Instructors:  Mary Rooker & Bruce Runk (Contact us)

NOTE:  This page is not the full information or student portal page for each of the workshops below. It merely offers the main handout for each workshop to give you a free idea of what we offer. We suggest that you sign up for any workshops whose handout interests you. Why do we offer this much for free? Because we think this information and revisioning is crucial to our own healing and to the survival of all life on Earth.

About the Healing Earth Relations (HER) Series
The neo-shamanism that most of us know and work with is filtered through our Western worldview. We can bring the original animist vision to our shamanism and “decolonize” neo-shamanism with this eye-opening workshop series. We start by asking: What is a "Nature"-centered cosmology, how is it related to animism and Indigenous cosmologies, and how do these compare to Western cosmology?

Thinking Naturally: “Naturist” vs Western Worldview        Whether you are a seasoned practitioner or beginning to “nature” work or shamanism, this series is for you! The neo-shamanism that most of us know is filtered through our Western worldview. We can bring the original animist vision to our shamanism and de-Westernize neo-shamanism with this eye-opening workshop series. Attend one or all. We start by asking: What is a shamanic cosmology, how is it related to animism and Indigenous cosmologies, and how do these compare to Western cosmology?

Seeing Naturally: The Seventh Fire & Rights of Nature 
Great Turning and the Seventh Fire (8 pages, pdf)
      The new (shamanic) worldview that heals our relationships with Earth and all our kin is called by many names, depending on the tradition: the Great Turning, the Seventh Fire, Pachamama, and more. Also emerging is a movement for the "Rights of Nature", which is connected to this new worldview. We'll explore this lovely and powerful shift that heals us and the world.

Speaking Naturally:  Language, The Grammar of Animacy, & Pronouns!
Speaking Naturally (20 pages, pdf)
      Pronouns, pronouns, pronouns! We usually reserve personal pronouns for humans only, perhaps adding a beloved "pet." We use the cold, objectifying "it" pronoun for most other living beings, whether other animals, plants, or Earthlings like rivers and mountains. We'll explore why this matters and other key shamanic language aspects (like nouns vs verbs) in this eye-opening workshop in the HER series.

Sensing Naturally: Coming to Our Senses
Coming to Our Senses (2 pages, pdf)
     Modern living has weakened much of our sensory abilities of sight, hearing, smell, and taste. How can we restore our senses while living in the modern world, and how might such restored senses transform our spiritual work? Most of our senses have become distorted by modern living to respond only to excess and unnaturally high stimulation, leading to various addictions. We can heal this!

Living Naturally: Sustainable Daily Life
      If we put nature-centered beliefs into practice, we would live sustainably and in deep harmony with all life. What would this look like in all aspects of daily life? 
Part 1:  Explores our choices of clothing, food, and animals, including "pets". Part 2:  Explores recreation, transportation, dwellings, and political and economic systems.
Envisioning Naturally: Crafting Your New Cosmology
Envisioning Naturally (6 pages, pdf)
     What would the new (nature-based, shamanic) worldview that heals our relationships with Earth and all our kin look like for you? We'll explore how to come into a working cosmology that’s right for you.

Introduction to Animism
Pagan Roots' Roots: Introduction to Animism (9 pages, pdf)
Free Spirit Gathering 2026: Our shamanic/Pagan roots lie in an animist worldview. Yet the Western lens most of us were born into conflicts and interferes with that animism in ways that we may not be aware of. Reclaiming and deepening our understanding of our animist roots can power up our shamanic/Pagan practice and our daily lives.

Nature Calls (Sit Spot)
Sit Spot, Bird Language, & Nature Connections (2 pages, pdf)
Free Spirit Gathering 2026: When we deepen and widen our senses, we can more powerfully connect to our kin in the rest of the natural world. These deeper senses allow us to hear the voices of our non-human plant, animal, and elemental kin. We’ll share the simple practices in the “Sit Spot” so we can more fully understand and learn from them. Wherever you sit, there you are!

Chant Links
Practices - 3
  • Sunrise-Sunset Practice - daily practice, morning or night
    In either the morning or evening (or both), observe for 1 to 10 minutes the Sun rising or setting.
  • Gratitude Practice - daily practice, morning and night
    -- Morning: Before getting out of bed: "I give thanks for my life. I am grateful for the gift of another day to sing and dance upon the good, green Earth."
    -- Evening: Think of three things you're grateful for. You can write them in a little gratitude journal if you like.
  • Sit spot - 10 to 20 minutes a day as often as you can, daily if possible; seated or walking.
  1. Before you head outside, adopt an attitude of gratitude. Recall 3 things for which you are grateful right now.
  2. Approach in a respectful and mindful way.
  3. Settle in to your spot. Hold the intention that you are just here to observe in a relaxed way. The goal is to simply notice and be, not to see how many things you can see or hear in the shortest amount of time. The goal is to have a sense of the plant, animal, insect, and elemental Earthlings who live on the same land you do. The experience is mostly listening, mostly one-way, from them to their world or to you. Relax into the landscape. Slow down, connect your pulse to the pulse of that place.
  4. Close your eyes. Engage: Ears, Skin (Cheek), Nose.
    a. What’s the quietest sound you can hear?
    b. What’s the closest sound you can hear?
    c. Feel the breeze on your skin— how strong is it? What direction is it coming from?
    d. Can you smell anything in the air? Like a dog, take a bunch of sniffs; multiple short sniffs detect more than one long one.
  5. Open your eyes.
    a. What’s the furthest thing you can see? Focus on it.
    b. What’s the closest thing you can see?
    c. Observe movement and activity on the land; who lives here?
    d. Use your peripheral vision-wide angle vision-Owl eyes. You might pick up on hundreds of ants, a butterfly, a robin. Even in New York City, springs are pumped out of the ground.
  6. Learn the ways of that special place. Ask the Land: what can I learn from you? Please show me your ways, if you are willing.
  7. When done, say thank you to the land, the birds, the sun, the stones, the trees, the plants, all the animals. "Thank you for being part of my life. May I continue to build a beautiful relationship with you."
  8. As soon as you can, talk to someone about your experience who will value and appreciate hearing of it.

Additional Materials Links
Bonus Page
Songs, Poems, and Quotes

Contact Mary at Shamanic Spring to receive her biweekly e-newsletter or for info on shamanic healing sessions.

About Your Teacher, Mary "Tyrtle" Rooker
  • is a member of Betsy Bergstrom's Compassionate Depossession Teachers Alliance,
  • has studied with world-renowned shamans and healers, and
  • is a licensed minister with the Circle of the Sacred Earth.
See full details about her training and credentials.

To learn more about shamanism, see Resources.

​ (c) 1999, Mary Rooker  *   Please obtain permission before reproducing anything from this website. Thanks!
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