Soltahr Tiv-Amanda, MA, LPC, Teacher and Spiritual Guide
I grew up believing that all beings are Beautiful and Special and each must be treated with dignity, respect, and love. Each being, no matter who they are, also deserves access to the healing they need. I live and work by this philosophy. –Soltahr
I am here to be with you on your journey back to yourself, as you remember: “you are sacred, you are precious, your life matters”
All of life is a journey. When we can go about the journey consciously, we are able to make connections between our past, present, intergenerational, and ancestral pieces. From here, we are able to start envisioning out future selves as liberated from the deep pain of the past thatmay have held us back. I have no judgment about where you’ve been and how you’ve gotten here. My desire is to be a compassionate and caring guide, as you traverse through your life path to find and incorporate healing within your mind, body, emotions, and spirit.
Are you seeking spiritual guidance? I can go with you to the deepest inner and outer reaches of your being without fear, to help you to process through the wounds of your spirit that will in turn enable you to become a happier, healthier, more balanced being. I can also help you with issues around psychic phenomena, seeing/hearing spirits, etc. I can work with whatever you bring me, with an open heart and loving compassionate aid to help you the best self you can be.
Who is Soltahr? My Bio/Work
My work through the Colonized lens:
Education
B.A. in Sociology: Western State College of Colorado at Gunnison, 1977
M.A. in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology: Naropa University, 1999
Training
Multicultural Counseling
LGBTQQIAA+ Counseling
Gestalt Therapy
Foundations in Somatic Abolitionism
Teaching
Multicultural Counseling Skills at both M.A. Transpersonal Psychology online, and Transpersonal Counseling Psychology Departments at Naropa University
Ways of Knowing at the Norlin Scholars Program at University of Colorado at Boulder
Leading from Within at the Non-Profit management Program at Regis University at Denver
Workshop and Lecture Presenter
Consultant to various organizations for Social Justice Understanding, Anti-Racism work, and Connecting to Racial Identity
I have been a therapist in private practice for 25 years, as well as working as an ordained minister for the last 35 years.
I have taught and presented many workshops on various subjects around anti-racism, etc.
Now, for the Decolonized Version:
Alongside my other training and “schooling”, it has been my joy, as a Priestess of the Divine Feminine and Mother Earth, as an Earth Based practitioner, to have facilitated solar, lunar, rite of passage, mothering, birthing, dying, and many other public and/or private ceremonies and rituals for the last 38 years. Through this work, I have been able to bring the mysteries of change and transformation to many.
During my time at Naropa University in Boulder, I was a “Mindfulness Instructor”. Mindfulness is a practice that has been a constant, loving companion on my journey since that time. It has helped me to be able to be in touch with my inner world when the outer world is difficult to manage. Along with Mindfulness, is another practice called Tonglen, which has as its foundation the ability to give and receive energies when we are feeling helpless to do anything to affect situations that are touching us and our lives. These practices come from Tibetan Buddhism and were a part of the curriculum of my Masters Program while a student.
I have studied Shamanic healing techniques with a teacher of Hopi lineage, the late Moonhawk, and his partner the late Lynn Johnson, with whom I became a Reiki Master in 1994. I am skilled in Shamanic healing practices, having also studied with the late Jungian analyst Terry Keepers, and with Shamanic practitioner Renna Shesso. See my section on Shamanic Work for more in depth information. This work continues to allow me to guide others to the doors of healing that open to the spiritual realms that aren’t always easy to find without experienced guidance.
I reside on the Ancestral Lands of the Tiwa people in Albuquerque New Mexico, surrounded by tribes who still hold ceremony, dance and continue to live on their lands and are vital in this part of the country. I currently live alone, by choice, as I work to further uncover who I am coming to be as an Elder, Teacher and Spiritual Guide to many who come to me for healing. I am actively doing the work of decolonizing my body, mind, spirit and all the ways I go about in the world. As part of that work, I am also working to further deepen within myself the knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual practices of my African ancestry. I am a Mother to twin daughters, and Grandmother to a bright and beautiful young being known as Luna.
I continue my studies in Somatic Abolitionism that started when I read the book: “My Grandmother’s Hands” by Resmaa Menakem, that has shown me the damage that racism, White Supremacy, and Imperialism have done to me and those who look like me, and other Bodies of culture. I am engaged in this work as an ongoing practice, it is not ancillary, but is central to who I am becoming in my life, and how I work with others. Resmaa offers Somantic “toys” that are helpful in navigating the world when we are dealing with matters of White Body Supremacy, Colonization and Imperialism when we experience it individually or collectively.
The many paths I have trodden have brought me to a place of deep awareness and that comes from creating wisdom out of knowledge gained over my 68 years of life. The internal convergence of a life as a Priestess, Witch, Reiki Master, Yoga student, Meditator, Teacher, Psychotherapist, Group Facilitator, Mother, Grandmother, Truth seeker and teller, Activist, Observer of the cycles of Nature, Minister, Rebel, Nomad, Transgressor, and Dangerous Old Woman to name a few, have given me an unusual take on life and living. I’m excited to share with you what I have come to understand. I have no fear of your stories, or depths you wish to go to in order to uncover your own pain, gifts and joy–I’m there/here with you.
Soltahr Tiv-Amanda