This portion of the website is dedicated to active Anamcara Project participants. Site access is granted upon program acceptance.
Please email any questions to info@sacredartofliving.org
Becoming an Anamcara
Drawing on the classical healing traditions of antiquity, Sacred Art of Living Center has developed the Anamcara Apprenticeship Program. This two year training will create a new generation of caregivers in the dual role of the traditional anamcara: namely, the sacred art of living and the sacred art of dying.
SACRED ART OF
LIVING & DYING
Anyone, regardless of profession, spiritual background, or previous experience is welcome to participate in the core study units offered through the Sacred Art of Living & Dying series. For persons called to support others on their spiritual journey at the end of life, two additional levels of training and supervision invite persons to become Anamcara end-of-life practitioners. All levels of the Sacred Art of Living & Dying series teach practical skills based on the time-tested lessons of history-but applied practically to today’s audience and needs. The Sacred Art of Living & Dying is also based on the ancient wisdom that, for all of the support an Anamcara may provide, it is the dying who become their teachers at the end of life.
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Soul friendship is ultimately rooted in spiritual practice rather than a profession or institutional ministry. In other words, there is no formal governing body or accreditation for licensing Anamcara. Traditionally Anamcara were mentored by elders whom the community recognized as possessing special gifts of spiritual discernment. Anamcara are called to be life-long students of the Inner Life and companions of the Inner Journey for others.
Soul friendship is ultimately rooted in spiritual practice rather than a profession or institutional ministry. In other words, there is no formal governing body or accreditation for licensing Anamcara. Traditionally Anamcara were mentored by elders whom the community recognized as possessing special gifts of spiritual discernment. Anamcara are called to be life-long students of the Inner Life and companions of the Inner Journey for others.
STANDARDS FOR PRACTITIONERS
Based on twenty-five years of training and experience in end-of-life care, Sacred Art of Living Center has established baseline standards for the education and practice of today’s Anamcara. In addition to learning about the history, skills and challenges of this work, The Anamcara Project offers more intensive levels of practical training and mentorship. Not everyone who participates in Sacred Art of Living & Dying programs is necessarily interested in the formal designation of Anamcara. However, all participants in a Sacred Art of Living & Dying course will be invited to appropriately apply Anamcara practices within their life circumstances.
FOUR SPIRITUAL FOUNDATIONS OF ANAMCARA
Soulfulness
The spirituality that undergirds the work of anamcara is rooted in the common language of the world’s great mystical traditions. Mysticism is a universal approach to Mystery that both respects the wisdom of the ages but also requires people to trust their own experience. A principal requirement for anamcara is the commitment to some form of daily contemplative practice. All spiritual traditions teach that quiet listening enables us to better understand the working of Spirit in our own lives before attempting to guide others.
Community
Historically the anamcara was never a sole practitioner but remained connected to a community of spiritual support and on-going formation. The Sacred Art of Living Center, founder and sponsor of the Sacred Art of Living & Dying series, is committed to providing a venue of continuing education and mentorship for anamcara practitioners. Although its offices and staff are physically located in Bend, Oregon, The Anamcara Project is a virtual international community of prayer and network of support for the vital work of anamcara in our day.
Skillfullness
The anamcara tradition has a powerful reputation because of the tools which our ancestors tested over centuries of experience. The Sacred Art of Living & Dying series teaches only those skills that are validated by contemporary psychology and, wherever possible, supported by medical research. The Anamcara tradition never imposes a standardized solution to spiritual suffering. Instead, The Anamcara Project teaches basic principles that anyone can access in providing individualized support and guidance. All program tracks offer historical foundation and theory for anamcara practitioners-as well as opportunities for supervised, hands-on practice.
Mentorship
No two sets of soul-friends look alike; however, all anamcara practitioners are required to maintain an on-going relationship with a mentor-supervisor. A commitment to continuing spiritual formation and regular opportunities for supervision are the key to a fruitful and ethical anamcara practice. The Sacred Art of Living & Dying program will be an on-going laboratory for applying the anamcara tradition in a variety of formal and informal settings. Mentors will coach, challenge and encourage anamcara as they apply this tradition to real-life situations.