TRAINING AND APPRENTICESHIP

We believe that shamans are called by Spirit, not made.  While people can train people, it is the Spirits who initiate shamans and make them authentic healers and agents of change.  Last Mask Center aligns with traditional shamanic cultures around the world in the belief that becoming a shaman involves initiation, training in shamanic skills, and rigorous psychospiritual and psychoemotional development.

The Cycle of Transformation offers both training in shamanic skills and rigorous psychospiritual and psychoemotional development.  All advanced training and apprenticeship with Christina Pratt and Last Mask Center begin with The Cycle of Transformation.  If an individual shows clear signs of being called by Spirit during (or before) the four years of The Cycle, they are encouraged to ask Ms. Pratt formally to consider taking them on as an apprentice after completing The Cycle and dismantling their False Self.  Only formal mentor/apprentice relationships are considered.  What this means will be different for each person.  The path will be based on the Cycle Cosmology and co-created with Spirit to bring out the individual’s own unique genius through their shamanic work.

If you just want to learn shamanic healing skills and go “be a shaman”, this is not the place or the teacher for you.  There are many training programs available that will be happy to take you into “apprenticeship” right off the street or move you through an academically styled structure and “certify” you.  You must trust your own guidance as to the path that calls you.

Shamanic healing skills are relatively easy to do and profoundly hard to do well.  We are only interested in people who care deeply about doing shamanic healing work well.  In other words, those who care about efficacy and the quality of the client’s experience over and above their personal desire “to be the shaman.”