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. 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 deal I made with myself was that my intellect would be free to make whatever sense it could of my experiences after the fact. That is what the materials on this page represent.

These are articles I've written for publication elsewhere or for inclusion in the Salka Wind Web site. Feel free to make a single copy of these writings for your own use. If you wish to make multiple copies or to incorporate them into another work please contact me at info@SalkaWind.com for permission.

1. Andean Mysticism and Healing the Planet. A speech I gave on May 2, 2008 at a fund raising event for Kenosis Spirit Keepers. It is 16 pages in length (lesson: don't get me going).
   
2. The Real Heart. Published in Sacred Hoop (Spring, 2004). It is five pages in length. This is one of the favorite things I've written.
   
3. In Search of Sami. A short little essay from my most recent trip to Peru.
   
4. An Environmental Epistemology of the Andean People of Peru (a.k.a. The Big Enchilada) This is the first thing I wrote about my work in the Andes that I thought had any value. Its intimidating title came from the context in which I wrote it. Over the period of a couple of years I gave several presentations at academic conferences, each presentation became a section of this paper, which grew to its present length of 36 pages (ergo the nickname). I decided that the best way to fit what I was doing into the psychological literature was to focus on how the Andean approach leads to an intimate and loving relationship with Nature--a relationship that is not easily supportable within my own culture--which fit into the field of 'Ecological Psychology'. I still really like this paper, and while I also think I should go back and make it read a little better, the thoughts it contains are essential to my understanding of what I have been learning and what I want to share.
   
5. A Nobler Want. An essay I wrote in 2004 for inclusion on this web site. It is three pages in length.
   
6. Ayni. A short essay (3 pages in length) on this basic Andean principle.
   
7. A Therapeutic Relationship Between People and Their Geography in the Andes. This is a short article I published in the psychology journal Clio's Psyche in 2001. It is two pages long. This article and the next one seem rather dated to me as I review them now, it is obvious to me that over the years I have changed the way I write about these topics.
   
8. Andean Epistemology: The Nature of Love, Wisdom, and Environmental Concern. This is a paper I presented at the Western Social Science Association in 2001. It is about four pages in length, and is pretty much just a longer version of the Clio's Psyche article (above).