My Maya Story

How I came to live with the Maya

After studying anthropology at the universities of Vienna, Prague, and Munich, I spent six years in Guatemala, fully immersing myself in Maya life. Upon leaving, I had a dream that I would return in twelve years, and remarkably, that dream came true. I had moved to Manhattan working as an art critic and artist, and one day, I encountered the Maya leader through a series of extraordinary events, which I detail in my book.

Following intense conversations and assistance to the Maya leader during his time in New York, I soon after received an invitation to the 2012 New Era celebrations. I returned to Guatemala and was eventually initiated into Maya shamanism. My mission now is to share this unique and original wisdom with communities in the Global North, bridging the gap between two worlds and unveiling the profound teachings the Indigenous people can give us.

Photo: with a Quichean elder at the Maya administration's official attendance of the ensayo de Baile del Torrito.

BOOKs: Read - Listen - Purchase

September 11th, 2001, is a day that will forever be etched in memory. It took me two decades to revisit the poems I wrote on that fateful day and to share them publicly. The horror and sadness of that event, coupled with the unification felt by New Yorkers, have resonated globally ever since. Sadly, many people around the world have experienced even worse tragedies. It's hard to believe such things were possible during my youth.

This small collection, composed on 22nd Street in Manhattan as the towers fell, is my humble tribute to those events. Through poetry, I've tried to process and transform the overwhelming emotions into art. This collection also marks the beginning of a broader series, capturing my reflections from travels around the world, which I am preparing to publish soon.

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Alien worlds seldom seem strange when looked at in greater detail.

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The Maya live immersed in a cosmos that has been long forgotten in industrialized societies. Thanks to their culture's endurance, today, we all have the opportunity to step into a more profound life, rediscover our past knowledge and integrate it into our new present.

For reasons unbeknownst to me, the Maya nawal and, ultimately, my Maya mentor chose me and initiated me into the workings of Maya healing knowledge. It is still unusual to open up these ancient secrets to a broader, leave alone non-Maya circle of people. However, in 2012, or as some, including me believe in 2020, a new cycle began in which the Maya know they may open their knowledge to others.

Dear reader, in this book, I am taking you on my journey into Maya day-and nightlife, their cultural traditions, and deeper into ancient Maya knowledge and spirituality that today is as valuable as it ever was.

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Magazines, reviews, videos, audio:

March 2023:

Article: The Meaning of Animal Energies in Maya Spirituality

In all religions and traditions, animals are thought to possess the power of being carriers of spirituality. Hinduism is filled with meaningful allegorical animal figures. In Christianity a lamb symbolizes Jesus, a lion the evangelist Matthew, to name only two examples. Additionally, Western worldview recognizes animals forming stellar constellations in astronomy. Astrology which studies the influences and meanings of such heavenly bodies and animal constellations is less widely accepted as a science.

Animals are in many ways superior to human beings. Their life force is in large part more potent than ours; many those creatures easily orient to their environment; others can fly or run faster than humans; some have excellent vision and hearing which enables them to hunt at night; many live under water; some are extremely attuned to sensing danger. ... See article.

ANTHROPOS-JOURNAL 2014, 2016

Academia.edu

Audio book Simon & Schuster Listen HERE for a free book chapter

October 2020: INDIE SHAMAN publishes an excerpt: Death in Initiation.

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