Alberto Villoldo
Encyclopedia
Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D., is a Cuban-born psychologist and anthropologist who has studied the shamanic
healing practices of the Amazon
and Inca
shamans for over 25 years.
), a consciousness researcher and a pioneer in the study of the paranormal phenomena, with whom he later co-authored Healing States: A Journey Into the World of Spiritual Healing and Shamanism. While on the faculty of San Francisco State University, Villoldo founded and directed the Biological Self Regulation Laboratory at San Francisco State University, where he investigated the effects of energy healing on blood and brain chemistry.
There is a controversy between the form of participatory engagement of teachers like Alberto Villoldo and the more non-participatory anthrolopogical approach.
and "soul retrieval". The school maintains an office in Park City, Utah, and teaches in New England, California, and Utah, and internationally in Canada, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland and Australia.
In 2006 he was instrumental in bringing the Munay-ki
(9 Rites of Initiation) from the Andes to be accessible to anyone called to receive them. The Munay-ki are not indigenous rites, but Villoldo's modified version of traditional rites that have been stripped of their traditional Q'ero cultural forms in order to be more accessible to westerners. This was controversial within The Four Winds Society and caused the resignation of several principal teachers.
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Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
healing practices of the Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
and Inca
Inca civilization
The Andean civilizations made up a loose patchwork of different cultures that developed from the highlands of Colombia to the Atacama Desert. The Andean civilizations are mainly based on the cultures of Ancient Peru and some others such as Tiahuanaco. The Inca Empire was the last sovereign...
shamans for over 25 years.
Formal Education
Villoldo graduated in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in Inter-American Studies, followed by a master's in Psychology (1972), and a doctorate in psychology at the Humanistic Psychology Institute. His thesis advisor was Dr. Stanley KrippnerStanley Krippner
Stanley Krippner is an American psychologist, and an executive faculty member and Professor of Psychology at Saybrook University in San Francisco...
), a consciousness researcher and a pioneer in the study of the paranormal phenomena, with whom he later co-authored Healing States: A Journey Into the World of Spiritual Healing and Shamanism. While on the faculty of San Francisco State University, Villoldo founded and directed the Biological Self Regulation Laboratory at San Francisco State University, where he investigated the effects of energy healing on blood and brain chemistry.
Field Work
Villoldo cites a number of key Shaman mentors, who shared their Shamanic knowledge with him through his years in Peru and the Amazon:- Don Antonio Morales - Both a shaman, and a University Professor in Cusco, who spoke Quechua the language of the Inca, and who travelled with Villoldo for more than ten years gathering shamanic knowledge of a great many tribes and cultures through the Andes, and the Amazon.
- Don Manuel QuispeDon Manuel QuispeDon Manuel Quispe was a Q'ero elder, and Medicine Man who died on December 11th 2004 http://www.vanishingcultures.org/DonManuelQuispe.html vanishingcultures.org...
- A Q'eroQ'eroQ'ero is a Quechua community or ethnic group in the province of Paucartambo, in the Cusco Region of Peru.The Q'ero became more widely known due to the 1955 ethnological expedition of Dr...
medicine man who for seven years taught with Villoldo the ways of the kurak akuyek, the Andean Shamanic degrees. - Dona Laura - An Andean medicine woman who lived near Mt Ausangate the Inka holy mountain and was one of Villoldo's teachers
- Don Eduardo Calderon - A fisherman, and coastal shaman, who taught Villoldo to work with spirits.
There is a controversy between the form of participatory engagement of teachers like Alberto Villoldo and the more non-participatory anthrolopogical approach.
Four Winds Society
Since 1984 Villoldo directs The Four Winds Society, where he trains individuals in the practice of energy medicineEnergy medicine
Energy medicine is one of five domains of "complementary and alternative medicine" identified by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States...
and "soul retrieval". The school maintains an office in Park City, Utah, and teaches in New England, California, and Utah, and internationally in Canada, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland and Australia.
In 2006 he was instrumental in bringing the Munay-ki
Munay-ki
The Munay-Ki are a series of nine rites brought to western society by Dr Alberto Villoldo, an american anthropologist who has studied the shamanic healing practices of the Amazon and Inca shamans for over 25 years. "Munay" means "love and will" together "ki" is from the Chinese word for energy...
(9 Rites of Initiation) from the Andes to be accessible to anyone called to receive them. The Munay-ki are not indigenous rites, but Villoldo's modified version of traditional rites that have been stripped of their traditional Q'ero cultural forms in order to be more accessible to westerners. This was controversial within The Four Winds Society and caused the resignation of several principal teachers.
Writing
A prolific author, he draws on his experiences in South America and on his knowledge of shamanic and energy healing; among his most popular books are Dance of the Four Winds, and Shaman, Healer, Sage. He also founded "The Sanctuary Project", which provides support and shelter to indigenous Q'ero shamans who work for The Four Winds Society. He has coauthored a number of books with Erik JendresenErik Jendresen
Erik Jendresen is an author as well as a writer and producer for plays, television, and film.As a supervising producer of the critically-acclaimed mini-series "Band of Brothers" for HBO in 2001, Jendresen was one of the recipients of that year's Emmy Award for "Outstanding Miniseries", which he...
.