With composer/shamanic practitioner Chris O'Brien
This two-and-a-half-day workshop, will explore the nature of being fully human through the intentional engagement of our Sacred Trilogy: body, spirit and mind. Using original, spirit-inspired music that has been intentionally composed to help expand consciousness and connect you with your own powerful inner knowing and landscapes, as well as core shamanic techniques, we will explore embodiment, connection to our spirit, and the skillful use of mind. This experiential gathering will include elements of movement, sensory-based intuition, feeling, envisioning, and intimate encounter with your true self and each other.
By first becoming present with and rooted in our bodies, and then welcoming our spirit, we will create a foundation of being and original intelligence. This experience helps you invite the realm of your dreams and visions into your body and daily life, and can root you in deeper receptivity for healing. From this place, we can then intentionally engage the mind as an ally aligned with our true sense of self and deeper purpose to complete the Sacred Trilogy. This final step shifts our core motivation from analysis to knowing, from concern to conviction, and fosters a committed focus for conscious self-expression.
This is an opportunity to connect with, truly appreciate and integrate the aspects of your being in the right order: body, then spirit, then mind. To learn more about why this is important, read below Music as Medicine and also Body/Spirit/Mind. Rising and evolving from the ground of sensual experience, it will also be an opportunity to discover or refine your essential purpose, and what the sources of vitality and inspiration are in your daily life.
Prepare yourself to be moved in evocative and unusual ways through the creative matrix of soul songs; to feel the beauty of your being as your body and emotions respond to the shimmering invitation of the music; and to emerge altered and filled with the uncontainable mystery of your original self as well as an illuminated path for all your possibilities. Prepare yourself to touch deeply those places within that so rarely receive the recognition and tending they deserve. No plant medicines will be used. We will use music as the medicine.
Whether you are new to shamanic work or very experienced, you are welcome to this gathering. It will be an embodied, joyful and open exploration of who we really are, and what our natural intelligence and wisdom has to share with us. We'll come together in a sensually rich and beautifully tended space on land that is inspirited and deeply supportive of powerful, intimate work. Each day you'll receive the benefit of staying connected to each other and maintaining the flow of our journey together while also eating sumptuous, healthy meals prepared for you; having periods of rest and integration; and revitalizing yourself through the spirit of Nature so present in this location.
We are excited for this time together and look forward to sharing in this powerful and life-shifting work.
Friday, Oct. 17th, 6-9pm; Saturday Oct. 18th, 10am-9pm; Sunday, Oct. 19th 10am-4pm
Location: Nederland, COGorgeous, private meditation retreat space overlooking Rocky Mt. ranges
Cost: $350.00 includes meals, drinks and snacks. (2 dinners, 2 lunches) $100.o0 deposit by Oct. 10th
MUSIC AS MEDICINE:
The fact is, music stimulates and nourishes parts of our brain that are inaccessible through language and typical thought. In recent years, neuroscientists have begun using music to treat the effects of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, depression, stroke, and other brain conditions. Think about how you feel at a concert, listening to your favorite song, or watching a movie with an amazing soundtrack. It’s powerful.
In the shamanic experience – or in the trance states of other practices – there’s a distinct transition from ordinary states of consciousness to non-ordinary states. For the experienced journeyer, making that transition is a shift that is practiced and cultivated through disciplined repetition. But for the newer journeyer, and even many old-timers, that shift can be blocked or challenged by the conscious mind or, if you will, the “ego.” That’s the voice that says, “You’re making this up,” or, “You’re not doing it as good or as right as everyone else,” or "What's for dinner tonight?" Thanks a lot, ego!
The magic and medicine of music is that it actually bypasses much of that ego noise, and stimulates and activates parts of the brain that are connected to expanded states of consciousness. Music also stimulates and nourishes our body and spirit in indefinable and amazing ways. Using music in sacred ceremony with intention profoundly increases engagement with the deeper parts of our physical, emotional, spiritual and mental selves.
The pieces Chris has composed for this workshop are inspired by spirit, and purposely designed to have simultaneous tonal, harmonic and rhythmic components that help us easily transition into that journey space; to achieve and take residence in an expanded state of consciousness. It is in this state that the mystery of knowing, seeing, healing and discovering that resides in our spirits and bodies can unfold in us, unobstructed (or more so) by the ego mind.
BODY-SPIRIT-MIND
The conventional phrase: Mind, Body, Spirit, is a wonderful gesture towards integration of the three main elements of being human. Yet, it is a little backward. Placing the mind first puts the filter of the ego – or elements of the ego such as fear, desire, hope, comparison, insecurity, distrust, greed, lust , envy, uncertainty, etc. – first, making it the lens through which all other experience is assimilated and defined.
To come into your Sacred Trilogy, the body must come first. This is our magic, our blessing, our physical intelligence which is alive with the ancient wisdom of the earth and the ancestors, and is the mysterious container that holds both the Spirit and the Mind. Then, embodied, we can powerfully call in spirit, connect with our higher or true self, and come into alignment with our natural expression of being without defining it through convention, fear or desire.
Once in this place, the Mind can be a powerful creation tool. The Mind is a wonderful creator, and as a servant of our truth an irreplaceable ally. But as the independent decider of our destiny, it can be a difficult and misleading master. Bringing the Mind into the mix deeply rooted in Body and Spirit allows us to engage in Conscious Dreaming – finding our underlying truth and purpose; as well as having the wherewithal to manifest these in our lives.
Through shamanic practice, music, guided meditation, body expression, personal encounter, and with the assistance of your helping spirits, peers, the instructors and your own spirit, we invite you to awaken your Sacred Trilogy of Body, Spirit and Mind.
This weekend gathering is an experiential journey, full of possibilities for deeply engaging sweet, intimate and powerful aspects of yourself and each other; and its shape will coalesce around your own unique knowing, openness and guidance.
ABOUT CHRIS O'BRIEN:
Chris O’Brien is a shamanic practitioner and composer. He creates soundscapes and rhythms designed to help expand conscious awareness of the mystery, and guide and drive the shamanic journey.
Chris has a long-time meditation practice, has been practicing Native American spirituality for more than 20 years, and has worked with many shamanic teachers and guides. Some of Chris’ teachers and trainers include:
· Malidoma Some
· Julie Kramer
· The Foundation for Shamanic Studies
· Elliott Cowan
· Alberto Martinez
· Steve Roach
· Byron Metcalf
· Reggie Ray
· Geshe Dorji Damdul
· HH Dalai Lama
· Many Native elders and teachers
· The Earth
· Spirit