As soon as I hit Maras pavement, I emailed Puma of Chinchero. He was the Shaman that my professor, Carol Parker, had recommended. His email response was immediate. He had time for me on Thursday, November 21, just four days back from my pilgrimage to Pomacanchi.
The owl visitations from the citing of…
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This week of internship I have felt the most confident as of yet. By confident I mean that I have an easy knowledge of what is expected, and how an average lesson might look. As the weather cools down the horses are friskier. I find that they are…
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This week has been one of manifesting intentions.
Yesterday morning began as any other here on the compound. The mountain summits rose majestically unabashed by gathering clouds. The dogs scurried to my door and I exited my casa to make my morning coffee. The Women of Maras began to arrive shortly before nine…
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Day one with the kids complete. What utter fun!, and I have limited internet access. I didn't meet Carol, by the way. She was on a journey to Machu Pichu, but I met her foreman and got a tour of the gardens, and of course, walked the labyrinth.
I met Joshuri at…
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Today I attended the first of a two-day Phoenix-based EMDR conference with Columbian born Ana Gomez. Ana is reputed to be a leader in EMDR implementation, research, and development of protocols for children and adolescents.
Her presentation today began with a liturgy on the importance of metaphors (Thanks, Jim Nolan!) in reaching…
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It’s been raining. I am wet up to my knees. Cold and overcast. I am already primed with fear because I saw a black bear on the side of the road on my way here. Sure enough, a few minutes into the bush and there is fresh bear spore... less than a day old, I’d say. I retrace my steps…
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"To find truth, we must always begin with ourselves...Art is our vehicle...When we access the realm of archetypes, we are entering the consciousness from which we 'create' our reality." - Robert Waterman (Mandala of the Soul: A Spiritual Approach to the Art of Archetypal Psychology)
Year One students explore the language of…
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After learning my flight was detained 4 hours,
I heard the announcement:
If anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic,
Please come to the gate immediately.
Well -- one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there.
An older woman in full traditional Palestinian dress,
Just like my…
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The plant known as marijuana has long been known in the indigenous world to carry a seductive feminine energy that creates dependence, while at the same time appearing to enhance spiritual expansion. The energies of this plant, while perhaps occasionally useful in a limited ceremonial context, typically create weakness in the individual's medicine body (energy…
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Southwestern College sends interested interns to the Andean village of Maras, Peru to work with children ages 4-12 in the elementary school and in an after-school program. This region, located at 13,000 feet, is very poor due to an ongoing drought and loss of crops and animals. Men and boys leave Maras to work in…
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I am blessed to have amazing teachers in this lifetime – from India, from South America, from the reservations of our own Turtle Island.
My favorite teachers are the everyday people who teach just by being who they are.
I think of Ronnie, our Navaho guide for our Wilderness Fasts in Canyon de Chelly. Ronnie…
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The staff at Southwestern Counseling Center works very hard, so at our last staff meeting we decided to arrange a ceremony to call in some extra support and prayers for ourselves. Luckily, Carol Parker agreed to facilitate an authentic Peruvian ritual, more accurately, a "Becoming Despacho". Despacho translates into "dispatch," so here we are collecting…
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Southwestern College Santa Fe, NM