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 7-month 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: When: September 26 – 27, Wilderness Quest Trip: October 24 – November 1, 2009; March 25 – 28 & May 27 – 30, 2010

Where: Weekends meetings will take place in western Marin County, CA. The fall quest trip will begin and end in Death Valley National Park (a 8 hour drive from the Bay Area). All permits and camping fees for the quest trip are paid by Wilderness Reflections.

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 177, Woodacre, CA 94973. 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.

GUIDES 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.

Rebecca Wildbear, M.S. is a wild-hearted wanderer and soul guide who supports people to open to their depths and to flower in relationship to the wild Earth. The prayer she lives is to love and embody the Mystery and the Wild as they sing each being alive, evoking their truth and beauty. Rebecca has worked as a therapist and wilderness guide since 1997, and has trained as a guide with AVI since 2002. As an Interdisciplinary Yoga Teacher and a student of Hakomi experiential therapy, Rebecca brings a body-centered approach to guiding. She received her Masters Degree in Counseling from Johns Hopkins University in 1997.