Over the years you have seen me offer these journeys to the Amazon for the express purpose of participating in Ayahuasca ceremonies. Okay, out front, I know that Ayahuasca is not for everyone. Nonetheless, I hope that you find encouragement and appreciation that this kind of opportunity is at least available for those to whom it does appeal as a powerful and empowering means of engaging one’s healing and spiritual awakening. My intent in this writing is to share with you what has so inspired me to make these journeys accessible.
Earth Shaman
I am an Earth Shaman. This living planet is my Mother, her embrace provides me my sense of safety; all my food is of her body, she provides me my sustenance. She is the Mother-of-Us-All; the plants and animals with whom life is shared are my sisters and brothers… no less than my womb-kin. The sky above me is my Father, his consistency – as observed in the daily rising and setting of the Sun as well as the yearly dance of the Sun from Winter Solstice through the Spring Equinox to the Summer Solstice, then on back through the Autumn Equinox on his return to the Winter Solstice once again – enables my willingness to trust and activates within me spiritual insights I receive from the subtle feelings in my tissues, my mind and my emotions that occur in synchronization with the turning of the seasons, the Moon, planets and stars… no less than the oceans tides are affected by the Moon. As an Earth Shaman I belong to no People (culture/tribe). I belong to All People. These People, to whom I am accountable and representative, are all who are the Children of the Mother-and-Father-of-Us-All. My Calling is to be available for any who are sincere in their quest for the activation of each their own unique spiritual awakening. My Calling is to be the bridge of commune on behalf of the People and the Spirits. As an Earth Shaman my responsibility to my People is to be on top of my game, never resting on past accomplishments, to seek the boundaries of the spiritual envelope and expand them, then to mark the trail so that others might, with greater ease, explore that new territory.
The Ayahuasca Quest
For many years I had the curiosity and desire to investigate Ayahuasca. In my earlier years I was an ardent member of the Native American Church (peyote ceremony), and so was intimately aware of the difference between the utilization of entheogens as a meaningful and integral component of a sacred rite, and their use in unguided explorations of consciousness. I came to earn a healthy respect for why the employment of these sacred plants in ceremony, with the oversight and assistance of highly trained and qualified ceremonial leaders, was so important… if one was truly seeking to be embraced within the relationship of these powerful Spirits that are endowed within these sacraments. If one was merely seeking a self-exploratory WoW! experience, no such guidance was necessary, and generally was not desired. This latter type of experimentation had always left me feeling like I had missed something profound, that while I was exploding across the universe, something very significant was being passed over. I came to learn that the reason I was missing that ‘something’ was because I was not available for it. I was caught up in ‘my’ experience, and so was not present for the embrace in relationship that the Spirit of the Sacred was, patiently, eternally, waiting to share with me. My years as a participant in peyote ceremonies changed that. I was introduced to the Spirit of the Sacred. That bond, once forged, has been predominate from that moment forward. The opportunity for you to engage in a Relationship with the Sacred is my guiding focus and heart’s desire.
The Amazon, Shipibo and Mama Ayahuasca
A dear and respected friend of mine, Alan Leon, is the person with whom I have been organizing these Amazon Ayahuasca Adventures. He handles the logistics, I bring the people. I had discussed with him my desire to participate in an Ayahuasca ceremony. From our conversations I knew he had the same desire, so when he excitedly called me one day, in 2004, and told me that he had found an Ayahuascero (Ayahuasca Shaman) of the Shipibo tribe who was willing to work with our groups, the feeling of ‘click’ occurred… this was what i had been waiting for: participation in the Ayahuasca ceremony amongst the tribal peoples in the Amazon jungle where the Ayahuasca was to be found in its natural environment and with an authentic Shaman who was well versed in the ceremonial use of Ayahuasca! With a small group of trusted and adventurous friends we set out to the Amazon jungle of Peru. The tales of some of those adventures can be found in a few articles I wrote, in the form of Journals, that describe in vivid and experience-inducing tales of travels and the Ayahuasca journeys themselves.
- A Journey into the Amazon of the Soul Part #1
- A Journey into the Amazon of the Soul Part #2
- Ayahuasca Visions
As a special treat, listen to the songs recorded (with permission) during an actual Ayahuasca ceremony (burps and all):
- The Icaros of Carlos Valle (BAD LINK – 47-audio-ayahuasca-songs)
And now, view the slideshow of photos taken from past Ayahuasca Adventures:
The relationship that I have embraced with Mama Ayahuasca (yes, she is an expression of that very same aforementioned Mother-of-Us-All) has helped me immensely in my personal life. I have received physical healings; aid and assistance from her in bringing to resolve deeply entrenched fears and addictions; necessary insight to enable me to move even deeper into abiding compassion. Through her I have experienced full-body non-sexual orgasm as pure life-force surged through me and all life around me, melting and merging me into the Oneness of Being.
Empowerments
One of the most significant results of Mama Ayahuasca’s dance with me has been an exponential expansion of my capabilities as Shaman. I will share one such empowerment. One of the mainstays of my Shamanic practice has always been Soul Retrieval. Not only have I been doing Soul Retrievals on behalf of clients for decades, I also have come to know and been able to express with lucidity the difference between Spirit and Soul and the distinction between Earth Soul, Underworld Soul and Celestial Soul, and of the varieties of experiences the Soul may encounter. Even so, each Soul Retrieval required of me to meet in person with the individual requesting assistance.
Through the exploratory expansion of spiritual boundaries made accessible to me during the Ayahuasca journeys, I was able to not only locate another person’s missing Soul, but to retrieve their Soul without being physically present! This had a dramatic impact upon my work, as I was now able to be available to those individuals who could not travel the long distances to see me in person!
Then, after some years had passed, during an Ayahuasca journey I found myself as an Awareness flowing up and throughout a vast electrical-crystalline tree, the Tree of Life. I became aware of glittering dewdrops of divine essence. I immediately recognized these as Souls! Upon the Tree of Life each of our Souls resides. As I held attention upon loved ones I was drawn directly to their Soul upon the branches of the Tree. The non-local movement to the presence of individual Souls was startling in its ease and beauty. And then I began to notice that not all dewdrops of Souls shone brightly. Some were dimmed in their brilliance. In that moment Mama Ayahuasca was directing me to place my attention upon someone who had requested that I retrieve their Soul (I have many such requests upon my worldly travels). As I did so, I was drawn to one of these dimmed drops of light. My commitment to return that person’s Soul to them was activated by my embrace of their Soul. My presence flowed through the Tree and down through the roots of the Tree and ‘popped’ out above the client, where I then slid their Soul in through the top of their head (the normal way of Soul’s re-entry). Upon my instantaneous reemergence upon the Tree’s branches, Mama Ayahuasca directed me to hold in attention all such current and active requests (there were about a half-dozen). The moment this was done there was a simultaneous absorbing embrace of each person’s Soul, the flowing through the Tree’s roots and integration of all the Souls in one momentary flash of scintillating light! Mama Ayahuasca had just activated within me the awareness of and capability to do a number of Soul Retrievals in one sweet burst of Flow!
What had, in my younger years, taken me hours and hours of work, in person, to accomplish, now was done instantaneously. You know those Full Moon Soul Retrievals that I occasionally offer, or the Journey of Mén-zu Soul Retrievals done at the Solar/Lunar Eclipse cycles? This is the manner by which I am able to perform a great number of Soul Retrievals on that one Full Moon, and still maintain the integrity of each Soul’s Retrieval being done with fullest attention to each person’s unique situation. Mama Ayahuasca has enabled me to reach out with assistance to so many more people, who are in need, than once I was able. I am deeply grateful to her for her making this possible by guiding me into a spiritual healing capacity that was unknown and unknowable to me previous to her compassionate activation of my Shamanic work. And, likewise, have so many of you reading this, who have participated in the Full Moon Soul Retrievals, or the Mén-zu Soul Retrievals, benefited from the embrace of Mama Ayahuasca without even being aware of it!
Mama Ayahuasca’s Embrace
I am not special. The skills and capabilities for which I am recognized are not some magical power reserved for the mysterious Shaman.They are the result of, yes, my own hard work and earnest dedication to my Calling, but they are also the expression of a life lived in relationship with Spirits of the Sacred, such as Mama Ayahuasca. What I can and do accomplish through the healing sessions that the People call upon me for, these are not a matter of mere skill. The are due in large measure to Spirits of the Sacred. Now… here is the biggie, folks… the engagement of the Spirits of the Sacred are not reserved for us Shamans. They are available for all. They are available to you. They wait, patiently, eternally. All you need do is step forth into that mutual embrace of compassion and empowerment.
Why Ayahuasca? This is why I continue to make these Amazon/Ayahuasca Adventures available. The dance with Mama Ayahuasca is the singular most powerful and empowering opportunity for healing, spiritual awakening and empowerment that I can offer anyone who sincerely desires to embrace their Inner Self in fullest honesty as a means of soaring into their highest potential as a Realized Being.
I hope you will join me as I travel into the Amazon and enter into relationship with the Spirits of the Sacred.
