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My experience at Tom Brown Jr.'s Courses
Tom Brown teaches wilderness classes covering how to survive in the wilderness, how to make basic tools, how to meet your needs, how to connect to nature, how to track, camoflauge, and stalk, how to connect to the spiritual realm and do work there. I have taken ten of his courses, in this order: Standard, Philosophy I, Advanced Standard, Advanced Tracking and Nature Observation, Philosophy II, Grandfather, Philosophy III, Philosophy IV, Philosophy V, and Philosophy VI.
The four prophecies of Grandfather can be viewed at http://www.nexusmagazine.com/RedSkies.html.
The highlight of the Advanced Tracking and Nature Observation course had to be when we tracked foxes across moss in the rain. That _still_ seems impossible.
Tom teaching in the pine barrens of New Jersey:
In the Advanced Standard class, Tom teaches how to bowfish. Here Tom just released the bowstring, shooting at nothing in particular.
You have to be very still or move exceptionally slowly to let the fish come close to you. Don't try this at home, it's illegal in most states probably because it's so easy, says Tom.
In the Advanced Standard I made a shelter called a debris hut and slept in it for a night or two. Unfortunately, I lined it with pine needles, so it was a little on the prickley side. And I didn't initially have enough pine needles in it and I didn't have a door, so it was a bit cold. And even though I smoked it, I didn't smoke it good enough, so the chiggers got me. And then came hurricane Bertha...
The Philosophy class is geared towards building a set of tools to allow the student to contact the spiritual realms and use them for guidance, communication, learning, and doing work. I took the class in Jan '96. In Philosophy 1 I vividly remember an excercise where Tom told us to go physically to our sit area in the forest and (thru imagination) enter our sacred area. I did this and felt a sharp evil powerful presence to my right and behind me, I noticed movement as if from its shadow, all my hair stood up, and I was _afraid_. Tom had said that the excercise I was doing was safe, I decided I was not going to be hurt by it, so I slowly turned around, and it was gone. I was shaken for a couple of hours. I asked Tom about it later and he said to obliterate it with as much mental explosives as I wanted- "Fry Its Ass!" I think he said. I learned thru this experience that I am in _complete_ and utter control in _my_ sacred area. If anthing like that shows up again, it better be prepared to get its buttocks blown off, because I won't hesitate the next time. If I were anywhere else, spiritually, I would have been in danger, perhaps. Perhaps it was a sound warning to me to not get too cocky. Philosophies 2-6 expand and refine the spiritual framework and the tools to get there, do work there, get guidance, touch God, and ultimately stay there. It is a constant effort and a lifelong pursuit.
So I can recommend Tom's classes highly for those who want to learn Native American skills and philosophies.
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