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Spring/Summer 2020
 

 
In the coronavirus pandemic, humanity is facing a test unprecedented in the modern world. 
 
The FSS is postponing in-person workshops and training programs during the crisis. Though we may not be able to meet in person for a time, we have available to us many powerful digital tools for face-to-face interactions, practice, and healing. The Foundation and the FSS faculty are offering video community meetings and online training in the shamanic journey, as well as ways shamanism can be used to help yourself, others, and our world. Visit the FSS News Blog
 
Please see the FSS Online Community Meetings & Workshops page for links to FSS online video offerings.      
 
Remember that the greatest challenges offer the most opportunity to transform -- both personally and collectively as humans -- and we are not alone on this journey.
 
Together in spirit,     
 
Susan Mokelke
President
FSS NEWS
Advanced Residential Training 2020
 
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, FSS advanced residential training programs have been postponed. Once these in-person trainings are able to safely proceed, enrolled students will be notified and the website listings will be updated.
Documentary film The Way of the Shaman: The Work of Michael and Sandra Harner . Free online streaming.
    
Way of the Shaman movie  
Interested in training in shamanism and shamanic healing? Download this helpful guide to getting started with the Foundation for Shamanic Studies' integrated series of workshops and programs. DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE (PDF):   Shamanic Training - Getting Started.
   
FSS ONLINE OFFERINGS  
The FSS is now offering several online training opportunities, as well as online community meetings with FSS faculty. At this time FSS trainings will focus on content that offers powerful and effective methods to gain and apply wisdom from the spirits to resolve persistent problems facing humanity, our precious Earth, and its inhabitants.  
 
The Shamanic Journey: Pathway to Knowledge & Power
The shamanic journey is a remarkable visionary method for entering into another reality with discipline and purpose. Using classic drumming techniques to alter consciousness, participants will be introduced to the shamanic journey to awaken one's soul and dormant spiritual power. Prerequisite training for other FSS  online  workshops.
Information and schedule of offerings 
 
Shamanic Divination in Practice
The skilled practice of shamanic divination, the process of consulting the spirits for knowledge, is an essential aspect of shamanic healing and of bringing the wisdom of the helping spirits to bear on personal, local, and global issues. This workshop offers students opportunities to practice journeying to contact their compassionate spirit helpers and to enhance their abilities to form on-topic questions and interpret the messages received. Participants will also experience classic shamanic ways to build and nurture strong relationships with their own spirits.  
 
FSS Advanced Two-Day Workshops Online Reviews are being offered for selected FSS advanced two-day in-person workshops. The online sessions are available to those who have taken the in-person workshop and who wish to clarify, practice, and deepen their understanding of the material. Information and schedule of offerings 
 
ONLINE WORKSHOPS COMING SOON
- Shamanism for Inspired Local & Global Change (4-part online version)
- The Ethical Practice of Shamanism for Global Change 

Shamanism & Digitalization. FSS Europe, in collaboration with the FSS, is pleased to announce an online international interdisciplinary conference on "the interconnections of shamanism and the digital realities." Scientists and practitioners of IT-relevant areas, shamanism, and the arts will co-create this day, together with artists and representatives of physical as well as social networks. The conference will be held online on Saturday, June 26, 2020 from 10:00 am - 1:30 pm and from 6:00 - 9:30 pm CET (Central European Time). Roland Urban, director of FSSE, will host the meeting and Susan Mokelke, president of the FSS, will participate as a guest presenter. Visit the FSSE event page for the complete agenda and to register.  
   
Cave and Cosmos by Michael Harner Kirkus Reviews named Michael Harner's Cave and Cosmos: Shamanic Encounters with Another Reality, as the Nonfiction Indie Book of the Month: "Harner's rich compendium gives many ways to consider and explore a powerful and inspiring view of the cosmos." Cave and Cosmos is available in paperback directly through the Foundation, as well as online and in local bookstores in paperback and e-book editions. Available in many languages. At Michael Harner's request, all royalties from Cave and Cosmos go to the Foundation for Shamanic Studies in support of its work. Learn more... 

SHAMANISM NEWS

Indonesian Cave 44K 
Six humanoid figures with animal features surround an anoa, a small type of buffalo, in a 44,000-year-old Indonesian cave mural. By Ratno Sardi.
 
Mythical Beings Depicted in Indonesian Cave Art Are At Least 43,900 Years Old   
This recent discovery of Indonesian rock art predates the Lascaux cave paintings by 20,000 years, and may be evidence of "animal spirit helpers" or other shamanic rituals of an even earlier time. Smithsonian Magazine and NPR.org  
 
Secret Bids Guide Hopi Indians' Spirits Home  
When a French auction house put over a hundred American Indian artifacts on sale, including masks sacred to the Hopi of Arizona, the Annenberg Foundation went to work to secretly buy them and return them to the tribes. Read more... 
Della Clark, FSS Board of Trustees 
 
The Trees Are My Grandparents  
"The trees are my grandparents," say the elders of an Ecuadorian tribe trying to save their culture from deforestation and modern technology. A team of genealogists is attempting to preserve the tribe's heritage.  
Lois Sweet, Three Year Program student 
 
Final Resting Place of Prehistoric Chieftain & His Shaman 
The once monumental final resting place of a probable prehistoric chieftain and, potentially, his shaman has been discovered in southwest England. Read more...  
David Keys, Anthropology Correspondent, The Independent 
Facebook: @davidmkeys -- Twitter: @Davidmkeys 
     
The FSS provides news articles and links as a service to the shamanic community; no endorsement is implied. Visit shamanism.org for articles, FSS news, media, and more about the Foundation's work in shamanism.   
 
FSS POLESTAR 


FSS Polestar: Information & Support During the Coronavirus Pandemic

The Foundation is providing this Polestar column as a resource during this extraordinary time. Though we may not be able to meet in person, we have available to us many powerful digital tools for face-to-face interactions, practice, and healing. The following is an excerpt regarding Shamanic Selfcare. Read the full column on the website...
 
Shamanic Selfcare: Shamanic Practices to Support Well-Being
By Denise Paulette, FSS faculty member

Often, when we find ourselves in a situation where we appear to have no control, a sense of fear, dread and panic can easily take hold of us. What I can offer right now in this moment is to remind you that we have beautiful compassionate helping spirits at our side and very simple but powerful tools we can use daily to access their support and healing.
The practices below, learned in the in-person Basic Workshop, The Way of The Shaman and in the online The Shamanic Journey: Pathway to knowledge & Power, help us maintain our connections with our compassionate helping spirits; nourish our spiritual body, which in turn nourishes our physical and emotional body; and experience daily a renewal of joy, serenity and gratitude.

PRACTICES
  • Dance and sing your soul song. 5-10 minutes is preferable, but any amount done consistently will effect positive change. Awaken and bring your soul forward so that all of your thoughts, decisions and actions for the day come from a place of true connection.
  • Dance your power animal. A light merge with your power animal not only strengthens your connection to your spirit animal, it also brings you healing and protection.
  • Connect to nature. Long or short, walks in nature will support your feelings of well-being. Add to that the shamanic practice of connecting to all that is: saying hello and introducing yourself to the earth forms and lifeforms you see: the clouds, the trees, rocks, all creatures and vegetation. Sitting with and hugging trees is a powerful way to release worries and fear and to take in strength, healing and wisdom. The sun is shining-soak it up. Ask it for calm and patience. And be sure to thank all the earth forms for all they offer us freely every day.
  • Take a shamanic journey of your own choosing, either for divination or healing. Ask for what you need. One of my favorites is to go to one of my most love-filled places in non-ordinary reality and receive love and support from the helping spirits.
  • Drum and rattle daily. The simple beautiful beat of the drum or rattle provides an amazing amount of healing and return to balance.
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FSS Polestar highlights some of the questions we are frequently asked about contemporary shamanic practice. "Polestar" is defined as "something that serves as a guiding principle." It reflects our commitment to helping practitioners stay oriented to authentic shamanic methods and ethics, while maintaining their own independent spirituality, which comes from learning directly from the compassionate spirits. Email us your practice-related questions for consideration for Polestar. Use our CONTACT FORM, and put "Polestar" in the subject line.

Polestar logo design by Carolyn Fee ©2010 Foundation for Shamanic Studies
 
Tuvan Petroglyphs

The  Foundation for Shamanic Studies is dedicated to the preservation, study, and teaching of shamanic knowledge for the welfare of the Planet and its inhabitants. Thousands of people each year take the Foundation's rigorous shamanic training. Originated, researched, and developed by   Michael Harner (1929 - 2018), internationally recognized as the pioneer of modern shamanism, core shamanism  consists of the universal, near-universal, and common features of shamanism, together with journeys to other worlds.  

Become part of a growing community that is working to return spiritual democracy to the individual, as well as helping to preserve indigenous shamanisms and foster this transformative and powerful method of healing and problem-solving.

We welcome your participation!
 
Susan Mokelke
President

The FSS E-News is distributed by the Foundation for Shamanic Studies.
Email: [email protected]
Editor: Susan Mokelke
Assistant editor: Narrye Caldwell (Shamanism News, Polestar, Shamanism Chronicles)

Copyright ©2000-2020 The Foundation for Shamanic Studies, a non-profit public 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization.