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Dear Friends,
I hope all is well with you as the seasons begin their evocative transition into the dark days of Winter!
As Autumn approaches, and the high season of the Celtic year is upon us, there are shamanic cultures that heed the call to care for the souls of our beloved dead, and to take a stand for life, ourselves, in meaningful and powerful ways.
The Greek word "psychopomp" refers to an individual who accepts the important responsibility for escorting the souls of our dead into the Afterlife. In our culture, we have lost touch with the important work of tending the souls of our dead so that that their transition may be completed when assistance is needed. As a result, we may feel the pressing need to step up to the task of tending the souls of our dead, and offering assistance in this liminal transition.
If you are feeling provocative stirrings with the approach of the Fall, it may be the call to take part in this important work. You may also feel an urgency to draw in your resources to prepare for the coming darkness of Winter in a ritual way.
We will be dedicating late September through the month of October to the coming season of Samhain, and will be offering a special series of Circles and trainings in honor of this sacred time of year. We begin the series with a special Celtic Circle on Wednesday evening, September 25 to welcome in and prepare for the coming season. The Circles on October 2, 6, and 16 will focus on learning about our own shadow side, and how to find the fertile resources that can be accessed through right relationship with our shadows. honoring and working with our ancestors and the ancestors of the land, and addressing unfinished business so that we can begin the Celtic new year in a good way. On October 23, we will bring the most pressing needs of our loved ones, our communities, and ourselves to spirit through the healing and transformative power of fire. The October 30 Circle will be dedicated to honoring our own ancestors and beloved dead, both two-legged and four-legged, when we come together for a ritual silent supper, known as the "Dumb Supper". The last two events will be facilitated by our community's own Natasha Kostich.
The focused trainings that we are holding include the weekend of
September 28 & 29, when we will offer the
Shamanic Dying & Beyond Psychopomp & End of Life Assistance training. This is your last chance to sign up for this important training.
On the weekend of October 25 - 27 we are offering my favorite event of the year, "the Wild Hunt", a training steeped in the richness and beauty of the Celtic perspective on dying and beyond, during which we will enter into the profound mysteries of the Celtic psychomp ceremony.
Please read on for more info about each specific training.
We hope you will join us in the important work of this time of year, and wish you the most blessed Samhain season ever!
All the blessings in all the worlds to you!
Gail
Advanced Shamanic Trainings open for registration:
- Shamanic Dying & Beyond, Psychopomp Training: Sept 28 & 29
- The Wild Hunt, Celtic Psychopomp Ceremony: Oct 25 - 27
- Advanced Shamanic Healing Training: Dec 7 & 8
Please read on for more information.
Beannacht by John O'Donohue,
On the day when
The weight deadens
On your shoulders
And you stumble,
May the clay dance
To balance you.
And when your eyes
Freeze behind
The grey window
And the ghost of loss
Gets into you,
May a flock of colours,
Indigo, red, green
And azure blue,
Come to awaken in you
A meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
In the currach of thought
And a stain of ocean
Blackens beneath you,
May there come across the waters
A path of yellow moonlight
To bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
Wind work these words
Of love around you,
An invisible cloak
To mind your life.
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Dying, & Beyond:
Psychopomp & Transition Support Training
Asheville, NC
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Dates: Saturday Sept 28: 9:30–5 & Sunday Sept 29: 9:30-5
Location: Asheville, NC
Tuition: $200,
(if you have already taken this training with me and are called to join us for this important work, please email me for special pricing info)
In this workshop we will explore the shamanic perspective on death and dying, and actively engage with the power of death as a profound path of shamanic initiation.
We will learn ways in which to help those who are engaged in the end of life process to prepare for their imminent passing, and discuss ways in which a successful crossing may be inhibited. Techniques will be explored for assisting disembodied souls whose crossing was unsuccessful to complete their journey to the Afterlife.
Ways in which to cultivate a path of power so that we may be power-filled when engaging in shamanic work will be discussed.
We will explore the cosmology of the Afterlife, hold a ceremony for assisting a group of discarnate souls who are seeking assistance in completing their way to the Afterlife, and offer psychopomp assistance to a loved one who has passed on.
We will also discuss the ethics and principles for doing Psychopomp work, as well as the the use of language and the importance of a respectful perspective surrounding each individual's personal paradigm regarding their spiritual beliefs surrounding death and dying.
The instructor, Gail Gulick, is authorized by Sandra Ingerman as a teacher and practitioner of psychopomp and other shamanic healing techniques.
Pre-Requisites:
* Demonstrated success with shamanic journeying, including:
* Upper and lower world journeying.
* A strong relationship with your power animal and spirit teacher.
This training is designed for participants who are experienced with shamanic journeying, and allied with their compassionate helping spirits, and is not intended as a vehicle for participant's own healing.
Residential accommodations are not included.
Space is limited. Please email Gail for an application: info@dreamtimejourneys.net.
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The Wild Hunt:
Celtic Psychopomp Training & Ceremony
Asheville, NC
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Dates: Fri, Oct 25, 10-5, Sat, Oct 26, 10-10, Sun, Oct 27, 10-12:30
Location: Asheville, NC
Tuition: $200
If you have already taken this training with me and would like to join us again in this important work please email me for special pricing info
In Celtic tradition, Samhain (pronounced "Sowen") is a time when the veils between the worlds are thin, when wayward spirits of the dead seek resolution, and when the forces of chaos challenge our determination to survive and flourish. The season of Samhain calls on the seeker to make a stand for life to take them through the hardships of Winter, and to engage in ceremony dedicated to assisting our dead in finding their way.
Join us for a long weekend exploration of the rich teachings of Celtic lore, and the powerful ceremony surrounding the special magic of late Autumn and early Winter. We will experience the multi-faceted approach to Celtic psychopomp work, based on what we moderns have been able to piece together from available resources surrounding the practices of the ancient Celts. In the safe container of sacred environment, we will learn how to engage with the diverse spirits whose specific roles contribute to the fabric of the Wild Hunt ceremony. Employing the tools of the spiritual warrior, we will engage with the wild forces of the Fall, while tending to the spirits of the dead who are seeking to transition to the next phase in their own journeys.
Please note:
This is advanced work that can be particularly demanding. This training is intended for participants who are experienced with shamanic journeying, allied with their compassionate helping spirits, and have a strong commitment to personal accountability. It is not intended as a vehicle for the participant's own healing.
Pre-Requisites:
* Demonstrated success with shamanic journeying, including:
* Upper and lower world journeying.
* A strong relationship with your power animal and spirit teacher.
Residential accommodations are not included.
To Bring includes:
- Ceremonial regalia / mask for Saturday eve ceremony.
- This can be as simple or elaborate as you wish, but it is important for the ceremony
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ONGOING TRAINING
- Shamanic Journey Circles, Wednesday eves, 6:30 - 9pm
- deepen your journey skills to prepare for advanced trainings, or for your own personal enjoyment
- Experienced Circles are held every Wednesday eve, and include expansive teachings for living a life of presence and sovereignty through the use of shamanistic tools, practices for deepening our relationships with the natural world, and the wisdom of beauty found in the Celtic tradition.
- Intro Circles are held on the second and last Tuesdays of each month. Come to just learn the basics of shamanic journeying or to prepare for a deeper exploration of the worlds available to us through the shamanic journeying experience.
- Celtic Shamanism Circles: the last Wednesday of each month
- Ongoing dedicated instruction in Celtic shamanic practices brought forth from available resources into today's world
Dates for Celtic Circles: September 25, October 2, 9, 16, 23, & 30
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Shamanic Journey Circles
Wednesdays - 6:30 - 9pm in Asheville, NC
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On the second and last Tuesdays of every month we welcome beginners for an evening Introduction to shamanic journey work. In these intro circles we focus on Lower World snd Upper World Journeying skills, and on building relationships with our Power Animals and Spirit Teachers. These Circles are intended both for your own enjoyment, as well as for preparation for advanced shamanic trainings with this instructor. All levels of journeyers are welcome in the Intro Circles.
Journeyers with experience in Upper and Lower World Journeying via the drum are invited to join in our Wednesday circles for experienced journeyers, when we come together in shamanic community to deepen our practice in loving community. Through shamanic practice coupled with increasingly refined intent, we can learn to relinquish our perceptual positions, agendas, belief systems, and strivings. We learn to truly nourish the core of our being, and open to the pure potential of Spirit to act in our lives.
As we call upon our Helping Spirits to guide us, we enter into a world where ordinary rules cease to bind us, and where we can find freedom from precepts that have constrained us previously in our lives. As we explore our own natures as sovereign beings of Spirit, we become increasingly able to claim the birthright of our own sacred gifts, and to create our world anew, with the light of spirit as our guide.
On the last Wednesday of each month we focus on Celtic Shamanic practices, brought forward from ancient ways into techniques that we can practice in our lives to deepen our connection with the natural world, the spirit realms, and with our own authentic selves.
The shamanic journey circle is a wonderful resource for practicing shamanic journey skills. In a circle, individuals trained in the journey process come together to practice in a dedicated environment where one can strengthen their relationships with their Helping Spirits, access spiritual resources for personal healing, and build community with others who love to journey.
This circle uses live drumming as the vehicle for journeying, as in the work of Core Shamanism, as taught by Michael Harner, or by Sandra Ingerman. Our approach is to honor the ability of the individual to find guidance and aid through accessing their own Compassionate Helping Spirits.
Admission for all Circles: $12
Email Gail to RSVP. and for Circle specifics: info@dreamtimejourneys.net
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Advanced Shamanic Healing Training:
The Path of Courage and the Sovereign Healer
Asheville, NC
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Dates: Saturday December 7: 9:30–5 & Sunday December 8: 9:30-5
Location: Asheville, NC: Tuition: $200
In a world that has reached a crisis point under the weight of academic and hierarchical imposition, are you called to take a stand for your own sovereignty in your healing practice or expressive practice, and in your life in general? Do you long to listen first to your own voice in the sea of relentless opinion, to deeply own and trust your own instincts?
If a vehement "yes" is your answer, then this training is for you.
There is a time and a place for everything, some folks say. In the life of a healer, tradition may provide the foundation on which a healing practice is based. There is so much to learn in any tradition. But for some there comes a time when the very tradition that has formed the basis of their practice begins to impose upon the true authenticity and sovereignty of of that individual, inhibiting their potential.
When we begin to recognize the limitations of a tradition that has once formed our foundation, we have actually embarked upon the path to our own original spirit. It takes courage to heed the call, to test the walls, and strike out from the herd. But when we do, we can finally enter into deep communion with our own True Self, and begin to express it's nature in our lives.
If you are a practitioner who is struggling under the constraints of a particular tradition,... If you are an artist, musician, writer, or dancer who yearns for greater originality of expression in your work,... or a teacher who has lost inspiration under the confines of a limiting structure, is it really that your own True Self is calling you home?
In this weekend workshop we will engage deeply in the process of following our bread crumbs home. We will enter into an exploration of ourselves as sovereign healers, creatives, and individuals. We will learn ways in which to more deeply align with our own true nature, and discover ways in which we can blaze our own paths in our lives. We will explore ways in which to take deliberate action to cast off the burden of outworn social structures, belief systems, and external constraints. Through the practice of deep internal alignment, in conjunction with healing arts practicums we will seek to reconnect with our own personal source of inspiration.
Join me for a weekend of deep discovery as we enter into the terrain of the Sovereign Healer.
Pre-Requisites:
* Demonstrated success with shamanic journeying, including:
* Upper and lower world journeying.
* A strong relationship with your power animal and spirit teacher.
This training is designed for participants who are experienced with shamanic journeying, and allied with their compassionate helping spirits.
Residential accommodations are not included.
Space is limited. Please email Gail for an application: info@dreamtimejourneys.net.
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The Razor, by Gail Gulick
There is an edge
where all things crumble
A silver strand
of waking peace.
We walk this razor
to relinquish
those errant cords
of false embrace
Those pompous claims
who split our substance,
Those clutching voices
of distant days,
Those staunch positions
who trap our essence,
Those nagging worries
who keep us prey,
We leave these all
to molder sickly
releasing Self
through sweet decay.
We come to know
our own deft urgings
and drink the balm
of love's bouquet.
I cannot hold
communications
where glamours bind
our thoughts with pride.
I can but hold
this mirror gently
that we may glimpse
what burns inside.
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