Sedonia Cahill, (My first Spiritual Teacher)

My dear friend, a Vision Quest leader, a teacher and mentor. Sedonia was my first human spiritual teacher who was the guide on my Vision Quest in 1989. Then, from 1990 to 1999 I assisted her on Vision Quests in the California desert. She was killed in an automobile accident in February of 2000 while traveling in Morocco. An amazing woman who I owe my medicine journey to. Her work transformed my life.

Adolfo Ttito Condori, (my current mentor/ teacher)

Ayllu K’anchaq Qoyllur, www.andeanmasters.com

My Peruvian spiritual brother, mentor and friend. Adolfo was born in Poma Canchi, Peru; a small agrarian village surrounded by mountains and lagoons at 12,000 ft. His journey in the Andean medicine ways began as a child under the guidance of his grandfather and parents who worked with plant medicines as pampamisayoqs. Adolfo experienced many of the classic initiations for becoming a medicine person. He has been struck by lightning twice (as a child and an adult). During adolescence he momentarily died from disease but was resuscitated by the Apus. At age 16 Adolfo lost his father, and in addition to taking over helping his mother raise his siblings, the spirits of the mountains began their teachings of Adolfo directly. After years of personal tests and training the Apus gave him the power of an Altomisayoq. With the guidance of their knowledge and practices Adolfo’s gifts come from a pure communion with the Apus for over 20 years. Adolfo leads trips for students of Andean Cosmology in the mountains of Peru. In 2012 Adolfo began traveling to the USA to teach American students a more refined understanding of Andean Cosmology and spiritual practice. He now has a school in Poma Canchi named Yachay Wasi (house of wisdom) where he, his brothers (Rodolfo and Claudio) and fellow paqos teach students the ways of Andean Cosmology.

TEACHING ORGANIZATIONS I HAVE TRAINED WITH:

The Foundation for Shamanic Studies (FSS), www.shamanism.org

Started in 1979 as the Center for Shamanic Studies, the Foundation for Shamanic Studies presents the world’s foremost training programs in shamanism and shamanic healing. They are based on the pioneering work of the late anthropologist, Michael Harner, who brought shamanism to contemporary life in the West after extensive field and cross-cultural investigation, experimentation, and personal practice. He originated, researched, and developed core shamanism, a system designed for Westerners to apply shamanism and shamanic healing successfully to their daily lives. The Foundation for Shamanic Studies is a non-profit educational organization which teaches core shamanism workshops across the USA and in many other countries. The FSS also documents, studies and supports indigenous shamans, and funds many different research programs across the world. I attended numerous workshops and trainings with the FSS between 1989 and 1996.

Alberto Villoldo & Staff at The Four Winds Society, www.thefourwinds.com

Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D., a psychologist and medical anthropologist, has studied the healing practices of the Amazon and Andean shamans for more than 25 years. While at San Francisco State University, he founded the Biological Self-Regulation Laboratory to study how the mind creates psychosomatic health and disease. Founder of The Four Winds Society, Alberto instructs individuals throughout the world in the practice of energy medicine. Dr. Villoldo’s best-selling books include Shaman, Healer, Sage; One Spirit Medicine; The Four Insights; Courageous Dreaming; and Power Up Your Brain. The Four Winds Society, through the LIGHT BODY SCHOOL, has trained more than 10,000 students in the art and craft of shamanic energy medicine, which includes Illumination work, soul retrieval, extraction, depossession, death rites and much more. I studied with the Four Winds from 2002 to 2006 and have received my certification from Healing the Light Body School in 2004.

MY TEACHERS OF UNIQUE, SPECIALIZED OR INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE:

Angeles Arrien, (Passed away April 24, 2014)

A fellow Basque, Angeles was a dynamic teacher, storyteller and author. In 1997 I studied in her 4-Fold Way intensive training was an excellent program showing how to incorporate the teachings of the archetypes of: Visionary, Healer, Teacher and Leader. Angeles was a cultural anthropologist, award-winning author, educator, and consultant to many organizations and businesses. She lectured and conducted workshops worldwide, bridging cultural anthropology, psychology, and comparative religions. Her work continues to be used in medical, academic, and corporate environments.

Betsy Bergstrom, www.betsybergstrom.com

Betsy Bergstrom is a full-time Shamanic Practitioner and an international teacher of healing practices including Compassionate Depossession, which she has developed and taught for more than a decade. She also pioneered Compassionate Mediumship and Curse Unraveling classes for healing practitioners. Betsy specializes in depossession work and Mediumship in the form of Seidr. Her family heritage is diverse, with roots in Norse, Scottish and Native American cultures. She has been trained by a number of indigenous shamans and healers who have encouraged her and shared with her their wonderful teachings.  As a practicing Buddhist and student of Lama Tsering Norbu Wangdu Rinpoche, she is authorized to teach the ancient, powerful and beautiful Chöd practice along with other Vajrayana Buddhist teachings.  She has worked in various fields of Alternative Healing for over 30 years. Her calling is to work in partnership with the Helping Spirits, to help the living and the dead. 

Tom Brown Jr. Tracker School, www.trackerschool.com

Tom Brown, Jr. is legendary for his tracking and nature skills and has published over 16 books on the subject. His Tracker School has been in existence since 1978 and teaches a broad range of wilderness, survival, awareness, tracking and spiritual skills.

Tom Cowan, www.riverdrum.com

Tom is a shamanic practitioner specializing in Celtic visionary and healing techniques. He combines universal core shamanism with traditional European spirit lore to create spiritual practices that can heal and enrich one’s own life and the lives of others. He is an internationally respected teacher, author, lecturer, and tour leader. He has taught training programs in England, Wales, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy; and Slovakia. Tom is one of the founding board members for the Society for Shamanic Practice (SSP) www.shamanicpractice.org  

Tom is the author of Yearning For The Wind: Celtic Reflections on Nature and the Soul; Fire in the Head: Shamanism and the Celtic Spirit; Shamanism as a Spiritual Practice for Daily Life; The Pocket Guide to Shamanism; The Book of Séance; The Way of the Saints: Prayers, Practices, and Meditations; and Wending Your Way: A New Version of the Old English Rune Poem.

Myron Eshowsky, www.myroneshowsky.com

Myron Eshowsky, M.S. (Counseling), is an author, mediator, consultant, shamanic healer, and educator. He is a pioneer in the integration of shamanic methodology for the purpose of addressing modern problems. He has authored dozens of articles on these topics in a wide range of journals and the highly acclaimed, Peace with Cancer: Shamanism as a Spiritual Approach to Healing. For the last two decades, he has studied extensively how cultures throughout the world view and address conflict. He has consulted and taught throughout the United States, Canada, Africa, Middle East and Europe. Myron was my first teacher on Shamanic Journeying back when he was an instructor for the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. I have learned many advanced esoteric shamanic studies from Myron who is an excellent resource of information.

David Furlong, http://www.davidfurlong.co.uk/index.htm

He is one of the founder tutors of the College of Healing and was the first Chairman of the Natural Health Network in England.  He is the author of six books including The Healer Within, Working with Earth Energies, and Healing Your Ancestral Patterns, and has run workshops and training courses for more than forty-five years.

David has a wide ranging knowledge of earth energies and landscape healing work including dealing with disturbed site energies including spirit release. I studied with David to learn about some of London’s ley lines, nature spirits & elemental beings, and understanding how to work with disturbed sites. 

Jose Luis Herrera and Q’ero medicine people, www.andeaninstitute.org

Jose Luis Herrera spent much of his life exploring and studying the high Mountain, Amazon, and Coastal medicine traditions of his native Peru. Seeing a need to preserve the indigenous teachings of Ancient Peru he formed ARI, the Andean Research Institute and built a teaching and learning center bordering the Sacred Valley in the village of Maras, Peru. The Andean Research Institute [ARI] exists to support the Andean and Amazon cultures and the wisdom keepers who have been gifting us their extraordinary knowledge for decades. In addition, Jose Luis is an accomplished mountain climber, explorer, author, speaker, naturalist and has studied under the most respected medicine people of Peru. He leads expeditions in Peru and teaches Inka Medicine Traditions across the US and Europe through the organization, Santa Tierras: www.santatierras.com

Sandra Ingerman, www.sandraingerman.com

Sandy is an excellent teacher who trained me in soul retrieval, extraction, and transmutation work. She teaches workshops on shamanism around the world and was formerly the Educational Director of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies directed by Michael Harner.
Sandra Ingerman, MA, is an award winning author of ten books, including Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self, Medicine for the Earth: How to Heal Personal and Environmental Toxins and Walking in Light: The Everyday Empowerment of Shamanic Life. She is the presenter of seven audio programs produced by Sounds True, and she is the creator of the Transmutation App. Sandra is a world renowned teacher of shamanism and has been teaching for more than 30 years. She teaches workshops internationally on shamanic journeying, healing, and reversing environmental pollution using spiritual methods. Sandra is recognized for bridging ancient cross-cultural healing methods into our modern culture addressing the needs of our times.

Luzclara, www.luzclaramedicinewoman.com

Luzclara is a Chilean medicine woman, ceremonial leader, shamanic practitioner, and sound healer who dedicates her life to the healing of herself, Mother Earth and all of her beings. She has been working for the last 35 years in awakening the sacred feminine energies in the planet using ancient methods of ritual and magic. She now resides in the Sacred Valley in Perú after a powerful call from her heart to be in this part of the Earth. 

She has trained and studied with different indigenous shamans around the world; among them, Machi Antonia Lincolaf, a shaman from the Mapuche people of Chile. Based on the “Matchitun”, the healing tradition of the Mapuche shamans of Chile, Luzclara has developed the “Healing Circle”, a ceremonial sacred space where, with a unified intention everybody comes together from the heart, and connects with the shaman within. Using drums, rattles, dances, chants, and different healings instruments from many cultures, we pray for the healing of the people participating.  

Nan Moss, www.shamanscircle.com

Nan Moss and the late David Corbin spent more than a decade teaching the spiritual aspects of weather, and have been doing research on this topic for many years. In 1999 Nan & David presented their introductory workshop, WeatherDancing: Shamanism and the Spirits of Weather, and later published the book, Weather Shamanism. They also created a set of shamanic divination cards using cloud images: CloudDancing: Wisdom from the Sky, and have written articles on the spirits of weather in Shamanism, the journal of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies.

Currently Nan is a senior faculty member of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. She teaches workshops for the FSS and continues teaching and studying her passion of weather shamanism.

Robert Moss, www.mossdreams.com

Robert Moss describes himself as a dream teacher, on a path for which there has been no career track in our culture. He is the creator of Active Dreaming, an original synthesis of dreamwork and shamanism. Born in Australia, he survived three near-death experiences in childhood. He leads popular seminars all over the world, including a three-year training for teachers of Active Dreaming. A former lecturer in ancient history at the Australian National University, he is a best-selling novelist, journalist and independent scholar. He has published twelve books on dreaming, shamanism and imagination.

Larry Peters, Ph.D. (Now retired)

A Tibetan Shamanism expert, Dr. Larry Peters is a licensed psychotherapist, world renowned scholar, and initiated shaman in the Tibetan tradition. Dr. Peters holds advanced degrees in both Anthropology and Psychology, has conducted ethnographic fieldwork with shamans in Nepal, China, Mongolia, and Siberia, and was a Research Associate of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. 

Dr. Peters conducted workshops on Tibetan Shamanism in cities across the U.S., and brought groups to Nepal each year for Initiation Pilgrimages with Ama Bombo, including Janai Purnima. Dr. Peters was a professor of Anthropology & Psychology at The California Graduate Institute of Professional Psychology & Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles, and a Board Member of the Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness.

Marko Pogaĉnik, www.markopogacnik.com

Marko Pogaĉnik is a UNESCO Artist for Peace, Author of over 25 books published internationally, a sculptor, visionary and international teacher from Slovenia. Marko is a specialist in working with the elemental beings, nature spirits, Geomancy and earth energies. He has developed a technique called “Lithopuncture” which involves using carved stone sculpture spikes as acupuncture needles to awaken and balance meridians on the earth. Marko’s innovative thinking makes him a pioneer in awakening us to GAIA and the upcoming earth changes. His current focus is to teach about the multi-dimensionality of the Earth and Earth Consciousness and to communicate our decision to cooperate with Gaia’s plan for the further evolution of the planet.

Brant Secunda, www.shamanism.com

Brant Secunda is a shaman, healer and traditional ceremonial leader who completed a 12-year apprenticeship with Don José Matsuwa, the renowned Huichol shaman who passed away in 1990 at the age of 110.

In 1979, Brant Secunda established the Dance of the Deer Foundation Center for Shamanic Studies to disseminate and preserve Huichol culture, practices, and traditions, and to provide direct assistance with the goal of promoting self-sufficiency and economic independence.

For over 40 years, Brant has been leading conferences, workshops and retreats around the globe. He is a co-founder of the American Herbalist Guild, the Peace University, and the Huichol Foundation. 

Herb Stevenson, www.onewhitehorsestanding.com

Herb Stevenson bridges the worlds of business and spiritual healing. Until recently, he was Executive Vice President of Young & Associates, Inc. in Kent, Ohio. Now, as part of his efforts to reclaim his Native American Indian heritage (Shawnee and Cherokee), he has been exploring indigenous healing practices, such as the shamanic use of rocks and crystals in the healing process. He has established a private practice in crystal energy healing, specializing in trauma-related work. Herb has also developed, Medicine of Men, a one-year, male initiation program designed to assist men through the process of maturity. Herb teaches people to work with crystals and rocks, as well as workshops on the medicines of Bear, Wolf, Buffalo and Cougar.