I recently read a post online in which someone commented that serious practitioners don’t “dream up” courses to teach, they work with their helping spirits who guide and illuminate what to teach or impart.
I agree completely with that statement.
The Shamanic methodology that I practice and teach was literally given to me by my Helping Spirits who then showed me a clear image guiding me to spread my work.
When I wrote the curriculum for the Shamanism Courses that I teach, I did not start with a market research plan of “what types of teaching are people looking for”; I started with the question of “what information needs to be conveyed in order for this student to achieve the grounding necessary to safely open up their Connection to Spirit in a way that allows the Good Medicine to Flow within and through them.”
When I first started practicing Shamanism professionally, I could not reconcile the ways in which I had initially been educated with the realities of what was required in order to achieve the intended results for my clients. In my opinion, individual shamanic techniques like Extraction and Soul Retrieval cannot be isolated in practice. These are not therapies to be ordered off a spa menu like a reflexology treatment and a mud wrap; yet many of the practitioners offering Shamanic Healing services were doing exactly that.
I look at each session with a holistic approach. In my way of working, I ask that whatever healing is necessary and appropriate at this time be done. The unhealthy patterns that we have carried with us for decades (or even generations) can only be truly shifted once we get underneath the level of the belief system and address the very core agreements we have made about ourselves, the world and our place within it; and I trust that the Helping Spirits that I work with will guide that process. Whatever healing is called for will be done; the Helping Spirits will determine the techniques to be used; my job is to remain open as a Hollow Bone to allow the Good Medicine to flow through me. It is this holistic approach to healing and Shamanism that I pass on to my students.
The process of teaching Shamanism evolved organically for me, a result of accumulated life experience plus the calling of Spirit. I never even considered teaching my methodology until I received clear and strong guidance to do so from Spirit. What seems so naturally a part of my being today was not fully integrated within me when I was a younger man and therefore it was only when the right timing arrived that I was called into service in this way.
It is important to understand that to effectively practice (and especially to teach) Shamanism, we must be fully grounded and rooted in our connection to Spirit and Mother Earth. Maintaining alignment with a higher purpose such as bringing healing and balance to the Web of Life is a prerequisite that allows Good Medicine to flow through us for the purpose of assisting others. When we remember that pollution and desecration of the outside world are reflections of the spiritual pain and suffering within individual humans; we understand that when we contribute to bringing an individual back into health and balance we also make a positive contribution to the Web of Life.
I have always had a natural affinity for the study of energy movement and the ability to communicate with plants and animals. Over time, by immersing myself in the world of nature, this gift evolved to the point where the land itself was speaking to me regularly. As I walked trails and wilderness areas, I would feel called to a specific location to receive a message; a tree, a rock, or a passing animal would communicate to me some droplet of wisdom that was perfectly timed and appropriate for my personal growth in the moment. Remaining open to receiving this information, and then later stepping into full trust of this guidance moved me along my life path until the point that I was ready to share this gift with others. First in the form of my book, Voices of the Earth; then in the form of leading private guided nature experiences, and then as a Shamanic Energy Healer and Tai Chi & Qigong Instructor; I moved through progressive steps of “coming out” to the world to share my gifts. I had overcome many hurdles of self-doubt and childhood programming about what constituted an acceptable career; and increasing numbers of people began to seek me out for sessions.
A series of seemingly random events converged to move me into the realm of teaching. I received an email from someone saying that she had heard of my book and would really love to get a copy. Rather than ordering online, she explained that she worked on the cruise ship that comes into Kauai once per week and asked if could I come and meet her near where the ship docks so she could buy my book and meet me in person. My guidance said yes, so I went to meet her. In the process of introduction she looked at me with great urgency, literally slapped a bracelet on my wrist without asking and said “I have been to the Amazon. A Shaman there gave me 7 bracelets to distribute out into the world; this is one of them, I have been tasked with picking the right people to receive this Medicine; because of your book, I have chosen you”.
Soon thereafter, my life changed rapidly. I was empowered to leave the toxic relationship with the mother of my daughter (who physically tried to tear the bracelet off my wrist on my way out her door). People who were joining me for nature excursions began reaching out to me and seeking healing. Out of the blue, a practitioner from Australia asked me if I would teach her my methodology. We arranged for her to spend 5 weeks studying with me here on Kauai. Honestly I had no idea exactly what I was going to teach her, but Spirit had given me the directive to say yes, so I did. I approached the teaching by journeying to ask Spirit what information needed to be transmitted to my student that day. I continued to meet her where she was in her understanding of what Spirit was trying to convey, and every night after the teachings for the day were complete I journeyed to ask again, “what is next?” My Spirit Helpers gave me a series of journey topics for her to complete each day. I never questioned where we were going; I trusted in the guidance being given to me that the process would bring itself to a complete turn of the Medicine Wheel by the time she was ready to depart. As the curriculum developed, I watched her grow and overcome long time habits and patterns of dependence with which she had been struggling for years.
As the course concluded, I was given the guidance to have my student journey on the question of “what is Right Relationship for the path forward from here now that this time of study together has come to its conclusion?” I also did the journey myself and I was shown a vision of ripples spreading out in concentric circles on a calm body of water from one central point where a water droplet had landed. I heard the words “you can help far more people by teaching than through individual session work. When you embrace this, the ripples of your work will spread throughout the Web of Life to make a positive difference as each person who learns from you will then apply the teachings to assist others.” Then the vision changed and multiple center points appeared along the rings of concentric ripples, each one emanating ripples of their own. “This is the work of your students helping others once they have completed their studies with you.” The journey ended.
At that time, I rarely checked my FB account for messages. The day after my student departed, I opened my account to find a message that had been sitting in my FB inbox for 2 weeks from a woman in England who was contacting me to inquire if I had a teaching program. She said she was very interested to learn my work and had been looking everywhere to find a program that felt right to her. I apologized for the delay in my reply, told her that I would be happy to teach her and soon thereafter my second student arrived for a 6 week stay.
Students continued to arrive at my doorstep as if sent directly from Spirit. One had a session with me and a few days later cancelled her flight back to the mainland to spend 3 months studying; others contacted me out of the blue to say they were coming to Kauai and wanted to learn from me, friends of friends came to me via word of mouth, and finally one woman inspired our online curriculum by asking if we could meet by Video Conference twice a month for a year in order for her to study with me.
As the process continued to repeat itself and each new student came to me, I adapted the curriculum to meet their needs, gained a broader understanding of how people learn, and developed a 3 stage training program that is appropriately segmented and paced according to the speed at which different aspects of the training can be assimilated. Soon I needed to expand the classes to multiple students in order to accommodate the increased demand.
Before I had even realized what was happening, more than a full calendar year had passed and I had been teaching full time without any mention of it on my website or in any other public domain. Now I offer classes year round to students from all over the world who wish to learn a grounded, safe and effective method of applied shamanism. Shamanic Spirit Medicine has grown to offer group workshops on Kauai, Live Online Classes and a Video Learning Program.
As I recollected the events that have brought me to where I am today, I can truly say that my path has been given to me by the Helping Spirits and that my foremost contribution has been my willingness to step up and fully embrace the road I have been given to follow.
To learn more about our Shamanic Training Programs please visit: https://shamanicspiritmedicine.com/shaman-training-hawaii