Bärenstamm e.V.
Schaumburger Str. 2
31698 Lindhorst/Ottensen
Germany
Contact person: Sylvia Wollwert
geschaeftsstelle@baerenstamm.de
https://www.baerenstamm.de/
https://medizinradtreffen.de/baerenstamm/
Topics
- Spiritual organization
About us
The Bear Tribe is a network of people who are touched and inspired by Sun Bears (Chippewa/Ojibwa medicine man (1929-1992)) vision of a life connected to the earth and the ceremonies he made accessible to us. Our goal is to learn earth-centered knowledge and healing ceremonies (for ourselves and all of creation), to pass them on, and to integrate them into our everyday lives. Since this means something different for each of us, we live in very different ways throughout the German-speaking world and beyond.
We perceive the Earth as a living being and, in a material sense, as our mother.
Inspired by Sun Bear's contribution to the Festival of Visions in Potsdam in 1991, where hundreds of people gathered around a medicine wheel the size of a soccer field, some of his German students founded an association that was later renamed Bärenstamm e.V.
In order to be able to hold large events such as the Medicine Wheel Gathering and to have a supporting organization for our network, we founded the non-profit association Bärenstamm in the early 1990s. It is the organizer of our seminars and publisher of the association magazine Rauchzeichen.
It is our intention to make the knowledge and ceremonial tools that we have come to know and love accessible to as many people as possible. At the core of our work is the implementation of the basic and intensive programs developed by Sun Bear and the teachers of the Bear Tribe.
In addition, we nurture our community through regular meetings and exchanges with other teachers and traditions at the international Medicine Wheel meeting, which takes place every two years.
Events:
• Earth Awareness INTENSIVE Seminar - 10-day intensive course on earth awareness and ceremonial work: This seminar invites you to connect with your own power and the life energy of creation and supports you with exercises, teachings, and ceremonies to begin your personal dance with power. The 10-day intensive program enables deep experiences with the elements, animal, stone, and plant beings, as well as yourself, strengthening your life force and your mindful, respectful connection to Mother Earth.
• Earth Awareness Basic - Basic Course in Earth Awareness and Ceremonial Work: This weekend teaches the basics of ceremonial work in the tradition of the Bear Tribe. The respective leaders invite you to experience the power of community and the circle (smoke cleansing, chants, and talking stick) and offer one or more of the more complex ceremonies and associated teachings, such as medicine wheel work, medicine walk, pipe, moon, or sweat lodge ceremonies.
• Vision quest for adults: Many traditions tell of women and men retreating alone into the wilderness to fast. They went to find their own personal gifts to bring back to their people, their community. They went to heal themselves and to honor and celebrate life. Today, it is certainly as important as ever to pause and reflect on our lives. Especially in these fast-paced times, it is important to consciously acknowledge and celebrate the transitions in our lives. Some occasions for which it may be worthwhile to spend four days and four nights alone in nature and fasting
• Sacred Pipe - An introduction to the Bear Tribe tradition according to Evelyn Eaton: This program is open to everyone, especially those who do not yet have a pipe, and is aimed at those who are pipe carriers but want to become more confident in performing the ceremony. The program ends with a bonding ceremony for those who have decided to receive a pipe and participate in this ceremony.
• Medicine Wheel Gathering - The medicine wheel is a magical place and an energetic power spot. At the medicine wheel gathering, we can experience this together. Sun Bear was shown in a vision that it was time for the return of medicine wheels as places of healing for the Earth and humanity. This led to his book “The Medicine Wheel, an Astrology of the Earth,” which made him famous in Germany. In the 1980s, he launched Medicine Wheel gatherings in America, large events with speakers from all over the world who shared their knowledge and ceremonies for the Earth and humanity. At the center of the gatherings is a reenactment of Sun Bear's vision with people in costumes and masks representing the different positions of the wheel.
• Water pourer training - advanced course Prerequisite: Participation in the intensive course Dancing with Power: The program teaches the necessary knowledge and skills for the subsequent phase of the practice huts. This means that at the end of this program, participants will only begin the phase of practice and intensive engagement with the path of the hut. First alone in the hut, then with people who are familiar with the sweat lodge, until at the end of the individual practice path, permission is granted to lead huts in the tradition of the Bear Tribe. In one's personal power and at one's own pace.
• Ceremonies: Ceremonies are a powerful way to give energy back to Mother Earth and all her children (stones, plants, animals, and humans). They unite the powers that we humans invoke through singing, drumming, dancing, and praying, as well as through intense concentration of our attention. All over the world, indigenous peoples knew the importance of ceremonies and made them an essential part of their lives.
Sylvia Wollwert is the chairwoman of Bärenstamm e.V. (Bear Tribe Association).
Upon request, we can provide consulting services for other network participants, give presentations, and share current technical information and contacts in our field of work.