Month: April 2019
Soul Compass Path 2019
It’s that time again! For those that are not aware, Eagle Therapies will be starting up the Soul Compass Path in June of 2019. We had a great first year of the Soul Compass Path with 9 graduates.
Below is the information for what the Soul Compass Path is, and why someone would want to take it. For more information, you can click these links:
- Soul Compass Path Landing Page
- Dates for 2019
- Course Outline
- Already know you want to do it? Application Form
We live in a time that is challenging. How do we become the people who can create a sustainable change and transformation in this world? Join Eagle Therapies starting in the Summer of 2019 on a 9 day program stretched across 9 months.
New to Shamanism?
Don’t worry! This program will teach you all the basics you need to get you started.
Seasoned Shamanic Practitioner?
This 9 month program will meet you where you are. The purpose of this program is to help give you structure, solidarity, and a community to measure your discernment with. How many times have we stumbled in the dark, questioning if the message we received from a guide was accurate? This program is meant to challenge our perspective and deepen our relationship with our guides in a group setting by experiencing healing ceremonies and journeys together.
About the Program
This program was specifically crafted and co-created with Spirit to help bring people the basic foundational Shamanic Skills necessary to engage with the world around them in a good way. It doesn’t matter if you are new to this path or have been down the road of several spiritual traditions for decades. Using ancient Shamanic techniques and honoring the ancestors of the worlds traditions, we will engage with Spirit in an age old fashion that has been specifically crafted for this time. The cosmology and teachings in this program are based off of the Cycle Teachings and the Last Mask Community, an authentic and contemporary cosmology which honors the way our ancestors have done it without taking their rituals, ceremonies and culturally appropriating them.
Stephanie Seger has graduated from Mary Tyrtle Rookers 2 year Shamanic Training program and is a current student of Christina Pratt, Shaman, Author, creator of the Why Shamanism Now podcast and Director for the Last Mask Center for Shamanic Healing. Through Stephanie’s vast life experiences and training, she strives to bring her best to giving her all to this program.
The Soul Compass Path is 6 hours once monthly stretching over 9 months. There is an optional halfway “check in” that meets over Zoom about 2-3 weeks between classes to help support any questions that come up while sifting through the material. Recordings of important class material as well as the Q&A will be provided.
This program delivers a practical set of tools, techniques, and a way to engage with the more intimate aspects of yourself. If you are new to any type of spiritual exploration, this will hand you the basics. For the more seasoned practitioner, it will provide the framework to deepen your connection with your inner guidance and allow yourself to hear the song of your soul ever more clearly. This program is dedicated to helping one get out of their own way and step into their power with authenticity, integrity and sovereignty. Learn how to find your own life’s purpose and be able to live it in the world.
Payment is based on sliding scale, negotiated between your own heart and Spirit. Eagle Therapies is just the vessel to deliver this program of self transformation. What is the sacrifice you are willing to make? Suggested sliding scale pricing is $75-$200 per class. Payment due at time of class. Orientation and first class considered “one class”.
What might be a comfortable set of finances for one person might be a large sacrifice to another. Is $100 a night on the town, buying movie tickets and a couple of drinks? If so, then $100 is not a sacrifice, it is a simple commodity. This is an opportunity to put meaning to the monetary exchange and intentionalize it, not blankly pay with a consumerist mind. The sacrifice should not produce guilt, it should feel right in your heart, and pocketbook to offer.
The Spirit world understands the language of sacrifice, and it is up to you to decide what is the right price to pay within your own heart. Use your intuition and measure it with your own truth. It is possible that one month you can pay towards the higher end of the fee, while others it is the lower end. It is also possible that money is no issue at all and $200 per class does not cover the value of what is within the course material itself for you.
*reworded, but basic concept of language attributed to Christina Pratt
We, as a culture, have large wounds around the exchange of money. If you would like more guidance in this arena, a lovely book you can download for free is “Sacred Economics” by Charles Eisenstein. Once you read the book and you feel compelled to gift back, then you can choose to pay for it. The Non-Local Shamanic Community that Stephanie participates in is currently doing a community wide transformation around Love and Money, and obviously it has a large impact on what she is offering to the world. If you want to change something in the world, start with yourself first. Change comes from within.
If you feel very drawn to this course but do not think you can commit to the full 9 month program, then you can choose to be present for as many classes you feel comfortable taking. Payment is due before the start of each class, or you can choose to pay in one lump sum. If finances are a challenge, there is always delving deeper into the material learned and then hopping on to the program next year (yes, we are planning for this to be a repeating yearly program). Once you take the class, the materials and resources from that class will be shared with you, and you can still choose to communicate with your fellow classmates.
Is this program right for you? Read more about it on the Soul Compass Path landing page to check out dates, the syllabus, and other tidbits you might find interesting.
Already feel that this resonates within your bones to take this course? Fill out our application form!
A good resource if you are anxious to get started is through the free, listener supported podcast, Why Shamanism Now. There are over 400 archived hours, and a teaser to what is available both within this course and beyond. A great place to start is the Basics of Living Well series and the specific podcasts below:
If you would like an in-depth resource, there is an online course by the Last Mask Center called Energy Body Mastery. We cover similar things in the Soul Compass Path, but for a more in depth exploration, we highly recommend the course.
Other material to get you started that is on this website:
You also have access to the archived recordings of the Bi-Weekly Shamanic Journey Groups.
The song of your soul is calling you.
Now.
The world is waiting for your gifts.
LBC: Stacking Rocks
Last week I went off the grid for about a week. This is a practice that I wish to normalize because I would like to distance myself from technology and go back to the nature more and more as a teacher.
There is no WiFi in the forest, but I assure you will find more connection 😉
My favorite moment from this past week is of sharing this week with my son. Little bear and I are hiking in the Shenendoahs and I’m building cairns everywhere because the rocks are so happy. After about the 5th one, he goes, “Wow, Mom, some of the ones you build look pretty impossible”.
I reply, “They’re not. You just have to listen to the stone people and they will show you how they want to be stacked. It’s an act of joy and love to stack rocks, and it’s fun for them. When you breathe and share joy in your actions, it becomes a prayer to share that joy in the world”.
I remind him that he used to do it too when he was younger, but his perfectionistic tendencies kicked in and he became discouraged because he kept comparing himself to me instead of focusing on the fun.
There was this magical moment where he sat next to one of the fresh cairns I built and decided to try again. He breathed and picked up a stone, then without even trying goes, “I feel like the stone wants to stand up on its side” and effortlessly places it on top of the big rock next to another one I put on its side.
With surprise and excitement his big eyes turn to me and he goes, “Mommy!! I did it! I talked to the stone people! I just had to slow down because I was moving too fast to hear them!! Maybe I should slow down in ALL areas of my life!!!”
And thus began my tears of gratitude, for this is an ancestral pattern I’ve been working on healing in my own life. It’s amazing how without even trying, he’s feeling the grace and ease of the work I’m doing and just follows suit because it’s natural.
If you continue working on your work, the next generation feels your work naturally. There is a need to heal ourselves so we can pause and listen to the natural voices all around us again. Do things that make you feel connected and slow down. The ones who are coming will thank you, because they will feel that ease as you embody it.
It’s been a while since I wrote anything about Little Bear. It’s because he honestly did drift away from me and my practices. But all paths of love, you sometimes need to let them go and just walking your path of truth and if it fits them they will walk back with you for a short time. If you’re interested in this, you can catch up on the Little Bear Chronicles in the archives.
SJG: Battin’ down the hatches!
The suggested journey topic for today is “Batten down the hatches!!!” The element of air corresponds with out mental body, our thoughts, truth, and communication. What happens in this time of excess air? And is it a true excess of wind or just a symptom of something deeper? Sometimes in elemental medicine, one element is out of balance because there’s something else that’s happening beneath the surface. If you are being affected by the excess wind that’s in the air, what can you do to batten down the hatches within your own internal landscape to be a person of power and navigate this time of chaos?
Please post your comment if you wish to share what you received in journey space. If you would like to join this discussion on Facebook, join our Journey Group on Facebook.
Some helpful references:
- What is Shamanic Journeying
- You watched the video below, and now you want to journey at home. What’s a suggested protocol on how to do that?
- Why is Energy Body Hygiene important when journeying
- Crafting a good journey question
- Deepening our Relationship with our Helping Spirits
- Journey Group Archives
Visioning and our Capacity for Dreams
I am very excited to participate and cocreate with the beautiful Laura Durbin of The Belly Woman and April Rameé of Antler Alchemy to bring you the Red Tent Community Steams! These events have been getting increasingly popular, and I’m so blessed by the community that is beginning to form around it. It’s a beautiful way for female identifying Goddesses to gather in circle and begin healing the wounds of marginalization, alienation, and separation.
The next topic for our April 14th Red Tent event is around the concept of Visioning. So often has the female spirit been so nurturing and care taking that we have been taught by our culture to take care of others besides ourself. Where have we been seduced by the dreams of others and have supported other people reaching their dreams at the sacrifice of our own dreams? This particular Red Tent Community Steam, we will consciously sweat out those patterns and release the need to people please so we can chase our own dreams.
Join us for 4 hours of Ceremony and Prayer on April 14th, as we sing, sweat, and share in community. Share as little or as much as you feel like sharing, because this will be a group of safe women that you can share with.
This is also NOT a sweat lodge or a traditional Inipi. We use a contemporary shamanic cosmology to create the sacred space. This is indoors and we use a tent with electric pots of boiling water to steam herbs. Many traditions across the world do saunas, and the herbs in this particular style are from traditional Thai folk medicine. The herbs are specially formulated to make you sweat, hence why they are called “community steams”.
Other details about the event:
We are offering a community space for women to connect and heal. This is a full body sensory spa experience from a Traditional Thai herbal steam sauna, to self massage, to herbal tea, to handmade traditional medicinal oils.
How Does a Full Body Herbal Steam Sauna Work?
There will be pots of medicinal boiling herbs inside the sauna tent. The aromatic medicinal herbs are transformed into the subtle medium of steam, opening up the pores and delivering the therapeutic benefit of the herbs into your entire body. This whole body treatment is deeply relaxing and rejuvenating. The sauna combined with the herbs are wonderful for general health, pain relief, cleansing of the skin, soft tissue injuries, detoxification, melting away knots and tension, releasing fascia, fatigue, headaches, colds, respiratory complaints, emotional distress, deep ailment, and postpartum care.
What Can I expect?
You can expect to:
- Experience a full body herbal sauna and learn how to do this for yourself at home.
- A sacred ceremony space.
- Tea will be served.
Traditional Thai Oils will be available for putting on your body before entering the sauna and inside the sauna.
The opportunity for 2 sauna rounds of 20 minutes each. And 2 rest rounds of 20 minutes each. Your rest rounds can be used for journaling, stretching, self massage, breathing, and rest.
A sacred space for getting in touch with your body and emotions
Connecting in community with other women.
What should I bring?
- Bathing suit (optional)
- 2 towels ( you will sweat a lot!)
- Water Bottle
- Snacks
- Journal and pen
- Warm clothes, scarves, and hats for the journey home
- Mug or travel mug for tea
Full Body Steam Sauna Contraindications:
- Pregnancy
- Fever
- High or low blood pressure
- Heart Disease
AfterCare:
- Immediately dry off.
- Shower the next day to allow the herbs to continue to sink into your skin.
- If you can, allow some rest and integration time following this event. Your body will thank you.
- Go home bundled up with scarves and hats. ♥
Event Details:
- Event located in Washington DC at a private home
- Tickets are sliding scale ($70-$150)
- 13 tickets available
- You MUST pre-purchase a ticket.
- You MUST fill out an intake/ waiver prior to this event/ upon registration.
- MAKE PAYMENTS to VENMO ( Laura-Durbin-2) or to PAYPAL (thebellywoman9@gmail.com)
- Tickets are nonrefundable.
IMORTANT:
Due to flow of the evening, safety, and keeping a safe and sacred space doors will close at 4:30. Latecomers will not be able to enter the event so please arrive early or on time.
You must fill out a waiver if you would like to attend.
Address will be given to those who fill out the intake form and purchase a ticket.
Interested in future events? Join our Red Tent Community Steaming Facebook group.
Completion and Congratulations!!!
I am so proud of these beautiful people that have stuck through thick and thin with the first iteration of the Soul Compass Path! We just finished the last workshop in a 9 month workshop series about learning and using basic shamanic skills to navigate your everyday life. Unfortunately we were a bit spaced out and we weren’t able to catch everyone before they went out the door, but this is the majority of people who just graduated this weekend ❤️
Are you interested in learning the basics to living well? Even if you are an experienced shamanic practitioner, this 9 month program will help you deepen your relationship with your guides and help hone your skills of discernment in a group setting so you can hold yourself accountable to a transformational process.
Yes, we accept distance participation. Yes, we do sliding scale. And yes, we welcome you even if you’re a beginner and don’t know a lick about anything but are willing to explore.
I’m excited for preparing for the new wave of students beginning in June!! If you’re interested, subscribe to the website blog or join the newsletter for the announcements ❤️
I also would like to acknowledge that I wouldn’t be here offering this today if it weren’t for the powerful community resources and teachers that have shaped me into the person who I’ve become.
The biggest things that really helped me were the Energy Body Hygiene and Advanced Energy Clearing courses offered by the Last Mask Center.
The other powerful resource that I have access to is the Cycle of Transformation and the Last Mask Community.
And last but not least, the beautiful teachers that gave me access to this information and opened the shamanic doorway of self empowerment for me. Christina Pratt, and Mary Tyrtle Rooker have been a wealth of knowledge and wisdom on my path, and I honestly wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them. Such deep and profound gratitude.
May the Ancestors be healed by the work we do by healing ourselves. May those who are coming benefit from us as individuals living our medicine now.
Embracing Wholeness while honoring Destruction
This post is inspired by an article I read a week or so ago. It’s written from the perspective that men can embody Shiva and woman Kali without as much crossover or wholeness:
Lots of Warrior Goddess sisters are reclaiming their Kali energy, and it’s a very strong, intimidating energy. Many people when they have gotten to know me, easily see that side of me.
Let me be clear. That’s not the only part of me. I am a multifaceted human being, and to peg me in that category without seeing the wholeness of who I am doesn’t do me justice. We do this all the time to people where we refuse to see the wholeness and beauty of a person, and just mark it off as, “Oh that’s just them”. The time of that is over, and it’s time we saw and embraced each other for the wholeness of a human being instead of just putting people in a box like that’s all they are.
The (horrifically simplified) myth of Kali is about how she raged and went on a killing spree. The other God/desses tried to beg her to stop, but that made her rage grow. When they rose against her to try and stop her, her anger grew even more then that. It wasn’t until Shiva laid down in front of her with compassion that she let it all out in a productive way and stood on top of him, calm and peaceful. This union represents many things, and is an expression of life itself.
Kali is not just a destroyer Goddess. She’s this wildness – a fierce, protective energy that rises in all of us. Human kind has fallen out of right relationship with the true meaning of chaos, and a majority only know the overwhelming self induced chaos that we create ourselves. That’s not Kali. And just as with Kali, she is not a destruction Goddess 100% of the time, but that’s what people peg her as. They choose not to know the chaos of being the eye of the storm, or the ecstatic dance of a thunderbolt. Or the fierce love a Mother has for their child.
Just as the myths are stories for our psyches, they offer many different translations and I choose not to argue. My interpretation of the most famous of Kali myths? There’s this wildness that we have caged or not let out, and it’s getting angrier the more that it’s caged. When we finally find it within ourselves, it can be explosive and extremely dangerous/toxic. But the response of either falling at its knees and begging for mercy, or fighting against it will only anger it more. WE were the ones that caged this powerful part of ourselves, and it takes that fierce compassion of surrender in order to allow that transformation through love. Yes, it’s scary, but it’s the only way to break that particular cycle and satiate that pure, volcanic energy. Be in the uncomfortable and surrender to it. Don’t try to control it.
So do me a favor. Next time you look at another human, don’t label them and put them in a box. Just like I have many faces, the divine and how they show up for us take on many faces. It’s this balance of Kali and Shiva within ourselves that helps humanity out of this rut we’re currently breaking free from. Chaos is needed in this dire time of change, and we can’t do it by begging it to stop or fighting against it. It takes understanding, compassion, and that fierce, tender heart that this energy is protecting. If we run away from it, it’s still going to happen and you’re just turning a blind eye to it.
What does this look like practically? If you tell me I’m wrong and come at me with aggression, I’ll advocate for myself and hold space while you yell at me. Because I know it’s not me you’re *really* mad at. If you grovel at my feet and beg for the chaos in your life to stop, I’ll help you find the wilderness in your heart and teach you to surrender to it. It’s a long road ahead, but it doesn’t mean that we tear eachother down in the process. It’s about coming together and supporting each other in times of need. We NEED to see each other in our wholeness, and not just for one of the gifts we bring into this world. We need you. All of you.
From my fierce, wild heart to yours.