Blog

-Rites of Passage

Rites of Passage are ceremonies that acknowledge major initiations (transitions) in a persons’ life. They are observed in various ways around the world, although modern societies tend to focus on birthdays, coming of age (Sweet 16, Quinceañeras,...

read more

-The Shaman’s Tools

As I sit in the healing space with my mentor and watch the old medicine man work with a member of the local community who is ill, I am struck by how little he moves and appears to do. I see him close his eyes and perhaps lift a finger from time to...

read more

-Set Yourself Up for Success

Fewer than 10 percent of all people who make New Year’s resolutions stick with them to the end of the year. In fact, half of them give up by midyear, and one-third don’t even make it to the end of January. However, 100 percent of people who make...

read more

-The Origins of Shamanism

I am often asked about the origins of shamanism – when did it originate, where did it start, and who were the first shamans. We know that shamanism is a prehistoric tradition dating back to hunter/gatherer (Paleolithic) cultures. Cave art...

read more

-Primitive vs. Modern Diet

There is an extraordinary collaboration between human beings and the plant kingdom. We are perfect symbionts: oxygen — the waste product of plant respiration — sustains life for us humans, and our respiratory waste – carbon dioxide — sustains life...

read more

-Of Earthkeepers and Shamans

Throughout the ages, secret societies of Native American medicine men and women carefully guarded their ancient wisdom teachings and acted as stewards of nature. These “Earthkeepers” existed in many nations and were called by many names; in the...

read more

-Castaways vs. Caretakers

Native American shamans have practiced energy medicine for more than five thousand years. Some medicine people believe their spiritual lineage extends back even further. They remember stories handed down from grandmother to granddaughter that speak...

read more

-A Solstice Meditation

The word solstice roughly translates as “when the sun stands still,” from the Latin sol, and sistere. On December 21st, the sun reaches its southernmost position in the sky – Tropic of Capricorn – stands still, and then reverses its direction...

read more

-Mastering Time

In the West, we’ve been taught that time flows in one direction only; that the future is always ahead of us and the past is always behind us. This is monochronic time, which flows linearly. But time doesn’t just fly like an arrow, it also turns...

read more

-Toxins and the Gut-Brain

Research increasingly shows that most of the diseases of modern living begin in the gut and are related to our diet. The gut-brain is a superhighway with many lanes where information is continuously flowing between the brain in the head and the...

read more