16th Annual Conference In Womens Spirituality

Women of Wisdom Foundation's Presents "16th Annual Conference in Women’s Spirituality"
Empowering the Dreams and Spirit of Women

Duration: February 15th - 18th, 2008

Opening Ceremonies:
Friday, February 15th
Time: 5:30 – 6:30 PM - Women only - Free
Location: North Seattle Community College, Main Cafeteria

Opening Evening Festivities: Empower Your Dreams
With special guests
Jean Shinoda Bolen, Sobonfu Somé, Susan Armstrong
Music with Ferron and Kellianna

An evening woven with inspirational message and music by these inspiring presenters:

Sobonfu Somé
“Reclaiming Each Other”

Each woman is a gift — a gift that is vital to the wellbeing of the individual and the community. To bring the world to a place of health and balance each woman is invited to embrace this gift, to claim the self and each other in order to manifest her divine power.

Sobonfu is from the indigenous Dagara tribe of Burkina Faso. She is the author of "The Spirit of Intimacy: Ancient African Teachings on the Ways of Relationships," "Women's Wisdom from the Heart of Africa - (CD) and "Falling Out of Grace: Meditations on Loss, Healing and Wisdom."

Susan Armstrong
“Beyond Boundaries: Following the spiritual path to success”

Susan’s story is the story of a very young girl who with amazing strength and pure guts strived to find a life that she knew as her only sanctuary. Her courageous story tells of an inspiring survival to become a woman of substance now helping others who are victims of abuse.

Susan Armstrong is a professional speaker, trainer and award winning author of “An Invisible Prison: A true story of survival." Her story has been featured on the Discovery Channel and the Life Televison Network.

Jean Shinoda Bolen
“The Invisible Power of Women in Circles”

Circles that draw energy through the center are a womb spaces where possibilities can be held until birthed. Each circle taps into an invisible field, becoming one more on the way to the metaphoric “millionth circle.”

Jean Shinoda Bolen, M. D. is an author, analyst, and activist. ) She is the author of The Tao of Psychology, Goddesses in Everywoman, Gods in Everyman, Ring of Power, Crossing to Avalon, Close to the Bone, The Millionth Circle, Goddesses in Older Women, Crones Don't Whine, and Urgent Message From Mother.

Musical performances by:

Kellianna, singer/songwriter who performs powerful Goddess and Mythology inspired Folk Music and Chants. She has performed before on our stage with the Sacred Fire Choir, and for several years at the Goddess Conference in Glastonbury, England. Her new CD, I Walk With the Goddess was released in September 2007.

Ferron is a Canadian folk singer/songwriter and poet. In addition to being one of Canada’s most famous folk musicians, she is one of the most influential writers and performers of women’s music and an important influence on later musicians such as Ani DiFranco and the Indigo Girls.

Date: Friday, February 15th
Time: 7:00 – 10:00PM
$15 WOW Members, $20 non members
Open to women and men!
Location: North Seattle Community College, Main Cafeteria


Spirit of Women Featuring Sacred Fire Choir, WOW Performers and Dancers

Open to women and men!

Spirit of Women is a retrospective performance of Women of Wisdom’s contribution to the Divine Feminine over the past 16 years. Excerpts from the book Women of Wisdom: Empowering the Dreams and Spirit of Women, by Founder, Kris Steinnes, are woven into women’s wisdom and stories expressed through the spoken word, music and dance. Join us for this exciting dramatic musical with our uplifting Sacred Fire Choir, conducted by Robert Wade, who have performed at Women of Wisdom since 2000.

Location: North Seattle Community College Concert Hall
Date: Saturday, February 16th, 2008
Time: 7:30 – 10:00PM
$18 WOW members, $20 non members



“Community Matters” Gathering
In the morning we will have 3 hours of experiential festivities with an opening ritual by Nicki Scully, chanting led by Kellianna and belly dancing with Zaphara. We will dance, sing and be merry!

Date: Monday, February 18th, 2008
Time: 9:00AM – 3:00PM
Lunch, open mic “sharing our gifts” celebration and closing ceremonies

$35 WOW members, $50 non members (includes lunch)
Women only
Location: North Seattle Community College, main Cafeteria


Pre-Conference Event!
Sobonfu SoméSobonfu Somé
Nurturing Feminine Spirit
How the Ways of the Feminine Can Heal the World: Feminine Consciousness & Power
The world is out of balance. The old ways of competition, dominance and violence no longer work. The feminine understanding of cooperation, inter-relatedness and caring is needed to restore our connection with the earth and each other. In this special event, indigenous spiritual teacher and guide Sobonfu will show how to nurture the feminine spirit so that men and women can return to their families and communities strengthened, refreshed and ready to face the challenges of modern living.

Sobonfu will discuss the feminine aspect of consciousness, how it expresses itself in the world, and how all of people need to reclaim the feminine aspects of their own selves in order to be effective in life. She will explain how to use emotional sensing in positive, productive ways. Women in particular will learn how to empty themselves of stored wounds so they can access the "web of life" through their bodies. Sobonfu will then lead a traditional healing ritual that will bring all attendees into greater balance with Life so that they can be of greater service to their communities.

Date: Friday February 15th
Time: 9:00AM – 4:30 PM
Women only
$100 for WOW members, $120 for non members (Not included in special weekend pass)
Location: North Seattle Community College, Education Building



Jean Shinoda Bolen, M. D. - Goddesses in Everywoman, Women’s Mysteries & Circles with a Sacred Center
A Workshop on Inner Sources of Meaning, Phases in Women’s Lives, and Spiritual Activism
Jean’s best selling book Goddesses in Everywoman, in its 20th Anniversary edition and now translated into twenty-two foreign editions brings us into awareness of archetypes within us that affect the quality and depth of our lives. Like reflections of the phases of the moon, women cycle through the aspects of the Great Goddess as Maiden, Mother and Crone. This third phase is the subject of Crones Don’t Whine and Goddesses in Older Women. Through The Millionth Circle and Urgent Message From Mother: Gather the Women, Save the World, Jean’s message is rippling out and inspiring change through spiritually supported activism. The core teaching in these books will be woven into the content of this workshop.

Jean connects us to the archetypal realm through her gift of linking stories from mythology with psychological knowledge from her practice as a Jungian analyst and psychiatrist in this workshop. A guided meditation will invite us to tap into personal images and information. There will be an opportunity to be in a small circle with a spiritual center, which is meant to be a seed-experience, which could inspire participants to start new circles or transform a current group into a circle.

Jean Shinoda Bolen, M. D. is an author, analyst, and activist. She is a board psychiatrist, Jungian analyst, clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco, and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. She was a recipient of the Institute for Health and Healing's "Pioneers in Art, Science, and the Soul of Healing Award. She is a former board member of the Ms. Foundation for Women and the International Transpersonal Association, and is a convener of the Millionth Circle (www.millionthcircle.org) She is the author of The Tao of Psychology, Goddesses in Everywoman, Gods in Everyman, Ring of Power, Crossing to Avalon, Close to the Bone, The Millionth Circle, Goddesses in Older Women, Crones Don't Whine, and Urgent Message From Mother. www.jeanshinodabolen.com

Date & Time: Saturday, February 16th, 2008
Time: 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Women only
$100 WOW members, ($20 surcharge to special weekend pass price)
$120 Non-members ($20 surcharge to special weekend pass price)
North Seattle Community College Education Building


Ferron - Opening to the Muse
Connect to your inner immediate stories. Through exercises we will attempt to see our continual pictographs, and write a poem or story based on that.

Ferron, brilliant Canadian singer/songwriter, has the ability to pull from the depths of the human soul and through the core of the heart to create music, which is quintessential poetry. Her artful crafting of lyrics is second to none.

For over 30 years, Ferron has been recognized as one of the finest songwriters in North America. Testimony, Shadows on a Dime and Phantom Center all received critical acclaim. By the time Rolling Stone had given Shadows on a Dime a 4-star rating, Ferron had already gained a nearly fanatical following. Other albums she has produced are Not a Still Life, Resting with the Question, Driver, Still Riot, Impressionistic, InsideOut, and Turning Into Beautiful.
Nicki ScullyNicki Scully
Awakening the Healing Power of the Heart Through the Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt

Date & Time: Saturday, February 16th, 2008, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Women only
$100 WOW members, ($20 surcharge to special weekend pass price)
$120 Non-members ($20 surcharge to special weekend pass price)
Location: North Seattle Community College Education Building



Nicki Scully - Awakening the Healing Power of the Heart Through the Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt
This fresh interpretation of the ancient mysteries unites the heart and mind to help us remember our true nature as divine humans with sacred purpose. Experience shamanic portals of death, rebirth and illumination to gain powerful tools for transformation. During this presentation Nicki will share initiatory rites of passage from the Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt that are both empowering and healing.

Nicki Scully has been an internationally acclaimed teacher of alchemical healing, metaphysics, shamanism, and the Egyptian mysteries since 1983. She lectures worldwide and specializes in sacred journeys to Egypt, Peru and other sacred places. Her newest book is Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt, Awakening the Healing Power of the Heart. She is also the author of Alchemical Healing and Power Animal Meditations.

Date & Time: Sunday, February 17th, 2008, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Women only
$100 WOW members, ($20 surcharge to special weekend pass price)
$120 Non-members ($20 surcharge to special weekend pass price)
North Seattle Community College Education Building



Carolyn Brandy - Ecstatic Drumming Workshop
Ecstatic drumming is a real phenomenon in many cultures of the world. We will learn about the ecstatic/spiritual drumming tradition from Cuba and the descendents of Africans brought to Cuba as slaves. We will also learn hands on drumming in the workshop.

Carolyn Brandy is a drummer, performer, composer, educator, mother, and a priest in the Ocha de Regla (Santeria) religion, having been initiated in Havana, Cuba. Carolyn has been drumming for over 3 Decades and is one of the leading inspirations for the Women Drummers movement. She is one of the founders of Alive! and has four recordings with the group, as well as Skin Talk, a CD of her own compositions. Carolyn has performed with many artists in the SF Bay Area, and has been a featured performer at the Seattle World Rhythm Festival for the past three years.

Date & Time: Sunday, February 16th, 2008, 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Women only
$45 WOW members, $55 non-members
Location: North Seattle Community College Education Building


Workshops: Saturday February 16th, 2008
Each workshop is:
* $40 for WOW members
* $50 for Non-members
Women only
Held at North Seattle Community College, Education Building


Saturday, 9:00 AM – Noon
Claire Johnson
Empathic Connection to Self, the Collective Soul Through Qigong

Known as problem solvers of civilization for thousands of years, internal qigong practitioners demonstrate how elemental energies in nature and the human energy anatomy connect through Traditional Chinese Medicine, sustainable agriculture and martial arts, to name a few. This qigong practice is so powerful and profound that it remained elusive for 7,000 years. Ms. Johnson will demonstrate how the movements, breathing and internal energetic meditation jump starts our personal healing, healing of others, and gaining of an empathic connection with our collective soul.

Claire GuYu Johnson, Master Qigong trainer and healer, and Founder of The ZY Qigong Institute and Clinic, grew up in China and apprenticed with Grandmaster Xu Mingtang in the ancient lineage of Zhong Yuan (ZY) Qigong.


Saturday, 9:00 AM – Noon
Georgia Faye
Charting the Golden Path -
Introduction to Sacred Contracts

Learn how to chart your own destiny using the work of world-renowned Intuitive, Carolyn Myss, PhD, author of Sacred Contracts. Meet your own "cosmic" support team - the archetypes that make up your Sacred Contract. Discover how your ego uses these energies to live a predictable, "fated" script, and how these same energies can be transformed into resources for your soul in fulfilling its Golden Path of Destiny.

Georgia Faye, is an Intuitive Counselor and Certified Archetypal Consultant with the Caroline Myss CMED Institute.


Saturday, 9:00 AM – Noon
Karen Fletcher
Speak, Live, and Dance Your Prayers!

Our words are powerful! Our words are prayers manifesting our lives, our reality we live in now. Conscious Language™ provides tools for recognizing patterns of self-sabotage, remembering our heart’s language (speaking our highest choice), and upgrading our language and lives with fun and ease. Yes!

Karen Fletcher is a certified instructor of Conscious Language™, Outcome Facilitation and a practitioner of Philosopher’s Stone. She has trained in ZY Qigong with Grandmaster Mingtang Xu in Shaolin Monastery, China. Karen is also the cofounder of Paint Dancing and innovator of Qi Dancing.


Saturday, 9:00 AM – Noon
Vanessa Timmons
The Way of The Heroine:
Reclaiming Our Sacred Stories

Our Personal stories are a powerful resource for personal growth and change. They allow us to shape our future and understand our past. During this interactive journal writing and storytelling circle participants will learn journal and understand our past. During this interactive journal writing and storytelling circle participants will learn journal exercises and storytelling techniques that enable them to reclaim their uniquely personal stories. As we explore our personal stories we reclaim the power of the storyteller and the healing wisdom of the sacred circle.

Vanessa Timmons is the women of color program coordinator for the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and a freelance writer with more then 25 years experience providing community education, counseling, and workshops to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.


Saturday, 1:30 - 4:30 PM
Brigitte Sztab
Restoring the Flow of Love in
Mother- Daughter Relationships

Severe trauma or intense life circumstances in our mothers’ ancestral lines have a profound impact on the lives of their descendants, causing emotional or physical problems as well as persistent behavioral patterns and difficult relationships. Family Constellations release these hidden dynamics and help us, our mothers and our daughters to connect to the flow of love from the grandmothers as a solid foundation for an open-hearted and grounded life.

Brigitte has studied and applied alternative healing modalities for 27 years, first in her native country of Germany, then in the US. She works as spiritual counselor and energy healer in private practice, but her main focus are the Family Constellation workshops, groups and facilitator trainings which she helped to establish in the US.


Saturday, 1:30 - 4:30 PM
Deborah Koff-Chapin
Drawing Out Your Soul: Touch Drawing

Touch Drawing is a simple and profound process that allows a multitude of images to emerge, while feeling as if your soul is pouring through your hands. Also includes movement, sharing and journal writing. $5.00 materials fee.

Deborah developed Touch Drawing in 1974 and has been WOW's Interpretive Conference Artist since 1995. Deborah has tapped into a transpersonal level of the human soul through this work and is the creator of SoulCards.


Saturday, 1:30 - 4:30 PM
Jennifer Posada
The Ancient Oracle of the Heart

Find the Oracle waiting in your ancient heart, remember your deepest gifts, and access your incredible and ever-present intuition. Join Jennifer for a journey deep into your true nature, and your wise and ancient heart. Learn to understand and hear the voice of your intuition in the ways of the ancient Oracles and Sibyls of the past, who accessed magnificent wisdom through the vessels of sound, the body, breathing, and vision. Take home practices that are simple and powerful for accessing the Oracle within you on an everyday basis, as well as guide you into deeper realms of your true nature.

Jennifer Posada is an internationally respected Oracle, Sound Healer, Channel, Author, and Lecturer. A born mystic, she began giving intuitive readings at the age of seven. Jennifer is the author of The Oracle Within: Living the Intuitive Life and the creator of the sound healing CD Soul Sounds, used by healing practitioners around the world.


Saturday, 1:30 - 4:30 PM
Maria Lujan De Peralta
South American Magick and Curanderismo

Ancient rituals are still very much alive. Learn transforming techniques important to women’s spirituality passed down from generations of women.

Maria Lujan Peralta was born in Argentina, South America. She has been involved in metaphysical studies, music and counseling as well as appearing on King 5 television and various radio programs internationally and locally.


Workshop: Sunday - February 17th, 2008
Each workshop is:
* $40 for WOW members
* $50 for Non-members

Women only
Held at North Seattle Community College, Education Building

Sunday, 9:00 AM – Noon
Joanna Powell Colbert
Empower Your Dreams with Tarot

We’ll use the Tarot as a creative brainstorming tool to help make our dreams a reality. The cards will give us ideas on translating our visions into goals and making a step-by-step plan to achieve those goals. This interactive class includes journaling and dialoguing with others. Bring any Tarot deck to class.

Joanna Powell Colbert is an artist and writer known internationally for her mythic art and her Tarot deck-in-progress, the Gaian Tarot. She is one of “the most accomplished and well-loved artists in the Goddess-spirit community.” Joanna has taught classes on the Tarot and women’s spirituality in the Northwest since 1991 and has read Tarot cards professionally for over twenty years.


Sunday, 9:00 AM – Noon
Julie Charette Nunn
The Wise Woman Herbalist

Empower yourself through exploring the ancient tradition of wise woman herbalism. Experience ancient shamanic listening activities and discover how to craft herbal preparations from the dooryard herbs. This class will include many experiential exercises that will open the gateway onto the spiral path of health, wholeness and holiness.

Julie is a shamanic herbalist with 30 years experience as a teacher. She offers shamanic herbal apprenticeship, classes and one to one teaching at her farm and classes. She has been a columnist for The Beltane Paper, Journal of Women’s Mysteries for 7 years.


Sunday, 9:00 AM – Noon
Kathy Kali
Ignite Your Dreams;
Tantric Dance of the Divine Feminine

Embrace the pleasure of your deep self, and ignite your dreams with Tantric Dance of the Divine Feminine. In this sensuous devotional practice you will deepen into the wisdom & power of your womb-space through intention, breathwork, and gentle movement. Energize and activate the goal or dream that is most powerful for you, and dance your dream into being!

Kathy Kali is a tantric priestess and teacher, and a joyful devotee of the Great Mother. Her training in belly dance, hypnotherapy, and ritual work enriches her facilitation of Tantric Dance of the Divine Feminine.
 

Sunday, 9:00 AM – Noon
Shereese Braun
Get Unstuck from Roles & Labels

It is easy to become the roles you assume…parent, partner, caretaker, homemaker, breadwinner, etc. The more labels you take on, the more immersed you become, until you’re buried in responsibility. This workshop is designed to help you begin to peel away layers of assumed identity and reconnect with your true self.

Conducted by Shereese Y. Braun, Certified Life Coach and founder of Emerge Personal Coaching.


Sunday, 1:30 - 4:30 PM
Rev. Judith Laxer
Enamored: A Love Spell!

Ahhh, Love! Love spells are ancient magick and powerful medicine. Cast your spell to bring love into your life, a lover into your arms, jumpstart stagnant romance or simply to open your heart to the possibility. Invoke Aphrodite and be prepared to fall in love!

Rev. Judith Laxer is the founding Priestess of Gaia’s Temple and teacher of women’s mysteries and other magickal arts. She dedicates her work to restoring the balance of female and male energies in our culture. Bring a small carving knife.


Sunday, 1:30 - 4:30 PM
Maria Teresa Valenzuela
The Voice of the Spirit ~
Shamanic Healing from Mexico

Plants have been our allies, our food and medicine since the beginning of life on the earth. The physical and spiritual presence of the plants is deeply interconnected in our existence. In working with visionary medicine plants, you learn their healing powers - tools of the Shaman - as we take the next evolutionary leap in history.

Maria Teresa Valenzuela, curandero, is a traditional healer of three cultures: Mexican, Tarahumara Indian, and Peruvian. She was taught the shamanic medicine way by her grandmother and father and brings a wealth of knowledge in Meso-American wisdom, myths and traditional forms of indigenous medicine and healing.


Sunday, 1:30 - 4:30 PM
Samantha Russell Raven
Create the Song of Your Soul

Do you have a longing to sing the song of your Soul? Do you struggle to find the words to describe this? Come and enjoy an interactive workshop with Samantha as she shares experiences, ideas and techniques about how we can deeply express ourselves in a musical manner. No instruments necessary.

Samantha Raven is an Award Winning Independent Acoustic Folk-Rock Singer- Songwriter- Performer and Certified Sound, Voice and Music Healer. She combines the science of psycho-acoustics with experiential exercises to connect us to the amazing healing power of our own voices, to understand how we feel and experience sound, and why it is so powerful for us.


Sunday, 1:30 - 4:30 PM
Victoria Fann
How to Take Life's Challenges and Create a Personal Revolution

Are you in the midst of a major life transition? Do the challenges sometimes seem overwhelming? In this class, we will explore how to transform these challenges into catalysts and utilize the energy to propel us forward into a new more powerful way of being. Step by step as a group, we will move through the various stages of transition from grieving and releasing the past to creating a new vision for the future.

Victoria Fann is the owner of Guided Wisdom, a spiritual consulting service offering spiritual healing and life guidance. She’s been working directly with clients since 1985, as a licensed massage therapist and a motivational workshop leader, group facilitator and life coach. She’s a published writer, whose work has appeared in newspapers, magazines and online publications throughout the country.


Sunday, 6:30 - 9:30 PM
Melissa Wadsworth
Creating Abundance with Dream Boards

Join Melissa Wadsworth, Seattle’s Dream Board and Vision Collage expert, to learn how to create abundanc through awareness. Create a Dream Board or Vision Collage. These are powerful tools that help you focus and habituate more positive thinking. They provide powerful clarity, insights and inspiration! Take this step to bring your dreams into reality. After this fun, hands-on workshop, you’ll leave with a completed Dream Board or Vision Collage. All materials provided. You can also bring personal photographs and pictures.

Melissa Wadsworth is a self-help author, inspirational speaker and seminar leader. Melissa teaches her “What You Notice Matters!” conscious living philosophy in her books, information products and monthly DreamBoard and Vision Collage seminars. She publishes a monthly ezine titled “What You Notice Matters!” featuring interviews with diverse experts about how they use awareness to progress through life with clarity, insight and joy.


Sunday, 6:30 - 9:30 PM
Lauren Archer
Entering Your Zone

You’ve heard about the “zone” state that athletes enter when they are fully engaged in their sport. This workshop reveals how they do it – so you can access this deeply powerful zone state within you. Once you can fully connect with your own inner wisdom, align your energy fields with your vision and purpose, and gain ready access to all of your inner resources, you will build the strength and focus to accomplish your dreams with integrity and passion.

As both a Clinical Hypnotherapist and a Certified Personal Trainer, Lauren teaches an integrative approach to positive achievement and wellness, using proven techniques from sports psychology and hypnosis. She works with executives and athletes, musicians and performers, and peak achievers in all walks of life. She is the President of the National Guild of Hypnotists, Washington State Chapter, and teaches wellness classes at Evergreen Hospital Medical Center.
 

Sunday, 6:30 - 9:30 PM
Sabine Grandke-Taft
Radiant Embodiment:
Dreams and Spirit Alive in Your Body

Drop into your natural feminine spirit. Through practices using Sabine’s Symphonic Touch®, Movement Massage, Feldenkrais®, Breath and Sound play you will experience the gentle opening of your body and mind. Explore your body as the incarnation of your dreams for divine sexuality, passion and Spirit. Feel vibrant, inspired, sensual and grounded within your own Being.

Since 1977, Sabine has accomplished over 20 modalities of Somatic Healing. She is an internationally known workshop leader and Embodiment Specialist. She was David Deida's apprentice for 5 years on sexual spirituality.


Sunday, 6:30 - 9:30 PM
Susan Armstrong
Stop Standing in Your Own Way!

Transform your life from the inside out. You have the power to change your life, find happiness in relationships, success in work, and fulfillment in general, but healing the outside requires healing the inside first. In this workshop Susan Armstrong teaches the spiritual principles that took her from homeless, to an award winning and internationally know speaker, trainer, and author. If there are areas of your life that need healing, this is the workshop for you.

Susan Armstrong is author of “An Invisible Prison”. She is Senior Partner with Susan Armstrong, Training & Development. Over the past 14 years, Susan has worked with companies and individuals to encourage them to identify and release faulty thinking, take charge of their lives and unleash their power to rise to new heights.


Co-sponsored by
East West Bookshop • Conscious Choice • The Dr. Pat Show • The Voice of Choices • Crystal Wendekier

Location Details: North Seattle Community College, 9600 College Way North, Seattle, Washington 98103