Shamanic Burial - Release the Body, Raise the Spirit
2009 workshop: Part 1 – Facilitator Training, 19th – 21st May (participants in Part 1 must also attend Part 2); Part 2 – Burial, 21st – 24th May (Part 2 may be attended by those who have not attended Part 1). See below for further details. Please note that the Facilitator Training Course (Part 1) is only open to those who have previously attended a Release the Body, Raise the Spirit workshop.
The shamanic burial of the physical body in order to commune with and raise the spirit is an age old tradition, practised in many diverse cultures for healing, vision quest, renewal, as a rite of passage, or to generate insight into death. The ceremony can be practised above or below ground and causes no physical discomfort. It is a night spent in darkness, in stillness and in communion with the earth.
Through the burial we have an opportunity to experience a profound reconnection with mother earth, to allow her to cradle us in her arms and to give us deep healing, to show our reverence for her and our gratitude for all that she gives.
The notion can be formidable but all who have spent a ceremonial night in the earth attest to the profound and often joyous experience. Shamanic burial is a gently challenging experience, seen as an essential component on the path to freedom and an expression of willingness to surrender to the earth.
Beyond the challenge is the preparedness for receiving messages from the earth. In the earth there is poetry, beauty: all the wisdom of our earth mother. Only we can choose when to take the opportunity to quiet ourselves and make preparations to commune in the most intimate way with nature and her untold grace.
Ego plays brilliantly on our fundamental fear of losing control and of the unknown. It is to reduce the effect of the ego on our lives that many undertake to release the body for a short while from its habitual patterns and its familiar way of being. The vision quest, the retreat, withdrawal from the world - elements of all these and more are present in the release of the body in order to raise the spirit.
At one point during the night, at the sound of a bell, the coldness fell away and I was left in a cocoon. It was hard to say what exactly I was feeling throughout the night as much of it was ineffable, but so much came up and so much fell away. The earth took it. I felt that.
The message of the earth is simple. To receive the message we have to overcome our fundamental desire to be in apparent control of our lives and enter the unknown. The earth, in the role of mother, does not reject this offering.
The Earth's Healing Energy
On the physical level, the earth’s healing energies have long been recognized and availed by ancient cultures. Certain cultures have maintained to this day the ancient practices of their ancestors, attesting to the efficacy and power of the practice. The beautiful woodland in which the work takes place has been ceremonially prepared and is used only as sacred space. Careful preparations are made, both physical and spiritual. These make ready the being to receive the appropriate experience. The preparation develops intent and participants may focus on matters that are appropriate to their own circumstances, be they physical or in the realm of spirit and energy.
Understanding and experiencing stillness is central to finding deep peace in ourselves. Finding stillness amid the unknown and maintaining it in equanimity is a tool that, if carried in our ordinary lives, will transform every situation that we might ordinarily find disturbing, upsetting or unbalancing. Participants will learn relaxation and breathing techniques that can be transformatory in themselves.
Time will be spent learning the elements of making sacred space and engaging in offering. We will learn the meaning of the Toltec "nierika", what this implies and how it finds its place on the path to freedom and in our ordinary life. The work is gentle, nurturing and relevant to our time.
Ram Chatlani has undertaken shamanic burials with groups and with individuals in all seasons, in the mountains of Mexico and in the UK and France. He learnt the Toltec method of burial during extensive training in Mexico and has diversified his experience through his own private study of diverse cultural methods.
When's the next Release the Body, Raise the Spirit workshop?
Part 1 – Facilitator Training, 19th – 21st May 2009
Please note: those attending Part 1 must also attend Part 2. Depending upon the composition of the group, more than one means of burial will be explored, although each participant will undergo only one individual rite in Part 2.
Part 1 is aimed at those wishing to learn a healing Toltec art. It is suitable for those who have some experience in shamanic work, in meditation or in healing or facilitating, regardless of any aspiration to teach. Burial in the Toltec tradition can be used for healing in a crisis or in general; it can be a means of undertaking a vision quest. Several different methods of burial exist: in the sky, in the ground and above the ground. All imply seclusion of the senses in order to facilitate release of negative influences and to facilitate the emergence of clarity regarding life’s purpose or a specific proposal.
Part 1 will:
- Explore the responsibilities of individuals who are seeking to use the Toltec methods as a means to heal themselves and others
- Understand and explore the role of connection with nature
- Consider the role of personal offering
- Consider the role of personal purification
- Examine the extent and limitations of rites and ceremony as a means to purify the mind and body
- Glean how the modern shaman can enter the timeless through simple gateways that are ever present
Successful participants will be offered the opportunity to lead a burial at a later date as part of a programme to integrate the practice into the work they offer others.
Part 1 begins on Tuesday 19th May in the evening at 6.30pm and ends at 10.00am on the morning of Thursday 21st May. Participants are requested to arrive between 4.00pm and 6.30pm on 19th May. Please note lunch will not be provided on 21st May – local restaurant and shops available.
Part 2 – Burial, 21st – 24th May 2009
Please note: Part 2 may be attended by those who have not attended Part 1.
The participants in Part 2 can expect to:
- Open or deepen a harmonious relationship with the natural environment
- Experience how humility provides a powerful means of releasing negative habit patterns
- Overcome perceived physical limitations. The final embrace of earth and body is one that nurtures. The process leading to the embrace is an important part of the healing process
- Work on specific questions or conditions if appropriate - for example specific cleansing, offering or vision work
Part 2 begins on Thursday 21st May in the evening at 6.30pm and ends on Sunday 24th May in the morning at 11.00am. Participants attending Part 2 only are requested to arrive between 4.00pm and 6.30pm on 21st May.
For bookings and pricing information please go to Workshop Dates & Bookings
Other Opportunities
Previous participants or those with previous experience of shamanic burial may take the opportunity to undertake the work either as part of a group or by themselves, with appropriate guidance in relation to preparatory work and focus for specific issues. Such work can usually be undertaken over the course of two days and those in need of private or urgent work are invited to contact us to discuss their needs – contact us
For more workshops and information about Toltec Shamanism and Taoism please go to Workshop Dates & Bookings.
