ME… IN THE JUNGLE?

MY STORY

JUST OVER A DECADE AGO, I GOT CURIOUS AND OPEN TO APPROACHING LIFE DIFFERENTLY.

With life seasons changing, the death of my father, and a desire for change — change that I couldn’t even put my finger on — I began exploring many amazing trainings, books, workshops, and teachings that were different than anything I had studied over the years becoming a teacher, counselor and lawyer. It began with me experiencing the full body healing properties of Reiki. Because of the calm and peace I felt from Reiki, I became a Reiki Master wishing to helps others experience what I had. This also led me to more awareness of what was working and not working in my life.

This is my story about how meeting one woman changed everything — and took me around the world, and ultimately back to myself. Read it all, or scroll the pictures!

The year was 2010. I am a Master gardener, and was at that time active on county and state boards with programs. I heard of a woman from Belize coming to speak where I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan about the healing properties of plants and I thought “Why not?” I went to the event and met her: Rosita. Listening to Rosita talk about and how she uses with plants to in heal people of all ages triggered something in me. It was unlike anything I had ever heard or had been taught to think.

It was my ‘aha’ moment.

At that time in my life I called myself a ‘Marriot camper,’ so you can understand how much I was out of my comfort zone in Belize. Being in Belize in the Jungle was frightening, scary, beautiful and challenging intellectually, physically and emotionally. Why was I here?

My love of plants initiated this process and Rosita’s teachings intrigued me to a point I needed to find out what it was about and learn it for myself. I felt compelled to study Arvigo and learn about the healing power of plants and to the Traditional Maya Healing Approaches for Body, Mind and Spirit. Each day we walked from our jungle camp along the medicine trail high above the Macal River and up the hill atop a Mayan ruin to Rosita’s home to learn about the link between physical illness and unresolved emotional stress.

We studied the plants common to the jungle and also plants we knew of from our own environment in the USA. We learned how to use the water and sun in making a special bathe for the healing of others and ourselves. Each day we would congregate in Rosita’s home and learn Maya culture, concepts and healing techniques. It was so lovely and brought me such joy and lightness that I went back the next two winters to continue to learn and study from her. Each year we delved deeper into healing concepts with daily healing rituals, small group discussions, journaling , meditation learning how to apply this to our clients at home.

During this time I noticed that there was a commonality among the people I was studying with in Belize: The issues we all face are universal.

Our training included learning the individual properties of many plants and how to use them to heal in a unique way for each individual we are working with. We were taught the same techniques that Rosita learned decades earlier from her friend and mentor, a Shaman in Belize. We went to the local markets, canoed down the Macal river, visited Mayan ruins which included Tikal in Guatemala. While I have always loved to travel, this initial experience of traveling to Belize made me realize how much a culture and its people can share local techniques in healing and spirituality… which can be used in any place in the world. I returned to Belize three more times for additional training and certification; twice for my own training and once for a teacher-in-training.

From being introduced to Bach Flower Remedies in Belize I went on to take three classes and became certified as to be able to offer this to my clients. Last May, I continued my cultural learning by going on a spiritual adventure to Peru. We went to many sacred Incan sites with our Peruvian guide. We had ceremony and ritual in an Incan cave with a Shaman and visited Machu Picchu. I climbed to the Sun Gate high above Machu Picchu, which was a personal accomplishment for me. Visiting a Ketchua school of elementary children, traveling to so many sacred sites in Peru, visiting the local markets and visiting with the local people made this adventure a particularly insightful experience. I saw how happy the people of Peru are in their everyday lives. The old ways are still being used with in the culture as well. Medicine is still plant based and healing techniques passed down generationally. While the cities are changing the rural areas have still retained this.

In November 2019, I attended a conference in New Mexico titled Scientist, Mystics & Sages Intensive Conference. It was an integration 5 holistic practitioners who provided case studies and scientific research as proof that the holistic techniques we use in working with our clients really do have a scientific basis. And they were able to show the proof of it in the studies. We learned new meditation techniques from Joe Dispenza, heart centered healing from Gregg Braden, Near Death Experience and what she learned by Anita Moorjani, Professor Dr. Amit Goswami , physicist Dr. Todd Ovakaitys and my own personal favorite, Dr. Bruce Lipton. Learning that the techniques we use as holistic practitioners on our clients can now be backed by scientific evidence gives validity to our practice and a basis for blending the medical and holistic wellness techniques.

Bruce Lipton confirmed that our biology is very much based on our personal beliefs.

Our words, thoughts and practices actually do determine our overall health.

It was an amazing learning experience to be in there presence each day and hear the latest techniques and processes we can implement for healing. I still hope to get to India, Egypt and other spiritual sites around the world. I am always looking to expand my knowledge and understanding of cultures and experience new yet old ways of healing that come from the elements on this earth. In the future, I hope to lead a group to one of these sites and make it a spiritual, healing and deeply personal adventure.

WAYS TO WORK WITH ME