How to Lead Ceremony Foundational Course

Whether you’re just starting to lead ceremony or have lots of experience facilitating, these teachings and practices will help you create healing potent ceremonies for yourself and your people.

Join the 2024 cohort of vibrant, luminous, dedicated ceremonialists today!

Go to www.clairvoyantcounseling.com/how-to-lead-ceremony for more purchase options and payment plans.

⫸ Therapist and coaches who do individual medicine sessions with clients

⫸ Psychedelic medicine carriers and other psychedelic professionals who want to host high integrity circles for deep client healing

⫸ Yoga teachers who want to bring more depth to their classes

⫸ Breathwork facilitators who want to use ceremony tools for greater healing with their participants

⫸ Somatic practitioners and body workers who are ready to integrate ceremonial healing techniques into their sessions

⫸ Those who feel a spiritual calling to lead ceremony

⫸ Those who want to live ceremonially, not just ‘do ceremony’

⫸ New and experienced practitioners alike who want deep integrity and power woven into every ceremony they offer

⫸ Maturity and capacity for leading ceremonies of all types

⫸ Ability to lead with integrity, power, and luminosity to stand out in a saturated market

⫸ Marked improvement in your comfort and competency as a leader

⫸ Deeper understanding of the purpose of ceremony and when one is needed

⫸ Abiity to craft impactful, effective ceremonies for various occasions

⫸ Local and national colleagues for ceremony collaboration

⫸ And more!

⫸ 3 months of in-depth teachings offered in person in Denver and virtually

⫸ 6 two-hour modules covering core teachings, multi-modal learning, Q&A, and direct engagement with peers and facilitator

⫸ 6 downloadable practica for you to try your new skills

⫸ 3 one-hour mentorship calls for individual support with an option to add more for $100/session

⫸ 3 Teachings from guest instructors with diverse techniques

⫸ 12 weekly emails to keep you tapped into the course

⫸ Journaling workbook to discover your unique ceremony style and medicine

⫸ Private Facebook group to share with your peers, Rev. Cindy, and other instructors

Location: All classes will be offered in-person at Sakala Community Space in Denver, virtually via Zoom, and recorded for later viewing.

• Monday October 7th 6-7:15pm MT (Zoom only)- Meet your classmates and start collaborating!
• Monday October 14th 6-8pm MT - Module One: Your Seat of Power
• Monday October 28th 6-8pm MT - Module Two: The Tools of Ceremony
• Monday November 11th 6-8pm MT - Module Three: Crafting a Container
• Monday November 25th 6-8pm MT - Module Four: What Happens During Ceremony
• Monday December 9th 6-8pm MT - Module Five: Tending to Participants
• Monday December 30th 6-8pm MT - Module Six: Logistics of Ceremonial Work

We strongly urge you to come in peson if you can for hands-on practica opportunities and to meet other ceremonialists in Denver. If joining remotely, we’ll provide you with a list of supplies and encourage you to connect with your local communities.

⫸ Comprehensive training for providing/serving any kind of psychedelic medicine, somatic treatments or body work, or therapeutic counseling, etc.

⫸ A substitute for personal psychological healing or crisis support.

⫸ Teaching you to be just like me. I can show you the path I’ve walked then I expect you to bring your own medicine, skills, and authentic self.

⫸ A certificate or credentialing course

⫸ But your instructors can direct you to all these resources and support!

Minister, Teacher, Healer

I’m an ordained Unitarian Universalist Minister, Pastoral Counselor, Hospice Chaplain, and trained Clairvoyant Psychic. I’m passionate about people who are committed to strong spiritual growth and I help them learn how to do so with grace, speed, and ease.

I work with clients and other ceremonialists one-on-one, and I teach larger groups about effective practices for spiritual power and growth.

I have been officially leading ceremonies for over 12 years including hundreds of church worship services, candlelit vespers, breathwork circles, prayer medicine ceremonies, weddings, memorials, baptisms, and custom ceremonies for individuals and families.

It is my pleasure to offer these teachings to you, fellow ceremonialists

Head Instructor for How to Lead Ceremony

Psychotherapist, Coach, Workshop Facilitator

Genie has decades of experience as a psychotherapist, shamanic practitioner, and ceremonialist. She is dually licensed as an LCSW in both New Mexico and Colorado. Additionally, Genie is an Advanced Shamanic Practitioner with the Power Path School of Shamanism, having completed all of their advanced trainings, including specialized training in Death and Dying and Ceremonial events.

Having worked extensively with healers from the Wixárika tradition in Mexico and the Shipibo tradition in the Peruvian Amazon, she incorporates their healing modalities into her practice. Genie integrates contemporary clinical methods with ancient indigenous wisdom to help you connect with your heart, inner wisdom, and personal power.

Course Offering: Exploring the Similarities and Differences Between Therapy and Ceremony

VP of Center for Shamanic Education and Exchange, Cermonialist, Song Circle Leader

Mary's professional adventures have all been founded on promoting healing plants, vibrant healthy living, and a higher awoken consciousness. Dubbed the “Healthy Eating Guru” for Whole Foods Market, she inspired people to take charge of their health through the natural tools and resources available to them.

Mary also volunteers as a leader for Shamanism without Borders, the global response network of shamanic practitioners who tend to traumatic events. When not espousing the virtues of plants and deepening one's connection to Mother Earth, Mary can often be found in Austin, Texas, singing, joyfully dancing, gardening, or happily cooking for her family, friends, and three well-fed children.

Course Offering: The Challenges and Joys of Open Community Ceremonies and Song Circles

Healer, Teacher, and Owner of Drumming the Soul Awake

Jaime is a shamanic practitioner with 30+ years of shamanic study, intensive work with the spirits, and practice with a variety of teachers from several cultures. For ten years he has been travelling to Peru twice yearly to study with indigenous healers in the ways of working with the plants. He’s an author of innumerable articles, fifteen plays produced in various cities across the USA, and two books: Drumming the Soul Awake (1999), Healing with Shamanism: Practices and Traditions to Restore and Balance the Self (2020).

Jaime has a long background as a stage director, improvisational street theater performer, and magician, and he holds a Masters’ Degree in Theology and the Arts from United Seminary of the Twin Cities (1998). He is also the president of the board of directors for the International Society for Shamanic Practice.

Finally, Jamie has been leading ceremonial drumming circles and events around Minneapolis-St. Paul for 25 years, as well as other, "under the radar" work.

Healer, Teacher, and Co-Facilitator of Drumming the Soul Awake

Patricia holds a Masters Degree in Applied Anthropology, with a focus on Women and Spirituality. She is a licensed Alcohol and Addictions Counselor with 17 years of counseling experience at addiction healing centers, including Hazelden Foundation and Nuway Alliance.

She is a long-time student and practitioner of the intensive “Living in Process” work – a modality of spiritual development and healing developed by Anne Wilson Schaef, PhD.

She is a former director, choreographer, actress, stage singer and voice coach with a devotion to Shakespeare, including a year-long intensive study of Shakesperean text, voice and movement with Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, Massachusetts which became for Patricia an initiatory expansion of healing skills.

I am a devotee of the divine feminine spirit, which is rooted in the divine mother earth. In “stories that sprang from the ground beneath our feet…women were the guardians of the natural world, the beating heart of the land, the bearers of wisdom, the root of spiritual and moral authority of the tribe” as Sharon Blackie says.

Joint Course Offering: Pilgrimage as Ceremony and Being Humble Guests of the Land

In each module we’ll cover the subject material, do some in-class practice, leave time for Q&A, and discuss the assigned practica. I’ll also share all the ways I’ve done it wrong so you don’t have to! That alone is worth the price of admission.

MODULE ONE: YOUR SEAT OF POWER

• Learning to be a commanding, healing presence inside and beyond ceremony
• Leading through embodied spiritual fitness
• Identifying your personal allies and teachers; your ‘medicine’
• Discerning needs for future training in specialized fields
• Honing Scope of Practice and personal limits
• Honoring personal capacity and avoiding burnout
• Using your lived experience for ‘nutrient-dense’ leadership
• Cultivating personal courage and resilient strength as a ceremony leader
• Daily practices and ongoing preparation for ceremony

MODULE TWO: THE TOOLS OF CEREMONY

• Drawing on your unique spiritual root and being grounded in authenticity
• Central altars and what to include
• Smokes, scents, whistles, bells
• Prayer and speaking directly to Spirit
• The role of instruments and individual/group singing (Hint, hint! It’s not a performance!)
• Cofacilitators and shared roles
• Kairos and Chronos - Invoking ‘ceremony time’

MODULE THREE: CRAFTING A CONTAINER
Discerning the right ceremony; who and what is called for?

• Determining time frame; one hour to multi-year
• Determining the purpose of each ceremony and your ceremonies as a whole (who, why, when, what, etc)
• Ongoing/repeating ceremonies and deepening relationships
• Identifying the right physical space
• Working with regular spaces; indoor, outdoor, and guest spaces
• Clean ceremonies in your home
• Shared ceremony spaces and how to protect your work
• Clearing and protecting brand new spaces, plus what to avoid
• The Big Picture: Living ceremonially and nesting your ceremony containers

MODULE FOUR: WHAT HAPPENS DURING CEREMONY

• Ceremony as a temple and how to build it together
• Starting with the sacred pause and coming into present time
• How to open and close ceremonies with clarity and intention
• Honing personal intuition and tools for reading the room
• Creating a felt sense of safety in spiritually challenging situations
• What elements to include in your ceremonies - healings, prayers, shared candles, cleansing fire, etc.
• Formats for personal and group prayer
• Spontaneous experiences and leaving room for Spirit

MODULE FIVE: TENDING TO PARTICIPANTS

• Participant rights and group agreements
• Understanding why people come to ceremony
• Getting free of social ‘shoulds’ in ceremony space
• Discussion of how different psychedelic medicines impact people and the ceremony
• The magic of in-the-moment participation and how to guide people into it
• What happens when someone’s having a big process and how to use mirror neurons and neurological grounding
• Honoring differences amongst participants while still holding a clear container
• Involving participants for maximum effectiveness
• To follow up or not? Different perspectives

MODULE SIX: WISE BUSINESS CLEAN PRACTICE

• Chop wood, carry water: Spiritually grounded ceremonies and tending to your own ego
• Identifying spiritual bypassing in your business and financial structures
• Financially clean ceremonies; balancing priceless work and your earthly needs
• Some suggestions for price structuring and financially accessible ceremonies
• Marketing through clear + specific communication that honors your ceremonies and participants
• Feeling inspired by competitors and opening to collaboration
• Separating from difficult personalities and letting go of ‘fixing’
• The power in taking full responsibility for your ceremony practice

PRACTICA

Six guided 'homework' assignments for you to practice what you're learning in class that will include a combination of the following:

• 6 different kinds of spaces (indoors, outdoors, new, familiar, etc>)
• 6 different groups of participants including family, solo, anonymous, and the beings of Nature herself
• One year-long ceremony
• Lunar, solar, or otherwise seasonal ceremony
• Life milestone ceremonies such as a marriage/renewal of vows, birth, memorial/death, graduation, etc.
• Movement and body based ceremony

Host or Publisher Rev. Cindy Pincus and Clairvoyant Counseling