Explore the shamanic perspective of plant medicines for the body, soul and spirit, and how you can establish heart-centered relationships with them to learn the medicine from the plants themselves. You will move deeply into the intelligence of nature, and learn how to access it through visioning, intuition, dreaming, felt sensation and breath. Various shamanic uses of plants, such as smudging, protection and power, offering, visionary, and ceremonial uses will be covered.
You will also explore the three worlds and the medicine wheel, and how plants can be better understood through their position on this cosmological map of nature. We will also study the specific plants used in North and South American shamanic cultures, including their botany, pharmacology, animal associations, habitat, geographic distribution, doctrine of signatures, medicinal uses, and shamanic/ceremonial uses. Finally, you will experience “greenbreath,” a very healing and transformative kind of focused breathing developed by Pam Montgomery, author of Plant Spirit Healing. This breathwork truly embodies the wisdom and medicine of the plant spirits.
Saturday’s workshop will focus on the shamanic context of perceiving plants – going into depth on the role of the shamanic figure, how to heal with plants, the cosmology and philosophies of nature, and exploring of North and South American plants commonly used in a shamanic ritual. Saturday will be mostly lecture and discussion to gain the theoretical framework of deepening our relationship and connectedness to the plants.
Sunday’s workshop will be a hands-on, interactive workshop which offers direct experience to further integrate the material from Saturday’s session. You will directly experience the intelligence of the plants through sensory awareness exercises, heart-centered plant meditation, toning, applying the doctrine of signatures, and “greenbreath.”
Upon completion of the seminar you will be able to: