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Residents of Itaim gather around the Urban Fire
The district of Itaim, São Paulo, realises
an ancestral experience. Reviving the tradition of primitive communities,
the residents will gather around a fire to share their issues.
It is a pioneer initiative of Paz Géia - a school of neo-shamanism
settled in the district, honouring its purpose to recover the
harmonic relation of humankind with their neighbours, with nature
and with the planet.
Shamanism is appointed as the first cultural and religious tradition
of humankind. Emerging in the primitive agricultural communities
that lived in close relation to weather conditions, to animals
and to the earth. Their survival was dependent on their knowledge
of the cycles of nature and the habits of animals, which provided
the resources for their leaving and healing.
The shaman's ability to make contact with the unconscious world
through altered states of consciousness, made him be known as
"messenger of the hidden". He "journeys" by
the drum-beat into deeper levels of consciousness, searching for
knowledge and fulfilling the spiritual mission of "re-ligare"
humankind with its divine roots.
The shamanic wisdom of today, called neo-shamanism, is part of
a movement committed to the health of the planet and its inhabitants.
Modern Ecology is based upon its teachings about the reigns of
the earth and men’s relation to them.
The secrets of the healing power of plants, roots and herbs have
been re-discovered by alternative pharmacology. Shaman’s
greatest treasure, the communication between worlds, is embodied
in the various psychotherapeutic processes.
The Urban Fire is inspired in the ancestral habit of people to
gather around the fire as a protection against wild animals. The
shared fear and the survival instinct are now recovered to provide
a space of interaction for residents of Itaim.
Fire symbolises consciousness
The symbolism of fire is connected with divinity, vitality, consciousness
and passion. According to the Old Testament, the manifestation
of the "Divine Spark" happened as God ordered the light
to be, at the creation of the world. The greek myth of Prometheus
is the story of the hero who challenged the gods and has stolen
the "sacred fire" for humanity.
In mythology and in real history, the discovery of fire brought
evolution to the first inhabitants of the earth. Gathered in tribes,
they started to cook their food, to warm their shelter and to
protect themselves from the dangers of the night.
Fire stands also for the transformation of consciousness. As a
guide to men towards comprehension and wholeness, the shaman became
the hero of consciousness.
By means of shamanic techniques, Cyro José Leão,
shaman and psychologist, will teach the community how to deal
with the stressing conditions of the city.
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Easter Symbolism is subject to the work of shamans and therapists.
During the Easter holidays , shamans and therapists
will be working to recycle physical and psychic energies. At São
Tomé das Letras (MG), a class on "shamanic alchemy"
will be co-ordinated by the Australian shaman Rowland Barkley.
In São Paulo, the antroposophical clinic Artemísia
will include in its deintoxication and revitalisation therapy,
considerations about the meaning of individual "passages".
"Passover" comes from the hebrew "pésaj",
meaning "passage". Originally referring to the release
of the hebrew people from their state of slavery in Egypt, 34
centuries ago, it is celebrated today as the ressurgence of hope
in the future. Celebrated for more then 4.000 years, Passover
has became a universal symbolism of rebirth. Pagans, jews and
christians celebrate the occasion as a beginning of new life,
both physical and spiritual.
By means of "shamanic alchemy", the shamans Rowland
Barkley from Australia, Carminha Levy from Sao Paulo, Lino Desiati
from São Tomé das Letras and the therapist Andréa
Fantucci, will tune into this energy of resurrection, specific
of the holidays of the Holy Week.
Known since the 3rd Century, Alchemy is a symbolic process of
transmutation of lead into gold, representing the spiritual salvation
and illumination of consciousness. Shamanic alchemy intends to
transmute the dense qualities of human beings into more subtle
ones, changing old mental patterns and psychic mechanisms into
positive and constructive believes and attitudes.
NLP-techniques, Holographic Therapy, reprogramming of the subtle
DNA, dream analysis, journeys into the unconscious , contact with
elementals and exorcism will be used to allow deprogramming of
old behaviours and to release regenerative energies.
Passages to growth
Created at the beginning of the century, Anthroposophy is a philosophy
that aims to "support the development of human beings, making
them capable of taking destiny in their own hands and imprint
purposes and direction into their lives."
Artemisia was created 1983 as a place for convalescence, and to
provide preventive therapy for clients of the pioneering Antroposophycal
Clinica Tobias. Today it is an autonomous centre for therapy,
offering classes in self-development, like the auto-biography
class and programs for deintoxication and revitalisation.
Doctors, psychotherapists and nutritionists are lead by a couple
of doctors, the founders Gudrun and Daniel Buckland, who explain
the importance of the seasonal celebration in the individual biography:
"The celebration of each season of the year contributes with
precious memories to the auto-biography. They constitute a soul-calendar
of the path of self-development. Each of this celebrations brings
also a different spiritual meaning and new energies."
The process of the self-development will be anchored in the symbolism
of Easter, the Holy Week, Christ’s 33 years and his resurrection.
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Psychotherapist invites mothers to celebrate their day by taking care of themselves and their own life.
On Mother’s Day eve, psychotherapist Carminha
Levy is running a workshop for women only. Named Women ‘In
Concert’ it aims to promote personal and life changes. By
use of Art-Therapy techniques, the participants will be exploring
the different roles of women as mother, wife, professional, daughter,
daughter-in-law, mother-in-law and grandmother, removing blockages
and setting free creative energy.
Some psychologists consider artistic crafts as significant therapeutic
instruments. They believe that different artistic languages allow
the emergence of psychic contents, by avoiding mental criticism.
On the other hand, Art-Therapy has the advantage to reinforce
the clients’ or students’ self-esteem. The creation
and execution of something beautiful, admirable, improves self-confidence.
Carminha Levy explains that the techniques used in Art-Therapy
are the same applied in Educational Therapy and are used to improve
the process of self-knowledge and healing. By means of dramatic
games, dancing and singing, the participants of Women ‘In
Concert’ will discover themselves and one another.
The main ingredients of this work are joy and a certain simplicity:
"By strength of compassion, a woman is able to recognise
herself in another, to forgive herself and release her joy as
adolescent, mother, wife, lover and grandmother, improving her
self-acceptance and self-love.
Carminha doesn’t believe in "female weakness" who
paralyses women and prevent them from taking risks. The therapist
alerts to the danger of these beliefs, imposed by a culture that
enhances youth and discards old age: "At each stage of a
woman’s life , be it youth, maternity, maturity or old age,
there is a creative strength able to heal and transmute limitations
into new possibilities."
Mirroring the Inside
Transpersonal psychotherapist and Art-therapist Carminha Levy
explains that art acts as a mirror of the inside. The created
object will reflect the emotional moment the creator is going
through. Her pains, worries, believes and values will be represented
by her work, be it a sculpture, a painting, a choreography or
a simple speech.
Carminha explains that the target of an intensive work, as in
a workshop, is not a deep therapeutic process, but a "self-exploration".
We are living in a very important moment of our history at the
end of the century, where values and believes are questioned.
It is important for women to recognise their own rhythms and rediscover
themselves in their roles as mother, wife, lover, grandmother,
mother-in-low, granddaughter, daughter, sister and professional,
to fulfil them plainly.
Working for 30 years as a therapist, Carminha Levy is redeeming
the feminine principle. In her office and at the shamanic school,
Paz Géia, matriarchal values are reinforced: compassion,
solidarity, joy, beauty, creativity. This is how she defines her
new work: "Women ‘In Concert’ is about harmonising
dissonant sounds from the ancient female musical scale, to create
a new personal melody."