Anthropologist, Alberto Villolda, PhD, joins David to illuminate ancient shamanic wisdom to heal our modern world through imbibing the natural, intuitive flow of consciousness, nature, and service.
Dubbed the ‘Indian Jones of the Spirit World,’ Alberto Villoldo, PhD, is a medical anthropologist who has studied the shamanic healing practices of the Amazon and Andes for more than 25 years. He is the founder of the Four Winds Society, an organization dedicated to the bridging of ancient shamanic traditions with modern medicine and psychology. The Four Winds Society Light Body School is internationally recognized as the Gold Standard in shamanic education, preparing wise and ethical energy medicine practitioners. For more information about Alberto and his books, such as The Four Insights, Grow a New Body, and Shaman, Healer, Sage, visit thefourwinds.com
Shamanic Wisdom: Lost & Found
Speaking to the conquistador colonization of South America in centuries past, Alberto shares about what was lost and what was saved when shamanic, spiritually-inclined peoples were wiped out at the hands of European hegemony and Christian proselytization. While skills like herbalism stuck around due to their usefulness to conquistadors, the deep and rich shamanic wisdom became untethered. Luckily, Alberto explains, wisdom can never be truly lost, as it is the fabric of the universe – its well can always be tapped.
“There is a way to retrieve these teachings because they are founded on a direct connection with wisdom, and not a direct connection with a teacher. The notion in the shamanic practices is that wisdom is the basic fabric of the universe, and it is your access, your connection.” – Alberto Villoldo, PhD
While we can’t decolonize the past, we can start to decolonize our minds! Learn from a South African shaman, on Ep. 355 of Mindrolling
A Shaman’s Way of Seeing: Consciousness, Nature, & Service (4:14)
Undoing the scientific assumption that we live in a ‘dead cosmos,’ Alberto describes to David the invisible world which shamans operate within through a way of perceiving–not with the eyes–but through multisensory, synesthesiac, intuitive perception. Describing the shaman’s path as one of service, witnessing-over-action, and uprooting ignorance, Alberto explains the shamanic prescription for healing ourselves into a right relationship with Earth and Mother Nature.
“You need to come into right relationship with the Earth, because for the Shaman there is only one illness, and that is disconnection from nature and your own nature; and only one medication, which is reconnection with your own nature and Mother Nature.” – Alberto Villoldo, PhD
For an insightful exploration on what ancient shamanic practices can offer the modern world, tune into Ep. 24 of the BHNN Guest Podcast
Stewards of the Earth: Secular & Sacred (20:20)
Alberto and David begin to unpack what we can take from the past to foster a more ecologically-minded future that benefits not just humanity, but nature and all creatures on this beautiful, living Earth. Touching on the flowing resurgence of interest in shamanic traditions due to their feminine, earth-based nature, Alberto and David uncover how to merge the secular with the sacred to become effective stewards of Planet Earth.
“The shamanic traditions are really having resurgence today. There’s a rebirth happening in the world of the ancient shamanic traditions because they’re feminine, they’re earth-based, and they provide a leadership that includes not only humanity, but nature and all creatures, all beings.” – Alberto Villoldo, PhD
For an illuminating interview with anthropologist and shamanic expert, Graham Handcock, check out Ep. 22 of the BHNN Guest Podcast
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