P1: Mission & Medicine: Your Calling as a Healer - Hillman The Soul’s Code; one shaman’s autobiography

P2: The Business of Healing – Grodzki Building Your Ideal Private Practice

R1: The 9 Levels of Self – Some Ritual; Levine Waking The Tiger

R2: Leadership Skills - Taylor The Ethics of Caring; Wall Rites of Passage

R3: Healing & Creative Process – McClelland The Seasons of Change; Meade The Water of Life

R4: Creative Community – Mindell The Shaman’s Body

H1: Soul Retrieval – Ingerman Soul Retrieval

H2: Guiding Journeys - TBA

H3: Energy Work & Sound Healing – Judith Wheels of Life

H4: Parts Work – Hal & Sidra Stone Embracing Our Selves

Dissanayake Homo Aestheticus

Malchiodi Expressive Therapies

One book on Shamanic Art (ask for reading list)

*In these Seminars, we will be using books by Joan Forest Mage which were required reading in previous Seminars: Sentient Being, Creative Community, The Phoenix in the Sacred Space and Art As Energy Work.

• The books required for LFA Training Programs contain huge amounts of information and exercises. Our goal in reading them is not to do all the exercises they suggest. In order to thoroughly comprehend all the information contained in these books, most students will need to read them over and over many times, possibly for years after the class is finished.
• These books are chosen to represent a variety of approaches to shamanism, expressive arts therapy and transformative art, and to stimulate your continuing development as a practitioner. Joan does not necessarily practice, or even agree with, everything each author says.
• We are not following these texts as our study guide, i.e., we will not be practicing or discussing everything the authors describe. Feel free to pursue on your own time any exercises that interest you that we do not cover in class.
• Most students who set aside the recommended 3 – 6 hours per week of study time outside of class (in addition to the time in the seminars) are able to complete the assignments.
• The required books are not on the shelves at most bookstores. Please leave ample time to order the books.

Alchemy Arts, 1203 W Bryn Mawr, Chicago, 773-769-4970.

Alchemy Arts can ship you the book. You will usually receive it the day after you order it, if you live in the Chicago area.

Transitions Bookplace, 1000 W North Av, Chicago 312-951-7323

www.Amazon.com

The required books are not on the shelves at most bookstores. Please leave ample time to order the books. Sometimes even Alchemy Arts, Transitions or amazon run out of stock on these books, so leave extra time to order them!

• This work can be quite demanding mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. Almost everyone who takes these seminars sees tremendous personal growth, which often involves letting go of old concepts of yourself, and changing your view of life in general. It is truly transformative work, which is often challenging.
• The concepts and skills of shamanic practice are often learned in a non-linear manner. Students in the same class will be learning at different paces. Each learner needs to have patience with discovering his/her own path of achieving access to intuitive information and the spirit realm.
• The tradition of this work involves connection to spirit through the joy of voice, body movement, drumming/rattling and visual art making, as well as silent meditation

Each student will learn shamanic work in his or her own unique way. The needs and talents of one student will be different from those of another. At Life Force Arts Foundation, we strive to encourage each student to develop his or her shamanic practice and shamanic art to its fullest capacity and uniqueness.

This course is not just about an intellectual understanding of shamanism; it is training in the actual practice of these disciplines, and progresses from a beginning to an advanced level. To do this requires developing spiritual capacities, which means digging deep inside to change your perceptions of life and of yourself. This will almost certainly require healing: letting go of old belief systems about yourself, the world and life in general, old emotional baggage, and other things that are limiting your growth. The good news is that there is enormous compassion in the universe, with more than enough power to guide you through the changes.

In this course, each person is fully empowered to make decisions about the extent to which he/she wishes to participate in various exercises. I encourage students to voice their concerns and to not participate in activities that make them feel uncomfortable. I do not believe in pushing a student to do something his/her inner guidance is telling him/her not to do. However, this work is about growth and challenge, so part of my job as an instructor is to help you determine the cause of resistance so you can make an informed decision about it. Our agreement as instructor and participants is to respect the needs and facilitate the progress of both the group and each individual.

A central principle of shamanic work is that we channel universal spiritual power, rather than using our own personal energy. The basis of shamanism is to work with the spiritual beings who are your guides. Each student discovers his/her own personal “team” of spirit guides, builds good relationships with them and asks for their advice on how to best direct this universal energy.

Shamanic practice requires knowing your internal process of accessing intuitive information, and building a working relationship with your spirit guides. We give the utmost respect to the advice of each student’s spirit guides. For example, if there is a certain type of healing practice that your spirit guides are advising you to do, or not to do, we respect the guides’ advice.

FAQ on the LFA Training Programs

What is the process of learning shamanism?

The most basic principle in shamanism is connecting you to the spirit realm and to your spirit guides to gain wisdom and healing. The spirit realm is not somewhere far away; it is right here in nature, in our bodies, and in loving relationships.

Learning shamanism an individual, internal process. Here is my “70 – 30% rule”: 70% of the work is your internal process; only 30% is what you learn from a teacher in physical form (Joan) or from fellow practitioners or books. Breaking it down further, 35% of shamanic work is knowing your unique process of accessing intuitive information (auditory, visual or kinesthetic), and the other 35% is having a good working relationship with your guides, so they help you accomplish the work you are attempting. If you are not ready for the work, they will tell you, "No, not yet." That's part of the safety and efficiency.

Can I practice shamanism along with other spiritual practices?

Many people practice shamanism along with other religious beliefs and practices. At LFA, we don’t feel that shamanic work is an exclusive religious practice and that you don't need anything else, any other kind of spiritual or physical practice. It’s very individual: each person has to see how shamanism fits into his/her life, what place it has in his/her life, what is his/her mission with shamanism.

Another answer to this question is that LFA does not presume to speak for various religions and how they might view "mixing" spiritual practices. If you have a concern as to whether a religious community or organization you belong to would approve of its members practicing shamanism, it would be appropriate to ask the people within that religion for advice on this question.

within shamanism itself, there are many types of physical and spiritual practices that enable people to balance the energies that shamanism creates. In addition to journeying, whatever other philosophies, beliefs, physical practices (like yoga, fasting, detoxing, healthy food, being in nature, exercise, sex, no sex, massage, etc. - different things work for different people) that helps a person, by all means they should do. Shamanic work is a practice for accessing healing and information. As with any type of profession or practice, whether it's skiing, playing the banjo or hosting a party, different people prepare different ways.

This would be a good question to journey on and ask your guides. "How does shamanism work in my life? What types of practices do I need to do to make it work for me?" You can phrase the question however seems appropriate to you. It may take several journeys to answer various aspects of this question. It goes back to having the relationship with your guides, where they can advise you. As we continue to journey, we develop many processes that the guides give us for protection, grounding, extra power, and other methods that make the work safe and efficient for us.

My life is very busy, what if I can’t complete the assignments?

The assignments are for the student's benefit, meant to help the student consolidate the information and skills we are learning. Generally speaking, students who complete the assignments gain the most out of the class.

Many people ask, “Can I really learn shamanic practice in only a few Seminars?” One reason that students are able to do so is because of this outside-of-class practice. Shamanic training involves not just cognitive learning or only concepts or theories. It involves mastering skills, which requires practice. As students practice between sessions and do the assignments, they discover questions that they can ask at the following class session. This enriches their own understanding as well as that of their classmates.

The importance of completing the assignments also depends on whether you are in the Basic Programs or Professional Training. Students in the Basic Programs are exploring shamanism and the arts as personal experience. Realizing that the assignments are given for their own benefit and enhanced knowledge, they are free to decide how much effort they wish to put into gaining the most out of the class. Students in the Professional Training, however, are training to be Shamanic Healers or Shamanic Artists, and to take responsibility as professionals in guiding others. Because this is the intention, a greater commitment to completing all the assignments is expected of Professional Training Program students.

Absence & Late Arrival

Because of the amount of material we cover, class needs to begin promptly. Please support your instructor and fellow students by arriving before class begins. We also recognize that there are times when being late is unavoidable, and it is better to come late than not at all. Know that we will already have started, and join in when you arrive.

If you find that you are not able to come to a part of a Seminar due to illness or other emergency, please call or email Joan as soon as possible to let her know you cannot attend that day. The best phone number to reach her at is 312-642-1811 and email is mageworkshops@yahoo.com.

Attendance and Other Requirements for Certificate of Completion

In order to receive a Certificate of Completion for any of the LFA Training Program Seminars, the learner must attend at least 70% of the hours for that seminar. For a 12-hour Seminar, 70% is eight hours. In addition to attendance requirements, to receive a Certificate of Completion a learner must show competence in the subject matter of the Seminar, as demonstrated by work in class, learning products created, and evaluations of the learner’s accomplishments by both the instructor and learner.

Withdrawal and Tuition Credit Policy; Making up & Auditing Classes

LFA is grateful for all our students who work in partnership with our organization to ensure that shamanic classes, art presentations and other events can continue benefiting the 4 Communities of the individual, human society, nature and the spirit realm. By paying for classes at least two weeks in advance, students support this good work at LFA.

If you cannot attend a workshop you have paid for, you receive a tuition credit for the amount you have paid. This credit can be applied to any LFA workshop you attend in the future. There are no refunds.

Auditing and making up classes: students are welcome to re-take any Seminar they have paid for at no charge.