John Lockley – The South African Shamanic Wisdom 2024

Surrender to the spirit of play and the power of ceremony, chants, prayers, and dreamwork through Earth-based South African shamanism — led by a Xhosa sangoma and lineage holder, the same lineage that gave us Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.

Have you ever wondered if your current life situation — whether positive or negative — might be influenced by your ancestral lineages?

Respected sangoma (South African healer and shaman) and diviner John Lockley says we can realign with the best version of ourselves and our lives by healing our familial, cultural, and spiritual roots.

In doing so, we also become empowered to create a more humane world where all beings — including the Earth itself — can benefit.

John teaches South African shamanism, which focuses on ubuntu (humanness) — our moral obligation to care for others as we care for ourselves.

This responsibility is actually a blessing that extends to all of life, since cosmically, everything is interconnected…

… the pain, suffering, and challenges of our ancestors are imprinted upon us — as is their wisdom, peace, support, and joy.

During this transformational course, you’ll unearth the hidden potential that is buried in your ancestral roots through John’s potent fusion of ceremonial South African shamanic and Buddhist practices…

… including dance, drumming, dreamwork, meditations, and wisdom teachings and traditions to transform the heaviness and blockages within your familial, cultural, or spiritual lineages into love, peace, and empowered presence.

Fully initiated in the Xhosa lineage of South Africa, John spent 10 years in apprenticeship within that shamanic lineage.

John’s remarkable journey to discover his female South African teacher and eventually study within the Xhosa lineage as a white male, despite the constraints of Apartheid, is a testament to perseverance, cross-cultural understanding, and reconciliation.

You’ll journey into the pulsing healing heart of South African shamanism as John guides you into a visceral experience of your place in your familial line, our world, and the cosmos…

… instilling a felt sense of peace and connectedness with your ancestors, guardian spirits, nature — and your true self.

Using stories in the traditional shamanic way, John draws on his own life experience as a Zen and sangoma student…

… illuminating the deeper meaning of your embodied ancestral lineages and grounding you in the acceptance and love that is your birthright through evocative meditation and rhythm work that provide guidance, healing, and wisdom.

During this inspiring 7-module course, you’ll:

Learn the ceremonial practices of the Xhosa shamanic tradition — woven with modern Buddhist interpretations to liberate and embody peace with your ancestral lineages

Experience Heart-Beat meditation to connect to your inner channel and activate your life force

Discover how to create an ancestral shrine or earth altar and connect more meaningfully with the land from which you originate

Learn the South African “trance dance” or shaking medicine

Explore the 3 levels of dreaming and how to identify ancestral or teaching dreams that help navigate your soul’s path

Realize the importance of looking at ancestral stories in a balanced, nonjudgmental way to release the negativity from the past and help you move into the future

Understand the importance of spiritual lineage — and discover how a variety of ancient spiritual principles have much in common

Deeply connect to your purpose in life by befriending the 3 jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha

Dive into spiritual initiation and the importance of tracking your dreams to activate alchemy and your ability to shine, or khanya

Explore simple body percussion exercises to experience the importance of rhythm to connect to your higher self and ancestors

Discover the leopard breath — a breathing exercise to energize the body and awaken the senses

Fall in love with your own pulse and feel more deeply connected to the world’s heartbeat

And much more…

John will guide you to connect with your ancestors during dreamtime and through the South African “trance dance.”

You’ll explore how to grow your spirit to become more empathic and intuitive and plant the seeds of nourishment for the roots of your tree of life…

… releasing the shame and pain carried for generations in these roots so you can heal yourself and all of your ancestral wounds.

You’ll learn revitalizing earth-based shamanic ancestral practices you can use everyday for healing and guidance to live a life of khanya — inner shining — and be guided to create sacred space by creating an ancestral earth shrine, symbolizing your sacred connection with the Earth.

As you begin to befriend your ancestral shadows and observe the parts of yourself that make you feel ashamed, guilty, or lacking in self-worth, the relationships you have with your ancestors and others will also begin to heal…

… and ripple into our world, creating a more vibrant and healed circle of life that nourishes the best in everyone and what’s truly possible for your life.

If you’d like to unlock the joy within your genes — healing your lineage backward and forward in time through ancient and deeply ceremonial shamanic practices that welcome your ancestry and all that you are in a transformational yet gentle way…

… join us for this immersive, heartfelt journey into the healing wisdom of South African shamanism.

What You’ll Discover in These 7 Modules

In this 7-part transformational course, John will guide you through the fundamental skills and competencies you’ll need to successfully transform your relationship with your ancestral roots to revitalize your life energy and honor your soul’s purpose.

This course will feature step-by-step teachings and experiential practices with John. Each session will build harmoniously upon the previous ones, so you’ll develop a complete holistic understanding of the practices, tools, and principles you’ll need to unlock the joy within your genes, rediscover your soul’s purpose, and positively transform your life.

Module 1: Invoke the Ancestral Tree of Life to Receive Its Blessings & Activate Your Life Force

What are the ancestral stories of your family? Are you proud of your people? What are the limiting beliefs or opinions that you hold about them?

Our DNA, bones, and blood are the sum total of thousands — possibly millions — of years of ancestors before us. Ancient shamans believe that all we need to do to access the vast treasure trove of memories and knowledge within us, is to say the names of our ancestors.

This class introduces South African cosmology and the concept of ubuntu (humanity) popularized by Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, both of whom are from the Xhosa culture in South Africa — the same tribe/culture that adopted and trained John Lockley to become a sangoma (traditional South African shaman).

You’ll be encouraged to see your ancestors as streams of consciousness, like a river or tree sap extending deep into the ground.

In this session, you’ll:

Feel your innate rhythm during opening prayers in which John will chant and drum — helping you to connect to your inner channel of vibration

Experience the Heart-Beat meditation to connect to your inner channel and activate your life force

Learn to say your name and connect to the tree of life

Invoke your ancestors with dignity

Explore the importance of tree medicine and grounding into the Earth

Module 2: Learn the African Mindfulness Practice of Ubuntu to Connect With Ancestors, Guardian Spirits & Nature

Ubuntu is the circle of life. Only after first connecting with yourself and your soul can you then look to your ancestors and offer a prayer to them. Finally, you bow humbly to the Divine.

In this class, you’ll practice ubuntu and go into a deeper discussion of both blood and adopted ancestors, spirit guides, and helpers.

You’ll continue to pray and say your name, and invoke bloodline and spiritual lineages, as you’re guided to create sacred space in the form of an ancestral shrine — symbolizing that we are all made of the Earth and will one day return.

In this session, you’ll:

Learn how to create an ancestral shrine or earth altar and connect more meaningfully with the land from which we come

Explore how to pray and say your name using your authentic voice

Experience a guided meditation with live African drumming and chanting to connect with your ancestors

Module 3: Explore the Art of Dreaming to Communicate With Your Ancestors & Manifest Your Dreams, Purpose & Destiny

Our dreams are a reflection of our lives and our lives reflect our dreams. How can you realize your destiny and reforge the road on which you walk upon?

In this class, you’ll explore traditional South African teachings of uvula ndlela, or opening the road, to invoke your ancestors in prayer and listen to the response from the other world — often appearing in the form of dreams.

You’ll learn how to communicate in the language of the spirit world, which speaks in riddles and metaphors.

As you connect more deeply with your ancestors, your dreams will change…

… and as you become more mindful of your dreams, you’ll learn to identify synchronicities and develop the capacity for experiencing more soulfulness.

In this session, you’ll:

Learn the 3 levels of dreaming and how to identify ancestral or teaching dreams that help navigate your soul’s path

Discover ways to manifest your dreams into reality

Identify your “dreamprint” and explore your dream language

Examine how many of your senses are engaged while dreaming

Experience a guided meditation to connect more deeply with your dreams

Invoke your ancestors and learn to become a better listener — both in your dream world and in your waking life

Module 4: Befriend the 3 Jewels of Buddha, Dharma & Sangha to Shine Your Light & Better Understand Your Life Purpose

In Buddhism, the three jewels of Buddha, Dharma & Sangha serve as vehicles to help people shine and connect to their purpose in life.

Buddha represents the enlightened or shining one, Dharma speaks about the teachings to connect to our inner shining, and Sangha represents the community that supports us along our journey.

These jewels complement an earth-based ancestral practice.

In this class, you’ll explore how traditional South African shamanism, khanya (shining), and khanya umsebenze (shining work) are pivotal to any ancestral practice, in relation to contemporary Buddhist and yogic practice.

In this session, you’ll:

Explore the importance of elders and the notion of sacred respect and humility to strengthen the community jewel

Understand the importance of spiritual lineage — and discover how a variety of ancient spiritual principles have much in common

Balance blood lineage with spiritual lineage

Learn a meditation to foster humility and openness

Connect to your inner shining or soul

Module 5: Discover the South African “Trance Dance” to Access Your Soul Medicine & Spiritual Intelligence

In all traditional ancestral practices, movement and dance are used to connect to the physical and spiritual. As you move with rhythm and intention, your spine generates heat, which energizes the spirit.

Anthropologists maintain that all human life came from Africa, specifically Southern Africa. After the last ice age, our ancestors lived in coastal regions and danced in caves.

In this class, you’ll discover South African “trance dances” they performed that helped them connect to their higher consciousness and dreamtime — stimulating the growth of their spiritual intelligence.

These dances survived the test of time and form the bedrock of traditional spiritual practices in Southern Africa.

In this session, you’ll:

Learn the South African “trance dance” or shaking medicine

Explore simple body percussion exercises to experience the importance of rhythm to connect to your higher self and ancestors

Connect to your own lightning rod through correct alignment of your spine, head, and feet

Discover the leopard breath — a breathing exercise to energize the body and awaken the senses

Become more connected to your nervous system, which serves as the gateway to the dreamworld and spiritual realm

Fall in love with your own pulse and feel more deeply connected to the world’s heartbeat

Module 6: Befriend Your Shadow to Increase Self-Love & Ground Yourself in Gratitude

We live in a modern world addicted to constant updates, adrenaline, and movement. Many of us struggle to feel full or satisfied — what Buddhists call the plight of the hungry ghost.

People are frenetically trying to fill the void of spirit/soul that their ancestors moved away from since the Industrial Revolution.

For this reason, we must examine how we live today and what we might have inherited from our ancestors which no longer serves our greater life purpose.

In this class, you’ll learn how to befriend your shadows and look with understanding at the parts of yourself that make you feel ashamed, guilty, or lacking in self worth.

In this session, you’ll:

Befriend your shadow through a guided meditation to feel inside yourself and explore ways in which this might be an ancestral shadow

Notice ancestral patterns that have been passed down the generations

Discover that which you have inherited from your ancestors and that which you can surrender

Realize the importance of looking at ancestral stories in a balanced, nonjudgmental way to prevent the negativity from the past to move into the future

Learn to slow down and notice what is within and around you

Uncover superstitions and the limitations of cultural programming — and begin to see soulful elements with more clarity

Module 7: Listen to the Call of Nature to Understand & Embody Your Deeper Purpose or Destiny

As custodians of Earth, we are each responsible for the state and wellbeing of our planet. As we reconnect to one another in this world and make peace with our ancestors from the past, we complete ubuntu and connect more deeply with nature and our destiny in this life.

According to the Buddha, the point of life is to find our purpose. Oftentimes, this requires challenging, uncomfortable work as part of our spiritual initiation.

Once our human relationships are met and given voice, the next step is to face outward and connect with the natural world.

You’ll contemplate how nature calls you.

In this session, you’ll:

Explore what it means to follow or connect to your destiny

Dive into spiritual initiation and the importance of tracking your dreams to activate alchemy and your ability to shine

Decode the role of animals in our human evolution and how they can teach us — when we allow ourselves to listen and learn

Reimagine the power of being still — and moving from a place of doing to listening to the world around you

Come to understand that manifestation is following spiritual intelligence that comes through dreams and intuition