—-I will be offering the next 3+ year Earth/Spirit Tending training beginning in early summer 2024 called Poets of Consciousness. Please go to Events to read about the current training:
—-Individual Collaborative Mentoring:
A 6-9 month(you choose any length in that time frame) one on one mentoring program which will be designed collaboratively for your area of interest, duration and hours of monthly engagement. This way I can provide an experiential, supportive learning dynamic which is specifically designed for your personal interests, needs and abilities and with consideration for your cosmologies, perceptual filters and conditioning. The mentoring will include not only the time we spend together, likely on Zoom, but will include diverse explorations for you to work with between our sessions as well as sharing relevant documents and audio files. If it comes up during our time together that you need a healing process in order to fully encounter your area of interest, then you can use a few of the hours allotted to engage that, or you can arrange something supplemental. If you need occasional contact with me during the month in order to stay on course I’m happy to give that. I tend to not be very formal with the time I allot and so if you want to check in with former or current students of mine about this or anything else, please ask to do so. I think you’ll find I lean in the direction of generosity, surprise and flexibility.
Please go to Events to learn more about this mentoring option
Teaching/Mentoring/Illuminating
When most people think of an earth/spirit tender or in some cases a shamanic practitioner, they tend to think of someone who does personal healing sessions. However, I've found that a shift into animistic awareness with a personal Earth/Spirit tending practice in everyday life helps address many of the issues we confront related to our ability to thrive, create effectively, experience belonging and connection with the entire Web of Life, live attuned to just social and environmental dynamics, understand the nature of personal power, and ultimately fulfill our lives as a full human being. How beliefs and behaviors are shaped by an earth/spirit based state of consciousness is fundamental in the best of times but is especially crucial in a world expressing great chaotic disharmony and dismemberment.
Because this practice offers so much benefit to people from a great diversity of backgrounds and due to how precious and significant each individual's life is on this beautiful Earth, I feel called to share these practices broadly and so teach in a growing number of ways.
I teach in the following ways:
I give talks to groups about animistic life and applied earth/spirit tending practices.
I travel and teach individuals in private lessons and groups of people in workshops and retreats how to develop a reciprocal relationship with the earth and earth beings and also to master the process of spirit inquiry while shifting from a solely human-centric perspective to one inclusive of all life-forms, including the beings of the unseen world.
I lead people who have trance-based exploratory skills or some other reliable form of spirit connection on retreats where a particular focus of inquiry is developed to be explored through an earth/spirit based lens and state of consciousness.
I mentor those who are called to be conduits for the benevolent spirit realm in some way, either in direct healing work as a practitioner or through some art or other creative endeavor that seeks deep expression aligned with the well-being of the Earth and all beings seen and unseen; and with those who are on their way to being full-time Earth/Spirit tenders/teachers but desire further training and/or updating.
I sporadically maintain a blog that illuminates methods of earth/spirit based practice as well as the challenges inherent in the practice, the different ways this perspective and practice can assist in the development of our fuller human potential and some of the ways this practice can interface with the general culture. For blog posts, go here.
I also travel to places where there is interest to give talks about animistic life and various Earth/Spirit tending practices as well as create opportunities for people to have felt experience of these practices so they can have a sense of the inherent possibilities. If you would be interested in hosting me for such an event please go to Contact Me and send me an email. If you want to know about events already scheduled, go to events.
Entering into a contemporary Earth/Spirit tending practice for yourself, or even living animistically with an earth/spirit based state of consciousness is all about relationship and it requires similar efforts and qualities that any enlivening relationship does, i. e. transparency, deep listening, presence, openness, discipline, imagination, beginner's mind, vulnerability, dedicated time, respect, sincerity, patience, a willingness to make mistakes, accountability, forgiveness, humility, compassion for oneself, a sense of humor(very essential!), a recognition of impermanence and a willingness to embrace change. As with most endeavors, an earth/spirit based state of consciousness and relationship with the compassionate spirits bestow their greatest gifts over time and with dedicated practice. It will evolve as you do for Spirit is never static; always dynamic and fluid.