Reconnecting with the Spirit of Mother Ocean Through Gratitude, Ceremony, and Listening

Facilitated by Dr. Tomás Pinkson

***SPECIAL EVENT for SUMMER of OCEAN LOVE***

Join us Saturday, June 20 at Santa Barbara Solstice Celebration | Funtopia Kix Zone at Alameda Park 10:00 - 3:00 pm

“"When we listen deeply to Mother Ocean, we remember that her fate and our fate are one." — Dr. Tom “tomás” Pinkson

Grandmother Ocean

Grandmother Ocean is the source of all life. We come from the ocean, and our bodies still carry her signature in the salt water that flows within us. Yet oceans around the world are under increasing stress from pollution, climate change, and the cumulative impacts of human activity. This ceremony offers an opportunity to restore our relationship with the Great Mother through gratitude, prayer, listening, and sacred action.

Drawing from Indigenous ceremonial teachings learned during an eleven-year apprenticeship with Huichol (Wixárika) shamans in Mexico, Dr. Tomás Pinkson will guide participants through a powerful experience of reconnecting with the spirit and wisdom of Mother Ocean.

What to Expect

We will begin by gathering in sacred space to create ceremonial God's Eye offerings using sticks and colored yarn. These offerings will hold our gratitude for the gifts we receive from Mother Ocean and our prayers for her healing.

Participants are asked to bring:

• Two thin, straight sticks

• Colored yarn

Together, we will weave our intentions into these sacred offerings before traveling to the beach.

At the shoreline, we will sit before the Great Mother and enter into ceremony through:

• Prayer and blessing

• Song and chant

• Sacred silence

• Deep listening

• Reflection and sharing

Through guided silence, participants will be invited to listen for Mother Ocean's wisdom teachings and receive insight into how they can contribute to healing the root causes of her suffering. Following the ceremony, there will be time for community sharing and integration.

Why This Matters

The natural world is alive, intelligent, and relational. Mother Ocean has a spirit, just as each of us does. When we forget this connection, we experience the wound of separation—from nature, from one another, and from ourselves.

This ceremony is an invitation to heal that separation.

By approaching the ocean with reverence, gratitude, and openness, participants can deepen their relationship with the living world and rediscover their place within the greater web of life. Through ceremony, we cultivate a relationship based not on extraction, but on reciprocity, respect, and care.

What Participants Will Gain

Participants will:

• Experience a conscious reconnection with the power and wisdom of Mother Ocean

• Learn the sacred practice of creating ceremonial God's Eye offerings

• Deepen their understanding of Indigenous ceremonial approaches to right relationship with nature

• Receive personal insight and guidance through listening to the wisdom of the ocean

• Leave with a greater sense of gratitude, belonging, and stewardship

• Discover meaningful ways to contribute to the healing of our oceans and waterways

Participants will leave with their own ceremonial experience, a deeper relationship with Mother Ocean Spirit, and practical inspiration for living in greater harmony with the natural world.

About Your Guide, Dr. Tom Pinkson

TheAbout Dr. Tomás Pinkson

Dr. Tomás Pinkson is an 82-year-old shamanic elder, transpersonal psychologist, ceremonial leader, sacred storyteller, and author. For more than five decades he has been a world-recognized guide for Vision Quests, medicine circles, and transformational ceremonies and rites of passage.

Dr. Pinkson completed an eleven-year apprenticeship and initiation with Huichol (Wixárika) shaman (mara’akame) Guadalupe de la Cruz, iMexico, receiving teachings and assignments that continue to inform his life's work. He currently leads sacred fire ceremonies, mentors individuals from all walks of life, and serves as a wisdom keeper dedicated to helping people reconnect with themselves, each other, and the living Earth.