“Shamanism, Jung and the Heart” with C. Michael Smith on May 15 “Why Shamanism Now?” Radio Show

Portland, OR, May 10, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Streaming live on the Co-Creator Radio Network (www.co-creatornetwork.com) on Tuesday, May 15, at 11 a.m. Pacific time/2 p.m. Eastern time, on her show "Why Shamanism Now?: A Practical Path to Authenticity,” shaman and founder of the Last Mask Center for Shamanic Healing Christina Pratt notes that now, more than ever, we must bridge the heart-centered, earth-honoring, and interconnection-based practices of shamanism with the contemporary mind and depth psychologies—and we must do it globally. Our every decision must begin to intentionally and consciously shape a different world.

In this episode of “Why Shamanism Now?” titled “Shamanism, Jung and the Heart”, Pratt welcomes her guest C. Michael Smith, PhD, (aka Mikkal), author of Jung and Shamanism in Dialogue. They discuss ways of walking the path of the heart, in which the mind finds its proper relationship with the heart to serve, focus, and act to create the new vision. Mikkal is director of Crows Nest International, Centers for Shamanic Studies in the U.S., France, Belgium, and South Africa. He is a Jungian scholar, clinical psychologist, and international shamanic teacher. Mikkal is also trained in both North and South American shamanisms, undergoing a 14-year initiation and apprenticeship with Cherokee medicine woman Ai Gvhdi Way and an eight-year initiation with Iachak don Alverto Taxo.

Mikkal talks to Pratt as part of a series of “Why Shamanism Now?” interviews sponsored by the Society of Shamanic Practitioners (SSP). Throughout this series, Pratt explores how contemporary shamans are meeting the challenge of their world where the relations of things—the living and the dead, the humans and nature, and the technological world and the spirit world—are profoundly out of balance. It is the ancient role of the shaman in all cultures to tend the balance of things, and the question is asked: how are these shamans meeting this extraordinary need today?

Christina Pratt is an authentic, non-traditional contemporary shaman. In practice since 1990, she specializes in mending the soul and transforming the parts of life that feel impossible. A teacher of exceptional clarity, humor, and inspiration, Pratt brings the power of shamanism into the practical grasp of anyone willing to take responsibility for improving the quality of their life. Her well-received book, An Encyclopedia of Shamanism (Rosen), is an 800-page, two-volume set with over 750 in-depth entries that clearly discuss the basic concepts of shamanism, methods, and traditions of over 50 different shamanic peoples. Pratt is the founder of the Last Mask Center for Shamanic Healing in Portland, OR, and New York, NY, creator of the original Foundations of Shamanism and Shamanic Healing course at the University of Minnesota, and a frequent and honored speaker for the American Holistic Medical Association.

C. Michael Smith, Ph.D., (aka Mikkal) is an internationally recognized pioneer in the synthesis of Jungian psychology and Shamanic Healing. His most widely known book is “JUNG AND SHAMANISM IN DIALOGUE: Retrieving Soul / Retrieving the Sacred.” Mikkal’s teachings are a synthesis of shamanic principles, learned from inner and outer teachers, and the principles of Jungian and archetypal psychology. These teachings are a heart-centered shamanism offering skills that cultivate the daily expression of Spirit and the spirit-helpers through the heart, the absolute core of our being and of a life. Mikkal’s training and apprenticeship programs and the intentional heart-centered and earth-honoring shamanic communities that have grown around them in France, Belgium, and South Africa, are known collectively as Crows Nest International. At Crows Nest Center for Shamanic Studies, his home base in Michigan, Mikkal conducts his U.S. based workshops, retreats, and individual apprenticeship intensives, and sponsors an annual Wounded Healer Wilderness Quest on South Manitou Island in Lake Michigan. Mikkal will be a featured speaker in July 2012 at the 8th International Amazonian Conference on Shamanism, in Iquitos, Peru. He is also in the private practice of psychology (Jungian and transpersonal psychotherapy). www.crowsnestshamanism.com, www.cmichaelsmith.com

"Why Shamanism Now? A Practical Path to Authenticity", a live internet talk radio with host Christina Pratt, airs Tuesdays at 11 a.m. Pacific time/2 p.m. Eastern time on www.co-creatornetwork.com/hosts/shamanism/host_bio.htm. Each week host Christina Pratt and guests explore the practical application of shamanic skills in our contemporary lives to create robust well-being, strong and clear community connections, and life enriching spiritual maturity. Listeners can ask questions by calling 512-772-1938 or via Skype. Prior episodes from "Why Shamanism Now" can be downloaded for free by visiting www.whyshamanismnow.com. Pratt also talks about Shamanic Healing on YouTube (www.youtube.com).

For more information on Christina Pratt, the Last Mask Center for Shamanic Healing, and workshops and classes with Pratt, or to order An Encyclopedia of Shamanism at a special discounted rate, visit www.lastmaskcenter.org. Upcoming classes with Pratt include: Awakening the Courageous Heart June 8-10 at the Rowe Center in Rowe Massachusetts and Intro to Awakening the Courageous Heart at East West Books in Seattle; advanced classes in shamanic practice including an Advanced Healing Training on June 22-24; Shamanic Journey Circles third Tuesday of every month; Wisdom of the Shaman talks every third Friday; and Qigong classes every Wednesday, all in Portland, Oregon. For additional information or to arrange an interview with Pratt, please contact Linda Woznicki, 845-417-8811, marketing@lastmaskcenter.org.