a 5-week guided & online container for women to explore
Source – Sensitivity – Space – Ceremony – Coherence
To be altered is to inhabit a holy space in which we have access to information, insights and knowings that our otherwise more habituated states of being do not. During menstruation, and when the circumstances are ripe for it, our system naturally enters into this altered dimension.
Menstruation is, at its essence, a liminal space. In this in-between time, we are neither pregnant nor fertile. This pause is our body’s natural reset, as well as a time of enhanced clarity, integration and expansion. For those of us who have experienced the subtleties and gifts of menstruation, we know because we feel the depth and healing made available to us each month, and the potential of what this transformational energy can offer the world.
The sensitivity and needs of the menstruating experience epically disrupt the paradigms and discourses of the modern dominant culture. Which makes this work of re-weaving and grounding menstrual consciousness into our body-mind-soul imperative in our movement forward, towards the creation of a new, more sustainable and life-nurturing way.
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Menstruation as an altered state
Menstrual consciousness and the reintegration of soul
Menstrual health and disturbances: dysregulation, trauma and the nervous system
The physiological-spiritual-psychic-political-historical dimensions of menstruation
The commodification of menstruation
Menstruation as a microcosm of birth
Menstruation as a microcosm of death
Menstrual dreamwork and exploring the archetypal powers of what Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés has termed the Riddle Mother
Menstruation as innate transformational energy
Menstruation as meditation; our natural time for contemplative practice and prayer
Energetic boundaries and psychic privacy
Bleeding as ceremony and menstrual ritual
Menstruation in the workspace
Menstrual rest as disentangling from internalized capitalism and the forces of neoliberal feminism
Being with menstrual pain
Embodiment as an antidote to dissociation
Tending our animal bodies
Compassionate witnessing of Self
Personal, generational and planetary healing and wholeness
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The first four sessions are grounded in the program themes and will include elements of discussion, practices, content-based sharing and reflection. The fifth session is reserved for integration. I source my information from seven years of observing and tracking my experience at menstruation, from working with women and girls along the menstrual cycle continuum, from mentorship with elders and pioneers within the field, and from being a committed menstrual researcher, both anecdotally and through my studies of academic and peer-reviewed journals on menstruation across disciplines. As well, I offer transmissions that arise spontaneously, through connecting into the group field and sensing what is most needed in any given moment.
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1 x Weekly 2 Hour Live Session via Zoom for five consecutive weeks
Reflections, journal prompts and practices sent weekly via email
Individual support available via email throughout the duration of our container
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Stepping into Altered has been one of the best decisions I have made for myself.
~ Kristin
Samantha transmits a living wisdom of menstrual consciousness and reverence for both life and death which invites and initiates all who study and immerse with her into a vastly deeper understanding and experience of their true selves and the nature of being. Her approach is fiercely gentle, spaciously supportive and uniquely illuminating. I would recommend working or studying with Samantha in any and every capacity.
~ Sophie
Stepping into Altered has been one of the best decisions I have made for myself. The container has allowed me to deepen my relationship to my cycle in general, but more specifically, to the time before and during menstruation. Sam has a particularly beautiful way of facilitating; present, gentle and warm, whilst also delivering the content with passion and fire. The level of safety and trust that Sam created in the container from the very first session made it comfortable for me to share my feelings and reflections. I feel forever grateful to Sam for sharing this work, knowing the ripple effect it has in each person's life that receives it.
~ Kristin
I tend to trust those the most who almost seem to do the work effortlessly. Not trying or doing, teaching or preaching but rather welcoming the natural way everything already is forming. Sam is the perfect example of this.
~ Karolin
The knowledge Samantha shared was so potent, and to see how it entered those in the space made it all the more rich. I feel changed in ways I cannot yet make sense of. The way Sam lead us into and out of the space was pivotal. Samantha, as a teacher and guide, felt whole and embodied. It was refreshing to be held in this way, and revealed to me how I wish to be taught forevermore.
~ Alexandra
I am only starting to resurface from the deep space the course initiated me into and I am not returning the same, I truly have been altered. Thank you Sam, for what you are sharing has turned my world inside out for the better.
~ Samantha
The transmissions given by Samantha in this course have profoundly altered the way I relate to my bleed and my lived experience as a woman. I’m in deep gratitude for your work Samantha and will spend the next months integrating the teachings and wisdom that you’ve so generously shared with us. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
~ Christine
Sam guided us and yet allowed us to be free, she passed on what she had gathered and yet welcomed our wisdom at the same time. She spoke from her genius and yet gave us the reminder if needed that the same genius lives within us. She steered our way, showing us both the beauty and the pain of this feminine pathway, keeping us awakened and still hopeful in front of it all.
~ Karolin
Altered was magical and transformative in the most feminine and gentle way. I was honored to be a part of this group.
~ Keito
After taking Altered, I’m feeling enlivened, enriched, proud and grateful to be in a menstruating body. Sam’s integrity, devotion and wisdom is so felt. Her teachings are so needed. Thank you thank you.
~ Josje
Sam, I am so grateful for the deep insights you have offered. Through the container of Altered, I felt invited to safely explore the deep themes we felt into, and journey further into the relationship I have with my menstrual cycle. I find my practice of menstruation changing shape, and I feel more connected to my cycle and bleed than ever before. I feel altered, 'observing society through the critical lens of conscious menstruation', as you said. As time passes since circle was closed, I find myself still exploring the themes you offered, in different expressions. You delivered your work softly, while simultaneously expressing your fierce passion in this realm. This has inspired me to speak and live my truth more fully. I am more than grateful.
~ Sarah
The themes of source, sensitivity, space, and ceremony are now my guiding angels to hold my hands through each bleed. Like little fairies, they each bring gifts and challenges and strengths. Thank you Sam for introducing me to these new friends, I am eternally grateful.
~ Sydnie
Sam's authentic embodiment of this work is not only inspiring but it immediately invites every cell of my body into an experienced depth that is both powerful and peaceful. Altered really left me feeling even more in awe of the female body and the portal of menstruation.
~ Clara
The third cohort of Altered begins on Sunday, October 13th at 10am AEDT and will run consecutively for five weeks. All sessions are held live on Zoom, and are 2-2.5 hours in length. Recordings will be available. Spaces are limited.
This content is copyright of Samantha Neal © 2024. All rights reserved. Any repurposing of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited. Please, don’t steal my work.