Connecting with Spirit Guides & Angels 

with Jane de Forest  

 

Saturday, November 12, 6-8PM PST  

In-Person at New Renaissance Bookshop $35 

Zoom Tickets: $17

Many people are searching for guidance and stability in these changing times, experiencing both uncertainty and spiritual awakening. Seemingly … the old world is crumbling and a new world is being born. In ancient times and in indigenous cultures… there were Shaman to guide the way and illuminate life’s path. But today there are few roadmaps, so many of us are looking to our ancestors’ traditions for help… how is it done?

  • Learn how to navigate your inner landscape & alternative dimensions in the “web of life with ancient shamanic tools & art.

  • Learn how to connect with your power animals, angels & spiritual allies.

  • Attain authentic insight & usable guidance for your life now.

Whether you have never met your guides, or whether you wish to deepen your connection and understanding of the guides you have been working with for years, this class is for you.

 

Ancient Wisdom of Drumming & Neuroscience

The ritual use of rhythmically beating reminded our distant ancestors of that very first rhythm we heard, the comforting heartbeat of Mother in the womb.

Shamanic drumming, has the ability to alter brain states. Ancient shamans knew this, and now a science backs it up. The two hemispheres of the human brain often operate at different levels and at different rates. The steady beat of shamanic drumming is a powerful tool for brain health bringing with it deep healing.

In his book, Shamanism: The Neural Ecology of Consciousness and Healing, Michael Winkelman explains how “drumming synchronizes the frontal and lower areas of the brain, integrating nonverbal information from lower brain structures into the frontal cortex, producing feelings of insight, understanding, integration, certainty, conviction, and truth, which surpass ordinary understandings and tend to persist long after the experience”.

Neurologist Barry Bittman, M.D. has led recent studies on the potential benefits of drumming. Results show that participating in drumming circles helps to fortify and increase natural killer T cells that fight cancer and viruses. In cases of significant damage to the parts of the brain, such as with Parkinson’s disease, drumming has the ability to generate neuronal connections between all parts of the brain. These rhythmic cues, according to Michael Thaut, director of Colorado State University’s Center for Biomedical Research in Music, “can help retrain the brain after a stroke or other neurological impairment”.

In his book, The Healing Power of the Drum, Robert Lawrence Friedman explains how he’s led several studies that demonstrate the simple yet effective power of drumming. He has seen “veterans releasing some of their post- traumatic emotional pain, “at-risk” adolescents discharging their anger and negative emotions, and corporate executives letting go of some of their day-to- day stress”.

Barry Quinn, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in recent studies have shown that drumming for brief periods can alter brainwave patterns, dramatically reducing stress.

During periods of normal alert activity our brainwaves operate at a level of a ‘Beta’ rhythm, which is 14–20+ cycles per second. When people relax, their brainwaves slow to an ‘Alpha’ rhythm, which is 7–14 cycles per second. The Alpha state is connected with a general feeling of relaxation and well-being. But Dr. Quinn estimates that as much as 30–40% of the population is unable to regularly achieve Alpha.

Dr. Quinn stated that the results of 30–40 minutes of drumming for the highest- stress clients were “by far the most amazing results I’ve encountered thus far in my research.”Every culture around the world has made ritual use of shamanic drumming,  only does it heal the soul, but it brings together communities that in train with the ancient feed of the shamanic drum.

Sources:

  • Drake, Michael. “Ancient Healing Approach: Drum Therapy.” Learn Religions, Jun.25, 2019, learnreligions.com/drum-therapy-1729574.

  • Bittman, M.D., Barry, Karl T. Bruhn, Christine Stevens, MSW, MT-BC, James Westengard, Paul O Umbach, MA, “Recreational Music-Making, A Cost-Effective Group Interdisciplinary Strategy for Reducing Burnout and Improving Mood States in Long-Term Care Workers,” Advances in Mind-Body Medicine, Fall/Winter 2003, Vol. 19 №3/4.

  • Friedman, Robert Lawrence, The Healing Power of the Drum. Reno, NV: White Cliffs; 2000.

  • Winkelman, Michael, Shamanism: The Neural Ecology of Consciousness and Healing. Westport, Conn: Bergin & Garvey; 2000