Study With Robin Fall 2010
Each spring and fall, Robin Rice offers two courses online in an effort to share the "real world" spiritual truths she has encountered on her journeys. She teaches from a deep heart and seeks to reach the highest levels of understanding, yet she always insists that the work be grounded and applicable to everyday life. Robin is consistently rated a 5-Star teacher and her passion for changing the world is evident no matter what she teaches. Never a guru, always a fellow traveler, Robin offers herself to her classes wholeheartedly. Read below for the details of Fall, 2010.
The Second Half Of The Mountain:
How To Truly Be Who You Are
11 Weeks ~ September 22 - November 24, 2010
Live Online Webinar Wednesdays, 8-9:30 PM Eastern Time
~OR~
Audit Via Recorded Audio/Video(View Online Any Time)
You've been told to find your soul, discover your truth, follow your bliss, manifest your heart out, have your healings and attend this and that workshop... and yet you're still not getting to where you want to be. You see others who seem to have really found something, but they also seem to make it look so easy, and it is not so easy for you. Indeed it is complex, messy, and the “one-step-forward, two steps back” dance is wearing you down. Sound familiar? If so, this course may be for you.
The truth is, any path can take you half way up the mountain, and no path can take you up the second half. Yet there are signs and lamp posts, and you can learn to trust what is laid out before you! This course will help you unburden yourself of yourself so that you can lighten your load and let your True Self take over. Topics may include Just Who Do You Think You Are?; The Art of KIND Introspection; Synchronicities And Why You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up; Unseen Forces And Why Everything Is Not Your Fault; Breaking Out Of Normal; Silencing The Negative Voices In Your Head; Beauty As A Path; Projections—Just What Is You And Not You?; How Stories Heal or Damn us (And What We Can Do About It); Finding the Warrior Within; Working With The Wounded Self Without Falling Into That Archetype; Trusting Your True Intuition; and more.
So if you are done with the small stuff…. If you are hungry for what is real, what is true, and what is beautiful (even if on the surface it is ugly)… If the beaten path has run out for you…. If you feel as if you are at times on to something and at other times completely lost… If genuine fellow travelers seem few and far between… If your Karma ran over your Dogma and you don’t know what to “believe”… If the thread to your sanity sometimes feels as if it is running bare… If you are ready to reach high, as high as you can, and skirt the edges, too… If you want to know what the Old Ones (that would be you, from before) have to say about all this… If you're not afraid, you're ravenous for the "more" there is to know… then join this class. Together we'll gather to study and experience and ponder together. I'll carry the torch to take you as far up the mountain (and into the cave) as I've gone... and of course, you'll go further. The course includes an online private facebook group for all class members and a free pdf of Robin's novel Venus For A Day (or order a printed copy from this website). See fees and other details further down the page.
Selected Topics In Contemporary Shamanism:
The Shaman In YOU
11 Weeks ~ September 21 - November 23, 2010
Tuesdays, 8-9:30 PM Eastern Time ~OR~
Audit Via Recorded Audio/Video Any Time
Each spring and fall, Robin Rice teaches a course of special topics in contemporary shamanism. This year, she will be teaching on the shamanic elements that are within each of us. While most will not become shamans as a profession, or even a complete way of life, there are elements of shamanism which can guide and inform us all. This course is for anyone for whom the word or image of “shaman” conjures a sense of positive mystery, brings about an activated feeling in the body, and/or fosters a desire for deeper connection to the self, community, natural world and greater Universe. One does not need the intention to become a practicing shaman, but should have a sense of reverence for the path.
This course is not as much about becoming a shamanic healer for others as it is to develop your own personal journey. In specific, it will offer a deep look at how shamanism can grow the greater self and create solid leadership in times of societal need. Over the 11 weeks, we will consider our “ordinary” and “non-ordinary” roles in the world culture and explore what the earth is asking of the contemporary shaman. We will begin to understand the shamanic psyche, which is often outside of the scope of mainstream psychology, and perhaps find the reasons we have never “fit in” or been helped by more traditional means of wellness. We will work to discover and develop the often illusive “body double”—a hidden, second aspect of self that is impervious to culture, time or space and that “fire cannot burn, water cannot wet, winds cannot blow, and the earth cannot swallow.” We will explore multi-level realities and shapeshifting; the journey of the shamanic self and greater mythic cosmology; shamanic tools for divination and reading omens; the path of the hunter, warrior, and seer; trance states; the “deathwalk” as training grounds for the impeccable life story; real people vs. phantoms; layers and levels of dreaming; discovering our non-ordinary teachers; and more.
The course will include lecture, exercises, an online private group on facebook and a shamanic fire healing for all. Required texts include The Shaman's body by Arnold Mindell (order at Amazon.com) and A Hundred Ways To Sunday by Robin Rice (can be provided as free pdf or ordered in print on this website.)
See FAQ below for more extensive information on this course.
Details:
Logistics
We use the Webex.com webinar platform, which requires an internet connection and either a headset with microphone or you can call in using a toll number (be sure you have free long distance or sufficient minutes in a calling plan as you will be charged). You will be able to see Robin on video, hear others in the class, and participate in the whiteboard (instructions are simple and will be provided). A clear internet connection is best if you are taking the live option. Otherwise, the audit option may be best for you.
Audit Option
The course will be recorded in video and audio, which you can download on your computer or listen to at any time in the week after the previous course. You will not log on in real time, and your questions/contributions of your ideas will need to be through the online Facebook group, which is a private group with only class members invited. Those who take the live classes will be able to make up the class later in the week by audit.
Course Fees*
The fees for either course are $397 for 11 weeks plus the online private group. You are welcome to make two payments of $199 if that is of help to you, but in registering you are committing to the full course and it will be your responsibility to remember when your second payment is due. There is a 10% discount if you Audit the course ($357 or two payments of $179). *NOTE: Those in special circumstances, for whom this fee would cause a hardship on their family or who live in an area of the world where this fee becomes excessive, are welcome to write Robin@bewhoyouare.com and let her know what you are able to offer.
Registration
To register for either course, send an email to Robin@BeWhoYouAre.com stating your name, which course you wish to register for, a little about your background and/or interest in the course, if you would like to be in the live class or to audit, if you wish to pay in one or two payments, and whether by check or paypal (which accepts credit cards). You will receive a confirmation email with further instructions.
FAQ On The Shaman In You
What is a shaman?
Shamans have been found in all cultures throughout time. An odd or unusual person within the community, they often have gifts of seeing, healing, knowing, or changing situations through “non-ordinary” means, often a trace state. Shamans are deeply connected to the natural world, and often work for countless years to develop their skills, which they then bring to their community. It is a dangerous path and can only be successful if there is a true calling. To learn more, there are a few very good videos that introduce the topic on Youtube. While many speak to the traditional ways, the following two offer a great introductory overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-lQyGX05hA and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR8xndQmEzQ . This article may also be of use: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/us/20shaman.html?_r=2
What is a “contemporary” shaman?
Robin Rice was given this term by her own guides to use to refer to herself after she completed her first shamanic novel. It was a difficult leap of faith, as a true indigenous shaman would never call themselves a shaman in their community. That would be like calling themselves a Holy Person. The tribe would offer that title and the shaman would be humbly honored. Yet the tribes of other times and places already knew who the shaman of the community was and what they could offer. In contemporary society, we shamans must identify ourselves so that we can be found, while staying completely humble as well.
As a white women with no indigenous family lineage, Robin uses the term contemporary shaman as a way of showing great respect to traditional shamans. In her view, the contemporary shaman brings the wisdom of the ancients forward and applies them to the contemporary setting. She believes that just as every tribe in all times has had a shaman born into it, so our “tribe” in contemporary culture has many would-be shamans born to us. However, since there is no understanding of this life role, many who are gifted are never shown the way to develop their potential. Robin hopes to help with a solid education.
In all traditions, the truest teacher is always Spirit, and the test of a shaman is if the spirits, guides and energies are offered in such a way that the contemporary shaman is effective in her work. While not everyone is meant to heal, and not all circumstances can be altered, overall a shaman should have consistent success. This is the only way to know a shaman has talent, skill and support in “non-ordinary reality.”
Will this class teach me to be a shaman?
No. That is a very long and demanding education and experiential/initiatory life path. This class is a start for those who wish to better understand shamanism, to use shamanic tools for their own personal growth and psychic/spiritual development, and those who have studied shamanism but wish to discover more of a contemporary application or further work on developing their “body double.”
Who is Robin Rice and how was she trained?
Robin was born into an average American family with no context for her deeply intuitive gifts, which began to reveal themselves at the age of 5. At the age of 35, after a profound immediate “waking up” experience, Robin realized her gifts most closely aligned with shamanism, and so she began to study with teachers and shamans from around the world. However, her true teachers come in the dream time. Robin has a teaching dream, which has a different quality of “awakeness” to it, then she believes she wakes up to meet with her teachers on another plane. When the teaching is done, she fully wakes up as anyone would from a dream. All shamans understand that to be “Spirit taught” is a valid and profound way to become a shaman, even if a teacher in human form is not present.
To learn more about Robin, be sure to visit the “what others say” page on this website, as most of the quotes are from those who have experienced shamanic work or training with Robin on a personal basis. Also read her articles “Magic” and “That Night With Julie” to learn more of her personal history.
Will I get any kind of certification through this course?
No. Robin believes only Spirit can certify you. She would not dream of it.
Will I learn to heal others in this course?
No. While Robin does teach this material, it is not included in this course in a significant way. This course develops your own personal shamanic understanding, talents, skills, and psyche.
Who would be a good fit for this course?
Those who have a body reaction, a sense of pull or calling, or those who have been intrigued by shamanism for a long time will find this course rewarding on many levels. In addition, this course is a wonderful addition to traditional psychology and medicine (fields which are seeing more and more patients who are having non-ordinary experiences), and as such open-minded mental health professionals may find useful information and experience gained. Finally, healers/seers from other spiritual traditions will find the course useful to explain some of the shamanic experiences that often occur in this work. You do NOT need to feel the call to be a shaman to benefit from the course.
Who would not be a good fit for this course?
Those who are only moderately curious, those who feel they have a fragile psyche, and those who are “too busy” to genuinely explore this great path would be better off not taking the course. Shamanism is powerful, and many activations can occur simply by being exposed to the information (expect the time involved in the class, reading time, and some dedicated time for personal reflection). Also, if you feel you need to be “talked into it,” you are not at the right place for this course.
What if I’ve already studied with Robin—will this be different?
Robin has never taught the information in this course at any depth online. If you have taken an online shamanic course, the material will be targeted differently. However, if you have studied with her in person, this course will best be seen as a deepening of your understanding and an opportunity for greater integration.
What do you mean by “non-ordinary” states?
The ordinary reality state would be that which is easy experienced as a standard collective consciousness and known by the basic five senses. Non-ordinary reality includes that which is found and experienced outside of our normal senses and socially agreed upon reality.