2015 in the Seattle, Washington area.

♦ Harner Shamanic Counseling Training, taught by April Tuck, CSC, will be offered August 10 - 14, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts.
♦The East Coast Two Week Shamanic Healing Intensive, taught by Nan Moss, will be held October 18 - 29, 2015 in Madison, Virginia.

Please check the website for PREREQUISITES for these advanced shamanic training programs.

For details and to REGISTER for the above programs, contact registrar Michael Flanagin: flanagin4@gmail.com, (503) 282-6315.

SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF 2014

♦ FSS President Susan Mokelke was interviewed in Prevention magazine (readership of 10.2 million) for an article on shamanism titled "Spirit Journey." (February 2014 issue; also available online.) The very positive article included a link to shamanism.org. Read the article online.
♦ A new book was released by Sandra Harner in January, Ema's Odyssey: Shamanism for Healing and Spiritual Knowledge. The book follows the fantastic shamanic journeys of one woman, initially led by Sandra through sessions of Harner Shamanic Counseling, as she explores otherworldly realms, encountering power animals and teachers who provide her with life-changing guidance and healing.
♦ Michael Harner and Susan Mokelke, accompanied by Sandra Harner, presented by invitation at the 13th International Bioethics Forum in Madison, Wisconsin, May 1 - 2, 2014. This year's topic was "3.8 Billion Years of Wisdom: Exploring the Genius of Nature." Michael and Susan provided an experience of the "Shamanic Journey to Acquire Knowledge" to an audience of 300 plus, with Michael introducing core shamanism and Susan providing the instructions for the shamanic drum journey.
♦ This year the FSS announced a new Faculty Intern Program to train and prepare potential FSS faculty members to teach the FSS weekend (two-day) workshops in core shamanism throughout North America.

About the FSS Faculty: FSS faculty members are experienced shamanic healers as well as highly-trained shamanic teachers. They must complete the Three Year Program of Advanced Initiations in Shamanism and Shamanic Healing and the Two Week Shamanic Healing Intensive. All faculty members have active shamanic healing practices; many have over a decade of shamanic healing experience. In addition to these minimum requirements, FSS faculty members must have taken as a participant each workshop they teach multiple times and are required to update their training periodically to ensure knowledge of the latest content. This combination of rigorous experiential training and active shamanic practice has produced a world-class team of professional shamanic teachers.

Video Conference with Michael Harner and host Susan Mokelke

♦ The first live video conference for Sponsoring and Council members of the Circle of the Foundation was held on September 21. Michael Harner spoke about the Foundation and then took several questions from the enthusiastic audience, ranging from such topics as the three worlds shamans recognize to whether the practice of shamanism can make one a better person. As always, "journey on it" was an important recommendation. More live video conferences are planned for 2015, one of the benefits of Sponsoring and Council membership. (Note: a video clip from the conference in available in the video section of the Members Circle. Members, click to login and view.)

IN MEMORIAM: 2014

This year we said good-bye to four close friends, colleagues, supporters, and exceptional human beings: Angie Arrien, David Corbin, Ailo Gaup, and Mo Maxfield. Each one of them brought something unique to the world and to our lives. They made a difference--and are greatly missed. Visit the FSS news blog for details.

Left to right: Angie Arrien, Ailo Gaup, Mo Maxfield, David Corbin

CAVE AND COSMOS UPDATE
A Romanian version has been released, joining other translations, which include the Italian, Norwegian, Slovenian, Turkish, French, German, and Italian editions of Cave and Cosmos. After the success of the release of the Chinese version of The Way of the Shaman in Taipei, Taiwan in June 2014 (see the June 2014 Enewsletter and scroll down to FSS ASIA REPORT), a Chinese version of Cave and Cosmos is in process. A Spanish edition is also in the works. Cave and Cosmos is available in paperback directly through the Foundation, as well as online and in local bookstores. Ebook editions may be obtained from online booksellers such as Random House and Amazon.com. At Michael Harner's request, all royalties from Cave and Cosmos go to the Foundation for Shamanic Studies in support of its work.

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
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:

Spirit Horse by Vicki L. Dobbs

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. You may submit up to three (3) photos for our consideration. 5. Please include your name and the title of the work, with a few words description. 6. Send the photo as an email attachment to the Editor, Susan Mokelke.

Articles and Information

DECEMBER 2014 ISSUE OF SHAMANISM AVAILABLE

For the shaman who is intimately interacting with helping spirits, miracles are almost routine events in healing work. In fact, spirit-produced miracles of healing are probably shamans' most celebrated feature in indigenous societies. Separate from helping shamans carry out healing activities, spirits often attempt to communicate their reality through miracles and 'micro-miracles.' These 'wake-up calls' that the spirits send, often with the help of a shaman or shamanic practitioner, are perhaps best understood as attempts to educate people about their existence.

Michael Harner, Cave and Cosmos, Chapter 12

The new issue of the Foundation's scholarly journal Shamanism Annual is now available. This journal has a focus on miracles from the spirits, with three articles approaching the subject from different viewpoints: teaching, shamanic healing, and personal transformation. Contents include:

The Shaman Unbound: A Teaching Miracle
An Ongoing Miracle: A Firsthand Report of Personal Experiences
With Love From the Moon Bears
Shamanic Healing Reports
Shamanism in Bali: Balinese Master Shaman and Shaman Priestess of Bali
The Reawakening of Shamanism in the West (classic Shamanism reprint)
Circle of the Foundation Telephone Directory (Voluntary), Foundation news, and more.

The journal is a benefit of membership in the Circle of the Foundation. Members will receive the issue in the mail this month. Not a member? Join the Circle by December 31, 2014 and you will be sent the December 2014 issue.

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.

Healing Words

TO THE KINDHEARTED

kind (adj.)
"friendly, deliberately doing good to others," from Old English gecynde "natural, native, innate," originally "with the feeling of relatives for each other," from Proto-Germanic *kundi- "natural, native," from *kunjam "family" (see kin), with collective prefix *ga-and abstract suffix *-iz. Sense development from "with natural feelings," to "well-disposed" (c.1300), "benign, compassionate" (c.1300).

Online Etymology Dictionary

Healing Heart It is no surprise that the word "kind" derives from "kin." When we recognize our kinship with all life, our circle of caring expands to include all beings, as well as mother Earth. The practice of shamanism teaches us through personal experience that we are one family, relatives at the core.

Our hearts open,

Compassion flows,

Balm for suffering.

Acts of kindness abound.

Our souls are nourished.

Our hearts blossom ...

Here's a toast to the kindhearted: See the video from onegreenplanet.org.

Susan Mokelke
Editor

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 the 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.

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, the FSS primarily communicates electronically. 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 � 2000-2014 Foundation for Shamanic Studies, a non-profit public 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization.