It's sad that people are so empty they fall prey to such fancy words.. "Discovering inner balance within outer chaos
Breaking down the old structures, birthing the new" .. it's a con man's dream.
I think it's sad too. Some people may feel "empty", some may have some mental health problems or just be very naive and vulnerable. Sadly a lot of people who get involved with these kinds of things have a histoy of being abused or neglected and are seeking a good experience of parenting.
With my cynical hat on my translation of what's on offer is as follows:
Working with astrology - Wow! Guess what? The stars say that you are destined to invest in a healing centre in Spain!
Discovering inner balance within outer chaos - No running water, no electricity, no comforts, bizarre power games and interpersonal dynamics, a unique way to discover yourself.
Breaking down the old structures, birthing the new - Definitely not brainwashing. Well probably not. On the other hand....
Personal responsibility, boundaries, the meaning of freedom - This is where everyone gets nekkid.
Development of telepathy and intuition - Wow you are the most spirchul / psychic person that I've ever met. You owe it to yourself to devote you life to my healing centre in Spain
Development of self reliance - Discover the joys of karma yoga / unpaid community work / enslavement
As I said, this is with my cynical hat on. I have no idea what this woman actualy does at her retreats, this is just the stuff that came to my mind based on researching other "shamans".
from the printed flyer:
In terms of planatery allignments, 2012 is already here and moving into exact position in May 2010. We feel it in a general collapse of worldly systems and ina multitude of earthquakes some reported, but mostly not. However we all feel the tremors. Everything is unstable. Ther eis no security. The planets are testing our ability to remain flexible and self-reliant in the face of disruption.
Working informally, we will alow these archetypal energies to communicate with us, listen to them, so that we may learn to flow with the changes rather than fight them, developing our inner guidance, thereby becoming Spiritual Warriors.
also from one of her myspace blog pages here
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=464252234&blogId=486967337East, West, South, North
In sacred space I ask you forth
Bring your power and your grace
Live within this sacred space
-author unknown
"At birth, each of us is given a particular Beginning Place within these Four Great Directions.
This Starting Place gives us our first way of perceiving things, which will then be our easiest and most natural way througout our lives.
But any person who perceives from only one of these Four Great Directions will remain a partial man."
- from The Seven Arrows by Hyemeyohsts Storm
The Medicine Wheel.
To the North is found Wisdom.
The South is the place of Innocence and Trust.
The West is the Looks-Within Place, which speaks to our introspective Nature.
The East is the Place of Illumination, where we can see things clearly, far and wide....
The other directions are Above, Father Sky; Below, Mother Earth; and the Center, the Creator.
The number four is important in Navajo thought and ceremonialism where it symbolizes completeness and totality.
The Navajo people came through four worlds:
The black, blue, yellow, and glittering (white).
They live within four mountains standing as the corner posts of their land.
Corn comes in the four colors,
each with its own special uses.
The year contains four seasons.
To traverse the four directions is to complete the cycle.
Life consists of four stages:
Childhood, youth, adulthood, and old age or second childhood.
Thus, in many ways the concept of four integrates life and the cyclical perception of nature.
The black west as the place where the rain originates,
and a place that represents the end, or finality, as things done in the dark are final things.
People with an affinity for the west may become heyoka,
or sacred clown that does everything backwards or in a contrary manner.
The bald eagle is associated with this direction.
The white north offer a cleansing, purifying and strengthening power.
Operating as winter does when it cleans the earth of the weak,
the white north sends tests and teaches the courage, endurance and wisdom that comes with the trials of life.
The white eagle is associated with this direction,
and it is said that those who have a vision of the white eagle become healers.
The red east is a place where peace, light and new life rise up each day.
Blood and birth are from the east.
The spotted eagle, being all these things,
represents this direction and its feathers are said to bring insight and visions.
The yellow south sees a sun that is strongest when facing this direction.
The yellow south, like its representative bird,
the golden eagle,
stands for the peak of life, warmth, understanding and ability.
Reaching forward to us from a time when words outlived people,
learning is not a pastime restricted to a set of years we spend on either public or private buildings dedicated to schooling.
Rather it is a path we embark upon, hopefully assisted by members of our society who relate to one another as "the People",
and seeing youth and elders as part the same fabric in which they are woven,
see it as their duty to keep alive the riches thus far gathered,
by imparting knowledge in the form of observable meaning.