Cleansing Rites of Curanderismo

Author: Erika Buenaflor
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1591433126
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 278

Book Description
A tutorial on the ancient practice of limpias to heal the mind, body, and soul • Offers step-by-step instructions for the practice of limpias, shamanic cleansing rituals to heal, purify, and revitalize people as well as physical spaces • Examines different types of limpia ceremonies, such as fire rites for transformation, water rites for cleansing and influencing, and sweeping rites for divination • Explores the sacred stories behind limpia rituals and traces these curanderismo practices to their indigenous roots Exploring the essential tools and practices of Mesoamerican shamans and curanderos, specifically the ancient Yukatek Maya and Mexica (Aztec), Erika Buenaflor, M.A., J.D., provides a step-by-step guide for conducting the most common practice within curanderismo: limpias. These practical and incredibly effective shamanic cleanses heal, purify, and revitalize people and spaces with herbs, flowers, eggs, feathers, fire, and water. They are also powerful tools for self-empowerment, spiritual growth, soul retrieval, rebirth, and gracefully opening up pathways for new beginnings. Drawing on her 20 years’ experience as a curandera and her graduate studies focused on Mesoamerican shamanism, the author traces modern curanderismo practices to their indigenous roots. She explores the sacred stories behind limpia rituals and examines different types of limpia ceremonies in depth, such as fire rites for transformation, water rites for cleansing and influencing, and sweeping rites for divination. She outlines how limpias work holistically to enable one to let go and cleanse the body, mind, and spirit of limiting beliefs, traumas, and broken stories; heal acute and chronic illnesses such as depression, insomnia, and anxiety; and revitalize and activate sacred spaces by renewing their essence and clearing negative energies. She explains the healing properties of the plants used in limpia rites and how to perform the medicinal chants used by the curanderos. In addition, the author details how the practice of platicas, heart-straightening talks, supports limpia rites by encouraging one to vocalize their needs as they eject traumas and unwanted energies from the body, setting the stage for self-awareness and healing. Sharing the story of her own complete healing from a catastrophic injury with limpias as well as inspirational testimonies from others who have experienced limpias, the author provides a personal and thoroughly practical guide to the ancient shamanic method of limpias to promote healing and personal transformation in our times.

Sacred Energies of the Sun and Moon

Author: Erika Buenaflor
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1591433797
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 185

Book Description
A practical guide to ancient Mesoamerican solar and lunar rites for healing and transformation • Details shamanic rituals and practices for each period of the day, including dawn, sunrise, noon, sunset, and midnight, to best harness the energies of the sun, night sun, and moon for specific purposes, such as divination, journeying with animal spirit guides, or spiritual wisdom • Incorporates shamanic breathwork, dreamwork, mantra chanting, mudras, dancing and movement, toning, chakra work, crystals, herbs, and limpias (shamanic cleanses) • Explores how nighttime energies are affected by the phases of the moon, offering specific practices for each phase Ancient Mesoamerican shamans and modern practitioners of curanderismo--a Latin American shamanic healing practice--divide each day and night into distinct periods based on the sacred rhythms of the sun and moon, with each time offering opportunities to connect with specific celestial energies for healing and transformation. In this hands-on guide to working with the sacred energies of the sun, night sun, and moon, curandera Erika Buenaflor details the rites, rituals, and deities for each part of the day and night and explores the sacred tools and techniques used by ancient Mesoamerican shamans for harnessing solar and lunar energies. She explains how the sun is the source of soul energy that heals, animates, strengthens, and revitalizes us on many levels, while night energies are transformative and conducive for connecting with nonordinary realms. She explores rituals for dawn, sunrise, and midmorning to harness the energies of creation and new beginnings; for noon and afternoon to promote peak strength and spiritual wisdom; for sunset and dusk to bring about transformation, perform divination, and journey with animal spirit guides; and for midnight and predawn to facilitate shamanic dreamwork, connect with the ancestors, make offerings, and regenerate at the deepest levels. She also explores how nighttime energies are affected by the phases of the moon and offers specific practices for each phase. By intentionally tuning our activities to the rhythms of the sun and moon, we can invite in their sacred energies of abundance and healing for more healthy, creative, mindful, and happy lives.

Woman Who Glows in the Dark

Author: Elena Avila
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1585420220
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 353

Book Description
“An autobiographical account of how a psychiatric nurse specialist became a folk medicine healer; this also explains the origins and practice of one of the oldest forms of medicine in the New World.″—Kirkus Praise for WOMAN WHO GLOWS IN THE DARK “This is a book that we’ve been awaiting for years—one that unites the best medicine from the ancient past with the deepest needs of the contemporary heart and soul.”—Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D., author of Women Who Run with the Wolves, The Gift of Story, and Faithful Gardener “Elena Avila’s book is a combination manual, memoir, and healing chant. I’m so glad these stories and secrets – which have been known orally by our culture for ages – are finally down on paper.” —Julia Alvarez, author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents “Avila shatters myths about curanderismo and reminds us that it’s just as important today as it was centuries ago.”—The Austin Chronicle “In this age of impersonal and technologic health care, Elena Avila’s book gives the reader permission to rely on what has all too often been forgotten. Her message—that healing cannot occur without the heart, instincts, wisdom, and compassion of the healer—is given with grace and simplicity.”—Barbara Dossey, R.N., M.S., HNC, FAAN, Director, Holistic Nursing Associates “Truthful, often painful, always riveting, WOMAN WHO GLOWS IN THE DARK reveals how the practices of curanderismo can heal the soul sickness not addressed by Western medicine.”—Rudolfo Anaya, author of Bless Me, Ultima “Grounded in the earth, at home in both modern and indigenous medicine, Elena Avila is a true emissary of healing, casting a brilliant glow into the dark of all medicine that denies the soul. As a human, I cherish Elena’s light. As a psychiatrist, I welcome her insight.”—Judith Orloff, M.D., author of Second Sight and The Genius of Empathy “Avila is entertaining and often humorous...Without climbing on a soapbox, [her] narrative demonstrates what’s missing from most American medical practices, and how many patients could be helped so much more than they are now.”—Kirkus Reviews

Curanderismo Soul Retrieval

Author: Erika Buenaflor
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 159143341X
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Book Description
A step-by-step shamanic guide to navigating the non-ordinary realms, locating lost soul fragments, and reintegrating them • Explains how the soul is a form of sacred energy that can escape when someone experiences trauma or stressful situations • Explores how to work with the 5 Mesoamerican cardinal directions to connect with lost soul fragments, create the ideal space for them to return, and ensure a lasting soul retrieval • Details how to enter a trance journey for navigating the spirit realm through shamanic breathwork, shamanic dancing, toning methods, as well as hand postures Drawing on her more than 20 years’ experience working with present-day Mesoamerican curanderos/as and the ancient shamanic healing traditions of the Mexica and Maya, Erika Buenaflor, M.A., J.D., provides a step-by-step guide for the curanderismo practice of soul retrieval. She explains how the soul is a form of sacred energy that can escape when someone experiences trauma or is threatened by challenging and stressful situations. Its absence can be responsible for a host of negative conditions including physical ailments, depression, insomnia, and dysfunctional behavior patterns. Exploring how to retrieve this sacred energy, or soul fragments, as well as resolve cases of soul theft, the author details how to journey through the non-ordinary realms of the Underworld, Middleworld, and Upperworld to locate lost soul fragments and reintegrate them. She explains how to enter a trance journey, providing instructions for shamanic breathwork practices, shamanic dancing, sounding and toning methods, as well as hand postures (mudras) to facilitate trance states. She explores how to perform soul diagnosis, create a loving and nurturing space for soul fragments to return, and work with the healing wisdom of the 5 Mesoamerican cardinal directions: South, West, North, East, and the Center, which marries the other directions and offers a portal to other worlds. She offers pressure point exercises to release the energies of traumas and contemplative exercises to continue the reintegration of soul fragments after the trance journey. She also explains how to connect with animal guardians to aid you in the soul retrieval process. Revealing how to achieve a lasting retrieval of soul energy, Buenaflor shows how the dynamic process of curanderismo soul retrieval can heal many forms and degrees of trauma and help people move forward in life with more clarity, self-awareness, empowerment, and greater depths of authentic self-love.

Curandero

Author: Eliseo “Cheo” Torres
Publisher: UNM Press
ISBN: 0826336418
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 181

Book Description
Eliseo Torres, known as "Cheo," grew up in the Corpus Christi area of Texas and knew, firsthand, the Mexican folk healing practiced in his home and neighborhood. Later in life, he wanted to know more about the plants and rituals of curanderismo. Torres's story begins with his experiences in the Mexican town of Espinazo, the home of the great curandero El Niño Fidencio (1899-1939), where Torres underwent life-changing spiritual experiences. He introduces us to some of the major figures in the tradition, discusses some of the pitfalls of teaching curanderismo, and concludes with an account of a class he taught in which curanderos from Cuernavaca, Mexico, shared their knowledge with students. Part personal pilgrimage, part compendium of medical knowledge, this moving book reveals curanderismo as both a contemplative and a medical practice that can offer new approaches to ancient problems. From Curandero ". . . for centuries, rattlesnakes were eaten to prevent any number of conditions and illnesses, including arthritis and rheumatism. In Mexico and in other Latin American countries, rattlesnake meat is actually sold in capsule form to treat impotence and even to treat cancer. Rattlesnake meat is also dried and ground and sprinkled into open wounds and body sores to heal them, and a rattlesnake ointment is made that is applied to aches and pains as well."

Animal Medicine

Author: Erika Buenaflor
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1591434122
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 201

Book Description
• Includes an alphabetical guide to 76 animals, explaining each animal’s spiritual gifts, shapeshifting medicine, the realm they are associated with, and their symbolic meaning when they appear in a dream or vision • Details the trance journeying techniques and shapeshifting practices of ancient Mesoamerican shamanic traditions and modern-day curanderismo • Explores how to strengthen our connections with our spirit animal guides In this guide, Erika Buena or explores the animal mythologies, spirit journeying techniques, and shapeshifting practices of ancient shamanic traditions and modern-day curanderismo. She examines how indigenous Mesoamerican peoples used animals in their ceremonial healing and divination rites and explains the innate gifts and powers that different animals embody. She explores why certain animals are associated with and provide access to the nonordinary realms--the Underworld, Middleworld, and Upperworld--wherein deities, ancestors, supernatural beings, and medicine can be connected with or obtained. The author explores shapeshifting practices in detail and the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual benefits we can gain by engaging in shapeshifting practices. She also explores how to strengthen our connections with our spirit animal guides. Offering an alphabetical guide to 76 animals most prevalent in ancient Mesoamericanlegends, ceremonies, and medicinal rites, the author details each animal’s spiritual gifts, shapeshifting medicine, the realm they are associated with, and their symbolic meaning when they appear in a dream or vision. Providing multiple methods to connect with animals for spiritual guidance, self-empowerment, and healing, Buena or reveals how each of us can enrich our lives with ancient Mesoamerican wisdom for working with animal guides.

Curandero Conversations

Author: Antonio Zavaleta
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1449000894
Category : Healers
Languages : es
Pages : 486

Book Description
"The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College"--T.p.

Mexican Sorcery

Author: Laura Davila
Publisher: Weiser Books
ISBN: 1633412687
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Book Description
Spell work, spiritual cleansing, herbal magic, how to protect against the Evil Eye, and cast, break, and avert hexes and curses. Mexican witchcraft, or brujeria, has long been an integral part of traditional Mexican culture that permeates all strata of social hierarchy, ethnicity, or level of education. “Brujeria de Rancho” refers to brujeria as it is practiced in the rural areas of Mexico. There, the brujos de Ranch offer their healing and divinatory powers, acting as advisors, and even meting out justice through the use of cursing and hexing for people who are often not able to pay lawyers’ fees. Davila, a practicing bruja de Rancho and for whom this is a multi-generational family tradition brings this tradition to light in this comprehensive guide to Brujeria and Hechiceria (sorcery), presenting the beliefs and practices to today’s readers. The tradition includes a component of folk Catholicism that will be accessible to Pagans, non-Catholics, and practitioners of Hoodoo and Conjure. Topics included in the book are spell work, cleansings (limpias), herbs, talismans, how to protect against the Evil Eye, and also how to cast, break, and avert hexes and curses.

Shamanic Egg Cleansing

Author: Kalyn Raphael
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780972295611
Category : Alternative medicine
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
For the first time, this ancient shamanic healing method is now being made available for all. "Shamanic Egg Cleansing" offers everything needed to know to conduct an egg cleansing--a unique shamanic healing form which uses an egg and smoke to cleanse an aura and to help healing.

American Brujeria

Author: J. Allen Cross
Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser
ISBN: 1578637457
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
"This book focuses on the blend of American and Mexican folk magic currently being used by those living in the US but whose roots are in the Mexican culture. This type of Mexican-American folk magic contains its own unique saints and spirits, as well as the more familiar, such as the infamous Santa Muerte. It is extremely similar to Conjure traditions of the American south and, in fact, shares a lot of crossover, demonstrating how these traditions have influenced one another"--