Exploring the shamanic dreamstate and plant consciousness
We were born with the ability to see and communicate directly with nature spirits, this is apparent when watching a young child respond to nature. Our culture unfortunately has created a sense of alienation from the nature of which we are a part. People can be described as being "away with the fairies" as opposed to perhaps a more natural way of being which could be described as "a way with the faeries". Some native peoples still hold as an intrinsic part of their cultures the ability to see and communicate with such elements of the world around them in this spirit form.
We are living at a time on this planet where it appears increasingly urgentto reconnect with the world around us, upon which we are dependent for life itself. There is a need to rediscover our place within the web of life, to be more respectful, to find a sense of balance and reintegrate with the rest of life, rather than continue to damage and destroy.
The intent of the workshops I host is to remind people how it feels to be aware of nature spirits, to experience their different energies and live respectfully among them. Each workshop is unique, tailored to the different experience the participants have. However, a typical workshop would include:
*Learning to feel the touch of different plants.
*Slowing our pace to "Plant time" through a series of plant studies.
*Employing the ancient visionary technique of "Shamanic Journeying" to allow us to enter into a different realm, meet the spirit of individual plants and experience two way communication and full sensory connection with those plants.
I only run the workshops through the growing season, between the equinoxes (mid March until mid September). The reason being that when plants are flowering they are sexually mature, they are expressive, putting their energy out into the world. When plants are fruiting they are gestating, glowing like a pregnant woman, wanting to attract birds and animals to take their fruit and spread their seed. Once the leaves start to fall the energy goes inward, to the root and outwardly they rest or become dormant for the winter season, at this point it is much harder to to connect with the spirit of the plant.
Most workshops run over the course of a weekend, occasionally I will do shorter one day events, although these will obviously cover less material.For information of upcoming events please contact info@gatewaystoeden.com
Rachel Corby will be facilitating the workshops. She started her training in plant spirit communication in 1998 under the guidance of Don Jaime in the Ecuadorian jungle on the banks of the Rio Napo. Since then she has undertaken a variety of studies, with a number of teachers. They helped her increase her sense of connection to nature, understand the interconnectedness of all life, "feel" plants and ultimately to communicate directly with the spirits of the plants. Her teachers have included; Patrick Whitefield, Nathanial Hughes, Stephen Harrod Buhner and Eliot Cowan.
