Women of Spirit

In times past women of spirit were the mediators between the seen and unseen worlds. They were knowledgeable in the healing arts, midwifery, nutrition, human behavior, community development and spiritualism. Patriarchal terrorism has contributed to the current imbalance of the feminine and masculine principles through the imposition of a gender-based power structure that supports male privilege at the expense of women and children. What has resulted is a culture of trauma grounded in internalized psychosocial and physical oppression and the concomitant behaviors of racism, sexism, classism, adultism and spiritual intolerance.

Purpose

To facilitate women on their journey of personal and spiritual empowerment through the use of various complimentary alternative health, psychological and spiritual systems.

Process

1. The creation of workshops designed to provide women with information and practical techniques in alternative healing modalities such as Reiki, Acupuncture, Somatic Experiencing, Herbal Medicine, Holistic Nutrition, Storytelling, and the Creative Arts, that when used, will enable them to continually access their own personal power and symbol systems. Potential workshops would include:

The Power of Myth: Honoring Women from All Cultures
Introduction of Meditation
Creative Visualization
Accessing Your Archetype
Sonic Meditation
Drumming: The Heartbeat of the Mother
Introduction to Vibrational Medicine: Reiki, Acupuncture, Cranial Sacral
Movement & Breathing
Mirrors
Creative Arts Expression - Dramatics, Visual Arts, Photography, Writing
Jungian Dream work
The Creation & Use of Mandalas
Nutrition & Herbalism 101

2. The creation of various study circles designed to provide women with an intellectual context for exploring the following:

Cultural symbol systems;
Belief systems and their impact on gender, race, and social roles;
The socio-economic and political context for women past and present; and,
Multicultural archetypes, personal mythology and uses in daily living.

3. The development of Rites of Passage for girls and women that facilitates the integration of new symbol systems, and the birth of coherent strategies for the continual transmission of humanistic values. These programs would include:

Maiden, Mother and Wise Women Circles that ritually and ceremonially acknowledge the primary changes in the lives of girls and women;
Red Tent Days that offer experiences in self care, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually; and,
Public Programs that offer educational and social experiences to/for the community at large, and which would function as a form of public relations.

Odyssey Quest, Inc., is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) that offers holistic and integrative health care interventions, multi-cultural spiritual counseling, clinical services, and preventative educational strategies to individuals and families through educational programs and conferences, wellness programs, consulting services, training workshops, community forums and discussion groups.