The 4Winds Workshops
Ancestral paths to recover the Sacred in the contemporary world
These Workshops are integrative experiences – both theoretical and experiential in nature-, where people are given an opportunity to explore Shamanic Worldview and its current connections with the emerging Holistic Western Paradigms.
Ceremonial circles open sacred spaces to discover, resonate, comprehend, heal, share and celebrate, through the
synergy of the embodied word, the archetypal meaning of ancestral symbols, the beating sound of the drum, the subtle flow with medicine-music, body-movement and active imagination. As we increase our perception through these
multiple dimensions, we recall forgotten fields of consciousness, and in this way we awaken and blossom,
acknowledging at the same time the holographic correspondence between inner personal transformation and the
change in the outer daily world.
Foundations
Recovering the sacred in our disenchanted contemporary world is one of our deepest and most urgent needs.
Human soul -in both Western and non-Western people- is craving to reunite with its holistic nature and heal the wounds caused by modern fragmentation. Shamanism, thanks to its long-lasting wisdom, still offers simple and practical tools to find that lost spiritual connection, showing us it is possible to live in another way, and “re-enchant” our everyday life.
Shamanism is the first eco-spiritual path developed by human beings, born from a deep communion with Nature, through respectful exploration of the realms and possibilities of expanded and intensified consciousness. Its multidimensional and holistic concept of the cosmos has been recently re-discovered by Western Science. So nowadays, we can re-approach this ancient womb of knowledge, both rationally and through sensitive-intuitive ways, to enrich our spirituality, and consequently, our relationships with the rest of the beings and elements with which we share our planet.
In the present and vivid encounter between science and spirituality, shamanic practices open an integrating path to recover the creative sense of being present in this co-evolutionary moment of the cosmos and humanity.
Aims & Purposes
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Explore shamanic worldview from a multicultural perspective
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Acquire simple shamanic resources to re-create the sacredness in our daily lives, such as the setting up of the ceremonial circle or the technique of journeying guided by drumming and evocative body-movement
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Approach personal symbolism through a sensitive exploration of archetypical images
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Meet our power-animals and our spirit-guides or spiritual allies
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Awake the wisdom we already possess in our intuitive and body memory, about our participation in the sacred order
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Open our self-awareness in a loving and gentle way, guided by confidence in ourselves and in others
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Unfold our sense-abilities towards balance and care in the different orders of conviviality (intrapersonal, interpersonal, social, ecological and transpersonal)
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Perceive the creative synergy that can emerge when we integrate word and vivid experience, thought and intuition, understanding and emotion, movement, sound, art and imagination
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Enjoy the richness of sharing these moments with others
Worshops Dynamics
Each workshop starts with somatic movement around a ceremonial circle, where we share rituals and dialogue.
Then there is an audiovisual presentation of the topics. And, after a break, various practices are proposed to foster a
friendly condition for the amplification of consciousness and visualization, especially through shamanic journeying
guided by drumming and other ethnic sounds, or artistic improvisation.
Each workshop can be carried out independently. However, continuity is preferable in order to nurture group acquaintance, and especially to favor the integration of the complete symbolic matrix through deeper work of self-exploration.
Suggested Practices
Building together the 4Winds Mandala: setting up the ceremonial circle and Opening the 7 cosmic directions
Honouring all Paths: dialogue circles for sharing and meditations
Sound-exploration: allowing ourselves to be led by the voice of medicine-music
Shamanic Journeying: meeting our guardian spirits, power-animals and teachers,
aided by drumming and body-movement techniques
Painting our own Drum: playing with the 4 elements through artistic improvisation
Topics
Presentation Lecture (Free and open to all)
Shamanism and Neo-Shamanism: their Healing Potential in the Contemporary World
First Unit: Introduction to Shamanic Worldview
Shamanic Worldview: the 7 cosmic directions of Sacred Geography. The three vertical planes: Upperworld, MIddleworld and Underworld. Associated animal guides: birds, felines and serpents or lizards. The Tree of Life as axis mundi and the Four Corners of the Middleworld. The main themes of Shamanism: journey, trance, transformation and power. Parallelisms with the new paradigms of Contemporary Holistic Science. Shamanic healing: a multidimensional vision. Sacred plants and drumming. Shamanic art and personal symbolism. Awakening spirituality through ancestral symbols. Recreating sacredness in our daily life. Rituals and Creativity
Second Unit: Deepening into Shamanic Archetypes and Paths for Transformation
Shamanism, healing and self-awareness. Parallelisms between shamanic initiation and Junguian individuation process. Ceremonial circles and medicine-wheels. The Tree of the World and the 4Winds Mandala: qualities and correspondences. Power-animals and guardian-spirits. Shamanic archetypes according to Angeles Arrien: the Healer, the Teacher, the Warrior and the Visionary. Self-transformation paths: the Action path and the Wisdom path. The four elements, astrological energies and psychic functions. The four domains of conviviality and coherence for human and planetary thrivability according to Alexander Laszlo: with ourselves, with others, with Nature and with the environment in which we live in, with our ancestors and descendents. Reaching the centre (the “navel” of the world). Integrating opposites and putting our own medicine wheel in motion.
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