NATURAL BORN SHAMANS

Imelda Almqvist is a wonderful author and teacher of Sacred Art, Shamanism, and Norse Shamanism. Her ways, inspired from dreams and nature, bring profound reflections and revelations. She is a treasure, and her books and workshop uplift and benefit the world. Reading “Natural Born Shamans: A Spiritual Toolkit for Life” would be the most important Rite of Passage if I were Queen of Education.

- Barbara Haas, shamanic teacher, US

"Our children are often our greatest teachers!" 

This book changed my life forever!

 

Take any chance to learn with Imelda Almqvist- one of the wisest, most thorough, inspiring, knowledgeable and entirely committed teachers I have ever known. I would encourage anyone to take her courses as an opportunity for some deep learning which will translate into excellent tools for navigating our current landscape.

 

- Katharine Haworth, UK

 

In 2016 I published a book titled Natural Born Shamans.

It took only ten weeks to write because the book is based on years of teaching notes (for spiritual toolkit work with children) and detailed email replies I had sent out to parents (and people who work with children).

I decided to make all material available in one place (and stop spending hours a week writing detailed emails). Instead I now direct people to the book.

My own first teachers were teachers of core shamanism. At the time of me attending these courses most people followed a firms statement made by Michael Harner (author of The Way of the Shaman) "that we should never teach shamanism to children". This became quite a barrier, or even a taboo.

I believe that he meant this kindly: that children (still) have the natural and intuitive connection to all things spiritual that is conditioned out of us adults.

When I started intense shamanic training, my own three children were 8, 6 and 4 years old. When I came home from shamanic practitioner training modules they would teach me the masterclass!

International Teacher, Author, Painter and Forest Witch in Europe and Globally

Between 2012 and 2019 I ran a spiritual program for children, tweens and teens called The Time Travelers. 

The concept was helping children develop a valid spiritual toolkit. This means that the guidance always came from their own connection to spirit (helping allies and ancestors) but I would hold sacred space, put some context around material and help the children create tools that would stand the test of time and give a handle on everyday situations.

Some of our most favourite sessions took place at our local Victorian cemetery (Nunhead Cemetery, a "sister" of the more famous Highgate Cemetery here in London).

The children really enjoyed engaging with the subject of death and seemed free of the pathological fear of death that paralyses most adults. One boy said famously: "Oh, so we all get recycled!"

Other favourites were shadow work (it is generally pretty hard to engage adults in this!) and ancestral healing work. We also did an introduction to shamanic healing work and the children said "that they loved having X-ray eyes and walking through each other's bodies!"

 

 

Book synopsis on my publisher's website:

Natural Born Shamans - A Spiritual Toolkit for Life covers all aspects of performing spiritual or shamanic work with children and young people. It is aimed at anyone who has an interest in young people and their spiritual journey, and covers all age groups from “in utero” until age 18+.


The book explains what shamanic parenting is and describes ways of doing spirit-led work, even with both unborn babies and spirit children (after miscarriage, abortion or early death). It also provides 30 “tried and tested” session plans for people looking for inspiration and “where to start”.

 

 

 FREE WEBINAR!

NATURAL BORN SHAMANS PANDEMIC

This FREE mini workshop was dedicated to helping children and families build a shamanic toolkit for navigating the Covid- 19 Pandemic

 POST COVID-19 PANDEMIC

‘If the young are not initiated in the tribe, they will burn down the village just to feel its warmth.' - African Proverb

Have you ever considered being a mentor or “safe person” for a child?

I often lie in bed at night, kept awake by the meteoric rise in mental health statistics for children and young people. I see a cross-section (or microscopic “slice”) of that in the emails I personally receive. I am painfully aware that (even) Western governments, of the most wealthy countries, will never allocate the amount of funding that is really needed to reach all young people who live with a serious mental health issue. After much soul-searching I have arrived at the conclusion that a (voluntary) mentoring system with supervision and safeguarding built in is our only realistic option.

READ THE FULL ESSAY

 

 

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