Testimonials

"Since time immemorial, people have gone to the wilderness to seek guidance and renewal, to let their old lives and old selves die,to find the conditions where spirit may be rekindled, reborn within them."
Sparrow Hart

Looking from the window of the airplane as we come into the airport, Santiago, Chile is much bigger than I expected. It reminds me a lot of Mexico City from the air. Even from this vantage point I feel my heart expand as I realize I have arrived in Chile, a land I have wanted to visit for a long time. On the plane with me are six women who have had the courage to accompany me on this journey as I not only come to Chile for the first time but lead my first group there. Two of them are women I know the other four are strangers that will soon become sisters. As the plane taxis down the runway, we have arrived and I feel like I had come home.

I have waiting a long time for the opportunity to study with a female shaman. Finding contemporary female teachers of ancient wisdom traditions is not easy. Many medicine women from other cultures are practicing their healing traditions in remote mountains or in the back of their kitchens unaware that sisters in the United States are searching for them. Often there are cultural barriers as well as language barriers. I have always been attracted to South America shamanism and earth based practices. I have studied shamanic practices of the Peruvian tradition with a native teacher who was male and I longed for a female mentor, in the shamanic tradition. When I first saw Luzclara, a medicine woman from Chile, years ago, I knew I would someday study with her in her native Chile.

“Walking the Bones of The Mother”, is an immersion experience with nature, the Andes, the Chilean people and oneself. When I go out into nature and the wilderness I am immediately in touch with my soul, my oneness and my vulnerability. This experience was not only exciting but it stretched my envelop and moved me to new depths of my being. Everyday was a new experience into self understanding. Our guide and teacher was Luzclara, a Chilean medicine women who is an initiated Machi in the Mapuche tradition. The Machi, who are the shamans, are usually women and Luzclara was the first non-Mapuche to be initiated into the traditions. She is down to earth, open and accessible, which made for a deep and intimate experience for everyone. I have worked with Luzclara in Minnesota and going to Chile to work with her was a dream come true for me. To be co-facilitator of the group was an honor.

I often find that when I make a commitment to take this kind of journey things begin to stir below the surface to prepare me for what is to come before I reach my destination. I committed to my own transformation, to support the women I was bringing with me transform and to teaching dream work. Some of my preparation began in my dreams. I asked each woman to begin working with Herkimer Diamonds, the dreaming stone, so we could begin to connect and dream together while we were still at home and so our journey together began in dreamtime.

To give you a flavor for what this trip was about I include the following trip from the brochure we created: ”We will travel to the Chilean Andes mountains to dream with our eyes open during a spectacular ten day journey of healing and ceremony. Our emphasis will be to connect to our Mother and allow her to hold us while we heal our deepest wounds. We will assist you in your healing process touching every level of your being with herbs, sound, water, fire and pure light. You will witness ancient healing ceremonies like the traditional Machitún from the Mapuche people and you will experience how we invite the spirits of the Earth to join with us. You will go through rites of passages that will allow you to leave behind those parts of yourself that no longer serve you and you will have the opportunity to discover those gifts that are waiting for you to have a more fulfilling live.”

It was all of that and much more. We spent the first two days in Chile at cabins nestled in the mountains, by a powerful river. I say cabins, but it was like being in our own private resort, complete with swimming pool, hot tub, wonderful food, beautiful cabins, cozy beds and a message therapist. It was a chance for us to relax from our long trip to Chile, meld as a group and begin an intimate journey together as we prepared for the ride into the Andes Mountains on horseback.

I haven't been on a horse for about 20 years and I am afraid of heights so I was a little apprehensive as we began the ascent into the mountains. After connecting with my horse the fear left me. We arrived at the place that would become our home for the next 6 days after an hour and a half horseback ride. Each women had a small tent of her own in our camp on a plateau in the Andes. As we arrived we were greeted by condors, the largest bird of prey in South America, which we took as an omen and blessing for our stay. Our camp was about a half mile walk from the kitchen, which was a small wooden house with a shelter attached that had no refrigeration. Despite this the food we ate each day was fresh and delicious. On the day we arrived the long table was set for the arrival of queens, complete with wine glasses and paper napkins, in the middle of the wilderness. From our table we could see mountains in every direction.

I was initiated in many ways during the 11 days we spent in Chile, but one particular experience was the most powerful. I have been afraid of heights since I was a child, so I knew it would be a challenge for me to go into the mountains on horseback. I had envisioned narrow paths with thousand foot drops and indeed there were a few of them. I was amazed that after a few minutes on the horse my fears dissolved and I began to trust the horse with my life. On the third day we were in the mountains we ventured out on horseback to a cave where we would have a picnic. We traveled 15-20 miles up into the mountains as we wound our way to the cave.

Once again I was surprised at how I didn’t feel fear and I even looked out over the expanses and down thousands of feet to the river below. The scenery was breathtaking and awe inspiring at every corner. My horse and I had come to an agreement that I would leave the reigns loose so he could navigate the trails without me trying to control him. I felt that the horse had done this many times and knew better than I did what to do. We were riding on a path that was about a foot wide, with a sudden drop that went on forever at my right. We came to an incline that we needed to go down and someone ahead of me said “ remember to tighten the reigns when you go down.” I looked down and to the side and the long drop made me a bit nervous, so instead of trusting the agreement I had with my horse, I tightened my reigns.

As I tightened the reigns, my horse stood up on his hide legs. Something came over me that I can only describe as Divine Intervention as I was sent into my calm, still center. I held the edge of the saddle as the horse reared up two more times and turned in a complete circle as we hovered over the edge of the canyon on the narrow path. I really didn't know what to do to get the horse under control and was afraid if I did anything it could send him the wrong message. I knew that one missed step would send us both over the edge, tumbling to the canyon below, and it could happen in a matter of seconds. Instinctively I knew that if I went into fear it would be a disaster. I stayed calm yet apprehensive at the same time. Soon the lead horseman was at my side and I passed off the reigns so that he could get the horse under control. Anon, the lead horseman had trained these horses the way the Horse Whisper had. To get to where I was he had to gallop his horse precariously along the edge of the cliff we were on. The young horseman who was behind me helped turn my horse around on this narrow path so we were able to slide down the incline and get back on the journey. Surprisingly I was able to move back into the space were I was not afraid so I could enjoy the scenery again. I rode on awestruck by what had happened.

Luzclara and I agreed that this was a huge initiation, as she told me that nothing like this had ever happened before in all of the years she had taken people on horse back into the Andes. For me it was an initiation into my power and ability to trust myself, my experience and not go into fear. I gained a new level of respect for myself, for the horses and the horsemen who trained them to carry riders safely over the bones of the Mother. This experience impacted me on levels that I am yet to express. I also felt that it happened to me to show the others in the group that we were completely safe no matter what happened because of the skill of the horsemen and the training of the horses.

I know this kind of spiritual work well enough to know that the path brings us what we need so we can learn. What happened to me will probably never happen to anyone else because I needed to be at the mountains edge with the horse in order to get in touch with my hesitation about stepping fully onto my path and standing in my power. The lesson was thrust in my face because I needed it. Horse power has a whole new meaning to me now.

There were many experiences on this trip that are hard to put into words. Through Luzclara we experience ancient ritual and ceremony of the Mapuche people. Mapuche means “people of the Earth” and these are people who live as one with the earth and all of the cosmos. The Mapuche people have their own dream practice which highlighted to me the importance of my continuing to support the dreaming and teach others to dream. As a dream teacher I feel connected to the ways of the Mapuche people.

I have been a Kultrun carrier for about a year. The Kultrun, which is a healing drum, is believed to be the quintessential shamanic instrument for the Mapuche people and it is the repository of the Machi’s voice and accompanies her song. During this trip I was able to go through an official ceremony blessing of my kultrun and receive my medicine name. After the the new kultrun carriers finished painting the sacred symbols on their drums we built a fire and made offerings of salt, sugar and native herbs and from the smoke that was created our kultruns were blessed and empowered. Following this we did a sacred healing ceremony called a Machitun, in which we incorporated sound healing. The person receiving the Machitun can have visions, physical sensation and profound healing. I have a deep gratitude for the honor to be able to work with this powerful healing medicine as a kultrun carrier.

I had expected that this would be an adventure of a lifetime and I was not disappointed. Along the way nature conspired to bring us synchronistic events that deepened the experience. Each of us was stretched on all levels that brought us new awareness and transformed us. I will be leading more journeys to Chile in the future for those who would like to break out of there current safety zone and learn how to soar with the eagle and the condor.

Katelyn Mariah

I have heard the call of Spirit to attend LuzClara's healing weekends twice. What most impressed me was her energy field. Looking into her eyes as she greeted each of us I could feel the energy of the weekend building.
All of us who were drawn to attend that weekend brought our own healing energy and had it amplified in the Sacred space we created. As a Healer I opened myself to the healing I needed. I let go, trusted Spirit, trusted LuzClara and trusted the space we had created. My healing occurred on many levels, some I had never experienced before. We laughed, we cried, we danced and we held Sacred space for each other as the healing occurred whenever and however it needed to occur.
The quality I love the most about being in circle with LuzClara is that she empowers every single person there. It's not about her and she lets that be known up front. It's about each of us and Spirit and the healing that is destine to occur. She brings the Sacred container and we all fill it.
Honoring all who live in the web LuzClara weaves. Namaste' Bekki

Luz Clara's work is powerful and magical at the same time..she evokes Spirit in a group context unlike any healer I have experienced. The weekend we spent with her was truly timeless and , speaking for myself, it was a truly transformative experience!! I recommend her most highly to any spiritual seeker.
Dr. David K. Banner
Director, MBA program
Viterbo University
La Cosse, WI, USA.

Luzclara has studied Spiritual healing intensively while traveling to many parts of the world and is able to blend these experiences into a very powerful approach to her own and others healing, including that of the earth. She represents to me someone who has done their own work on themselves (and continues to) and expresses power in a way that helps others claim their own in a collaborative rather than competitive way. Luzclara creates a very safe space for people to be vulnerable and witnessed by others in a supportive, loving way.
Luzclara is a master of creating healing ceremonies where all are involved and feel not only empowered but deeply impacted by the healing that is witnessed and felt by everyone participating together in harmony and connected with Spirit.

Kathryn Hietbrink LCSW, CMT
School Social Worker and Massage Therapist.