SUNDAYS • 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PST
- March 7, 2021 – Journeying & Connection
- April 11, 2021 – Discovering the 4 Powers
- May 2, 2021 – Cultivating Love & Light
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Webinar (only host’s video enabled)
1 hour
No experience needed
Monthly Schedule
Our Online Gatherings are held once a month
All times are in Pacific Standard Time (PST • California)
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Brant Secunda is an internationally acclaimed shaman, healer, and teacher in the indigenous Huichol tradition of Mexico. During an intensive 12-year apprenticeship, Brant became the adopted grandson and close companion of Don José Matsuwa, the renowned shaman who passed away in 1990 at the age of 110. Brant was chosen by Don José to take his place in helping to carry on Huichol Shamanism.
Recognized as a global thought leader and spiritual teacher, Brant has been a lecturer at the Mayo Clinic, the American Holistic Medical Association Conferences, and a faculty member of the Five Branches Institute of Chinese Medicine. He also co-founded the Humanistic Medicine Conference with the World Health Organization, the Peace University in Berlin, and is a founding member of the American Herbalist Guild.
Striving to bridge the worlds of fitness and spirituality, Brant co-authored the award-winning book Fit Soul, Fit Body: 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You.
Shamanism is a way of honoring nature. Practiced in various forms around the world by different indigenous tribes, the methods of shamanism are diverse; however, they are unified in their inherent basis in the natural world.
This program focuses on the teachings and practices specific to the Huichol people of the Sierra Madre Mountains.
The Huichol (Wixaritari) are a small indigenous tribe of approximately 35,000, living in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico. They are considered one of the last cultures in North America to have maintained their pre-Columbian traditions to this day.
What is Shamanism?
Shamanism is an ancient healing tradition and moreover, a way of life. It is a way to connect with nature and all of creation. The word shaman originates from the Tungus tribe in Siberia. Anthropologists coined this term and have used it to refer to the spiritual and ceremonial leaders among indigenous cultures worldwide. The word shamanism can be used to describe the ancient spiritual practices of these indigenous cultures. Clearly the countless similarities between various ancient traditions played a role in the continual generalization of the word.
Over the past few decades the term “shamanism” has been popularized throughout the western world, especially in new-age circles. Today, it can be difficult to distinguish between traditional forms of shamanism and modernized, often esoteric practices that utilize the term.
One could view shamanism as the universal spiritual wisdom inherent to all indigenous tribes. As all ancient spiritual practices are rooted in nature, shamanism is the method by which we as human beings can strengthen that natural connection.
Who are the Huichol people?
The Huichol Indians are a small tribe of approximately 35,000 living in central western Mexico near Ixtlan in the Sierra Madre Mountains. They are said to be the last tribe in North America to have maintained their pre-Columbian traditions. Their shamans and healers practice today as they have for generations. In part, their survival is due to the focus of their traditions, as well as their remote mountainous territory. The Huichol way of life continues today much as it has for thousands of years. Still without electricity or running water, the Huichol people rely on their relationship with nature to sustain their communities.
Huichol is a term given by the Spanish. In their own language, they refer to themselves as VIRARICA, which translates as “The Healing People.” The Huichol were once considered a Nation of Shamans. Today, there are still many shamans who continue to perform ceremonies and heal the people.
Who is Brant Secunda?
Brant Secunda is a shaman, healer and traditional ceremonial leader who completed a 12-year apprenticeship with Don José Matsuwa, the renowned Huichol shaman who passed away in 1990 at the age of 110.
For over 30 years, Brant has been leading conferences, workshops and retreats around the globe. He is a co-founder of the American Herbalist Guild, the Peace University, and the Huichol Foundation. He is also the co-author of the award-winning book Fit Soul Fit Body, 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You.
How did Brant Secunda become a shaman?
When he was 18 years old, Brant Secunda traveled from his native New York to the remote Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico to find the Huichol people. He was adopted by the revered Huichol shaman Don José Matsuwa and underwent a rigorous 12-year apprenticeship with him. Brant was initiated into the Huichol Indian tribe through a five day vision quest, a period of isolation in the wilderness without food and water, in a sacred cave in the Huichol Sierras known to the Huichols as the Cave of Grandmother Growth.
Other rites of passage included capturing and releasing a wild rattle snake with his bare hands to face his fear of death, enduring a fourteen month fruit fast to enhance his sensitivity to the natural world, and surviving a nine day vision quest so that he may, according to Huichol cosmology, learn the language of the gods. The nine-day vision quest, considered lengthy by Huichol standards, along with several other five-day vision quests, helped to establish him as a respected initiate within the Huichol nation.
What is shamanic healing and how does it work?
Ancient shamanic healing techniques have been passed down for thousands of years. Today, shamans continue to heal through shamanic methods and practices that work with an individuals spiritual and physical energy; realigning a patient’s energy.
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