Roman Hanis, Eugene Bersuker, & SpiritPathPeru.com

[Ric_Richardson]

Tansi;

Discussions, such as this, in which mind altering substances are encouraged in attempts to gain Spiritual "enlightenment" remind me of an incident in my life.

I was invited to participate in a "Water Drum" ceremony, in which Peyote was going to be used.  I spoke with my father about this and he asked me if I had first looked to my own people's (Cree/Metis) ways to gain stronger Spirituality.  He told me that our people's ways were developed, over millenia, to meet our Spiritual needs.  He also advised that IF our own ways did not work, then and only then, should I look at other ways.  As well, he advised that there are no shortcuts, so I should look within myself, instead of trying to find enlightenment in another Culture, in which I have no foothold.

As it turned out, I did not attend the Ceremony, since I have found that my Spiritual needs are addressed, quite well, when I follow our own ways, in Sincerity.

Ric

[Moma_porcupine]

http://www.amazonteam.org/umiyac-declaration.html

It sounds like Amazon Elders feel Ayahuasca or yage' can sometimes be used for doctoring non indiginous peoples, but only by those who know what they are doing . Experimental Spiritual tourism is clearly seen as a problem leading to exploitation and abuse.

"# Non-indigenous people are finally acknowledging the importance of our wisdom and the value of our medicinal and sacred plants. Many of them profane our culture and our territories by commercializing yagé and other plants; dressing like Indians  and acting like charlatans. We see with concern that a new type of tourism is being promoted which deceives the foreigners with so-called "services of Taitas or shamans" in a number of villages of the foothills. Indeed, even some of our own indigenous brothers do not respect the value or our medicine and go around misleading people, selling our symbols in towns and cities."

Eugene

The website was made a while ago(there is no more ashram, as description says), when we lived in Peru, we had a legally opened local business there, with a website that invited people to fly down and participate or join us in the ayahuasca discipline that we were learning with our shaman teacher, while doing a healthy diet, yoga and meditation disciplines that were following.

Eugene

We don't give ayahuasca to people during retreats, we bring them to a shaman, who is our
teacher of ayahuasca.

Eugene

Also, there are tons of other companies, i know personally at least a 12 in Iquitos, Peru, mainly run by westerners, that are bringing tourists from other countries to drink ayahuasca with their shamans.

(my bold )

Eugene
I think you missed one of the most important points .  I don't know anything about traditions in the Amazon , but I doubt anyone indiginous to the Amazon , who has real knowledge of how to use this plant , would be administering it to Spiritual tourists . The people who are willing to play the game with you , are probably some of the least knowledgable, and respectful , and some of these fake shamans will probably be the most unscrupulous people in the tribe .  Besides being dangerous ,  people like you are probably empowering and encouraging a whole subculture of fake shamans , which contributes to cultural degradation and erosion. You say you want to be careful , and do your Spiritual tourism responsibly , so I wonder how you manage to overlook that the impact Spiritual tourism is having on Amazon cultures . I don't think glossing this over, is "responsible " 

Eugene

In my personal opinion, most of them are purely business, and  not authentic in their spiritual service, although i still honor and empower them on their  path, for i beleive that they are fulfilling a necessary service, because the spirit created everything for our evolution, and everything has it's role.

Your statement here pretty much sums up the exploitive attitude of so many lost people . You believe everything exists to serve us humans , but you forget the responsibilties humans have to give back and maintain balanced relationships. If you are finding something that helps you , you imagine you have a right to use this , but you don't understand that with any involvement comes responsibilities . The focus should not just be what people can get out of it , but also on what people who come as Spiritual tourists put back in . Spiritual tourism distorts cultural traditions and puts back NOTHING . People who participate in indiginous traditions have a responsiblity to maintain these traditions so future generations can also continue to benifit . As tourists can't possibly do this , why you seem to imagine they have any right participating ?     

Eugene

Plants are wonderful teachers, expecially when combined with the direction of eastern disciplines.

Eguene

The plants are the teachers and they are teaching me to live right, that is all i can say.

From what you say the only thing you are going down there for is the drug Ayahuasca , the beautiful scenery , or maybe the dangerous romance of being given a drug by a fake shaman .

Which makes me wonder , why not just stay home ? The USA has lots of beautiful places to do yoga or dabble in Eastern philosophies , and if you want to experiment with your sanity , there is lots of psychoactive drugs available . 

Eugene

it made no difference which tools i utilize, as long as i maintain integrity with myself,

I completely agree with you on this . So why disrupt someone elses culture with Spiritual tourism ? Where is the integrity in that ?

Why not just stay home and learn how to create harmonious relationships with the world and culture you REALLLY live in ?

[Roman]

I will respectfully continue the correspondence of my brother in spirit Eugene.

Moma_porcupine - we understand your concern for conservation of indigenous traditions, that is our concern as well, and while living in Peru we even submitted a formal suggestion to the regional government geared towards creation of a national institute for preservation of indigenous wisdom. I believe that this project is still going through the beaurocratic government wheels.
Another concern worth mentioning is towards today's situation of our collective human civilization. I am sure you are all aware of this situation - there are more wars than ever in human history, and while our society has progressed greatly in terms of technology, most of society's inner culture still remains on the level of stone age, or even lower.
Right now I strongly feel that people on earth need all the help they can get in order to overcome the conditioning of modern superficial culture, and create strong intercultural bridges, in order to really understand and embrace themselves and other people in all cultures and walks of life. Real peace will not come through conflict or separation.
It has been my experience while studying and practicing many spiritual disciplines from different parts of the planet that in the source of each one of them there is a state of being that transcends concepts, ideas and words, a state of openness, universal love and connection with every particle and being in the world. All cultures, religions and spiritual disciplines are like fingers pointing to the same universal truth that cannot be described, only experienced. Instead of arguing that one culture's finger looks different than the other culture we can all start looking in the direction where the fingers are pointing and not at the fingers themselves, figuratively speaking. Also relating to the same universal state of existence from different angles can provide a much better perspective and understanding of this primordial way of being. After all a true realization should not be bound by a specific description since it is beyond words.

While living for 3 consecutive years in the Amazonian rain forest I have met many shamans and medicine man, I have gone to remote areas through the rivers as far as 400 kilometers deep into the jungle. For a lot of shamans in the Amazon being a shaman is not a calling but a regular job. Many do not know what they are doing, others do more harm than good, the so called brujos, and a very small percentage are authentic healers that work from the heart, and for whom being a medicine man is a true calling in life and not just a way to make a quick buck and then get drunk. I know that many people who are sincere spiritual seekers do not have the ability to do as much research as we have done, and to many our service can be invaluable since we can openly share our experience and direct people to the medicine man who we completely trust and have great respect for their honesty and wholehearteness.

Personally I am eternally grateful to the South American culture of sacred plants, since it has aided me greatly and I was able to cure a terminal illness called Chrohn's disease that was otherwise uncurable by conventional medicine. I know from experience that it is first necessary to have a breakthrough into the before mentioned universal state in order to start perceiving all spiritual disciplines as help on the way. The culture and the heritage of sacred plants many times is essential in this realization, especially when approached sincerely, responsibly, with respect and understanding. The least I can do to repay my grattitude is to help guide others who are sincere seekers in the right direction.

So to answer the previously posted question - we do not deal with spiritual turism, our web site expresses our spiritual believes and we journey only with people who are sincerely seeking an insight to a more open and harmonious way of being. We are clearly stating to all the participants that the retreats entail serious work on oneself and if anyone just want a turist attraction they should go somewhere else. While sacred plants can provide very effective realizations they are definitely not a spiritual shortcut, because even though people gain the realizations faster, the amount of work on oneself is still the same, it is just experienced in a much more intense way. Not everyone are ready for this level of intensity and we thorougly interview each individual before advising wether they should participate in the sacred plant ceremonies or not.
Also the sacred plants is not the only reason we venture into the rainforest. While there we connect with the life force of Mother nature that is felt so much more greater in the Amazon and that allows us to become so much more open to the intuitive wisdom of our own inner nature. Finally yet another reason is the destruction of the Amazonian rainforest by the local governments, and the only reason they still did not destroy all of it is the amount of foreigners coming into the rainforest and helping the economy. And the preservation of the rainforest is extremely important to the preservation of the indigenous traditions, wouldn't you agree?

Love and Light to all of you, and thank you, I feel that you are doing an essential service, by bringing more awareness into the spiritual practices of today's world.
May all beings be free from suffering,
Roman from SpiritPath

[Barnaby_McEwan]

I will respectfully continue the correspondence of my brother in spirit Eugene.

Not listening is not respectful. You've replied to Moma_Porcupine without responding to what she said. Instead you gave us a long-winded rehash of New Age Philosophy 101, with which most of us are wearily familiar.

Right now I strongly feel that people on earth need all the help they can get in order to overcome the conditioning of modern superficial culture, and create strong intercultural bridges, in order to really understand and embrace themselves and other people in all cultures and walks of life.

You're talking about yourself and your similarly lost friends here. Don't drag other people into it.

After all a true realization should not be bound by a specific description since it is beyond words.

Yet you seem fond of your own words.

While living for 3 consecutive years in the Amazonian rain forest...

Wow, three whole years. Your naivety is staggering. You spend less time in Peru than it takes to earn a bachelor's degree at home, off your cake on drugs for a good portion of that time, and then send total greenhorns after you. If someone dies, don't say you weren't warned.

[Moma_porcupine]

Sure you can learn from different fingers pointing the way , but you guys sound like you are just off in your imaginations , doing your own thing .

Eugene mentioned Eastern disiplines is where you were finding your direction , but as far as I know  Eastern disciplines usually involve severly limiting your sensory experince and staying in a cave or monastary for your whole life . So I question your imagining that it is an Eastern 'discipline" you are following , when you fly off to exotic loctions in search of something different . 

Roman

we thorougly interview each individual before advising wether they should participate in the sacred plant ceremonies or not.

I find it interesting that you think you have enough knowledge to decide who should participate in Sacred plant ceremonies . I don't know about South America , but in North America, knowing what medicines are right for who , is something only Elders know after decades of training and a life long relationship with the people and culture they serve .

When people come for an experince , and then they go , leaving nothing but a few dollars behind them , the reality is , they ARE tourists . Denying it doesn't change the facts . Tourism maybe isn't always a bad thing , but the only fair trade for being allowed to share the Spiritual heart of a culture, is a life long committment to the sustainable well being of that culture  .

Eugene

"In my personal opinion, most of them are purely business, and  not authentic in their spiritual service, although i still honor and empower them on their  path, for i beleive that they are fulfilling a necessary service... (con...)"

Roman , you say "we" are concerned to preserve indiginous cultures and knowledge , but judging by what your co worker Eugene has said , you folks don't seem to have much awareness or commitment to defending the concerns of the true South American Elders . Instead Eugene says he is happy to empower and honor the exploiters!

I think you guys mean well, but from what you say it sounds like you are living in your own imaginations more than reality . That being the case , I really think you need to examine your reasons for being down there .

Years ago I read something written by ethnobotonist Wade Davis on how ayahuasca is made . His point was, it is a very complex process involving another plant , in a jungle with thousands of plants , and making it isn't the sort of process someone would stumble on accidently . Some sort of knowing that is beyond linear scientific knowing must have been a factor , and this attunement to the jungle,  is something rare and valuable that needs to be respected and protected . Wade Davies is not an unaware sort of a guy .

At the begining of his book - I think it was "Shadows in the Sun" , someone asked an Elder or wise person , what was the best thing to do to save the world , and the answer was  , " Stay where you are."

I remember that, because I thought it was really good advise .

[educatedindian]

Both Eugene and Roman have ignored the very pointed declaration of elders in the Amazon that Moma P found. On every single point where I have placed arrows they are acting against the wishes of these elders.

Instead of elaborate (and false) rationalizing of your exploitation for cash, please think on each of these points these elders make that I've pointed to:

"The Yurayaco Declaration of the Union de Medicos Indigenas Yageceros de la Amazonia Colombiana (UMIYAC)
Yurayaco, Colombia, June 1999
In Yurayaco, Caquetá, in the foothills of the Colombian Amazon, in the territory of the Ingano people, we, the indigenous healers or shamans also called Sinchis, Curacas, Payés and Taitas*, met for the "Gathering of Taitas"1 from June 1 – 8th of 1999.

The event was attended by representatives of the Ingano, Kofanes, Sionas, Kamsá, Coreguaje, Inganos, Tatuyo and Carijona people and was held strictly among ourselves.

We wish to thank the Ingano organization, Tanda Chiridu Inganokuna (ORINSUC), for hosting and promoting the Gathering. We also thank our non-indigenous brothers and sisters of the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) for joining our cause and unconditionally providing the technical and financial resources to make this historic event possible.

After 500 years of conquest, plunder and death to our communities and cultures, for the first time we, the Taitas of the yagé culture of Colombia have been able to meet, exchange our knowledge, establish friendship and to join together for the same cause and with a common thought.

After eight days, during which we have reflected on our medicine, participated in three yagé ceremonies and visited the ancestral rock of Yurayaco, we the Taitas declare:

Here in the foothills of Amazonia, indigenous groups still survive, and we have inherited from our ancestors great wisdom, our medicinal plants, with the knowledge of our forests and the use of the sacred vine: the yagé.

We consider yagé, our medicinal plants and our wisdom to be gifts from God and of great benefit for the health of humanity. This Gathering may be our last opportunity to unite and defend our rights. Our motivation is not economic or political. We are seriously determined to demonstrate to the world the importance of our values. As sons of the same Creator and brothers and sisters on Mother Earth, we wish to speak, to offer our contribution so that life, peace and health may be possible.

Non-indigenous people are finally acknowledging the importance of our wisdom and the value of our medicinal and sacred plants.

>>>Many of them profane our culture and our territories

>>>by commercializing yagé and other plants;

>>>dressing like Indians and acting like charlatans.

>>>We see with concern that a new type of tourism is being promoted which deceives the foreigners with so-called "services of Taitas or shamans" in a number of villages of the foothills. Indeed,

>>>even some of our own indigenous brothers do not respect the value or our medicine and go around

>>>misleading people,

>>>selling our symbols in towns and cities.

There are those who take our seeds to patent them, to own them. Others want to declare yagé a narcotic plant and prohibit its use for the good of humanity.

>>>We also denounce those anthropologists, botanists,

>>>business people<<<, doctors and other scientists who are experimenting with yagé and other medicinal and sacred plants

>>>without taking into account our ancestral wisdom and our collective intellectual property rights.

We denounce the abuse committed against our Tatuyo brothers from the Yapú area of the Vaupes, who in transit to the Gathering were held by the authorities and dispossessed of the yagé they were bringing to ceremonially share at the Gathering.

We demand respect for our territories, our indigenous medicine and our traditional healers or Taitas. We ask the world to acknowledge that our medicine is also a science, although

>>>not in the same way Westerners understand it.

We, the Taitas, are real healers and for many centuries we have effectively contributed to the health of our villages. Furthermore, our medicine looks beyond the physical and seeks the wellbeing of the mind, the heart and the spirit.

We demand the immediate suspension of the patent Loren Miller was awarded in the United States. For us, the patent represents an abuse and a defilement of our sacred plant. We declare that

>>>yagé and other medicinal plants we use are the patrimony and collective property of

>>>the indigenous people.<<<

>>>It’s use in the name of mankind must be carried out with our participation<<<
 
and we should enjoy any other benefits that derive from its exploitation.

We ask for legal recognition of our autonomy in caring for the health of our peoples in accordance with our traditions and values.

We must regain possession of our territories and sacred sites. The forest is for us the fountain of our resources. If the forests disappear so will medicine and life.

>>>We request support for our cause.

>>>Non-indigenous people can help us consolidate our unity and the defense of our traditional medicine,<<<

as it has been proven that they also benefit from the wisdom of the Taitas.

At the end of the Gathering, we agreed to work toward the unity and defense of our traditional medicine and offer our services for the health of indigenous people and of humanity.

The Taitas agree to initiate a

>>>process of certification of practicing healers and

>>>establish our own code of indigenous medical ethics.

>>>In this way it will be able to distinguish between real Taitas and charlatans.<<<

We are also willing to travel in order to bring the benefits of our medicine to indigenous communities in Colombia and other parts of America upon request. Conscious of the fact that non-Indians also need our services as doctors, we propose the construction of Indigenous Medicine Clinics so they may have easier access and in conditions better suited to the way in which we work, always closely linked to nature.

The Taitas present at the Gathering have decided to formally create the Union of Traditional Yagé Healers of the Colombian Amazon (UMIYAC) and

>>>name our own representatives to carry out the various tasks to which we are committed and to represent us before the world, governments and other institutions.

To disseminate this Declaration and the results of the Gathering, we will make available a publication and a video to be distributed solely through our own representatives. The rights of the publication and video belong to UMIYAC and their use will not be permitted without our written approval.

We wish to acknowledge those Taitas that for different reasons were not able to join us. The decisions made here tried to take into account their thoughts and we extend an invitation for them to join UMIYAC in the process we have initiated.

To all indigenous people we wish to clarify that this Union does not seek to compete with or replace the important role of indigenous organizations that currently represent us, on the contrary, we offer our services and support to strengthen their goals.

We are grateful to our brothers in other countries who are part of a Coalition to defend our traditional medicine, medicinal plants and yagé; we hope that our union will allow them to support our cause in a more effective manner.

As the century comes to a close we are witnessing a dramatic period of violence, hatred, poverty, injustice and sickness. On the verge of the new millennium we see the opportunity to close and heal this sad phase for humanity.

We wish to offer our participation in the construction of an age of hope, health and happiness. We are convinced that yagé and the medicinal plants of our territories and our cultures, as a gift that they are from the Creator, can help to heal the world.

In Yurayaco, on June 7th of 1999, the undersigned Taitas:

42 signatures follow."

[Eugene]

Hello all,

I'd like to expand on something i said earlier that has been quoted a few time in this discussion. I feel I perhaps didn't express myself well and what i said is being misinterpreted.

What i said was:

Eugene
Quote
"In my personal opinion, most of them are purely business, and  not authentic in their spiritual service, although i still honor and empower them on their  path, for i beleive that they are fulfilling a necessary service... (con...)"

I did not mean that they are not authentic, as oppose to myself. I believe that every human being participates in the universal process of evolution of consciousness, constantly growing in their awareness, and when the time ripens they come across whatever teaching or experience is necessary at that time for them to reach new levels or open new perceptions and understanding within themselves. Therefore, in my view, everyone who provides any kind of opportunity on any level of growth, serves that purpose. After all, that purpose is created by nature itself! I feel right now is a special time when all sacred knowledge came into the open to unite us in our true nature. This is also a fulfillment of prophecies from many different ancient cultures. Now is the time to learn and share, to empower others from exactly where they are, not make them bad and wrong. I personally did not come across plants and other traditions because i was looking for them. I was following sacred teachings that opened doors of oppotunity and brought me to other cultures, including the ayahuasca tradition in the amazon. This was a path that i followed, and it allowed me to see myself on deeper and deeper levels. People who come to our retreats experience the breakthroughs they need in their spiritual development, and we are simply the clearing for them do that, because we ourselves come with that intent, purify our karma and achieve breakthroughs in being. Aside from that all we do is insure their safety and comfort. Other places perhaps provide a less directed intent, but still people who go there get to experience some part of themselves, which is essentially beneficial, regardless of how they may personally understand the experience at that time. So i accept and empower others by contributing my understanding, not necessarily by condoning their activities, but sharing my experience and trusting that everything, including myself, has it's place in the intent of evolution.

Moma-porcupine, it is a common misconception that easter disciplines are about hiding in a cave all your life. This is simply one of the tools used to achieve something, which essentially can be achieved in many ways. Every tradition has many techniques which are aimed at bringing people into the moment, inner silence, when the mind stops and they can experience their illusions as well as their true humanity. Eastern disciplines themselves have the entire range of approaches, from yogic to tantric, from renunciation of the world to total participation in it. Once the state of wholeness is achieved, one can begin to realign with their true center. Many approaches to this effect exist to cater to different minds and souls that populate our world. I see it as the universe communicating with us and calling us forth.

This are my beliefs, nothing more. Feel free to contribute or inquire if something in your opinion doesn't make sense.

Eugene


 

[Freija]

I believe that every human being participates in the universal process of evolution of consciousness, constantly growing in their awareness, and when the time ripens they come across whatever teaching or experience is necessary at that time for them to reach new levels or open new perceptions and understanding within themselves. Therefore, in my view, everyone who provides any kind of opportunity on any level of growth, serves that purpose. After all, that purpose is created by nature itself!

Hi Eugene

I agree in a lot of things you say - I do believe that we are given many opportunities in life to grow and and reach new understandings and that many experiences come in our way to give us new learnings. I think we could learn something new from each and every day if we had the patience to sit down and reflect upon it. BUT I also believe that some experiences and choices are there for us to learn about right and wrong, to make choices which then will teach us more about ourselves.

Life brought me to a group where non-authentic "pipe-carriers" practiced pipe-ceremonies. So I have a choice - as always - to either believe that practicing pipeceremonies is the meaning of my life since I stumbled upon this group. OR I can choose to ask myself "what do traditional Indians think about this? Is this disrespectful to the rightful bundlekeepers? If it is, I will not participate." 

If you want to learn more about yourself and grow, then you also have to take a stand because nature itself will not only put good experiences in front of you, it will give you the opportunity to define who you are by making choices, by learning to avoid bad experiences. So somewhere along the line you´ve made the choice to do something which is disrespectful to hundreds, maybe thousands, of Natives. Maybe you didn´t know, maybe you´ve come across manipulative "teachers" which is fully understandable. I believe anyone can fall into that trap so I would never pass judgement on clueless "followers".

But now, after this thread, things are different. Because now you know. And so comes your next choice to help you grow and define who you are: will you respect the Natives´ wishes to leave their spirituality alone? Or will you continue as before in spite of knowing that you disrespect their opinions?

Maybe nature provided you with this opportunity to take a stand, once and for all? Exciting, isn´t it?! 

[Moma_porcupine]

Eugene ,
I appreciate that you are open to thinking about this , but I think you need to take an honest look at some of the things you are sidestepping .

Eugene

"I believe that every human being participates in the universal process of evolution of consciousness, constantly growing in their awareness, and when the time ripens they come across whatever teaching or experience is necessary at that time for them to reach new levels or open new perceptions and understanding within themselves. Therefore, in my view, everyone who provides any kind of opportunity on any level of growth, serves that purpose. "

Sure , everything that we experince can be the "lesson" we need and no matter how horrible an experince is , it can help us be better , more aware , more compassionant , more tolerent ect . That still doesn't make it OK to be the cause of other people having horrible experinces . Stealing , killing , rapeing  lying , ect , are all still wrong , and people do have a right to be protected from these bad choices .

Eugene

"Now is the time to learn and share, to empower others from exactly where they are, not make them bad and wrong."

Honoring and Empowering people who are making choices that create damage is WRONG . Just because everything has the capacity to teach us the lessons we need , doesn't make these bad choices right . That you would suggest these bad choices are all OK , sounds like a dishonest and lazy avoidence of your own power, choice and responsibility .

I want to echo what Freja is saying about the power of choice , ( and what other power do we really have  ? )

What you are choosing , is to ignore the concerns of the true indigionous Spiritual leaders , and empowering the pillaging of THEIR culture , THEIR indiginous knowledge , and Sacred plants in THEIR traditional territorries  .

As for you continuing to imagine this "path" you are on, has any relationship to Eastern diciplines - are you now suggesting you are doing "tantra" and that is why you don't feel the need to limit sensory distractions ? Are you suggesting you are doing  "tantra" and is that is why you don't join a monastary , or make a life committment to some established Eastern tradition with authority figures , rules and responsibilites ?

The problem with the learning from many different paths , is this is often an excuse for pure self indulgence . There is a tendancy to shop around  for whatever peice of a Spiritual tradition fits with what ever it is you are feeling like doing . So if a Spiritual dabbler is having sex outside of a committed relationship , it is justified as tantra , and if a Spiritual dabbler is having a lazy day and just sitting , then it is called " stillness" or " sitting meditation" . When a Spiritual dabbler is forced to face some unpleasant problem , rather than deal with it , there is a tendancy to make it go away , thinking thoughts of " love" and "everything is cosmic" .

As long as these self indulgent Spiritual dabblers remain in touch with reality to the point they take out their garbage and protect their kids from pedophiles ,rather than resorting to just "loving" ,  "honoring" and "empowering' their problems into non existance , ( in their own imaginations ) and as long as these self indulgent dabblers are honest enough to recognize themselves as nothing but dabblers with no real authority in the traditions they are dabbling in , and as long as these dabblers don't begin imagining they have a right to invade and change established Spiritual traditions to suit their own self indulgent lazy assed ways , I guess they are harmless . But that is a lot of "as long as"

Clearly, people promoting Spiritual tourism , and who ignore the concerns of the recognized Spiritual leaders in the indiginous community , are crossing that line .

You do have a choice . Like Freja said , I hope you make the RIGHT one .

[Epiphany]

 Domain Name: SPIRITPATHPERU.COM

   Administrative Contact:
      SpiritPath
      Roman Hanis
      Sacred Valley
      Pisac,  Peru
     

   Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
      SpiritPath
      Eugene Bersuker
      Austin,  TX, US     
---------

Jan 2012 retreat info:

Participants will stay for prolonged periods of time in individual rain forest dieta huts in secluded meditation connecting with plant spirits that lead to inner and outer universes. Sacred ceremonies and initiation rites with various lineages of enlightened transmission happen throughout this process of remembrance and are weaved into the breakthroughs that participants are inspired by, using the tools that fit their participation. Our purpose is to create a space where all participants, including ourselves, can discover and implement ways to a life lived under the light of the True Self.

Participants are encouraged to partake in the full 30 days for maximum benefit but are welcome to join for a 10 day or 20 day immersion as well. Whatever route of practice you choose, the Amazon forest will guide you with it's powerful beauty and magic of life.
The retreat will be held at the Paititi institute healing center in the Amazon Rainforest, located about 60km from the city of Iquitos on the river Itaya.

Minimum contributions for the retreat are:
10 - 15 days: $150 per day, per person
16 - 25 days: $125 per day, per person
26 - 30 days: $111 per day, per person

1/3 of the retreat contribution is due upon registration
Couples and group discounts available
Cost includes everything except for travel expense.

http://www.spiritpathperu.com/retreat-info/index.html

-----------

When they talk of being involved in "Landmark Education" they are talking about the latest version of EST, a controversial large group awareness training, something to very much steer clear of.

http://www.rickross.com/groups/landmark.html

[browndiasporia]

hi ya'll there was an old thread about this but it was pretty old so i made this one i dont know of you all are familiar with this one.

http://www.paititi-institute.org/

Roman Hanis is selling spiritual tourism in the United States and who knows where else thru his new movie "sacred science", this brings a lot of people down to peru to dabble in Amazonian traditions, he is also having retreats in the united states, in which he himself leads the Ayahuasca and other sacred plant ceremonies with no aboriginal people present bringing plants across???

They offer a Shake and Bake "Shaman" course where u learn via:
- Being guided with the help and clarity of transpersonal Jungian psychology and Oriental spiritual disciplines and philosophy, as well as by Tibetan lineage practices in the clear direction of love and compassion towards all beings beyond duality and separation.
-Supplementing and facilitating the alignment of one’s energy field with Yoga, Qigong, healthy nutrition, meditation and Eastern holistic healing arts.
-Learning indigenous Amazonian healing practices, as well as natural healing practices from around the world.
-Learning Traditional Chinese Medicine.
-Partaking in the individual and communal healing retreats Paititi holds for both the international and local Amazonian populations.
ROOM & BOARD:

$500 a month ($6000 a year)

Apprentices are eligible for work trade after the first 3 months at which time the Room and Board fees can be waived. Work trade requires full participation in community life at the Institute.

TUITION:

Year One:   Indigenous Transformation Retreat   $3,330
Tuition   $4,000
Year Two:   Tuition   $7,000
Year Three:   Tuition   $7,000
TOTAL   $21,330
Student loans are available. Inquire personally.

As part of the apprenticeship program, participants will have the opportunity to support and participate in at least two Indigenous Transformation Retreats a year and two Shamanic Permaculture courses a year, as well as a number of other programs and retreats including our Cultural Healing Exchange. Participation /Service in all of our retreats and courses are included in the above tuition. For 2012, the complete value of participation in all these retreats and courses was over $18,000, while the apprenticeship program was only $7,000 per year without the room and board.


http://www.paititi-institute.org/education/apprenticeships/
 

They are currently planning to expand to Machu Pichu to entice even more dabblers around to world to come and consume South American cultures.
These are nothing more than white drug runners that must be stopped.

[Defend the Sacred]

I'll merge the threads. We need to figure out how to turn off that automatic thing that tells people to start a new thread.

[browndiasporia]

Roman Hanis is still touring the united states Smuggling\giving out illegal plants for anyone to try, is there any way a new post about this Institute of Dabblers under a new post? I feel like this one thread is too old for anyone to see what has become of these terrible people.

[ShadowDancer]

Greetings browndiasporia.  There is no need to create a new posting about these people.  Whenever a new comment is made in an existing thread it will rise to the top in the listings. 

Do you have information as to where Roman is continuing his activity? What part of the country should be aware of his presence?

[browndiasporia]

Roman/Paititi are currently hosting events in Mexico, but also host events in Colorado and Florida. I posted the information to their upcoming event, which in their disclosure that participants have to sign mentions that they are "Spirit Path Peru" but under another name. It also mentions, verbatim, "Indigenous sacred ceremonies of Ayahuasca and San Pedro for unraveling the divine intelligence of nature in one’s being, healing and spiritual insight will take place every few days."

This video (the "sacred" science) is their current propaganda.. http://www.thesacredscience.com/


Here is their next event

    « Tulum, MEXICO - Amazonian/Tibetan Transformational Breathwork w/ Ceremonial Cacao

Embodying True Nature: Consciousness Transformation Retreat
March 10 @ 8:00 am - April 10 @ 11:30 pm
[Embodying True Nature: Consciousness Transformation Retreat]

Join us on a journey of self discovery into the infinite human potential as together we peel back the layers of our individual and collective conditioning in order to know and trust our eternal and indestructible true nature. In this process we immerse into the magnificent realm of Mother Nature through the native indigenous foundational practices, initiation rites and sacred healing ceremonies while establishing intercultural bridges of seeing the emergence of awakened consciousness in all beings everywhere. Our purpose is to create a space where all participants, including ourselves, can continually discover and implement ways for a life of greatest purpose and deepest meaning.

This retreat brings about a profound consciousness transformation and involves a serious self-realization process. The process includes physical, mental, spiritual and emotional detoxification. The participants should be willing and able to face without compromise, personal inhibitions, repressed emotions, fears, habitual patterns and other obscurations of consciousness that often accumulate in the human sub-consciousness for many years because of the conditioning of modern society.

Indigenous sacred ceremonies of Ayahuasca and San Pedro for unraveling the divine intelligence of nature in one’s being, healing and spiritual insight will take place every few days.

The schedule will depend on the individual process of each participant. The days around the ceremonies will be dedicated towards creating a deeper understanding of Mother Nature’s language with the help of different modalities such as:

    Remembering* – Release of personal history – an energetic remembering, dissolution of subconscious limitation and letting go of emotional tensions held in one’s past.
    Transformational breathwork* – Amazonian tribal activation of cellular memory and Tibetan modality based on the Heart drops of Dharmakaya practices that brings about a deep cathartic release of deeply seated emotional obscurations
    Individual and collective transpersonal dreamwork* – working with the Ashuar tribal and Jungian approach towards recognizing the universal, associative and symbolic communication of human sub-consciousness relating to spiritual evolution of one’s being.
    Symptomatic Dance* – Communication with the symptomatic language of the organism for the recognition and resolution of the dis-ease origin.
    Sacred geometry* – Allows us to deepen our archetypal relationship with Nature and the universal flow of energy.
    Individual plant medicine diets – The participants will be given specific medicinal plants that help to cultivate essential natural qualities.
    Sharing circles – relating to the universal process of consciousness transformation expressing itself uniquely through each participant.
    Qigong, Yoga, eastern meditation practices – activating deeper vitality and a realignment of energetic channels of the organism.
    Traditional Chinese Medicine – complementary support for the deeper realignment of energetic meridians and healing on all levels.
    Permaculture introduction – Balancing inner and outer landscapes by connecting to nature through meditative gardening.
    Processing, reflecting and integrating - getting to know one’s self through the process of transformation in solitary meditation hut.

* notates foundational practices

The development of the retreat is specifically intended for the participants to face and challenge themselves in the most direct and harmonious way as observed in many ancient cultures and indigenous spiritual traditions around the world. This approach helps to become a human being in a human body while recognizing, transforming and letting go of stale concepts, habitual patterns, repressed emotions, inhibitions, fears, traumas and all other energetic limitations on the way to becoming a totally free luminous being overflowing with universal love and compassion.

Read more details about this retreat >>

Download the Info & Prep Document HERE >>

 
RETREAT REQUIREMENTS

This specific retreat is only for individuals who are in a good physical shape. For those with physical health conditions you can read more about our Medicine Retreats HERE >>

If all goes according to plan, this will be the first retreat to bless our new land and we will still be in the early stages of grounding our infrastructure. Please be prepared for very simple and basic accommodations. Perfect for immersing deeply in nature We will not announce the location of this retreat until February 2014.

 
CONTRIBUTION & REFUND POLICY

All participants are recommended to participate for the full month and are required to participate for a minimum of at least a 14 day segment. We suggest that all participants who join for a partial retreat plan to start their time on the first day of the retreat. Minimum contributions are based on the length to stay. The following contribution is for Transformation Retreat participants, Medicine Retreats have a different pricing scale:

26 – 31 days: $111 per day, per person
14 – 25 days: $125 per day, per person

• Please note that we only have limited space for partial retreat participation.
• This contribution does not cover travel expenses.

Important Travel Notes:
You are welcome to purchase your travel to Lima once fully registered however we ask you to hold off on making your local travel arrangements until February 2014 (at which time we will send specific instructions). Not to worry, local flight prices within Peru do not go up if purchased one week in advance. A this time the intention is to hold this retreat at our new land but we will not be able to confirm this until February 2014.

Discounts – if registered in full by December 10th (including deposit paid):
• 7% early bird discount
• Couples and group discounts are available. Contact us for more info.

Deposit:
A non-refundable deposit of 30% is due in full at the time of registration in order to hold space in the retreat and can be paid via check or credit card. Direction on how to send this contribution will be provided when we receive your registration form. The remaining fee should be brought to Peru and is due by the first day of the retreat. The retreat fee is non-refundable once the retreat begins. We may consider an exception in extreme cases.

 
FACILITATORS

Roman Hanis: Lead Facilitator

• Roman Hanis
  Co-founder, Director of the Center for Indigenous Medicine, Traditional Ando-Amazonian and Chinese Medicine Man
  
  Roman Hanis has been working closely with the indigenous Peruvian cultures in the Amazonian rainforest and Andean mountains since 2001. During this time he has devoted this life to learning the ancient healing ways of these cultures while seeking possibilities for creating ecological sources of sustenance for local populations and working to preserve the rainforest and its spiritual heritage of sacred medicinal plants.
  
  Seeing the vital role that ancient cultural practices can play in today’s world, Roman honors and shares their value and wisdom through his work in community projects, healing retreats and educational workshops in both Peru and the U.S.
  
  He is a certified Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner in Peru, and studied the fundamentals of TCM and acupuncture as an apprentice under the director of the Open International Institute of Oriental Medicine, Myriam Hacker, in Iquitos, Peru.
  
  In 2002, Roman was fortunate enough to be cured of a terminal genetic illness , Crohn’s disease. In 2004, he was pledged as a healer-curandero by the Whitoto and Yahua tribes and has served the international community as a medicine man ever since. He has also practiced physical trauma rehabilitation, medical massage therapy and Eastern bodywork, having earned his degree from New York’s Swedish Institute of Health. With these tools and concentrated efforts, he has been able to help numerous individuals overcome many health issues and pathologies on physical, mental and spiritual levels.
  
  Since 1999, Roman has also practiced the Eastern spiritual disciplines of Tibetan Buddhism, breathwork & meditation, QiGong, Yoga, Shaolin physical therapy and Toltec practices. In addition, he has worked to understand these disciplines from the perspective of Jungian psychology. He speaks Spanish, Hebrew, Russian and English.
  
  Roman looks forward to eradicating suffering in the world and its cause, ignorance, by promoting education on the possibilities of more sustainable, harmonious relationships with nature, while simultaneously creating supportive, self-sustaining and nurturing communities.
  

Cynthia Robinson: Support Facilitator

• Cynthia Robinson
  Co-founder & Director
  
  Since childhood, Cynthia Robinson has had a deep love for nature and natural healing. She always knew she would devote her life in service to the healing of people and the planet.
  
  Cynthia got her BA at the University of Michigan School of Art and Design with a focus in Design, Communication and Creative Problem Solving. After graduation, she pursued her passion to bring deeper values for nature and humanity into the world working as a brand strategist and designer supporting both Fortune 500 as well as smaller companies to implement Permaculture thinking into their infrastructure, product designs and marketing.
  
  Working in the corporate world of New York City led her to discover a more profound passion to support herself and others in establishing deeper connection to nature, ancestral values and unlocking our highest potential as human beings. She traded in the corporate boardrooms for 100 acres in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest where she co-founded the Paititi Institute for the Preservation of the Amazon Rainforest and Indigenous Culture.
  
  At Paititi, Cynthia works alongside her partners to create a platform that practically applies ancient wisdom to our modern world, building intercultural bridges for healing on physical, emotional and spiritual levels for all people from all cultures and all spiritual traditions. She currently works to develop and facilitate holistic experiential education models, weaving together our inner and outer landscapes through nature awareness, traditional Permaculture education, health education and indigenous Amazonian teachings and practices integrated with ancestral wisdom from around the planet.
  
  In addition, in her role as Paititi’s Director of Permaculture, Cynthia is in charge of establishing tropical permaculture models on-site, while cultivating an intentional community that implements ongoing outreach projects in local native villages and tribes. Some of these projects’ focus include: appropriate technology for sanitation and clean water, fair trade exports, and cultural healing exchange programs which establish natural medicine clinics.
  
  Finally, Cynthia is currently in the process of being initiated into Indigenous Amazonian Healing practices to become a medicine woman and carry on this ancient lineage of healing wisdom.
  

RELEASE OF LIABILITY AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK
By submitting your application to the Paititi Institute, a/k/a "Planet People Passion", "Spirit Path Peru", "Planetary Spirit," and "Instituto Paititi de Preservacion de la Selva Amazonica y Cultura Indigena" you agree to the following terms and conditions.

This is a legally binding document. It is important that you read it carefully before signing it and sending it back to us. Submission of your application to The Paititi Institute implies your agreement to the terms stated herein.

PLEASE  NOTE: The Paititi Institute is a project which over time has used other names, including "Planet People Passion", "Spirit Path Peru", "Planetary Spirit," and "Instituto de Preservacion de la Selva Amazonica y Cultura Indigena".  Any reference to the Paititi Institute in this agreement shall be interpreted to include any and all of the above entities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RISKS:
I acknowledge that the following describes some, but not all, of the risks associated with participation in the retreat, course, service or volunteer activity for which I am registering by signing this document: (1) falling; (2) cold weather and heat related injuries, including hypothermia, heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and dehydration; (3) an "act of nature", which may include flood, inclement weather, thunder and lighting, severe and/or varied wind, temperature or weather conditions; (4) river crossing, fording or travel including travel to or from the activity; (5) risks associated with equipment failure and /or operator error, including risks associated with transportation to and from activities; (6) discharge of weapons; ( risks associated with watercraft, including change in water flow or current; submerged, semi-submerged and overhanging objects; capsizing, swamping or sinking of watercraft and resultant injury, hypothermia or drowning; (9) my sense of balance, physical coordination, and ability to follow instructions; (10) attack by or encounter with insects, reptiles, or animals; (11) accidents or illnesses occurring in remote places where there are no available medical facilities; (12)  prolonged delay in ability to obtain medical assistance; (13) negative reaction from air or waterborne bacteria or viruses; (14) sanitation problems, food poisoning, or contacts with poisonous plants; (15) fatigue, chill and/or  dizziness, which may diminish my/our reaction time and increase the risk of accident; (16) losses die to civil unrest and terrorism or for any other cause beyond the direct control of  The Paititi Institute.

I acknowledge that risks may be present at any location used as a rest accommodation or a meeting site in conjunction with or during the course, retreat, service volunteer programs or activities of The Paititi Institute.

I acknowledge that as a part of the retreat, course, service or volunteer program, I may choose to participate in sacred ceremonies and/or undergo treatment with medicinal plants. I acknowledge that individual reaction to the consumption of medicinal plants may differ and may include a risk of adverse reaction, illness or death. I specifically acknowledge and assume those risks.

I understand that the description of the risks is not complete and that unknown or unanticipated risks may result in injury, illness or death.

ASSUMPTION OF RISK AND RELEASE OF LIABILITY
I am aware that all activities sponsored, promoted or conducted by The Paititi Institute entail risks of injury or death to myself and minor children for which I may be responsible.  I agree to assume responsibility for those risks identified in this document and for those risks that were not specifically identified.  My/our participation in the retreat, course, service protram, volunteer program and/or other activities sponsored, promoted or conducted by the Paititi Institute is purely voluntary; I voluntarily elect to participate in those activities despite the risks involved.

I hereby state that I am (we are) physically and mentally capable of participating in the activities that I am registering for.  I assume full responsibility for the risks of personal injury, accidents, illness, or death, and any resultant expenses from any of the foregoing risks.  I assume full responsibility for damage to, and /or loss of, my/our personal property as a result of any accident that may occur.  I further assume full responsibility for any and all expenses and costs caused by or associated with, my illness or injury during the period of, or associated with, my participation in the activities of The Paititi Institute, including, but not limited to, medical expenses, hospital bills, medications and emergency transportation. I acknowledge that those expenses are not covered by any contribution for participation in the activities of, or volunteering for, The Paititi Institute.

I agree that this release shall be legally binding upon me personally, all members of my family and all minors traveling with me, my and their heirs, successors, assigns, and legal representatives, it being my intention to fully assume all the risks associated with the activities and to release The Paititi Institute from any and all liability.

I hereby forever release, waive, discharge and hold harmless the organizers of this retreat, course, service and/or volunteer program, its owners, officers, employees, agents, and representatives, successors, heirs, and assigns, as well as the owners of the property on which this is activity is located, from any and all claims, law suits or causes of action of any kind which might arise from their inactions, actions or omissions, which are in any way associated or connected with this retreat. I hereby agree to indemnify and defend the organizers of this retreat, course, service and/or volunteer program, its owners officers, employees, agents, and representatives, successors, heirs, assigns, and the owners of the property on which this activity is located, and to hold them harmless from any and all claims, law suits or causes of action of any kind brought with or without my knowledge or consent, by my heirs, assigns, subrogees, or any other person or corporation for any harm or injuries sustained or property damage incurred in connection with my participation  in this retreat, course and/or volunteer program.  I hereby waive any protection afforded by any statute or law in any jurisdiction whose purpose, substance and /or effect is to provide that a general release shall not extend to claims, material or otherwise which the person giving the release does not know or suspect at the time of executing the release. I, therefore, acknowledge that I am releasing unknown future claims.
 
AUTHORIZATION:
I hereby authorize any medical treatment (including treatment involving use of medicinal plant) deemed necessary in the event of any injury or illness during my/our participation in the course, retreat or activities.

RULES AND POLICIES:
1.    Every participant must provide The Paititi Institute with emergency contact information before he/she is allowed to take part in the retreat, course, service, volunteer programs or activities.

2.    A Non-refundable course deposit of 30% is due in full at time of registration in order to hold space in the course. Full Course fee is due by the first day of the course. The course/retreat fee is non-refundable once the course/retreat begins.

3.    Every participant is encouraged to carry an ID or a legible copy of such at all times when not on Paititi Institute grounds.

4.    Every participant under the age of eighteen (18) must be accompanied by a parent of guardian at all times during the course, retreat, volunteer program or activities.

5.    Every participant must notify The Paititi Institute of any serious medical condition (such as diabetes, asthma, seizures etc.), all medication taken in the 6 weeks prior to participation, and of any physical limitation he/she may have with regards to participation in the retreat, course, volunteer program or activities.

6.    The Paititi Institute is not responsible and does not carry insurance for any lost, stolen or damaged property, including the participant’s luggage.

7.    In the case of violation of any of the Rules ad Policies of The Paititi Institute, the latter reserves the right to terminate participant’s participation in any course, retreat or activities without any refund and without advance notice or warning.

8.    Every participant hereby agrees to abide by the Rules and Policies, and by oral instructions of the agents and/or instructors of Th Paititi Institute and act in a safe and respectful manner at all times.

9.    All participants agree to honor the Paititi Institute substance policy. The full policy is available in our travel prep documents.

By submitting this online application, I certify that I have read this Agreement, fully understand its terms and conditions, understand that I have given up substantial legal rights by signing it, and have signed it freely and voluntarily without any inducement, assurance or guarantee being made to me and intend my signature to be a complete, absolute and unconditional release of all liability to the greatest extent allowed by law.  I further represent that I am at least eighteen (18) years of age and fully competent.

Details

Start:
    March 10, 2014 8:00 am
End:
    April 10, 2014 11:30 pm
Event Category:
    Peru Retreats

Organizer

    Paititi Institute
Website:
    http://www.facebook.com/Paititi.Institute

//// another event /////

Indigenous Ceremony Overview

As an integral part of the transformation process participants will partake in ancient Amazonian indigenous ceremonies of Ayahuasca and Andean culture of San Pedro and Coca. Transformation is facilitated by medicine men & women as well as healers and guides who serve as intercultural bridges of the timeless planetary wisdom of humanity.

This healing tradition is considered to be an uninterrupted live transmission lineage going back to times immemorial carrying illuminated reminders from the period of humanity when the ancestors were fully immersed in the primordial enlightened essence of humanity’s true nature. Plants are teachers and the spirit of these plants can support us in connecting to deep subtle energies of our body and the interwoven reality surrounding us.

The ceremonies associated with many sacred plants have been known to reconnect people with Mother Nature, heal from ailments and clear confusions, doubts and obscurations of consciousness. We encourage our patients to connect with Nature inside out and this is a very beneficial way to tap into the source of life in the universe as we know it.

We caution people against reading too much online about these practices as we have found there is a lot of misunderstanding and misconception abound around these traditions. For more background on the sacred shamanic traditions of Peru we ask that you to watch this lecture given by Roman Hanis titled “Knowledge of the Amazon” at the following link in addition we encourage all participants to view the documentary “The Sacred Science” which was filmed at the Paititi Institute.