For thousands of years humans have been turning to nature to mark points of life transition and to seek healing, renewal and guidance. They have done this through a wide variety of sacred ceremonial practices. Some of these have endured through the generations and others have only more recently been resurrected or birthed anew. Now more than ever the imbalances between human society and Nature are creating tensions and opportunities that are spurring the emergence of new earth-based healing ways.

In this two week-long program, participants will receive training in the life-altering practice of the wilderness quest. Additional training time will be spent on other eco-therapeutic approaches that are more easily applied in urban and other non-wilderness settings. For people who feel called to become quest guides or eco-therapists, the training is a unique opportunity to join like-minded peers for an intensive, body-oriented, experiential training in the beautiful practice of guiding others “out on the mountain”.

Without a doubt, being a quest guide can be one of the most meaningful and rewarding life experiences. This work will engage many parts of you, challenging you to grow more into your own fullness and capability so that you may midwife others deeper into their soul’s truth and wild aliveness. Guiding is a landscape of rare beauty and complexity, a terrain of many, many subtleties and diverse aspects. It is a profound privilege and responsibility to witness the wilderness nurture, heal, inspire and crack open those in your care.

Part of what makes working as a quest guide or eco-therapist so fulfilling is the diverse array of skills, traditions, perspectives and awareness that one must cultivate to be an effective guide. A skilled guide has solid wilderness and group management skills, deep abilities to track and facilitate a soul’s unfolding, and an abiding comfort with and connection to the earth, to name just a few. Most people who become guides or earth-based healers consciously begin this journey already well versed in some but not all of these areas. It is a personal and professional developmental journey spanning months or, more often, years. Contact us for our “Apprenticeship Overview” and a more thorough description of the depth and breadth of a quest guide’s skill set.

In this training we will spend one weekend per month through the spring exploring and developing many of these areas. In early summer we will make an intensive journey and wilderness quest to further the training. This trip is also a time for apprentices to quest and to mark their intention to work with others in an earth-based way. The training program is open to wilderness guides, therapists, healers, teachers and others called to serve their community and the earth. CEU’s available for LCSWs/MFTs.

THE DETAILS

When: July 9 – 21, 2012

Where: Inyo National Forest

What you need to provide: Personal hiking and camping gear (list to be provided); share in carpooling costs/vehicles, including national park entrance fees for the quest trip. Ability to carry a 30-40 lb. pack.

To Register: Send a $450 non-refundable deposit and a 1-page letter of intent stating why you wish to participate in the apprenticeship program to Wilderness Reflections, P.O. Box 311, Fairfax, CA 94978. Deposits are non-refundable and non-transferable. Balance of fees is non-refundable and non-transferable within 5 weeks of the start of the program.

GUIDE FOR THE WILDERNESS QUEST AND ECOPSYCHOLOGY APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM:

Dave Talamo, MFT is founder of Wilderness Reflections. He has over 30 years of experience guiding wilderness trips, works as a therapist with youth and adults, and is a certified Wilderness First Responder. He is committed to the expression of joy and authenticity through the body and to helping others experience their own embodied selves in an intimate, ecstatic relationship with Nature. Dave trained in wilderness quest guiding with Steven Foster and Meredith Little and has apprenticed himself to wild places throughout North America and several other continents.

Amy Biesemeyer, MFT is a gifted and dynamic quest guide, weaving together her passions for nature, ritual, singing/chanting and personal transformation. As a wilderness guide since 1995, she has learned to gently and skillfully help others navigate the territory between comfort and challenge. Drawing upon mind-body practices, she enriches her work with meditation, expressive arts and movement. She has been trained by the School of Lost Borders, in the therapeutic use of the wilderness. She is also a student of the Diamond Heart Approach, a graduate of CIIS and a Wilderness First Responder. Nature is her teacher and sanctuary, and she is honored to guide others in the magical unfolding of their inner nature.

For more information: Contact Dave Talamo