Interview with Dr. Steven Farmer

Dr. Steven Farmer is founder of Earth Magic, a psycho-spiritual portal that invites people to tap into ancient wisdom for guidance, teaching, and healing. Visitors can explore psycho-spiritual treatments he offers. including; hypnosis, emotional freedom technique (EFT), somatic experiencing (SE), breathwork, soul retrieval, power animals, tools to heal ancestral patterns, oracle readings, and other approaches that empower you to see more deeply into true Self and why you exist.

Steven is an internationally-known teacher, and shamanic healer. He invites each of us to recognize and heal our illusions of separation that shape how we see and live in this world. He is also a best-selling author of many books and related products, including Animal Spirit Guide Cards and Earth Magic Oracle Cards.  His path is unique and he takes time-out to connect with me for this interview. 

I am honored to share this dialogue and trust it invites you to get in touch with and trust inner feelings you are ready to hear and allow to guide and accelerate your own evolution.

Please share what guided you into this unique modern, mystical path. 

Earlier in my life, I was a conventional psychotherapist with a very busy practice. In 2015, came my transition into hypnosis.   I gathered and used other tools like any professional who takes an interest in continuing education. Then, something happened within me, perhaps a shift in awareness. I knew I had to change my focus. The shamanistic path was unexpected.

So many people can relate. It is common to seek training in an area of expertise, get a job or develop a career around it, anchored in a world we come to outgrow.

That certainly describes my case. I came to feel I was missing something. Restlessness points to fear of letting go of the familliar. This echoes fear of losing what represents personal security. 

When ego-driven, this can feel like identity crisis or mid-life crisis.  For anyone who knows the feeling of inner turmoil, you show us what happens with surrender, choose to take steps into the unknown. Let us in on what you were secretly feeling.

Well, I was curious as I was not raised in a tribe with traditional shamans. Yet, I was guided by the unseen.  I had to trust in ways I had not trusted before. I had to let go of my own myths and find courage within to listen to something completely new.   It was scary, but it took 6 months to close down my therapy practice. That was hard, giving up a way of life. I had written 4 books as a therapist-Adult Children of Abusive Parents (recently renewed), but I sensed a new calling. 

What a heart-warming reminder we can all access soulful messages within if we allow ourselves to listen get out of our own way! So, what shaped your life shift?

Through meditation, I opened to intuition that guided me to trust and invest in external teachers. I also came to hear innner guides.  Among key milestones, I took a 2-day training with Tom Cowan, a visionary practitioner of Celtic healing traditions. His teacher was Michael Harner, creator of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies and the New Age practice of "Core Shamanism."

Harner is a legend. I have read his book, The Way of the Shaman: a Guide to Power and Healing. This is trail-blazing work that paved the way for the development of "core shamanism" in popular culture.  His recent passing leaves a timeless legacy.

I was also drawn to other teachers and trainings. I decided to be open to that. Hearing about mystical traditions,  learning from different teachers and shamans' practices;  this gave me practical rituals, sacred ceremonies, heartfelt clarity-a new sense of life direction.

A quote by Albert Einstein stands out: 

The most beautiful and profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical.  It is the sower of all true science.  He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead.  To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms… this knowledge, this feeling, is at the center of true religion.

Very relevant.  At some stage, it hits the truth can only be felt.  Its up to each of us to trust mystical sensations we cannot explain more and see where this trust takes us in our lives. 

Clearly a major shift was occurring inside you. Its as if your version of success and fulfillment were changing. What really stands out about your process?

Every life choice we make is part of unconscious healing. What makes sense to us at one stage of life may not feel right at other stages.  We have to find courage to embrace changing views of ourselves and success. Our life choices and self-talk reflect where we are at on our journey.

So true. Our sense of what matters changes.  The urge arises to seek guidance, let go of certain situations, relationships and activities.  Tell us how you view healing.

The ultimate healing is to see we are not separate from our own pieces. We are taught to live with a lack of consciousness of Spirit. At some stage it hits, we are each a conduit through which Spirit works. Everything is a conscious collaboration with awareness of the Spirit in all things: the more we awaken, allow intuition (Soul) to guide us, the more Spirit fills and takes shape through us.

I love that you imply no right or wrong choices exist. Many people second guess themselves and their urges to seek advice, teachings or to change paths.

Indeed. Some people abruptly change paths and lifestyes completely. Yet this would shock other people too much. Subtle changes or a slower pace can be perfect. Whatever feels right is the right change for you. 

As the saying goes,  the only thing that is constant in this world is change. We either resist it or go with it and whatever we resist seems to persist.

One's willingness to with the flow is perhaps the biggest lesson.

Another point you are suggesting is that revelations about callings also happen if one is never grounded in mainstream popular culture trends, boxes or categories.  

Indeed. There is no one way or standard experience to open the heart or to recognize it is always open. That is why everyone evolves and changes tack at one's own pace.

That certainly rings true.   As explored in posts like, Interview with Carlos Castenada, we are all shamans in our own right, exploring timelines and parallel worlds, awakening to our forgotten power.  The unique paths we choose and individuals we encounter are all teachers as we learn first hand the power of surrender. Power animals helps bring this into conscious awareness.

How is shamanism shaping wider human perception?

I see contemporary shamanism draws from principles, ancient knowledge and technologies that help awaken the world to the Earth elements to restore them to wholeness. We can be open to the messages in spirit animals and what they invite us to recognize and awaken within ourselves.

You write popular books about spirit animals and tips for understanding the messages of our own changing spirit guides. What is the biggest issue you see?

The number one issue humanity has is overpopulation.  We have to take care of each other and recognize this is really about loving ourselves more. Every experience we create and perceive points to accpting or rejecting true Self.   

This reminds me life is like food or medicine for the soul. Hippocrates, says Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.

Spirit medicine is another way of looking at this.

What is your sense of Spirit medicine? How do you see what used to be indigenous Spirit wisdom entering the awareness of wider population?

Spirit medicine is still quite foreign to many Western healthcare practitioners, doctors, nurses, and therapists. However, this worldview, a way of life of indigenous peoples, is gaining wider acceptance because it greatly assists in the healing process, and because it works. People are open to new tools and techniques or not.

Speaking of modern healing techniques, tell us about somatic experiencing.

I did a 3 year somatic experiencing training. I learned raising awareness of body sensations (a.k.a. somatic experiences) helps people re-negotiate and resolve the effects of their trauma. The approach allows the instinctual actions that were unable to complete at the time of the trauma to be safely and gradually discharged in present time. Somatic experiencing reminds me of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques).  Different techniques suit different people. Each technique empowers people to release what prevents them from seeing and feeling unrecognized blockages.

Thanks for sharing. Many people can certainly benefit from this. New tools to expand awareness  are growing more widely available as humanity is ready for them. Something exists for everyone here.

As the creator of; The Pocket guide to Spirit Animals, Earth Magic Oracle Cards, Animal Spirit Guides,  and other shamanic references, you share valuable insights.  Why share this now?

I was assigned to do this. Elements of shamanic practises that appeal to a wider public. Sacred Cermony 1st book in genre. It emerged from my doctoral thesis. What is the difference between ritual and sacred ceremony.  Rituals performative, must be done in a certain way. I received a message. My spirit guides, they tell me what to do.  Earth Magic is a book full of purely shamanic techniques.  Spirit and power animals are popular. This is part of my path. I am pleased to serve.

You speak a lot about ritual and sacred ceremony. What is the relevance to happenings in your life?

For example, I see a tree ceremony on the horizon.  Specific details are not quite fleshed out yet.  The geographic location, the season, participants, all present with perfect timing. I have to be open to receiving information about sacred ceremony, whatever might re-direct ceremony in a certain way.

Love that when one is receptive to inner messages, this gives us a new insight into freedom and flow.

In this light, in Healing Ancestral Karma, you share it is possible to make contact with your ancestors to obtain wisdom that people can internalize  to help heal themselves on this timeline.  Please share relevant personal experience or client examples where this shifts energy and life paradigms.

Recommend people read a book by Mark Wolynn about family constellations therapy: It didn't start with you. One story covered is about a woman who wanted to suffocate/be gassed (suicide). She realized her grandmother was in Auschwitz and died that way.  She was still carrying that karma. Its about identification with an ancestor. Call it an energetic connection requiring attention.

Wolynn's book is an excellent read. What about examples from your own life? Please share insight you gain from your parents, for instance

My father and mother have come to me to different times and brought me profound healing. My mother came to me through a seer. The theme of abandonment came up and helped me understand what happened in my life as a child.  "Now I see who you are" is what echoes within. Shy kid, alcoholic parent.

My father comes to me often. "Look after your grandson, Jake," he often says. We can contact our immediate biological ancestors when we choose.

You also share about profound experiences during shamanic initiations. Speak about what feels relevant here.

An ancient ancestor also came to me during shamanic initiation. I cannot say his name (distant grandfather) aloud. Very poetic initiate. I did some magic mushrooms (public info in my book Ancestral Karma) and this facilitated the connection. During an age regression, I see this ancestor was present when I was 6 months old. Progressive memory opens up. At one stage, I was almost dead. He waved his finger at me. "Is this over?," I asked "Not yet," he said. I came to see suffering is part of the deal, part of the Soul agreement.

I resonate.  Streams of consciousness give us access to a completely different idea of time. I experience a domino effect of connecting more dots, why I am here.

As I said earlier, different tools suit different people. Each choice brings us face to face with unseen parts of ourselves.

Exactly. Now, among your skills, you describe yourself as a breathworker.  You use the breath as a healing tool.  Exploring and training in breathwork led me to join many dots in my life, including the revelation I am a womb twin survivor (WTS).  Which breathwork do you practice?

Breathwork is an umbrella term. Different systems exist. Conscious connected breathwork is what I practice and offer as an option for consultations. Indian (Eastern) approaches offer many pranayamas.

Well-said. You are likely aware that in the West, Leonard Orr founded the rebirthing style of breathwork and Stanislov Grof the Holotropic style of breathwork. My own cathartic breathwork teacher, Jaan Sanaam, draws from these styles and experience to create his own unique style. What is your feeling about public receptiveness to breathwork in the West?

The status quo is threatened by people changing their consciousness. I took the Vivation- course, practiced breathwork many years.  I learned that as I discipline myself, practice an hour and a half, revelations unfold inside me as I breathe certain ways (conscious connected breathing).

What do you recommend to people starting out? (Before getting guidance if this feels right)

Start out with a slow rhythm and increasing the rate changes things. The inner healer comes forward. Without you directing it, you may have an experience of the trauma of your past.  Instead of stopping or avoiding the trauma, you breathe through it.  You confront the darkness (demon) and breathe through it. Many layers of unconscious trauma exist. 

Any other breathwork teach you something worth mentioning?

Holotropic breathwork taught me old wounds come to surface for healing. I saw ancestors. Met the first shaman. Saw colors off the chart- it was a very unique experience. Everyone has a unique experience.

How is the breathwork experience similar to effects of psychedelics?

Breathwork is similar to experience with psychedelics in that both show you how it feels to lose sense of time. However, with drugs, you are in the state at least 48 hours unless you take a tranquilizer.  Read Pollan Michael- How to change your mind (contrasts holotropic breathwork and psychedelics under controlled conditions).

I have heard about that Pollan book through a national (U.S.) public radio podcast. It sounds like it builds bridges between spiritual and scientific worlds. Interviews with Dr. Rick Strassman , 5 Timeless Insights from Dale Pendell and others on this blog refer to the expansion of consciousness linked to psychedelic research. The Interview with Dr. Eben Alexander also implies areas of the medical establishment are in the process of shifting consciousness. 

That Michael Pollan compares breathwork with psychedelics says a lot about shifts in collective consciousness.

Indeed, the simplicity and increasing accessibility of breathwork definitely adds value to healing. It reminds me of how physical yoga came from the East and is now widely practised in the West.

Yes, but the original meaning of yoga is not solely a physical practice as is often adopted in the West. There is far more to yoga and more and more people are discovering. In a similar way, breathwork is entering public spheres as a healing practice because people are ready for it.  

I have attended a holotropic breathwork group at Joshua Tree- Breathwork in the Desert.  I go for to experience the loss of ego identity (disintegration is key). It is always rejuvenating and eye- opening. Breathwork is for clients and practitioners alike.

How the shaman in you sees the merging of science and spirituality in practical terms.

The merging of Science and Spirituality is happening. See The Tao of Physics-( from1970s).  Epigenetics is very new. Read The Genie in Your Genes, an eye-opening book by Dawson Church. "Its in the genetics" is no longer the response to everything. Humans can be far more empowered. Its about taking responsibility for thoughts and feelings, building on the lines of Dr. Bruce Lipton's pioneering work in The Biology of Belief.

What stands out the most to you here?

In genes themselves, certain traits can be capped off or on (switched off or on).  Only 5% DNA understood and scientists used to call the rest junk.  Certain genetic traits (i.e. trauma) can be turned off. Pregnant mom's who watched 9/11, babies were having trouble (depression due to feeling 9/11). Genes modified in a certain way in the womb setting them up to experience  depression and anxiety. Any kind of healing we do, helps the good genes upcap, exercise. Believing in some kind of higher power. Rachel Yahouta researcher- survivors of the holocaust children- high rate of depression and anxiety.  By doing the work we need to do dialectic therapy, semantic experiencing, breathwork, desentitization and recovery, emotional freedom effect, working with the body. Start with the body-The Body Keeps the Score this is where we start with Bessel Van Der kolk- profound book- hero on how to uncover trauma. We have the tools to live a full life.

You offer many valuable references here. Our readers appreciate this.

Look at the western vs third world. We have different perspectives. We each draw from different life expeirence. Find the middle ground. Re-discover yourself.

If you could share any advice about creating what Grace VanderWaal describes as A Better Life, what would you offer?

Slowing things down allows trapped energy in the body to release.  For example, explore breathwork or somatic experiencing. Contact a body-oriented therapist. Be observant of your body movements and language. You are always giving yourself unconscious messages to help you live a more conscious life.

Another thing: Its been said by so many people much wiser than me-Focus (Presence), Gratitude, Love

Make presence a standard. Be happy wherever you are with what you have. Feel tears of joy and appreciate to be experiencing this life. What a priceless experience it is (beyond the terrible childhood, minor grievances). Go to your whining corner to get it off your chest. Stay in gratittude

What else would you like to add?

Have a new book in the works. Will keep you in the loop about that. 

If it resonates, invite visitors here to explore the Earth Magic Practioner Certification Program

I wish to leave with a Wizard of Oz quote,

“A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others”. ― L. Frank Baum, 

and a quote from A Course in Miracles (ACIM). "When I am healed, I am not healed alone" I know who I am based on knowing everyone- ancestors , people in my training, people I interact with.  We all share our stories and learn from each other. 

Show up. Be present in your life, whatever you choose.

Check out Shaman's Path Cards - Animal Dreaming Publishing (Australian Publisher)

Spirit Animals as Healers - Animal Dreaming Publishing (Australian Publisher)

Thanks Steven, You are indeed a gift to this world.  Invite visitors to explore his website and books and discover the power of insight offered by Spirit animal wisdom.