My Call to be a Shamanic Guide in the Sacred Landscapes of Peru

“Why are you a shaman – why do you do what you do? And why do you so often offer vision quests in Peru?”

I’m glad to take a moment to answer the heartfelt question that so frequently comes my way. In 1998, a debilitating illness ignited my search for deep personal physical healing and spiritual connection. As a healer who had many times borne witness to the profound transformational experiences that can occur in the wake of injuries and illnesses, I followed my heart, and a series of synchronicities and opportunities, to the highlands and jungles of Ecuador.

This spiritual vision quest was organized and guided by a competent American gringa who was deeply familiar with the energies of the sacred lands, and with the renowned healers who lived there, practicing and upholding the ancient ways of indigenous medicine. She explained we would be meeting up with her South American counterpart, a “born and raised guide” of the sacred lands we would travel upon, who was intimately connected with the indigenous people we would meet. Reassured, I took a huge leap of faith with three other seeker/pilgrims, and traveled to remote areas where I would encounter mySELF, and my spirit in this incarnation.

Thanks to the careful planning and impeccable integrity of our American and South American guides, as soon as we arrived in the energies of the lands and the people of Ecuador, I felt cared for, and embraced. I was cleansed by the pristine energies of the land, the mountains, the rainforest, and the shamans I met… I was stretched to the limits of who I had always known mySelf to be, and then supported to go beyond those limits ~ to the awakening of my Soul.

I was completely in the present moment, and in wonderment, as the whisperings from the Spirits of Gaia/Pachamama, in their pure and abundant forms and elements, infused me with their calling; they showed me that awakening is possible – and that I could offer this same experience to others. They showed me that bringing others to the Sacred Lands of Peru is my dharma in this lifetime. This is why I do what I do, with so much of my work in Peru…

I returned to the USA with a concrete knowing of this opening shamanic transformation. I saw my soul’s path unfolding as a guide & mentor who could help make such experiences possible for many, many others, from all walks of life. I had greatly admired the woman who had led our group, as well as her counterpart in Ecuador; with Spirit’s assurance, I was ready to provide the same for others.

My opportunity to fully realize the vision and guidance I had received in Ecuador appeared by “chance,” a few years later, when a “substitute” curandero appeared in my life while I was co-facilitating a group of shamanic pilgrims in Peru. don Pepe Arancibia is a “born and raised” Peruvian guide, with official tourism licensing and, equally if not more importantly, he is an astute shaman who has been initiated by the lands and sacred plants themselves.

The first time don Pepe accompanied me to a sacred vortex I paused to watch him pray…and I saw Pachamama’s response – I saw energies swirling out from the surrounding ancient megalithic structures, and dancing all around him! Never before had I witnessed someone’s prayers for Pachamama be so incredibly potent. In reverence, I surrendered to Her calling and instantly fell to my knees to pray with him, expressing tears of JOY into Pachamama. Our partnership in planning and guiding vision quests in Peru, and working with and tending to the seekers who join us, had begun. This is why I do what I do, with so much of my work in Peru…

Since that time, don Pepe and I have led many pilgrims into awakening on these sacred lands, where they bow in reverence into Pachamama’s belly. I have witnessed grown men lay upon Her, crying and praying and acknowledging their Souls, releasing their woundings, and rising up into an enlightened love of Self and Humanity. I have assisted a woman searching for a lost aspect of her soul and, as it returned, I witnessed her shapeshifting before me into a timelessly ancient woman. As she was Re-membering her Home, the spirits of the winged ones circled and called out to her, to welcome her return! THIS is why I do what I do!

In our hearts, we allow sacred space for these stories of mysticism… We hold witness to the testimonies of the transformation of souls… What greater gifts are possible? THIS is why I do what I do in Peru!

I currently split my time between guiding vision quests in Peru, maintaining my shamanic practice in South Florida, and offering the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition (PMT) teachings and apprenticeships.  While in the USA, I apprenticed in my “formal training” with world-renowned don Oscar Miro-Quesada, kamasqa curandero and altomisayoq adept, who is was born in Peru. I am honored to have been sanctioned as a PMT teacher of this lineage of Peruvian and cross-cultural shamanism for personal and planetary renewal.

In all that I do, I continue to be a “bridger” of worlds ~ of the seen and unseen, of the traditions, the lands and the people ~ as the Quechua of Peru say, I am a “chacaruna”. 

THIS is why I do what I do, in deep reverence to Gaia/Pachamama, Her sentient beings, and for the next Seven generations wherever I may be ~ offering prayers upon Her belly! … So many blessings!

Please click here and scroll to the bottom of the page to read some of the testimonials from people who have traveled to Peru to participate in our shamanic vision quests. Most recently we received a beautiful Heartfelt testimony from this man:

“My experience with Mona Rain and don Pepe Arancibia in Peru this year has been nothing but transformational. I have been home for several months and the intense beauty of the one-on-one time I had with them still captivates me. I hear their voices of wisdom… I continue to reap from their deep connection with Pachamama and the sacred sites of Peru…and quite delightfully surprising, their tender awakening wisdom with Peru’s sacred plants, most notably Mother Ayahuasca. 

“My life has deepened. I awakened to a place of light and love that I have not known before, greater than that of my former priesthood in the Anglican world. Don Pepe’s deep wisdom as an elder of the ancient ways richly informed my experiences of all of the sacred sites we visited. His archeological awareness and understanding were profound, tapping into the ever-present world of the ancestors and their hopes for future generations. 

The Peruvian peoples are generous in their sharing of knowledge, love and sacred relationship. Sacred reciprocity is their way of life. Both don Pepe and Mona Rain exuded this kind of connection and reverence for the world, and to me. I felt deeply cared for. I felt profoundly understood and cared for. Their love still resonates in me. Much healing has taken place, and continues to unfold in my life. 

I wholeheartedly recommend this experience with Mona and don Pepe to anyone seeking to encounter and caress the deeper energies and sacred ways embodied by Peru and its beautiful people. I now count these two people as family and a part of my soul tribe.” ~ Derek W., Wisconsin, USA

So much love, TenderSongHealing, Derek. This is why, I do what I do, much of it in Peru… I am humbled and full of gratitude to witness these sacred awakenings on Sacred Lands.