Sandra Corcoran - Shamanic Awakening: My Journey Between the Dark and the Daylight

For my daughters:
Callie, whose life put my feet to this path, and Nyssa, whose life keeps my feet walking forward on it.

SHAMANIC
AWAKENING

Sandra Corcoran has written a remarkable account of her studies and practice of shamanic counseling. I have had personal contact with two of her teachers, Twylah Nitsch and Oh Shinnah, and she couldnt have found better guides. Shamanic Awakening: My Journey between the Dark and the Daylight is filled with fantastic stories into the nonordinary realms, but recent investigation of dreams and other altered states of consciousness lend credibility to her accounts. The authors work is rooted in indigenous traditions and rituals that contain the wisdom and insight so badly needed to help the torn culture of our time.

STANLEY KRIPPNER, PH.D., PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY AT SAYBROOK UNIVERSITY AND COAUTHOR OF DEMYSTIFYING SHAMANISM AND THE VOICE OF ROLLING THUNDER

We live in a time in which increasing numbers of Western spiritual seekers are turning toward non-Western spiritual traditions in search of meaning and transcendence. Sandra Corcorans book Shamanic Awakening is an eloquently written and engaging personal narrative that unfolds in a way to inspire us all.

HANK WESSELMAN, PH.D., ANTHROPOLOGIST AND COAUTHOR OF AWAKENING TO THE SPIRIT WORLD

Shamanic Awakening draws you ina magnet force of symbols, story, and signs. Sandra Corcorans elegant narrative coils around your heart and awakens you to your energy sourcelove. Her wisdom births an alternative knowing, alternative dimensions, and multi-universes to explore. The reader develops new eyes, a new heart, and a knowing mind. Experiencing Sandras book, the reader is left with confirmation that the human mind is sourced far beyond the brain. And not in a place, but in many dimensions. Read Sandras book and you will comprehend the workings of the quantum mind. And theres more. If you follow her winding path, you may be led home.

REBECCA HARDCASTLE WRIGHT, PH.D., AUTHOR OF EXOCONSCIOUSNESS: YOUR 21ST CENTURY MIND

Sandy Corcorans book represents a very rich and honest account of her experiences with North American shamans, spiritual teachers from Central America, and Andean spiritual masters.... In my opinion, Sandys book is written in a panamerican context, such that her story can be of great help to many spiritual seekers of this continent who are working with the elements that she describes in her book, from her personal experiences.

JUAN VICTOR NUEZ DEL PRADO BEJAR, FORMER PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CUSCO, PERU, AND MASTER OF THE ANDEAN MYSTICAL TRADITION

In this remarkable book, Sandra Corcoran gifts us with her personal, magical journey of awakening to shamanism with exceptional skill and candor. Ever cognizant and respectful of the Mystery, she generously includes details of ceremonies and teachings from the many extraordinary teachers that influenced and catalyzed her most profound and formative experiences. A great storyteller, she offers thoroughness and detail in relating her experience.

NICKI SCULLY, FOUNDER OF SHAMANIC JOURNEYS, LTD., AUTHOR OF PLANETARY HEALING: SPIRIT MEDICINE FOR GLOBAL TRANSFORMATION, AND ALCHEMICAL HEALING: A GUIDE TO SPIRITUAL, PHYSICAL, AND TRANSFORMATIONAL MEDICINE

Impeccably honest, deeply personal, and sparkling with jewels of wisdom, Shamanic Awakening is not only the story of one womans remarkable spiritual journey but also an astute introduction into the various practices of shamanism.... From the moment I began reading, until I finished the last sentence several hours later, I was unable to put this book down.

ROSEMARY GLADSTAR, COFOUNDER OF SAGE MOUNTAIN HERBS, AUTHOR OF HERBAL HEALING FOR WOMEN, AND COEDITOR OF PLANTING THE FUTURE

Authors Note

In 1991 I was given permission by Grandmother Twylah Hurd Nitsch to teach her profound body of work as a certified teacher of the Wolf Clan Teaching Lodge. The only request she made was that when I shared the charts and teachings in workshops or with individual clients, I follow her instructions and not bring my own changes or interpretations to the work.

Some of our more personal conversations throughout the long relationship I was blessed to have with Gram are not specific to the Wolf Clan teachings. I have tried to be true to those conversations and have shared them in ways I feel portray both respect and gratitude for her wealth of knowledge.

However, all of Grams writings, including the personalized and universal charts and their teachings, are copyrighted and permission to print any part of her teachings must be granted through her son, Robert (Bob) Nitsch Jr., who is the sole owner and distributor of all her works.

When writing this book, out of esteem for Gram, her personal teachings, and the Wolf Clan Teaching Lodge, I requested that Bob read the manuscript sections dealing with Gram to make sure I had not imparted any misinformation concerning the teachings and to point out possible areas of her work that he would prefer I not include in the book. Bob made adjustments and requested some deletions, but has generously given me permission to use what is included in the book now titled Shamanic Awakening: My Journey between the Dark and the Daylight.

For further information on the educational charts of the Wolf Clan Teaching Lodge and instructional books and DVDs, contact Bob Nitsch at: www.wolfclanteachinglodge.org.

Preface

I experienced severe resistance to writing this book. In fact, when a friend approached me about ten years ago to give it a shot, I told her point blank, No way. As a teacher and therapist, I am used to being the ear for others vulnerabilities and pain, but the idea of expressing my own, in the unmasked form of a book no less, had me shuddering at the mere thought. I have worked in the public eye for a long time. I could not imagine how clients and colleagues, or some family and friends, might react when reading parts of my story. After a number of years of bearing witness to myself, however, I realized that these experiences have made me who and what I amand it is time to acknowledge them. While gathering the courage to go public with the story of my immersion into the mystical and shamanic worlds, I would be dishonest if I didnt admit I still have lingering feelings of uncertainty about how several parts of my life will be received by people who know me in a different context. Others, I know, will take it in stride as they have had their own wonder-filled moments. For still others, I hope the example of my candor gives them greater courage to be who they are, in all the magical and mystical ways that are available for all of us, no matter how far outside the framework of their current convictions or belief system they may be led.

Except for my daughters and brother; teachers; friend Joan; and one other person, Will, the names of family members, friends, and colleagues have been changed for reasons of anonymity. Also, some time periods have been compressed.

I am extremely grateful for my two daughters, Nyssa and Callie, for choosing me to be their mom. The depth of love they have brought to my life and the personal accountability their lives have awakened in me have been enriching beyond anything I could have imagined.