"What we are hungry for in the Western world is a reanimation of spirit." ~ Prof. Stephen Cavitt The shaman enters the dream-like state to bring back wisdom, guidance, and healing. There are many ways to navigate the multiple layers of reality. One of those ways is the drum. Many shamanic traditions use the hypnotic beat of the drum to induce a shamanic journey into altered states of consciousness. Stephen Cavitt was called to explore the shamanic teachings while in university also studying creative writing and poetry. What do these two very different areas of study have in common? For him, both shamanic healing and creative writing bring closer contact with the sacred in this world. The shamans believe that everything has a spirit with which we can connect and communicate, everything is alive, everything is sacred. For poetry, the whole goal is to express that which is beyond this physical world. In his academic life, he now teaches English at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in Fort Myers, Florida. As a healer in the shamanic tradition, he performs individual sessions and group workshops. Join Dr. Joel Ying and Prof. Stephen Cavitt as they explore the shamanic teachings, the spirit of the drum, and the ceremony of drum-making workshops. Interested in a drum-making workshop? Contact Stephen Cavitt at [email protected]. In this interview … * What is a shaman? * Learn how the drum can induce the dream-state of the shamanic journey. * Discover the spirit of the drum. Living the Present Moment – the Podcast Interview Series “People of Passion and Purpose, Doing Interesting Things, Living the Present Moment” Recorded: Wed Jun 12, 2019; Released: Mon Oct 28, 2019 Background Music: (public domain) Happy African Village by John Bartmann