Mary Peters
Modern Shaman

In 2016, I completed my training at Four Winds Society and The Light Body School in Joshua Tree, California. Originating in the tradition of Peru’s Qero Native Americans, the teachings are steeped in the timeless reality that we are one with nature.

I have learned many lessons through my experiences in this journey called life. As for all of us, my humanity has allowed me the opportunity to learn, to forgive, and to be compassionate, open, and loving. It has given me the choice to live authentically, to either live my truth or decide that I would trade it away. I believe we all want to be free to choose and to experience our lives with authenticity, grace, and beauty.

I have had many rich and beautiful experiences in this life. I have two wonderful children and four amazing grandchildren. I have enjoyed the opportunity of being in stewardship to the animals and their people for the past 25 years through opening and running an animal-care business. And - like all of us, I have met the kindest of people, the harshest of people, and a variety in between.

As life goes, pain is inevitable. It happens to everyone, and I, also, have had my share. Loss, grief, and betrayal by those I have loved the most have touched me in profound ways. Like many, I have been abused, abandoned, and neglected. Yet, without these experiences, I would not have been able to discover the intimate parts of myself - parts that were needed for my own healing and well being.

We all experience these painful stories that we carry deep in our beings. Joseph Campbell, who was influenced by Carl Jung, popularized what is known as the Hero’s Journey. I know many of you have been through your own adventure-filled journeys, and have become your own heroes. You have had to be decisive during times of crisis and you have emerged transformed.

My life has been an example of what is classically known as the “path of the wounded healer.” As a shaman healer, I have had to undergo my own healing journey, and complete the four directions of the Medicine Wheel. Through this process, I have come to know what others are going through because I have been through the process myself bringing compassion and understanding to the healing process.

“Our whole spiritual transformation brings us to the point where we realize that in our own being. We are enough.”
--- Ram Dass