10 minute read
ALBERTO VILLOLDO
In his mid-20s, Alberto Villoldo, a psychologist and medical anthropologist, was the youngest clinical professor at San Francisco State University, where he founded and directed the Biological Self-Regulation Laboratory to decode the effects of energy medicine on the human brain. Villoldo eventually set aside the limitations of the microscope in search of a broader, more ancient perspective. His 10-year deep dive into the heart of shamanic culture in the Andes and the Amazon regions filled in the missing pieces of his research, but a dire health crisis decades later drove him to explore shamanic transformation. Today, Villoldo is in vibrant health and the author of bestselling books translated into several languages, including Grow a New Body: How Spirit and Power Plant Nutrients Can Transform Your Health. He is the founder of the Four Winds Society, which trains energy medicine practitioners in its Light Body School.
What is shamanism and the shaman’s role?
Shamanism is a philosophy and a lifestyle similar to Buddhism in many ways. It includes healing practices for clearing the imprints of trauma from the luminous energy field (LEF) that surrounds the physical body, and that organizes the body in the same way that a magnet organizes iron filings on a piece of glass. Shamans mediate between the visible world of matter and the invisible world of energy and consciousness. The understanding of the shaman is that what we call reality is simply the projection of a map of the world we carry within us. To change the world, you need to change the map, but the map only changes through sacred ceremony.
Shamanism is making a comeback because we have exhausted our masculine, reductionistic and predatory Western paradigm. It offers a more feminine, participatory worldview that is founded on the notion of becoming Earth Keepers—stewards of the garden of nature.
Alberto Villoldo on Shamanic Healing
by Marlaina Donato
How does shamanism address body, mind and spirit?
We need to think of the quaternity, including Gaia, the great mother. There is only one illness—disconnection from the great mother. There is only one cure, which is returning to Gaia. The luminous energy field is an information field. It contains all your genetic history—the story of the drama that runs in your family that you have programmed into the neural networks in your brain. Shamans discovered how to upgrade the quality of the information in the LEF.
Out of the 40 million different species on Earth, only humans, whales and dolphins don’t have death programmed into their DNA. There are no grandmothers in nature; menopause doesn’t exist. The minute you cannot make babies, you are eliminated. We have the opportunity to take part in an experiment to grow bodies that are disease-proof, where our health span can equal our long lifespan.
What shamanic principle can we apply daily?
Our Western diet and antibiotic use have decimated our gut flora, and in the process, ruined our “gut instinct”—the basis of the shaman’s “second sight”, the ability to see the hidden nature of reality. You cannot meditate, heal yourself or others, forgive those who wronged you or stop feeling like a victim if your gut flora is compromised. If your gut is riddled with Candida, you will only perceive strife and be angry. Even if you live in a city, you can cultivate sprouts and make probiotic-rich foods.
How do you see our future?
I was trained as a medical anthropologist, yet what I do today is to train modern shamans; men and women versed in the ancient wisdom teachings and cutting-edge neuroscience. This is where the magic of science and shamanism meet. Western science and religion are very patriarchal and repressive of the feminine, confusing information for knowledge. We know how to diagnose, but do we know how to heal? I love science, but we must understand that most science, especially in medicine, is bogus. Studies are poorly designed; results are cherry-picked to support the authors’ beliefs. The greatest science is the one that explores the soul’s journey through infinity, which is what shamans are concerned with. This is where we discover true healing.
Marlaina Donato is an author and recording artist. Connect at AutumnEmbersMusic.com.
BACKPACKING
is a Learning Experience
By Jared Zornitzer
Three books in, I thought that I was familiar with what I would encounter on the trail. I went into my sectionhike of the Appalachian Trail (AT) with preconceived ideas of what it would be like. After a mere three days, I gained a wealth of knowledge which has given me a more realistic perception of it. I was humbled by the power of Mother Nature and grateful for its gifts in ways that could only be achieved through firsthand experience.
We faced lows during our trip that we were not prepared for. Through reading books and researching the AT, I found out beforehand that bad weather and wildlife can create obstacles for hikers. We passed two nights with minimal sleep due to torrential rain and ominous animal noises in nearby woods. We hiked many miles during the day through rain as well. No preparation can adequately prepare you for the feelings of discomfort due to putting on wet clothes each morning, fatigue due to lack of sleep, or fear of bears and coyotes outside your tent. These were all wake up calls for things that are commonplace on the trail and that I will have to get used to.
At the same time, certain aspects of being out on the trail surpassed my hopes. There was not a single moment in all of my three days on the trail when I was not inwardly smiling and cherishing this experience unlike any that I had before. I enjoyed stepping away from my normal, busy life and living in the outdoors. I embraced the days spent away from technology and living by the time of the sun. I was a quick learner on the trail and am now confident in my ability to filter water from creeks and streams, set up a tent and cook trail food. I truly loved the hike and acquired a newfound passion for backpacking.
These revelations came clear to me while watching the sun set over the Smokey Mountains on a bald near our shelter. It was one of the most beautiful feats of nature that I have ever witnessed. The sky was adorned in hues of pink and blue, while layers of mountains extending into the horizon released clouds of mist from the day’s rain. All of this formed a surreal landscape and left me in awe of the world that we live in.
This sunset capped off a rainy and overcast day. Rain is sure to come, and I acknowledge that a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail is a remarkably difficult task. However, just like the sun came out and gave us a beautiful ending to the day, nature has the potential to uplift and there will always be parts of the journey to be grateful for.
Jared Zornitzer is a full-time college student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY studying engineering. An advocate of balancing work and school with exercise and healthy living, he loves hiking, biking, running, cooking, spending time with family and friends, and learning in his classes.
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CELEBRATING 27 years in THE business of
Yoga Corner
Trail Magic
by Nicole Zornitzer
According to all the books and experts who have traveled the Appalachian Trail, there is a term referred to as “trail magic”. The definition of such is:
Acts of generosity in the wild and primitive setting of the Appalachian Trail, where basic amenities of civilization are intentionally absent, are often received in a heightened sense of wonder and gratitude by hikers. These acts of generosity are referred to as “trail magic”.
My son and I recently completed our first experience on the Appalachian Trial in the mountains of North Carolina; Max Patch to Hot Springs, to be exact. Our intentions in taking this adventure are many, but the most important is as a training for our desire to hike the full 2190+ mile trail from Georgia to Maine in approximately four years. The necessity of training for a trip of this nature cannot be understated and requires practice in reliance on pure physical and mental strength to persevere and not become injured along the way. We have spent the better half of 12 months preparing for this trip; participating in multiple types of exercise and mindful behaviors.
I knew going into this trip that we would probably not see the “real” trail magic as sited above due to the relatively small number of miles we planned to hike. However, I did go into our experience with eyes wide open to experience all of what was presented to me. As I walked miles upon miles with 26 lbs on my back, through a hurricane dumping massive amounts of rain, I began to wonder “where is the glory in this?” I was soaking wet, tired, hungry, and carrying more weight on my back than I thought possible. I began to feel muscles in my legs that I never knew existed, which is amazing to me since prior to the first step I believed I understood anatomy well. When we finally made it to our first evening’s shelter site and pitched our tent in a wilderness one can only imagine, I placed my body on Mother Earth and pondered this idea of “trail magic”. In this moment, these are the words that came to me:
What if the true meaning of trail magic is:
» Pre-hike eating warm biscuits and cinnamon apples for breakfast at an old tomato plant that became a roller rink and is now an infamous dinner named Smokey » Finding the definition of MUSIC in a dingy bathroom framed for all to read just because someone else cares as much as I do about music
» Watching a bird watch you
» Feeling mud squish between your toes
» Eating dehydrated hummus on a pita while sitting near a water source of fresh mountain water on a rock filled with moss
» Seeing spectacular landscapes that are even now impossible to describe
» Enjoying each rain drop as it hits your face and becomes your outdoor shower
» Learning about flowers, plants, mountain terrain from a certified botanist who just happens to be your guide
» Laying down in a tent while pellets of rain threaten to wash you down a mountain like a pile of forgotten debris
Trail magic can become so many things to the individual hiking this trail. What I have realized is that my trail magic is watching a young man, who once was a baby and is now a man, experiencing more beauty than one could imagine and absorbing every step, every scent, every experience with the eyes of the very same child that came out of my belly.
Trail magic is the magic of just being. Being everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Trail magic for me was the pure bliss of watching my son, Jared, visualize his big dream for the day when he hikes the A.T. as a through hiker, enduring 2190+ miles on this glorious place called earth.
Nicole Zornitzer, ERYT 1000, yoga therapist, founder of Niyama Yoga & Wellness Shala, located in Randolph, New Jersey, Upper Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, and Delray Beach in Florida. NiyamaYogaShala.com. See ad, page 27.
