FSS E-NEWS
SUMMER-FALL 2022
Dear Friend,

We are slowly coming out of our cocoons after the chaos of the last few years. Whether you had even more to do than before the pandemic or had a quieter more inner experience, or both, all of us have been changed. We reached deep within ourselves and outward to our community for sustenance. We discovered that we are more resilient than we ever imagined, one possible gift of tumultuous times.

For us here at the Foundation, we had the opportunity to expand practical shamanic wisdom to reach thousands more through the online healing and shamanic knowledge series of workshops. (See details below.) And, at last, and with tremendous gratitude, we have begun our in-person trainings once again. While it will take time for the in-person workshops to reach (and exceed!) pre-pandemic levels, the residential Three Year and Two Week programs have resumed. We are delighting in being once again in each others' physical presence. It feels like there is a renewed sense of meaning in our study and practice of shamanism. There is a certainty about the presence of the compassionate spirits and a clarity about the crucial need for shamanic wisdom in restoring ourselves and our precious Earth. We are ready to carry our work to the next level, continuing our journey as evolving humans -- with transformation and love both following in our wake and pushing us forward.

In gratitude,
Susan Mokelke 
Editor
Ocean Sunset
FOUNDATION NEWS
Bill Lyon
IN MEMORIAM: WILLIAM "BILL" S. LYON
(1941 - 2022)
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing in March of our longtime friend and colleague Bill Lyon, Ph.D., at the age of 81. An anthropologist and FSS Field Associate for Indigenous Western North America, Bill gave lectures all over the world with Native American shamans. He was the author of four books, including Black Elk: The Sacred Ways of the Lakota, entirely in the words of Wallace Black Elk. His book Spirit Talkers: North American Indian Medicine Powers,” has been called “ a remarkable collection of archival, historical, and anecdotal material that you will find nowhere else.” (Stanley Krippner, Ph.D.) Bill and Michael Harner were colleagues and friends. You can view a brief segment with them in The Way of the Shaman Documentary (at 43:00 - 44:45 minutes).

ONLINE SHAMANIC HEALING TRAINING PROGRAM
We are excited to announce that the Online Shamanic Healing Training Program series of workshops is now complete. This online training covers primary shamanic healing methods such as power animal retrieval, extraction healing, soul retrieval, and psychopomp work. Supplemental workshops provide opportunities to gain personal knowledge of the Upper, Lower, and Middle Worlds of the shaman, including the shamanic worldview that everything is one and alive, as well as a review of ethical and practical considerations. A final workshop gives you practice in "putting it all together" with another participant as a client. A certificate of completion is available after the series is finished to mark the significant effort you have invested in your training.

This program offers a highly effective choice for students who want to learn the “way of the shaman,” where travel, work, family or other personal considerations make in-person attendance impractical. Online training also provides flexible options for those seeking to review, deepen, and enhance their shamanic practice and knowledge.

"Exhilarating in this day and age that something so liberating
could be made so accessible. Afterwards, I was so
inspired and encouraged I journeyed for a few more hours
and was uplifted by the results. This workshop was a life changer;
so much more than imagined was given to me." 
Student, The Shamanic Journey
ONLINE KNOWLEDGE & POWER SERIES. Workshops in this series focus on 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 series includes training in shamanic journeying, divination, the shamanic worldview, and practical shamanic training in methods to bring shamanic wisdom to real world problems. Workshops index.
Drum Circle
IN-PERSON RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS 2022
After a long hiatus due to the pandemic, the FSS has resumed our in-person weekend and residential programs. The interrupted 16th West Coast Three Year Program has resumed and the 11th East Coast Three Year Program just finished the final session. Congratulations to the dedicated students who completed the training! A new 12th East Coast Three Year program just began in May, with the 17th West Coast starting October 16 (download the info/app). ABOUT THE THREE YEAR PROGRAM.

The residential West Coast Two Week Shamanic Healing Intensive was successfully completed in August. The East Coast training will be held October 16 - 27, 2022, in Madison, Virginia, taught by Nan Moss (download the info/app). ABOUT THE TWO WEEK INTENSIVE.

NOW AVAILABLE: IN-PERSON WEEKEND WORKSHOPS. FSS weekend workshops recently resumed in the USA and Canada. Visit the in-person workshops index page for information, index, and links for our authentic and time-tested workshops in core shamanism. It will take a bit of time to get back to pre-pandemic schedules for the in-person workshops, but faculty are diligently planning and calendaring. Online workshops are readily available now.
FSS GATHERING OF THE CIRCLE. Join us for a gathering of the FSS membership by live video conference, hosted by Susan Mokelke and FSS faculty members.

FSS Gathering of the Circle
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
4:30 - 6:30 pm Pacific Time
Check out the time difference on the world clock time zone converter.

Come together with the FSS community and faculty for an online gathering with old and new friends.
  • Share inspiration
  • Consider how shamanism can help humanity
  • Learn about Shamanism and Personal Transformation
  • Opportunities to journey and share in small groups

Members will be sent a link to register. Not a member? JOIN WITH US. Discounted rate of $45 for regular membership through October 11. Benefits of membership.

Questions? Please contact Noelle at info@shamanism.org.
Mongush Kenin-Lopsan
SHAMANISM NEWS

The Tuva Festival of Shamans. The first ever gathering of Tuvan shamans took place near Kyzyl from June 20-22, 2022. It was dedicated to the memory of the keeper of Tuvan shamanic traditions, Mongush Kenin-Lopsan, who passed away in February of this year. Dr. Prof. Kenin-Lopsan was the Foundation’s first Living Treasure, and was present during the FSS’s first expedition to Tuva in 1993. Several hundred shamans gathered at the festival this summer in celebration of Dr. Kenin-Lopsan’s life and contribution to the preservation of shamanism in Tuva. More about Mongush Kenin-Lopsan.

Forest and trees
The Forest and the Trees. Shamanic peoples have always seen the universe as an inter-related, interdependent network of life forms that work in harmony to sustain the whole. But this idea is relatively new to modern people who have tended to see only individual isolated parts. Fifty years ago James Lovelock came up with the ground breaking theory that Earth is a self-regulating organism (Gaia Theory). Today, this view is at the forefront of our understanding of the climate crisis and its possible solutions. By scientist, author, and activist David Suzuki. Read more. Submitted by Susan Opie, FSS faculty.
Shamanism Chronicles
SHAMANISM CHRONICLES: Skunk Power

by Timothy R. Flynn

I am reclaiming my power.

Specifically, I am reclaiming Skunk power. I don’t think it ever left me, but when I was first given it, I didn’t know what to do. My life was in pieces and I was new to the world of spirits as shamanism understands it.

In my twenties I went through a three-year period I call my “Great Falling Apart.” I entered a period of extended dismemberment lasting several years. Spontaneous visions, periods of deep sleep and dreaming became common. My dream landscape expanded dramatically.

It was during one of these dreams that Skunk visited me, and in its way claimed me. At the time my understanding of Power Animals was in its infancy, and it would be many years before I had any real understanding of shamanism and dreams. I had no way to know what was happening to me, no real point of orientation.

I shifted from one dream to find myself standing on the front lawn of my childhood home. I felt a presence behind me and turned to see a skunk not ten feet away. Thinking I was sure to be sprayed I turned to run but I felt an invisible power coming from the skunk holding me in place and then throwing me face down on the ground. As I fell it sprayed me dead center on my back. This was no ordinary skunk spray. It did not smell or burn, though I was expecting it to. It sunk through my skin, into the muscles of my back and then deep into my center. It filled me in a way I had never felt before. Now I understand it to be a transfer of spiritual power.

I tried to get up but could not. I quickly lost consciousness, waking again in the dream world, on the same night but sitting in the back seat of a car driving up the coast road in Big Sur, California. A ghostly pale young man with black hair sat beside me. We were deep in discussion -- he was intent on teaching me about how to work with my new power. It was then that I realized my companion was actually Skunk, the one who had sprayed me earlier. He had become human so I could speak with him more easily. He was kind but very serious. It was clear that he was the teacher and I the student, but thankfully he had an affectionate patience. Eventually I drifted off to the sound of our conversation, awakening in this ordinary reality.

READ MORE. . .
Dedicated to the study, preservation, and teaching of shamanic knowledge for the welfare of the Planet and its inhabitants.
Distributed by the Foundation for Shamanic Studies
Editor: Susan Mokelke
Assistant Editors: Narrye Caldwell & Robbie Staufer
Editorial Assistant: Noelle Burch