Shamanism for Tough Times:
Experiencing the Shamanic Journey in 2025
An immersive retreat to restore your power and reconnect with your soul,
September 5-7, 2025
at Deer Hill Expeditions, Mancos, CO
You are invited to experience the powerful, earth-centric spiritual practice of shamanic journeying right here in beautiful southwest Colorado.
When the forces of authoritarianism, greed, hatred and violence rise, people who love the Earth and all living beings must find ways to root down into our most authentic, loving selves, and act from a place of vision and personal power.
Where do we turn, to find the support and wisdom we need to face these times? Shamanic journeying is the most powerful spiritual practice I have ever encountered. In my 18 years on the shamanic path, I have witnessed the power of this practice for myself and countless clients, to transform anxiety, depression, hopelessness, overwhelm, fear, anger, and even physical illness, into love, clarity, and personal power.
It is in this spirit that I invite you to this three day immersive retreat in Mancos, CO.
What is Shamanic Journeying?
Shamanic journeying is a method of communicating with benevolent helping spirits and the spirits of nature. In contrast to the way I was taught to pray as a child, in this practice, we actually receive a response, in the form of visions, guidance, support and healing.
In order to be able to communicate with helping spirits, a shamanic journeyer enters a state of consciousness where the analytical mind takes a back seat. In my lineage, we do this with the help of a steady, monotonous drumbeat; in other lineages, plant medicines are used (such as ayahuasca).
This powerful practice belongs to everyone. While the word “shaman” hails from the Tungus tribe in Siberia, indigenous cultures have practiced various forms of shamanic journeying for tens of thousands of years on every continent populated with indigenous peoples, including not only Asia, but also the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Australia.
Why now?
We need shamanic journeying now more than ever. In this practice, there is no authority to intervene and tell you what is right and wrong. No patriarchy, racism, original texts (and centuries of intentional mistranslations), or any other mediating influence seeks to tear you away from your inner knowing, your loving heart, and the wisdom of the spirit world. In other words, shamanic journeying is a practice of direct revelation.
In this way, shamanic journeying is a profoundly anti-authoritarian practice. Perhaps this is why the forces of colonialism have so violently sought to wipe it out.
Who is this retreat for?
This retreat is ideal for:
People who feel called to explore a nature-based spiritual practice. Perhaps you feel closest to God/Goddess/Creator/something bigger than yourself, in the natural world. Perhaps you sense that the trees are alive and can communicate with you. Perhaps you have had a deep experience of the interconnectedness of all life while sitting on a mountaintop, or digging your hands into lush garden soil. Perhaps you have noticed that you feel most alive and truly yourself in the wilderness, and want to figure out how to integrate that well-being into your daily life.
People who have never journeyed before and wish to learn this powerful practice.
People who have extensive experience with shamanic journeying, and wish to deepen their skills. (For example, perhaps you are able to have powerful journeys when assisted by a practitioner, but are not able to do so reliably on your own.)
People who wish to explore and develop the ability to journey on behalf of others. This training meets the requirements for an Introduction to Shamanic Journeying training in Sandra Ingerman's lineage, and will prepare you to take more advanced trainings in shamanic healing methods such as Soul Retrieval or Extraction.
People who wish to find and build nature-based spiritual community.
People who are sick and tired of the culture of domination and power-over - and wish to engage in a spiritual practice that views all life as equally worthy of reverence and respect.
People who wish to find relief from their critical minds and instead cultivate intuition, inner knowing, creativity, and the voice of their own loving souls.
People who are looking for a spiritual practice that will empower them to meet these challenging times with creativity, love, and soul power.
People who want a spiritual practice that is actually playful and fun!
What will I Learn?
In this retreat, you will…
Learn the practice of shamanic journeying;
Learn how to ask the most effective questions for shamanic journeys, and how to interpret and integrate the guidance you receive;
Learn about mental and physical illness from a shamanic perspective;
Meet one of your spirit helpers, such as a Power Animal or ancestral human teacher;
Journey to receive spiritual support and wisdom for your life;
Journey to receive guidance on behalf of another person;
Explore shamanic worldviews of interconnectedness, reverence, and radical equality in the natural world;
Journey to receive guidance on how to show up in these challenging times in your full personal power;
And, last but by no means least: meet and build community with like-minded people, and have a chance to rest, relax, and play!
Logistics
Location: This retreat will take place at Deer Hill Expeditions, which is located on a stunningly beautiful parcel of land two miles south of the small town of Mancos in rural, southwest Colorado. Deer Hill provides wilderness experiential learning programs for youth, and consequently, their website does not focus on its use as a retreat center.
The land boasts gorgeous views of Mesa Verde, is populated with cottonwood, pinon and juniper trees, and also has plenty of wide open, grassy spaces. During break times, you can explore trails, swim in the pond, or lie down under a cottonwood tree. The dark skies are perfect for stargazing.
Camping, lodging, and commuter options are all available. If it is financially possible for you to stay at Deer Hill (the lodging prices are very reasonable), I strongly encourage you to do so. Over my years of shamanic practice, almost all of my clients receive guidance to play and rest. You can get a head start on this healing guidance at Deer Hill!
Retreat Schedule
The retreat begins with check-in at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, September 5, and ends at noon on Sunday, September 7. Here is the tentative full-day schedule:
8-9 a.m. Breakfast (for campers and lodgers)
9:30-noon Morning session
12-1 Lunch
1-3:00 Break for rest and play! (Swimming, hiking, resting, journaling, socializing…)
3-5:30: Afternoon session
5:30-6:45: Dinner
7-8:30 Evening session
Meals
Every participant will be served a soup and salad lunch, and a hot dinner, on Saturday and Sunday. People who choose to stay at Deer Hill will also receive breakfast. Meals will be prepared by Deer Hill’s chef, and will feature proteins, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Their chef is excellent at honoring people’s dietary restrictions, and provides meals that are safe for celiacs.
Cost (not including lodging)
To accommodate a range of financial resources, I am offering three primary payment levels for this retreat. These fees includes facility rental, two lunches and dinners, and tuition.
Base fee per person: $450. This level covers the basic costs of offering this event.
Reduced fee: $325. For those on limited incomes. In addition, a limited number of scholarships also are available.
Sponsor fee: $550. This level allows me to offer a reduced price level for those on limited incomes.
For Native/Indigenous individuals: If you identify as Native American/indigenous and wish to take this training, I will gladly waive the tuition and facility rental fee, not in the spirit of charity, but in solidarity and in acknowledgment of historical atrocities and continuing present-day injustices and inequities. I ask that you pay for your meals ($72 for the weekend) and, should you choose to stay at Deer Hill, for your lodging. I can reserve up to five spaces for this purpose.
Lodging Options
There are a wide range of options! All lodging/camping costs include breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. (If you are traveling from out of town and wish to stay Thursday night at Deer Hill, you may do so, just make a note in your registration form.) No lodging has air conditioning. Typically at this time of year, nights are cool and it is easy to cool down rooms by opening the windows.
Bunkhouse & Camping: You may choose to camp and/or sleep in the bunkhouse (think of a children’s summer camp - bring all your own gear, toiletries, towels and bedding). Either option provides a spacious and clean bathhouse (which involves a bit of a walk). Camping or bunking plus breakfast = $38/night, for a total of $76 for the whole weekend. All campers and bunkers will also split a $50 cleaning fee.
Main House Rooms: In the main house where the kitchen is, there is one beautiful master bedroom, with a king bed and private bathroom. This is the only room available that does not have stairs, so I will prioritize mobility-impaired participants for this room. The Master is available for $118/night for a total of $236, plus a $150 cleaning fee to be shared by all main house lodgers (see paragraph below.) A couple or pair of good friends may book this room together, in which case the cost per person not including the cleaning fee will be $136/person (slightly more than half, to account for breakfasts for both people.)
Upstairs, there are two rooms with queen beds and a shared bath, each available for $98/night for a total of $196, plus a $150 cleaning fee. A couple or pair of good friends may book these rooms together, in which case the cost per person not including the cleaning fee will be $116/person (slightly more than half, to account for breakfasts for both people.)
The cleaning fee is shared amongst all three rooms, so the amount you will pay will depend on how many of these rooms are taken. If only one person reserves a room, s/he will pay $150; if all three rooms are booked, it will be divided by three people for $50 each.
The Loft: There is an additional building with 6 bedrooms, each with 2 twin beds, and four shared bathrooms, plus a living room and kitchen. Each room is available for $103/night for a total of $206, plus a cleaning fee of $150 to be shared by all loft lodgers. A couple or pair of good friends may book these rooms together, OR you may request that I assign you a same-gender roommate. In these cases, the cost per person not including the cleaning fee will be $121/person (slightly more than half, to account for breakfasts for both people.)
Air Travel
I recommend using United Airlines to fly into the Durango airport, and renting a car there. Only two airlines service the Durango airport. United has been reliable; American has not. You may also wish to fly in a day or two early to see Mesa Verde National Park, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park, and other sites!
FAQs
I am Christian; or Jewish; or Muslim; or Buddhist; or… Will this training be helpful to me? And will I be welcome?
Absolutely! Shamanism is non-denominational, and anti-fundamentalist. People from many different religious orientations have experienced profound benefits from learning how to journey. Shamanic journeying is essentially another way to pray - only in this methodology, you receive answers! For example, many open-minded Christians who have learned to journey have experienced direct communication with Jesus, Mary, and saints. All people who are open-minded and respectful of other belief systems are welcome here.
I have indigenous ancestry, but have been severed from the spiritual practices of my people. Could this training be helpful for me?
Yes. In fact, I would say this training is designed for all of us who have been severed from the spiritual practices of our indigenous ancestors.
I have religious trauma. I feel called to this training but I have zero tolerance for people telling me what to believe.
Then there could be no more empowering practice than this for you. Shamanic journeying is profoundly anti-authoritarian. One of the most healing experiences I’ve had on this path is learning to journey with others. When two people are journeying on the same question (which we will do in this training!) and receive different visions, we ask not “who is right and who is wrong?,” but rather: how can both of us be right? How do these different perspectives fit together into a larger whole?
In this way, shamanic journeying also teaches us how to respect the wisdom of everyone, rather than our usual cultural move: fighting to be right and make the other wrong.
What if I’m not capable of journeying? Not everyone can be a shaman, right?
This is like saying that not everyone can pray because not everyone can become a minister, priest, rabbi or imam. From experience with untold numbers of clients, I have come to believe that with enough practice and support, everyone can receive guidance and healing from the spirit realm through shamanic journeying. It is our birthright. If you find that it does not come easily to you, it does not mean that you are not suited to it, or defective in some way. It likely means your analytical mind has taken over your life! In my case, it took me and my over-educated brain many years of practice and healing before I became comfortable trusting this process.
On the use of the honorific title of shaman: in shamanic cultures, people generally didn’t call themselves shamans. This was a title that was conferred by the community, based on the effectiveness of their work and the strength and integrity of their character. In fact, many people believed that if someone called himself a shaman, he would lose his powers because it showed that his ego was taking over and his spirit helpers would leave him.
What is your shamanic lineage? Where does this style of shamanic journeying come from?
This form of shamanism is known as “cross-cultural” or “core” shamanism. My primary teacher at this time is Sandra Ingerman, one of the most well-known and trusted shamans in the modern Western world. Sandra is perhaps best known for her work in bringing the sacred healing practice of soul retrieval back to the West. Her teacher, Michael Harner, is the anthropologist who studied shamanic practices all over the world and saw a startling pattern: that nearly all of them engaged in some form of shamanic journeying. Harner created this particular method of journeying because it works well in our modern culture and makes it accessible to everyone.
I prefer the term “cross-cultural” to “core” shamanism because the latter phrase suggests that one person, who is limited by his own individual perspective, culture, and historical era (as we all are), could determine which elements are “core” and which are peripheral.
If you’d like to learn more about my background, here is my bio.
What’s the difference between ayahuasca (or some other plant medicine) journeys, and drum journeys (the kind of journeys we’ll do in this training)?
Plant medicine journeys last much longer than drum journeys, involve more intense physiological responses, require a person to surrender a much greater degree of control, and therefore necessitate a safe and trustworthy facilitator. Unfortunately, I have supported several clients over the years to heal from the harm they experienced from unsafe facilitators of plant medicine journeys.
Drum journeys, in contrast, can last anywhere from a single minute to an hour or more, typically involve no physiological discomfort, and require much less surrender of control because you can exit a drum journey at any moment. Because of these features, drum journeys are much more easily integrated as a spiritual practice into daily life. However, for these same reasons, they do require more practice and cultivation of focus, especially in our screen-dominated culture of distraction.
I want to be respectful of other cultures, and don’t want to engage in cultural appropriation. Is this style of shamanic journeying cultural appropriation?
This is an important question, and there are probably as many perspectives on cultural appropriation as there are people. All I can do is offer mine, and invite you to draw your own conclusion.
Remember: shamanic journeying has arisen in indigenous cultures all over the world, including Europe, Africa, First Nations in North, Central and South Americas, and Australia. As my teacher Sandra Ingerman likes to say, “If you are alive today, you have ancestors who practiced shamanism.” No one owns this practice; it would be like saying that one particular culture owns prayer. The problem is, the vast majority of us have been violently severed from the shamanic roots of our ancestors and many of the traditions of our own specific lineages have been lost.
This cross-cultural form of journeying was created to make journeying accessible for modern Western people. It does not steal any specific ceremonies, practices, drumbeats, styles of dress, or language from any specific culture.
I feel that it is important to acknowledge there are indeed egregious examples of cultural appropriation by white people who call themselves shamans. These involve taking specific ceremonies (such as sweat lodges), tools and methods (such as a sacred way of building a sweat lodge), and regalia that are worn by specific peoples, without permission.
To be frank with you, because I was so concerned about this issue, I have journeyed on this question many times over the years. The messages my spirit helpers keep giving me is that my soul is called to this work, and that modern Western people need this work in order to heal ourselves and the planet. Notably, this guidance fits with the increasing number of indigenous scholars who are calling on all of us — and especially the descendants of colonists, since we are destroying the planet — to restore the kinship worldview and become indigenous to place.
Questions? You are welcome to contact me!