<!-- ************************************** --> <!-- <p class="first" id="blog_p01"> <span class="first_ltr">M</span>y first exposure to the world of shamanism was through the books of Carlos Castaneda, which opened up a new, mysterious world for me and touched me deeply. Although Don Juan referred to himself as a Brujo rather than as a shaman, there is much common ground between them. I began reading Castaneda in the mid 1980's while I was pursuing a BFA in Photography at Parsons School of Design, and it quickly began to influence the way I photographed. </p> <p> <span class="first_ltr">I</span> was always drawn to photographing nature, but an expanding mindfulness of our sacred connection to all of creation and its unseen mysteries, transformed my trips into Brooklyn's marshlands into prayerful, shamanic excursions. The aim of these short trips was to connect to something larger than myself, through my interaction with nature, and almost secondarily to make photographs reflecting that connection. </p> <p> <span class="first_ltr">A</span>fter graduating and spending a year working in Milan, Italy, I came back to New York feeling lost, and sunk into a deep depression that would eventually transform me. It was as if my life needed to be completely deconstructed and rebuilt on a new, solid foundation. I began searching for ways to heal. I found a wonderful, supportive, spiritually open psychotherapist who I worked with for a number of years. During those years I studied Self Realization Fellowship Yoga and A Course in Miracles, among other things, and had the good fortune to have had access to a number of very talented energy healers. </p> <p> <span class="first_ltr">O</span>ne of those healers became a teacher and mentor to me. It was before leaving on a trip to Macchu Picchu, Peru with her and a group of others, that my therapist lent me a book called Dance of the Four Winds by Dr. Alberto Villoldo, who would eventually train and initiate me as a shaman and a healer. This book reawakened the excitement and passion I felt in earlier years for Castaneda's subject matter, but in a much deeper way and came at a perfect time to prepare me for my first spiritual journey to Peru. </p> <p> <span class="first_ltr">I</span> am a graduate of a two year program in the energy medicine of the Incas called Healing The Lightbody, which is offered by the Four Winds Society and its founder, Dr. Alberto Villoldo. In the course of my training, I learned and attained competency and comfort with shamanic healing techniques of Peru's jungle and mountain shamans, such as The Illumination Process, Soul Retrieval and energy and entity extractions. This program also included medicine wheel work that was deeply healing and transformational for me personally, as well as a number of initiations into a lineage of Inca shamans that goes back thousands of years. </p> <p> <span class="first_ltr">M</span>y studies also took me back to Peru, and the Sacred Valley of the Incas; where I took part in ceremonies with Q'ero shamans at a number of sacred sites. The Q'ero shamans until recently lived in remote isolation in the Andes Mountains of Peru and are directly linked to the pre-Columbian Inca shamans. Because of this isolation, much of their ancient tradition of healing, spiritual teachings, and knowledge of ancient prophecies has been kept alive to be shared. It is into their tradition that I have been initiated. </p> <p> <span class="first_ltr">I</span> continued my training with Valorie Lordi and her organization, Seven Fires Medicine Walk. I am a serious practitioner of Hatha Yoga and study at the Iyengar Yoga Center in New York City. I see healing clients in my apartment in Carroll Gardens Brooklyn. </p> <br><br><br><br><br> --> <!-- ***************** BSSD *************** -->
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