This January I ran two workshops at Andrew Dunham’s “The Geode”, which I called ‘The Condor and the Jaguar‘. These proved so successful, in terms of the profound impact and experiences of the those who participated, that I have been asked to return to London to run two more, again facilitated and hosted by Andrew.

Another Andrew, a Chi-Gong trainer, yoga instructor and healer who attended had this to say about his experience:

I loved the entire set up, the warmth and the energy of the place. The explanations were clear and there was enough practice time to go into a light trance. I’ve felt energized after the training with a deep feeling of connection and peace. I will definitively return for more.

Another participant Rula described the workshop as an

Energising, uplifting..magical experience

I will be leaving for Brazil soon, and will be living there full time, so this is the last opportunity for a long while to come to one of my drumming workshops. Because of space limitations, and to give each participant the space and attention they deserve, the number of places for each workshop will be strictly limited. This worked well for everyone in January, and so the same will apply for these workshops.

So what is shamanic drumming and where does the stargate reference come from?

You can read about my description of the shamanic journey at the end of this article. For now I wish to talk about the concept of the stargate, a very personal concept of mine.

Stargate

Thorborough Henges

When living in Leeds I sometimes used to visit the Thornborough Henges for ceremonies and they were extremely powerful. These henges are said to be older than the pyramids of Egypt, and are of the same alignment not only of the pyramids, but of the three stars at the centre of the Orion constellation, Orion’s belt.

Orion constellation

In this workshop we will work on all three centres as follows:

1) Shamanic journey, freeing ourselves from our minds, moving into our hearts

2) Shamanic dance, moving into the fire of our power centres

3) Stargate ceremony, being fully present, focussing all we wish to manifest in our lives, with wisdom, love and self-empowerment

The pace of the workshop is designed to give participants time and space in between each activity to ingrate any learning, ask questions, and to address any healing or experiential aspects that may have cropped up during the shamanic work.

I will also be offering some small teachings, such as how to open up a sacred ceremonial space such as a henge or stone circle, and we will use this knowledge in the final stargate ceremony.

I will also be working energetically on participants during each activity, working with sacred icaros (healing songs) and my shacapa, a healing tool from the Peruvian Amazon of whose use I have been initiated into for this type of work.

The Paracticalities

The location of the workshops will be at Andrew Dunham’s Chiswick Backman clinic. It is just a few minutes walk from Turnham Green tube station. The cost of one workshop will be £40, payable in advance. Please book directly with Andrew whose details are below.

Andrew Dunham: backman@chiswick-backman.com
Website and directions: www.chiswick-backman.com

If there you are not able to attend, but think that you may have friends who are interested, please pass on this article using the shortened url for Facebook and Twitter etc: http://wp.me/p1rDS0-3p

Read Andrew’s article Impressions from The Condor and the Jaguar drumming workshop

Andrew (right ) with myself

The Shamanic Journey

Invocation: I always start with a short invocation to the spirits who I work with, and the spirits of the four directions.  For me, this helps me as a drummer express my humility and gratitude to those beings who choose to join the drumming session.  When I am drumming, my intention is always to take my ego out of the drumming, so that the beats and rhythms that need to come through can do so through me, not by me.

Exploration: Many shaman will say that the universe consists of the physical world, the spiritual world, and the underworld, and many books on shamanic drumming will teach you visualization techniques for visiting the underworld.  My own maestro teacher Javier however told me that the world consists of just the physical world and the spiritual world.

When I am doing shamanic drumming in groups I do not like to do either guided meditations or tell people what to expect or where to journey to. I would simply recommend that you make yourself comfortable (I normally lie down), slow your breathing down, and just let the drumming take you to where you need to journey to, without expectation. You will be surprised just what you can and will experience in this state, once you let the drumming take you into trance.

If you have not done shamanic drumming work before, you may find the beats difficult to get used to. This is normal, so just try and relax and not worry too much if you are finding it hard to get going.

Integration: After the journey, I do not like to end the session there.  I always give people time to integrate either the information or the healing that they experienced on your journey.

When you experience this you will find that it gives you time for bathing in deep relaxation with no rush to come straight out of a shamanic journey back to your normal waking state.  You are free to use this time in any which way you please.

Closure: I always start to bring you back into your body and the material world slowly.  In guiding you through this process, and knowing that I will in advance, you are able to fully leave your body and journey, knowing that I am there as a guide to bring you back safely from whereever you have been and whatever you will have experienced.

I finish in honouring the spirits and closes the space that you have been journeying in. This is a time when I do the final grounding grounding so that you feel fully embodied, refreshed, and alive from the experience.

About Simon

Simon began his shamanic path under the guidance of the late Celtic shaman, healer and sculptor Dei Hughes. He has undertaken tantric initiations in Varanasi, India, and shamanic initiations as an apprentice ayahuasquero curandero with maestro Javier Arevalo. He is the author of the book “The Shaman and Snow White: Ayahuasca, San Pedro, Shamanic States of Consciousness and Certificate 18 Healing” and the CD “Shamanic Drumming and Shacapa Meditation”. He has a masters degree with distinction in Holistic Science from Schumacher College, Devon, UK where he wrote his dissertation “Ayahuasca Curandero.” He is the editor of www.transitionconsciousness.org and www.shamanicdrumming.co.uk.

Andrew and Me

As I lay flat on the carpet and allowed my thoughts to drift waves of coloured sound pulsed through me, I saw cities, oceans and … an albino bat? He flew on, and still the images came in time with the throb and hum of Simon Robinson’s buffalo drum. I have heard many drums in my time, but this one actually sings. The dynamics of the drum are such that an harmonic over-strata is set up within the beats which spins around the room like birds in flight. Truly remarkable.

This was the “Condor” section of the “Condor and Jaguar” shamanic drumming and dance session held here in The Geode last weekend. The Geode is basically my large front room which is kept empty of furniture and clutter specifically for this kind of event. There were two separate sessions, one on Saturday and one on Sunday and both were strikingly productive for everyone concerned. A meeting place for like-minded individuals, a safe and sacred gathering nexus for information and social blending, but most of all, this was a heart-opener.

Frankly I’m still buzzing, 3 days later. Simon was born to do this kind of work; his demeanour is respectful yet pro-active; probing yet receptive. The day started with some quiet time in the resin-scented air, followed by introductions and ceremonial sage smudging. Then the Condor was introduced. We were brought back to the ground expertly and smoothly by Simon’s softly spoken ministrations, and, after a break, we awoke afresh, and with dab of “agua florida” on our heads, the second part of the event unfolded. More drumming, movement, a forest of sounds and deep meaning, this part was all about the flesh. Grounded and relaxed, Simon’s expert “shacapa” and breathwork floated above us like butterflies visiting flowers. Transcendental and rich, this workshop was an absolute bomb – Simon is planning another for April watch this space for more details. Simon’s “Shamanic Drumming and Shacapa Meditation” CD is available on Amazon and iTunes, I recommend that you take a listen.

Andrew Dunham

Shaman Eye provides you with hypnotic and enchanting images of nature as seen through shaman eyes. Each image is designed to help take you into a deep meditative state, to help keep you connected and fully immersed in nature, especially during those times when going out into nature is not possible. All four elements are represented, taking you from earth, through water and air to fire.

Preview and buy a copy here: Shaman Eye on Blurb

Please note that you can also buy a copy of “Shaman Eye” for your iPad and iPhone, and this can also be read on any computer.

So please get in touch if you would like to book a ticket for this workshop. For full information please have a look at my other article:

The Condor and the Jaguar – Shamanic Trance and Shamanic Dance

http://shamanicdrumming.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/the-condor-and-the-jaguar-shamanic-trance-and-shamanic-dance-workshop/

I am very pleased to be able to announce this exciting workshop planned for January 28th “The Condor and the Jaguar – Shamanic Trance and Shamanic Dance” led by myself, and in partnership with Andrew Dunham of “The Chiswick Backman”. The workshop will cost £30 per person. This workshop will be strictly limited to 12 participants. Please write to Andrew with your request for bookings as soon as possible. The workshop will run from 1pm to 5pm.

Please see below for more information on this workshop. One lady who experienced my drumming for the first time told me that she had been practicing yoga for many many years but never once had been as close to an oceanic feeling of oneness as she had with just one of my drumming sessions. I say that really to draw attention not to myself, but to just how powerful shamanic drumming can be when you really experience it in person as opposed to using a CD, where you feel every nuanced beat and ringing of the drum around your body and the sacred space that you are in.

Contact

Andrew Dunham: backman@chiswick-backman.com
Website and directions: www.chiswick-backman.com

The Condor and the Jaguar: Shamanic Trance and Shamanic Dance Workshop

Shamanic drumming is a very ancient technique and for people who have never experienced it before it can be surprisingly powerful. It is still utilised in many shamanic cultures and communities around the globe, in ceremonies and in healing.

The workshop will start with an opening circle. The first drumming session will be a shamanic journey. This will enable you to journey into extremely deep dimensions of consciousness, being and the universe. The second part of the workshop will be a shamanic trance dance. This is an extremely powerful practice of free dance with shamanic drumming, enabling you to ground the energies of the journey into your mind, body and soul. We then end with a closing circle of thanks and gratitude, with full grounding and closure. If you are new to shamanic drumming, my following thoughts may help in learning more about this practice.

The Shamanic Journey

Invocation: I always start with a short invocation to the spirits who I work with, and the spirits of the four directions.  For me, this helps me as a drummer express my humility and gratitude to those beings who choose to join the drumming session.  When I am drumming, my intention is always to take my ego out of the drumming, so that the beats and rhythms that need to come through can do so through me, not by me.

Exploration: Many shaman will say that the universe consists of the physical world, the spiritual world, and the underworld, and many books on shamanic drumming will teach you visualization techniques for visiting the underworld.  My own maestro teacher Javier however told me that the world consists of just the physical world and the spiritual world.

When I am doing shamanic drumming in groups I do not like to do either guided meditations or tell people what to expect or where to journey to. I would simply recommend that you make yourself comfortable (I normally lie down), slow your breathing down, and just let the drumming take you to where you need to journey to, without expectation. You will be surprised just what you can and will experience in this state, once you let the drumming take you into trance.

If you have not done shamanic drumming work before, you may find the beats difficult to get used to. This is normal, so just try and relax and not worry too much if you are finding it hard to get going.

Integration: After the journey, I do not like to end the session there.  I always give people time to integrate either the information or the healing that they experienced on your journey.

When you experience this you will find that it gives you time for bathing in deep relaxation with no rush to come straight out of a shamanic journey back to your normal waking state.  You are free to use this time in any which way you please.

Closure: I always start to bring you back into your body and the material world slowly.  In guiding you through this process, and knowing that I will in advance, you are able to fully leave your body and journey, knowing that I am there as a guide to bring you back safely from whereever you have been and whatever you will have experienced.

I finish in honouring the spirits and closes the space that you have been journeying in. This is a time when I do the final grounding grounding so that you feel fully embodied, refreshed, and alive from the experience.

About Simon

Simon began his shamanic path under the guidance of the late Celtic shaman, healer and sculptor Dei Hughes. He has undertaken tantric initiations in Varanasi, India, and shamanic initiations as an apprentice ayahuasquero curandero with maestro Javier Arevalo. He is the author of the book “The Shaman and Snow White: Ayahuasca, San Pedro, Shamanic States of Consciousness and Certificate 18 Healing” and the CD “Shamanic Drumming and Shacapa Meditation”. He has a masters degree with distinction in Holistic Science from Schumacher College, Devon, UK where he wrote his dissertation “Ayahuasca Curandero.” He is the editor of www.transitionconsciousness.org and www.shamanicdrumming.co.uk.

On Amazon.co.uk:

Shamanic Drumming and Shacapa Meditation

The Shaman and Snow White: Ayahuasca, San Pedro, Shamanic States of Consciousness and Certificate 18 Healing

Before I begin, I should really declare an interest, or maybe make explicit the lens through which I watched this film. I practice shamanism, but in my explorations into spirituality I was also a member of Kingston Spiritualist Church in Greater London, where I was part of a circle where student mediums are taught to practice mediumship in a safe and supervised environment. I have also taken part in many “Pagan” ceremonies, amazing ceremonies out in the wilds of nature, or in stone circles and other sacred sites. I tend to use Pagan as an umbrella term, and have many friends from many paths all who would happily describe themselves as Pagan, be it witches, druids, shamans, magicians, light workers, healers or indeed “pagans”. These have been very open ceremonies with no dogma or structure, just friends gathering in sacred natural places to commune with nature and be at one with the world.

So it with these eyes that I am reviewing the film, not as an independent film reviewer, but as someone who can readily identify to quite a large degree with Kublai, Chuck and Morpheus. I set out watching this film as someone who really wanted to enjoy it, but also worrying greatly just how these spiritual paths often greatly derided and feared by mainstream society would be depicted. It is rare for these paths and religions to be depicted accurately, or neutrally, and I can only think of perhaps Bruce Parry’s “Tribe” series of documentaries coming close which has been successful in it’s portrayal of shamanism in recent years. My own path, which involves communing with nature through natural plant hallucinogens seems to have come under intensified attack from the British government and law enforcement agencies over the last year or so, and so it was with great relief for me to have been made aware of this small film which I believe is still looking for a wider distribution in American cinemas.

Nothing is rushed in this film, it finds its own pace, introducing us to the three main characters in the first 10 minutes. Mar takes a back seat in his direction, the only narration coming from Kublai, Chuck and Morpheus, as they bring us into their worlds. Sometimes when I think of British television documentaries, the visual accompaniment can often be patronising, cliched or distracting, the need to impress or talk down to the audience coming in the way of the story being told. Mar uses many establishing shots, shots of nature; the wind, a pond, trees, a spider, and I felt that I had a real sense of place, of knowing the communities and landscapes of where our narrators lives are rooted.

This is not an investigative documentary, and there is neither analysis nor judgement on the lives, philosophies and religions of the young narrators. Their tales at the same time entwined together, yet allowed to unfold as each narrator articulates their history, their ceremonies and rituals, and their struggles in life. It feels refreshing to be able to listen intently to their depictions in their own words of the worlds and experiences they are attempting to depict.

In watching the film, it is interesting just how much access Mar had to actual ceremonies and rituals. We see Kublai doing hands-on healing, we see mediums giving readings, and Morpheus enacting a spell. Each of them were not shy at revealing intimate details of themselves and their practices. Kublai tells us that he has been told that he is a very old soul, and perhaps had been on earth many times before, but he does not make this claim for himself. Morpheus tells how many people think she is evil for the spells she carries out, and although she places herself in the light, she certainly believes in practicing “witchcraft with teeth.” Hers she tells us is a strong magic, it is “powerful and does not shy away from the dark”.

Perhaps as it is so close to my own shamanism I really enjoyed hearing Chuck talk about his Lakota practices, and the many struggles he had turning from reckless teenager to a strong, spiritual husband and father. I have taken part in many sweat lodge ceremonies, and was here that Mar’s direction moved from poetical to a more profound visualisation, taking us into the deeper dimensions of the spirit world as Chuck talked us through a ceremony, as an elder chanted with a rattle somewhere in the distant dark.

“The medicine man gets tied up into the buffalo hide. They create the connection, they are the bridge between the two worlds. The lights get turned off, we start the singing, and you’ll start to feel the spirits coming in. The rattles will start shooting around on their own. You’ll see lights, flashes. You’ll hear spirits talking. You can smell sage burning, sweet grass, tobacco, leather and buffalo hide. And when you breathe it’s like a mist. It’s like you’re in a different place”.

Morpheus also explains to us what it is like when gods and goddesses are conjured up in ceremony:

“There’s a certain shift in energy when a certain god or goddess arrives. Lights and shadows start to look different and more defined. Silences deepen, sounds become more complex. You suddenly feel like someone’s watching you, like a creeping feeling, like there’s someone here, and it creeps over your skin that way.”

However, as I mentioned before, this is not an analytical film, and offers no judgement on the beliefs or activities of the subjects and their friends, teachers and acquaintances. It is both a lyrical and poetical film, flowing gently as do the lives of those we are invited to join. It is also not a “Alternative Religions 101 Class” in that Morpheus, Chuck and Kublai make no effort, and in fact for me do not need, to attempt to provide an explanation of each and every one of their practices. Of course they talk about them, but the film is more about what these very private experiences and ways of being mean to them, and perhaps I feel it is far better this way, as I am sure that any attempt by them to justify themselves would have seriously interrupted the this more enchanting entry into their worlds.

While all young, they were able to give wonderful insights, be it the importance of the lack of fear of Kublai, the non-judgement of Chuck, or the dangers of falling into hell of Morpheus. I had wondered if the cameras and filming would be too invasive, but Mar certainly I feel trod this line delicately and sympathetically, especially with Chuck where the more sacred ceremonies were talked about and not filmed. It’s funny as the very first shamanic ceremony that I took part in, up in the mountains of Snowdonia, happened to be filmed by a film crew from BBC Wales, and so having actually been in a similar situation, I feel that these more esoteric ceremonies are well able to be filmed and represented to the wider public in a way in which can make them accessible and without being sensationalist or patronising.

I also wondered half way through the film about the seeming lack of narrative, but in the end out of the weaving of stories and the flowing narrative emerges a very magical story, an experience and communion with these sensitive, caring souls, striving for ever more meaningful connection to God, to Mother Nature, to the universe. I struggle to place myself in the position of someone watching this who is either from a mainstream religion (or perhaps especially those which are evangelical and/or god-fearing), or from those who are from a materialistic scientific background, and I would not want to second guess how they would receive this film. But if you do have either an interest or participate in any of the many alternative religions and spiritual practices, then you will definitely enjoy losing yourself in this poetical journey of these three American mystics.

American Mystic is out now on DVD on Amazon

Simon Ralli Robinson is the author of the CD “Shamanic Drumming and Shacapa Meditation” and the the book “The Shaman and Snow White: Ayahuasca, San Pedro, Shamanic States of Consciousness and Certificate 18 Healing“

http://simonralli.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/shamanic-symbolism-in-the-new-snow-white-films/

In my article about ayahuasca, healing, consciousness and wholeness, I review Shannon’s topological framework and also frame the discussion around Bohm’s concept of consciousness and wholeness.

The overall theme is on knowing, and in fact the entire issue may be of interest to some of you:

The paradox in knowing is evident across the world today – we see the beauty of the earth but systematically steer for its destruction. The knowledge ‘I think therefore I am’ has predicated existence to appear after the mind has asserted its own authority. We pilot a machine insensitive to our own good in the flying.

It is to the heart of this deepest mystery into which this issue steps to reveal the trick of the mind we think we have. Emilios Bouratinos challenges science to move from the question ‘what do we know?’ to ‘how do we know?’ Henri Bortoft in detail charts Goethe’s method to integrate and go beyond these two ways of knowing into the unity of the phenomena. Iain McGilchrist navigates, in his expertise of both medicine and literature, between the evidence and experience of the two ways of knowing.

When science dissects consciousness with the lens of the analytical attention, it is ignoring both an internal and external aspect of our living relation to whole nature. It is imperative that we open up to the consequence of this.

The issue delves into an exploration of time; Newton’s absolute concept of a time standing eternal outside the influence of change, was challenged by Einstein’s theory of relativity, where time is a dynamic parameter of the action it measures. Time returned to its whole source becomes a quality of living, rather than a fragmented commodity which can be parcelled out.

The thread of knowing follows into the question of biological formation. We explore how hermeneutics, the interpretation of texts and biosemiotics, the study of signs, enter into the living dialogue of significant parts into an overall meaning.

We arrive at creative unity, about which Tagore wrote (From ‘East and West’ in Creative Unity, published by Macmillan, 1922):

‘Truth has its nest as well as its sky. That nest is definite in structure, accurate in law of construction; and though it has changed and rebuilt over and over again, the need of it is never ending [the analytical mind]. For some centuries the East has neglected the nest- building of truth. She has not been attentive to learn its secret. Trying to cross the trackless infinite, the East has relied solely upon her wings [the intuitive journey] . Shall the messenger of the sky and the builder of nests ever meet?’

Find out more:

http://www.earthlinksall.com/journal/journalissue3.htm