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A visionary conference for women and men
March 20-22, 2009 - Palm Key, SC
Experience a soulful reflection of the mind and heart amidst the beautiful natural setting of Palm Key SC.  Visit their website :   www.palmkey.com

“ A new heaven is the emergence of a transformed state of human consciousness, and a ‘new earth’ is its reflection in the physical realm.”
         - Eckhart Tolle, A NEW EARTH

Whole Earth Celebration is a collaborative gathering of individuals dedicated to restoring the balance of earth and humanity. Through the activities of this conference, we seek to articulate and experience a collective vision for a whole and healed Earth.

In the context of this weekend’s spiritual retreat, Whole Earth Celebration:

  • Lays the groundwork for a new and sustainable world-view.
  • Strengthens the receptive, magnetic, heart-based energy that to some degree lies dormant within us in the modern, industrialized world we live in.
  • Provides rich and thought provoking information via the Earth-based wisdom traditions from around the globe.
  • Creates the opportunity for personal transformation within an inclusive, supportive and affirming community.

“The Suppression of the feminine principle especially over the past two thousand years has enabled the ego to gain absolute supremacy in the collective human psyche. If the balance between male and female energies had not been destroyed on our planet… we would not have declared war on nature, and we would not be so completely alienated from our being.”
          - Eckhart Tolle, A NEW EARTH
Whole Earth Celebration Events:
Dynamic workshops presented by local and nationally known teachers, therapists, healers and writers will include topics such as:
  • Setting a new vision for a whole earth
  • Tapping into the aliveness of nature
  • Activating a personal process for earth healing
  • Connecting to your authentic self
  • Identifying and releasing old programming
  • Spiritually based power
  • Manifesting from a place of wholeness
  • Embracing your intelligent body
  • Living in partnership with the God/Goddess inside of you

“Ultimately I see the Goddess as incorporating the full spectrum of existence, not just what we call ‘the feminine’. Goddess represents a unity and wholeness. What we call ‘The feminine’ are those parts of the whole that are missing in our dominant culture: nurturance, cooperation, compassion, sensuality, peacemaking and egalitarianism.”
            - Hallie Inglehart Austen, THE HEART OF THE GODDESS

During this unique gathering you will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of cross-cultural activities designed to ignite the playful, spontaneous, creative being that you are:

  • Yoga
  • Meditation
  • Kirtan
  • Fire Ceremony
  • Drum Circles
  • Toning/Sound Workshop
  • Soul Collage TM
  • Artisans Crafts

“The dynamic feminine… represents undirected movement towards the new, the non-rational, the playful. It is the flow of the experience, vital, spontaneous, open to the unexpected… it’s effects are the uplifting, ecstatic inspiration that comes from the experience of transformed awareness.”
     - Gareth Hill, Jungian Theorist
        ECOPSYCHOLOGY: RESTORING THE MIND, HEALING THE EARTH


Whole Earth Celebration Schedule

Friday March 20, 2009
3:00 pm- 6:00 pm- Whole Earth Celebration Registration
3:00 pm- 6:00 pm- Visit with our Presenters at their exhibit tables
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm- Dinner
7:00 pm- 9:30 pm- New Vision for a Whole Earth: A call for balance with Shelly Gillum

Saturday March 21, 2009
7:30 am - 8:30 am Soma and the Equinox Yoga with Jeannie Kelley
8:30 am- 9:15 am Breakfast
9:30 am- 11:15 am Workshops

  • The Golden Bridge with Helena Fox
  • Awakening to Wholeness through Meditation with Justin Epstein

11:45 am - 1: 30 pm Workshops

  • Authenticity Unveiled with Jennifer Graftdyk
  • Embracing the Wisdom of the Intelligent Body with Susan Stone

1:30pm - 2:30 pm Lunch
2:30 pm - 4:30 Leisure Time - Presenter Tables Open
4:30 pm - 6:15 pm Experiential Workshops

  • Heartbeat of Mother Earth: healing with drum and voice with
    Billy Zanski and Linda Go
  • Soul Collage: a portrait of the inner self with Cheryl Mansson

6:30 pm- 7:30 pm Dinner
7:45 - 10:00 pm Native Wisdoms: tapping into the aliveness of nature with Shelly Gillum

Sunday March 22, 2009
7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
8:30 am - 10:00am Closing Circle with Shelly Gillum
10:30 am- 11:30 Kirtan with the Hanumanis


PRESENTER BIOS AND THEIR WORKSHOPS....

Shelly Gillum, MSW, is teacher, healer and artist with over 20 years of experience in the traditional psychotherapy field. For the last 17 years she has been offering ceremonies and shamanic teachings on the original spirituality of all of our ancestors to students around the country. Shelly has studied with many Native American teachers from the Dakota and Lakota Sioux, Omaha, and Ponca tribes.
She aspires to assist people in awakening the healer within. One of her greatest goals is to help heal and restore the Earth. Shelly is the Author of Teachings from the Coyote Medicine Lodge. She presently lives in Tucson AZ as a full-time shamanic practitioner.
FRIDAY OPENING KEYNOTE
NEW VISION FOR A WHOLE EARTH: A Call for Balance
This opening speech will clarify Whole Earth Celebration’s vision: we set our intentions to come into balance within our selves and our immediate day-to-day life, as well as within our relationship to society and the larger world. Shelly Gillum will explore with us various topics such as: examining our current world paradigm as it relates to historical context; imagining a world that is whole and healed; reawakening the suppressed feminine principle; defining “Goddess” energy; understanding “masculine/feminine” energy as it has operated in our world over time; learning to separate “energy” from “form”; finding communion with, and developing stewardship for the natural world; nurturing a philosophy of living based on compassion, growth and abundance; activating a personal process for Earth healing; and learning to live in balance.

SATURDAY NIGHT FIRE CIRCLE
NATIVE WISDOMS: Tapping into the Aliveness of Nature
This fire circle will be a fun evening of storytelling, drumming and singing, and will feature teachings on the earth elements and earth rhythms of Winter/Summer Solstices and Fall/Spring Equinox.

SUNDAY MORNING CLOSING CEREMONY
Shelly’s final message:
Clearing away layers of past programming – which may involve releasing toxic thoughts, people and situations from our lives – is what creates a more whole and healed personal paradigm. This whole and healed personal paradigm will then lend itself to creating a more whole and healed Earth. In coming together for the final circle, we will have time to reflect upon the integrations that have been built throughout the weekend.

Billy Zanski, owner of Skinny Beats in Asheville, NC, has been building and playing drums for over a decade. He has studied with masters in the U.S., West Africa and Brazil and has taught drumming for the past 6 years. www.skinnybeatsdrums.com
Linda Go is an initiated shaman in the Nahuatl tradition of Graniceras and Curanderas. Also a self-taught musician/composer, her vocals are featured on numerous recordings. As a gifted healer, Linda channels through her voice to tune the spirit/mind body with the physical body. She has been facilitating sacred sound workshops and practicing sound healing since 2000.
HEARTBEAT OF MOTHER EARTH: Healing with Drum and Voice
Drumming is one of the oldest and most universal paths to vitality, ecstasy and community. Through drum and voice, we reclaim the ceremonial, sacred aspects of life, including the feeling of devotion and universal harmony. Connecting in meditation with the wisdom and spirit of sound gives us access to greater self-realization and purpose and enables us to establish a connection with the subtle nature of all things. In this session you will learn your own inner rhythms, heart voice, and soul songs through the exploration of breathing exercises, Chakra sounds, and Traditional West African style drumming techniques. Connecting in meditation with the wisdom and spirit of drum and voice gives access to creative expression, greater self-realization, and purpose. Bring your Djembe if you have one – if you need one, let us know.

Cheryl Mansson, LPC, is a former psychotherapist who left traditional psychotherapy after 16 years to offer healing through deeper states of consciousness. Healing is Cheryl’s passion personally and professionally. Her work is being present with people on their transformational journey, assisting according to the person’s inner wisdom. Sessions include, individual, couple, and group counseling. Theta Healing™, Holotropic Breathwork™, and Soul Collage™ are the most common practices she calls upon.
SOUL COLLAGE™: a portrait of the inner self
Through images, imagination and intuition, this process opens doorways to creativity, healing and self-discovery. Discover relationships between symbols and Spirit and deepen your understanding of your inner self, your world and your dreams. www.soulcollage.com

Helena Fox, MC, Pr. is a transformational teacher, ceremonial leader, and initiated Priestess in Goddess religion whose spiritual work began at the age of 6 with Dr. Jim Gore, nuclear physicist and founder of the Light Center in N.C. Gore’s method of psycho-physical/spiritual, neuro-sensory re-patterning laid the framework for working with the luminous, rainbow-body.
Helena’s course of study during the last 5 years includes extensive training from cross-cultural Shamanic, Magical, and Goddess-honoring wisdom traditions. She has dedicated her life to learning the path of her elder teachers, walking those lessons in life, and sharing her gifts through ceremony. Helena believes it is vital that we come together in circles in order to create the life we envision for ourselves and her work guides others to find power through unity, cooperation, and sharing. She lives in Asheville, NC.
THE GOLDEN BRIDGE
Cross the threshold of existence that leads to the reality that awaits you! Join us as we build a “golden bridge” from where you are now to your own personal destiny. Together we will be exploring the deepest aspirations of human consciousness in order to recognize our own unique genius and create a future equal to our vast potential. This session involves challenging the dominant world paradigm and how we personally exist within it. Enlightening theories on Partnership (based in the work of Riane Eisler - (www.rianeeisler.com) will invite you to challenge old, habitual ways of thinking and open up to new possibilities. By examining ancient civilizations that historically modeled peaceful, sustainable co-creation, and by comparing cooperative ways of being with the dominator/subordinate paradigm that we live in, we will unravel the subtle ties that bind and limit our newly emerging consciousness.

Jennifer Graftdyk is a licensed massage therapist, colon hydrotherapist, teacher and intuitive who has been practicing the healing arts for 9 years. She is also a former director of a spiritually based school for holistic health. Currently, as owner of Oasis Life Spa and Living Potential in Hilton Head, Jenn seeks to create an environment for people who are searching for physical, emotional and spiritual wellness.
AUTHENTICITY UNVEILED
Without a clear understanding and acceptance of the presence of YOU, as a unique spiritual being – what you want, who you become, and how you express yourself in the world is often clouded. This lack of clarity around our true nature can block us from our highest potential. Now is the time for all of us to step out from the veils that hide our authenticity and reveal our glorious selves to the world. Only then will we receive the gifts and joys that are our birthright. This workshop offers a creative way to uncover what prevents you from finding your inner happiness and following your life’s purpose.

Justin Epstein is senior minister of Unity Church of Hilton Head and has been a columnist of “Practical Spirituality” in The Bluffton Today since 2004. Prior to Hilton Head, he was associate minister to Eric Butterworth (author of Discover the Power within You) and shared the stage with such notables as Dr. Maya Angelou, Les Brown, Iyanla Vanzant, Dr. Larry Dossy and Marianne Williamson.
For three and a half years, Justin resided at Ananda Village, one of the world’s most successful retreat centers and spiritual communities. There he served as a licensed yoga and meditation instructor based on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda.
AWAKENING TO WHOLENESS THROUGH MEDITATION
We are in a time in which the ego must be recognized and transcended in order to reach the next level of our spiritual awakening. We must, as Eckhart Tolle writes, “evolve or perish.” We can transcend the ego by recognizing how it operates and by tapping the unobserved mind to experience the aliveness of our being through presence. This session introduces Hong Sau meditation and theories taught by the yogi sage Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi. The practice of these simple but powerful techniques will assist you in balancing love and reason through mystical union, developing your intuition, finding a more compassionate heart through emotional awareness, and fostering spiritual awakening in others by seeing them through an enlightened vision.

Susan Stone is an intuitive healer and Reiki practitioner whose creative profession also involves art, writing and public speaking. After a serious auto accident 20 years ago, she began her search into the field of energy medicine. It was during this time that her skills as a medical intuitive were initiated. Currently, Susan’s work as a shamanic practitioner includes journeys, house/land clearing, personal healing and counseling. Susan is also certified in Reconnection and trained in the ancient Native American technique of Crystal Healing.
EMBRACING THE WISDOM OF THE INTELLIGENT BODY
The human body is intelligent and was designed to live for centuries, not decades. The innate wisdom of the body is continuously seeking to maintain a state of wellness. Every illness and disease is a signal telling us where and how our lives are out of balance. There are no “accidents”; such symptoms that occur are significant and will point us toward solution. This workshop takes a shamanic perspective on why we get sick and how to be well. Here we will explore personal energy and how it relates to our healing, connect with the body’s metaphors in order to understand the underlying issues, and learn to dialogue with our body so we can respond to our own deeper needs.

Jeannie Kelley, LMT is a certified yoga instructor, craniosacral therapist and advanced Rolf practitioner who has been working in the field of somatics since1986. Formerly a personal trainer and exercise fitness instructor, she currently blends over 22 years of experience with Transpersonal and Process-Oriented Psychology, Continuum Movement and Shamanic teachings to facilitate transformation of the body, mind and spirit. Jeannie is owner and operator of Island Soma Therapy.wn, Iyanla Vanzant, Dr. Larry Dossy and Marianne Williamson.
SOMA AND THE EQUINOX: The Soul of Earth and Body
Celebrating the season with yoga, aligning our internal rhythms with nature.
This meditative asana session offers a particular format in which to embody the natural world as part of ourselves by attuning with the elements of earth, wind, fire, and water. Through exploration of these energetic qualities in breath and movement, we begin to discover how to generate, receive and integrate these vital forces into our lives. This is a moderate level practice, appropriate for all levels of interest and experience.

Soma Yoga merges contemplative meditation, conscious movement, and ancient wisdom into a unique class that is both physical and spiritual in nature. Intuitively guided and process oriented, you will be directed towards spiritual transformation, physical healing, and awakening personal power.

Hanumanis! This musical band is named after the Monkey God in the Hindu tradition Hanuman, who represents loyalty and selfless service. The band’s name was inspired by the devotion Hanuman had to Rama, the protector of the earth.
KIRTAN (Sanskrit) is a call-and-response form of chanting in a musical, devotional tradition of India. The message is about opening the heart and connecting with the divine. The experience takes us to where the spirit of life lives and breathes. This is the joy and magic of Kirtan.


CEUs
Continuing Education Units are available for an extra $25 through Cheryl Mansson, LPC. Check with your own licensing board requirements to confirm eligibility. Contact Cheryl with any other inquiries at 843.521.1600 or cherylmansson824@yahoo.com.


REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Our goal is to provide you with an opportunity for deep experience as we encourage community building throughout the entire weekend. Therefore, conference attendance is available only with Palm Key accommodations (www.palmkey.com)

Price for entire weekend $445
($395 if registered before January 10)

Registration includes all events and accommodations, including healthy catered meals with vegetarian options. Dinner Friday night; breakfast, two snack breaks, lunch and dinner Saturday; and breakfast and one snack break on Sunday morning.

All cottages have shared common indoor and outdoor areas as well as kitchen facilities. Price package is based on double occupancy per room (two people in one bedroom, with a private bath). Call or email us if you would like to be paired with a roommate. Single occupancy is available on request for an additional $56 per night. A private cottage for one is an additional $113 per night. Private cottages for two are also available - contact us for pricing.

There are three ways to register:
Click here to downloand the registration form (adobe pdf)

Please complete the above registration form then take one of these three next steps:

*Option #1 Mail your form along with your check to:
Island Soma Therapy
#18 Executive Park Road Suite #3
Hilton Head Island, SC 29928

*Option #2 If you are using a credit card (Mastercard or Visa) you may email your registration form to Molly.Tomiczek@yahoo.com and we will be in touch with you by phone to take your credit card information

*Option #3 If you are using a credit card (Mastercard or Visa) for payment and prefer to call Palm Key directly by phone and give them your credit card information you can reach them at (843) 726-6468. Then please fax your registration form to Molly Tomiczek at (864) 752-1315 or you may email it to molly.tomiczek@yahoo.com

Visa and Mastercard are accepted directly through Palm Key at 843.726.6468.

Welcome registration begins Friday at 3pm; events conclude Sunday at 11:30.

Regretfully, we are unable to offer refunds. However should you need to cancel your reservation, you will receive a $245 credit with Palm Key, valid through March 22, 2010. Thank you for your understanding.

Our logo, designed by Shelly Gillum, encompasses the unifying principles behind our vision for a whole earth from a shamanic perspective:

While the square represents the material world, the circle symbolizes the spiritual essence of all things. The Y signifies the questioning that needs to take place in order to bring Spirit into the material world -awakening new consciousness, challenging the status quo of consensus reality, and the recognition of the existing imbalances in ourselves and in our world today. Y also characterizes two points of duality, of opposites balancing, blending into the connected and collective oneness. The root of the Y corresponds to the Kundalini life force, and the arms of the Y symbolize fully opening ourselves to blending the spiritual with the material world.

Our theme for this conference is inspired by numerous historians, anthropologists, psychologists and philosophers who recognize the interconnectedness of life in all things, observe the link between the micro and macrocosm, and honor the need for balance at the archetypical level.