2008 - 2009 Programs and Retreats Calendar

The Programs: Sefer Yetzirah: The Series A bold venture into one of the oldest and most cryptic codes of ancient Jewish mystery wisdom. From Torah to Tipi - Shamanic Healing: A Workshop for Healers of Self and Others "Integral Spirituality Experience" A year-end conference with Ken Wilber, Gershon Winkler, Miriam Maron, Sally Kempton, Gavriel Cousens, Marc Gafni, Diane Hamilton, and others

"Sefer Yetzirah: An In-Depth Study Series" With Rabbi Gershon Winkler Sponsored by Wisdom-Heart Community, and JACTS A bold venture into one of the oldest and most cryptic codes of ancient Jewish mystery wisdom. At the Unitarian Fellowship, 1606 Bonita (at Cedar), Berkeley, CA 94709 Sefer Yetzirah is the earliest known written source for what later became known as the Kabbalah. It is replete with aboriginal Jewish knowledge around sorcery, angelic forces, earth spirits, astrology, numerology, the four directions, and the mysteries of Creation. Believed to originate in the early mystery schools of Enoch, Shem (Malkizedek) , Eyver, and Abraham (4,000 B.C.E.), this cryptic body of cosmic wisdom has puzzled sages for millennia. Rabbi Winkler will take us on a user-friendly journey across the length and breadth of Megilat Yetzirah, as it was originally called, and inspire us in his unique style with the life lessons and mind-expanding mysteries that make this ancient text so alluring as well as elusive. Workshop Series Schedule for 5769 (2008-2009) Workshop Series Schedule for 5769-5770 (2009-2010) Sunday Workshops - 10:30 am to 5:30 pm: Dates: November 23, 2008, January 18, 2009, February 22, 2009, March 22, 2009, April 19, 2009, May 24, 2009, June 28, 2009, July 12, 2009, August 16, 2009, September 13, 2009, October 18, 2009, November 15, 2009 Cost: $75 per class (more if you can, less if you can't. No one turned away for lack of funds.) Registration: At the door. Please arrive 15 minutes early to register. Payment methods: Cash, or personal check or Money Order payable to Walking Stick Foundation. For more information email us at Elkmesa@Walkingstick.org

From Torah to Tipi: Shamanic Healing in Jewish and Native American Traditions A Workshop for Healers of Self and Others With Carl Hammerschlag, M.D. Author of Dancing With Healers and Theft of the Spirit Rabbi Miriam Maron, B.S.N., R.N., M.A. Author of Chants of the Sacred Four, AngelSong Wings of Light and Mystic Convergence Shawn Price Traditional Dineh (Navajo) Flutist, Ritual Dancer, and Medicine Carrier Rabbi Gershon Winkler Author of Magic of the Ordinary: Recovering the Shamanic in Judaism THURSDAY EVENING DECEMBER 10, 2009 THROUGH MONDAY MORNING DECEMBER 14, 2009 At the Brandeis-Bardin Institute Retreat Center, situated on 3,000 acres of pristine wilderness in the scenic Santa Susana Mountains of Simi Valley, in Southern California. Easy commute from Los Angeles and Santa Barbara (LAX or Burbank Airports). Cost: $950 per person Single Occupancy with private bath $875 per person Double Occupancy with private bath Includes tuition, meals, and lodging Commuter Cost: $565 includes tuition and meals only. To register, you must send a minimum deposit of $500 made payable to: Walking Stick Foundation 1336 North Moorpark Road, #289 Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 Or by credit card, add 9%: Single Occupancy $1,030 clickhere CCNOW     Double Occupancy $950 clickhere CCNOW     $500 Deposit by card: $540 clickhere CCNOW   Commuter Rate: $611 clickhere CCNOW Discover the gifts of Jewish and Native American mystery wisdom for contemporary living and healing. This three-day intensive, the third in a series, features modern scientific as well as aboriginal teachings about how people get sick and how they get well. From contemporary research in psychoneuro-immunology, to ancient and early-medieval Hebraic and Aramaic oral traditions and source texts, to Native American wisdom and ceremony, participants will be introduced to eye-opening, challenging, and self-empowering life lessons. Spiced with drumming, chanting, story-telling, humor, entrancing movement and ceremony, this workshop will immerse you in the magical realms as well as the pragmatic. The Facilitators: Carl Hammerschlag, M.D. is an internationally recognized psychiatrist and author. After completing medical school, he took a departure from conventional medicine and worked with Native American tribes in the American Southwest. Native healers challenged his academic certainties and inspired him to re-think his understanding about how people got sick and well. He has summarized his journey from doctor to healer in three critically acclaimed books, The Dancing Healers, The Theft of the Spirit, and Healing Ceremonies. He is on the faculty of the University of Arizona Medical School and lectures around the world on personal empowerment and the practical applications of the science of psychoneuroimmunology. His weekly on-line column “Schlagbytes” is read by a worldwide audience. For information on his seminars and workshops, visit: www.healingdoc.com   Rabbi Miriam Maron, B.S.N., R.N., M.A. is a nurse, exercise physiologist, singer/songwriter, and spiritual healer who uses sacred texts, movement, guided imagery, meditation and chanting in her work. She teaches intensives on Jewish Kabbalistic healing modalities and has facilitated workshops, services and retreats across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Israel on healing and mind, body, and soul integration. Her concerts, as well as her albums “Wings of Light”, “Light out of Darkness”, “Chants of the Sacred Four”, “Mystic Convergence”, “Surrender” ,and “AngelSong,” have received wide acclaim from interdenominational sources across the globe. Miriam also performs life-cycle ceremonies and sacred dance and is a visiting faculty member at Esalen Institute, Chochmat Halev Center for Jewish Meditation, and Elat Chayyim Center for Jewish Spirituality. For information on her workshops, visit www.MiriamsCyberWell.com Shawn Price is a traditional Dineh well-versed in the medicine chants and ceremonies of his people. He also joined the Jewish people in 1999 and practices Jewish rites as well. Committed to the restoration of the ancient ways of the Dineh, Shawn has long ago organized a troupe of young Dineh dancers who have performed at inter-tribal and other sacred gatherings across the country.  He brings the richness of authentic Dineh tradition, lore and ritual to our retreats and has become a fascinating bridge between ancient rites and wisdom of the Dineh people and those of the Jewish people. Gershon Winkler was initiated in 1978 in Jerusalem by the late Kabbalistic master, Rabbi Eliezer Benseon. Rabbi Winkler has devoted much of the past two decades to writing and teaching about the lesser-promulgated traditions of Judaism’s rich mystical wisdom, from theoretical Kabbalah to Hebraic shamanism. His most recent works, Magic of the Ordinary: Recovering the Shamanic in Judaism, and Kabbalah 365, have won him wide acclaim as a pioneer in accessing the lesser-known indigenous mystery traditions of Judaism. Author of 14 books and grandfather of seven, Gershon is a hermit by nature, and has, for more than two decades, balanced his public life as a sought-after teacher, with an anonymous home life nestled deep in the remote wilderness of New Mexico. For information on workshops and seminars, visit www.walkingstick.org   "INTEGRAL SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE" KICK-OFF December 30, 2009 - January 3, 2010 At Asilomar, in scenic Pacific Grove, California Join the likes of Ken Wilber, Miriam Maron, Gershon Winkler, Jean Houston, Gabriel Cousens, Marc Gafni, Diane Musho Hamilton Sensei, Sally Kempton, Lama Surya Das and a host of other spiritual teachers on a five-year explorative journey to discover the gift and wisdom of Integral Spirituality, and its pragmatic relevance for the 21st century   Hundreds of thousands of people around the globe have been touched and inspired by the vision of Integral Spirituality, a spiritual path that respectfully integrates the wisdom and practices of every major spiritual tradition, east and west, with the best of science, philosophy, and psychology -- blending them into a sophisticated universally-friendly spiritual philosophy.   Occurring each year over the New Year’s holiday, “Integral Spiritual Experience” kicks off December 30, 2009 through January 3, 2010 with “The Personal Spiritual Journey -- Your Unique Self,” which will guide you through a personal exploration of your unique life and purpose at this particular time in history through an integrated prism of perspectives that include Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Native America, Christianity, Islam, New Spirituality, Integral Psychology, and others. We will also help you identify the practices you need to uncover your deepest and truest Self.   This event is almost sold out! Register before June 15, 2009 to receive special early-bird pricing! For more information, and to register, visit www.integralspiritualexperience.com