Elena Avila, RN, MSN

Contemporary health care is being revolutionized, not only by dramatic advances in science and technology,but by an increased acceptance of the validity of ancient indigenous and folk medicine traditions. As a director of nursing in a prestigious psychiatric hospital, Elena Avila came to believe that conventional Western medicine leaves out too much of what makes up a human being-the soul, the patient’s spiritual beliefs, the complexity of human experience, and the need for personalized integrative medicine. She immersed herself in Curanderismo, an amalgam of indigenous, Spanish and African healing traditions practiced on this continent for hundreds of years and has become a renowned curandera, but one with deep roots in modern medicine and therefore ideally suited to integrating ancient wisdom with modern knowledge. Rooted in Aztec teachings, this intensive hands-on training will explore physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health and cover: the use of the “platica” and “limpias”; “susto” and soul loss; and “soul retrieval” techniques. Participants will have an opportunity to see first hand the roots of this medicine by taking a one week trip to Mexico to visit sacred sites that symbolized the 4 cardinal points of the Aztecs, the mercados where healers buy their supplies, visit a practicing curandera, and much more.

DATES & FEES WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY

Ongoing modules
Fridays & Saturdays

First Module:
Our first sessions will include: introductory lectures on key topics including Curanderismo’s relationship to Integrative Medicine; a “talking circle” format; and building an altar and a ceremony to the 4 Aztec directions.

Second Module:
This will include experiential work on the treatment and healing practices used by curanderas;an introduction to “platicas” (“heart to heart” talks) and the concept of desogar, i.e. traumas); the cocreation of a strategy plan for healing; guidelines on incorporating spirituality into a medical practice; etc.

Third Module:
In this section we will focus in depth on one of the most important techniques in Curanderismo: limpias (spiritual cleansings) and practice giving each other a limpia using natural tools such as herbs incense, eggs, and feathers.

Fourth Module:
We will learn how to treat susto (fright leading to soul loss), a key practice of Curanderismo; explore how to reconcile Curanderismo with 21st Century medicine and how to distinguish true curanderas from charlatans; the use of creativity and intuition in medicine; learn different ways to do soul retrievals. We will also discuss how to prepare
for our trip to Mexico.

Return to the Source: A Sacred Trip to Mexico
In this journey we will visit ancient sacred sites around the Mexico City area, perform ceremonies at each and immerse ourselves in the culture of Curanderismo. Our trip will include visits to: Tlatelolco, Chalma, Tepeyac (La Villa de Guadalupe), Tenochtitlan, and Teotihuacan’s pyramids (spiritual home of the Toltecs). We will visit the Senora Mercado where curanderas buy their medicinal tools and hear about Aztec history and Curanderismo from a renowned curandera, Eloxochitl. We will end our trip with a visit to the pueblo of San Pablo, and experience an all day celebration that ends the Day of the Dead festivities.

Note: the four modules are a prerequsite for the trip.

Email Aracely Brown at aracelybrown@yahoo.com for information about this program.

Payment Plans available for workshops and trips.

Note: This training in Curanderismo is for any and all healthcare or therapy practitioners who would like to incorporate these techniques into their professional or medical practices, or for anyone interested in learning more about ancient pre-Columbia healing practices and concepts in real depth.

Enrollment Limited

Elena Avila, RN, MSN, a nurse since 1976, has been a Nurse Manager of Psychiatry, the Director of Maternal/Child Nursing and a Clinical Coordinator at the Neuro-Psychiatric Institute at UCLA, and is one of the nation’s leading experts on Curanderismo and the author of thebest-selling Woman Who Glows in the Dark. www.elena-curandera.com

A Symposium in Honor of Peter Dale Scott

At the New York Open Center: March 13, 14, 17 and 20, 2010

“One of that tiny and select company of the most brilliantly creative and provocative political-historical writers of the last half-century.”

James Galbraith, Richard Falk, Roger Morris, Daniel Ellsberg, James Schamus, Norman Rush, Mark Selden, Eric Wilson, Mary Baine Campbell, Tracy Ware, Ronna Kabatznick, Russ Baker, Askold Melnyczuk and Paul Almond

Peter Dale Scott is one of the most perceptive and courageous political thinkers and poets of our time. A former Canadian diplomat and professor of English at Berkeley, his brilliant research has consistently revealed the deepest, most hidden truths about America’s efforts to shape the world in the last half century. His major works include The Road to 9/11: Wealth, Empire and the Future of America (2007) and Deep Politics and the Death of JFK (1993). Both books explore the concepts of parapolitics and deep politics, growing in part out of his researches into the Vietnam War, and later the JFK assassination. This symposium will bring together an outstanding group of writers and scholars to honor the brilliant work of Peter Dale Scott at the beginning of his 80s.

3/13: A Symposium in Honor of Peter Dale Scott

3/14: Wealth, Empire, and the Future of America: An Exploration of the Deep   
Politics of War

3/17: An Evening of Poetry with Peter Dale Scott

3/20: Peter Dale Scott: His Life as a Poet, Seeker and Investigator of Politics  and  Deep Politics

See links to each event for bios of symposium speakers.

Hear what others are saying:

"Scott's brilliantly perceptive account of the underpinnings of American governmental authority should be made required reading. The book vividly depicts the political forces that have pushed this country toward an abyss, threatening constitutional democracy at home and world peace abroad. Its central message can be understood as an urgent wake-up call to everyone concerned with the future of America." —Richard Falk, author of The Great Terror War

"Peter Dale Scott is one of that tiny and select company of the most brilliantly creative and provocative political-historical writers of the last half century. The Road to 9/11 further secures his distinction as truth-teller and prophet. He shows us here with painful yet hopeful clarity the central issue of our time—America's coming to terms with its behavior in the modern world. As in his past work, Scott's gift is not only recognition and wisdom but also redemption and rescue we simply cannot do without." —Roger Morris, former NSC staffer

"The Road to 9/11 is vintage Peter Dale Scott. Scott does not undertake conventional political analysis; instead, he engages in a kind of poetics, crafting the dark poetry of the deep state, of parapolitics, and of shadow government. As with his earlier work Deep Politics and the Death of JFK, Scott has no theory of responsibility and does not name the guilty. Rather, he maps out an alien terrain, surveying the topography of a political shadow land, in which covert political deviancy emerges as the norm. After reading Scott, we can no longer continue with our consensus-driven belief that our so-called 'liberal' order renders impossible the triumph of the politically irrational." —Eric Wilson, Senior Lecturer of Public International Law, Monash University, and co-editor of Government of the Shadows

"'The America we knew and loved. Can it be saved?' That question opens this book, and getting to the answer called for the honed intellect of a scholar and the sensitivity of a poet. Peter Dale Scott has both, in spades, and here gives us much, much more than a book about 9/11. In a time of fear, he speaks for sanity and freedom." —Anthony Summers, author of The Arrogance of Power

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A Look Inside the Open Center

Photo Archive

Open House, Fall 2009

William C. Chittick, PhD


William C. Chittick, PhD, interview 10/12/09 on the radio show "Science, Health and Healing" with host Majid Ali, MD (WBAI 99.5 FM Pacifica Radio). See: Islam, Sufism and the Heart of Compassion: A Conference.

Mohamed Haj Yousef, PhD


Mohamed Haj Yousef, PhD, interview 10/13/09 on the radio show "Science, Health and Healing" with host Majid Ali, MD (WBAI 99.5 FM Pacifica Radio). See: Islam, Sufism and the Heart of Compassion: A Conference.

Nancy Slonim Aronie, MA

Lynne McTaggart

Gaura Vani and As Kindred Spirits

Shamira

Here is a list of honorees over the years:

• Karen Armstrong
• Thomas Berry
• Robert Bly
• Joan Bokaer
• Fu-Kiau K. Bunseki
• Ben Cohen
• Paulette Cole
• Katsai Cook
• Ewert Cousins
• Ram Dass
• Matthew Fox
• Frederick Franck and Claske Franck
• Bernard Glassman
• Joseph Goldstein
• James Hillman
• Jon Kabat-Zinn
• Dolores Krieger
• Frances Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé
• Gerald Lemole
• William McDonough
• Van Morrison
• Robert Muller
• Jacob Needleman
• Mehmet Oz
• Elaine Pagels
• Candace Pert
• Paul Ray
• Horst M. Rechelbacher
• Rachel Naomi Remen
• Theodore Roszak
• The Threshold Foundation
• John Todd and Nancy Jack Todd
• Sharon Salzberg
• Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
• Jonathan Schell
• Therese Schroeder-Sheker
• Alan B. Slifka
• Houston Smith
• Robert A. F. Thurman
• Andrew Weil
• Marion Woodman
• Gary Zukav

Who: Members and Volunteers
What: 35% off all books, 25% off everything else
Where: OC Bookstore
When: June 1 until we move (July 2nd)
Why: To show our love and appreciation.