Shamanic Community Events:

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MERRY VALLEY VISION QUEST with tomás SEPTEMBER 15-20, 2008

Hola Compadres--got back yesterday (Sept. 30,2007) from quest filled with gratitude for many gifts of grace. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Six of us back packed into a magical canyon. It is an absolutely incredible valley with easier entry but no less spectacular than the Sweet Medicine Valley I have been going to for so many years. Surrounded by towering granite cliffs, a creek running through a granite channel filled with pools to wade in and some deep enough to swim in, trout swimming to and fro, mother bear walking bye with cub, eagle and hawk and falcon overhead, just magnificent, and filled with many great sites for individual questing.

With a a shorter and easier hike in it opens up the doorway for me to continue doing the quests as my body ages for a longer period of time than the previous site would have allowed for. It opens up the opportunity for others of you to go on quest with me without having to climb over a mountain as was necessary with the previous site as well.

The major part of the medicine for me, besides taking in the power and beauty and teachings of the site, had to do with taking me deeper, with dreams and insight, into the work I initiated with my presentation on "A New Vision of Conscious Aging" just before departing on quest.

I gained deeper understanding of the Five Developmental Tasks for Conscious Aging that I spoke about that night which I will be sharing through future workshops, retreats and individual Life Enrichment Coaching. Give me a ring if you are interested in hearing more about it and weren't able to make to the presentation.

Blessings to you all from the Heart of the Sierra and my heart to yours'.

Love, tom·s

My Quest experience with Tom Pinkson - testimonials:

Tom is a very rare and unique person. His skill comes from his blend of being his Western self, with his life long pursuit and study of the indigenous soul.

Tom's personal experiences and life challenges give him a capability to guide the Quest experience as a shaman who has personally walked the inner and outer landscape for over 30 years. And so Tom's gift is that of guidance and protection, I feel safe to do my work knowing he is my ally.

Part of the Quest experience is to intentionally put oneself in physically challenging situations, using fasting and solo time to create a deeper personal connection to the world that surrounds us. A world that we often don't notice much in our busy lives. But this natural world is our true home, and I feel renewed and back in alignment with myself from this deeper connection.

The medicine that came to me from the Quest is that, "I am a Sacred Being, This is a Sacred Place, and this Now is a Scared Moment." For me the only appropriate response to this truth is gratitude, and what might it be like if I lived my whole life from the truth of Gratitude...

Rick K. 54, Body Worker

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Before you even depart on the quest, Tom offers a focused stream of affirmations to bring your attention to your quest. Nature is a powerful place to believer and heathen alike, and the rituals and rites of a natural shaman respecting the earth and sky greatly reinforce that mystery.

If you are in a place of distraction, resistance or confusion, this experience erodes neuroses and builds soul connection to powers greater than oneself.

Mark C. 40, Author and Graphics Designer

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I feel very lucky to have spent time with Tomas on six of the previous quests. ÝThe vision quest experience gives me the opportunity to take a moment to step back from the canvas called My Life, assess where I am, and get a sense of where I need to go next. ÝI have found Tomas to be a strong leader, a deeply untuitive man, a sweet soul brother and a wonderful teacher. Ý

If something in your heart is calling you to seek a vision for your life then this is the way to go.

Mark S. Miller, Ph.D. Midlothian, Virginia

Phone Tom  415-453-1447
for more information.
Happy Trails. Tomás

QUEST FOR VISION RETREATS w/ Dr. Tom Pinkson

see MERRY VALLEY VISION QUEST journey above

"Teach me to walk the soft earth as a relative to all that live.
Sweeten my heart and fill me with light. Give me the strength
to understand and the eyes to see..." Black Elk

Purpose
To purposively seek guidance, healing and empowerment for your life path from the "Powers of the Universe" through ancient, wisdom attunement-practices that bring vision, insight, understanding, and renewal.

Process
Explore your own nature, in nature, experiencing the innate wisdom of a natural being in the natural world through solitary fasting in the high mountains. We hike and climb into a magical secluded valley spending time together in preparation working with ancient shamanic “Medicine Ways” including prayer, the Give-Away Ceremony, sacred song, sound and movement, meditation with the Seven Powers of the Medicine Wheel, totem animals and entering the Silence with receptivity, respect and attention.

These practices help us learn how to “see”, “hear” and learn how nature “talks” and teaches the patterns by which she works. Thus we come to know that we are not “alone” and that we can access a power greater than our own to succeed in life.

We spend time together after the individual quest working as a group with the important dynamics of incorporation and integration. Quests are usually 4 to 7 days long, but can be arranged to suit individual or group needs. Participants supply own food and equipment.

The quest is a rite of passage with four stages – the Call, Severance, Threshold Work with the “threshing forces” of solitude, emptiness, hunger, fear, boredom, and vulnerability to the elements, and finally the challenges of Return, Integration and Rebirth.

Guide -- Dr. Tom Pinkson is a transpersonal psychologist in San Rafael, California, a Clinical Consultant with the Center for Attitudinal Healing working with children, families and adults facing life threatening illness, and founder of the shamanic Wakan Community. He’s been leading Wilderness Quests for Vision, retreats, and pilgrimages to places of power around the world for over thirty five years.

Tom completed an eleven year apprenticeship with Huichol shamans in Mexico with whom he has been working with since 1981. He has also worked with shamans in the Peruvian Amazon and the Andes Mountains, in Bali, and with Native American Elders through out the United States. He authored numerous books including: A Quest for Vision, Do They Celebrate Christmas In Heaven?, Flowers of Wiricuta, and Musings from the Deer Spirit, numerous articles, audio and video tapes, and has appeared on international radio and TV. Tom’s integration of shamanic ways and attitudinal healing enable people to find their heart path and to access the power to walk it to completion through the acts of their daily lives.

Next Quest: Sept. 15-20th, 2008 in the Merry Valley.

 

Phone Tom  415-453-1447
for more information.

Tomás interviewed Live on November 7 2005, 8pm pst

Part 2 of the radio interview series with "News for the Soul" radio. Tomás will speak on Vision Quest, Initiation, ritual of indigenous people and enlightenment the warrior way.

Hi Dr Tom! I really enjoyed our last interview and wanted to let you know you are now up on the schedule and being promoted on the front page of News for the Soul!
Nicole Whitney, Producer / Host, News for the Soul, Life Changing T V

www.newsforthesoul.com

Tomás interviewed Live on October 19 2005 at noon

Details comming. You should be able to tune in on radio or hear it via "webcast" using your computer and Internet browser. The interview will be available on the NewsForTheSoul website audio archives for you to check out and listen to later. Please tell all your friends to tune in and hear Tomás LIVE at noon on Wednesday October 19!!!

News for the Soul
Life Changing T V
www.newsforthesoul.com
www.LifeChangingTV.com

Tomás interviewed in Online San Francisco Chronicle - sfgate.com - Monday October 17 2005

Hola compadres-- just in case yer interested--

An interview with me will appear this coming Monday in the "Finding My Religion" column published in the online edition of the San Francisco Chronicle (www.sfgate.com) that profiles people's spiritual lives.

in the words of the interviewer, David Miller --

"It's really unlike any religion column you'll find in a major newspaper. Each week I interview a different person from all walks of life, such as yourself, about the things that matter deeply to them -- their views on God, death and the meaning of life. Thanks again for doing the interview. I really enjoyed talking with you and hope to meet in person at some point."

Click here if you want to read the introduction to the column which explains it pretty well: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2005/02/01 /intromiller.DTL