Live Touch for Two Couples Night in Phoenix

Come Join Us For the next Live Touch for Two Couple’s Night

An elegant evening of guided sensuous Touch for couples.

When? August 20th 7:30 - 11 pm

Where? near 40th Street & Shea, Phoenix

Cost? $69 Per Couple

Contact: shyena1@gmail.com

Register now, only a few spaces left.

What is Touch for Two?

Read More: touch-for-two-flyer-1

FREE conference call CELEBRATING Quodoushka

You are invited to a FREE conference call
CELEBRATING Quodoushka

Spiritual Sexuality from the Shamanic Traditions

Thursday evening • July 1, 2010 • 7 - 8 pm (Pacific time)
****************************************************************
ALL WELCOME • Q graduates too!

Your hosts are Q facilitators
Amara Charles & Mukee Breezes Love

CLICK HERE for all details about how to join the call
http://www.audioacrobat.com/note/Cjzhtk0s/

****************************************************************
What is Chuluaqui Quodoushka all about?
How can it make a difference for you in your everyday world?

And for your vitality, your passion and well-being?
Your happiness? Your aliveness and fulfillment in all relationships?

How can you be in daily energy gain rather than energy loss?

What is the difference between Tantra and Quodoushka?

When are the next Q programs available?
Q1 for singles and couples in
San Diego, Quodoushka 1 July 8 - 11,  2010.

Enjoy an informative and fun conversation.
And have your questions answered too!

In beauty, Amara

CALL TIME ZONES for JULY 1
Pacific time: 7 - 8 pm
AZ Mountain time: 7 - 8 pm
Mountain time: 8 - 9 pm
Central time: 9 - 10 pm
Eastern time: 10 - 11 pm

CLICK HERE for all details about how to join the call
http://www.audioacrobat.com/note/Cjzhtk0s/

Quodoushka Spiritual Sexuality Workshop San Diego

QUODOUSHKA
A Shamanic Approach to
Spiritual Sexuality

A transformative workshop of shamanic teachings, guided exercises and ceremonial experiences for singles and couples.

Imagine that sex is natural, sacred and beautiful.

July 8 - 11 for singles & couples
Thursday evening – Sunday evening

Early Registration extended to June 11
Experience how the gift of your sexuality is your most powerful resource for full self expression,
health, hope, happiness, harmony and humor.

The first level of Quodoushka is all about you!  Your own sexuality and how this incredible “catalyst” energy is
actually life itself.  Through the shamanic wisdom of an ancient Matriarchal Medicine Society you will learn about energy
laws that govern everything we do, starting with the beauty and power of your own sexual energy.

Through your understanding that male and female sexual energy is the source of all creation and inspiration, you will learn
how to apply the power of this in your everyday life for gains in your happiness, humor, hope, health and harmony. As you
learn how to raise your sexual energy you’ll discover the gateway to connection and spirit – and even come to understand
that your sexuality can become your natural blissful path towards enlightenment. Illuminated teachings take you on a
journey of discovery of all the levels and elemental types of orgasm. Discover how your inner elemental balance
determines how you experience them. You’ll discover what is your own “genital sense of self” and learn how that
influences your personal experience of pleasure and patterns of living.

Please register me for: Quodoushka 1, July 8 - 11, Q1

o Individual $695         o Paid in full by June 4 $595

o Couple $1300          o Paid in full by June 4 $1150

o  Q1 GRADUATES SPECIAL & SMSD Apprentices: $495 paid in full by June 4  $395.

please print: Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Email. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    o MC    o Visa    o Check o Money order

Card No. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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3 #security code . . . . . . . . . . . . Signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Billing address zip code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . total $:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Send payment in full or a deposit of $100 (US) per person to:
Spirit Fire Productions, PO Box 22133, Phoenix, AZ 85028

Make checks payable to Spirit Fire Productions.
Registration is limited and subject to confirmation.
Specific location and all the information you will need to attend will be given upon registration.

CANCELLATION POLICY:
You must notify us 10 days before the event. There is a $100 fee for office expenses.
Within 10 days, it is $250 non-refundable.
$100 nonrefundable when you notify us more than 10 days before the event. Within 10 days it is $250.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
AMARA  602.765.9551 • amaracharles123@gmail.com

YOUR FACILIATORS:

AMARA CHARLES Keeps the Fire has been an apprentice of the Sweet Medicine SunDance Path of
Turtle Island since 1987. She has traveled teaching Quodoushka Sexuality workshops internationally for
over twenty years. Amara is the author of Sexual Agreements, Aching to Open and Erotic Touch for
Two. From 1993-2000 she helped establish the Red Lodge Yearlong shamanic ceremonial program for
the Deer Tribe Métis Medicine Society and has led teen Rites of Passage, Wondercamp and Vision
Quest programs for many years. She is the founder of Nourishing Arts, providing courses in Shamanic
sexuality and Taoist Sexual Arts. www.nourishingarts.com

MUKEE OKAN Breezes Love: aka Your Orgasm’s Best Friend. Originally from Australia, Mukee is a
Quodoushka spiritual sexuality teacher and guide in the Twisted Hairs tradition. Her foundation is in the
essence of Tantra, since initiation in 1984. Mukee is also a surrogate partner therapist in the western
medical model since 1995. She facilitates sexuality programs internationally. She loves to share how
your life-force energy fuels your full self expression of your energy, creativity and abundance. Her
presence inspires you to open to your natural erotic intelligence and surrender to your infinite orgasmic
nature and capacity for pleasure. She is also the founder of Wisdom Women and a tantra artist.
www.spiritfireproductions.com

MICHAEL STEIN Star Mountain, NLP, C. Ht. has been a member of the Quodoushka teaching team for
13 years. He is a Sweet Medicine SunDance Path apprentice. Michael has served as a trainer for the
Men’s Health Teaching Group of the UNC Chapel Hill Medical School and has been a guest presenter
for the American Association of Sexuality Educators Counselors and Therapists. Michael is a Certified
Trainer of NLP, an Ericksonian style hypnotist and a master storyteller. For the past 25 years he has
been facilitating team-building programs for corporations and organizations. He is based in Chapel Hill,
NC.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: AMARA  602 820 4661  • amaracharles123@gmail.com
MUKEE 602.482.9691 • mukee@spiritfireproductions.com
PLAN  TO ATTEND NOW AND SAVE • nonresidential in a private home
Individual $695: paid in full by June 4. $595 • Couple $1300: June 4 .$1150 • Q1 GRADUATES SPECIAL and
SMSD Apprentices: $495 pd in full byJune 4 $395. (Visa/MC/checks to Spirit Fire)

Send payment in full or a deposit of $100 (US) per person to: Spirit Fire, PO Box 22133,  Phoenix, AZ 85028

Quodoushka Spiritual Sexuality Workshop, Phoenix Jan 14-17

Imagine that sex is natural, sacred and beautiful.

A Shamanic Approach to  Spiritual Sexuality.
A transformative series of shamanic teachings, guided exercises
and ceremonial experiences.

For singles & couples

Phoenix, Arizona

January 14-17, 2010

Thursday afternoon – Sunday evening

QUODOUSHKA 1 : What it’s all about:

Experience how the gift of your sexuality is your most
powerful resource for full self expression, health, hope,
happiness, harmony and humor.

The first level of Quodoushka is all about you!  Your own sexuality and how this incredible “catalyst” energy is
actually life itself.  Through the shamanic wisdom of an ancient Matriarchal Medicine Society you will learn about energy
laws that govern everything we do, starting with the beauty and power of your own sexual energy.

Through an your understanding that male and female sexual energy is the source of all creation and inspiration, you will learn how to gain sexual health, hope, happiness, harmony and humor.  As you learn how to raise your sexual energy you’ll discover the gateway to connection and spirit – and even come to understand that your sexuality can become your natural blissful path towards enlightenment. These remarkable ancient teachings take you on a journey of self discovery of all the levels and types of orgasms. You’ll discover what is your own “genital sense of self” and learn how to bring greater pleasure and knowledge into your entire life.

YOUR FACILIATORS:

AMARA CHARLES

Amara Keeps the Fire has been an apprentice of the Sweet Medicine SunDance Path of
Turtle Island since 1987. She has traveled teaching Quodoushka Sexuality workshops internationally for
over twenty years. Amara is the author of Sexual Agreements, Aching to Open and Erotic Touch for
Two. From 1993-2000 she helped establish the Red Lodge Yearlong shamanic ceremonial program for
the Deer Tribe Métis Medicine Society and has led teen Rites of Passage, Wondercamp and Vision
Quest programs for many years. She is the founder of Nourishing Arts, providing courses in Shamanic
sexuality and Taoist Sexual Arts. www.nourishingarts.com

MUKEE OKAN Breezes Love: aka Your Orgasm’s Best Friend. Originally from Australia, Mukee is a
Quodoushka spiritual sexuality teacher and guide in the Twisted Hairs tradition. Her foundation is in the
essence of Tantra, since initiation in 1984. Mukee is also a surrogate partner therapist in the western
medical model since 1995. She facilitates sexuality programs internationally. She loves to share how
your life-force energy fuels your full self expression of your energy, creativity and abundance. Her
presence inspires you to open to your natural erotic intelligence and surrender to your infinite orgasmic
nature and capacity for pleasure. She is also the founder of Wisdom Women and a tantra artist.
www.spiritfireproductions.com

MICHAEL STEIN Star Mountain, NLP, C. Ht. has been a member of the Quodoushka teaching team for
13 years. He is a Sweet Medicine SunDance Path apprentice. Michael has served as a trainer for the
Men’s Health Teaching Group of the UNC Chapel Hill Medical School and has been a guest presenter
for the American Association of Sexuality Educators Counselors and Therapists. Michael is a Certified
Trainer of NLP, an Ericksonian style hypnotist and a master storyteller. For the past 25 years he has
been facilitating team-building programs for corporations and organizations. He is based in Chapel Hill,
NC.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

AMARA  602.765.9551 • amara@nourishingarts.com

MUKEE 602.482.9691 • mukee@spiritfireproductions.com
PLAN  TO ATTEND NOW AND SAVE!

• nonresidential in a private home

Individual $695: paid in full by Dec 1 $595 • Couple $1300: paid in full by Dec 1 $1150

• Q1 GRADUATES SPECIAL and SMSD Apprentices: $495 paid in full Dec 1  $395. (Visa/MC/checks to Spirit Fire)

Send payment in full or a deposit of $100 (US) per person to: Spirit Fire, PO Box 22133,  Phoenix, AZ 85028

Register me NOW for Quodoushka 1

January 14 - 17, 2010

SEE REGISTRATION BELOW

What Q Graduates Have to Say . . .
I’ve done all kinds of transformative work. Nothing has given me the kind of direct access to my naturally
powerful, loving self like the Q1. I recommend this course for any human being who knows there is more to
their lives and power than their traditional‚ western education. The Q1 beautifully captures, conveys, and
makes available to western ears what sages have said about sacred sexuality without being abstract or weird.
Thank you for the gift of my true sacred sexual self! C. Lambert, Consultant, Phoenix, AZ (Jan Q1 2006)

I have been engaged in personal and spiritual exploration and growth for many years and have taken many
courses, workshops and seminars. While most of these have been effective, the Q1 went right to my core. It is
intuitive and true and has helped me discover much about myself. I have a new freedom and a wide new world
to explore  and grow. It is my new path for growth and I look forward to the next teaching. Willy Korp,
Information Systems Engineer, Phoenix, AZ
An essential life training for all human beings whatever  age. A much needed teaching to clean up the
current mess/confusion around the whole area of sex/sexuality in society. I will be suggesting to my
daughters that they attend Q1 as a basic life skills/education program. An essential teaching for all
couples in relationship, entering relationship or exiting relationship. Plus, much more. Words cannot
describe the importance of this teaching to mankind. Bruce Irvine, Company  Director, Auckland,
New Zealand

Having over 30 years completed a myriad of workshops, this is by far the most powerful useful‚
workshop for embodiment of a joyful blissful life.    Diane Ryan, Psychotherapist, Brisbane, Australia

One of the most profound sexual healing trainings I’ve done. The usefulness and integrity of the
material is a great gift. Anna Marti, Sexual Intimacy Coach, Seattle,  USA
My sexuality exploded this weekend.  I saw more, learned more, felt more, experienced more than I
ever have in my life! Alene, facilitator, Prescott, AZ, USA

I was completely moved by this experience. My sexuality has been reawakened. I feel as though a
weight has been lifted as a result of the healing that occurred here. I feel alive and energized. Peggy Hedstrom, Executive Director, Calgary, Canada (Jan Q1 2006)

Truly an amazing weekend. Profound is not enough of a word to describe these teachings. World
leaders should all be required to go through this in order to lead the human race.
Jim, business owner, LA,  USA

WHAT I ENJOYED THE MOST . . .

What I feared most gave me access to my greatest joy and passion . . .

The staff were impeccable – their love, humility, generosity, wisdom and magic allowed miracles to become the natural expression of life . . .

Openness . . .

The slow safe way that the container was created . . .

I felt very served, provided for and supported . . .

Loving kindness . . .

Professionalism, intellect, fun, energetic, kindness . . .

I greatly appreciate the immaculate and high level of intellect and spirituality . . .

The sacred honoring space that was created for healing and actualization . . .

The energy generated and the (several) totally unexpected revelations about my individual space in this universe . . .

Extremely professional . . .

A tremendous amount of wisdom which was shared in a beautiful ceremonial way . . .

No other experience in my life has accelerated my personal journey towards being sexualy fulfilled  . . .

A beautiful safe space which allows me to heal the past, explore the present and look forward to my future journey within my sexuality and expression . . .

These teachings are an exquisitely beautiful and profound experience. I am so deeply touched and grateful to those teachers who share this knowledge with such beauty and respect.

REGISTER NOW AND SAVE

o Individual $695         o Paid in full by December 1 $595

o Couple $1300          o Paid in full by December 1 $1150

o  Q1 GRADUATES SPECIAL & SMSD Apprentices: $495 paid in full by December 1   $395.

Please print:

Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Address
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
State . . . . . . . .  Zip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Ph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Email. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
o MC    o Visa    o Check o Money order
Card No. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Expiration date. . . . . . . . . . . Print name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3 #security code . . . . . . . . . . . . Signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Billing address zip code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . total $:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Send payment in full or a deposit of $100 (US) per person to:
Spirit Fire Productions, PO Box 22133, Phoenix, AZ 85028
Make checks payable to Spirit Fire Productions.
Registration is limited and subject to confirmation.
Specific location and all the information you will need to attend will be given upon registration.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
You must notify us 10 days before the event. There is a $100 fee for office expenses.
Within 10 days, it is $250 non-refundable.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
AMARA CHARLES 602.765.9551 • amara@nourishingarts.com or aliltiger@cox.net

The Next Q1 in Phoenix:  July 16 – 19 2010

The Tenacity of Hope; Massai meets Quodoushka for Sexual Healing

While every Quodoushka that I have taught has been a remarkably healing experience, once every twenty years or so, something truly extraordinary happens…

I’ll start by explaining how two Massai women from a rural village in Kenya managed to attend a Quodoushka in Phoenix Arizona. In 2007, Annetta Luce, a friend I met during an Australian “Q,” volunteered to go to Africa to work and live with a local family. After returning to the U.S., she was later contacted by Jane, a woman from the same Kenyan village who was now in Philadelphia, seeking asylum to remain in the USA.

Jane is the mother of three children, including a 12-year old daughter, Esther. Like all women in the Massai tribe, Jane was “cut” as a child, near the same age as her own daughter and soon thereafter pledged by her father into an arranged marriage.

I must admit, I had heard about the “cut,” a primitive form of female genital mutilation. I read that it is done by women who, to this day, physically hold down the young girls, cut off their clitorises with a knife and then pour cow’s urine over the open wound. Yes, I knew of this gory insanity, but it seemed like yet another God-awful, far-away, unsolvable problem - that is, until Jane came into my living room.

I was immediately smitten by the grace of her quiet, yet formidable determination to prevent her daughter from suffering a similar fate. I was floored by her audacity to stand up against tribal elders, to rebel against the bondage and beatings, to earn the money, to overcome anything that would dare stand in the way of her love for her daughter ...and her intelligence. You see, according to Massai custom, if the mother is alive, but not physically in the village, the elders may not perform the “cut.” By seeking asylum here, refusing to return to Kenya, she forestalls the process.

As I share the details of Jane’s story, I must explain that I have had but a brief glimpse of a complex situation and I make no claims to understand the nuances of Massai customs or culture. It wasn’t my idea for Jane to come to a Quodoushka - it was her idea. She told the story of her daughter at our Tigress Moon Woman’s Group, heard about the Q and promptly decided she would attend with Agnes, a Massai friend living in the US who also managed to escape after being beaten for refusing as a girl, to marry a sixty year old man.

Unfortunately, their stories are not unique and escapes are rare.

The Quodoushka
There are times as a teacher when you are not sure who is teaching who. We all inevitably fell in love with Jane and Agnes. Gradually, without pomp or proclamation in front of the group, during shy personal conversations with each of them, we realized the cultural tsunami that was occurring in our midst.

First, they tell me that if I had been seen wearing what I wore at the Q in their Massai village I would be speared. (Hey, it was just a pair of red chaps…)

As we begin, I ask Jane, “Are you nervous?”

She replies with a dead pan, flat, “No.”

Heck, I think, everyone else is completely nervous starting a sex workshop so I ask, “Jane, why is it you are not nervous?”

With the same calm she replies, “I do not know what will happen.”

I am quickly reminded of my suburban upbringing… With what this woman has endured, a sex workshop? Piece of cake.

This is not to say that there wasn’t a constant stream of nuclear revelations going on for both of them behind the scenes.

Both Jane and Agnes were dutifully trained into absolute modesty of dress. No legs showing, never any knees. Exposed shoulders? Cause for arrest. To witness Jane and Agnes dancing sweetly, yet openly in a roomful of people dressed in the sheer, feather garnished silky gowns they borrowed from Annetta, was a private spectacle as great as Niagara Falls pouring into the Great Lakes. By mid-workshop, Jane and Agnes were slipping into feminine finery, the likes of which they had never, never imagined enjoying. Agnes, a twenty-eight year old woman, had never seen a naked man in her life, let alone a white man.

It was only after the workshop, while talking to Agnes, that I began to more fully comprehend the enormity of sexual education that was completely missing for them. Once again, Agnes became my teacher:

“It is because the women and men have no idea of how to give each other pleasure,” she explains. “What happens in my country: the men can go and get as many wives as they want, as long as they have a cow to give, they can get another wife. A man is with a woman, she does not know anything about what he needs, and she does not even have the idea to give him pleasure. The man has no idea of pleasing a woman. It is not that we are ignorant. We do not know. We do not know about pleasure and sex. It is very confusing. A woman gives birth to children. She will love her children, but she does not love the father. Because the man knows no pleasure, he goes and gets another wife, and then another, and then another. He will find maybe 6 wives. Sooner or later one will return with AIDS, and then the family dies. It is all because no one knows any pleasure.”

“Obviously, the men are not happy with this situation?” I ask.

“Of course not,” she says. “No one is happy; no one feels any pleasure at all. People come to our village with the same programs. They talk about AIDS. They talk about condoms. They do the same things over and over but what is going on does not change. No one, no one ever talks about what we are learning here. No one talks about the pleasure or the beauty sex is supposed to be.”

“Do you mean that you have never learned to give pleasure to a man?” I ask.

“It never occurred to me that you could do that.”

“Do you pleasure your self?” I ask, further astounded.

“No,” she and Jane giggle to each other. “It doesn’t occur to us to do that.”

“You know, in this we are much the same,” I say. “Women and men rarely get an education from anyone about how to be with each other. They are not taught how to respect, listen to, or communicate about their sexual needs and desires. Even with our so-called freedom here, still people fight, get divorces and cannot get along sexually because they have not learned how to communicate about their most intimate, natural sexual feelings.”

Agnes nods, “Yes. In this we are sisters. Our lives are very different, but the pain is the same pain. I see women here in this workshop feel sad because they do not understand what their men need, and I see men who are confused about how to be with their women. But they are trying to learn, and this is the difference.”

The Cut
In the past, whenever I heard stories about cutting off clits, a deep cringe would sink into my own pussy. My whole lower body would wobble in disbelief as the outrage would lift to my brain and tears would swell in my heart.  So, when Jane and then Agnes wanted to know what type of sexual anatomy they were, we privately went into a room to have a look. Bold they were - they wanted to know!

We joyfully wanted to see, to share a moment of supreme sisterhood, to behold and witness each others’ most sacred place. There is only one word I can use to describe gazing at the opening of their delicate flowers: Beautiful.

“Beautiful” is the word that kept cascading from my lips. And then “Wow. We are all so beautiful.”

In truth, I was not sure what I would see, but in that instant all my condensed presumptions collapsed.  While their clitorises were indeed gone, replaced with smooth, healed skin, everything else was entirely intact. It reminded me of seeing a circumcised man. While surely something is forever gone, what remains is certainly beautiful, functional. And still deserves and desires as much pleasure as possible.

Agnes, Jane and I later laugh together, “I think people are a lot like weeds. You can try to cut them down, pull them out from cracks in the sidewalks, but we are hardy and we are going to grow some how. Our sexual energy is like this too, resilient.

The Real Stuff
We continued our girl talk as we started to get to the things I really wanted to know.

“Do you still feel pleasure?” I ask, fascinated to understand the real stuff women feel.

Demurely looking to the ground Jane softly, yet assuredly says, “Yes.”

We all smiled for a moment, but then there was an instinctive looking around as if to make sure no one was listening. For them, talking about what I am about to say next is utterly taboo. Apparently, an ocean or two does not stop YouTube and the Internet from getting around to the remotest village. Anything that pertains to Massai people is keenly watched.

Nonetheless, Jane is determined to continue, “We do talk to each other about our lovers. “

If I may ask, ” How are you able to feel pleasure?”

“Deep and long penetration. It is very nice.” She grins wide like every woman I know does when she remembers something good.

I was happy to hear that the urgency of her sexual desire was so strong it could not be stopped and that somehow many women find a way to feel good no matter what physical or mental abuse they must endure. Still, there was something glaringly missing in the equation. I had already heard that sex with the husbands was quick and dirty, dry and dull.

“No, it is not good,” says Jane, nonetheless a mother having conceived and given birth to three children.

So where then does this deep and long penetration come from? I wonder. There was no way it was coming from husbands.

Now here, I must remain somewhat vague and refrain from revealing details in order to protect their friends who remain in Africa from being punished. Thus, I must leave to your imagination how both women and men find a way feel sexual love. Both women and men are forced into marriages. They know well that where there is force, there is no loving sex. It is said that nearly all the women find lovers! They don’t import these men from other villages. It is those same men with arranged wives who also become lovers to other women in the village. How’s that for a testimony of the  human spirit and a sign that the arc of the universe bends towards justice?

African Spirit
Westerners often think of African people as having innate sexual power, of having an almost mystical prowess. Yet look at how this strength can fall. Love, sex and these eternal dramas, these powerful and alluring cosmic forces turn and turn again. It is when these powers arc towards truth and justice, when after a life of suppression, oppression and violence, Jane and Agnes refuse to hate, and thus find their remarkable capacity to love.

A few days after the Quodoushka workshop I ask Agnes, “Are there are some men who refuse to follow the Massai traditions?”

“Yes,” she says. “There are a few, but men who refuse are also outcast. If a woman refuses she has nowhere to go, she has no money, no food, she has nothing, and no one will support her. But it does nothing to hate our elders. I can see this clearly now. I understand the way to change is with understanding and education. We cannot hate our men. We have to find a way to love them. If we do not know how to love our selves or how to love each other sexually, nothing will change. Only the same will happen.”

Then, with a great smile and a fierce benevolence shimmering in her eyes, she says, “Hope.“

“There is one thing I must say… I feel guilty having had all this for myself. Learning so much myself, about sexuality. I cannot keep it just for me. I need to return, to share this with my people. Perhaps, you will come to Africa one day?”

My hope is that the seeds being planted in both Agnes and Jane will bear fruit; that Jane’s daughter will live with her beauty fully intact; and that Agnes realizes her dream of becoming a gynecologist. (she is currently enrolled in nursing school, thanks to political asylum granted her by the U.S. government.)

If you are touched by their courage and determination to love, and you would like to directly assist Jane in covering the expense to bring her family here, (she does not wish to split her family) or you would to help Agnes continue her studies, please contribute to a special Paypal fund we have set up for them:

To all the Quodoushka friends who supported Jane and Agnes and the Quodoushka teachings, we say Ah Ho! Thank You! Quehestemehah, You dance in my heart.

In Beauty,
Amara Keeps the Fire

Quodoushka is a spiritual Sexuality workshop from the Sweet Medicine Sundance Path of Turtle Island. The next Quodoushka workshop I will be teaching is next January 2010 in Phoenix. Please contact me if you would like to inquire about private sessions or how you can sponsor a workshop in your area.

Amara Charles interviewed by Shama Helena

On Tuesday, December 2, 2008 Amara was the featured guest at LovenLifeTools.com hosted by Shama Helena. They talked about the different gifts that a study of Tantra, Shamanic Sexuality and Taoist Sexual teachings bring forth. With a focus on Women’s sexual energy enhancement and sexual healing, they spoke about how to achieve a more balanced and energetic life. Here’s a version of that 1-hour, in-depth exploration of women’s sexuality that you can listen to or download: Amara Charles interviewed by Shama Helena.