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Submitted by Douglas Newsom on 19 April 2021

Headlined Guests

Guest Occupation: Interfaith Minister
Guest Biography:

Rev. Reenie Panzini is a graduate of The New Seminary, and is dually ordained by the Interfaith Temple / NYC and OUnI (Order of Universal Interfaith).   Published author of The Brightest Town…An Interfaith Holiday Story, her ministry is geared towards children of all faiths and abilities.  Along with seminars and classes where parents and children learn the similarities of the world’s religions, and that love is the basis of all of them, she also leads Meditation and Affirmation classes for Special Needs kids and classes for Sensitive/Psychic Kids.  She is the mother of three beautiful, motivating, and gifted children. She can be reached at RevReenie@gmail.com

Guest Category: Kids & Family, Paranormal, Self Help, Spiritual, Psychic & Intuitive
Guest Occupation: Music for meditation, inspiration, healing, and enlightenment, spiritual artist
Guest Biography:

RICHARD SHULMAN

Keyboardist and composer Richard Shulman creates music intended to be a positive influence for himself, audiences, and society.

Richard has recorded 23 of his own albums as well as more than two dozen other recordings for which he has provided compositions, performances and/or musical production. Trained in the classical and jazz fields, he has developed a heartfelt language in these genres while focussing a significant amount of his output on music for meditation, healing and inspiration. He currently divides his concert schedule between performances of his meditation music and his original jazz as personified by the Richard Shulman Trio.Shulman has performed at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Art Park, the United Nations, the Kool Jazz Festival, The Amenia Peace Festival and a wide variety of other venues throughout North America and in Europe.

As a composer, Shulman has created over sixty pieces for jazz quartet as well as songs and pieces for chamber ensembles, choir, and symphony orchestra. In 1986 and 1987 he composed music for orchestra and jazz quartet during residencies at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. From 1986 through 1995, Shulman was the principal composer for "Theatre of the Heart," a cooperative of dancers, singers, and musicians dedicated to fostering community and the environment. Commissions include a piece for the Amherst Saxophone Quartet, and "May Peace Prevail on Earth" for singers, symphony orchestra, three choirs, and jazz quartet, created for the World Peace Prayer Society. In addition, he has created hundreds of 'Musical Soul Portrait' recordings for individuals, couples, and groups.

Born and raised in Niagara Falls, New York, he began piano lessons at age seven. As a teenager Richard played organ at various churches, was the music counselor at a summer camp in Canada, and joined a rock band with future jazz recording artists Thom Rotella and Bobby Previte. Shulman graduated from the University of Rochester with a double-major Bachelor's degree in music (piano performance) and psychology while continuing to perform with Previte in the jazz-fusion band Thermopylae.

While at Rochester, Shulman also attended the prestigious Eastman School of Music and studied jazz improvisation with Chuck Mangione and Marian McPartland, orchestration with Donald Hunsberger and arranging with the legendary Rayburn Wright. Shulman continued his studies in jazz with Frank Foster, composition with William Kothe and Lejaren Hiller, and piano with Yvar Mikashoff while getting his Masters Degree in musical composition at the State University of New York at Buffalo. During those years he played onstage in concert with such jazz stalwarts as Thad Jones, Eddie Gomez, Pepper Adams, Jerry Dodgion, Freddie Hubbard and Al Harewood, and recorded his first jazz album, Wonder.

After moving to New York City, Shulman played in the studio as a session musician with the great jazz rhythm section of Ron Carter and Grady Tate; performed with groups such as The Richard Reiter Swing Band, Providence and Crossing Point; and recorded and performed with the acts Mr. Spats (Steve Evans, June Bisantz, Steve Swallow and Bob Moses) and Bobby Previte. The Richard Shulman Group, a jazz quartet, played regularly in the New York area and recorded the albums A Simple Gift and Open Spaces, and Richard also released the solo jazz piano album Solo Flight.

In New York City, he found himself on a spiritual search which lead him to meditation classes. While continuing his jazz performances, Shulman began playing for the meditation and healing groups which he attended. His first recording incorporating some of this meditative style was the extemporaneous solo piano album, World Peace, recorded on the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. This album had been suggested by a healer who also showed him that he could create music for individuals for healing and alignment. These recordings became known as "Musical Soul Portraits" and have been a feature of Shulman's solo concerts ever since. This work led him into creating more albums for healing and meditation, including A Higher Dimension, Light Music, Music for Magnified Healing, First Rites and Sacred Music for Healing Hands Volumes 1 & 2.

Shulman's first two album releases with national marketing were Light from Assisi and Transformation at Assisi, inspired by spiritual pilgrimages to the town of Assisi in Italy where St. Francis lived. Richard then began groundwork for the 2002 project Camelot Reawakened: A Vision Fulfilled with a pair of recordings -- Ascension Harmonics and the partially-orchestral Keeper of the Holy Grail -- with "spiritual attunements" by Samuel Welsh. "Our research for 'Holy Grail' led me to the larger picture of Camelot," says Shulman, who also took a trip to Glastonbury, England in 1995 to study the area. "I feel that the energies of Camelot still reside in places like the Abbey there and the Michael Tor, the sacred hill which is pictured on the cover of Camelot Reawakened."

From 1996 through 2005 Richard focussed on the creation of the CD and DVD/video Camelot Reawakened: A Vision Fulfilled. Inspired by an inner vision, this project follows the manifestation of "Dreams of the Heart" in music and words. The CD and DVD feature a 35- piece orchestra consisting of members of the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, a choir, soloists, and Shulman at the piano. The concert and recording session were conducted by Robert Hart Baker.

Related albums recorded during this time include First Rites and Music to Walk the Labyrinth. The Camelot Reawakened CD won a 2003 Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) Visionary Award, and the DVD was a finalist in the 2006 awards. The DVD has also won an Award of Excellence and an honorable mention in the 2007 Accolade Competition.

In 2003, RichHeart Music released Shulman's duo album with cellist Adriana Contino, who for several years was the principal soloist for the Stuttgart, (Germany) Chamber Orchestra. New Beginnings explores the delicate balance between inner and outer listening in free flowing improvisations as well as upbeat and lyrical compositions. Shulman's solo piano CD, Music of Peace was released in June, 2006 and is music dedicated to and expressing inner peace.

His 2008 release, 11:11 Piano Meditations for Awakening, is a series of tranquil improvisations exploring "Wake up calls from Spirit." The 11:11 CD won a 2009 Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) Visionary Award for best CD in the meditational/healing music category.2009 brought the release of Sky Jazz, Shulman's first Jazz CD in many years, as well as the re-release on CD of "A Higher Dimension," a meditative solo piano album expressing qualities of spiritual realms.

After the completion of the Camelot Reawakened CD in 2002 and the DVD video in 2005, a friend sugguested a musical based on the Camelot Reawakened project.

"A Dream of Camelot" is a theatrical musical intended to portray the changing of deeply rooted patterns in the Archetype of Camelot for the sake of fulfilling dreams of the heart for individuals, society, and the planet.  Each song in “A Dream of Camelot” is an expression of consciousness in a process of maturing awareness. “A Dream of Camelot” has taken six years of writing and development to become the transformational catalyst it now is for casts and audiences alike.

2009 brought the first reading of the musical at the UR Light Center in Black Mountain, NC. The first full production, directed by Jerry Crouch, was presented at the Asheville NC Masonic Temple, March 11, 12, & 13, 2011 and the musical returned to the Masonic Temple March 29, 30, 31, and April 1, 2012, directed by Rock Eblen.

More info about the musical  "A Dream of Camelot" is available Here.

In 2013, Shulman is returning to and enhancing his own musical stream of healing and Divine Alignment with the production of a new album entitled "Bliss of Being." Although he has created eight albums of music for healing previously, these were all solo recordings, and "Bliss of Being" is his first ensemble recording with an intent of music for healing and divine connection. Shulman plays mostly piano on "The Bliss of Being" and a little synthesizer, and is joined by Adriana Contino - cello, Dielle Ciesco - vocals, Kate Steinbeck - flutes, and Bob Hinkle - crystal bowls to form The Pure Heart Ensemble. The international release date is June 21st 2013.

Richard Shulman currently lives in Asheville, NC and performs and records regionally and internationally.

LISTEN to Richard on BBSRadio. com on "Let's Find Out."

Guest Category: Arts, Performing Arts, Music, Spiritual, Meditation
Guest Occupation: Artist, Organic Farmer, Teacher, Wilderness Survival Facilitator
Guest Biography:

Simone Soucy, Colorado Artist, Organic Farmer, and Teacher of some of Tom Brown's Wilderness Survival Classes.

Guest Category: Earth & Space, Health & Lifestyle, Alternative Health, Self Help, Spiritual
Guest Occupation: Teacher, Course Designer, Fundraiser, Coordinator, Volunteer Activist, Writer, Shamanic Practitioner, Healer, President of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, Editor, Workshop Facilitator
Guest Biography:

Susan Mokelke, J.D., President, FSS Faculty

"The Foundation for Shamanic Studies has had enormous impact on our world, helping to connect people all over the world with powerful sources of compassion and wisdom. The core shamanic teachings originated, researched, and developed by Michael Harner are primary and timeless. By learning these practical and remarkably effective methods, people are able to make direct contact with the helping spirits of another reality and bring back knowledge and healing to our troubled planet. When a person travels this road, he or she comes to know, as a matter of experience not of faith, of the fundamental unity of all things—an understanding that lies at the heart of an enlightened society.

"With the support of FSS faculty, students, donors, and other friends of shamanism, as President I am committed to helping to build a vital and sustainable future for the Foundation—in service to our mission to teach, study, and preserve shamanic knowledge for the welfare of our earth and its inhabitants."

—Susan Mokelke

Susan has worked with non-profit educational organizations since 1978: teaching, designing courses and materials, making educational presentations, fundraising, coordinating volunteer activities, writing, working with websites, and producing videos. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Southern California and a Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles. She has been learning and practicing shamanism and shamanic healing since 1996.

In addition to her role as President, Susan is an FSS Faculty member. She has trained extensively in the Two Week Shamanic Healing Intensives and the Three-Year Programs of Advanced Initiations in Shamanism and Shamanic Healing – as well as teaching the Pacific Northwest Summertime Three Year program. Her articles on shamanism include Effective Core Shamanic Drumming Circles, Ethical Considerations in Shamanic Healing, and Core Shamanism and Daily Life. She developed the new FSS workshop Shamanism Practicum: Guidelines for a Healthy Shamanic Practice, and is the editor of the Shamanism Annual and the FSS E-Newsletter. She maintains an active shamanic healing practice.

"Susan Mokelke, who co-leads the Foundation for Shamanic Studies with me, has superb credentials as an outstanding shamanic healer and teacher. She is an inspiring, compassionate, and knowledgeable workshop leader. Anyone who studies with her can be sure of receiving the most up-to-date and accurate results of my research, for she maintains the gold standard of core shamanism. I recommend her enthusiastically." —Michael Harner

Her students say:

“Susan is filled with stories, grace, encouragement, authenticity, humor, and a strong sense of ethics. She demonstrates a vast knowledge and experience without any judging.”

“Susan is such a grounded, clear, honoring teacher and it is inspirational to witness her obvious comfort with, depth, and commitment to the spirit world and this work. Far from acting "the guru", Susan frequently redirects our questions back to us, encouraging us to seek the answer from our own Spirit Helpers. This approach further demonstrates her respect for the process and has helped me build confidence and familiarity with my own relationship with the spirit world."
—Christobel Macdonald, Three-Year Program student

"Thank you so much for such a great workshop (Basic Workshop) this past weekend! It was absolutely wonderful to get such a good grounding in shamanic practice, so clear and eloquently explained and with so much time for practice and discussion and experience."

"Excellent information and presented so well. Clear, kind, gentle, direct. Very knowledgeable."

Susan has had a lifelong interest in creativity and the creative process. She has composed two CDs of healing songs - Teachings from the Spirits (originally produced by FSS) and Be a Light - and has written a fantasy novel, Roseheart.

Guest Category: Education, Health & Lifestyle, Self Help, Spiritual, Shamanism
Guest Occupation: Cultural Anthropologist, Author, Educator, Consultant, Lecturer, Workshop Facilitator, Psychologist, Independent Publisher, Scholar
Guest Biography:

Angeles Arrien, Ph.D. is a cultural anthropologist, award-winning author, educator, and consultant to many organizations and businesses. She lectures and conducts workshops worldwide, bridging cultural anthropology, psychology, and comparative religions. Her work is currently used in medical, academic, and corporate environments. She is the President of the Foundation for Cross-Cultural Education and Research. Her books have been translated into thirteen languages and she has received three honorary doctorate degrees in recognition of her work.

Angeles' books include The Four-Fold Way: Walking the Paths of the Warrior, Teacher, Healer and Visionary; Signs of Life: The Five Universal Shapes and How to Use Them, (Winner of the 1993 Benjamin Franklin Award); and The Second Half of Life: Opening the Eight Gates of Wisdom, (Winner of the 2007 Nautilus Award for Best Book on Aging). Her recent book, Living in Gratitude: A Journey That Will Change Your Life is a Gold Medal Co-Winner of the 2012 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Award) in the category of Inspiration & Spirituality.

Guest Category: Education, Health & Lifestyle, Alternative Health, Energy Healing, Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Self Help, Spiritual
Guest Occupation: Activist, Environmentalist, Conservationist, Bank Business Developer, Asset Capital Manager, Wilderness Preservation Educator, Traveler, Volunteer
Guest Biography:

Claudia Campos, a passionate Activist and committed Environmentalist, was fortunate to grow up in the beauty of the Andes, the world's longest continental Mountain Range. Born in Bogota, a spectacular high plateau in the Andes mountains at 8600ft above sea level, she enjoyed a subtropical highland climate and spring-like weather year-round. Claudia was fortunate to be raised with an innate appreciation for Nature by her Parents, Nohrita and Guillermo. They instilled in Claudia from an early age the value of Conserving Water and Electricity and Planting Trees for the sake of future generations. These valuable lessons became an integral part of her life and many years later led her fiercely to RAVENS-WAY WILD JOURNEYS!

Guest Category: Earth & Space, Plant & Animals, Health & Lifestyle, Spiritual, Travel & Leisure
Guest Occupation: Naturalist, Ethnobotanist, Wildlife Biologist, Wilderness Survival Instructor, Conservationalist, Educator, Earth Steward
Guest Biography:

Vincent Pinto, Naturalist, Ethnobotanist, Wildlife Biologist, and Wilderness Survival Instructor Vincent Pinto has been teaching people of all ages, interests, and backgrounds about the Natural World since 1987.  As a passionate Conservationist, Vincent strives to educate and inspire within a framework of Environmental Stewardship and Earth Sustainability.  He has led countless individuals and groups throughout the country on Nature Adventures & Educational Programs on a myriad of fascinating topics: Ethnobotany , Natural History, Conservation, Bird-watching, Tracking, Stone-age Skills, Wilderness Survival Skills, Astronomy, Wildlife Habitat Restoration, Earth Stewardship, Sustainable Living Practices, and much more!

Guest Category: Earth & Space, Plant & Animals, Health & Lifestyle, Biology & Chemistry, Self Help, Spiritual, Travel & Leisure
Guest Occupation: Empowerment Coach, Dowser, Consultant, Author, Mountain Man, Teacher, Water Energizer, Violent Crime Fighter, Shamanistic, Media producer
Guest Biography:

Raymon Grace, a native of the mountains of Virginia, has spent the past 35 years empowering folks to gain more control of their lives. His work reaches people on wide social and economic levels.

With a unique and down-to-earth manner, he teaches in a style that characterizes his life. He is known as a dowser, consultant, author and Mountain Man.

Lecture tours have led him across North America, speaking to a wide variety of audiences.

His work and teaching have been used to reduce violence in schools, eliminate abuse of women and children as well as physical and mental benefits for indivduals.

He has been a guest on numerous radio talk shows including the well know "Coast to Coast AM Radio."

His work with energizing water is being used in several countries.

He has worked with law enforcement officers in both U.S. and Canada to successfully reduce violent crime.

He says among the compliments he appreciates the most from his students are, "You have made difficult subjects so easy to understand and use to benefit our lives.'' & "I no idea this class contained so much information, you have put me on overload.''

The Raymon Grace Foundation has been established to further his work. Visit the website at www.raymongracefoundation.org

He has authored three books.

"The Future is Yours - Do Something About It" which combines mind development, shamanism, dowsing, healing, and self-empowerment.

"Techniques That Work For Me” is an advanced dowsing manual.

"Seasons of April - How to Help Your Kids Succeed", tells how he used mental techniques and positive thinking to raise his daughter April.

He has also created a DVD for purifying and energizing water and a DVD for clearing energy in homes & schools, along with several other instructional DVDs & CDs.

His "Techniques" book has been translated into four languages and all of his books are translated into Chinese.

Guest Category: Health & Lifestyle, Alternative Health, Psychology, Self Help, Spiritual, Shamanism
Guest Occupation: Speaker, Author, Music Therapist, Spiritualist, Wellness Advocate, UpBeat Drum Circles Founder, Teambuilder, Trainer, Workshop Facilitator, Editor, Writer, Columnist
Guest Biography:

Christine Stevens, MSW, MA, MT-BC

Christine Stevens is an internationally acclaimed speaker, author, and music therapist. Holding masters degrees in both social work and music therapy, Christine inspires people all over the world with her message of music for holistic health, spirituality and wellness.

Christine is the author of Music Medicine, The Healing Drum Kit, and The Art and Heart of Drum Circles book and DVD. She has recorded two play-along CDs; Reviving Rhythms, and Drumming Up Diva.

Christine is the founder of UpBeat Drum Circles, offering diversity training, teambuilding, and wellness presentations world-wide. She has trained facilitators and led workshops in more than twenty countries, including Iraq, Hong Kong, Brazil, South Africa, Japan, and Western Europe. Christine trains HealthRHYTHMS facilitators throughout the United States, England and Japan through Remo, the world's largest drum company. A leader in the music and wellness movement, Christine also serves on the editorial board of Explore: A Journal of Science and Healing.

Christine's work in Iraq was recently featured in the book and DVD Discover the Gift. Televised media credits include: PBS, NBC, KABC-Los Angeles, KTLA - Los Angeles, Tournament of Roses Parade, London Tonight, Living Better TV, Discovery Health, & Hong Kong News. As a contributing writer, Christine's has been featured in Fitness Magazine, Spirituality & Health, Body & Soul, Fast Company, First for Women Magazine, The Oriental News, The Christian Science Monitor, US News & World Report, Yogi Times, and Natural Beauty and Health.

Guest Category: Performing Arts, Health & Lifestyle, Alternative Health, Sound Healing, Self Help, Spiritual
Guest Occupation: Shaman, Healer, Author, Ceremonial Leader, Workshop Facilitator, Pigrimage and Retreat Facilitator, Don Jose Matsuwa adopted grandson
Guest Biography:

Brant Secunda is a shaman, healer and traditional ceremonial leader who completed a 12-year apprenticeship with Don José Matsuwa, the renowned Huichol shaman who passed away in 1990 at the age of 110.

For over 30 years, Brant has been leading conferences, workshops and retreats around the globe. He is a co-founder of the American Herbalist Guild, the Peace University, and the Huichol Foundation. He is also the co-author of the award-winning book Fit Soul Fit Body, 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You.

Brant Secunda’s initiation into the Huichol Indian tribe was a five day vision quest, a period of isolation in the wilderness without food and water, in a sacred cave in the Huichol Sierras known to the Huichols as the Cave of Grandmother Growth.

Initiations: Other rites of passage included capturing and releasing a wild rattle snake with his bare hands to face his fear of death, enduring a fourteen month fruit fast to enhance his sensitivity to the natural world, and surviving a nine day vision quest so that he may, according to Huichol cosmology, learn the language of the gods. The nine-day vision quest, considered lengthy by Huichol standards, along with several other five-day vision quests, helped to establish Brant as a respected initiate within the Huichol nation.

Guest Category: Health & Lifestyle, Alternative Health, Energy Healing, Self Help, Motivational, Spiritual, Shamanism, Travel & Leisure
Guest Occupation: Diviner, Psychic Reader, Teacher, Healer, Meditator
Guest Biography:

Joe Mullally - Traditional Healer Diviner and Psychic Reader A traditional practitioner and teacher, he lives and works from the ANAM Centre Tralee Co. Kerry and Blessington - just outside Dublin City in Ireland. Joe is a former chairman of the Irish Society of Diviners and The 'Irish Psychic Society' He holds a T.Eng qualification in Electrical Engineering. Joe Mullally has been a practicing diviner, psychic reader and healer for over twenty years.

Guest Category: Health & Lifestyle, Alternative Health, Fitness & Exercise, Yoga, Self Help, Motivational, Tantra Sex, Spiritual, Shamanism
Guest Occupation: Huna Materials Publisher, Hawaiian Culture Expert, Novelist, Author, Shaman, Speaker, Lecturer, Teacher, Workshop Facilitator, Storyteller, Scholar, Psychologist, Healer, Humanitarian
Guest Biography:

AUTHOR
Serge Kahili King, Ph. D., has published the world's largest selection of books and tapes on Huna, the Polynesian philosophy and practice of effective living, and on the spirit of Aloha, the attitude of love and peace for which the Hawaiian Islands are so famous. He also writes extensively on Hawaiian culture and is a novelist as well. Critics describe his style as "practical, down-to-earth, and easy to grasp." He maintains this clarity in his books, his audio and video tapes, and his articles. You can find many of his works at The Huna Store, and you may read some of his articles at The Library Hut of the Hawaiian Huna Village, sponsored by Aloha International.

SPEAKER
Using his academic background, his years of training in African and Hawaiian shamanism, his experience in community development, and his cross-cultural research as source material, Dr. King has developed lectures, workshops and courses to provide people around the world with ways and means to improve their lives. In addition to speaking and teaching in many countries, he has formed Aloha International, a world-wide network of teachers, counselors, massage therapists and more than ten thousand individual members for the purpose of sharing his teachings. On his home island of Hawaii he gives workshops and trainings throughout the year, and holds teaching sessions every month that air regularly on cable television in the islands and on the US mainland.

STORYTELLER
Dr. King is the author and designer of Search For Pele, an edutainment CD-ROM game based on the legends, language and geography of the Big Island of Hawaii. He is also the author of Dangerous Journeys, a teaching story for Urban Shamans, and is well-known for his fascinating presentations of traditional legends.

SCHOLAR
His academic background includes a Ph.D. in psychology from California Coast University, a Master's degree in International Management from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird) in Arizona, and a Bachelor's degree in Asian Studies from the University of Colorado, where he also became a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. King also teaches and guides healing circles on two virtual islands owned by Aloha International in Second Life.

HUMANITARIAN
During seven years in West Africa, Dr. King directed community development and disaster relief programs for Catholic Relief Services in Dahomey (now Benin), Togo, Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania. He organized, funded and administered school lunch programs, nutrition education programs, agricultural development programs, social services programs, leprosy treatment programs, and credit union programs. President Leopold Sedar Senghor, then president of Senegal, gave him a medal and inducted him into the Grand Ordre National du Senegal in recognition of his services to the African people.

SHAMAN
When Serge Kahili King was fourteen he was initiated into the path of Hawaiian shamanism by his father. At eighteen he was adopted as the grandson of Joseph Kahili of Kauai, a "kupua" or shaman of the Hawaiian tradition. In addition to his years of training with the Kahili family, Dr. King spent seven years in West Africa being trained in African shamanic traditions, and has made in-depth studies of other such traditions around the world. Today he teaches people how to use shamanic healing techniques and uses his knowledge to help others discover their own creative power.

Guest Category: Earth & Space, Health & Lifestyle, Alternative Health, Energy Healing, History, Psychology, Self Help, Spiritual, Shamanism
Guest Occupation: West African Elder, Author, Teacher, Village Representative, Ancient Wisdom Teacher, Visionary, Keynote Speaker, Workshop Leader, Retreat Facilitator, Trainer
Guest Biography:

Malidoma Patrice Some´ Phd., West African Elder, author and teacher, as representative of his village in Burkina Faso, West Africa, has come to the west to share the ancient wisdom and practices which have supported his people for thousands of years.

It is possible that we have been brought together at this time because we have profound truths to teach each other. Toward that end, I offer the wisdom of the African ancestors so that Westerners might find the deep healing they seek.

The spark of this ancestral flame, which I have brought to the land of the stranger, is now burning brightly. Increasingly, I have been and will be encouraging westerners to embody these traditions as a testimony to the indigenous capacity to assert itself with dignity in the face of modernity. In this way the ancestors will know that this medicine has found a true home- that it is more than an honored guest.

At this critical time in history, the earth’s people are awakening to a deep need for global healing. African wisdom, so long held secret, is being called on to provide tools to enable us to move into a more peaceful and empowered way of being, both within ourselves, and within our communities. The indigenous spirit in each of us is calling for cleansing and reconciliation. The ancestors are responding. – Malidoma

These programs detailed here are some of those most often requested when Malidoma’s teaching and facilitation are invited into a community. Malidoma’s indigenous wisdom is equally applicable to individuals, families, communities and corporate organizations, and we look forward to opportunities for collaborative enterprises committed to manifesting the visions that the spirit world is calling forth. If you are considering inviting Malidoma to be a keynote speaker, workshop leader, retreat facilitator and/or trainer, please contact the office for further information and support.

Guest Category: Earth & Space, Health & Lifestyle, Alternative Health, History, Self Help, Spiritual, Travel & Leisure
Guest Occupation: Siberian Wisdom Conveyor, Psychiatrist, Researcher, Traveler, Author, Cliffhouse Publications Founder
Guest Biography:

Olga Yahontova (aka - Olga Kharitidi) was born in Siberia, in the former Soviet Union. She has traveled extensively throughout Siberia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, following the ancient wisdom that spread from Siberia to Central Asia, Tibet, and the Himalayas. She is now in the United States, conveying her knowledge of Siberian wisdom and continuing her path of exploration and discovery.

BOOK: Master of Lucid Dreams

Why don’t people heal? Why do they stay wounded--some even driven to suicide by their pain-despite the best that organic and psychological medicine can offer? To find the answers, Russian--born psychiatrist Olga Yahontova (aka - Olga Kharitidi) traveled to exotic Samarkand, a major cultural and spiritual crossroads, and ancient capital of Uzbekistan, in the heart of Central Asia.

BOOK: Entering the Circle

Olga Yahontova’s (aka - Olga Kharitidi) debut book is a remarkable account of her spiritual adventure in snowbound Siberia. Joining an ailing friend on a spontaneous trip to the Atai Mountains, Dr. Yahontova is taken into apprenticeship by a native Shaman who guides her through bizarre, magical, and often terrifying experiences that open her eyes to a wellspring of deeper learning. On the road to Belovedia, a fabled civilization of highly evolved beings, she encounters revolutionary mystical teachings while discovering ancient secrets of magic and healing. At once a modern odyssey and a timeless dreamscape, Entering the Circle is an inspiring story of personal growth and an insightful work about the limitless potential of human spirit.

Guest Category: Health & Lifestyle, History, Psychology, Self Help, Spiritual, Travel & Leisure
Guest Occupation: Spiritual Counselor, 13 Indigenous Grandmothers Embassador, Healer
Guest Biography:

In 2004, I prayed for a vision that my highest service would be offered in the years ahead. What I received was something I could not have imagined: Spirit told me that I would be entrusted to bring together some of "her most precious jewels" into a single basket.

Those jewels are the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers – a council of elders from around the world that came together with great beauty and remarkable synchronicities. Through connecting with these elders, I discovered that this Council had been the subject of many ancient prophecies, all of which agree that they are to play a prominent role in global healing at this time.

For the last years, we have traveled to each others’ homelands for collective rituals that are committed to healing work, as well as to visit with leaders such as the Dalai Lama. Everywhere we have gone, profound, magical, amazing transformations have happened.

I have become clear that this circle is divinely guided, that the lineages they offer are a key for collective transformation and that they are giving us a profound medicine for our times. That’s why I have committed my entire life to advancing their work.

When we did our first virtual Grandmothers Solstice call with The Shift Network, 20,000 people responded from around the world – a remarkable outpouring of love, prayer and blessing. Now, we are working to bring more of their wisdom to people who cannot travel to a live circle and who want to go deeper than a book or DVD.

That’s why all the Grandmothers are excited by this virtual gathering, which offers them a way to share their wisdom and support our collective work, so that together we can all contribute to the healing and growth for our planet.

I cannot promise you exactly what you will learn or what they will teach. So often, their guidance is immediate, spontaneous, and in the moment. So the "curriculum" will be looser than you might expect for a virtual offering.

But what I’ve seen is that the spontaneous healings that come from entering into a space of reverence and prayer together are life-changing and well worth it.

I thus invite you join us in this virtual circle where we will share wisdom and deepen our journey together. Mother Earth is crying out for healing and together we can create some powerful openings for a renewed world.

I hope you can join us!

Jyoti
Ambassador of The 13 Indigenous Grandmothers

Guest Category: Earth & Space, Health & Lifestyle, Alternative Health, History, Spiritual
Guest Occupation: Shaman, Artist, Field Associate, Audio and Video Producer, Educator, Columnist
Guest Biography:

I am a member of the Choctaw Nation and have been practicing the Shamanic Art for 40 years.

I am available for both in-person and long-distance healing sessions.

  I am an artist. You are cordially invited to visit Pastels by Susan to see some examples of my work

I am a Field Associate for the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, specializing in audio/visual documentation, and I have produced two videos and one audio CD:

  • (Video) A remarkable documentary filmed in North China and Inner Mongolia allowing you to experience the living traditions of the Manchu and Mongol people.  The 37 minute film includes an ancient harvest ritual, a ceremony for healing and interviews with shamans.
    Order online

  • "Healing Rituals of Tuvan Shamans" (Video) This 45 minute video shows a divination, several healing rituals, and an explanation of Tuvan healing techniques.

  • Order online

  • "Tuvan Shamanic Healing" (audio CD) Tuvan Shaman Ai-Churek Oiun learned the ancient art of throat singing directly through her relationship with the drum and the spirits. The drumming style used by Ai-Churek is not typical of Tuvan shamanism and is distinctive to her. This healing ritual was recorded in California during a workshop sponsored by the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. A circle of healing, rich in vibratory overtones, is woven by this one female voice, her drum and her dream.

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I recently retired as the Vice President of the non-profit foundation, Native Cultural Alliance, which provides educational programs and health supplies to a district in the Brazilian Amazon Rain Forrest.

My various articles include, "Healing and Trance Dancing in Grenada", "In the Words of the Shaman", and "Shamanic Response to an Allergic Reaction".

My work was featured in an article in September, 2003 issue of SELF magazine, titled "A New Prescription for Happiness" by Deb Abramson. The section about my practice is called "Shamanic Healing - The Chanting Cure"

Guest Category: Health & Lifestyle, Alternative Health, Self Help, Spiritual, Shamanism, TV & Film
Guest Occupation: Dream Teacher, Active Dreaming Creator, Dream Expert, Shaman, NDE Experiencer, Speaker, Teacher, Lecturer, Novelist, Journalist, Scholar, Visionary, Healer, Workshop Facilitator
Guest Biography:

Robert Moss describes himself as a dream teacher, on a path for which there has been no career track in our culture. He is the creator of Active Dreaming, an original synthesis of dreamwork and shamanism. Born in Australia, he survived three near-death experiences in childhood. He leads popular seminars all over the world, including a three-year training for teachers of Active Dreaming. A former lecturer in ancient history at the Australian National University, he is a best-selling novelist, journalist and independent scholar. His nine books on dreaming, shamanism and imagination include Conscious Dreaming, Dreamways of the Iroquois, The Dreamer's Book of the Dead, The Three ""Only"" Things,The Secret History of Dreaming, Dreamgates, Active Dreaming and Dreaming the Soul Back Home: Shamanic Dreaming for Healing and Becoming Whole.

He identifies the great watershed in his adult life as a sequence of visionary events that unfolded in 1987-1988, after he decided to leave the world of big cities and the fast-track life of a popular novelist and put down roots on a farm in the upper Hudson Valley of New York. Moss started dreaming in a language he did not know that proved to be an archaic form of the Mohawk language. Helped by native speakers to interpret his dreams, Moss came to believe that they had put him in touch with an ancient healer, an arendiwanen or "woman of power" and that they were calling him to a different life.

Out of these experiences he wrote a series of historical novels (The Firekeeper, Fire Along the Sky, The Interpreter) and developed the practice he calls Active Dreaming, an original synthesis of contemporary dreamwork and shamanic methods of journeying and healing. A central premise of Moss's approach is that dreaming isn't just what happens during sleep; dreaming is waking up to sources of guidance, healing and creativity beyond the reach of the everyday mind.

He introduced his method to an international audience as an invited presenter at the conference of the International Association for the Study of Dreams at the University of Leiden in 1994.

Core techniques of Active Dreaming include

The “lightning dreamwork” process, designed to facilitate quick dream-sharing that results in helpful action; the use of the “if it were my dream” protocol encourages the understanding that the dreamer is always the final authority on his or her dream

Dream reentry: the practice of making a conscious journey back inside a dream in order to clarify information, dialogue with a dream character, or move beyond nightmare terrors into healing and resolution

Tracking and group dreaming: conscious dream travel on an agreed itinerary by two or more partners, often supported by shamanic drumming

Navigating by synchronicity: reading coincidence and “symbolic pop-ups” in ordinary life as “everyday oracles”.

Over the past 20 years, he has led seminars at the Esalen Institute, Kripalu, the Omega Institute, the New York Open Center, Bastyr University, John F. Kennedy University, Meriter Hospital, and many other centers and institutions. He has taught depth workshops in Active Dreaming in the UK, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Brazil and Austria and leads a three-year training for teachers of Active Dreaming. He hosts the ""Way of the Dreamer"" radio show at www.healthylife.net.

He has appeared on many TV and radio shows, ranging from Charlie Rose and the Today show to Coast to Coast and the Diane Rehm show on NPR. His articles on dreaming have been published in media ranging from Parade to Shaman's Drum.

Moss was a keynote speaker at the IASD world conference in Chicago in June 2009. He was keynote presenter at the East Coast conference of the Institute of Transpersonal Studies in October 2009 and the keynote speaker at the A.R.E.'s Easter conference in 2010. His books have been published in more than 20 foreign languages.

Guest Category: Health & Lifestyle, Alternative Health, Energy Healing, History, Near Death Experiences, Psychology, Self Help, Spiritual, Shamanism
Guest Occupation: Shaman, Healer, NDE Experiencer, Channel, Yew Communicator, Wisdom Keeper, Writer, Journalist, Sacred Yew Institute Founder, Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist, Lecturer, Workshop Facilitator, Teacher
Guest Biography:

Michael was born in Glasgow, Scotland 1964. He gradually and painfully became aware of his calling as a shaman - healer following a series of near - death experiences in the late 1980's. The first of these involved an encounter with an Elemental (Sulfur) spirit in the far north of Scotland near Thurso (Thor's River.) A second occurred several years later in Edinburgh. The combination of these encounters with numerous others entirely destroyed his health. Michael began to experience visions, prolonged out of body and altered states of consciousness as well as intense physical pain. Managing his life on a daily basis became an impossible challenge. He was finally rescued by a friend who lived in a small cottage close to an incalculably ancient female Yew tree in the south east of Scotland. This marked the beginning of a 9 + year period of healing and the direct transmission of an initiation knowledge that took place under the vast enclosure of the tree. Michael believes that he was led to the Yew tree. He also believes that the Yew sent him to US to communicate its message. The Yew was once regarded by the indigenous and pre -Celtic shaman-healers (original Druids) as a great source of occult experiential knowledge holding the keys to an an ancient language of healing and rejuvenation. A brief account of Michael's experiences under the yew tree can be read in the book Soul Companions-Conversations with Contemporary Wisdom keepers. A Collection of Encounters with Spirit  by Karen Sawyer. He has also written for the shamanic journal Sacred Hoop and for the Journal of Shamanic Practice (article to appear in Spring 2013 issue.)  In 2009 Michael founded the Sacred Yew Institute. The institute offers a two-year professional training in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy as well as a lecture series on the occult history of the Yew tree and workshops throughout US in Yewshamanism and The Essence of the Five Trees Teachings. Michael currently lives in rural Western Massachusetts.

Guest Category: Health & Lifestyle, Alternative Health, Energy Healing, Paranormal, Philosophy, Psychology, Self Help, Spiritual, Shamanism
Guest Occupation: Tatanka Wanagi Wichasta, Buffalo Spirit Man, Healer, Shaman, Therapist, Energy Psychologist, Spiritualist, Teacher, Coach, Mind-Body Connector
Guest Biography:

Steven Ash was born in Cornwall, England and grew up on Wikwamikong on Lake Huron – an Indian reservation in Ontario, Canada. A man of extraordinary abilities as a healer and shaman, he inherited these talents from his father Dr. Michael Ash, who was the reservation doctor and the first doctor to practice acupuncture in the UK. Steven studied Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, Tai Chi and Qi Kung and holds a doctorate in radiaesthesia.

His profound connection with Mother Earth and her plant and mineral kingdom has enabled him to gain extensive insight into the healing abilities of plants and crystals, and to use this knowledge in the continued development and refinement of the Rainbow Essences.

Steven carries the  spirit name Tatanka Wanagi Wichasta – Buffalo Spirit Man –  which was given to him by Eagle Man Ed McGaa. Steven’s vision and life mission is to help facilitate the return of the Rainbow Tribe as predicted by Black Elk, and in his work and through his life he teaches and shares the concept of the Rainbow Medicine Circle as a basis for a healthy, flourishing family and community.

Both Steven and Renata were adopted as spiritual grandchildren by Grandfather Wallace Black Elk and have been appointed as carriers of the Peace Pipe, an honor that is rarely bestowed on white people.

Rainbow Medicine Circle was founded by Steven & Renata Ash, a husband and wife team of therapists, international teachers and gifted healers who specialise in personal development, energy psychology and shamanism. Renata and Steven are recognised worldwide as experts in the field of energy medicine and have researched and worked with the human energy anatomy for over 20 years. Together they developed the Rainbow Essences – a new generation of flower and gemstone essences perfectly tuned to the human energy body and designed to help people embrace change and move through life’s challenges with more grace and ease. They are also the originators of the Golden Light Project, a powerful 13 day program for personal and global healing and transformation that has gained worldwide reputation for its effectiveness and no-nonsense approach to spiritual and personal growth.

Guest Category: Health & Lifestyle, Alternative Health, Energy Healing, Homeopathy, Psychology, Self Help, Motivational, Spiritual, Shamanism
Guest Occupation: Alternative Therapist, Biodyanmic Psychotherapist, Clinical Aromatherapist, Shamanic Healer, Musician, Teacher, Spiritualist, Coach, Mind-Body Connector
Guest Biography:

Renat Ash, also known as the Blue Star Woman, was born in Austria and trained in medicine and numerous alternative therapies, amongst them biodynamic psychotherapy, clinical aromatherapy, Vocal Awareness, PSYCH-K and various forms of energy medicine and shamanic healing. She is an internationally renowned healer, musician and teacher specialising in spiritual psychotherapy and the mind-body connection.

Renata’s extraordinary ability to clearly see the energetic status of the people she works with makes her a powerful healer and coach who is able to pinpoint problem areas and suggest effective ways to overcome challenges and return to a state of balance.

Her work is focused on helping people take responsibility for their experiences and trust in their own ability and power to make changes that allow their lives to unfold in the most inspiring, fulfilling and empowering way possible.

Rainbow Medicine Circle was founded by Steven & Renata Ash, a husband and wife team of therapists, international teachers and gifted healers who specialise in personal development, energy psychology and shamanism. Renata and Steven are recognised worldwide as experts in the field of energy medicine and have researched and worked with the human energy anatomy for over 20 years. Together they developed the Rainbow Essences – a new generation of flower and gemstone essences perfectly tuned to the human energy body and designed to help people embrace change and move through life’s challenges with more grace and ease. They are also the originators of the Golden Light Project, a powerful 13 day program for personal and global healing and transformation that has gained worldwide reputation for its effectiveness and no-nonsense approach to spiritual and personal growth.

Guest Category: Health & Lifestyle, Alternative Health, Energy Healing, Homeopathy, Self Help, Motivational, Spiritual, Shamanism