Experiences that do not seemingly have logical or scientific explanations are not necessarily pathological, but may simply be “normal” human spiritual experiences. These experiences have been known by ancient and indigenous cultures to be integral and necessary to understanding and making meaning of our human lives and existence as we know it. Our Ancestors knew this, we are reclaiming this wisdom–it is ours.–Soltahr

“I was outside of my body looking down at myself sleeping”. Or: “I felt this energy rise up in me from my groin up through my body and bursting outside of my head”. Or: “When I am daydreaming sometimes, I hear the voice of my departed Grandmother”. Or: “I can feel the presence of spirits around me when I’m in certain places”. These experiences are not pathology or craziness, they are a normal part of human experience that we can be curious about as they relate to our growth as spiritual beings.  

The colonized belief systems, including Psychology, have deemed it necessary to pathologize spiritual experiences and spiritual healing practices because many of them come from Indigenous cultures, and these cultures were deemed “primitive” at the advent of Colonialism. The demonizing of many of the ancient cultures whose beliefs and practices stretched back hundreds, perhaps thousands of years was a way in which the colonized system was able to have power over them and to instill their ways of dealing with us as humans that have not always been kind, helpful, or healthful. 

These ways have been about seeing illness and pathology as a thing to be eradicated via a pill, surgery, or some other method, that leaves one feeling as though they will soon be cured, when these methods are only treating the symptoms, and not exploring the roots of the problem. The symptoms may indeed go away, but the roots of the problem remain. Indigenous and cultures where “folk healing practices” have existed for thousands of years understand that we as humans are complex, and that the things that happen to us during the course of our lives can create problems for us on many different levels. To explore and look for the roots of a malady is to find the ways to bring forth true healing that can allow someone to find freedom, and to regain their inherent human dignity.

Spiritual experiences are explainable and are often a part of ways in which our bodies and beings are attempting to make sense of our life experiences. Traditional healing methods are often part of larger diasporic understanding of human life–trauma, pain, suffering, life passages, and the parts of us that were handed down from our ancestors and those who raised us are the various levels on which healing can be initiated by various methods: cleansings, ritual/ceremony, massage, energetic body work, soul conversations, etc. etc.

We live in a time of great spiritual awakening, and many people all over the world are having experiences such as I mentioned above, and are having a hard time sorting them out, without someone who knows or at the very least someone who can listen without judgement in order to help them to figure out what might be happening. What one needs is someone who can help them to sort out the mental, emotional, physical, spiritual components of any sort of ill being in the body, mind, emotions and/or spirit.

I have been a Spiritual teacher for nearly 40 years, having taught first as an Earth-Based Pagan Priestess, Ritual facilitator, and devotee of the Divine Feminine in all forms. I have been a Reiki Master for 30 years, which has opened a powerful door to healing myself, as well as a beautiful ally in my therapeutic work. I started on my Shamanic path in this lifetime in 1998, and have been performing Shamanic healings, as well as teaching others to utilize this powerful modality for ancestral healing work, as well as to explore all the various realms of spirit for information, and other forms of healing of the mind, body, emotions and spirit.

Most recently, I completed an intensive course in Curanderismo at the University of New Mexico. I was enlivened to learn that Curanderismo has some of its roots in Africa. This excited me, as a Black bodied woman here in in America, as it has been the journey of a lifetime to piece together a spiritual path that feels authentic to me in my quest to continue growing myself, as well as, and more importantly to bring this work to BIPOC. Accessing this work has previously been colonized and not financially available in a form that most BIPOC can work with, coming mostly from White bodied teachers who are not able to hold the necessary understanding of our unique experiences.

 I have grown exponentially in so many different directions, because I was lucky enough to have teachers along the way to offer guidance and understanding and to help me to “normalize” my experiences within the context of my life at the time. I am here to offer this same kind of  guidance about spiritual issues, growth, and healing or to help you to be informed about who you are, and your life purpose. 

Having studied and obtained a Master’s degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology, I have worked for 25 years, helping people to understand the depth of their psychological discomfort, that, as I have spoken of is likely to have many various roots that are in our DNA from our ancestors, from our parents, and from situations we have gone through in this lifetime. We are  Mind, Body, Emotions, and Spirit. We are not simple, we have many experiences that might not be easy to understand. At times in our lives, after great upheaval, or a trauma, or getting out of a bad situation, we find ourselves having what can be seen as a difficult place as a being. These experiences are often called “Spiritual Emergence” or even “Spiritual Emergency”, depending on the severity. It simply means that something within our spirit life is trying to speak to us, trying to be seen, heard, and tended to. With some guidance, we can easily find our way.

We aren’t crazy, we’re not losing it, though it can feel that way when we are going through it. What we most need is some loving guidance from someone who can understand and be non-judgmentally receptive, compassionate, helpful, gentle and loving with whatever we might be going through.

I have a wealth of spiritual wisdom to share with you. You can come to me for a single session or series of sessions, depending on what we figure out might be best for you.  Please set a 30 minute free consultation appointment  to discuss your needs on my calendar link below.  I work on a sliding fee scale from $50+ per one hour session. I do not take insurance, so, for this reason am able to keep my fees low so that those in need may access the powerful work I am able to offer.  My Calendar link for free 30 minute consultation: https://calendly.com/soltahr-tivamanda62/consultation