Announcing the Annual Tokyo Golden Week

Foundation for Shamanic Studies 6-day Intensive Course!

We are again offering a Basic and two advanced courses totaling 6 days in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo over Golden Week. Don’t miss this chance to immerse yourself in the Shamanic Experience!

Basic Way of the Shaman: 30 April – 1 May 2012

Participants are introduced to core shamanism, the universal and near-universal basic methods of the shaman to enter nonordinary reality for problem solving and healing. Particular emphasis is on the classic shamanic journey, one of the most remarkable visionary methods used by humankind to explore the hidden universe otherwise known mainly through myth and dream. Participants are initiated into shamanic journeying, aided by drumming and other techniques for experiencing the shamanic state of consciousness and for awakening dormant spiritual abilities, including connections with Nature.  Practice includes comparisons by participants of their discoveries in shamanic journeys as well as being introduced to shamanic divination and healing. They are also provided with methods for journeying to meet and study with their own individual spirit helpers in nonordinary reality, a classic step in shamanic practice.

Shamanic Extraction Healing Training: 2-3 May 2012

Participants are initiated into the extraction method of healing, including how to see, sense, and remove localized illness and pain connected to spiritual factors. This is an important part of shamanic healing training. They will also learn how shamanic practitioners can work in partnership to increase the effectiveness of this work. The Extraction Healing Training workshop is designed exclusively for people who want to bring shamanic healing work into their practice with others. The training is not designed for people looking for personal healing.

Shamanic Dreamwork: 4-5 May 2012

In this unique experiential workshop you will have the opportunity to explore the nature, meaning, and use of dreams among shamanic peoples, with dreamwork practices from a range of cultures. Researched and developed by Michael Harner, subjects to be covered include shamanic dream theory and big dreams, as well as dreams and the soul, spirits, shamanic journeys, the Dreamtime, and the vision quest. You will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge to contemporary life, including the use of dreams in divination, health, and healing.

30 April – 5 May 2012: TOKYO Golden Week 6-day Shamanism Course (English/Japanese): Basic Way of the Shaman course and two FSS Advanced courses – Shamanic Extraction Healing Training and Shamanic Dreamwork. Course discount fee is 99,000 yen, if registered and paid 60 days in advance. From 1 March 2012 the course fee is 117,000 yen. Courses may be taken separately:

• 30 April – 1 May: Tokyo, The Way of the Shaman Basic course: 33,000 yen (39,000 yen after March 1st)
• 2 May – 3 May: Tokyo, Shamanic Extraction Healing Training: 33,000 yen (39,000 yen after March 1st)
• 4 May – 5 May: Tokyo, Shamanic Dreamwork: 33,000 yen (39,000 yen after March 1st)

Course Registration

Registration, Deposit, Payment and Cancellation Policy:

Option 1:  Discounted courses in Tokyo are 33,000 for individual courses (99,000 for the Golden Week 6-day course). This requires registration and full payment by February 29.  From March 1^st the course fee will be 39,000 for individual courses (117,000 for the Golden Week 6-day course).  Cancellation notice 10+ days in advance: 50% of payment will be returned.

Option 2:  No discount. Deposit 10,000 yen for each 2-day course to hold your space, and pay the remainder at the door.  Cancellation notice 10+ days in advance: 50% of deposit will be returned.

 * Courses fill up, so early registration is suggested.

Kevin will have a booth at the Freia Iyashi Fair in Osaka, 24-25 March 2012

Also Kevin will give a talk on Shamanism. Times and details to be announced.

Kevin will be speaking on Mongolian shamanism at The Foundation for Shamanic Studies Annual Council Meeting, Saturday morning, January 28, 2012

The Foundation for Shamanic Studies – Asia

Autumn 2011 Newsletter

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

~ Albert Camus

• Kevin spent July on assignment in Mongolia where he represented FSS at the Ataa Tenger Conference of International Shamanic Studies. Kevin spoke on Core Shamanism in Asia, and met a number of researchers involved in central Asian shamanism. Kevin also personally interviewed 6 remarkable shamans for research purposes. He gave a one-hour talk on Core Shamanism at the largest bookstore in the capitol city of Ulaanbaatar in honor of the new Mongolian translation of The Way of the Shaman, as well as a 5-minute Mongolian television interview. There is significant interest in FSS’s work in Mongolia, and Kevin may be returning to offer the first FSS courses next year. We look forward to further collaboration with Mongolian shamans and Mongolian shamanic researchers in the future. You can view some photos from Kevin’s expedition here: http://www.shamanism-asia.com/gallery/
• We are offering a basic Way of the Shaman course in Kyoto this month, Sept 24-25, and another in Tokyo, October 29-30. Repeating participants may attend for half-price.
• Journeying Circles are now forming in Kansai and Kantoh areas, please let us know if you’re interested in practicing your skills with other graduates of the FSS basic course.
• Kevin gave the first FSS basic course in Taiwan in Chinese language in August this year. Thank you Michelle and Nina! Participants are excited for more, so another basic is planned for November 5-6, and an advanced course, Shamanism & the Spirits of Nature is planned for the following weekend Nov 12-13, high in the mountains near Taipei.
• We are once again offering our special Tokyo 2012 Golden Week 6-day Shamanism course next spring April 30-May 5, 2012 that will include the basic and two advanced courses at a discounted rate, if registered in advance. See the website for more details: http://www.shamanism-asia.com/schedule/

Journeying Circles

Journeying Circles, also known as Drumming Circles, are voluntary meetings where participants, who have all completed the Foundation for Shamanic Studies (FSS) basic Way of the Shaman course, can practice the shamanic techniques they have learned and continue to explore and deepen their relationship to the Spirits.

We are now coordinating the start up of Journeying Circles in Japan and Asia. Please let us know if you would like to host or join a Circle in your area. We can then put you in contact with others in your area. Contact us here: http://www.shamanism-asia.com/en/contact/

Please also review this fine article about how to have Effective Core Shamanic Drumming Circles by Susan Mokelke, the Executive Director of FSS:  http://www.shamanism.org/articles/article14.html

Shamanism, Dying, and Beyond

Tokyo, Itabashi-ku:  6-7 August 2011

Participants learn how to deal with the issue of dying and the destiny of souls from a shamanic perspective. The workshop is both for those who wish to learn for themselves, and for those who wish to help others who are in terminal situations or who have already passed on. Experiences to be undertaken include learning how to become experientially familiar with the after-death realms, tracking a person using shamanic journeying, completing unfinished business, helping a person to cross over, and classic psychopomp work.

* Prerequisite: The Way of the Shaman Basic Course

Shamanic Dreamwork

A Foundation for Shamanic Studies Advanced Course

Kyoto, Sakyo-ku:  25-26 June 2011

In this unique experiential workshop you will have the opportunity to explore the nature, meaning, and use of dreams among shamanic peoples, with dreamwork practices from a range of cultures. Researched and developed by Michael Harner, subjects to be covered include shamanic dream theory and big dreams, as well as dreams and the soul, spirits, shamanic journeys, the Dreamtime, and the vision quest. You will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge to contemporary life, including the use of dreams in divination, health, and healing.

* Prerequisite: The Way of the Shaman Basic Course

Our heartfelt condolences to all those who have lost loved ones in the tsunami tragedy last week, and our prayers to those who continue to suffer the loss of their homes and livelihoods.

In these times of chaos, crisis, and hope, shamanism is a reservoir of wisdom amassed over thousands of years of experimentation that is as relevant to our survival today as it was to our forebears hundreds of generations ago.

- Michael Harner, President and Founder of The Foundation for Shamanic Studies

If you have training in Psychopomp work (afterlife transition assistance) in either the Shamanic tradition or the Monroe tradition, please allow the Compassionate Spirits to take the lead in such assistance, and remember the Shamanic Code of Ethics: we must have permission from those who are we are attempting to assist, and allow them the choice of realms to which they wish to go, and respect those choices. We continue to keep all those suffering from aftermath of the Tsunami in our hearts and prayers.

Kevin

In 2000 I had the great fortune to receive an Extraction Healing from one of Tibet’s foremost shamanic practitioners, Pau Wang Chuk (see photo below).  He was most famous for his extraction healings. When the Chinese invaded Tibet in 1959 he escaped and settled in Nepal. Pau Wang Chuk was acknowledged by the Dalai Lama and invited to Dharmasala to treat Tibetan refugees. He was also named a Foundation for Shamanic Studies Living Shamanic Treasure and remained so until his death 3 years ago.

The Foundation is now for the first time offering Core Shamanic Extraction Healing Training in Tokyo, May 2-3, in both English and Japanese.  Participants are initiated into the extraction method of healing, including how to see, sense, and remove localized illness and pain connected to spiritual factors. This is an important part of shamanic healing training. This course is not a Tibetan method, but the principles of shamanic extraction are very similar worldwide. The Extraction Healing Training workshop is designed for those who wish  to bring shamanic healing work into their practice with others.

The Foundation for Shamanic Studies – Japan

January 2011 Newsletter

• Happy New Year of the Rabbit 2011! As the year ends and a new one full of promise begins, we wish to express our gratitude for your participation and contributions to our work — preserving ancient shamanic wisdom and helping to make the power of shamanism once again available in our lives.
• New 2-day Advanced courses will be offered in 2011, including Shamanic Dreamwork and Shamanic Divination Training. We also plan to offer the advanced workshops Shamanism & the Spirits of Nature, and Shamanism & Creativity later this year. The workshop schedule is always being updated, so check in regularly with our schedule page for the latest course offerings.
• Anyone repeating any two-day course in Japan may do so at a 50% discount.
• Drumming circles are now organizing in Kansai and Kantoh. Please contact us if you would like to sponsor or join a practice circle in your area. This is free of charge and organized by local practitioners.
• English-speakers requesting courses with no translation are now having their wish come true! The 6-day Golden Week 2011 Shamanism course in Tokyo will be held in English only.  The 3 sequential two-day courses may be taken separately, but discounts go to those who register for 2 or 3 courses. A perfect opportunity to get full immersion into shamanic practice. Join us over Golden Week for this rare event!
• Kevin will be speaking for 45 minutes on the progress of Core Shamanism in Japan at the Foundation for Shamanic Studies Council Meeting in San Francisco, January 29.
• Kevin is regularly seeing clients for shamanic healing at his healing space near Demachiyanagi Station, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto.  As explained in the courses, the Spirits are more apt to help us when we work out of compassion rather than for fees. This is why I work on a donation basis. However, many persons unfamiliar with this approach have expressed a desire to know the appropriate range for donation: in this case, if you are satisfied with the session, I suggest offering whatever you might pay for a similar session with a counselor or spiritual healer. See healing feedback comments at the Shamanic Healing page of our website.