“Among the many things learnt during my stay in the village perhaps the most valuable lesson was that there is no need to rush life and by remaining present in the moment we are able to unpack all that it contains. Presenting me with many aspects of my authentic self, my time with the Piaroa community also facilitated a powerful shift in my perspective that has continued to unfold exponentially. Forever grateful... "
BENJAMIN SYMES
“The process of spending time with Don Juan and the Bolivar community taught me to learn how to face and let go of fear. The insights I gained from the experience have allowed me to move through life with more courage and more ease."
JOHN
"Sharing time with the Bolivar community to me, is returning home.
It is returning to ancestral ways and the clan structure, the path to peaceful life. They have taught me non-confrontation, healing on all levels, to keep the doors of my community open, to welcome without expectations, to slowdown and observe, to be in stillness and silence, to value conversation circles, to keep the young and the elders involved and present, that family and extended family are the chore of life. They have thought me to be of service to the flower of Life and the Oneness we all belong to, in peace and smiles. Adiwa."
ANOUK
"My experience with the Piaroa was one I will carry with me always. The people have such a calm and peaceful way about them that has taught me to value stillness, patience and a more relaxed approach to my own life. Being with them on their land brought so much ease to my heart. I appreciated being able to witness their culture and feel the beautiful energy of the family and of nature so much. I look forward to returning and spending more time sharing with them."
STEFANIE
Indigenous communities [such as the Piaroa] have been living in their homelands since the beginnings of Humanity.
"The people are clear that their success is due to staying true to their ancestral ways. Newborns are welcomed and named in baptismal rites. Adolescents are ritually initiated into womanhood and manhood. Elders are honored and consulted for wise counsel. The dead are given funerary rites to help them in their passage to the land of the ancestors. Crops are honored with a series of elaborate seasonal rituals. People make pilgrimages to sacred places of the sun, earth, growth, wind, fire, rain, peyote, springs, ocean and mountais. At those places they give offerings, prayers, and songs : in return they receive health, knowledge, and special capacities. Civic matters are discussed and decided at well-attended community meetings.
And throughout all of this is the presence of the shamans, who watch over the balance of the community, guiding the rituals, singing the instructions of the gods and providing healing. "
E. COWMAN - SPIRIT PLANT MEDICINE