INTRODUCTION
We’re living at a time of great planetary upheaval - one punctuated by the intensity and chaos of a massive collective ending. Life as we have known it is forever changing. To navigate this time of tumult with less fear and more agency, a new way forward is required because... how we show up now will either liberate us or keep us tethered to a paradigm that is collapsing.
At the heart of this dynamic is shadow work.
Understanding the nature of shadow is imperative if we are to shift from a culture locked in separation, suffering, and conflict, to one that is more illumined, inclusive, and loving. Befriending shadow is an invitation. It's an opportunity to become intimate with your inner world; to explore it; heal it and integrate parts of the self living exiled in the recesses of the psyche. By bringing into the light of awareness, the fullness of who we are, we remember our divine nature and our interconnectedness with ALL of life.
THIS OFFERING
This offering will introduce participants to the concept of shadow as a powerful psychic influence that arises when we deny and repress parts of the self deemed unworthy. Conceptualized by Carl Jung, shadow is both a personal and collective phenomenon that informs our beliefs, our attitudes, and our patterns of behavior. It’s woven through our psyches, often revealing itself through our projections onto others. This is an ancient “knowing” that our ancestors understood and revealed through their myths and fairytales. Shadow work is a journey of self-reclamation.
Previously offered as a university-level course, "Shadow Work: Foundations" has been modified to provide participants with the most essential material needed to:
- Understand what shadow is - it's dark and light aspects.
- Identify the widespread nature of shadow - historically and in present day society.
- Understand the nature of shadow projection and its links to ongoing personal and collective harms.
- Understand the influence of shadow as fundamental to the oppression of the feminine principle (in all of us) and how this is linked to our current climate and planetary crisis.
- Understand how to cultivate greater degrees of wholeness through the process of healing and reclamation of our shadow parts.
- Understand the role we each play in birthing a new and more loving way forward.
THE PROGRAM AT A GLANCE
Week 1
- Introductions. Creating the container
- What is shadow? An introduction
- Psychological underpinnings
- Features & origins
- Why this is important to learn: An evolutionary imperative
Week 2
- Personal and collective shadow: Historic and contemporary examples
- Why we fear the dark: A painful legacy of feminine oppression
- Residual damage: What haunts us now? What have we inherited?
- Our current planetary crisis. How is this related?
- Embodiment: Reconnecting with the repressed. Then what?
- NOTE: For women interested in learning more about the Feminine Wound, "Healing the Sister Wound" is a parallel offering that may be of some interest. It begins September 2024. Registration pending. Please inquire.
Week 3
- Archetypes & shadow work
- What our ancestors knew: What myths and fairy tales teach us about ourselves
- The language of the psyche. Accessing our deep unconscious
- Modern applications. Modern stories
- Personal myth making
Week 4
- Shadow projection. What is it? How to detect it
- Calling our projections back home
- The practice: Fearless mindfulness. Constancy.
- The role of the ego. The role of the Self
- Tools to guide the traveler
Week 5
- Light shadow. Bright shadow. Golden shadow
- What is this? Is it necessarily positive?
- How to reclaim our projections…even when they appear “glowing”
- How this benefits our own growth
- Trying it on
Week 6
- Finding balance. Yin/yang as a symbol of balance
- Personal symbols, talismans
- Marriage of the divine principles…how do we heal?
- Befriending shadow. Learning it's lessons.
- The nature of “wholing”
Week 7
- Shadow dancing
- Symbols of the journey & metaphors of transformation
- Tapping into source
- Dreamscapes and unconscious communiques
- The role of psychedelics and altered states of consciousness
Week 8
- Creative expression
- Exploring shadow's lessons through the feminine principle
- What’s there? What arises when the unconscious is permitted to express itself freely?
- Who are you really?
Integration Gathering
- Deepening the discussion. This is the work!
- Roadblocks, resistance & challenges
- Insights and openings
- Cannabis-Assisted Meditation (Cannabis optional). A guided integration practice.
- Time for Q&A
2024 DATES POSTPONED
NOTE: A relaunch is planned for early 2025. For updates, please monitor this site or contact Denise at denise.n.fuhr@gmail.com for details.
This weekly online offering begins on September 23 with the final class scheduled for November 11. After this date, participants will have several weeks to complete their review of course materials, including reflections and practices in preparation for a final in-person Integration Gathering on December 16. All online classes take place live from 6:30-8:30/9:00 pm ET on Monday evenings as follows:
- Week 1: September 23
- Week 2: September 30
- Week 3: October 7
- Week 4: October 14
- Week 5: October 21
- Week 6: October 28
- Week 7: November 4
- Week 8: November 11
- Time to complete review of course materials: November 11-December 15
- Integration Circle: December 16
The intention of the Integration Circle is:
- to deepen the discussion on the concept of shadow and the practice of shadow work,
- to explore questions that may have arisen in response to course materials,
- to deepen the integration process through participation in a Cannabis-Assisted Meditation (Cannabis optional), and
- to explore "what's next?"
TIME COMMITMENT
- Weekly online gatherings: 2-2.5 hours each week for 8 weeks
- Personal time with the material (readings, reflections & practices): 4 hour/week (This is an estimate only and dependent upon the needs and learning style of each participant)
- In-person Integration Circle: 3 hours
LOCATION
- The first 8-weeks of this series will be offered online. All sessions will be recorded for ongoing review and for the benefit of those unable to attend the live gathering. Participants will have access to the recordings for 6 months at the end of the series. A Zoom link will be provided upon registration.
- The final integration circle will be provided in-person, from 6-9 pm ET, at Spear Wellness Centre located at 4 Cataraqui St #101, Kingston, ON. For those unable to attend in person, a hybrid option will be offered.
FEE OPTIONS
My deepest desire is to make this offering available to as many people as possible. In reviewing the options presented, please consider if your position in life provides you with some flexibility (and desire) for assisting others to attend this program. This will be a personal choice. The following sliding scale rates include the final Integration Circle.
- Benefactor rate: $699. If you're able to pay a bit more in order to help someone else attend this offering, this option may be of interest.
- Sustainer rate: $630. This level represents the base rate for developing and offering this program.
- Supported rate: $475. If the Sustainer rate is a bit out of reach, this option may be of interest to you. If further discounts are required, please contact Denise at denise.n.fuhr@gmail.com to discuss additional options.
Seniors Discount
- Seniors discount: $475. The Supported rate is also available to those aged 65+. If a discount is not required, please consider the Sustainer or Benefactor rates detailed above.
Drop-in Rate
- For those interested but unable to commit to the entire series, a drop-in rate has been devised as follows. Please note: This is the most expensive option. Attending the entirety of this program is recommended in order to gain full benefit.
- Weeks 1-8: $75/session
- Integration session: $120
Refund and Cancellation policies are provided on the registration form.
REGISTRATION
- Registration opens August 12, 2024.
- LINK: https://forms.gle/bc5RQTSXpWkpmTym8
Masterclass
- Interested but want to learn more? Join the "Returning to Wholeness" Masterclass on Shadow work on Wednesday, August 21 from 7-8 pm.
- To register for this free offering see: https://deniseneumannfuhr.setmore.com/
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
DENISE's work is grounded in transcendent realms of thought and practice that stem from graduate work in Transpersonal Psychology and Shadow Work. This is augmented by decades of personal psycho-spiritual explorations and deep healing work. As a certified Transformational Coach, Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, Psychedelic Cannabis Guide, and RN, Denise helps others to cultivate a greater sense of their own innate wisdom and divine wholeness.
Most recently, a deep and evolving exploration of the Divine Feminine, the Dark Goddess, and the impacts of the patriarchy on the sister/witch wound is informing her practice with profound results.
Trainings that support her work include Hakomi, Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy, Compassion Cultivation, Internal Family Systems for Coaches, as well as various wisdom, energy, and mystery school traditions. She holds a deep resonance with Indigenous worldviews including the healing power of plant medicines and has subsequently become credentialed as a Psychedelic sitter and guide through the Centre for Medicinal Mindfulness. Augmenting this is breathwork training and programs of study with Therapsil, Gathering Groups, and Psychedelic Harm Reduction training with psychedelic psychotherapist, Rich Tyo.
Denise works in private practice where she offers 1:1 coaching sessions as well as a variety of workshops that focus on the transpersonal dimension of life. She also participates as a Sitter and Guide in Psychedelic Cannabis offerings (Neuma, Kingston) where she invokes the Divine Feminine as a guiding force in journey space.
“When we can notice, and then shift the internal dialogue that prevents us from living from our deepest and wisest Self, we realign our inner compass. We come home."
- For more information and credentials, visit www.deniseneumannfuhr.ca.
- Email: denise.n.fuhr@gmail.com
- Insta: denise.nf
Revised July 2024