There are times in each life where we come to a crossroads—where something stops us in our tracks, and where we cannot move forward within the same story we have been living.
Before we are able to enter a new story, we must first navigate the passage out of the old. In between the old and the new, there is an empty space. It is a time when the lessons and learnings of the old story are integrated. Only when that work has been done is the old story really complete. And only then are we able to write the new story that is ours to step into.
The Sacred Storywork Program is intended to help you navigate the journey from the old story to the new, connect you more deeply with who you truly are, and remember the older, bigger story of you.
"There is a story wanting to come through every life, a story that connects backwards through time to our ancestors, our chthonic place, down to our bones, which are the bones of the earth itself."
-Toko-pa Turner
What’s Included
The Sacred Storywork Program is an in-depth exploration of your story through writing and ritual.
Story has the power to shape who and what we think we are, and how we see the world. My prayer is that this program will re-connect you with the powerful story that your soul came here to share.
Opening and closing circles for preparation and integration
Guiding through 7 Rituals, each specific to the wisdom teachings of the sacred direction we face that week
Beautiful 14-page workbook filled with inspiring quotes, teachings, journal prompts and exploratory exercises to expand on our sessions each week
Presence, compassion, encouragement and playfulness to accompany you as you journey through the exploration of your story
Land-Based Ritual + Journal Explorations + Map of the Medicine Wheel + Storytelling + Lineage Work + Grief Ritual + Ancestral Connection + Fire Ritual + Medicine Walk + Nature Connection
In this program you will…
Learn about the Medicine Wheel and the 7 sacred directions
Deepen your relationship and comfortability with ritual and ceremony that is relevant to you
Strengthen your ability to access your deep truth and soul’s wisdom
Build your relationship with your ancestral lineage and the larger story you’re a part of
Expand your connection with nature and the unseen
Integrate the lessons and challenges from your experience and release what no longer serves you
Be able to tell the story of who you are and what you’ve been through from an expanded, empowered and inspired place
Why This Program?
Hi, I’m Mandy. I was born Amanda Virginia on the lands of the Arapaho, Cheyenne and Ute in Denver, Colorado. I, myself, am a granddaughter of a complicated lineage with a story that is messy and full of shocking and sometimes painful twists and turns. And yet, I love my story as it has now brought me here to this place of exploring what it’s all about with you.
The Sacred Storywork Program is a creation that is more than 20 years in the making—a coming together of ceremony and ritual, writing, rites of passage and coming into relationship with the meaning of it all and the more than human world.
I created this program out of a need I felt as I moved through my own recovery from traumatic events that have shaped my life, and the inevitable questions that arise when we move through challenging passages. I created this program as a way to take control where we can—in the perspective we have and the meaning we make from the way our stories unfold.
“There is a prayer that lives in the center of your heart. If you pray it, it will change your life. How does it begin?”
How the Program Works
For eight weeks, we will meet as a small group in North Boulder, Colorado to explore our sacred stories through land based ritual following an ancient map of the 7 sacred directions. Here’s an overview.
THE MAP
The Sacred Storywork Program is an in-depth exploration of your story through writing and ritual. We will follow an ancient map, a map followed by nearly every Indigenous culture across the planet—the map of the 7 Sacred Directions or the Medicine Wheel.
The program includes a beautiful 14-page workbook with journal prompts, worksheets and additional exploratory exercises that will be yours to keep.
Weekly Overview
Featured
Your Guides for this Program
Mandy Bishop
Mandy is a ritual artist, nature-based mentor and guide, and also the founder of Old Ways Wisdom—a place where ritual art, ancestral skills, and Sacred Storywork weave together to bring us back into relationship with ourselves, the land, and the wisdom of our ancestors.
Mandy has a deep relationship with and life-long apprenticeship to the power of story and the wisdom of the land. For most of her life, Mandy has been intimately involved with the ways of her ancestors in many forms, including foraging wild foods, wildcrafting medicines, weaving baskets and making fire. Being involved in ceremony and ritual is a foundational part of Mandy’s life. Outside of guiding and teaching, Mandy fills her days with homesteading, tattooing gourds, playing with fire, and adventuring in the wilderness.
Eve Ellis
Eve is a licensed professional counselor, trained in Wilderness Therapy, Transpersonal Counseling, Grief Counseling, Play Therapy and Equine Therapy. Eve is invested in empowerment; empowerment of the individual, of the system, of the herd. Eve deeply believes that we all possess an innate and primal intelligence. In her work she strives for change and growth, and she finds that the work she does with nature and neuroscience creates movement through rewiring and regulated actions.
Eve believes in working with the whole system and embracing our fears and accomplishments equally. She works with a light touch, both with nature and humans, because she believes that we can gently shift our perspectives and find healing when we are naturally inclined towards health.
Who is this for?
this program is for:
Anyone who wants to expand their idea of who they are and what their life is about through story, ritual and writing
Anyone who needs to make meaning of the experiences they’ve been through so that they can be more integrated, trusting and clear
Folks open to ritual exploration and deepening connection with the natural world and spiritual realms
Those ready to open their minds and creatively explore their story in new and different ways
People who are ready to dive into themselves and internally explore who they are
Folks who are able to dedicate time and energy to this exploration
Those who are willing to move beyond the limited story they’ve been told about themselves or the world
This program is not a good fit for:
Folks who are not able to dedicate 3-4 hours per week towards this work (including sessions) for the eight weeks. This is an intensive program that takes you through quite a journey and is full of insights, revelations, creativity and new understandings. It requires a certain amount of bandwidth—both in terms of time and space.
Those who want to learn a dogmatic approach to ritual, or prefer to be told how to do it “right”. While we create enough structure with the rituals to give context and a sense of support, we approach ritual from a curious, open place, always listening for where you are being guided. We hold the strong conviction that you are the wisdom-keeper of what’s most needed for you.
Those that secretly want to stay in the comfort zone of their old familiar stories. You will not be able to see yourself or your story the same at the end of this program. So if you don’t want your mind to be blown and your sense of self to shift, best not to sign up.
Participant reviews
“Working with story had a huge impact on me. I was really struggling after a breakup and Mandy led me through a process of looking at what had happened through different perspectives. Even though they were remote sessions, we both met in nature and her guidance led me to completely change the way I was seeing not only this story of my relationship ending, but also how I was seeing myself. ”
“Mandy guided me with a steady hand, an open heart, a great and ancestral wisdom. Mandy has become a wisdom keeper / Elder at her young age because of the hard gritty road she has walked and recovered from and found her gifts in. I would send my best friends to Mandy. Blessing to this kind soul, who met me on the path of my life and showed up for me when I really needed someone to show up.”
“Mandy’s skillful guidance and nurturing presence are unavoidably healing to be around. She knew exactly how facilitate connection with ourselves and our surroundings, make space for new discoveries, and make time to integrate what we learned. Through her eyes, the forests and stones speak clearly and truth emerges easily. She is a healer in every way, and I feel so grateful to have walked alongside her.”
“The stories of our life have a gravitational pull that will demand that we address the unfinished business that lingers there. It is essential that we keep these stories in front of us, becoming fully conscious of them and sharing them with others. Only in this way can their weight draw us into the world and farther into life.”
I truly believe that some of the most important work we can do for ourselves and our communities is to tell our stories.
Just through the process of being human, we forget who we are. We get disillusioned about who we are. We get knocked down and turned around, and sometimes start to believe a story about ourselves or the world that keeps us locked into a certain size, a certain feeling, a certain way of being. If we truly want to change and help inspire change in the world, we have to be willing to share who we are, shed who we thought we were, and write a bigger story, a more ancient story, a story that allows us to step into the truth of who and what we really are.
Our stories have the potential to change the world, and here we get to remember that we are the storytellers.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The group Sacred Storywork Program is held in North Boulder, Colorado, in between Boulder and Lyons, in the foothills on some beautiful private land. It’s about a 10 min drive from Boulder.
As our ritual sessions are all land based, we will be meeting outdoors for all of our 8 sessions. Please be prepared for spending 3 hours each evening out of doors.
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Our weekly sessions are scheduled for 3 hours, from 4pm - 7pm.
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We will be limiting this group to 6 participants in order to keep our experience intimate and contained. This will probably fill up quickly so be sure to apply if you would like to join us!
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I recommend allotting around 4-5 hours per week for our 8-weeks together. This time includes about 3 hours per week for our sessions, plus additional time for journal writing and additional exploratory exercises or personal rituals in nature.
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No! This is a creative exploration for anybody interested in discovering more about themselves, no matter what your background is.
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We know life comes up and there are times where you might have to miss a session. That being said, this is a closed container series and when you sign up you are signing up for all 8 sessions as scheduled. Unfortunately, we are not able to make up any sessions you might have to miss.
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We are currently working on a plan to be able to offer financial aid and scholarships for future offerings. At this time we do offer payment plans which we can discuss upon request.
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If you’re interested in joining this 8-week group, the first step is to complete an application. From there, I will get in touch with you to go over any questions, get payment squared away and get prepared to dive in together!
Simply apply here to get started.
Do you have any other questions that weren’t addressed here? Please feel free to contact me and ask.