Southwestern College Santa Fe, NM
Luisa Kolker graduated from Southwestern College, where she studied Counseling. Interestingly, I met her through Social Media, where I became aware of this really funny, transparent, and seemingly wise woman who was doing Shamanic work in Santa Fe. I knew she was a graduate of the school and thought it would be great to meet her and find out about her experience at the College.
I have to be honest. In a town like Santa Fe, everybody contends that they are shamans, or energy workers, or a variety of other visionary healers. I am naturally skeptical about these self-designations, so when I went to meet Luisa, I thought, “Oh, we will see if she seems like the real deal. Maybe yes, maybe no.” I tend to get quick hits on this one. I have no way of knowing if the hits are accurate, but I will tell you they are quick gut hits, quick intuitions.
Within about 5 minutes of meeting Luisa, I had a very strong “Yes” going—her life, her story, her narrative, were highly unusual, with lots of crossover into non-ordinary reality. I could feel that this was her experience, and that her work was real. We have become friends, and she actually taught the Psychology of Consciousness course at Southwestern College, working closely with Vice President Katherine Ninos. She visited my Psychopathology class a number of times to talk with SWC students about spiritual emergency and non-ordinary reality experiences, and how they were different from stuff described in the DSM. Her visits were invariably landmark experiences for these therapists-in-training, and some of them went on to take Luisa’s workshops and trainings.
I am so thankful for all she has done both for Southwestern College and for the world in general. And she is an inveterate two-stepper as well, so you can catch her dancing at La Fonda and other such juke joint settings near Santa Fe.
The material below is taken directly from Luisa’s website, which I encourage you to visit, since there is MUCH more of interest than I have printed below. Her story is fascinating, and she is somebody you really want to know about…
http://issuu.com/santafean/docs/santa_fean_apr-may_2012_digital_edition/27
Luisa has a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology from Southwestern College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is a licensed psychotherapist in the state of New Mexico.
Luisa provides shamanic and psychotherapeutic consultation for individuals of all ages, facilitates dynamic workshops, seasonal ceremonies, and ongoing shamanic journey circles. She works in person, by Skype and over the phone with clients in New Mexico, across the U.S. and all over the world. She currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Luisa’s mission is to assist others in transforming their self-defeating patterns into joyful, passionate authenticity. The ultimate aim is to live a life of integrity, passion, spontaneity and joy. Luisa says: “My relationship with my inner world and the wilderness inside my own being generates an empathic and respectful relationship with the natural world outside of me. My responsibility as a human being is to be a vessel for beauty and balance and to give that back to the world and to this planet, which give me so much.”
For Luisa, the shamanic path is one that she lives and breathes. It is her life’s work.
