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Online Curanderismo Mentorship Program – Level 1

Mentorship Level 1 Intro

Table of Contents

  1. General
  2. Curanderismo Monthly Course Topics and Related Questions
  3. Enrollment Dates/Times for Courses
  4. Private One-on-One Mentoring Sessions (In-Person, Tujunga, CA, or Remote)

This curanderismo mentorship program is intended for people that are interested in:

  • Exploring the diversity and breadth of Curanderismo practices
  • Integrating Curanderismo practices in their healing practices, life, or practicing as a Curanderx
  • Moving beyond the fear of putting their healing gifts (aka “don”) into practice
  • Decolonizing healing practices, the business of healing practices, and identities as a “healer”
  • Exploring what Curanderismo practices they are drawn to and ideal settings to put these gifts into practice
  • Practicing spiritual hygiene, and discernment in what can and cannot be expected from healing services
  • Understanding their clientele, growing their healing practice, considerations for physical and online spaces, promoting and collaborating with others
  • Exploring the necessity of boundaries in their healing practices and business policies, and creating honoring and accessible healing spaces

Scope of Participation

Level I will be an annual program with 12 total online monthly courses ($50/course) and a private community chat board. It is encouraged to attend all 12 monthly courses, but it will not be necessary to attend every course to participate in Level I. It is also unnecessary to take the classes from Level One in any particular order. But, to be eligible to sign up for the Curanderismo Mentorship Program, Level II, you must have taken all 12 classes from this Curanderismo Mentorship Program, Level I. 

The mentorship programs will be open to all people, and please be aware that we will be discussing decolonizing BIPOC healing practices and identities with a focus on curanderismo Indigenous traditions. If these areas are something that do not interest you, or you feel are irrelevant to you, please do not sign up for any of these courses.

This program is for people that want to be a part of a safe and loving learning and healing environment. Participants will be expected to participate in a respectful manner, and will be removed from the class and lose access to the chat board, without a refund, if they are hostile in anyway. Thank you for your understanding, and only signing up, if you can honor this.

Minimum Requirements for Participation 

This curanderismo mentorship will go beyond the how-to’s of curanderismo practices—limpias, divination work, facilitating, and preparation work.

While the how-to’s, will definitely be covered, it will be expected that you have: 1. either taken the Online Limpia Classes or have read my first book, Cleansing Rites of Curanderismo, and 2. have read my third book, Sacred Energies of the Sun and Moon. Ideally, reread the how-to sections of my first and third book, before taking the courses.

Overview of What the Mentorship Program Entails

There will be 12 online two-hour courses for the mentorship program and a private community chat board. These annual courses start every April and end on March (the following year). The entire Curanderismo Mentorship annual program will only be $600, or $50/course.

But, to ensure greater accessibility and accountability, the most that can be paid at a time is $200 and only four months can be signed up for at a time. There will be three enrollment dates:

Enrollment dates for April 2024 to March 2025

  1. January 7th 2024Enrollment for the year 2024 for the months of April, May, June, and July begins January 7th 2024 at 9am PDT.
  2. April 7th 2024Enrollment for the year 2024 for the months of August, September, October, and November begins April 7th, 2024 at 9am PST.
  3. August 4th 2024Enrollment for December 2024, January 2025, February 2025 and March 2025 begins August 4th, 2024 at 9am PST.

All participants will be visible on the screen share and will have an opportunity to interact as a community.

You will have access to watch/rewatch any of the courses for 28 days, after the course you registered for has gone live. After the 28-days, the classes get deleted. Failure to watch the class within the 28-day period, will not warrant credit for a future course. If you are unable to join us live, please and thank you for participating and interacting more that month with the community on the chat board.

Basic outline for the 2-hour course (please read below for specific monthly topics):

  • Begin with a community opening prayer
  • Erika Buenaflor poses comments and questions from our community chat board relevant to that month’s topic and questions
  • Erika Buenaflor guides us into a discussion, and provides guidance, recommendations, as well as answers questions in a safe loving mentoring environment
  • Close circle with a community prayer

Chat board: For every course, there will be a designated chat board with relevant course topics and questions. If you signed up for that course, you will have access to this chat board for 28 days, after the course has gone live.

Curanderismo Monthly Course Topics and Related Questions

April: Decolonizing Healing Practitioner Titles, Labels, Identities, & the Processes of Reclaiming Them

  • Do we need to decolonize healing practitioner titles, labels, identities?
    • If so, which ones and why?
    • If not, why?
  • Are healing practitioner titles-labels necessary?
    • If so, why or why not?
  • Are you comfortable with healing practitioner titles-labels?
    • How do you identify your healing practices?
  • What are some ethical concerns with identifying ourselves as a certain type of healing practitioner?
  • Assuming there is a need to decolonize, how do we go about decolonizing and reclaiming healing practitioner titles, labels, & identities?
  • How do you define appropriation, misappropriation, and reappropriation?
  • When is someone ready to claim the title of curandere/a/o/x?

May: Putting Our Healing Gifts (aka “Don”) into Practice

  • We discuss some of the most well-known curanderx in that last 200 years and then assess what does it look like when we put our healing gifts into practice?
  • Who should decide what it looks like to put our healing gifts into practice?
    • Your teacher
    • Your community
    • You
    • Someone or something else
  • Is training required before we put our healing gifts into practice?
    • If so, how much training and from who?
    • If not, what is needed, if anything?
  • Assuming some kind of training is needed, who should define the amount of training?
    • Your teacher
    • Your community
    • You
    • Someone or something else
  • Assuming some kind of training is needed, should the amount of training we have correlate or be commensurate with:
    • Whether we accept some kind of exchange for our services, our healing gifts
    • Charging for our services, our healing gifts
    • How much we charge for our services, our healing gifts
  • Does the “certification culture” or “certification mindset” need to be decolonized?
    • Is a certification needed to practice as a healing practitioner?
      • Why or why not?
    • Should a certification be commensurate with our value as a healing practitioner?

June: Multi-Purpose Limpias & Moving Beyond the Fears of Offering them to Others

  • How do you define limpias?
  • Identify the many purposes limpias can serve? exs.
    • Platicas
    • Sweeps or Barridas: Egg, Herbs, Flowers, Feathers, Crystals
    • Fire Limpias: White Fire, Fire Ceremonies, Velaciónes, Puros
    • Space Limpias
    • Divination Work & Readings
    • Ceremonial group limpias: Cacao, Lunar, Deity, Ancestral
    • Solar & Lunar Limpias
  • How do you move beyond any fears of serving as a healing practitioner?
    • imposter syndrome
    • causing harm
    • being questioned
  • Do you want to offer limpias in your healing practice?
    • Which ones and why?

July: The Importance of Platicas (Heart-Straightening Talks) & Homework  

  • What do platicas (heart-straightening talks) help facilitate?
  • What are some of the fundamentals of platicas?
  • Are there occasions that interjecting in a platica is necessary? If so, what are they?
  • What are the purposes of giving the client “homework” after the platica?
  • What kind of homework is there?

August: Sacred Limpia Tools, Barridas (Sweeps) 

  • What are some of the essentials for barridas
    • Sacred Tools (pahwawtztli)
    • Understandings
    • Methodologies
  • What are ways to prepare and care for our sacred barrida tools
  • When is giving someone an egg, onion, garlic, or a lemon barrida a good idea
    • Fact patterns a client shares
    • Intuitive sense
    • Practical necessity
  • When do you provide remote or online barridas
  • When is giving someone an herbal, flower, or feather barrida a good idea
    • Fact patterns a client shares
    • Intuitive sense
    • Practical necessity

September: Sacred Limpia Tools—Fire and Water, and Space Limpias 

  • What kind of fire limpias can you provide for a client in-person or remote session, and when would you know which one to use?
    • Which ones would you assign for homework and why?
  • What kind of solar or lunar limpias would you assign as homework?
  • What kind of water limpias can you provide for a client in-person or remote session, and when would you know which one to use?
  • What kind of space limpias would you provide for a client or assign as homework, and what are the scenarios in these recommendations?

October: Sacred Limpia Tools, Yerberismo (working with plants in our healing practices)

  • Do you normally work with plants for healing in your personal lives and the lives of your loved ones?
  • What are your favorite and natural ways to work with plants for healing purposes?
  • What are the benefits of introducing working with plants in your online or in-person sessions, or ceremonies?
  • What are ways of introducing healing and limpias with plants in online and in-person sessions?
  • Is it necessary to work with plants as a curanderx? 

November: Spiritual Hygiene & Discernment 

  • What can we do ensure to that the space we are working in fosters an ideal limpia environment?
  • What can we do to ensure we don’t pick up our client’s “stuff”?
  • What are some practical daily limpia practices?
  • Which more-involved limpia practices are recommended on a monthly basis?
  • Do our services have limitations?
    • Is it necessary to convey limitations?
    • If so, when does it become necessary to convey limitations?
  • How many clients can and should we see a day?

December: Determining Which Curanderismo Practices Are a Good Fit

  • What are your favorite curanderismo practices for yourself and to offer for others? Why?
    • platicas
    • sweeps or barridas: egg, herbs, flowers, feathers, crystals
    • fire limpias: white fires, fire ceremonies, velaciónes, puros
    • space limpias
    • divination work & readings
    • ceremonial group limpias: cacao, lunar, deity, ancestral
    • solar & lunar limpias
  • Do you feel comfortable with facilitating limpias in-person and guiding people to facilitate them remotely?
    • What are the essentials to guiding barridas and fire limpias remotely?
  • What does the limpias you gravitate towards say about your practice?
    • will you be working with people in-person, online, groups
    • what spaces do you currently have access where you could offer services?
      • friends
      • online
      • at a home
      • at a park, beach, hiking trail..
      • at a community center

January: In-Person & Online Classes, Group Ceremonies, Dynamics, & Facilitating

  • What are your favorite in-person and remote classes and why?
    • How large are the groups on average?
    • What activities do the participants engage in?
  • What should the facilitators do and say to ensure a safe, conducive for healing and/or learning, loving, and open environment for in-person and remote classes?
  • What are your favorite group ceremonies and why? How large are the groups on average?
    • How large are the groups on average?
    • What activities do the participants engage in?
  • What should the facilitators do and say to ensure a safe, conducive for healing and/or learning, loving, and open environment for in-person and online group ceremonies?

February: Understanding Your Clientele, Promoting, & Collaborating  

  • How do you want to work with and offer curanderismo-based services to and why?
    • Have you already worked with or are you currently working with this or these group(s) of people?
    • How can you expand your reach to this or these group(s) of people?
  • Can you offer referral incentives?
    • What kind of referral incentives can you offer?
    • Who do you know may be interested in referral incentives?
    • Should these referral incentives be limited in anyway?
  • What are the most ideal spaces to promote your practice and why?
    • Friends?
    • Social media, which ones?
    • Studios, which ones?
    • Stores, which ones?
    • Communities, which ones?
  • Is collaborating with others a good option for you?
    • What are best practice approaches for collaborating with others?
    • What are collaboration pro’s and con’s?

March: Pricing, Policies, and Boundaries

  • What is your pricing for services and time?
    • Is your practice accessible to the group(s) of people you want to work with?
    • Is your pricing an expected price range for the group(s) of people you want to work with?
    • Does your pricing feel fair and reasonable to and for you?
  • Will you make any clientele preparation requests for the sessions?
  • Is a cancellation policy for services important?
    • Why or why not?
  • If you have a cancellation policy for services, what will it or they be?
  • Are boundaries for services necessary with regards to,
    • access to you? If so, what will they be and why?
    • time they have with you? If so, what will it be and why? 

Enrollment Dates/Times for Courses 

Please mark your calendar for the three dates and times that enrollment begins for the stated 4-month quarter, especially if you prefer a specific day and time. Again, it is unnecessary to take the classes from Level One in any particular order. Sign up for the courses are first come, first serve, no exceptions.

Each date/time is one course per month.

Sign up for the Mentorship Program (Level 1)

  1. Scroll down to the section below that shows the various Months and their corresponding Timeslots
  2. Notice that under these sections, there are dates/times that are colored in blue. Click any of the dates/times that you would like to sign up for colored in blue. If the date/time is not blue, it means all spots for that timeslot have been filled or the enrollment for that period has not yet begun..
  3. Once you’ve clicked a blue date/time, you will be taken to the product page. If the date/time you selected is still available, click the Add to Cart button
  4. Repeat steps 1-3 until you have all the courses you would like to take for the months of Aug thru Nov.

After purchase, you will receive (within the hour) a Order Confirmation Email with links to download class files. There are (3) files to download per class.

  • (1) Online Class Instructions – Date/time of the class and the webinar details to join the class
  • (2) Calendar Invite – A Calendar file that you can import into your calendar with the webinar information
  • (3) Chatboard Instructions – Instructions and a link to the chatboard for the class

Enrollment for Courses:

January 7th, 2024 at 9am PDT. Enrollment for the months of April, May, June & July for 2024 begins January 7th, 2024 at 9am PDT. Please only sign up for one course—date/time per month. If you are unable to sign up for a specific date/time, it is because all spots have filled up for that time/day, or enrollment for that period has not yet begun.

April 2024 Course Dates/Times:

  • 4/10: 12:15-2:15pm PDT
  • 4/14, 5:15-7:15pm PDT
  • 4/24, 5-7pm PDT

April 7th, 2024 at 9am PST. Enrollment for the months of August, September, October & November for 2024 begins April 7th, 2024 at 9am PST. Please only sign up for one course—date/time per month. If you are unable to sign up for a specific date/time, it is because all spots have filled up for that time/day, or enrollment for that period has not yet begun.

No Refunds

Please note that once you sign up for a class or set of classes, refunds will not be provided, nor can you switch class dates/times that month.

You will have an opportunity to watch/rewatch any missed course(s) for 28-days after we have gone live. After the 28-days, the classes get deleted. Failure to watch the class within the 28-day period, will not warrant credit for a future course.

If you are unable to join us live, please and thank you for participating and interacting more that month with the community on the chat board. You will have access to this chat board for 28 days, after the course has gone live.

If $50 – $200 is going to break you financially, should an emergency come up, please do not sign up. Work with the limpia rites (online limpia classes are only $15/series) to get yourself to a place where the investment for this program is not going to break you, before signing up please and thank you.

Private One-on-One Mentoring (In-Person, Tujunga, CA, or Remote)

You are of course welcome to book a private mentorship session that only focuses on mentoring, or a hybrid mentorship session that can integrate energy clearing, soul retrieval, ancestral work, limpias, or whatever else may be needed and what we have time for.

If you’d like your session to be a strictly mentorship session or a hybrid mentorship session, please indicate this when contacting me. The investment for any private mentorship sessions is $125/hr.  I am typically booked a few months out, and can definitely work with you regularly (regularity defined by you) per your request.

While you will not have access to the community chat board or being a part of community discussions, which can be very powerful and help us to better integrate the material, sometimes individualized private attention may be needed.

If you’d like to book a private mentorship session contact Erika@realizeyourbliss.com

Realize Your Bliss