Learn from the Wisdom of the Aboriginal Peoples of the World.
Aboriginal societies have histories rich in knowledge and experience that the modern world is just beginning to appreciate and understand. These GrandFather and GrandMother people – our elders in planetary wisdom – gladly share their teachings with those willing to learn. Their one request is that what we learn we share with others also willing to learn.
Prerequisites: The NextStage Student Phase One Program is recommended but not always required.
This series of ten lessons, one 6-10 hour weekend day per month for a total of nine months explores topics as varied as how we and our world change, how we can direct change, becoming aware of our own choices and lifepath, creating sacred spaces, spirit guides, totems and recognizing our personal powers. he bulk of the first class is devoted to community building and discussion to prepare participants for future classes. Each following class starts with community building, review and catch-up discussions.
Introduction – What do Grandfather and Grandmother have to teach us? A discussion of various aboriginal concepts of life and the individual’s place in the universe.
Elements of Change – Although aboriginals have been around for millennia, they have had to adapt rapidly in the past 500 years to incredible changes in their social, cultural, and ethno-centric belief systems as white society impinges upon them. Change wasn’t something new to them and many of these people anticipated the coming of their modern brothers. How do the elders’ lessons of Change interact with our present day lives, and what can they teach us about dealing effectively with Change?
Discovering Your Life Path – Aboriginal peoples live their lives primarily in the four ordinal directions. Each of these directions has a lesson, a teaching, a purpose, and some role to play in living our lives. The interplay of these four directions and what they signify is the individual’s Life Path. Knowing your Life Path can help solve problems in work, play, relationships, goals; literally all aspects of how we presently live our lives versus living full, complete, and whole lives. This class deals with understanding how to determine your Life Path.
Personal Totems – Whether we realize it or not, we carry symbols and archetypes of our four personal elements, our personal ordinal directions, (mind, body, emotion, and spirit) with us at all times. In some cases this is intentional; we carry good luck charms, religious items, and other items. In some cases it is unintentional which means we may carry items calling unhelpful energies to us. It is useful to be aware of Personal Totems and how understanding them can help solve problems in our lives. How do personal totems, guides, allies, and protectors come to us, regardless if we’re aware of them or not, and how can we greet and embrace them when they make their presence known? This class deals with becoming aware of our personal totems, allies, guides, guardians, teachers, protectors, and such.
Creating a Sacred Space – Part of walking the Life Path is developing and maintaining a space where your beliefs are sacred. An archetype of this sacred space is always carried inside us, which is where one and sometimes more of our personal totems, guides and protectors stays and waits. A powerful tool in walking the Life Path is to externalize our inner sacred space. This can be done on a desktop, on a bureau, on a wall, in a room, a home, and so on. Externalizing this sacred space provides us with a physical place to feel safe. This is an important part of all healing work, especially with victims of abuse. This class provides tools, suggestions, and ideas for externalizing your internal sacred space and, through this externalization, celebrating and honoring the inner and outer self.
Totem Divination – Following up the work done in previous classes, this class offers ways to discover personal totems and includes interpretations for healings and understanding. Participants are encouraged to have a new understanding of their God-us spaces, alters and sacred spaces.
Medicine Shields – Following and Building on previous classes, this class’ discussion explains the use and medicine available through Medicine Shields. Using the concepts of Mirroring and Echoing, readers are encouraged and given tools to recognize the shields which may already exist in their lives. If these existing shields are healthful, honor and intensify them. If these existing shields are harmful, still honor them because they are there as teachers, then learn their lessons and move on.
Shield Making – This class ties together the work done previously. Here the participant uses what they’ve learned about Totems which they’ve recognized or welcomed into their lives, creating and honoring their Sacred Spaces, and the use and power of Medicine Shields to create their own Medicine Shields. These Shields can be for themselves, significant others in their lives, their homes, their businesses; anything which is active in their lives.
Understanding Circles – Everything from Native American Powwows to Italian Festas to Celtic Gatherings to the Universe itself exists in circles, yet most people have never been formally trained in how to create circles for practice, ceremony or ritual purposes. This session explains the history of Circles from a cross-cultural ceremonial perspective and provides guidelines for those wishing to create and explore their own circles both for themselves and others.
Conclusion – Walking your Path in the Modern World. A summary of all the lessons thus far and a birthing ceremony as we enter into our newly recognized lives.
Full Program – $12,000 – Next series begins July 2017
Travel and accommodation not included. Location: TBD
Sliding scale fees and payment plans may be available. Contact us for more information.