Last of a two-part series Andean Shamanism is an experiential, flexible and inclusive system. It has structure but no dogma or rigid rules. Nothing is obligatory. The only rule or law is the sacred art of ainy -- the principal of reciprocity, which includes respect for every living thing. Inkas believed in sharing and integrating knowledge, including spiritual knowledge, of all the people they either conquered or incorporated--their preferred method of colonization. The Inkan Empire … [Read more...]

First of a two-part series If someone asks me why I travel, especially to sacred sites such as Machu Picchu in Peru, or the Andes Mountains of Chile, I would have to say that it is my experience that these places of incredible earth energies can change us. They alter our perspective, not only because of an experience of a different culture, but because we look at our life and our personality and recognize much of who we think we are is just societal conditioning and habit. We are a … [Read more...]

I awoke the first day to a prehistoric panorama of dense mist growing up from the valley below, thinning just enough to reveal the impressive fifty-foot ceibo tree that stood forty feet from the spot that had been designated as mine for the next four days and nights. Long root tendrils of chupaya, a bromeliad-like flower that grows in the high Andean mountains, dangled from nearly every open branch, creating a mystical scene straight out of Lord of the Rings. I had journeyed to this … [Read more...]

Minnesota author Mary Stoffel will present a workshop to help you find the solutions you need through shamanism. Stoffel has chosen June to host her workshop to harness all the energies available for change at this time: a partial solar eclipse on the new moon, June 1; a full lunar eclipse on the full moon, June 15; a cardinal grand cross on the solstice, June 21; and another partial solar eclipse, July 1. Eclipses can present opportunities for major transformation, solstices often open new … [Read more...]

An excerpt from the new book The Practical Power of Shamanism: Heal Your Life, Loves and Losses We are living in challenging times; perhaps the most challenging in thousands of years. With the problems we are all trying to cope with, many are seeking answers through various spiritual practices that traditionally have offered knowledge and healing from the realms of non-ordinary reality. This spirit realm can provide information and guidance not available through purely logical … [Read more...]

Local Twin Cities author June Gossler Anderson will talk about her youth adventure novel, The Shaman Stone, as part of the "Awakening Your Inner Shaman Workshop" led by Debra Calph from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 20, at the Center for Harmonious Living, 12201 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka. The novel centers around a mysterious stone that creates miracles and shifts time and dimensions. In her research for this book, June traveled to burial mounds and participated in some Native American … [Read more...]

Bhola Nath Banstola, an indigenous Nepali shaman, soon will be making his third visit to the Twin Cities, teaching a weekend workshop on June 12 and 13. Banstola was born in l966 in the Bhojpur district of east Nepal. He was called by the sprits at a very young age to become a shaman and was initiated by his grandfather, who had been the shaman of his village. He is the 30th generation within his family to be chosen by the spirits to be a healer. After receiving degrees in Cultural … [Read more...]

As a 21st century shaman, I live an everyday life in the Western world, but my world view is drawn from ancient roots. It is born of the teachings of Mother Earth as they have been understood, practiced and handed down through a line of shaman women that is many millennia old. It is a world view that is based on the wisdom of the ages, thousands of years of study and observation by shamanic peoples everywhere of the way energy moves throughout the universe, observation of the cycles of energy … [Read more...]