Walking In Your Shoes®

Wolfgang Ettenreich, MSCS


In the 1990’s I earned a Masters Degree in Computer Science & Theoretical Medicine from the Technical University of Munich, Germany.

A couple decades later I was granted an AMI (Assoc. Montessori Int’l) Diploma to work with children according to the pedagogy and philosophy of Maria Montessori.

2014 I was certified by WIYS co-founder Joseph Culp to facilitate the Walking-In-Your-Shoes method.

A Little More About Me

Walking In Your Shoes ®

This rather simple and yet profound method has become a passion of mine. After many 1-on-1 training sessions with Joseph Culp, the co-founder of Walking-In-Your-Shoes, and several group-work meetings (in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Los Angeles), I was certified in 2014 to facilitate workshops and individual sessions. It is my intention to make this method known to a wider audience so that more people may benefit from it.

Systemic Constellation Work

I first encountered Systemic Constellation Work (aka family constellations) in 2001. I had the pleasure and “pain” to work through many constellations of my own family system and was a representative in numerous constellations for workshop participants. The fascination for this work led me to 2 levels of facilitator training and afterwards to co-facilitate workshops. In about 2012 a family constellations faciltator and friend made me aware of another – seemingly very similar – method called Walking-In-Your-Shoes. One very important aspect both methods have in common is to work phenomenological, which means with that which is arising in the moment.

The Diamond Approach

For many years now I am a student of the Diamond Approach and a member of the Ridhwan School for Spiritual Development, located in Berkeley, CA. In this work we practice and refine the continuous exploration of the Truth & Dynamism of Reality. Why can’t we simply be True Nature, what takes us away from the home of what and who we truly are? One of the main ‘tools’ is a formal way of Inquiry, which is the skillful, open-ended exploration of one’s own experience into all its depths and subtleties, anytime, anywhere. A steadily increasing presence and the refined capacity to sense what arises in the moment, are informing my faciliation of WIYS.

Montessori Education

A major reorientation in my life got me into the field of education, more specifically, the pedagogy and philosophy of Maria Montessori. After completing my studies of this method/way of educating children, I started working in a classroom as a Montessori teacher. These years did teach me a lot about human development, the formation of personality, and how to best support children in these important years of their life. I also learned a good deal about myself and my own childhood (issues) along the way.

Movement & Music

Movement in its infinite forms can ignite the very process of WIYS, is deeply intertwined with mental development as it has been demonstrated by Maria Montessori, may propel us in expanded states of consciousness (like the whirling dervishes), allows for the most astounding ways of self-expression, and so much more.

Below I just want to give space to some of the most amazing teachers I had the privilege to study with.

Sensei Pat Hendricks (7th Dan), Aikido of San Leandro, CA. I made it to first degree black belt but I am no longer practicing actively on the mat. The incredible body-awareness, cultivated over many years as her student, is still with me today though. And so is Aikido as an art of living and as a philosophy of being in this world (“The Art Of Peace”). Hendricks sensei is without doubt an icon in the world of Aikido, one living the art to the fullest.

Banafsheh Sayyad, teaches self-empowerment and spiritual development through dance and is the creator of Dance of Oneness ®, which draws from Persian Classical and Tribal Dance, Flamenco, Yoga, Tai Chi, and Sufi Ritual, the poetry of Rumi and Hafez, and Gurdjieff Work. The magic she does cannot be explained, it needs to be experienced. 

Stephen Kent is a world renown didjeridu virtuoso & master player performing all across the globe. He not only taught me many of the basic and advanced skills to play this instrument but also made me recognize its spiritual grounds and incredible versatility. I love to play this instrument whenever there is an opportunity, like on a festival, for a celebration or ritual, or simply in the solitude of nature.

Wolfgang Ettenreich

Wolfgang Ettenreich

Certified WIYS Facilitator

 

I am based in Asheville, North Carolina. To get in touch with me,  simply use the contact form on this site.

I am a member of the WIYS Institute of North America (www.wiys-institute.com, see facilitator listing). You can also find me on LinkedIn (in) or get some rare tweets.