Guiding the Journey: Facilitating Transformative Experiences

This course is part of the Sacred Centers Academy curriculum fulfilling the requirement for Course 202 for Sacred Centers Teachers.

Guiding the Journey: Facilitating Transformative Experiences invites practitioners into the subtle art of creating spaces where real change can unfold. This immersive workshop explores how awakening self‑awareness and opening to new perspectives can catalyze profound transformation. Through the integrated use of trance, movement, and ritual, you’ll learn to craft environments that support clients and students in stepping creatively into their full potential. With an emphasis on safety, containment, and depth, you’ll develop the skill to guide others through meaningful inner work while also engaging your own process. Whether you are a therapist, coach, or teacher, this training strengthens your ability to facilitate transformative experiences with clarity, confidence, and embodied presence.

Teachings are appropriate for healthcare professionals as well as the general public. Healthcare professionals will be able to incorporate the tools and practices offered in this program in ways beneficial to clients or patients.

In this week of honing your skills and gaining new tools, you will:

• Explore inner terrain, touching neglected parts of the self, deepening your understanding and ability to guide others into their inner experience
• Learn to work with group energy, balancing attention to individuals and the group experience
• Develop your ability to guide group and individual movement journeys and rituals for healing, growth, and celebration
• Gain an understanding of the ethical considerations involved in teaching and leading workshops, and in working with non-ordinary states of consciousness
• Learn to assist clients and students in creating a bridge between their experiences in a workshop or therapeutic setting and everyday life

Details

When: August 19 – August 23, 2026

9:30 am – 5:00 pm Wednesday, August 19 – Saturday, August 22, 2026

9:30 am – 1:30 pm Sunday, August 23, 2026

Where: The workshop takes place at Skyote Mountain on 73 acres of redwood, fir, oak, and madrone forest in the Santa Cruz mountains, 20 minutes north of Santa Cruz, 25 minutes south of San Jose.

Cost: $750 ($25 discount if you pay by check, Zelle, or Google Pay), which includes lunch each day.

Limited to 18 participants. Participants either commute locally or stay at accommodations nearby.

28 CE credits available--$100

To register, send email to selene@spiritmoving.com, and send $300 deposit (refundable until August 1)

Payment options:

Check: SpiritMoving, P.O. Box 1691, Santa Cruz, CA 95066

Zelle: selene@spiritmoving.com (use that email address rather than my phone number)

Google Pay, to selene@spiritmoving.com

Venmo: @spiritmoving

PayPal: paypal.me/SeleneVega

Learning Objectives

At the end of this program, participants will be better able to:

1. Describe creative self-efficacy.
2. Discuss the advantages of trance in increasing creative self-efficacy in approaching challenges and symptoms.
3. Explain the difference between content and context in group and individual sessions.
4. List six phases of ritual structure for sessions.
5. Describe the importance of attunement in facilitating change and growth.
6. List possible resources that clients and students may use for support in their inner explorations.
7. Utilize guided visualization and meditation to support clients and students in the process of healing and moving towards goals.
8. Structure individual and group rituals to provide meaningful connection with parts of themselves, each other, and their spirituality.
9. Describe the use of ritual, trance, and movement in individual and group practice.
10. Apply knowledge of ritual framework to sessions with students and clients.
11. Assess the response of clients and students to the guided activity.
12. Apply Erickson’s utilization principle in work with individuals and groups.
13. Demonstrate the use of complementarity and multiple possibilities to support self-exploration and solutions.
14. List three qualities important for facilitating sessions with individuals and groups.
15. Explain what psychological problems might be exacerbated by trance and for what conditions trance work might be contraindicated.
16. Apply techniques to support clients experiencing distress.

17. Describe the ethical considerations involved in teaching and leading workshops, and in working with non-ordinary states of consciousness.
18. Identify the issues that might create ethical challenges for the practitioner.
19. Design processes to support clients and students in integrating workshop insights into daily life.

Information on Continuing Education Credits (CECs) for Health Professionals (application is pending)