Meet the Practitioner

I found myself stepping into a 50,000 year old lineage of healers. Before counselors, doctors, popes & pastors there were shaman. These shaman have been the healers who, throughout human history, have gathered wisdom & practices; tapping into the energetic wealth of plants, animals, earth & spirit realms to support human healing of mind, body & soul. Luckily many shamanic traditions have survived to the present, including that of the Q’ero from the Andes of Peru.

Having spent extensive time in Peru from the age of 16, I was drawn the the Q’ero shamanic tradition. I liked the earth & community honoring, egalitarian orientation of this group. They also think long term of the needs of future generations. The Q’ero were able to safeguard their ancient knowledge & practices by remaining in the highest Andes once the Spanish conquistadors & Inquisition arrived in the Americas. They are sharing their medicine ways with the rest of the world as their prophesy foretold the need of their wisdom. We now understand our world requires the highest skills & tools of healing to address our challenges.

After working as a psychotherapist for nearly 4 decades, I know how challenging change creation & acceptance can be. Sometimes talking about pain & outdated beliefs does little to bring relief. I have found shamanic energy medicine to be a gentle & efficient method to bring desired change. These sessions can be used in conjunction with counseling & medical treatments as needed. I now offer individual sessions to assist in clearing limiting or toxic energies & beliefs, as well as inviting clarity, freedom & attunement to one’s authentic self.

True Story

Just into my 20s, after completing my B.A.s in Anthropology and Spanish, I felt the calling to Shamanic practice. Mind you, this was about 35 years ago, before the internet, cell phones & such, so finding a teacher seemed challenging. I had heard about a Peruvian Shaman so I headed there to request mentoring. I mean, how did one become a shaman? Via plane, train, bus and cab I managed to arrive to his home, naively expectant of a welcome onto an amazing sacred path. I was instead abruptly stopped in my tracks. The Shaman’s young relation informed me that he wasn’t home and no one could say when to expect him back. I guess I should have written first!

After this, a new plan was clearly needed. I got my Master’s degree & plunged into a career providing holistic counseling as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. This form of healing work brought great satisfaction, with ever deepening understanding & compassion for our human challenges. I found ways also to work with spirit and earth energies via Lakota Ceremony, drumming, gardening etc. And yet, that yearning for immersion in a Shamanic practice that works with all levels of consciousness and harmonizes with all beings still called to me.

Luckily, a friend invited me to an introduction to Peruvian Shamanism. So many years later, and the door opened to me! In 2017 I began my training with the Four Winds Society Light Body School and earned my certification as a Shamanic Energy Medicine Practitioner.

So why am I so excited and inspired by this work? First of all the “tried & True” nature of this method. Humans have been relying on Shamanic healing for tens of thousands of years!! The wise ones of old found techniques and approaches that worked through trial and error. We can benefit from their determination. Modern physics also points to some of the same truths the ancients discovered about energy medicine…that everything is energy/vibration and is connected. We can approach healing from the physical, emotional, and energetic levels. While we need to tend to ourselves in all three ways, I have found working at the energetic level to be efficient and direct! We can clear old patterns, inviting expansion to greater possibilities, connection with one’s soul’s & destiny and to right relations to the natural world.

Another way to look at the benefits of Shamanic work is from a psychological orientation. Counseling helps people heal by finding and honoring themselves, learning to choose thoughts and actions that lead to more joy and peace, learning about development, communication techniques, good self talk etc. These are cognitive and some physical practices. Shamanic work orients beyond cognitive work, to the larger energetic realm, which includes the seen and unseen realities; all beings including plants, animals, stones and stars. Shaman can engage all these sources to assist in healing and harmonizing us with our soul & the natural world.