Vision Quest Diaries 2007: Day 1 - Travellers of the Light

Cuzco Peru - Oct. 13, 2007

It was only the first day of our two-week Healing & Vision Quest to Peru and already my mind was blown and begging for more. Just imagine what the other thirteen days were like! Nina and I were the only ones in the group coming from New York City. She made the decision to come just a few month before — at my birthday party as a matter of fact. All of us who were going where very much in sync with our reasons for going. We felt spiritually called to Peru, somehow knew that now was the time to go, and recognized on some deep level that this would not just be a spiritual trip but a liberation, and initiation into a new life and energy.

After landing in Peru, Nina and I were greeted by Rene, who would be our translator and don Victor’s apprentice. He was so cute, good-natured and innocent. Equally so was his brother, Roberto who drove us to our hotel to wait for our other group members and, of course, don Victor.

I met don Victor two years prior on another trip to Peru. I have always been blessed with good teachers on my path. I instantly recognized I could count don Victor among them after hearing him speak and experiencing his incredible healing power first hand. It would be only a few days later on this trip that I would see just how powerful a shaman he was.

When don Victor arrived, he talked with us about many things. We listened intently and with amazement between sips of hot coca tea. Don Victor called our group the Travellers of the Light and described our impending journey as “el programa sin programa” - the program without a program. We’d never know exactly what each day had in store or when it would end. We’d follow Spirit’s lead. He told us a little about his journey toward becoming a master shaman. Once a university professor, don Victor, a native of Peru, had begun to realize that his quest for intellectual knowledge left him with a lot of facts in his head, most of which were useless. Knowing only what he needed to know was one of the shifts he made in the process of gaining and mastering spiritual knowledge. He shared stories about “San Pedrito,” the powerful plant medicine that he works with. “People have come with only two or three months to live and returned with no a trace of the disease,” he said. We later had the good fortune of spending time with a man who was nearly fully restored to health by don Victor’s plant after complete paralysis and coming very near to death. Complete recovery was expected in forty more days, once he finished his last dose of the medicine.

Our informal chat in the hotel lobby was followed by a trip to don Victor’s shop (full of exquisite and powerful hand-crafted jewelry) where he would teach us about the Andean Cosmovision. He revealed the sacred geometry of the pre-inca civilizations, how they used it to build their cities, and how it was used in healing. He talked about the energy of time and space and how to use them effectively in the process of manifestation. But the teachings that stuck with me the most were the one about about waking up with gratitude for life, and the revelation that there are no opposites–only compliments. That understanding will surely go a long way in creating harmony in my life.

We ended the day with an authentic, home-cooked meal in don Victor’s kitchen. Delicious!

Hope you’ll enjoy reading more about our magical experiences in Peru. But you can experience the magic for yourself on our next trip: Peru Healing & Vision Quest - summer 2009!