Nepal’s Living Goddess, Amazonian Shamanism Conference: Report # 2, Artist David Hewson, Dr. Swami Ramananda Comes to Las Vegas, Mind Control Goes Mainstream, Ethiopian 'Magic' Scrolls, Commercial Properties Entrepreneur Cat D’Angelo, and more…

 

The 4th International Amazonian Shamanism Conference:

 

Magic, Myths and Miracles: Report # 2. Dr. Richard Grossman was such a popular past presenter that organizer Alan Shoemaker invited him to speak at the 4th. He gave a fascinating talk about his healing work. He is the founder of Heart Feather guiding Andean and Amazonian Shamanism healing tours (www.heartfeather.com). Richard is not only a healer but a musician and the creator of SoundJourney (www.soundjourney.com), a multi-instrumental sound healing experience. He demonstrated the power of sound healing at the Conference. Richard has lived and traveled for extended time periods in China, India, Mexico, Peru, and Ecuador, and has worked and studied with healers and shamans from all over the world.

 

Richard Grossman’s Amanzonian Shamanism Journey is a 10 day long experience working with traditional native shamans. This is a tour specifically designed by Richard to be a very profound experience. Included in these journeys are boat trips to such places as Monkey Island and native villages, jungle walks, flower baths, and intensive work alongside a curandero. Check Richard’s website for future tours.

 

Richard is a Licensed Acupuncturist, Doctor of Oriental Medicine, and Doctor of Philosophy in Oriental Medicine. He practices Acupuncture and Oriental (Chinese) Medicine in Santa Monica and Topanga Canyon, California. He also uses Nutritional Medicine, Clinical Nutrition, Functional Medicine, Detoxification, Chinese and Western Herbal Medicine, Indigenous Sound Healing™ and Natural Health Care. He’s also an accomplished photographer!

 

Functional Medicine is a health care philosophy that gives a unique understanding of the many complex inter-relationships within the miracle of the human body.

 

Using his unique healing modalities, Richard had a full schedule at the Conference treating attendees. (All photos of Conference presenters by Richard Grossman. Richard on the Shaman Discussion Panel sitting next to Don Percy Garcia Lozano; below: Dr. Robert Forte; Curandera Wendy Luckey (presided over Huachuma ceremonies) and Dr. Dennis McKenna)  

 

 

Artist David Hewson.

 

Also at the 4th was artist David Hewson, who discussed and showed the amazingly intensive process he goes through creating a painting. After years of studying techniques of mural painting (Fresco, Encaustic, and Scagiola, oil and water gilding) with master craftsmen in Italy, David now lives in Iquitos, Peru. His religious paintings are fantastic! His gilded panels are brilliant masterpieces. David’s portraits show the kind of psychological insight that one sees in Renaissance paintings of cardinals and aristocrats. He reveals the inner self. David showed his shamanic paintings at the Conference, but his religious paintings are magnificent! David has also told me that he has had over 50 ceremonies with the shaman I chose to drink with, Ron Wheelock. David said that Ron has kept the Shipibo tradition and he is revered among the Shipibos. David (his self portrait is below) does commissions, so I have found my next portraitist! www.davidhewsonart.com

 

 

Dr. Swami Ramananda Comes to Las Vegas.

 

On Wednesday, August 20th, at 7:00 PM at the Sahara West Library, Swami Ramananda Giri Maharaj gave a talk, “India From Inside Out”. Swamiji G spoke on the Edumd Husserl’s Phenomenological approach to Indian Philosophy and how it relates to today’s world. Swamiji discussed his research collected on 17 different pilgrimages to India and interviews with some of the greatest spiritual persons of India including Sri Ananda Moyi Ma, Sathya Sai Baba, Maharisihi Mahesh Yogi, A.C. Bhaktivedanta, and Swami Prabhupada. Phenomenology is the study of the consciousness from a first-person perspective. It is the attempt to reflect on pre-reflexive experience to determine certain properties of, or structures in, consciousness.

 

 

 

Living Goddess.

 

I’ve been to Nepal three times. The photos below are from my second trip, a trek. One photo is of a “tiger” shaman I requested pay the camp a visit. It took him all night to go into trance, but then he threw himself in the fire and extracted illnesses from the camp staff. The other photo is of me and my personal sherpa. The last time I was in Kathmandu, I paid a visit to the Living Goddess Kumari. She was seated at a window in the courtyard accepting pilgrims.

 

Religious authorities in Nepal have begun the search for a girl who could be as young as three or four to serve as the new Kumari, or the virgin "living goddess", in a centuries-old tradition.

 

Astrologers were consulting horoscopes of candidates from Buddhist Shakya families to replace the current Kumari, Preeti Shakya, who is 11 and should retire in October.

 

Under the Kumari tradition, a girl selected from a Buddhist Newar family goes through a rigorous cultural process and becomes the "living goddess". She is considered by many as an incarnation of the powerful deity Kali and is revered until she menstruates, after which she must return to the family and a new one is chosen.

 

The keepers in Kathmandu's elaborately carved wooden temple where the "goddess" lives, have already started the secret selection process.

 

Mind Control Goes Mainstream.

 

But we still have no non-invasive way to test blood! Future wars could see opponents attacking each other's minds, according to a report commissioned by the Defense Intelligence Agency for the US military. Landmines releasing brain-altering chemicals, scanners reading soldiers' minds and devices boosting eyesight and hearing could all one figure in arsenals, suggests the study.

 

Sophisticated drugs allowing troops to stay awake and alert for several days are expected to be developed. It is thought that some US soldiers are already taking drugs prescribed for narcolepsy in an attempt to combat fatigue. In fact, substances could also be developed to deplete an opponents' forces.

According to a new report, "pharmacological landmines," which release drugs to incapacitate soldiers upon their contact with them, could also be developed.

 

The report, which was commissioned by the Defense Intelligence Agency, contained the work of scientists asked to examine how better understanding of how the human mind works was likely to affect the development of technology. As a fan of all Conspiracy Theories, I have a copy of José Delgado's "Physical Control of the Mind". "The individual may think that the most important reality is his own existence, but this is only his personal point of view. This lacks historical perspective. Man does not have the right to develop his own mind. This kind of liberal orientation has great appeal. We must electronically control the brain. Someday armies and generals will be controlled by electric stimulation of the brain." Dr José Delgado, Director of Neuropsychiatry, Yale University Medical School Congressional Record, No. 26, Vol.

118 February 24, 1974 (Photo of José Delgado Controlling An Angry Bull by Electrical Stimulation of the Brain.1965) Cat D’Angelo. My friend Cat D’Angelo has been singing professionally since she was nine years old. She spent 9 years on tour with her own band and as an opening act for different bands. Now settled in Las Vegas, Cat is a popular karaoke star around town. When asked, Cat still sings at social and charity events.

 

Cat has built another career as a highly respected Commercial Real Estate agent putting together commercial development projects for people who have private source funding. In other words, Cat’s clients are not worried about the U.S. down-spiraling economy. Cat and her company, Insight Realty Group, concentrate on hotels and casinos and high-end joint venture projects all over the world. Cat D’Angelo, Insight Realty Group, Inc., 8270 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas, NV. Direct: (702) 217-3847. Office (702) 939-1800.  www.InsightRealtyLV.com

 

Ethiopian 'Magic' Scrolls.

 

On my list of countries I plan to visit is Ethiopia. On my shopping list is a magic scroll. Ethiopian gospel or prayer scrolls, referred to as ‘magic scrolls’, were believed to hold protective and healing powers, and were carried by the owner at all times. They were inscribed with prayers, spells and charms originally designed to offer protection to their owner. Each one was designed for the individual patron. Inscribed with prayers, spells and charms, the text was often excerpted from sacred books such as Gospels and thus were tolerated by the Ethiopian Church in spite of their connection to magical practices. Clients commissioned their scrolls for diverse reasons, using them to undo spells, restore health, combat sterility and even ward off demons. The dabtara, or ordained cleric responsible for producing the object, specifically tailored the size and content of the scroll to the physical and spiritual characteristics of his client, using painted decoration to enhance the scrolls protective properties.

 

The process began with the selection and sacrifice of a particular animal. The dabtara washed the client in the animals’ blood as part of the process of purification. Three strips of parchment were then made from the skin of the animal and stitched together to form a single scroll equal in length to the height of its owner. The object, therefore, maintained a direct, physical connection to its owner, enhancing the power of its magic.

 

The description above may be past-tense, but I will task myself to find a dabtara to make a magic scroll for me. And as an avowed vegetarian for decades, I know the animal kingdom will be pleased to reciprocate and thank me for my dedication – that’s why I wear fur.