Page last updated May 6, 2008.
by Oakley E. Gordon, Ph.D.
This web site is a product of my studies with the Andean paq'o Americo Yabar and other paq'os of the Andes. The term paq'o is most often translated as shaman, but here I believe translation misleads as much as it reveals. The term shaman is commonly used to clump together all indigenous mystical or spiritual approaches from around the globe, it carries with it certain associations such as the use of drums and chanting and psychoactive plants, none of which fit my experiences with the paq'os of the Andes. What I have experienced instead is an intimate and loving relationship with Nature, developed through meditative-like processes, and the blossoming of a new way of understanding the Cosmos that my intellect can appreciate but not comprehend.
It is this non-intellectual blossoming of understanding within a person that I believe is the heart of the approach, not the words or concepts or beliefs that help this blossoming to occur. The end result is not to turn into a specific type of person, but to become more aware of the essence of who we uniquely are, which somehow paradoxically takes us closer to what we all are, salka. This web site then represents my best attempt at sharing in my own way what I have learned in the Andes. It inevitably reflects my own cultural upbringing, my intellectual penchants and academic background, and my heart. It does not represent don Américo Yábar or the other paq'os other than through their effects on me.
In keeping with my approach to writing about the Andes (see the introductory paragraph to the section on 'My Writings') the following definitions come not from my quechua dictionary but from my experiences with how the terms have been used within the context of my travels to Peru. Also note that spellings vary.
Please feel free to make a copy of these definitions for your own use. If you wish to use the definitions in a handout for others or to incorporate in other work please contact me at info@SalkaWind.com.
Introduction: I am, by vocation, a professional intellectual. I have a Ph.D. in psychology, I teach at a university, and I have been both well trained in and teach the methods of science. As a scientist I should have gone to Peru to measure behaviors that would allow me to test specific theories. I did not. As an academician I should be reading the academic literature concerning the beliefs of indigenous people, and then connecting my experiences and thoughts to the thoughts of others in the field. I am not. The essence of the Andean approach I have been learning is non-intellectual. It represents a way of knowing about, understanding, and experiencing reality that lies outside of the intellect. To learn the Andean approach I needed to quiet the constant chatter of my mind. The internal deal I made was that my intellect would be free to make whatever sense it could of my experiences after the fact. That is what these articles and papers represent.
Caveat: I often speak of 'The Andean Approach', this is simply the easiest label I can think of for what I have been learning. It represents where on the globe I learned this, but it is not meant to imply that what I have learned can be generalized to a context greater than the paq'os with whom I have worked, or for that matter, to a context greater than the way I experience this approach. I believe the essence of this approach blossoms uniquely in each of us. There are many other voices out there that can speak of their experiences with the paq'os of the Andes and what sense they then made of those experiences, and their words and concepts and flavors are very different than mine, links to some of them are given in the next section of this web site.
Please feel free to make a single copy of these writings for your own use. If you wish to use the writings in a handout for others or to incorporate in other work please contact me at info@SalkaWind.com..
"The following views do not necessarily represent those of the management".
If you have written about your studies with Americo Yabar (or with other paq'os in the Andes) and would like to have a link here (free of charge) referencing that work please contact me at info@SalkaWind.com.
Books: Calling Our Spirits Home: Gateways to Full Consciousness and Standing Stark: The Willingness to Engage
Information on ordering her books and companion audio tapes.
Excerpts from her booksArticle:
Dearest Waiki: Love Letters to an Andean Mystic. To order or for more information visit www.intiwasi.org
This link will take you to a photo album on my Andean Research Home Page, you may use the 'back' button on your browser to return here.
These listings are provided as a service without any implied endorsement, or knowledge of, the organizations offering them. Please note in comparing the costs of various workshops that in addition to differences in profit margin (if any) that the costs of putting on workshops: 1) vary greatly from venue to venue; 2) depend upon the number of participants (there are set costs to be shared among those that attend); and 3) can be greatly affected by what it takes to arrange for a translator.
If you would like to post a notice here (free of charge) of a workshop with Americo or Gayle please contact me at info@SalkaWind.com. Please note that if you simply send me a notice of a workshop I still don't know if you want me to post it here or not, so please specify if you would like me to post it.
July 14-27, 2008: Peru (Americo and Gayle) with Carla Woody
Link to more informationOctober 21 - November 4, 2008: Peru (Americo and possibly Gayle) with Carolan Evans
Link to more information
Nothing on tap in the near future. I have in the past and will again sometime in the future offer workshops on what I have learned from my experiences with Americo. If you are interested in having me put on a workshop please contact me at: info@SalkaWind.com
1) The Peru Reader: History, Culture, and Politics, by Orin Starn, Carlos Ivan Degregori, and Robins Kirk (Eds.). This excellent book helped to fill in my understanding of the history of Peru. It is a compilation of writings by Peruvians; including diaries, essays, folklore, songs, newspaper articles and other sources spanning the history of Peru.
2) The Ecology of Magic, a chapter by David Abram in the book Ecopsychology (T. Roszak, M. E. Gomes & A. D. Kanner, Eds.). This is, by far, the best academic description I have read of the type of shamanism I've experienced in the Andes (even though the author is speaking of his experiences in Bali).
3) Rolling Thunder, by Doug Boyd. This is a beautiful nonfiction account of Rolling Thunder, a Shoshone Medicine Man. I recommend it here as he reminds me so much of Americo Yabar.
4) Nature, Man, and Woman, by Alan Watts. If you have never read Alan Watts then you are in for a treat. I must admit, however, that I really only like the first 70 pages of the book, in which he lays forth some very important concepts concerning the relationship between Western Science, Western Religion, and our thinking about the nature of Nature.
5) The Bird and the Machine, a chapter in Loren Eiseley's The Immense Journey : An Imaginative Naturalist Explores the Mysteries of Man and Nature. This is a beautiful narrative and gets right to the heart of something...something very close to my heart as I have struggled to write about what is really important here. It is worth tracking down and reading...really.
6) Secret of the Andes, by Ann Nolan Clark, a Newbery Award children's book that is beautiful and subtle. Thanks to Jason Rogers for drawing my attention to this.
Web site created by Oakley Gordon
