Protocols and Policies: The Sacred Container

When you come to a journey circle, class, or event, please be aware of these community policies and protocols. They help keep our events safe and sacred. If you have any questions or suggestions, please email us or discuss your thoughts with a member of the Leadership Council.

Protocols

The Shamanic Community of Austin cares about your safety and health. For some time, with the onset of Covid-19, we stopped our in-person circles and implemented an online Zoom circle, which turned into a very successful endeavor. This opened up our attendance not only to practitioners who were home-bound, but to people from all over the world.  Now that Covid has subsided,  and we are once again holding in-person Circles, we find that we must also continue our Zoom offerings to support this new audience. It is also important to recognize that the Covid era has taught us all some very important lessons about health safety and attendee wellbeing.

The following information is primarily intended for our in-person gatherings. However, some of this is also relevant to our online Zoom circles.

Event RSVPs
Please RSVP on Meetup with integrity. A solid headcount before each event helps us better plan and better serve the entire community.

Door Times
The door times for our regular events were established to set the energy and intention of the circle. They are also posted in the description of events. Please plan travel accordingly.

• Doors Open:  7:15 pm
• Circle Begins:  7:30 pm
• Doors Closed:  7:35 pm
• Setting the Circle:  7:35 pm
• Circle is Closed:  8:45 pm
• Social:  8:45-9:15 pm

Maintaining the Sacred Container
The first part of each circle and class is devoted to setting the circle. There are a series of practices to do so, including playing the flute (usually), calling the directions, the first round of drumming, and speaking your name into the circle. Once this is done, the Circle is considered to have awakened and is fully participating as a sacred container. At that point, if at all possible, please walk around the outside of the perimeter. This helps to maintain the energetic integrity of the Circle.

We also request that cell phones be turned off. Airplane mode will keep your phone from ringing; however, it does not stop any alarms that you might have set.

Studio Protocols
• Remove shoes and outerwear, and place them in bins located in the foyer
• Keep doors in the foyer closed
• Keep voices low and do what you can to be in a place of reverence

Policies

Please make yourself familiar with these important community policies.

• Code of Conduct
• Use of Personal Information

Here is a video addressing the issue of Boundaries and Personal Space from the Shamanic Passages YouTube Channel.